Below is a gallery of photos from Spike Lee's World War II drama about four black soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Northern Italy. The movie is based upon James McBride's novel:
"MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA" Photo Gallery
Politics=Christendom
"Myth bites."
Below is a gallery of photos from Spike Lee's World War II drama about four black soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Northern Italy. The movie is based upon James McBride's novel:
"MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA" Photo Gallery
Some cool historical science paintings I found around. Mostly of alchemists and Galileo.
The big thing during World War 2 was "Knit Your Bit!" Knit for the soldiers, knit to save money, knit knit knit. There were even songs about knitting your bit - most were awful, but one was Glenn Miller.
The National World War II Museum, down in New Orleans, does a lot of cool outreach things. One of them is hosting Knit Your Bit, where they collect scarves to give to veterans. When my friend and I saw that, big WW2/40s geeks that we are, we wanted badly to participate. So we did!
This is my monstrosity, all five and half plus feet of it. (Yes, it's taller than I am!) It's Lion Brand Thick and Quick in Charcoal and Claret on size 13 needles in a mistake rib pattern (k2p1 on both sides). It causes a neat ribbing and is very warm and cuddly.
And yes, Harry Potter fans, you are not wrong. I totally stole the trapped bar stripes from the 3rd and 4th movies. ;) Most people won't recognize it, but I do love it. I hope my veteran does, too.
I recently finished an interesting book: "Blasphemy:How the Religious Right is Hijacking Our Declaration of Independence" by Alan Dershowitz. That is, he refutes, point by point, attempts by Christian fundamentalists to rewrite the history of our nation's founding by claiming that the Founding Fathers were all orthodox Christians who never intended the separation of church and state, but rather founded the USA as a "Christian Nation".
This short book contains three long chapters. The first chapter examines the beliefs of the Founding Fathers, focusing on the decidedly not Christian Thomas Jefferson, quoting extensively from his writings. The views of John Adams, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, and others are also covered in lesser detail.
The first chapter also looks at the God-language that was used by the Founders though the lens of Deism, which many of the Founding Fathers, including Jefferson, believed in. Dershowitz shows that the "Nature's God" that is referred to is not the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible, but rather, a "Blind Watchmaker" Creator, who created the universe then stepped back and let nature take its course. He goes into more detail as to how Deism and Universalism differs from today's conservative evangelical Christianity.
The second chapter covers the Religious Right's strategy for making the Founding Fathers over in their image and their plans to turn the US into a theocracy. He asserts that their plan is essentially two-fold. The first step would be a Trojan horse: to lower the wall of separation between church and state enough to allow non-threatening "generic" religion -- God, nonsectarian prayer, multiple religious images into the government sphere. The next step would be to then insist that Christianity is America's only "true" religion, as our nation was, in their view, founded by Christian on Christian principles. This would effectively make adherents of other religions be second class citizens, with atheists and agnostics being officially condemned as immoral, and would no doubt bring back the legality of having religious tests in order to hold elected office.
The third chapter, "What Are the 'Laws of Nature' and 'Nature's God'?", is the most fascinating in the book, in my opinion. In this chapter, Dershowitz compares the concept of "natural laws" vs positive legal enactments. He shows the logical fallacies in the notion of natural law, yet concedes that it is a useful legal fiction that give the legal basis on which to oppose or resist unjust laws that have been properly enacted.
Dershowitz shows that human knowledge, from which laws flow, comes from three main sources: discovery, invention, and revelation. Positive law is based on invention, which is an imperfect thing and is subject to amendment and improvement as times and circumstances change. Natural law, on the other hand is based on discovery and/or divine revelation. It is fully developed and flawless and is just waiting for humans to discover/discern it, then to live from thence forward by its unchanging principles.
But the sticking point in "natural law" is the fact that nature itself is morally neutral. Dershowitz quotes Robert Ingersoll: "In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are only consequences." Anatole France concurred: "Nature, in its indifference, makes no distinction between good and evil".
