Doom

The Elder Son and I watched Doom tonight while The Husband and The Younger Son were at the University of Memphis Theatre watching Edwin Drood. The Daughter played keyboard in the orchestra for the play.

Doom is First Person Shooter Meets Zombies in Space.

trailer for Doom:

R.I.P. Mike Smith

Mike Smith, lead singer of the Dave Clark Five, has died.

Over and Over:
Dave Clark Five-Over and Over

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Glad All Over:

Dave Clark Five: glad all over (1964)
Uploaded by vinylradio

Obits:

MSNBC
IHT
BBC
Reuters
USAToday
Telegraph
Guardian
NYT


HT: Monkeyfister, who notes that Cheney and Kissinger live on.

Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm

Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm, by Michael Bond, is one of a series by the author of the Paddington Bear books. While the Paddington Bear books are delightful children's books we continue to cherish, the Monsieur Pamplemousse series is not child-friendly. They are culinary mysteries about Monsieur Pamplemousse, a former detective with the Paris Surete who retired under a cloud and became an inspector for a prominent French guidebook. His detective abilities come in handy as he ends up in the strangest circumstances. In this case there is murder, mayhem, WW2 history and nudist beaches. This book is the eighth in the series; I've read the first and the sixth. I get such a kick out of these books and pick them up whenever I come across them.

from the back of the book:

Le Guide's apprentice restaurant rater is quite a dish!

Nevertheless, when Monsieur Pamplemousse is sent on the road with the saucy Elsie, he is not amused-despite the fact that he finds her delectable!

Their destination is the Hotel des Dunes on the Cote d'Argent, and even with the chaperonage of his canine confrere, Pommes Frites, Pamplemousse feels uneasy. Not only is Elsie a tease, but the hotel food is a disgrace, the other guests unappetizing and the owner/chef has vanished. That is, until Pommes Frites digs up a jambon that was never part of any four-legged animal....

Last Call

Last Call, by Tim Powers, won the Locus Fantasy Award and the World Fantasy Award in 1993. This book is fascinating: the Fisher King plays poker with tarot cards against the background of T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland. I loved this book and had a hard time putting it down. It's only loosely connected to Expiration Date, so I had no trouble reading this first in the trilogy after I'd finished the second book. I will look for more by Tim Powers.

Mister Rogers

Today is the anniversary of the death in 2003 of Fred Rogers, and my neighborhood still mourns the loss.

Ladislas Starevich

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1965 of animator Ladislas Starevich, originally Ladislaw Starewicz. His characters are mainly animated insects and animals.

The Cameraman's Revenge (1912):


The Insects' Christmas (1913):


The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922):


The Mascot (1934) in 3 parts:
part 1:

part 2, part 3

ubuweb has more information, as do Senses of Cinema and FilmReference.com. He has a home page here.

America Saves Week

This is America Saves Week, a week devoted to:

increase awareness that people need to save money, reduce debt and build wealth. The primary focus of America Saves Week is to encourage Financial Action – commitments to save, invest and build wealth.

America Saves has resources at the site to help in getting out of debt and saving.

I find it interesting that this is also the week the M-Network bloggers are digging deep into Dave Ramsey's plan. Links to the posts are gathered here.

40 Days of Fasting

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 95

1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

KJV

Edward Elgar

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1934 of English composer Edward Elgar, best known for the Pomp and Circumstance marches and the Enigma Variations.

Here is Elgar conducting Land of Hope and Glory in 1931:


Nimrod from the Enigma Variations:

Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe

Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe (1991) stars Jesse Ventura. There's not much else to say.

You can see the film and judge for yourself here at GoogleVideo.

Moria calls it "superheroics played down at the level of kid’s cartoons".

