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Click here to play a horse jumping game. Run fast. Jump high.
The photo is from allspice1's Flickr page.
various and assorted miscellany
Albert Finney effectively lends his weight, basso tones and a slight Southern drawl to his man-behind-the-curtain character.
What’s different about the Bourne movies is the degree to which they have been able to replace the pleasures of cinematic violence with those of movie-made kinetics — action, not just blood.
The movie is thunderously exciting, but what makes it resonate is the wrenching story we read on Damon's face. We've waited all summer for a wild ride to grab us with more than jolts. Now it's here. Hang on.
I enjoy the movies simply for what they are: skillful exercises in high-tech effects and stunt work, stringing together one preposterous chase after another, in a collection of world cities with Jason apparently piling up frequent-flier miles between them.
"Ultimatum" is a tribute to Bourne's determination, his driving skills, his intelligence in out-thinking his masters and especially his good luck. No real person would be able to survive what happens to him in this movie, for the obvious reason that they would have been killed very early in "The Bourne Identity" (2002) and never have survived to make "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004). That Matt Damon can make this character more convincing than the Road Runner is a tribute to his talent and dedication. It's not often you find a character you care about even if you don't believe he could exist.
The Singularity. It is the era of the posthuman. Artificial intelligences have surpassed the limits of human intellect. Biotechnological beings have rendered people all but extinct. Molecular nanotechnology runs rampant, replicating and reprogramming at will. Contact with extraterrestrial life grows more imminent with each new day.
Struggling to survive and thrive in this accelerated world are three generations of the Macx clan: Manfred, an entrepreneur dealing in intelligence amplification technology whose mind is divided between his physical environment and the Internet; his daughter, Amber, on the run from her domineering mother, seeking her fortune in the outer system as an indentured astronaut; and Sirhan, Amber's son, who finds his destiny linked to the fate of all of humanity.
For something is systematically dismantling the nine planets of the solar system. Something beyond human comprehension. Something that has no use for biological life in any form...
andStross's latest and greatest statement in post-human science fiction
writing for people who know, understand, and love science fiction
It is fast-paced, slick and thoroughly seductive. If you wanted to make a case for science fiction being a distinct and very different literary form, Accelerando is a book you would have to study. As for the rest of us, we’ll just add it to that list of seminal books that anyone wanting to understand SF has to read.
Film Director Sydney Pollack died Monday of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 73. Pollack was best known for directing The Way We Were, Out of Africa, Tootsie and Three Days of the Condor, among many other movies. But he began his career as an actor.
Best known as a director, he had very few genre credits. As an actor, he appeared in Death Becomes Her (1992) and one episode of The Twilight Zone ("The Trouble with Templeton", 1960). He produced Sliding Doors (1998), and directed an episode of The Fugitive ("Man on a String", 1964).
Yes, I'm asking you: what would you do with the cost of the Iraq war (take your pick: $513Bn or $6000Bn) in your budget? Colonise Mars? Solve our carbon emission problem and fix global warming? House half a billion people? Or something else ...?
(And what isn't going to happen now, because we pissed it all away on the desert sands?)
Kotooshu capped his first Emperor's Cup with a 14th win at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday, beating fellow ozeki Chiyotaikai to end two weeks of drama in Tokyo on a high.
With 13 wins and just one defeat on day 14 of the 15-day tournament, he is now guaranteed victory.
"It's so delightful. I can't find right words to express my feeling," the beaming 25-year-old told reporters.
"I just concentrated on my sumo. That's all."
Kotooshu's two main rivals, Mongolians Hakuho and Asashoryu, put in mediocre performances to stand at 11-3 and 10-4 respectively.
Kotooshu, whose real name is Kaloyan Mahlyanov, said: "I can't believe it. I've let so many chances slip through my hands before". He became the seventh foreign wrestler to win a tournament. The two reigning grand champions are Mongolian.
Kotooshu, from a village near the city of Veliko Tarnovo, was a European champion at Greco-Roman wrestling by the age of 14, and was expected to compete in the 2000 Olympics until he was spotted by his current stable master, Sadogatake, who persuaded him that his bulk was better suited to the sumo ring.
"I have no words to express. I am so happy. I finally did it," said Kotooshu, who took 34 tournaments from his sumo debut to win the Emperor's Cup.
Kotooshu entered the meet with one goal in mind getting a majority of wins to maintain his ozeki status. But the 25-year-old has been on fire, conquering both yokozuna en route to matching his previous best winning streak of 12-0 as a sekiwake at the 2005 autumn basho.
