Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Downfall - Final Rage & Tirade of a Dictator

 


Dictator Commits Suicide by Gunshot to Head - April 30, 1945

Unconditional Surrender of Third Reich - May 8, 1945 (V-E Day)

Unconditional Surrender of Japan - Aug. 15, 1945 (V-J Day)


History

[edit]
Crowds gathering in celebration at Piccadilly Circus, London during VE Day on 8 May 1945
Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signing the final surrender terms on 8 May 1945 in Berlin
Final positions of the Allied armies, May 1945
United States military policemen reading about the German surrender in the newspaper Stars and Stripes

Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, had committed suicide on 30 April during the Battle of Berlin, and Germany's surrender was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz. The administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of military surrender was first signed at 02:41 on 7 May in SHAEF HQ at Reims,[2] and a slightly modified document, considered the definitive German Instrument of Surrender, was signed on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin at 22:43 local time.

The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 23.01 hours Central European time on 8 May 1945...

Upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the Western world, especially in the United Kingdom, in North America and in USSR. More than one million people celebrated in the streets throughout the UK to mark the end of the European part of the war. In London, crowds massed in Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by their daughters and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the palace before the cheering crowds. Churchill went from the palace to Whitehall, where he addressed another large crowd:[3]

God bless you all. This is your victory. In our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best.

Celebrations in London on 8 May 1945
Celebrations in Toronto on 8 May 1945

Churchill asked Ernest Bevin to come forward and share the applause. Bevin said, "No, Winston, this is your day", and proceeded to conduct the people in the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".[3] Later, Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.[4] The 2015 film A Royal Night Out was inspired by Elizabeth and Margaret mingling with the public that night.[citation needed]

In the United States, the event coincided with President Harry S. Truman's 61st birthday.[5] He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a month earlier, on 12 April.[6] Flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period.[7][8] Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelt's memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his only wish was "that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day".[6] Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday.[5] Great celebrations took place in many American cities, especially in New York's Times Square.[9]

Tempering the jubilation somewhat, both Churchill and Truman pointed out that the war against Japan had not yet been won. In his radio broadcast at 15:00 on 8 May, Churchill told the British people, "We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing (as Japan) remains unsubdued".[10][11] In America, Truman broadcast at 09:00 and said it was "a victory only half won".[12]

On the same day in 1945, Muslims in French Algeria celebrating the end of the war (of which some were also peacefully protesting for independence) became the targets of violence and massacres by colonial authorities and pied-noir settler militias, which would last until 26 June 1945.[13][14][15] While details of the killings were largely overlooked in metropolitan France, the impact on the Algerian Muslim population was traumatic, especially on the large numbers of Muslim soldiers in the French Army who were then returning from the war in Europe.[16] Nine years later, the Algerian War began, leading to independence from France in March 1962.[17] In February 2005, Hubert Colin de Verdière, France's ambassador to Algeria, formally apologized for the massacre, calling it an "inexcusable tragedy".[18][19]





Wednesday, November 06, 2024

Post-Election Woes!!!



courtesy of Mike McCabe


Unable to rap my head around Americans choosing a buffoon over a qualified candidate to run our country as President, I searched out explanations online. After reading some disheartening suggestions, I gave up looking. However, during my search I did find an article that pretty much summed up my thoughts, feelings, and some of my conclusions about why him and not her, and why now and not 2020.

San Francisco Gate columnist Drew Magary has written a Morning-After piece which I believe all Americans looking for answers to this Presidential election should read. It's titled "Democracy died in plain sight."

Instead of blaming any one thing, he highlights just about everything that sticks out about Americans "putting this deranged asshole in charge again." It is one hell of an indictment of Americans as a people who pride themselves on living in a democracy yet chose one of the most undemocratic of former presidents to lead the country again. 

Oh well, an American majority asked for it and I suppose it'll get what it voted for. "Thank you sir may I have another!"


Democracy died in plain sight


Donald Trump was elected president again last night. After being voted out of office in 2020. After trying to rig the vote and then to overthrow the government by force in the wake of that loss. After all but welcoming a pandemic that ended up killing more than a million of us. After ripping away abortion care rights from millions of American women. After being impeached, twice. After being convicted of multiple felonies. After dogging it on the campaign trail, playing to emptying halls while speaking in demented tongues unknown even to him. After all of that, and God knows what else, we have to do this s—t all over again.

Cont'd . . . .



 

Sunday, November 03, 2024

Haile Selassie United Nations Speech - Oct. 4, 1963

 


On October 4, 1963, Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. In his speech, Selassie discussed a range of topics, including: 
  • The United Nations
    Selassie praised the United Nations for its actions in places like Palestine, Korea, Suez, and the Congo, and noted that it had provided a basis for hope for the future. 
  • Nuclear testing
    Selassie supported the atmospheric nuclear test ban treaty, but noted that nations could still develop weapons of mass destruction through underground testing. 
  • Racial discrimination
    Selassie praised the Kennedy administration's efforts to eradicate racial discrimination in the United States. 
  • Africa
    Selassie spoke about the importance of giving smaller nations a voice in world affairs, and of ensuring that Africa's struggle for equality was reflected in the United Nations. 
  • Peace
    Selassie emphasized that peace required the united efforts of all, and that the rights of the least should be protected as much as those of the greatest. 
  • Equality of representation
    Selassie argued that equality of representation was essential to the United Nations, and that the hungry, naked, and ignorant should be provided for. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Haile_Selassie_in_full_dress.jpg
Selassie also presented an ivory replica of the obelisk at Axum, Ethiopia, to the United Nations Headquarters, and deposited the Charter of the Organization of African Unity with the Secretary-General. 
Some of Selassie's words were immortalized in Bob Marley's song "War".

Generative AI is experimental. 



Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie, who once addressed and warned the League of Nations (precursor to UN) of Italy's (Mussolini) attack on his nation, "It is us today, it will be you tomorrow." Three years later, September 1, 1939, Germany under Adolph Hitler invaded Poland, sparking World War II. 

And so, the prophesy of a wise and dignified African nation leader, whose warning and pleas for assistance against fascist Mussolini went unheeded by European leaders, came to fruition. The resulting war cost an estimated 35-60 million lives lost worldwide, majority being civilians. 