Dershowitz asserts: "Morality evolves with experience, and nature is part of that experience, but not the only part. In constructing a moral code, one should not ignore the varieties of human nature, but the diverse components of nature cannot be translated directly into morality. The complex relationship between the is of nature and the ought of morality must be mediated by human experience".
Rather than the laws of nature or God's revealed word, Dershowitz believes that source of higher morality is human experience -- trial and error. "We are at our best when we recognize our past mistakes and try build a better system of morality to avoid repetition of those mistakes. Rights come from wrongs!" He goes on to say, "Our present system of rights is not based on Nature or God, but rather on a recognition of our past wrongs and a desire not to repeat them -- or do worse".
I give this one five stars and it has earned a permanent place in my library.
]]>It surprises me that O. J.: the Untold Story, the BBC documentary about the likely murderer of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, has never aired in the US, though it has aired in other nations.
I am no fan of O. J. Simpson (admittedly he was good in Capricorn One) and there was a lot that emerged in the 1995 trial that showed the guy was a slimeball.
The latest Las Vegas incident shows a man who has flouted the law so many times for other acts that he has become arrogant and callous.
However, the documentary convinced me that Jason Simpson was the real killer, as I have said on this blog before.
Perceptions are very different among different groups of people. The majority of white Americans thought O. J. was guilty. The majority of black Americans thought O. J. was innocent.
As it has come up a few times during the last few days, here is a link to the BBC preview on its website.
I paste from that article and I admit to taking a lot more than what is reasonable below, but it’s only out of concern that the BBC won’t keep some of these older pieces online, especially as it bears the old layout. (I’ll remove the below on request and I ask readers to click on the above link for the original.)
Wednesday, 4 October, 2000, 11:46 GMT 12:46 UK
New clues in OJ Simpson murder mystery
By Malcolm Brinkworth, producer of a BBC programme which sheds new light on the case of former American football star OJ Simpson.
… OJ—The Untold Story
reveals that clues that some believe pointed away from Simpson as the
killer were dismissed or ignored …
 Dr Lee: Crime scene was "contaminated"
|
Dr Henry Lee, one of the world’s most respected forensic scientists, states … that the crime scene was “out of control”, was contaminated and that the police had destroyed so much at the murder scene that it was impossible to reconstruct what happened that night.
Dr Lee also reveals that the police failed to take crucial blood samples from Nicole’s back which might have helped solve the case.
 Who did kill Nicole Simpson?
|
It is their view that the evidence was seriously compromised and would have been rejected by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.
Potential new suspect
The film also explores new areas, which have not been fully investigated by the authorities. It features private investigator Bill Dear and follows his enquiries into Jason, Simpson’s son from his first marriage …
 Jason: History of violence
|
The programme examines the evidence that shows that six months before her murder, Nicole was put under surveillance.
A man called Bill Wasz, who he says, had supplied cocaine to Simpson, Nicole and friends, had been hired by one of Simpson’s friends to follow her and take photographs of Nicole with any man she might meet.
He recorded his surveillance in a notebook. In an interview from prison, where he is currently serving a jail term for armed robbery, Wasz explained that 10 days after handing over the photographs, he had been asked by Simpson's same friend to a meeting for a new assignment.
At that meeting, Wasz says, Simpson’s friend then hired him as a hitman to kill Nicole.
Police ignored ‘hitman’ claims
The programme reveals that the police were made aware of Wasz’s story just a few weeks after the murders and … the prosecution decided to dismiss it.…
However, the programme also goes on to show that four years later, the Wasz story was re-investigated again. The police and the District Attorney’s office accepted that the notebook was genuine and that Wasz had been telling the truth.However, after further investigation, the District Attorney’s office dismissed the matter once more, despite promising leads that pointed to a possible plot to kill Nicole …
I’ve always been fascinated by the past. Ancient civilizations, mysterious ruins, grand temples, and archaeological sites – they all provide a window into helping us understand the past. But how much do we really know? When did Native Americans really arrive in the New World and how? Did the Egyptians sail to other parts of the world and teach other civilizations how to build giant pyramids? Were the Portuguese the first to sail around the world and map it? These intriguing questions have always intrigued me, and the question of just how much we know about each one is still debated. The last question has been accepted as fact for quite some time. Or has it?
