Dolce in his stroller

here are some pictures of Dolce in his stroller - I am not sure if he likes it yet. It should grow on him. He is cooped up in the apt all day.

Joan of Arcadia

One of my favorite movies is "One True thing," which is probably considered a "chic flick." But I really enjoy watching it, and actually shared it with my neighbor. My fear is that this will become widely known and my reputation for watching post modern films with shocking violence and sex will be challenged. So i will come clean: I just ordered seasons 1 and 2 of Joan of Arcadia. It was my favorite TV show 10 years ago, and i actually stayed home on friday nights so I didnt miss it. Its about an average high school girl and her family: dad's the small town police chief, mom's an art teacher at the school, younger brother is a geek at the high school, and older brother is the golden boy of the family who tragically became paralyzed in a drunk driving crash. The whole spin of the show is that God talks to joan at the beginning of each episode and asks her to do something.For example, God asks her to organize a garage sale...Why? doesnt make sense? But the sale reveals art work, portraits, that her mom made many years earlier. Turns out her mom was raped when she was a college student, and the pictures express her outrage and pain. At the same time Dad is investigating a rape case, he is sure he has the guilty party, but there is very little evidence. His favorite police officer therefore changes the original police report in order to have a stronger case, and dad has to fire him for his dishonesty, even though it would have made a stronger case against someone he knows is guilty. Turns out the rapist is never charged, goes free. meanwhile a popular jock at the HS is flirting with Joan, turns out he is dishonest, manipulative - she confronts him and he dumps her, he was never really interested in her, he just wanted to use her. Mom has told Joan to avoid this jock (she doesnt like him - intuition) and finally dad tells mom to talk to joan about the rape, that joan needs to understand what dangers confront young women, and mom needs to open up and share herself with her daughter. that is just a shortened plot synopsis - there were a few subplots I left out. This is a 50 min tv show, so it covers a lot of ground. I like the show because the scripts are incredible, the acting first rate, and there is always a spiritual conclusion that involves hope, love, or faith. Of course a tv show this good was cancelled....I have to say some of the episodes are stunning in their profoundity. seriously.

A guide for Professors for understanding incoming Freshmen

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.
Here is a list of facts about them compiled by Beloit college.
For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42. Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Millken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.

Ancient grave - the last action of love

A tiny woman and two children were laid to rest on a bed of flowers 5,000 years ago in what is now the barren Sahara Desert.

The slender arms of the youngsters were still extended to the woman in perpetual embrace when researchers discovered their skeletons in a remarkable cemetery that is providing clues to two civilizations who lived there, a thousand years apart, when the region was moist and green.

Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and colleagues were searching for the remains of dinosaurs in the African country of Niger when they came across the startling find, detailed at a news conference Thursday at the National Geographic Society.

Dolce the cat - has a new home

Here are pictures of Dolce, as in La Dolce Vita, the cat. he immediately checked out the apartment, and now is feeling at home. I am surprised how fast he took to me, I mean like the very next day I was his best friend. He is relaxed on the couch, lying on a towel I placed there for him. He is very friendly and likes to walk around the apartment, sleeping in different spots. Thank you noah and chika for such a sweet pet!

Spain's Olympic Team and The Abilene Paradox

The Spanish basketball team before going to the Olympics - supposedly their sponsor suggested they do this, a client paying them money, but still....each of them thought this was ok? I mean I am sure they individually thought this was stupid, but what didn't any one player object? Group Think is the inability to handle disagreement, but the Abilene Paradox is the inability to handle agreement, as in, "why did we do this even thought we all individually object to it?"

"Sisters" by Brian De Palma 1973

This is a great film, and De Palma admits that he is paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The movie opens with scenes from a television show, "Peeping Tom," where a blind woman comes in to a men's locker room and starts to undress. the woman, Danielle, is a plant of the TV show, and Philip the black guy is victim of the set up (kind of like the tv show "candid camera.") the contestants on the show have to predict what the guy will do, announce himself and point out this is a men's locker room, or watch her undress? At the end of the show for their payment, Philip gets tickets for two at the African Room, a restaurant that features an African theme (it has every stereotype of Africa - really funny, and of course the black contestant gets the tickets, what a coincidence). Danielle gets the show's gift of a knife set, I mean a bunch of knives with one really big and ugly dagger. Philip asks Danielle out for dinner. During dinner they are stalked by Danielle's creeepy ex husband (Bill Finley, who is really creepy looking). What Philip doesn't know about Danielle is that she was recently separated from her Siamese twin, Dominique, and that tomorrow is their birthday. A gruesome murder eventually sets the plot in motion, and the focus is turned onto the reporter who sees it happen from the window of her building across the street (ala Hitchcock's Rear Window). The police are no help, so the reporter hires a private detective (Charles Durning) to help find out the truth.