That 18 minute film, With the Marines at Tarawa won the 1945 Oscar for Best Documentary short subject. Two marines in the photographic unit died filming the battle, while Captain Hayward, who was on the beach as well, was awarded the Bronze Star. For me, it seems more appropriate to remember Louis Hayward on Memorial Day, than to watch war films starring actors who chose to stay at home.
... there's still enough of the old magic, and heart, left in to leave no doubt that this was a film that everyone involved really wanted to make for the characters and story, not just for the paycheck. That, among many other virtues, is what elevates Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull above the vast majority of would-be blockbusters this and any other summer.
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very, very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Though some of the intergalactic mayhem may be too intense for very young viewers, this exciting frolic is perfect family fodder with a pleasingly retro feel and a sly wit that ensures grown-ups will be as entertained as their children.
From a Hollywood that often settles for less in the family department, Zathura is a rarity: a stellar fantasy that faces down childhood anxieties with feet-on-the-ground maturity.
And what a boring game it turns out to be once it actually gets started! Zathura spends a ridiculous amount of time at the beginning to establish the fact that the boys hate each other. For nearly 30 minutes, we're subject to non-stop, obnoxious yelling and screaming between Danny and Walter.
1. Help Stop the Asian Turtle Crisis.
2. Get Turtles out of U.S. Live Animal Markets.
3. Don't Pollute or Litter.
4. Protect Turtle and Tortoise Habitat.
5. Stop Turtle and Tortoise Exploitation.
6. Give Them a Brake.
7. Enjoy Turtles and Tortoises in the Wild.
8. Do Not Disturb.
9. Turn Out the Lights.
10. Report Crimes.
11. See What You Can Do.
12. Spread the Word.
1 Asteroid Blues
2 Stray Dog Strut
3 Honky Tonk Women
4 Gateway Shuffle
5 Ballad of Fallen Angels
Cowboy Bebop is an extremely character oriented series that revolves around two bounty hunters, Spike and Jet. Spike is a lanky gunslinger with a dangerous past and some killer martial arts moves. He tends to be rather presumptuous and aggressive, which often lands him in some pretty dangerous situations. Luckily for him, Jet is there to watch his back. Laid-back but tough, Jet is a rough-sounding ex-cop with a bionic arm. He seems to be almost a perennial father-figure to Spike, and is often the more rational of the two. During their adventures in space, they come across a few more companions.
...
The beauty of this series is the way in which it explores its characters. Each character has a fully-developed past which is slowly revealed as the series progresses.
...
There is no other way to describe the production values of Cowboy Bebop: they're just outstanding.
almost guaranteed to be loved by fans of stylish action and sci-fi, as well those into not-too-serious space adventure and way-too-serious space adventure.
Through the use of light and movement, and some brilliant special effects, Murnau attempted to create a visual equivalent of Goethe's literary masterpiece. Murnau's film may not be as great an icon as Goethe's classic, but it is nonetheless a cinematic masterpiece worthy of its filmmaker.Films de France says,
Where the film is most impressive is in its avant-garde cinematography - which by the standards of 1925, when the film was made, was way ahead of its time. Murnau’s technical competence, imagination and willingness to take a gamble and try something different all play a part in defining the film’s unique visual feel. The way in which the film uses image to convey the emotions of its protagonists and the sheer awesome power of the Devil is something which only a few other filmmakers could ever come near to matching. Time and again, the spectator is stunned by Murnau’s artistic genius - and his daring.Roger Ebert considers it a "great movie" and says that
"Faust," with its supernatural vistas of heaven and hell, is particularly distinctive in the way it uses the whole canvas. ... Murnau treated the screen as if it offered a larger space than his contemporaries imagined;5/20/2008 update:
So, here I am at the Festival of Homiletics, which I've determined is "Woodstock for Preachers (absent the free drugs and love - I hope! Uggh - kill me now)."The angel in the last scene of the movie (at about 1:44:30 here) protects the couple in the name of love, even though their love was inspired by carnal desire and corrupted by the Devil and condemned by society and brought them both to their deaths, and calls love
The Word that wings joyfully throughout the universe, The Word that appeases every pain and grief, The Word that expiates all human guilt, the Eternal Word...Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic.
In Diagonal Symphony, the emphasis is on objectively analyzed movement rather than expressiveness on the surface patterning of lines into clearly defined movements, controlled by a mechanical, almost metronomic tempo. ... Above all, a sober quality of rhythm articulation remains the most pronounced quality of the film.
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith.
Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
And the Catholic Faith is this:
That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.
The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate.
The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible,and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.
And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal.
As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.
So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty.
And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God.
And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord.
And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord,
So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion, to say, here be three Gods, or three Lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten.
The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater, or less than another;
But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal.
