Sometimes a forceful motivation for others to think can kill all thought process. Gentle teasing should be used at all times while dealing with humans.
Sometimes a forceful motivation for others to think can kill all thought process. Gentle teasing should be used at all times while dealing with humans.
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Herr Lorre was a magnificent actor. His performance in "M" is still top notch. But when he later immigrated to Hollywood he was mostly abused for minor and ridiculous roles (although his act as mad wizard in the "Raven" is pretty adorable). Hollywood was just not ready for deep stories (like "M").
post dedicated to Moira - who is a big Peter Lorre fan
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Even Heroes need support. But not often in our lifes we receive the help of a divine intervention and extra special weapons for the task at hand.
From Wikipedia:
Perseus, or Perseos the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve Olympians in the mainland of Greece. Perseus was the hero who killed Medusa.
After some time, Polydectes fell in love with Danae and desired to remove Perseus from the island. He thereby hatched a plot to send him away in disgrace. Polydectes announced a banquet wherein each guest would be expected to bring him a horse, that he might woo Hippodamia, “tamer of horses”. The fisherman’s protegé had no horse but promised instead to bring the head of Medusa, one of the gorgons, whose very expression turns people to stone. The Medusa was horselike in archaic representations (Kerenyi 1959:48), the terrible filly of a mare—Demeter, the Mother herself— who was in her mare nature when Poseidon assumed stallion form and covered her. The issue of her foaling were the gorgon sisters. Polydectes held Perseus to his rash promise.
For such a heroic quest, a divine helper would be necessary, and for a long time Perseus wandered aimlessly, without hope of ever finding the gorgons or of being able to accomplish his mission should he do so.
According to the iconography of the vase-painters, the gods Hermes and Athena came to his rescue. They did not know the way themselves, being of a younger generation of deities, but they knew ancient ones who would know; they led him to the Graeae, sisters of the gorgons, three perpetually old women with one eye and tooth among them. Perseus snatched the eye at the moment they were blindly passing it from one to another and would not return it until they had given him directions. He also received winged sandals, a magic wallet (kibisis), the cap of Hades that made one invisible, also known as the Cap of Darkness, an adamantine sickle such as the one that reaped the genitals of Uranus, and a mirrored shield. With all this, “Like a wild boar he entered the cave” where he came upon the sleeping gorgons. By viewing Medusa’s reflection in his shield he could safely approach and cut off her head. Seeing her own reflection in the shield, the Gorgon herself was turned to stone. The other two gorgons pursued him, but in his cap of invisibility he escaped.
Norma’s beauty and esprit is so very different from today’s movie stars. I wonder if many of the silent and early stars would ever make it in our modern cult of celebrity? If Paris Hilton can call herself a ‘brand’ then Norma Shearer certainly was a Goddess.
More? Wikipedia
Artist: George Hurrell - thanks Brad
I am just wondering if the Tree of Life is not just a bad joke? It already carries it’s own doom in it’s seed. Nothing is eternal, except our lust for illusions of happiness.
But it takes an awful long time to not write a book!
Douglas Adams
Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden auditorium of his skull.
Rod Serling
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
Cyril Connolly
Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu
How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
Henry David Thoreau
The first draft of anything is always shit.
Ernest Hemmingway
I am a great fan of Nick Parker’s work and all the Wallace & Gromit shorts - their last movie is simply brilliant: charming, wonderful humor, hardly any violence, hardly any sex at all (it’s a British movie - remember) and lovely characters. In essence really entertainment for the whole family.
And I have two new favorite characters: Phillip the bad guys dog and you rabbits. Couldn’t find any good pictures - sorry. So if you are looking for a great comedy watch the movie or rent the DVD. Highly recommended.
Just because you own an official Yoga mat and think that animals should be treated nicely this doesn’t make you a spiritual person. That humble feeling and that cosmic love everybody is talking about comes after selling out your ego, not buying new stuff for it.
This is how we liked to party in Teutonia: some great untouched forest, no parking problems, no disturbing cell phones and no roman neighbors to spoil the fun.
In corporate lifestyle any memo from the middle management is equal to a brain fart. Good thing that all email programs offers a filter and an autodelete function.