The movie is funny, and De Palma is having a lot of fun with the plot, with various scenes, and the ending is absolutely great. There is a dream sequence that explains the relationship between the sisters and the creepy husband. There is lots of blook and gruesome violence - knives and big hatchets are featured - I love it when the surgeon/doctor/ex husband picks up the hatchet in the surgical sequence - Yeah! A doctor using a hatchet in an operating room! One of the best ending scenes ever in a movie. De Palma is master of horror films, and he isn't afraid to let the audience know where he comes up with this stuff - from Hitchcock!

Injured bird - Sense of Self

Video of Injured bird.I am confused, because I have read that only humans have a sense of self. Our "self" is a "Memeplex" - a complicated set of ideas that give us consciousness. However, Noah told me that Dolphins recognize themselves in a mirror, so they have a sense of self, a knowledge of their personal existence. And last night, I found an injured bird by my front door. His bird friends were circling above, chirping, as though they were keeping him company. The bird looked bad, couldn't fly, perhaps flew into something, and was breathing heavily and shaking. I moved him under a bush and he came to. This morning I was surprised to find him still alive, and his friends had returned once again circling and chirping at him. So I wonder, if his friends know that he is hurt, if they circle to keep him company, don't they have a sense of their own "self?" I mean, Sartre would say they recognize the being for others in their self - that they have to be aware of their "self" in order to be aware that they are a being for others. So if other living creatures have a sense of "self," don't they therefore have what we call a soul? Maybe Shamanists are correct, that each living creature has a unique spirit.

Ford Mansion in NJ

Noah and I visited the Ford Mansion in Morristown NJ, the house where Gen Washington spent the winter months of 1779-1780. It is a beautiful home, all wood. I was amazed at the number of people who stayed there during the winter, at least 30 people. They must have lived on top of one another, sharing rooms, coughing and sneezing on each other. We also visited the encampment where the Continental Army stayed - beautiful park now, with trails and an historic farm house complete with herb garden. The farm house was the Wick family's and it was occupied up until the Jockey Hollow national park was built during the depression (it was a civilian conservation corp project).

I found him!!!!

You know you have looked for him, and here he is!!!

Scene from Stardust Memories

This is about as existential as it can get, the opening scene from Stardust Memories, woody allen's "autobiographical movie." Woody is always on the wrong train, the train with the maimed, injured, lost people, while the train with the beautiful people is leaving the station. Later, woody's train drops them off at a trash heap. I swear, I fell like I am on that train every day -

OSS 117 - Get ready for peace in the middle east!

This is a parody of the French films of the early 1960's that were the equivalent of James Bond movies, OSS 117 also known as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath. The film satires the concept of empire, the cultural superiority of empire, the ignorance that empire brings, and the cluelessness of great western powers invading or repressing ancient civilizations which are viewed as "primitive." Ms. La Bath is completely clueless, sexist, condescending, violent and just dumb. But somehow he survives and wins in the end, through no effort on his part. He is vain as seen during the mambo dance scene. He also knows nothing about arab culture or Islam...Some of the scenes are parodies of how the earlier films were made, with staged scenes substituting for exterior shots with a movie projected on the rear screen - here he is offered a cigarette but he says, "I don't smoke but I am trying to start." which makes no sense...most people are trying to stop, but he is trying to start ("Idiot!" as the french would say). OSS 117 has flashback memories of his missing and presumed dead partner Jack, and the flashback is very homo erotic, both of them playing paddle ball on the beach and chasing each other and rolling in the surf - get it? He is violent, womanizer, trying to avoid his latent homosexuality - way too funny. I thought this was way too funny - I tried not to laught too loud because I wanted to hear the dialogue (even though I dont speak french) but there was this loud guy in the back who would laugh so loud is was deafening. A must see coming to an independent theater near you! DVD comes out Sept 30.

Pride of the South Clock!