The new book by author Heather Terrell questions this commonly accepted fact with mystery, intrigue, and adventure. The Map Thief
During the Ming dynasty’s reign in China,
a vast naval fleet was assembled and commanded by Zheng He. His mission
was to sail around the world and map it. According to legend he was
successful, but upon returning to China the map was destroyed and Zheng
He disappeared. Now, 400 years later an archaeologist has unearthed a
mummy clutching onto a mysterious map. Word gets out and suddenly the
map disappears. Who is this map thief?
Read more about The Map Thief: A Must Read Historical Fiction here.
What, in your opinion, is the best book that you haven’t liked? Mind you, I don’t mean your most-hated book–oh, no. I mean the most accomplished, skilled, well-written, impressive book that you just simply didn’t like.
Like, for movies–I can acknowledge that Citizen Kane is a tour de force and is all sorts of wonderful, cinematically speaking, but . . . I just don’t like it. I find it impressive and quite an accomplishment, but it’s not my cup of tea.
So . . . what book (or books) is your Citizen Kane?
The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is so cool. Florence wrote 1-2 sentences a day in her diary from 1929-1934, ages 14-19. She lost the diary, Lily Koppel found it in a dumpster in 2003, tracked down 90 year old Florence and wrote this book. It's the single line entries expanded with Florence's stories, and what stories.
One of my favorite documentaries is about women in pre-code movies and it opens, "Between 1929 and 1934, women in American cinema were modern. They took lovers, had babies out of wedlock, got rid of cheating husbands, enjoyed their sexuality, lead unapologetic careers, and, in general, acted the way many think women acted only after 1968." Florence only talked about seeing plays, not movies, but her life was certainly reflected in the movies of the time. She had numerous love affairs with both men and women and delighted in being "the man" of a relationship, floating from woman to woman. She said, as a 90 year old, that such things were fashionable at the time, but based on the responses of the people around her then, it wasn't in her usual circle. Anyway, the author made the time period come alive with her prose and the wonderful pictures, and Frances was a fascinating girl and woman.
]]>On Poop Everything that you ever wanted to know about poop but were to afraid to ask. I don't know why this made me laugh so damned hard.
]]>The Baroque period of music is an era that existed from 1600 to 1750. A Baroque style is a set of styles from European classical music. The music of the Baroque period ranges from a style similar to that of the previous Romantic period, to the style found in the following Classical musical period.
"Misshapen pearl" is the phrase that the original meaning of "baroque" was derived from. This fits into the characterisations on the architecture of this period.
Many famous composers have risen to fame during the Baroque period of music. Well known composers such as the likes of Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach can attribute some or all of their musical style to the Baroque period.
During the Baroque period, the style of music changed. Composers and performers started to used more elaborate musical ornamentation, made changes to the way music was written and created new ways to play the existing musical instruments. All these changes allowed for the rise of opera as a musical genre, and many of the concepts from this period are still in use today.
The term "Baroque" was not conceived until after the Baroque period was over. There is still some disagreement to this day about what the Baroque period encompasses. A few rogue musicologists have argued that the Baroque period should be split into a Baroque period and a Mannerist period so that the periods come in to align with those assigned to the visual arts.
Mary Nicole Hicks is an avid writer and social networking participant. You are free to copy this article under the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ license as long as you link to Mary's latest article about the baroque period at http://www.musicguidebook.com/articles/baroque-period.
]]>Tony Gonzalez was frustrated he could not break the record for most receiving yards by any tight end in NFL history. Gonzalez was three yards shy and was too irritated to speak to reporters following the game. Despite snapping the 12 game losing streak against their bitter rivals who were undefeated, at home, Gonzalez wanted to break the record. He later realized that if the Chiefs were to attempt a pass, then the Chiefs are risking the game as they were in the redzone with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
On CBS before the NFL games, there is an NFL breakdown show called “The NFL Today.” The show consists of several NFL experts who make their predictions and give opinions on current events around the league. One member who is part of the cast is former tight end, Shannon Sharpe. No one ever said Sharpe is a classy person weather it’s on or off the field. Despite the level of class he has, he holds a huge grudge against Tony Gonzalez and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs. The years I’ve been watching the program, I rarely hear him make any positive comments about the Chiefs. He is heavily biased towards the teams he played for. Don’t get me wrong, the other panelists favor their teams as well, but they never come on and bad mouth other teams, and they’re not always biased.