So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man;
God, of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world;
Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting;
Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his Manhood.
Who although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ;
One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God;
One altogether, not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person.
For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ;
Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works.
And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Though Ghost in the Shell is a departure from the Masamune Shirow story on which it is based, director Mamoru Oshii has constructed a reserved, philosophical movie examining the meaning of the mind and the effects of technology on the soul. It lays out it's intricate political plot on a dark, subdued canvas that implies as much as it explains outright, in a world populated by harsh characters questioning their humanity. Undeniably stunning visuals, with fluid animation and incredibly detailed art, coupled with an abstract but impressive soundtrack round out the picture.
update: We found a boxed set of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex used for a reasonable price, bought it and gradually watched all the episodes. I can't find the blog post I wrote when we finished them, so I thought I'd just make note of it here.
We enjoyed these.
Reviews:
Locus Online
Anime News Network
“In whatever guise — our own daily nightmares of war, intolerance, inhumanity; or the struggles of an Assistant Pig-Keeper against the Lord of Death — the problems are agonizingly familiar,” he said in his Newbery acceptance speech in 1969. “And an openness to compassion, love and mercy is as essential to us here and now as it is to any inhabitant of an imaginary kingdom.”
"Schultze Gets the Blues" rediscovers the world through the astonished eyes of a retired German salt miner on a musical pilgrimage to the United States. As the title character (Horst Krause) ambles around the Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana bayou country, the screen drinks in the sultry, humid atmosphere. Puttering on the local waterways in a battered blue motorboat, using his few words of broken English to communicate, Schultze enjoys a late-life liberation that the movie pushes to the brink of sentimentality.
Beer-bellied and taciturn, he is not the kind of tourist who takes aim at a strange location with a guidebook, camera and language tapes in hand. He is more like a benign visitor from another galaxy who has simply dropped out of the sky.
A cultural outsider with the determination, intuition and insight to move within several artistic and industrial circles simultaneously, Lye's films opened up space for an art of documentary and, alternately, the possibility of an accessible avant-garde. By inventing new ways of making films without a camera, expert knowledge or extensive equipment, he initiated a field of artisanal, self-sufficient screen practice that continues to grow and thrive. Importantly, his innovative modernist films reveal that experimental cinema can be a fun, ecstatic and pleasurable experience, self-rendering a cinema of limited means that is no less valuable.
Happiness was important for Lye – he was essentially a happy person, and he worried that personal and international problems prevented others from sharing his attitude. When he developed his political/philosophical concept of 'Individual Happiness Now' in 1941 at the height of the war, he was hopeful that he could share 'the best in human experience' with others.
Former Democratic White House candidate John Edwards will formally endorse party front-runner Barack Obama on Wednesday, an Obama campaign source told AFP.
Former presidential candidate John Edwards will endorse Barack Obama's Democratic White House bid on Wednesday, a campaign spokeswoman said, giving a big boost to the Illinois senator in his effort to rally the party around his candidacy.
Edwards is scheduled to endorse Obama at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this evening. The move is a blow to New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who, along with Obama, had sought an endorsement from Edwards.
Wednesday's endorsement could help Obama reach out to white blue-collar voters, a demographic that Obama has failed to capture, most notably in the recent Pennsylvania and West Virginia primaries.
Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and that he would do more to fight special interests.
Edwards may have dropped out of the presidential race in the dead of winter. But he will be in the fight by high summer. And come next January, if there is an Obama administration, John Edwards will be in the thick of it.
Edwards' support might at least tone down the level of speculation about Obama's strength or weakness with the white working-class voters who were Edwards' base in this race.
HOLYHEAD, Wales: A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.
And so I saw that God rejoices that he is our Father, and God rejoices that he is our Mother, and God rejoices that he is our true spouse, and that our soul is his beloved wife. (p. 279)
I saw and understood that the high might of the Trinity is our Father, and the deep wisdom of the Trinity is our Mother, and the great love of the Trinity is our Lord; and all these we have in nature and in our substantial creation. (p. 294)
For prayer is a right understanding of that fulness of joy which is to come, with true longing and trust. The savouring or seeing of our bliss, to which we are ordained, by nature makes us to long; true understanding and love, with a sweet recollection in our saviour, by grace makes us to trust. And in these two operations our Lord constantly regards us, for this is our duty, and his goodness cannot assign any less to us than it is our obligation to perform And when we do it, still it will seem to us that is is nothing. And this is true. But let us do what we can, and meekly ask mercy and grace, and everything which is lacking is us we shall find in him. And this is what he means when he says: I am the foundation of your beseeching.
And so in these blessed words with the revelation I saw a complete overcoming of all our weakness and all our doubting fears. (pp. 252-253)