Monument to the Fallen of Dogali – Rome, Italy - Atlas Obscura

Dogali Victory: Symbol Of Supreme African Patriotism Or Servility?

RaiderLegend: The Ethiopian Mercury

Fox Movietone 1935 News Footage - Ethiopia Prays for Peace while Preparing for War



Friday, November 01, 2024

The Forge - Watch Faith & Fellowship Take Hold



Wow, what a movie "The Forge" is. Seeing how faith and fellowship can heal and reposition lives is always amazing. But this movie goes beyond preaching to the choir. Its focus is a young man who like many young men, want to be respected as a man without knowing what it really takes to be a man. What this young man had going for him is his willingness to finally listen. He listens to his momma's frustrations with him, and he listens to a advice from a man who would later become his mentor. Then he makes a choice and begins to act on it.

We were all young once and couldn't wait to step out and make our mark in the world. Many of us stepped out with arrogance and false pride, thinking we had all the smarts and answers to conquer the world while avoiding its pitfalls. Then life happens, and hopefully it humbled us just enough to allow ourselves to be helped and guided by others. We learn through fellowship the blessings and miracles of prayer and love. 

The characters in the film demonstrate the strength and beauty that comes with turning one's life over to God.  

What touched me in the movie as a parent is seeing a parent's love, patience, and prayers while waiting for their child to step toward God and receive blessings. Blessings not for the parent's sake, but for the child. I don't think there's any prouder moment for a parent than seeing their child embrace God. To know that your child has learned reverence for a supreme spiritual being, putting trust in God to guide and protect him/her as they walk the righteous path of faith is a parental blessing almost unequaled. Especially for parents who have gone through the fires and frustrations of teenage upbringing.

“The Forge,” is also very much about mentorship. It reminds us older men, Christian and all, of our duty to engage and help steer younger men toward becoming fully responsible and respectful men in our communities and the world. And with faith in God as a foundation for moral and spiritual growth. Because whether they know it or not, they are shaping the future of our world by the choices they make today. 

"With God, all things are possible" - Matt.19:26, Mark 10:27

“Many a Mickle can make a Muckle” Scottish proverb
(many little things added together can make a big thing)

With God All Things Are Possible | The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel

The Discipline of Discipleship - C.S. Lewis Institute



Friday, October 25, 2024

Amazon Book & Movie Reviews - Dec. 05, 2013

Reviews Written by
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The Snake Pit
The Snake Pit
by Mary Jane Ward
Edition: Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
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4.0 out of 5 stars Carnival of Lost Souls, April 14, 2012
This review is from: The Snake Pit (Paperback)
Going down into the Snake Pit with Virginia Cunningham, an amateur novelist with plenty imagination, is an exercise in being trapped. The events that take place and the people encountered drive Virginia sideways, backwards and diagonal before allowing her any forward progress. The writing gives the feel of participation, as if you the reader are a patient inside the mental institution with Virginia. You experience her feelings of agitation, vulnerableness and instability. Snake Pit is not a feel good book as the voices both real and imagined get into your head.

The Snake Pit is an exercise in finding one's way out of a dark place full nightmarish treatments and untrustworthy fellow passengers. The fear, uncertainty and longing to get out and return home to normalcy with a loving spouse, away from the institution's carnival of lost souls, starts to become a distant, hopeless fantasy. V. Cunningham, the patient, holds the key to not only her release but yours. The closer she gets to unlocking the door, the more fearful she becomes of pleasing her husband and the world outside. Meanwhile, you the reader are ready to leave immediately upon arrival. Like I said, not a feel good story, but one that's very unique in its telling and hard to stay away from. Because of the difficulty and confusion in reading the early parts where Virginia is not sure where or who she is, it takes extra effort on the reader's part to stick with her through the disoriented episodes.

After reading Snake Pit I agree with this statement in the book:

You wanted to get well. You never had a conscious moment in which you were not aware of being sick. You could no more, while conscious, forget your sickness than you could forget to breathe. Asked your greatest wish in life you would have replied at once - sanity. While people in the outside world longed to be millionaires, movie actors, club presidents and even novelists, nowhere, but nowhere save in a madhouse, did mental health get its share of prayers.

"Long ago they lowered insane persons into snake pits;
they thought that an experience that might drive a
sane person out of his wits might send an insane
person back into sanity."

The Way
The Way
by Kristen Wolf
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $16.50
Availability: In Stock
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Shepherd's Secret, April 2, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Way (Hardcover)
Such a thought-provoking book by a gifted story teller. I enjoyed this book primarily because I've often thought of the nourishing strength women possess as being in tune with God's life-giving blessing. The story is told in such convincing style that anyone who's ever had such thoughts will be mesmerized by it.

Some might mistake the simplistic writing style as below their level of reading, but I beg you to see the forest beyond the trees. There's a whole new landscape waiting for your discovery if you step away from yourself and journey onward without pride or prejudice.

I consider the story a bible unto itself. It has all the teachings of Christianity told from a different perspective. Truth and wisdom shine throughout this book; however, those focused only on one path "Way" might miss the directions for discovering the hidden treasure.

One thing is certain for any reader of this unique story; upon finishing "The Way" he/she will never view Jesus in quite the same way. Author Kristen Wolf has honored Christianity, Women and Jesus teachings all in one breadth. For that Kristen I congratulate you and I thank you. I too was born of a strong and courageous woman, in tune with God's blessings here on earth. And as a boy I crushed butterflies before being taught their miraculous magical existence and my cowardly destructive acts. Mother saw to that.

I'm proud to say I purchased this book as a gift for my mother-in-law. She is also a teacher of "The Way."

The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm
DVD ~ Albert Finney
Offered by MightySilver
Price: $8.73
Availability: In Stock
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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Performances, March 20, 2012
This review is from: The Gathering Storm (DVD)
I enjoyed The Gathering Storm for it's depiction of Winston Churchill the man. You're shown the leader in all his arrogance and vulnerableness. To see him in the comforts of his scenic countryside home with his loyal wife and household staff gives proof to the saying that behind every great man is a strong woman. This is as much Clementine Churchill's story as it is Winston's, though her role is downplayed. He being a renaissance man was a perfect match to her stoic stand-by-your man mentality. Without Clemmie I shudder to think that Winston Churchill could ever have found the courage to stand by his principals and lead England in it's darkest hour. Excellent movie! It could have been longer.