Dan Marino a couple years ago congratulated Peyton Manning on air when Manning broke Marino’s record for most passing touchdowns thrown by any quarterback in NFL history. When Tony Gonzalez broke Shannon Sharpe’s record for most touchdowns by any tight end in NFL history, Sharpe had no positive things to say.
Was he jealous? Was he too upset to congratulate Tony for breaking the record? The fact is Shannon Sharpe cannot accept the fact that Gonzalez is the better player. On “The NFL Today,” before the end of the program, a couple questions are asked and the panelists vote either true or false to the question. One question this past Sunday was, “Is Tony Gonzalez the best tight end in NFL history?” Surprisingly enough, Sharpe voted false and claimed he is the better tight end because he “has the jury” (jewelry, meaning Super Bowl rings.) So if this is the case, then I guess hundreds of tight ends are far more superior because they have a Super Bowl ring while Gonzalez has yet to win a playoff game.
I respect the hell out of Gonzalez because of the fact he chose to stay in Kansas City. He deserves a lot more than this. Despite Gonzalez has never won a playoff game, he has shattered a majority of Shannon Sharpe’s individual records. The better player is not usually determined by who has more Super Bowl rings. Sharpe is trying to hide from the fact that Gonzalez continues to break his records. The fact is Tony Gonzalez is better than Shannon Sharpe not only on the field, but off the field as well. When we hear so many NFL players get arrested, we finally hear a story of a player who saves a mans life, that life savor is Tony Gonzalez, the best tight end in NFL history who will continue to prove Sharpe wrong as he continues to run his mouth and hide from the truth. Sorry Shannon, but when Tony gets his three yards, you will be looking up to him!
]]>
I found archived copies of my homepage going back to 1998.
June 13, 1998
I'm in Japan right now, you may be interested to hear about it. I have it all in my diary, click on the left. It's quite long and probably not so interesting.
My current, newest phone numbers (as of April 1st). Dial 001-81 first in the US, though I am not sure this is correct.
My current, newest address (as of April 1st):
ROSS Elias A-323
Tohoku University International House
Sanjo-machi 19-1
Aoba-ku
Sendai-city
Miyagi-ken 981
My old address:
ROSS EliasFebruary 9, 1999
9-16-3 Kitayama
Aoba-ku
Sendai-city
Miyagi-ken 981
This page is for friends, employers, family, etc. For employers, I have my resume in PS (postscript), PDF (Adobe), and TXT (ASCII) formats. Please feel free to read my pages, though of course the content is personal.
If you're after AniMetal, cut metal art of Japanese animation figures, try here.
I just updated Steel Silhouette's web site. I've been getting compliments on it, also I got a letter from someone who would like to do subcontracting for my web company -- though it's just me who does the site!
I have a few scans of anime drawings here.
Oh, no pictures of myself -- yet. Hey, feel free to use your imagination. I'm tall, skinny, and 21. Brown hair, dark eyes, and a big head. I don't wear glasses, I don't talk about Microsoft, and I don't sit in front of a computer and TV all day like you do. :)
August 31, 2000
I'm Elias and this is my homepage.
You have a homepage, don't you? You must know what these things are like already.
I'm already employed at Software.com.
April 26, 2003
I'm Elias and this is my homepage.
You have a homepage, don't you? You must know what these things are like already.
I'm currently employed at
m-Qube, formally known as
merged as Proteus Mobile.
I work on mobile marketing message delivery.
Dec 15, 2005
I'm Elias and this is my homepage.
I'm currently employed at m-Qube, previously known as Proteus Mobile. I work on mobile marketing message delivery. I'm a system architect now.
I read fewer books than usual this month, but enjoyed them all.
Favorites: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Predictably Irrational. On This Earth takes the visual cake for its breathtaking photography.