Gode Cookery is a website about medieval cooking - and it seems that we homo digitalis can learn a lot from them. Overall there seems a slow but growing counter movement against modern food and the food industry as a health threat (and not just obesity).
I can’t wait till the food industry goes on the offensive to join this trend: McCastle, CokeKnight, BurgerKing … oh … wait a minute …
Who killed the electric car? Please go and visit the website of this upcoming documentation. What an amazing site and what a chilling insight into the workings of car manufacturers and oil magnates. The go and buy a big gun and shot the bastards!
Make also sure to watch the trailer first to get into the story.
No matter where Mr Crab goes - he always is at home. We also carry often a lot of baggage with us, but sometimes our minds won’t rest, feel safe or at home - no matter where we are. Maybe it’s time to work on that mental shell and get rid of it. A human can survive in all ‘nakedness’ - Mr Crab can’t. It’s our advantage - let’s use it to live without fear and burden.
Sometimes the medium, message and the person simply won’t work together.
Again and again in recent years the Muslim world exploded. Once again pride is more important then sanity. Once again people say ‘we have to respect religion’. Once again flags are burned and artists are threatened. Once again the west doesn’t ‘respect’ Islam.
I am sick and tired of this - and I guess this is also a growing feeling here in Europe from what I have read in European news and blogs.
Sure we Europeans have a long and troubled past with the middle east - because of religion and later colonialism. France and Britain have retreated from the region and the Arabs got to run their own countries. But the cold war and oil once again drew in other superpowers and foreigners. The current trouble spots Iran (read about operation Ajax) and Iraq (more about the troubled history) are a result of foreign intervention, especially by the US. It is a big historic joke that the US tries to bring democracy to a region where it’s oil interests kept totalitarian regimes in power for so long.
Another great success of American foreign policy
Overall Europe continued to trade and support these tyrants and bad regimes as well. Nobody protested against Saddam as long as he was in power, nobody really cared in Europe. But we continued to allow exiles into the EU. Especially London and Paris were full of middle east exiles and rich visiting Sheiks as well. Ayatollah Khomeini planned and executed the Iranian revolution from France. Many other radical islamists went to Europe and stayed underground - because their home countries prosecuted for various reason. Over time many Muslim communities sprang up all over Europe: Turks, Kurds, Iranians, Iraqis and many more. Many of them could live here while their home countries were at war. They were allowed to run businesses, build Koran schools and mosques.
Riots of the underprivileged people are nothing new.
Sure there are a lot ’second class citizen’ ghettos in Spain, France, Britain and Germany. But poverty not only hits illegal immigrants, but also second generation Muslims and so called native citizens. The french riots last year showed that integration isn’t perfect, but poverty and lack of jobs is a problem for almost everyone in Europe and not just a ‘tactic’ against Muslims.
Modern Europe was always interested to see the middle east grow and get on it’s feet. Sure, there was always a certain amount of guilt, because of the colonial past. We also tried to forget about the terrible crusades and the long history of wars between Muslims and Christian Europe. Nobody here in Europe would seriously consider to recapture Jerusalem or Istanbul - instead many hope that Turkey will join the EU one day. The EU has supported many peace initiatives, supported for example the Palestinians although they blew up the Olympic Games here in Munich. Europe was always more interested in long term talks, understanding and trade. We called this soft power in contrast to hard military invention - or in current terms old European ‘weaselism’ against the new American century.
European tourism to the middle east before the Age of Enlightenment
But still there is religion and huge amount of anger against Europe or any infidel in the Muslim world. It doesn’t matter if we sent help to Iran or Pakistan after earthquakes or pay for the Palestinian elections (so radical Hamas can win them in a democratic way). For the radicals and uneducated masses any reason is good enough to burn flags (never though I see a Danish flag on fire) and threaten Europe with bombs again.
The attacks in Spain and London are certainly ‘understandable’, because these countries supported the war on Iraq - which a huge amount of Europeans despised and tried to stop. But any ‘understanding’ stopped with murders like against Theo van Gogh or the bombing of tourists.
