I grew up watching Christopher Reeve in three Superman movies (we will all agree to pretend the fourth one never happened).
I’m occasionally sharing some thoughts on a few videos that make me smile, make me think, or preferably do both. Read more from this special series here.
The teaser trailer for the new Superman movie, “Man of Steel,” is playing in front of “The Dark Knight Rises.” It opens in 2013. Watch both versions here. Also, here’s a link to the trailer for 2006’s “Superman Returns,” which had some good moments. Re-integrating Brando’s originally unused dialogue was a thrilling treat.
As expected, the fanboys fight over the variations in the color of Superman’s new belt and cape, the look of his new chest emblem, and the actors portraying him. It reminds me of the fights people used to wage over who was the better James Bond. Whatever, fanboys. They miss the point.
As we all know, each film is a capsule of an age of American culture and concerns. The best superhero films, like the best and most interesting graphic novels, are reflections of a generation’s insecurities, internal strife, aspirations, and shortcomings. That’s why people look to the superhero — to fill the gap between what they need and what they are capable of accomplishing — as the superhero looks back down on them. Just ask one of my favorite pseudo-philosophers, Bill, about superheroes and us.
I grew up watching Christopher Reeve in three Superman movies (we will all agree to pretend the fourth one never happened), and I hope a small theater somewhere will host a screening of “Superman: The Movie” before “Man of Steel” opens. That would be a lot of fun. Check out the old trailer I found for it.
Why women rule / Your handshake / Ross Perot may be back / ‘Downton Abbey’ returns on Jan. 6 / The ordeal of leaving Cuba
Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.
1.An 8-Year-Old Girl’s Awesome List of Why Women Rule By Katie J.M. Baker | Jezebel | July 20
“‘We have veginas. We get jobs. We are creative. We have stuff that makes us preanet. We have milk in our bobes. We are smart. We have power.'”
3.Why Ross Perot is made for the 2012 race By Chris Cillizza | The Fix :: The Washington Post | July 21
“Perot’s laser focus on debt and spending issues — not to mention his outsider persona — is a perfect fit for an American electorate sick of the two major parties and increasingly concerned about the country’s red ink.”
4.The new Ottomans The Cafe :: Al Jazeera | July 21
“Can Turkey strike a balance between the country’s modern, secular aspirations and its deep-rooted Islamic identity?”
6.Remember, Remember, the Fifth of May By William Moss Wilson | Disunion :: The New York Times | May 4
“On May 5, 1862, Ignacio Zaragoza … led the brave defenders of Puebla in repulsing the elite troops of an invading French Army.”
7.Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles TED | December 2009
“Sampling his career’s work, he introduces a few of the most popular types, and shares the fascinations that inspired some of his best.”
8.To Use and Use Not By Julie Bosman | The New York Times | July 4
“A new edition of ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ which was originally published in 1929, [includes] all the alternate endings, along with early drafts of other passages in the book.”
10.The Landslide Election of 1964 By Walter Cronkite | NPR | November 2004
“The Republican Party fought its last rear-guard battle against FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, while the Democrats promised a ‘Great Society’ and a new health program to be called Medicare. The national mood was liberal and the outcome was never in doubt.”
Assad’s next move / Workplace attire / Destroying Istanbul’s treasures / Our obsession with apocalypse / Tech’s most influential women
Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.
1.Bashar al-Assad: fight or flight? By Ian Black | The Guardian | July 20
“After high-profile defections and the loss of four key advisers, the Syrian president’s options are shrinking”
2.Counting Afghanistan’s Dead By Joshua Foust | The Atlantic | July 20
“Addressing the war’s failings means talking about policy, but before we do that, a reminder of why it matters.”
3.What Not to Wear To Work By Melissa Korn | At Work :: The Wall Street Journal | July 20
“A new survey shows U.S. adults expressing more outrage at scantily-clad co-workers this year than they did last year.”
4.Destroying Istanbul By Andrew Finkel | Latitude :: The New York Times | July 20
“Now here’s a bit of hyperbole I wish I didn’t have to defend: the damage now being done to Istanbul rivals the damage done to Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade.”
5.The Ten Most Influential Women in Technology By Marissa Mayer | Time | July 18
“In 2012, it’s hard to believe that only 19 companies out of the Fortune 500 are led by women.”
6.Will the fight against HIV/AIDS ever end? Inside Story Americas :: Al Jazeera | July 20
“As scientists and campaigners launch a new drive for a cure we ask how much longer we will be fighting the disease.”
7.Jennifer 8. Lee hunts for General Tso TED | December 2008
“Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her hunt for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes — exploring the hidden spots where these two cultures have (so tastily) combined to form a new cuisine.”
8.America’s apocalypse obsession By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Alternet and Salon | July 18
“Why are we so fixated on the end of the world?”
9.Stone Links: The Rise of Café Philosophy By A.C. Lee | Opinionator :: The New York Times | July 3
“Jules Evans … describes an emerging scene in which people from a diverse range of backgrounds gather at cafés, pubs and pizza parlors to tackle the great philosophical questions.”
10.Gulf of Tonkin’s Phantom Attack By Walter Cronkite | NPR | August 2004
“Faulty Intelligence Played Role in Decision to Engage Viet Cong”
Psychology of Batman / Middle East’s future / Wedding depression / What’s Sorkin’s problem? / The HIV wars
Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.
1.What Makes Batman Tick? By Linda Holmes | MonkeySee :: Weekend Edition Sunday | July 15
“When you look at Batman with a coldly analytical eye … a few things stand out as potential red flags: the secrecy, the lair, the attraction to danger, the blithe self-sacrifice, the … cape.”