I promise you I could not have paid cash-money for a lovelier day to do some outdoor photography.
The Etowah Indian Mounds has always been a place which fascinated us both, and it seems every year right about the start of autumn, Pooky gets a renewed interest in Native American culture and antrhopology. Timing could not have been better, since I've been itching to try out my new camera on something besides cats, my garden, and Pooky.
Here's two of the larger mounds, as one might see if one arrived by canoe on the banks of the Etowah river.
In spite of what people often assume, not all mounds are burial mounds. Archeological evidence indicates that the largest mound was built to occupy the houses the most important members of the village such as the chieftain and his family.
This wattle and daub hut is a modern replica of a typical village dwelling of the Etowah settlement of the time of the mound-builders. The plastic tarpaulin is not typical of the moundbuilder culture.
Here is the frame for the thatched roof. Note the center is left open for smoke to rise. In the middle of the hut's floor there is a hard-baked clay area for a fire pit.
This coming Saturday there is to be a night-time tour of the mounds, and so torches line the paths around the site and the staircases to the tops of the mounds. Sorry for not taking any photos from the tops of any of the mounds, but Pooky was having a bad-knees day and did not want to blow his legs completely out before Saturday night. I PROMISE plenty of interesting pics of that event... barring rain, of course...as IF!
Oh.... and at the Etowah Mounds site, there is a botanical display of flora native to the area at the time of the mound builders.
I have no idea what the one on the right is, but the bee seems to enjoy it. The one on the left is columbine I think. Amazingly, both specimens still look good in spite of the drought. There is also progress underway to restore the grass and trees to purely native specimens.In the past two years or so, all the trees were removed from the mounds and immediate vicinity.
I am totally excited about Saturday now. Two years ago we went to the night-tour and got to watch a real dugout canoe being made as well as hear some wonderfully haunting tales about the mound builders' burial customs.
So..check back then ..if not sooner. :D
]]>As several bloggers have already
pointed out, John McCain's campaign jumped the gun by placing an ad on
the Wall Street Journal's webpage that declared him the winner of
Friday's presidential debate, before it even took place.
This reminded me of when the Chicago Daily Tribune similarly jumped
the gun in the 1948 with its "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline.
We can only hope that the election turns out the same way for McCain as it did for Dewey in 1948.
]]>I was pondering how one might try to introduce American music culture (past and present) to a foreign student living here...here are some I was considering for a "playlist":
first and foremost, I would feature black artists--the most influential contributors to American music:
(the really early guys that I admittedly don't know much about but that pretty much invented music)
Sam Cooke
Barry White
Isaac Hayes (+ blaxploitation)
and then, Sharon Jones,
...and cuz we're talking about Sharon Jones, what the hell, Amy Winehouse, because she's popular
classic rock, because these people really experimented with a formula outside of what was popular before ~1965 (and are tied into several different culture wars):
The Beatles
Beach Boys (+ explain rivalry with The Beatles)
The Doors
Pink Floyd
The Rolling Stones
disco vs. rock rivalry
Queen
Bee Gees
ABBA
AC/DC
the late 70s and 80s, both punk and pop (+ attempt to explain what that was all about):
Sex Pistols
Cyndi Lauper
(the upbeat electronicness that is so 80s-sounding)
foreigners from non-English-speaking countries who "made it" in the US (to any certain extent) (this list could surely be longer):
ABBA
Shonen Knife
Björk
people nowadays-ish that are mostly "indie", but first and foremost, that I like (=P):
Death Cab for Cutie
My Morning Jacket
Minus the Bear
Bat for Lashes
Lily Allen
She & Him
Alan Wilkis
Built to Spill
Ladytron
St. Etienne
Nujabes
Neko Case
Ghostland Observatory
Weezer (old Weezer--good god, the old stuff)
and of course, Belle & Sebastian
modern popular stuff (this would be easy to put together so I'm not even going to list them)
and, perhaps most important, songs that piss people off (this list could surely be longer, too):
"I Got You" by James Brown
"I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry (sp?)
"Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne (all language versions)
any suggestions?