The current Holy Anger against some old cartoons from Denmark show how Europe and the Middle East have really progressed. Europe has left behind religions fanaticism and developed stable democratic societies - we are currently trying to transcend the nation state. Yes, Europe has progressed better and more since the middle ages then the Middle East.
House of Saud - power, sand and oil - but no democracy in sight.
Yes, you can call me an European cultural snob any day - I would be proud to wear that title! I prefer the rule of law over tribal loyalty. I prefer equal rights over woman in bee keeper suits. I prefer democratic elections over Kings, Sheiks, Mullahs, Royal Families and old hereditary or religious traditions. I prefer a freedom of press and disgusting jokes over Fatwas against Artists and Newspaper Editors - or raging protests against a simple beauty contest (yep, that was in Nigeria - but still the same frame of mind). Give me a corrupt Silvio Berlusconi over a President Ahmadinejad or terror leader like Yassir Arafat.
A ‘mature’ society must be able to cope with different ideas, even insults and threats in a civilized manner. That includes any nation. Burning the Danish flag because one of it’s newspaper published a stupid cartoon is rather strange. Threatening to bomb and kill people over a stupid joke is simply daft.
Kemal Atatürk showed the world that a modern country and Islam can exist side by side.
While Europeans demonstrate against wars in the Middle East and against Terrorism - the people in the Arab world seem more to protest for war and revenge - and support even terrorism. Still many Muslims dream about recreating the old Caliphate. But dreaming such dreams of old empires and conquest are out of date. Hitlers ‘Lebensraum’ idea didn’t work, neither did the communist dream of a united workers planet.
I am sure there are many people in the Middle East and Muslims who only want peace and do not support radical ideas - but it’s about time these people start to show us that they are in control and support a peaceful global society.
Muslims have to give up their conspiracy theories about Europe (and to a certain degree America) and start building their own stable societies and economies. Most of all they have to take responsibility and don’t hide behind your religion to build a better world for everyone. Once Damascus and Baghdad were on top of the world and leading centers of wisdom and enlightenment, highly tolerant and global trade powers. My dear Muslims, if you want that to happen again, then start to teach your kids, build up your economies and use your brains instead of guns and explosives.
*repost from 2006*
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Such images give me the shivers - a mixtures of oneness with the universe and pride that some of my tax money is well spent*.
*actually in this case that of my American friends. The image is from NASA.
Usually I HATE linking ‘funny pictures’ - but this series of dental shots is simply awesome and a great idea. I like the attitude and mind behind this concept …
Enjoy killroyfromwebmasterworld.com!!!
I lived on the Moon is amazing piece of art. Beautifully animated with charming characters and a great song to surf along with the great imagination of Yannick Puig.
Can we give him an Oscar for this one?
I just love this: this shirt literally shows you the good vibes around you - actually the strength of a nearby WiFi connection. God bless modern geeky consumerism. Another great gimmick from ThinkGeek.
Forget all your trashy New Age CD, filled with terribly harmonious synthesizer rap. Dive into Overtone singing - especially by the great Maestro David Hykes.
Click player and below to get some Overtone:
Overtone music is hardly new: Tibetan monks do it, Mongolian throat singers do it as well - Yodelling actually is using some similar techniques. Gregorian chants sound similar, but don’t create that eerie and fascinating ‘deep sound’.
If you want to meditate, fall asleep or totally relax there is hardly anything more soothing (apart from singing whales).
Some spiritual disciplines are so focused on transcending everything that they can’t appreciate the silly side of life any more. If you can’t laugh no more, you are already dead and have to be reborn as a sitcom character. Laughter is good for the soul and an excellent tool to overcome fear.
A great director, a great movie and an even greater historical figure behind this story. Ah, they don’t make movies like that anymore (and don’t you dare to recommend that ‘300′ violence porn to me).
More? YouTube - Trailer, Arena Fight scene and Battle scene.
Don’t try to be a Saint, try to be a proper Human first. Have you already developed your full potential?
I love LEGO! Every time I visit someone with kids I try to build something with it. I don’t like the modern LEGO stuff with figures and special parts that won’t fit together with everything else. The best thing Denmark developed apart from depressed princelings.
More? Wikipedia entry