You have to check out this clock! Its from Bradford Exchange - I must have bought something from them a long time ago, so I get stuff in the mail from them. It has Gen Lee on the top, a picture of Lee, Jackson, and JEB Stuart and I cant see the others. But what is really over the top, is that every hour the doors open up and a cannon comes out and fires the time: BOOM its one oclock BOOM BOOM its two oclock and so forth. Where would one put this clock? over a bar? I thought about buying it and sending it to someone as a joke, but its too expensive for a gag gift.

The MR2 Spyder

So Toyota brought back the third type of mid engine roadster and called it the MR2 Spyder to distinguish it from the previous models. Production stopped in 2005. My objective was to buy a MR2 as close to brand new condition as possible, and I found a 2003 with only 10,800 miles on it and it came with the optional 6 speed sequential manual transmission. The SMT makes the car drive differently - I prefer it to the 5 speed manual. When the transmission is in "S" you pull back gently to go up a gear, and push forward to downshift. If you can't remember what gear you are in there is a diagram on the tachometer that indicates the gear - the tach is center console, visible directly in front of steering wheel. It comes with 16 inch wheels on back, 15 inch on front. The vents in front of the rear wheels allows cool air into the engine compartment. The front hood contains the spare tire. The only luggage space is behind the seats, and it is called "storage compartments" not trunk. So I can only pack gym bags on a long trip. I think I will take out the spare tire and use the front for a small bag on long trips. It has 138 horsepower, but I plan to buy an aftermarket air filter and increase the HP to about 150. Driving it reminds me of the ME 163 rocket plane!
The SMT works with the shift stick or with paddles on the steering wheel. The MR2 far surpasses the Miata or just about any car in its class - the Porsche Boxster is the closest comparison. Now I need to find a garage for the winter - I won't allow snow to fall on my baby!

Check the translation before you post the sign!

This store owner wanted his sign posted in English, but the computer generated translation printed an error message, not the translation of the store sign. No one caught it? funny...

China's preparations - buildings for Olympic Games

Here is a slide show, shows the architecture of the Olympic Village. Amazing. I think the US has to consider what role it will have in a world that is dominated by the empire of China - we need to study England, how it released hold of its empire. I don't think we can compete with China, or perhaps need to compete with china.

Dinosaur on the loose at LA Museum Natural History

here is video of the coolest dino costume ever, at the LA Musuem of Natural History. I really want one of these - show up at my evening auditorium class and try to eat some unruly students!

Elsa and Fred - movie from Argentina

This movie has received good reviews, about two eldery people who fall in love most improbably. I usually don't like movies about older people who are about to die....but this one eventually grew on me. Elsa is eldery, she makes up stories, lies, exaggerates, but is just the fiesty woman stoddgy old Fred needs. Before long Fred is becoming as adventuous as Elsa. A previous husband of Elsa's visits Fred, tells him, this woman is crazy, she makes things up, she will destroy you. Then Fred asks, is it true she looked like Anita Ekberg, from the movie La Dolce Vita when she was younger? (A claim you almost think is not true, given how old and overweight she now is). Then the ex husband stops, closes his eyes, thinks, and says, yes it is true, when she was young and you walked by, she shook your world. Then he says, I change my mind, don't lose her. Puzzled, Fred continues the relationship. Fred finds out Elsa has kidney disease, is dying. He doesn't tell her he knows. Her dream was always to wade in the fountain like Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita, the Fontana di Trevi, in Roma. He surprises her with tickets, they fly to Rome, they dress up, go out to the fountain. Wait, she says, there has to be a kitten, like in the movie. Fred bribes a conceirge for the use of a kitten. They get to the fountain late at night, Elsa says, I want to feed the kitten milk, like in the movie. Fred somehow finds a jar of milk. Then they recreate the scene from La Dolce vita. She calls out to him, "Marcello, Marcello!" Finally a police officer comes and asks them out. then the film ends - but on a light note. I really liked the whole La Dolce Vita scene - that is a classic scene. Here is a copy of Anita Ekberg for those who don't remember her.

Dr. David Dixon - we said goodbye as best we could....