Unicorn Mountain

Unicorn Mountain by Michael Bishop won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in 1989.

from the back of the book:

Libby Quarrels is a divorced Colorado rancher near bankruptcy; Bo Gavin is an Atlanta adman with AIDS; Sam Coldpony is a Ute Indian with a vengeful past; his daughter, Paisley, is haunted by her dead mother's ghost. Into the lives of these four fragile human beings comes a species of unicorn as beautiful and mysterious as it is vulnerable. The mythical creatures have come from a faraway place to the majestic Colorado mountains for a specific reason: someone has to do something here, in this world, to save them from a deadly plague that could wipe them out once and for all.

Together, these four very different people must face a severe test of courage and humanity as they seek to save these magical beings - and the magic in themselves - from total extinction.

Surprising, compassionate, witty, and true, Unicorn Mountain is a novel of transcendent wonder by one of our most important contemporary authors.

It's currently out of print, but amazon.com has some used copies. This book just feels so dated to me, with an air of deliberate social relevance that sounds, oh, I don't know... a bit forced to me. I'm putting this one aside for now and may get back to it when I'm more in the mood. Or maybe not.

Those Who Hunt the Night

Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly is a vampire novel set in London in the early 1900's. It won the Locus Award for Horror/Dark Fantasy in 1989.

from the back of the book:

The vampires had been living in London since the time of Elizabeth I, but now they were being ruthlessly murdered by someone who ripped their coffins open for the light of day to burn them to ashes.

No vampire could endure the daylight to destroy the murderer. They had to turn to a mortal human for aid.

Thus it was that Professor James Asher, one-time spy, returned home to find his young wife in a strange coma and Simon Ysidro, oldest of the London vampires, waiting for him. Ysidro, although polite, left no doubt of his power to locate his spell on the young woman, wherever she might flee. Asher must agree to find the destroyer of the vampires for them.

But if he found the killer, what must happen to them? What would inevitably be the fate of any mortal human who learned the identities and locations of the vampires? The answer was all too obvious.

Whether he succeeded or failed, it seemed that Professor James Asher was doomed!

This was a quick, easy read. I enjoyed it but won't seek out the sequels. I particularly appreciated the strong female characters (even though the main one had to be rescued by her husband in the end) and also the fact that the horror of the vampires is communicated without undue gore or lurid descriptions.

Obama for President

blog button from The Daily Docket

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 121

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

KJV

Earl Scruggs on etown

On my way home this afternoon I was listening to WEVL and heard Earl Scruggs on etown. Hearing him brought back memories of watching him on TV when I was little.

Coffee at Otherlands

I've been here many times. The coffee is consistently good, and it's a good place to people-watch. But I can't get used to coffee at $2.25. They were packed when I got there at 12:45 this afternoon, and I got a seat at the last available table. I like sitting next to the window. The place had cleared out considerably by the time my friend got there at 1:30. She had a bagle with her coffee. Next time I think I'll try something from their food menu. As long as I'm splurging on expensive coffee...

The photo is from AbbyLadybug's Flickr album.

Nat King Cole

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1965 of singer Nat King Cole.

Unforgettable:

Expiration Date

Expiration Date by Tim Powers won the Locus Award for Horror/Dark Fantasy in 1996. It's a ghost story of sorts, but definitely a non-traditional one. It's the middle book in a loose trilogy taking place in the same universe, but this is the only one I've read. I've been looking for Last Call, the first in the group, for some time but haven't seen it used yet. I read Expiration Date without realizing it was part of a trilogy.

It's not my usual cup of tea, and as I began it I was afraid I'd have trouble enjoying it -child protagonist, ghosts.... But I did enjoy it. I've never read anything quite like it, and that was refreshing. The part towards the end that takes place on the ship put me in mind of Connie Willis' Passage, what with the ghosts and the felt need to get to the upper deck and get off the ship. There wasn't any similarity past that, but it was an odd feeling while I was reading that section.

from the dust jacket:

Powers has created a strange and wonderful Los Angeles in which to set this novel: a city full of ghosts—and full, too, of unpleasant characters who extend their lives and enhance their power by catching and absorbing the ghosts of the recently dead.