One World Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism
One World Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism
by William Greider
Edition: Paperback
Price: $15.31
Availability: In Stock
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5.0 out of 5 stars Unintelligent Economic Design, March 20, 2012
(Imagine A Wondrous new machine, strong and supple, a machine that reaps as it destroys. It is huge and mobile, something like the machines of modern agriculture but vastly more complicated and powerful. Think of this awesome machine running over open terrain and ignoring familiar boundaries. It plows across fields and fencerows with a fierce momentum that is exhilarating to behold and also frightening. As it goes, the machine throws off enormous mows of wealth and bounty while it leaves behind great furrows of wreckage.

Now imagine that there are skillful hands on board, but no one is at the wheel. In fact, this machine has no wheel nor any internal governor to control the speed and direction. It is sustained by its own forward motion, guided mainly by its own appetites. And it is accelerating.

The Machine is the subject of this book: modern capitalism driven by the imperatives of global industrial revolution.)

Above are the first paragraphs in chapter one titled "The Storm Upon Us." The imagined scenario the author gave us in 1997 is easily imaginable today simply because just about every being on the planet has been affected one way or another by "the machine."

I immediately thought of the first Terminator movie (1984) after reading some of this book. You remember don't you -

Kyle Reese: Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

A prophetic book that probably makes more sense to us today than it did when first written fifteen years ago. Unless of course you were one of those skillful hands on board reaping the wealth and bounty of the machine's mows without a care for the global future. For you I give the book's last paragraph:

(When this god fails, as I think it must, people around the world may at last be free to see things more clearly again, and to reclaim responsibility for their own lives and begin organizing the future in its more promising terms.)

Mao's Last Dancer
Mao's Last Dancer
DVD ~ Bruce Greenwood
Price: $14.99
Availability: In Stock
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5.0 out of 5 stars Rises Above Being Just Another Movie About Ballet, March 16, 2012
This review is from: Mao's Last Dancer (DVD)
Bravo! Bravo! The art of dancing mixed with the revolutions of life. The story, the music and the performance is enough to spoil any moviegoer. I'm sure others have commented on the beauty of this passionate movie. I just finished watching "Mao's Last Dancer" and feel as if I'd just watched an opera.

A true story set in an all too real era. For all the attention and awards given "Black Swan," this movie triumphed over it in leaps and bounds. A very good movie that gives the novice ballet admirer something to relate to and appreciate in dance. The power of dance can definitely unite peoples and possibly nations. Bravo!

10,000 Black Men Named George
10,000 Black Men Named George
DVD ~ Andre Braugher
Offered by MightySilver
Price: $12.73
Availability: In Stock
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5.0 out of 5 stars Getting Justice For All, March 13, 2012
An incredibly well acted true to life historical event telling the struggles of the first predominantly black labor union granted in America. Led by A. Philip Randolph, who would later become a legendary figure for civil and labor rights, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters would endure hardship and opposition to become a recognized union in 1937.

This Showtime Presentation is a must see for today's dwindling labor force in the United States. It's a throwback to a time in our country when big business caused an economic depression and a new President with new ideas helped energize the country back to work. Sound sort of familiar?

The sleeping car porters began their struggle during a time of excessive corporate profits and greed. They managed to continue to organize and fight for fair employment after the historic stock market crash of 1929 and the great depression that followed. Remember, this was considered one of the better jobs available to young black men. Imagine some of the other jobs and the treatment blacks had to tolerate.

The 1930's saw many unions challenge big business, but this was the first black led organization that would eventually receive the backing of the American Federation of Labor union (AFL). The AFL at the time was the largest union grouping in the United States, and I assume it was predominantly white.

Who knew that this early stroke of success for labor and equal rights would someday lead to a great man in 1963 making a stunning speech about a dream he had, in front of millions in Washington D.C.? Not surprisingly, A Philip Randolph was one of the men who proposed that march on Washington in 1941 and was there to head the march in 1963 with Martin Luther King, jr.
The Final Four
The Final Four
by Paul Volponi
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $11.55
Availability: In Stock
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fast, Furious and For Real Story, March 7, 2012
This review is from: The Final Four (Hardcover)
Excellent book and very exciting read Mr. Volponi. The story works on so many levels that anyone should feel at home in between its pages. It's not only a book for young adults, as I, an older battle scarred warrior, gained much pleasure and insight from the story.

All the excitement of watching a classic basketball tournament game is injected into this story. You'll catch yourself cheering for or against a team or player as if you've placed a bet down in Vegas. Though the primary focus is on four of the young players and their challenges on and off the basketball court, it's the inspiring people who've touched their lives that make this story go. If it were a movie the Oscar for supporting actor would be split between the two head coaches.

The pace of the story is not unlike a basketball game full of intense drama; up tempo fast breaks, slowed down game planning, exciting offense, pressuring defense and a heart pounding climax. Very creative idea using the historic Trojans vs Spartans battle as a theme for the competitors and their showdown. While one team must win and the other has their tournament bubble burst, the life lessons learned from a team experience is worth more than any trophy. Who, besides those playing the game, knew that basketball is a game of communication? Author Paul Volponi does!

I suppose the release date of this book was meant to coincide with the college March Madness schedule. It sure works for me as I will be tuned in to hopefully see yet another Cinderella team make a run at the championship.

5+ Stars

"I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed." Michael Jordan

Triumph of the Spirit
Triumph of the Spirit
VHS
Offered by mary4376
Price: $14.99
Availability: In Stock
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4.0 out of 5 stars Triumphant Casting, March 6, 2012
This review is from: Triumph of the Spirit (VHS Tape)
Enjoyed this movie very much. The concentration camp situation has been seen in film many times (The Grey Zone), but this movie throws in the "boxing for survival" piece, and thanks to Willem Dafoe's incredible acting the movie becomes distinctive. With boxing being more a sport of survival than one of competition, I thought the story a perfect metaphor for the overall jewish holocaust survivors. Not only does a boxer fight against a crafty and often cruel opponent, but he must fight the urge of his own body and soul crying out to him to quit and give up the fight.