Dr. David Dixon was laid to rest today in the West Liberty Cemetary. Click here to learn more about his academic areas of interest in American history, and to see an earlier picture of him with his mullet (!) Funerals for me are absolutely terrifying, but I had to go to his service today because I love his friends, family and wife so much, and wanted to be with them on this terribly sad day. The service was wonderful, Dr. Claire Settlemire gave the eulogy, in addition to being an excellant scholar of historical antiquity, she is also an ordained methodist minister. Comes in handy to have a minister who is Professor Emeritus. Graveside was hard: the grief impossible to bear. To see the casket on top of the grave, to say goodbye and walk away. I tried to express myself to those closest to him. It was a beautiful location to spend eternity: on a hillside, with an beautiful panoramic view of the rolling hills and farms surrounding the cemetary, above a lone hawk did lazy circles enjoying the heat thermals on a hot pennsylvania afternoon. Fortunately, Rich and Amy Martin helped set up a reception and luncheon at the Old Stone House, a favorite location of David's, and everyone little by little starting to eat, drink, talk, and soon there were smiles and even laughter as we tried to separate ourselves from our grief, from an emotionally draining experience. Slippery Rock University will never be the same without David. I make friends poorly, I am not very social, but David was one of my first and best friends at SRU, and I will always miss him.

Iran missle lauch photoshop

so one of the missles didn't launch in Iran's missle tests last week so Iran releases a photo from photoshop doctoring the photo to make it look like all the missles fired at once. Here is the logical conclusion of the "more cowbell" approach to firing missles!

Girl Interrupted

What a movie! Some of my favorite female actors: Angelina Jolie, Wynona Rider, Brittany Murphy - amazing cast, great story line. I haven't read the book, but plan to buy it this weekend. it captured the 1960s-early 70's perfectly, with the strict role expectations, the intolerance of anyone who doesn't conform, the lack of communication between adults and teens - well I guess that crap is still going on, but the movie was great. Esp the part about the Brittany Murphy character, and her sick relationship with her SOB father - scary, but her acting was great. The film has a "happy" ending, in that Angelina and Wynona's characters survive and seem to have the skills to live happily. the story: Wynona's character exhibits some impulsive behavior, sexually impulsive, tries feeble attempt at OD, "diagnosed" as borderline and sent to psych hospital for young women, where she meets other emotionally disturbed girls, some very much so, others just unconformists who end up there because they need to learn how to conform. Good movie for women's group discussion.

Mongol -The Movie !!!

I've got to see this film! Maybe saturday...Update: I saw it saturday night, but I arrived 30 min late - turns out, the east parkway had 3 lanes merging into 1 lane right at the sq hill exit, must be summer construction. anyway, the acting was amazing, the costumes incredible and the music also great. Everyone left at the end credits, but the treat at the end is the music: stay until the very end because the musical score is amazing. It was wide screen so the action scenes were absolutely great. My only disappointment was that the movie showed Khan's victory over other mongolian clans, that he united Mongolia. I was hoping to see his victories in the middle east, europa-asian empire, how he interacted politically with european races, how he united and extended a civilization over europe-asia. Especially his unification of Russia. Of course, his death and legacy were also not covered. Could there be a couple of sequels in the future? I mean, there were 3 godfather films, I think there should be 3 Mongol films. The theater was crowded, I arrived late, found a aisle seat, people around me were checking their email - !? - why to to a movie if you want to fool with email? Someone's cell phone went off....Really rude.

"Meduzot" or Jellyfish

Not a film for everyone, but I liked it because it was set in Israel, in Tel Aviv, great shots of the ocean, shore. "Batya" is a waitress at a wedding hall, but no wedding in the future for her. She finds a lost girl at the ocean beach, ends up having to take her home. Get it? She finds a lost girl - she finds her lost childhood. She looks at old super 8 movies, returns to her childhood, and I think re-examines her sexual orientation. "Joy" is a fillipino worker, takes care of an 80ish woman whose daughter is an actor. Grandma and daughter do not get along, there is something that prevents them from connecting, but grandma connects with Joy in a beautiful scene, embracing Joy, while the daughter looks on through a window, astonished, hurt at what she sees but can not accomplish. "Karen" is a new bride, who locks herself in the toilet accidentally, climbs over the stall, breaks her leg, cant have sex on the honeymoon, cant stand the hotel room they are in, suspects her husband of infidelity with a mysterious hotel guest. She starts to write a poem, but later the poem is finished by the mysterious guest, it is a suicide note. Get it? "Break a leg," no sex, trapped in this hotel, suicide - what is marriage? A trap? Suicide? I really liked the role of the lost girl - she was so cute, beautiful, and the symbol of the girl as the lost childhood, haunting. Perhaps this film would mean more emotionally to me if I was a woman. Great film - women's groups should view it and have a lot to discuss after.

free hugs....