Young Koot Parganas is growing up in Los Angeles in the 1990’s, but his parents won’t let him do anything normal. His weirdo parents venerate the spirits of dead Mahatmas. At the age of eleven, Koot has disobeyed his parents, broken into a plaster bust of Dante, stolen the small glass vial concealed inside it, and set in motion events that will change his own life, and everyone else’s.

For trapped in the vial was the preserved ghost of Thomas Alva Edison, and there is no telling what power the possession of that ghost could confer. The exposure of Edison’s ghost lights up a beacon for those who can see such things.

Koot is pursued through the dark underside of the city, aided by allies as strange as his enemies: a bum and his dog; a man concealed by the ghostly mask of Houdini; a psychiatrist-sorceress; and a former television child-star who has been dead for several years, but who is not yet ready to leave his body or abandon his revenge on the woman who murdered his godfather.

Each chapter begins with a Lewis Carroll quotation from Alice or Looking Glass.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is Valentine's Day. History.com has information on the celebration.

Ah, true love!

Wild Over You:



For Scent-imental Reasons:


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The World Has Gone Insane

HT: The Elder Son

Jean Renoir

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1979 of French film director Jean Renoir.

I've seen:

Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)
A Day in the Country (1936)
Grand Illusion (1937)
The River (1951)

There is information about Renoir at Senses of Cinema, Films de France and FilmReference.com.

Takashi Shimura

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1982 of Japanese actor Takashi Shimura, who appeared in numerous Akira Kurosawa films across the decades. I had never seen a Kurosawa film until fairly recently and had never heard of Takashi Shimura, but we have grown into an appreciation of him as we've seen him in some of his varied roles. There's more information on this actor at FilmReference.com.

The photo at the top of the post is of him in his role in Ikiru.

John McCain Video

Remember the Obama video? Well, take a look at the McCain video:



HT: 55-40

Sergei Eisenstein

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1948 of Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein. He directed Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1925), October or Ten Days That Shook the World (1928) and Alexander Nevsky (1938).

I have not yet seen Ivan the Terrible, parts 1 (1944) and 2 (1946/1958), which can be seen here:



and here:


Criterion Contraption has a review.

There is more information on Eisenstein at Senses of Cinema, the World Socialist Web Site and FilmReference.com. A Film Canon has a review and a review of part 2 here.

Twelve Angry Jurors

Twelve Angry Jurors is currently being presented at the Galloway Coffeehouse by Threshold Theatre. The Elder Son is in the play so I'm hardly an unbiased observer, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. It is a small intimate production done "in the round" with a seating capacity of 40 or so, and the action takes place up close and personal. I am a fan of the Henry Fonda film 12 Angry Men and am impressed by how well the story holds up when translated into a modern setting. Maybe I should say I'm saddened by how well the story holds up, since the bigoted attitudes sounds all too believable. The yelling got loud, and I left the theater with a bit of a headache, but then, those were 12 angry jurors. It's an emotionally intense play.

The venue is the Galloway Coffeehouse located in the Galloway United Methodist Church in midtown. I understand the church itself has merged with another church a bit further east, but the building continues to be used by community groups. The space had good parking, seating was comfortable and refreshments during the 15-minute intermission were readily available. My needs are simple.

Ticket info:

Friday, Feb. 8 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb. 9 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2pm
Friday, Feb. 15 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2pm

All performances will be held in the Galloway Coffeehouse, located inside Galloway Methodist Church at the corner of South Cooper and Walker (across from First Congo). On-site parking is available. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the door, or you can make reservations by calling 383-9725. The play lasts 2 hours.

Now, if they could just get an online presence....

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 32

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.

5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.

8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

KJV

1st Sunday in Lent

Matthew 4

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

KJV

The picture at the top of the post is Duccio di Buoninsegna's Temptation on the Mount.