Triumph of the Spirit strips back the flesh to reveal that crying soul doing whatever he or she has to in a situation where only the strong and enduring survive.

Great performances by veteran actors Edward James Olmos and Robert Loggia. There are hidden moments in this film where the all-seeing human spirit is silently captured in the eye contact between the actors. It is in these exchanges that I felt the truest impact and challenge the holocaust had on these victims and their oppressors. Faith, hope and compassion have taken a holiday off and left humanity with its primal instincts of survival.

The End of It
The End of It
by Mitchell Goodman
Edition: Hardcover
Availability: Currently unavailable
7 used & new from $6.52

3.0 out of 5 stars Reveals the Beauty of Italy and the Ugliness of War, February 23, 2012
This review is from: The End of It (Hardcover)
I enjoyed the writing in this novel in spurts. Sometimes the places and situations Lt. Freeman shares has a poetic ring to it while at other times it seems to bog down in repetitious sarcasms about war. The parts with soldier Bowen preaching christrian doctrine also seemed to bog down the story.

The book reads more as a world war II memoir than a novel. The descriptions of Italy with it's mountainous landscape and villages are very realistic and picturesque. Overall not a bad read, but I was expecting more of a war story and less of a artillery lieutenant's relationship with his men and their big guns. The opening paragraphs describing the troopship full of young green soldiers shipping out from New York harbor and being greeted by the violent hurling of the Mid-Atlantic sea is captivating.

What this book does do well, besides giving an ugly snapshot of war and it's corpses, is to show the difference in the native soldier fighting for his country's freedom versus an invading or occupying army fighting for profits. In war all soldiers are killing for a cause, but there are some who kill with the thought of protecting their families from evil.
(1961 Horizon Press edition)

3.5 stars

pg.54 from both sides of the line artillery fire kept the war going - chewing roads, eating villages, biting men in half

pg.131 one thousand guns.(One of these guns can deafen a man, two of them can drive him insane)

pg.200 at first you do not know how to kill, but you learn. (18 year old italian girl partisan/rebel)

Night at the Golden Eagle
Night at the Golden Eagle
DVD ~ Vinny Argiro
Price: $9.99
Availability: In Stock
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4.0 out of 5 stars Mickey, You All Right?, February 15, 2012
This review is from: Night at the Golden Eagle (DVD)
A very dark and gritty slice of cinema. Loved it! Has the flavor and feel of one of my favorite B movie dark comedy's, "Just Your Luck."

The dialogue between the authentically accented oldtime crooks is enough to earn "Night at the Golden Eagle" an audio sound award. It moves at a decent pace and smoothly shifts viewer attention from one dark character to the next. It's a movie that begs you to look between the lines to see the humanity in a hellacious hotel.

I took away one star for the darkness of my VHS copy. I'm sure it was meant to be dark to give it that desolate, rockbottom, end of the road feel, but a few times I wanted to see more. Felt like I was viewing an underexposed photograph. Great camera work, questionable lighting.

This movie should come with a warning. The realness of seeing the "in your face" seedier side of life can be hazardous to a sheltered upbringing. This is not your primetime Reality TV show. How can it be with Ron Jeremy and Kitten Nativdad making appearances.
Character
Character
DVD ~ Pavlik Jansen op de Haar
Price: $22.49
Availability: In Stock
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars What's Not To Like About This Film?, February 9, 2012
This review is from: Character (DVD)
The flawed characters give this mysterious movie its brilliant flavor. A silent mother, a cold, unfeeling father and a son trying desperately to win their love and approval. The movie "Character" marches its viewing audience along a grief stricken, no thrills scenic route. The booming musical score gives the feeling of a quickening downhill death march where you know you must soon face the powerful enemy, to the death. But what if the enemy is you?

It's a movie that captures your attention with a questionable circumstance, then whisks you along toward the climaxing conclusion that may hold the answers. It thrives on unfulfiilled ambitions, desires, loves and needs. The lead actors play their roles to perfection, but I must point out two of the supporting cast members who bring out the flavor of the story with their unique seasonings. Look for Lorna and De Gankelaar to add a few dashes of colorful spice to what might otherwise be a bland and tiresome stew. Though the main struggle appears to be between father and son, you can't help but see the struggles many characters have with themselves and their choices. I highly recommend this epic foreign language movie.

It's Good to be Black (Arcturus paperbacks ; AB133)
It's Good to be Black (Arcturus paperbacks ; AB133)
by Ruby Berkley Goodwin
Edition: Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
13 used & new from $9.89

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Is Powerful, February 8, 2012
Why is Black so powerful? Because it endures hardship and can thrive when placed in rich, nourishing soil to grow freely. Author Ruby Berkley Goodwin has written a wonderful book of stories not only about the black community, but also European immigrants finding a place alongside working blacks in America.

The connected stories make for a wonderful and enlightening look at the black family values that have been passed down through generations to this early twentieth century family of Braxton Berkley, the author's proud and powerful father. The blessing of having the racially tolerant small mining town of DuQuoin, Illinois as their home gives the place a sense of protection and security from the racially prejudiced world outside DuQuoin. The racially mixed town of miners were more skeptical toward non-miners than they were toward any foreigner or race.

So much of Ruby's story carries what I believe are the roots of many an African-Americans' family history today, myself included. I found so many of the folktales, characters, sayings and situations as things and people I'd either heard of or actually experienced while growing up in a black community in the north populated with black families with roots in the south.

This book is a reminder to everyone that black communities full of good black men have existed before, during and after slavery and continue to exist till this day. It has survived terrorism, urban relocations, crime and drug infestations that a people of lesser strength (physical, spiritual & psychological) might perish from. And as long as black people know it is a privilege and not a pity to be born black, they'll continue to be the wise, loving and forgiving people showing others that with God all is possible.

I hope to give a copy of this book as a gift to my aunt. She remembers!