Is this part of a world wide blog thing? Is this original or is it copied? Will this catch on?

Free Hug!

UPDATE: YES, ITS GLOBAL. SEARCH ON YOUTUBE.COM AND YOU WILL FIND VIDEOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, CHINA.....

Vince Shamwow!!!

"You know the Germans make good stuff...you following me camera guy?" Do I detect a slight Christopher Walken accent here? Wow-wa! Here is the original commercial...

Here is Vince doubled up with Bill O'Reilly, really funny...

One More Time! Broken Trail and Open Range great movies

Great quote from Broken Trail and Open Range:

"We're all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth 'til death. We travel between the eternities."

Great quote from Open Range:

"Men are gonna get killed here today, Sue, and I'm gonna kill 'em."

"My friend and me got a hankerin' for Switzerland chocolate and a good smoke."

Whale watching at Mystic Aquarium

Here is Noah and Chika at the entrance to Mystic Seaport, watching the Beluga whales. I guess the only other whales in captivity are Killer whales, at places like SeaWorld. Back in 1983 Mystic Aquarium rescued five whales who beached themselves on the shore, they tried to push them back in the ocean but they kept beaching themselves. They took them to the aquarium to help them gain strength but they died. I realize that Mystic Aquarium has to do some revenue enhancing programs, but I really oppose taking dolphins and whales in captivity unless they are injured and need a protective environment. One of the sea lions they had was from west coast, kept getting too close to shore, was moved out to sea, but returned. For its own preservation the Aquarium obtained him.

Dolphins held as slaves die in Las Vegas

There are few animals that possess consciousness, that is, an awareness of their existence. A concept of self. Humans possess consciousness - for some reason, natural selection as favored humans with large frontal brains, the part of the brain that contains capacity for ideas, speech, and imitation and transmittal of ideas. The same is true for dolphins. Sigfried and Roy, the las vegas ambiguously gay duo who have the white tiger lounge act, have had a zoo of some kind for other animals, featuring dolphins. Here is the news story:
MGM Mirage officials are investigating the death of a dolphin at an aquatic habitat at The Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip. Company spokesman Gordon Absher said Monday that animal care officials are trying to determine why the 11-year-old dolphin, named Sage, died Saturday morning. Absher says 13 dolphins have died at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat since the attraction opened with five dolphins in 1990.
Dolphins have consciousness, so they know when other dolphins die. They must have some awareness of their environment. Keeping dolphins for amusement, for profit, seems to me a kind of slavery. Mystic Seaport at least is a teaching/research center, and their revenue producing attractions help fund other more serious projects. But Sigfried and Roy are exploiting these conscious mammals - I consider it no difference from human slavery.

Mystic Aquarium

Noah, Chika and I went to the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. Here is one of the Beluga whales swimming under water. I will have more videos posted on wednesday July 8th.

"I' ve got a feevar..and the feevar is morrr cow bell!!!"

Here is the original "more cowbell" skit. I don't know why this is so funny, but it is. Christopher Walken is a genius, he plays this so straight, even though some of the actors are cracking up. I have students coming up and asking me about the bumper sticker i have on my car, "More Cowbell, Less Bush." they then search the web for the skit, so here is the link. they agree its a classic skit. Is the cowbell skit that old? (Am I that old?)

Hairspray, the musical. I don't like musicals but this one was different: Nikki Blonsky made the difference. She became "Tracy" - from the moment she woke up till the end of the movie, she was graceful, funny, kind, cute and gave a great dance performance. Also in the film were Christopher Walken, who played a crazy father type (he was perfect), john travolta (Tracy's mother - how he could dance with the "weight" suit is amazing) and Amanda Bynes - lots of other great actors made small appearances. This was a fun movie, great performances - but Nikki Blonsky was most responsible for making this movie work. A must see!!!

Notorius!

Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant - amazing movie, the dialogue is so sharp, the camera work amazing. Hitchcock used several long shots in film, one where Grant and Ingrid kiss, then stop, then kiss, then look into each others' eyes, kiss, breathe on each other (my god!!! sexy!!!) and then walk away to the door, almost kiss and then Grant leaves. The shot took 4 hrs, of shooting, reshooting. Another great shot, at the big party after the wedding, the interior of this house built for the movie, camera at top of long staircase, comes down as if suspended in air, focusing on Ingrid's evil Nazi husband (Claude Rains) but the shot is wrong suddenly, the camera is on husband's jacket, not his face, then he moves and the camera continues to focus...on Ingrid's hand, and the key she is holding (to the secret wine cellar). What a shot! The movie ends with the long winding staircase, the one we know is so high from that earlier long shot. The ending is wow! Great ending. A great movie, made for a fraction of what films now cost to make, with great acting, great script - 1946 and Ingrid was just 31 - I would have to say Ingrid Bergman is the most beautiful woman in the world. (wait, there are beautiful women in slippery rock so lets say Ingrid is one of the most beautiful women in the world).