Peanut Butter Never Evolves

therefore evolution is false:



The video also contains additional evidence in support of the Salem Hypothesis.

HT: Christian blogger God Spam ("Religion & absurdity in pop culture & the media"), in this post that also includes 4 other entertaining videos from GodTube. The God Spam post is part of the Evolution Weekend Blog-A-Thon

Evolution Weekend Blog-A-Thon

Exploring Our Matrix is sponsoring an Evolution Weekend Blog-A-Thon. In celebration of the event I've added an "Evolution" label to my sidebar which links to my past posts on the subject, but, alas, I have nothing original to say. It's lots of fun reading what others post on the subject, though.

HT: SFGospel

2/11/2008:

Here are links to all the posts.

Citizen Kane

The Younger Son and The Daughter had never seen this movie. I'm not sure how I let that happen, but we watched Citizen Kane tonight and everyone seemed to like it.

The movie is #1 on the American Film Institute list of 100 best American films. It's on Time.com's list of 100 best films and is listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. PBS has a page devoted to the film here.

There are reviews at Cinepad, FilmReference.com, Cinematical, Edward Copeland on Film, MoMA, and CineScene.

Roger Ebert says:

It is one of the miracles of cinema that in 1941 a first-time director; a cynical, hard-drinking writer; an innovative cinematographer, and a group of New York stage and radio actors were given the keys to a studio and total control, and made a masterpiece. ``Citizen Kane'' is more than a great movie; it is a gathering of all the lessons of the emerging era of sound, just as ``Birth of a Nation'' assembled everything learned at the summit of the silent era, and ``2001'' pointed the way beyond narrative. These peaks stand above all the others.

There is information on Orson Welles at Senses of Cinema, Wikipedia and ReelClassics.

trailer:


9/2/2008:
Only the Cinema looks at the film.

11/7/08:
Ferdy on Films has an article.

A Hard Day's Night

The Younger Son had never seen A Hard Day's Night, and it had been years since The Husband and I had seen it. I still like Help! better, but this was fun.

Can't Buy Me Love from the film:

Cassatt to Wyeth at the Dixon

Cassatt to Wyeth: American Masterworks from the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts was the exhibit I had been wanting to see while The Younger Son was mostly drawn to the Macaulay. I think we both enjoyed them both. The Dixon site introduces the exhibit by saying,

The extraordinary permanent collection of American paintings, works on paper, and sculpture owned by the Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts has made Mt. Vernon, Illinois, one of the most remarkable small towns in the United States. The collection was largely formed in the 1940s through the 1960s by John R. and Eleanor R. Mitchell, a prosperous Mt. Vernon couple, who acquired major examples by Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent, George Bellows, Robert Henri, William Glackens, and others, at a time when American art was underappreciated and much undervalued. Those artists have since proven to be some of the most crucial figures in the development of American culture.

It's not a large exhibit, but there's some interesting variety.

The Younger Son's favorite was The Philosopher, a thoughtful view of the man in earnest conversation with the rabbit:



My favorites were Prendergast's (d.1924) By the Seashore:



and Alice Ravenel Huger Smith's Egrets in a Storm.

The Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts did not provide a catalog, which I wouldn't have bought anyway, but they also provided no postcards. I've had growing difficulty getting postcards at art exhibitions, and I do miss not coming home with a small reminder of one of the paintings.

David Macaulay at the Dixon

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens has an exhibit on David Macaulay called "Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay" that met our every expectation. This is exactly the kind of thing we were hoping for at the Babar exhibit but did not get. That was such a disappointment. "Building Books" does not disappoint! The Dixon site describes the show in part by explaining the breadth of materials included:

The exhibition presents a diverse range of exhibition materials, including over 100 original works of art, studies, sketchbooks, book models, manuscripts and correspondence, artifacts (including hand-built ship models), stuffed specimens, reference materials, travel mementos, and a video documentary about the artist, produced for this exhibition.