Interesting the author had an acting career playing mostly maids. Here's a very telling article I found from the 1953 Jet magazine publication:

Jet Magazine
Week of April 16, 1953

Mrs. Ruby Goodwin, former secretary to the late Hattie McDaniel and actress Ethel Waters, has written a book based on the life of her miner father in the southern Illinois coal fields. A Los Angeles housewife and mother of five, Mrs. Goodwin tentatively named her book "It's Fun To Be Black," but Doubleday and company, her publishers, said the title was "too undignified." They may change it to "I Looked Over Jordan." The book is scheduled for release in October.

The Taker
The Taker
by Alma Katsu
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $15.62
Availability: In Stock
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Chronicle of Love & Hate, January 28, 2012
This review is from: The Taker (Hardcover)
What a story. The plot, the people and the writing are all worthy of a standing ovation. I liked "The Taker," and I'd like to thank author Alma Katsu for such a fresh, fearful and furious journey she provides. I came out of my comfort zone to enjoy this story.

I believe that this author had personal insight into suffering to have written so ferociously with revenge and so passionately with love. Alma Katsu maintained a level style of writing while altering my emotions with each revealing sentence. I was hungering for what would happen next.

I welcomed Lanny and Luke's present day activities. The past and present stories interrelate well with one another. This really is a story of humanity's attempt to overcome the temptations of evil.

One of the most evil monsters of men I've come across in my reading is found within these pages. I liked this book of fiction better than any I've read in some time. It really captured my imagination and gracefully carted me to places I may never have ventured. So many cycles of life and death in relationships, as well as, in one's self. I'm still clapping loudly!

"How we hated ourselves, each in our own way!"

"The devil's hand is there, surely."

note: I revised my review in order to give readers more insight into why I liked it so much. It's deserving of a 5 star review.

The Wandering Falcon
The Wandering Falcon
by Jamil Ahmad
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $13.98
Availability: In Stock
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2.0 out of 5 stars Wandering, January 26, 2012
This review is from: The Wandering Falcon (Hardcover)
I wanted to like this book, but found myself caring less and less for the stories being told. Just as I got a taste for one story, a new story would begin and so would my task of understanding who was talking, how they fit in to the last story if at all and why should I continue reading. So I closed the book and put it in my donations stack, hoping that some wandering soul will find in it what I was either too impatient or too distracted to discover. After reading all the positive reviews here on Amazon, I'm convinced It must be me and not the book.

A Man Escaped
A Man Escaped
DVD ~ François Leterrier
Availability: Currently unavailable
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Escape With Mozart, January 25, 2012
This review is from: A Man Escaped (DVD)
"A Man Escaped" is the type of movie that needs little dialogue. For it is the tension in carrying out the plan that holds a viewer spellbound. With Mozart's Great Mass in C minor accompanying scenes, you feel as if your watching a masterpiece. The score really sets the tone in the opening scene.

Take away all the disturbing events and occurrences that mormally go into a prison movie. Instead, have the events take place mostly in the narrating mind of one prisoner bent on escape. This is "A Man Escaped." The film features a cool, calculated and courageous man using ingenuity and determination to escape from a nazi prison in occupied France. As you watch this man struggle with himself through the emotional ups and downs of attempting to beat death, you find yourself sharing everything he feels along the journey; distrust, hope, fear, defiance, despair, comraderie, hesitation, determination.

It is the stillness and silence this movie depicts that gives it strength and courage. I liked it a lot.

Great review excerpt from IMDB:
Narrative stripped down of all melodramatic trappings, the film manages to reveal a larger truth about man's struggle against unknowable odds, his struggle with himself, and his resolve to move forward. A couple of the side-characters are from the church, or pastors, which give the ongoing conversations in the common areas an added resonance to "grace" and a possibility of transcendental deliverance. Even though the lead character doesn't seem to truck much with religious faith.

He has his own - in his resolve to escape.

The Highwaymen Florida's Outsider Artists [VHS]
The Highwaymen Florida's Outsider Artists [VHS]
VHS
Availability: Currently unavailable
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4.0 out of 5 stars Imitation is the highest form of flattery, January 17, 2012
Treat yourself to a little known slice of Americana Art and history. "The Highwaymen" is a fascinating documentary about an impressionistic style of art that blossomed from a famed white artist across economic and racial barriers to define a group of African-American painters out of the small central Florida town of Fort Pierce.

This true story entertains you with its accumulation of historical facts coming from the mouths of the men and one woman who survive to tell the Highwaymen painter's tale. They took their mostly landscape painting style from Albert E. "Bean" Bachus, a white Fort Pierce artist famous for his floral landscapes and palette knife painting. I feel so lucky to own a copy of this documentary narrated by news weatherman Spencer Christian. So much makes up their story that It's a wonder anyone was able to put together the pieces and tell it so accurately.

Their story is amazing from beginning to end, but what makes this a keeper is seeing the many pieces of Highwaymen paintings collected, preserved, and honored as creative pieces of American art. Thanks go out to Mr. Jack Hambrick who did the research and writing that led to this production.

Center Stage (Remastered) Director's Cut DVD
Center Stage (Remastered) Director's Cut DVD
DVD ~ Maggie Cheung
Availability: Currently unavailable
5 used & new from $15.99

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must See, January 13, 2012
"Center Stage," the true story of Chinese silent movie superstar Ruan Ling-yu, is a work of art. The movie not only reenacts the mastery of early Chinese filmaking, but also showcases preserved footage of an actress who's performances have become legendary.

I've only seen one of Ruan Ling-yu's movies (The Goddess), but seeing her performance in that one movie convinced me she had that special thing that's looked for in actors and actressess. Ruan was not the prettiest of women, but her performance would hypnotize you into believing you were watching a "Goddess" glide onto the set. She definitely commands your attention. Her face could reflect any and every human emotion, and remember this was before sound came to movies.

My one pet peeve with Center Stage is the lead actress who played Ruan. For as unpretentious as Ruan was said to be, the young actress playing her seemed to be in a starlet swoon throughout much of the movie. Maybe she was too pretty. Or maybe the film makers wanted to make a modern day starlet of a legendary Chinese movie figure. It began to feel like I was watching this beautiful China doll being positioned for still print ads. Beautiful ads, but ads no less. The actress had the grace of Ruan, but lacked any real vibrant intensity. Then again, what actress at such a young age could match the versatility of Ruan?