My Brother is an Only child

Great movie set in early 1970's Italy, two brothers, both concerned for the "working man," one is fascist and the other communist. The fascist brother eventually rejects fascism when he experiences it personally (his friends wanted to fire bomb his brother's car) and finds a way of helping working people, by fighting government corruption. The best scene for me was when the communist college student organization put on a symphony concert featuring Beethoven's 9th symphony (one of the viola players is the sister). Anyway, the communist brother gives an introduction, about how Beethoven fought for the workers (?) and how the symphony has been "defascistized" for this performance. as the music plays, it becomes apparent that the fascists plan to raid the concert and beat up people (thats what fascists do) and it comes to the part of the 4th movement when the guy is supposed to sing, and he sings, "Mao, Marx and Lenin, fought the state for working man...." Its funny because the singing part always annoys me, I mean I love the ode to joy melody, but the words are frederick Shiller's not Beethoven's, and the singing part goes on and on and I think could be easily 15 min shorter. anyway, when I heard the word "Mao..." I knew what happened: the commie students rewrote shiller's words, in part for ideological reasons, but perhaps they found the original words as annoying as I do! the movie was ok, I especially liked the Italian cars from the 60's and 70's, those tiny Fiats.

US Government becomes Wall Street Bank

This story is amazing - i wonder how I can explain the difference between the current US economy and a fascist economy. I will have to think about this some.....

UPDATE: Here is definition of economic fascism from Internet source - its probably too vague but I find this disturbing when you read the following article (Fascists claimed to provide a realistic economic alternative that was neither laissez-faire capitalism nor communism. An inherent aspect of fascist economies was economic dirigisme, meaning an economy where the government exerts strong directive influence, and effectively controls production and allocation of resources.In general, apart from the nationalizations of some industries, fascist economies were based on private property and private initiative, but these were contingent upon service to the state.
Fascism also operated from a Social Darwinist view of human relations. Their aim was to promote "superior" individuals and weed out the weak.In terms of economic practice, this meant promoting the interests of successful businessmen while destroying trade unions and other organizations of the working class. Historian Gaetano Salvemini argued in 1936 that fascism makes taxpayers responsible to private enterprise, because "the State pays for the blunders of private enterprise... Profit is private and individual. Loss is public and social." Finally, fascism was highly militaristic. As such, fascists often increased military spending significantly, and their main reason for economic development was the wish to have a strong economy backing a strong military. Fascist governments encouraged the pursuit of private profit and offered many benefits to large businesses, but they demanded in return that all economic activity should serve the "national interest".) Doesn't this sound like a description of current US economy, that is the bail out of mortgage industry, and also sound like military policies of Pres. Bush, esp the notion of private corporations contracting services for the military?

The Federal Reserve was scrambling to prevent a "contagion" from infecting the nation's financial system when it took unprecedented actions to back a Bear Stearns rescue package and provide emergency loans to big Wall Street firms.

The Federal Reserve released documents Friday providing insights into its private deliberations in March that led to those controversial decisions. The Fed's actions came when credit and financial problems were intensifying, threatening to paralyze the entire financial system and plunge the economy into a recession.

Given the financial markets' fragile condition at that time, the Fed said it felt compelled to intervene because an "immediate failure" of Bear Stearns would bring about an "expected contagion."

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues initially moved on March 14 to provide temporary emergency financing to investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. through an arrangement with JPMorgan Chase & Co. Two days later, as the nation's then-fifth-largest investment bank teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, the Fed agreed to provide backing for up to $30 billion for a deal in which JPMorgan would take over the troubled company.

That same day — March 16 — the Fed said it would let big Wall Street firms go directly to the Fed for emergency loans, a privilege only commercial banks had previously enjoyed. It was the broadest use of the Fed's lending powers since the 1930s.

The Fed's decision to take this action was "based on recent, rapidly changing developments," the documents said. "These developments demonstrated that there had been impairment of a broad range of financial markets" that Wall Street firms rely on for financing.