More space in devoted to his book Ship (one of our least favorite of his works) than any other single book, but there are samples from Cathedral, Pyramid and Castle, all of which we used with the kids for years and which The Younger Son has kept on his own shelves for some time now. David Macaulay's architectural works are included in many book lists and curricula for homeschoolers, including Laura Berquist's Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum and Susan Wise Bauer's The Well-Trained Mind, which is how we first became aware of them.

There is a video on display which we watched only a short segment of but which includes Mr. Macaulay discussing his work, and there is a display of photos of Macaulay from his early childhood to recent years.

This is the opening minute from what I assume is the same video:



There is a 1-hour video built around the book Cathedral here and a similar video based on City here.

We were unaware of his books that are specifically intended to be children's books, so we learned more about his work today. I appreciated the biographical information. He is scheduled to be at the Dixon for a book-signing, but we will be unable to attend.

The Wikipedia entry on this artist has a link to this exhibit.

R.I.P. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has died.

obits:

The Independent
Times Online
Rolling Stone
Times of India
Reuters:

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian mystic who taught meditation to the West, inspired the anti-materialism of the late sixties and the music of the Beatles, gaining a hold over the era's most influential stars.

Telegraph
The Hindu News Update Service
UPI
BBC
New York Times
Bloomberg
AP

2/7/2008:

AFP:

Surviving ex-Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr paid tribute Thursday to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the band's one-time spiritual advisor, who died this week.

2/9/2008:

The Times of India reports that the cremation will take place on 2/11.

NPR

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day in Lent.

The picture above is from giveawayboy's Flickr page.

The Witching Hour

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice won the Locus Award for Horror/Dark Fantasy in 1991. I waded through this massive work and now I wonder why. I recognized the romance novel aspects early on, but kept thinking it would emphasize the horror/fantasy more. No. Very much a gothic romance to my mind and not to my taste at all. I'm not keeping it, and I'm not reading the sequels.

(sigh)

1038 pages!

Super Tuesday

Go vote! Support the candidate of your choice. Consider Barack Obama.

Karen Carpenter

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1983 of singer/drummer Karen Carpenter.

Close to You:


"Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story" is a 43-minute documentary:

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 99

1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.

2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.

3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.

4 The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.

5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.

6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.

7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.

8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.

9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

KJV

Dreams

Dreams (1990) is an anthology film directed by Akira Kurosawa and is made up of 8 sequences based on dreams the director had at different points in his life.

trailer:

The use of color is one of the most striking aspects of this film.

The New York Times calls it an "astonishingly beautiful, often somber work". Rolling Stone has a short review. Time Out says it's "regrettably embarrassing."

Barack Obama

Yes we can!



I went to his local campaign headquarters today.

Candlemas

Candlemas is the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and is celebrated 40 days after Christmas on February 2.

Luke 2: 22-39

22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

23 (As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

KJV

The picture is from the MetMuseum.

Hans Richter

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1976 of artist and film maker Hans Richter. ArtNet.com has an article with photos of some of his work. DADA Companion also has an article. Weird Wild Realm has reviews of his short films.

All but the last of the following films are quite short. Except where noted they are 2-3 minutes or so in length. The last one is 99 minutes long.

Rhythmus 21 (1921):


Rhythmus 23 (1923):


Filmstudie (1926):


Ghosts Before Breakfast (1927) (about 8 minutes):


Inflation (1928):


Race Symphony (1928) (5 minutes):


Everything Turns Everything Resolves (1929):


Two Pence Magic (1930):


Dreams That Money Can Buy (1947) (99 minutes):

Mary Shelley

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1851 at the age of 53 of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. I have read the book a couple of times, and it is available online here. Edison Studios made a 1910 film short that tells the story well and can be viewed online. It was made into a well-beloved film in 1931, starring Boris Karloff as The Monster.