This movie deserves to go into the all-time great movie archives for it's perservation and exposure of an early Actress who's talents might've been unequaled in her time. The story was put together well and told wonderfully with some of the era's political upheavel thrown in. A foreign movie treat!

Devils on the Doorstep
Devils on the Doorstep
DVD ~ Wen Jiang
Price: $17.99
Availability: In Stock
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4.0 out of 5 stars Are All Occupied Lands This Intense?, January 2, 2012
This review is from: Devils on the Doorstep (DVD)
A simple Chinese village occupied by Japanese forces toward the end of world war II. A not so simple situation lands on the doorstep of one of the chinese villagers where family and friends get into a stir determining how best to handle the situation. As the intensity builds so to the dangerous threat of discovery and death.

The movie is brilliantly shot and perfect in its characterization of a proud sumurai class occupying the land of humble superstitious peasants. There's irony, humor, honor and cruelty wrapped inside this wonderful movie. It seemed to me that the movie was a bit drawn out, but I caught it while home sick in bed with a stomach flu. The ending is well worth the drawn out intensity.

"Devils on the door step" takes place during a time of war. I'm always moved by seeing how war and marching armies throughout history effect the plain and humble citizens of the world. This is one such story.

4.5 stars

Identity
Identity
DVD ~ John Cusack
Price: $11.99
Availability: In Stock
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I Met A Man Who Wasn't There, December 21, 2011
This review is from: Identity (DVD)
My second time watching this movie and the creepiness really sunk in. It's a movie you must give your undivided attention to in order to appreciate the whole of its parts. You will watch it a second time either because you stepped away, answered a phone call or did something that distracted you. Or you'll watch again just because it really is that good.

If you see this movie and decide it wasn't that great, please watch it again. I did and now consider it a top notch psycho-suspense thriller set in a very dark and disturbing place.

"I wish I wish he'd go away"

My Cousin Rachel
My Cousin Rachel
by Daphne Du Maurier
Edition: Paperback
Price: $10.19
Availability: In Stock
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars When Mars And Venus Meet, December 20, 2011
This review is from: My Cousin Rachel (Paperback)
First and foremost, the haunting mystery and suspense of this novel grabs readers from the start. "My Cousin Rachel" is a well plotted story with its main theme focused on a beautiful worldly woman and a conservative young man, your narrator, inexperienced in the many ways of women. It is a love story, but with the love comes the dissection of thoughts that give the story it's alternating moods of hot and cold. As a reader you find yourself wondering about and attempting to forecast the outcome, only to have your theory sprout limbs and offer multiple possibilities. You'll enjoy watching the novel grow.

I believe what is so amazing about this novel is how it triggers reader's thoughts of trust in relationships, both past and present. The power of a woman's charm over an unsuspecting man, as well as a man's need to claim ownership over a woman he desires is laid out to perfection. As with all new relationships, communication, or lack thereof, drives Rachel and Philip's relationship forward, backward and sideways. Being inside the head of each as they try figuring out and understanding the other is a treat.

I took away one star, maybe unjustly, simply because as a man I still cannot fully say I understood Cousin Rachel's Venetian ways. If narration had alternated more into her thoughts and words, my Martian intellect might better understand her actions. But then it wouldn't be such a wonderful mystery would it Venus? Classic Literature!

Quote from My Cousin Rachel:

I thought about it for a moment. Then I let it all come with a rush of words. Why hold back anything to rot?
Language Is a Place of Struggle: Great Quotes by People of Color
Language Is a Place of Struggle: Great Quotes by People of Color
by Sheree Renée Thomas
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $24.00
Availability: In Stock
46 used & new from $0.15

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Lines of Communication, December 13, 2011
I'm one of those readers who come across a good line or quote and must write it down for future perusal. When I opened to the pages of this book I felt an instant fellowship with editor Tram Nguyen, as well as a true appreciation for what she achieves in "Language is a Place of STRUGGLE."

These collected quotes by people of color are so alive and relevant that they awaken a wisdom within us that echoes the lessons of truth and justice. The quotes are wise, thought provoking and sadly poetic. This book is definitely an educational tool for today's melting pot of cultures.

What we must remind ourselves of about this book is that it's not just for people of color, but for all humanity and womanhood. In order for our globalized modern world to better understand one another and work toward a strongly united future, we must teach from the universal struggles we all share. Overcoming language and cultural barriers to recognize our oneness broadens the scope of our struggle. The 2009 Beacon Press edition has a Name Index.

Quotes:

I speak with no authority; no assumption of age nor rank; I hold no position. I have no wealth. One thing alone I own and that is my own soul. - W.E.B Du Bois, Black Scholar AND Activist

History has determined our lives, and we must work hard for what we believe to be the right thing...life is something we borrow and must give back richer when the time comes. - Carlos Bulosan, Asian American Writer

The fact that we are here and that I speak now these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken. - Audre Lorde, Black Writer

Everyone claims to be part Cherokee - Sherman Alexie, American Indian Writer

Oracle Night: A Novel
Oracle Night: A Novel
by Paul Auster
Edition: Paperback
Price: $13.51
Availability: In Stock
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4.0 out of 5 stars A Writer's Book, November 28, 2011
This review is from: Oracle Night: A Novel (Paperback)
I don't know what I just finished reading, but I liked Oracle Night. To be inside the head of an author and get a glimpse of the waves of stories crashing onto the shore of his mind, that is Oracle Night. Those who have a sprinkling of writing experience will likely find some hidden theme in the story.

It seems that author Paul Auster can write about anything, and make a reader want to read it to the end just for it's style and clarity. He makes reading enjoyable, like talking. The stories within this story seem to hover overhead after being read, accompanying you as the main story takes shape and unfolds. Maybe the book is just a metaphor on life; to live, love or hate and someday die. It's the moments in between that make life so unpredictable and exciting.