There was fear that other Wall Street firms could fall into jeopardy, sending problems cascading through the financial system.

Democrats in Congress and other critics contend the Fed's actions are akin to a government bailout and are putting billions of taxpayer dollars at risk.

However, Bernanke has defended the actions, and in appearances on Capitol Hill has said he doesn't believe taxpayers will suffer any losses.

The Fed's financial lifeline in JPMorgan's takeover of Bear Stearns was subsequently changed to $29 billion and — most recently — to $28.82 billion.

Confederates in the Attic

This is a great book, by Tony Horwitz. Tony is a war correspondent who took a year off and traveled the South finding out why Southerners have such an obsession with the Civil War. The best chapter is the interview with Shelby Foote. I didnt know Foote is not a historian, he is a novelist who was asked to write a narrative of the war (an easier read than most history books) and the result was a 20 yr effort that resulted in three volumes. Foote was interviewed by Tony in Memphis, and it turns out that Foote has his phone number listed in the phone book, and answers the phone himself. It rings all day. He answers, "Hello?" then he says "You're speaking to him..." since no one can believe they just called Foote's listed number and got him on the first ring! Tony asks him questions, but Foote answers as though these are the same old questions everyone asks him. So he tries to draw Foote out.

Foote sings a ditty about Abraham Lincoln:
Abraham Lincoln was a son of a bitch
His ass ran over with a seven year itch
His fist beat his dick like a blacksmith's hammer
While his asshole whistled the Star Spangled Banner.

Too funny! He said as a boy growing up in the South he memorized hundreds of terrible songs about Lincoln, but could only remember that one. He also said:
The battle flag (stars and bars) "stood for law, honor, love of country," but has now become a banner of shame and disgrace and hate."

Also, "I'm living to see another terrible thing, the South joining the party of Lincoln."

Also this, read carefully: "What has dismayed me so much is the behavior of blacks. They ar fulfilling every dire prophecy the KKK made. It's no longer safe to be on the streets in black neighborhoods. They are acting as if the utter lie about blacks being somewhere between ape and man were true."

Foote lives in Memphis, where the police pick up the dead bodies every morning, and school children get shot walking to school by errant bullets from drug dealers. I remember one instance, at a school event, shots rang out, and Major in the Memphis Police (a dad, dressed in street clothes) got out of his car with his police gun to investigate, when a uniformed police officer (new guy) arrives, tells him to "drop the gun" and then shoots the Major. ???? Police shooting each other? Memphis reminded me of Maputo the capitol city of Mozambique, great potential but corruption and violence holds it back.

Anyway, Foote also said that he goes to Shiloh every year, on the anniversary of the battle, arrives 5 am, so he can walk the battlefield as the sun rises, so he can see and experience the conditions that the soldiers had. he comes from the south, from Corinth, and starts at Shiloh church, ends at the national cemetary where Grant slept under a tree in a storm the first night of battle. Sherman found Grant under the tree, sherman nervous as usual, tells Grant we sure got a beating today. Grant says, stoically, "We'll whip 'em in the morning..." I dont know if Grant was confident, or exhausted, but his attitude convinced Sherman that all was not lost. and the union whipped them in the morning as Grant said. (Grant was not always that Stoic: after the first day of the Wilderness Campaign, he went in his tent, threw himself down on his cot, and weeped... Maybe he weeped for the killing, or maybe just relief that he fought Gen. Lee, his army stayed together, and he met the first test of Union commander, not getting whipped like a wet puppy by Bobby Lee.

I miss living in the South, esp the pine forests of Georgia. I should have enjoyed Athens GA more while I was there, but I was struggling with grad school, no money, wearing clothes I had left over from high school, and was convinced my goal of being an academician was impossible, doomed to failure. Perhaps I will go on my own Southern battle tour this summer, starting at Gettysburg, and driving south.

BTW- Gettysburg is a fantastic place, you can walk the whole city, it is compact, you can walk the battlefield. When i was there with noah, I stayed at the Holiday Inn on the main street, got up in morning, ran to the battlefield, ran Pickett's charge, and returned to motel. BTW, Pickett's Charge looks like half a mile when you stand where Lee observed the battlefield, it is up hill, but doesn't look like it. the hill increases in degrees as you get closer to the copse of trees Lee was aiming at. running it was longer than I expected, and harder: by the time I got to the copse of trees, I was out of breath (and I was a trim long distance runner then, about 10 years ago).

