Archive for the ‘Arts & Humanities’ Category
Book reviews: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Viewing the success of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the number of people who can quote from it verbatim (”If there’s anything here more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now”), it is easy to forget how risky and unique it was when it came out.
Douglas Adams (b. 1952, d. 2001) wanted to combine comedy with science fiction-no one was interested, except for one little man who did not know what he was about to unleash on the world. Sure, you can do a play for BBC Radio 4, he told Adams.
Adam’s original idea was to create a six episode radio play with each episode ending with the destruction of the Earth Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsShould Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, have announced that the character Albus Dumbledore was gay?
I am writing for the NO side.
This is purely my opinion. I read all the Harry Potter books. I deplore the fan-fiction that has resulted. However, I state, at the first, NO, she should not have announced that her character Dumbledore was ‘gay.’
My opinion of the Harry Potter cycle is that she wrote brilliantly, writing to the age that Harry Potter was at the time. The announcement of Dumbledore’s homosexuality was just mistimed. “The Deathly Hallows” dealt with Harry Potter at eighteen, an awkward age. If she had to announce Dumbledore’s sexuality, it would have been better in a subsequent novel. I felt let down by the final book; it seemed rushed and light in content.
I read the whole series, Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsThe legacy of John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams,6th president of the United States and the first son of a president who himself became president(the second is George Bush Jr. and George Bush Sr.,41st and 43rd presidents of the United States, respectively),was born July 11,1767,in Braintree,Massachusetts. He was the son of John Adams,who later became the second president of the United States and Abigail Adams. Much of young John’s youth was spent at sea,where his father served as American envoy to France in 1778-1779 and in the Netherlands from 1780 to 1782.
Traveling throughout Europe gave John a maturity beyond his years as he became proficient in Dutch and French,as well as German and other European languages. In fact,when he returned to the United States,he was better Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsBiography: Charles Godfrey Leland
Charles Godfrey Leland was an American writer. He is famously known as a humorist and folklorist. His comical work, Hans Breitmann Ballads was his biggest success as an author during his life.Most of his books dealt with the traditions and languages of the people he had studied while he was traveling. He is well known today for his book ‘Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches’ which is one of his three books on Italian folk traditions.
He was born on August 15, 1824 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Charles Leland who was a commission merchant, and Charlotte Godfrey. He went to school in the United States of America. In school he learned languages and writing poems. He attended college Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsBiography: Henry Brooks Adams
Name: Henry Brooks Adams
Date of Birth: February 16, 1838
Date of Death: March 27, 1918
Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts
Career: Political Writer and American Author
Being the grandson of John Quincy Adams, the great grandson of John Adams, and the son of a congressman, afforded Henry Brooks Adams opportunities and exposure to the political world that would ultimately set the tone for his life and career.
Charles Adams and Abigail Brooks became the parents of Henry Brooks Adams on February 16, 1838. A couple of years later, the couple would get the scare of their life when Henry develops scarlet fever. As a child Henry had the opportunity to peak into the world of politics Read the rest of this entry »
Plot summary: Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness is a famous novel written by the Polish writer Joseph Conrad. It was well received by the people. It also evoked some controversies for it’s portrayal of Africans in a de-humanized way.
Plot Summary
Marlow is a sailor and he is on his way to meet Kurtz, a reputed man. Marlow is riding boat on Congo river. We see flashes of his life while he is traveling in the river. He gets a job as a captain for riverboat from a Belgian company. When he goes to Africa and to the company, he witnesses the brutality of the company on the workers. The company people force workers to overwork.
He goes to central station and there he comes to Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsBook reviews: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams – Part 2
An Englishman Arthur Dent awakes one day to discover planet earth is to be demolished. The aliens responsible for this destruction are known as the Vogons. Vogons are compassionless, bulbous creatures obsessed with bureaucratic procedure and bad poetry. They must destroy Earth to make way for an intergalactic bypass.
Arthur Dent discovers his friend, Ford Prefect, is a marooned alien in human disguise, hailing from the Betelgeuse star system. With Ford’s help and a minute after Earth’s demise they end up on board a Vogon constructor spaceship. After being subjected to Vogon torture they are expelled into space for twenty nine seconds.
Improbably they are picked up by the two headed President of the Universe, his human girlfriend and a hopelessly Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsPhilosophy: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
~=THE HEART OF MATTER=~
Little Johnny “thinking”; the egg has natures blessing!
The primary source of all natural energy radiates out of the nucleus. Clearly our best evidence is seen every day, shared by all ~ a simple example: our Sunn is the nucleus of our solar system, the radiation “its essence” is the power of life. I have a heart. Like anyone else my personal treasures are measured within my minds understanding. When I reach an understanding my heart feels free of concern about this truth, I stand confident with that reason as a fundamental format. From this I grow more truth by assimilating beings of its nature, within my soul. I do this through research Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsMagazine reviews: Car and Driver
If the car characterizes the taste and the quality of a man then Car and Driver magazine is the ideal guide for its selection. With an experience that lasts for over than 55 years consists the number one choice to readers who love vehicles of four wheels and driving.
Car and Driver is a vast world which travels readers to the largest automobile exhibitions in the world, to the most competitive annual race events, to demonstrations of expensive luxury cars, to evaluations of new car and truck models and may well be regarded as one of the most useful and informative guides in the car market.
An American magazine with plenty of colorful pages with pictures , comments and analysis which Read the rest of this entry »
No CommentsBiography: First Lady Louisa Adams
Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams was the wife of President John Quincy Adams, our sixth President of the United States and our First Lady from the years of 1825-1829. Louisa Johnson was born February 12, 1775, in London, to Joshua and Catherine Nuth Johnson. Louisa was the only First Lady to be born on foreign soil. Louisa’s father was an American Merchan,t while her mother was an Englishwoman. Louisa was one of eight children, her parents having seven daughters and one son. Her father was from Maryland originally and served as consulate general in London after 1790. During the American Revolution, her family sought refuge in France for a time. Louisa was four years old when she met twelve year old Read the rest of this entry »
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