3.5 stars

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (Unrated)
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (Unrated)
DVD ~ Terra Vnesa
Offered by SourceMedia
Price: $14.69
Availability: In Stock
55 used & new from $6.94

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Must I Give It A Star?, November 16, 2011
This is an injustice to the Horror genre. So bad that I found myself rooting for the mutants. If the fake valleygirl screams don't get to you, the make believe scary faces of twenty-somethings trying to look like teenagers will. Anyone, and I mean A-N-Y-O-N-E, who gave this movie more than one star (for the mutants) is simply being untruthful. Oh, maybe for those who get off on gore and blood splatter only, it might've been close to a masterpiece. But even they must've wanted to turn the sound off.
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Torpedo Juice
Torpedo Juice
by Tim Dorsey
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Price: $7.99
Availability: In Stock
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3.0 out of 5 stars It Ain't Shakespeare, It's Dorsey, November 14, 2011
For me, a Tim Dorsey fan, Torpedo Juice was an enjoyable visit back to the Florida world of Serge and Coleman. Dorsey eventually connects the dots of the story, but it's the thought processes of Serge and those "Darwin-Award" winning characters sprinkled throughout, who give this book it's appeal.

I give the book a 3.5 on a Dorsey rating scale. I would've liked to see Coleman just a bit less gross and showing some redeeming quality. I also missed the wilds of vacuum-nosed cocaine connoisseur Sharon, but truly enjoyed watching Serge tackle the soul-mate search as he finds and attempts to honor then obey his honey until "death do us part." As usual with Dorsey's humorous voice tickling my funnybone, I laughed out loud.

My Beautiful Jinjiimaa
My Beautiful Jinjiimaa
DVD ~ Natsagdorj Battsetseg
Price: $22.49
Availability: In Stock
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5.0 out of 5 stars Can Love Endure More Than A Harsh Climate?, October 24, 2011
This review is from: My Beautiful Jinjiimaa (DVD)
The movie "My Beautiful Jinjiimaa" has something of a soap opera look, but the acting is far above that of a daily soap. The tragic love theme is portrayed in such a way that you give in completely to its victims, hoping and praying that life's fate isn't so cruel toward love.

With the Mongolian winter as it's backdrop, the movie treats your heart like a candle in a drafty room, one minute lighting its wick to brighten up the place, and the next minute blowing all hope and promise to the wind.

It's an emotional rollercoaster that can easilly produce tears of joy and pain. And if the story and acting don't get your tear ducts moist, just wait until the theme song kicks into full gear. "JIN-JI-I-MAA" Honestly, by the time this movie ended I, a contact sports nut and emotional hoover dam, was feeling the water buildup behind the eyes. Whew! that was close.

Get Low
Get Low
DVD ~ Robert Duvall
Price: $16.99
Availability: In Stock
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Telling Tale Of Forgiveness, October 18, 2011
This review is from: Get Low (DVD)
This movie serves itself up in a way where you don't want to miss one scene. It's a story that reveals itself slowly, and with each stage of revelation comes more understanding of the people and their past and present lives. With a mix of top tier actors the likes of Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and surprisingly Bill Murray, "Get Low" gives you the almost comical situation of a man wanting his funeral celebration while he's alive. Within the first minutes you realize there's much more than a comedic background to the story as the suspense and smarts of it take over.

I enjoyed this movie for it's focus on what it means to ask forgiveness. You know the old saying, "and the truth shall set you free." Well, here you witness a unique telling of one man's journey toward freedom by breaking the shackles that bind him. Shackles of stubborn pride and shameful secrets. I consider the movie a masterpiece for it's acting and story telling. A wise old tale presented in a wise and truthful way.

The Century of the Surgeon
The Century of the Surgeon
by Jurgen Thorwald
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
2 used & new from $75.00

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This Is Madness! This........Is........Sparta!, October 11, 2011
Reading the first 100 pages of this book does make one cringe with horror at times. The author's clear descriptions of the patients, their pains and the surgical procedures, not to mention the saw and other primitive tools used to probe inside gaping incisions, are both mesmerizing and ghastly alive.

The writing is so convincing that you begin to feel as if you are there, suffering as a patient or stoicly ignoring the patients screams to continue the procedure as a surgeon should. The point is clearly made that many early day surgeons were butchers, both literally and figuratively.

I admit, I haven't finished this book yet. I really want to take my time savoring the atmosphere of this historical novel. I felt a need to write something about the pleasure and pain spent reading the first pages. The stories within the story just keep coming and so far not one has dulled my interest.

The writing stands true and concise. The characters are easily imagineable, so easy that its as if you recognize some from childhood visits to a doctor's office. Just try putting yourself in a doctor or patient's shoes of that era, that is where the reading becomes timeless and engaging.

But the real horror in reading this book about surgery prior to anesthesia is that it wasn't during the times of ancient Greece or Rome; this is a story that takes place in mid-nineteenth century Western civilization. This is NOT Sparta!

The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles
The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles
by Roy Jacobsen
Edition: Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars What Miracle?, October 5, 2011
Did something get lost in the translation? I read and waited for the pieces to come together, for some unique, maybe enlightening event to rise up out of the Finnish forest. Nadda, it never came to fruition. The only enjoyment I witnessed in this book was the anticipation of a simple woodsman's survival story during a war. And that turned out to be nothing more than dead fish. I did not find this book worth the short read.

The Family
The Family
by Mario Puzo
Edition: Paperback
Price: $10.19
Availability: In Stock
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3.0 out of 5 stars Hints of Puzo, October 3, 2011
This review is from: The Family (Paperback)
"The Family" was an okay read. The subject and it's historical characters hold your attention well, but I can't say I finished it with a feeling of triumphant accomplishment. When I read Mario Puzo's "The Godfather," I'd written down enough quotes from it to fill a small diary. In this book I can count the memorable quotes on half a hand. Don't make the mistake I did of comparing other Puzo works with this.

I'm sure others have questioned the input Puzo had on this book. The hints of Puzo were there in it's theme of family and power, but I felt it tried too hard to be Puzo.

I did enjoy the story of the Borgia family with all their dysfunctionality.

""If you love nothing, then power is an aberration, and more important still a threat. For power is dangerous and can turn at any moment."

Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston
Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston
by Howard Bryant
Edition: Paperback
Price: $25.00
Availability: In Stock
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4.0 out of 5 stars Who Was Charles Stuart, September 30, 2011
I can't say whether I would've liked the entire book. But I can say that the pages I read which included the story of Charles Stuart killing his wife for insurance money and blaming it on a black man said much about the racial atmosphere of Boston in 1990.

Author delivers the story of Charles Stuart and the murder of his unsuspecting wife with the art of a mystery writer leading a curious reader down a dark and dangerous corridor. The show Law & Order based an episode on the case. I didn't buy the book because of its length and detail, but if I come across it secondhand I'll swipe it up in a minute, if for no other reason than to read about the black man Boston was ready to tar and feather in 1990, until the brother of Charles Stuart came forward with the truth. Please google it! Truth is so much more stranger than fiction.
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Lie to Me: Season One
Lie to Me: Season One
DVD ~ Tim Roth
Offered by Brandon's House of Fun
Price: $29.59
Availability: In Stock
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Role Made For Tim Roth, September 22, 2011
This review is from: Lie to Me: Season One (DVD)
A convincing lead actor, a wonderful premise and investigative situations that grasp at the intelligence of the viewer. "Lie To Me" is a series that offers top notch viewing entertainment for those looking for something new and thought-provoking in a network television series.

It's exciting and refreshing to see a crime drama series that utilizes human interaction as opposed to crime lab analysis, weapons/ammunitions analysis, DNA analysis or criminal mind profiling to solve a case. The language of the body and facial experessions are universal. Regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, social status or religion, every body and face reacts to inward and outward emotional stimuli similarly. The agents in this series expose not so much the Lie causing the body or facial reflex, but the Why behind the Lie Or Truth.

Watch an episode and you'll never Lie in the same way. But you will Lie!

Here's just one tidbit from the episode I watched that caused me to stop and ponder the notion:
It is a myth that someone giving testimony is always lying if they break eye contact and turn away from the questioner. Actually, a person Lying will maintain eye contact to see if the person they're Lying to believes the Lie.

Solomon Northup's Odyssey: "Twelve Years a Slave"
Solomon Northup's Odyssey: "Twelve Years a Slave"
DVD ~ Avery Brooks
Price: $17.99
Availability: In Stock
24 used & new from $12.43

4.0 out of 5 stars To Steal, Sell and Subjugate To Slavery, September 8, 2011
This movie production of a book I read is a winner in many ways. It takes you from freedom, to a slave pen, to a plantation where you are another man's property, bought and paid for to do the bidding of your new master.

The one fault in the movie could be the acting itself, which comes across as a bit stiff at times. But the true story and its subject of American slavery are so captivating that the players on screen become convincing symbols of the many injustices suffered by Blacks during the era. The suffering voices of the enslaved definitely come through.

Every black character carries the scars of slavery in one way or another. The one black man in their midst who'd been intimate with freedom before being tricked and kidnapped into slavery, Solomon Northrup, becomes well acquainted with those scars and ongoing fears. How does a proud and dignified man survive 12 years in a cruel, undignified, humiliating environment? Allow yourself to be transported to America's 1840's deep south as an enslaved northerner with an education and middleclass refinement. It is this movie and Solomon Northrup that brings you closest to being able to say, I've walked in the shoes of a slave.

Hotel Iris: A Novel
Hotel Iris: A Novel
by Y?ko Ogawa
Edition: Paperback
Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The Seduction Of Youth, September 6, 2011
This review is from: Hotel Iris: A Novel (Paperback)
I really enjoyed the uncomplicated writing in this book. It's a book to get lost in and let the story unfold as you bask in the many descriptions of place, people and tense moments. The author puts you inside a 17-year old girl's head just as her inner curiosities begin seeking answers outside her fantasies. Ready to rebel against the boring, monotonous life of home and work inside the Hotel Iris, a place her mother owns and controls like a jailhouse matron, young Mari seeks the company of a distinguished older gentleman.

In this graceful gentleman, a translator of Russian books and documents by trade, Mari discovers the happiness and satisfaction that life has failed to grant her thus far. As for us traveling with Mari on her path of self-discovery, we see her newfound friend as something more sinister and tarnished. Though we can later speculate as to why this man is what he is, we're never truly told what made him that way.

It's a story that ventures into the taboos of sadomasochism and yet retains its innocence and affection. It is possible that the male translator of this short Japanese novel written by a woman didn't grasp all that the writer wanted to convey about her young Mari, he does give the bones of the story enough marrow to stand. Ultimately what Hotel Iris demonstrates is what we seek in others is usually what we're trying to locate in ourselves; love and acceptance.

3.5 Stars

Katyn
Katyn
DVD ~ Artur Amijewski
Price: $17.99
Availability: In Stock
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars See The Crime, The Lie, The Life, September 4, 2011
This review is from: Katyn (DVD)
This movie is nothing short of excellent. The look, the language and the lessons are not to be missed. Polish Director Andrzej Pajda does an excellent job of putting fictional clothes on an atrocious, factual event that was almost lost to history.

Its the story of a little known genocide (22,000 slaughtered) that took place during WWII in Katyn Forest. Its the story of how war tears apart families and compromises allegiances. Its the story of a country's occupation by foreign invaders and its national resistance toward that oppressor. Finally, its the story of crimes against humanity and the lingering effects on those left behind to mourn their loss.

Pajda was so adept at weaving together the warring threads of three countries (Poland, Germany and Russia) that viewers might find themselves peeking between the soldier's seams to determine who's wearing the uniform. The Politics and Propoganda become apparently real as the movie comes to an unforgettably emotional climax. I was also impressed by the subtle linkage of one family's story with that of another family. I didn't expect to make sense of some things I saw early in the movie, only to have their meanings illuminated later. The power of an Excellent film!

The DVD Extra which shows an interview with Director Andrzej Wajda is priceless. Here's what he had to say on the importance of education and developing one's self:

"Developing one's self through one's interests or work, making movies, creating an identity, the fact that one searches for people who think alike, is dangerous to any authority because authority always wants subjugation; to agree to everything. It wants an easy society."

On Patriotism: "Those who preach it the most, are the least suitable for it. They have the least, so to say, heart, courage, and judgment to take advantage when the time is ripe."