El Orfanato: The Orphange

I am not one for horror films, but this one is amazing. One of the producers is Guillermo del Toro, who directed Pan's Labyrinth and Devil's Backbone. he is not the director for this movie, but you can feel his influence. Very complicated story, and the ending is very surprising, but there are hints throughout the film but you don't get it until the very end. Scary, frightening, beautiful, sad all in one. I thought it was over, such a sad movie, but then the film continued for another 3 minutes and the ending had a beautiful touch to it. On IMDB message board someone asked, will there be an english version made? Dear buddha, I hope not: this movie is perfect as is, I hope no one makes an "english" version, like all those japanese horror films made into english versions. This film comes from NetFlix, I dont know if you can rent it anywhere else.

Amazing catch by "ball girl" in minor league game! YUP ITS A FAKE

Is this a real catch??? did this really happen? If this is a real, non edited clip, then that young woman has a career in front of her...

Yes its a fake, more on this as I find out about it...

June 22nd Biking in Pittsburgh - examples of Sustainable neighborhoods.

Here is the first of a series of pictures taken in Pittsburgh, showing examples of sustainable programs. For more pictures go to my Facebook album.

NetFlix - great deal - thanks Derek for the advice!

So I wanted to see the remastered Fellini film, La Dolce Vita. In fact, it came out couple years ago, played in an independent theater in Pittsburgh, but I missed it. Anyway, I saw "Divorce Italian Style," and in the movie a defense attorney said that his client was influenced by immoral films, and showed in court, part of La Dolce Vita. So Fellini was was parodying his own movie! I loved it, really funny. In fact, Divorce Italian Style was so funny, I am still thinking about it - I wasn't expecting such a profoundly funny movie. Anyway, I wanted to see La Dolce vita, but it costs like $30 from barnes and noble dot com, so I checked NetFlix - for $8.99 a month, I get unlimited movies! Plus, they have ALL titles! I ordered La Dolce Viga two days ago, it arrived! My friend Derek Martin told me NetFlix was a great deal, he is right! Good Advice!

My flying lesson cancelled: FAA and State Troopers investigate crash

Glider Plane Goes Down In Grove City
Two Passengers Suffer Minor Injuries

POSTED: 5:44 pm EDT June 15, 2008
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GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Two people were hurt Sunday when their glider plane went down at the Grove City Airport in Mercer County.

The two people aboard the plane suffered minor injuries. Their identities were not immediately released.

There's no word on what caused the crash.

UPDATE: ITS FRIDAY AND THE SUN IS OUT AND i AM FLYING AT 1:00 PM MAYBE COUPLE HOURS.

Three videos of Pittsburgh

Here is a video of the penthouse deck of the Penn Garrison lofts - great scene of PNC Park where "da bucs" play. I was thinking of renting a loft there, but now I am thinking of staying in slippery rock and instead buying an airplane - the airplane makes a lot of sense but I am too tired to explain it convincingly right now.

Here is a video of the three rivers art festival - final day. More food than art. I didn't go in the middle of the art because I had the bike along. The Alcoa building is visible, made out of aluminum of course. I was at the penthouse once, during an academic conference, it was great walking in front of the picture windows at the city, incredible view. It was the National Assoc of Schools of Public Affairs and Admin, a very boring conference, but the Univ of Georgia was hosting the reception and I was invited by the Dean who remembered I was an alumnus and was nearby in slippery rock - the reception was great.

And here is market square and the USX building, terrible sunlight, and all of a sudden the B 17 that was flying around pittsburgh appears - i heard it first, four radial engines are hard not to hear, esp with my airplane ears. I saw the B 17 twice but couldn't get my camera out fast enough from my fanny pack, and stop pedaling the bike too. The sun was so bright I couldn't see what I was filming, so I didn't zoom in on the plane because I wasn't sure if I was even filming it. dam.

All in all a great father's day biking in the burgh, my nose is sunburnt, and I went too far, my legs are mush. Monday morning 9 am I fly some more with Noel in the ratty Cessna 152 - i can't wait. I can't explain my love of flying - no one in my family has anything to do with airplanes. Obviously the "meme" of flying has something attractive to me, it could be the noise (I love the noise of engines) or the mechanics of it (I enjoy mechanical things, working on my old saab, studying how the instruments on an airplane work, looking at different airframe designs and comparing them and so forth...)