2.The good, the bad, and the ugly: Three scenarios for the Middle East By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy | July 20
“Although most commentary tends to obsess about recent events (Will Assad fall? Was Hezbollah for the bombing in Bulgaria? Will there be war with Iran? Is the two-state solution really dead? etc.) today, I want to step back and ask what the larger implications of these various events might be.”
3.The Wedding Effect By Maggie Shipstead | The New York Times | July 18
“There is something numbing about all this marrying. The thrill of the first friends’ weddings, when everybody was young and lifelong commitment seemed wild and transgressive, has worn off, and a jaded peanut gallery has sprung up …”
4.NASA’s Mars rover may be in for blind landing By Irene Klotz | Reuters | July 16
“That’s because the satellite that NASA was counting on for real-time coverage of the Mars Science Laboratory’s descent into Gale Crater, located near the planet’s equator, was sidelined last month by a maneuvering system glitch.”
5.Sharks tagged off Scotland monitored online BBC News | July 20
“The movements of eight basking sharks can now be followed online, after scientists fitted them with satellite tags.”
6.ABC’s Ross takes heat for another blunder By Dylan Byers | Politico | July 20
“Ross came under attack again Friday when he reported that James Holmes … may have connections to the Tea Party — basing that on a single web page that listed an Aurora-based ‘Jim Holmes’ as a member of the Colorado Tea Party Patriots”
7.Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history TED | May 2012
“From changes to language to the deadliness of wars, he shows how digitized history is just starting to reveal deep underlying patterns.”
8.Aaron Sorkin versus reality By Alex Pareene | Salon | July 19
“The increasingly unpleasant superiority complex of America’s most prominent liberal screenwriter”
9.Semicolons: A Love Story By Ben Dolnick | Opinionator :: The New York Times | July 2
“To abjure semicolons was to declare oneself pure of heart, steely-eyed, sadly disillusioned.”
10.The early days of HIV/Aids Witness :: BBC News | June 3
“It’s 30 years since the HIV virus was first identified by medical experts. In the early days, carriers of the virus were stigmatised and treatment was in its infancy.”
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TUNES
Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.
1. The Jeff Strahan Band — Supercool 2. The Jeff Strahan Band — Folsom Prison Blues 3. Anna Popovic — My Man 4. Los Lonely Boys — Road House Blues 5. Bernard Allison — The Other Side 6. Zed Head — Till I Lost You 7. Scott Weis Band — Hurricane 8. Blackberry Smoke — Up In Smoke 9. The Derek Trucks Band — Revolution 10. ZZ Top — Brown Sugar 11. Etta James — Purple Rain 12. Brandon Jenkins — Austin 13. The Red Hot Blues Sisters — Bring It On Home
Stone was an insightful, often self-deprecating, and intelligent writer, but she never wrote more beautifully than when she endured tragedy.
From 2012 to 2015, Stillness of Heart will share interesting excerpts from the extraordinary diary of Kate Stone, the daughter of Louisiana cotton plantation owners who chronicled her turbulent life throughout the Civil War era.
Learn more about Stone’s amazing life in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and beyond. Click on each year to read more about her experiences. You can read the entire journal online here.
(Photo edited by Bob Rowen)
Stone was an insightful, often self-deprecating, and intelligent writer, but she never wrote more beautifully than when she endured tragedy.
The sickness that ravaged the Stone family was too much for Stone’s brother Ashburn, who died soon after their older brother left to rejoin his Confederate unit. Their mother accompanied the soldier to his embarkation point at Vicksburg, Miss., and she was too far away to rejoin her dying son in his final moments. As Stone grieved, her journal sat silent for two weeks. In late November, she began to write again.
Amidst her sorrow she took a moment to reflect on her mother’s beauty and character. It’s a fascinating and affectionate celebration of the woman Stone admired above all others.
Nov. 27:
How can I write the record of the last two weeks? It seems that the trouble and grief of years has been pressed into that short space of time. Ashburn, our darling, has gone, never to return. Oh! how we miss him every hour in the day. The noble, gentle heart and the loving sensitive nature are stilled forever, passed from the world as though they had never been. What great thoughts, loving wishes, and proud hopes lie buried in his grave. So young, so bouyant, so full of life and happiness, brilliant with the very joy of living such a little while ago, and now dead. …
Nov. 28:
Ashburn died on Tuesday, November 12, at 11 o’clock at night of swamp fever. We sent for Mamma very early Tuesday morning, but she could not get here until Wednesday morning too late. She was so dreadfully distressed. As soon as he died, Brother Coley started at once to Vicksburg to meet Mamma and to make arrangements for the burial. He reached DeSoto just as she crossed the ferry, and as soon as she saw him she knew the worst.
Brother Walter had gone for her and brought her back. She so reproached herself for leaving him when he was sick, but we told her everybody on the place had been sick off and on all summer and she could not know this would be a serious illness. She loved him so. We always told her that she loved and indulged him more than any of us, and she always said, why, he was the best boy of them all and never gave any occasion to be scolded.
Nov. 29:
[Ashburn’s] was buried Thursday in a clump of woods just back of the house, the new family graveyard. Our Father and two little sisters were removed there from the old graveyard a year ago.
Here at home all seems strangely dull and sad. …
A warm lovely week, a wanderer from the April sisterhood. No frost and the flowers are still in fullest bloom roses and annuals, as gay as in May. “The Melancholy days have come” for our household but not for Dame Nature. The boys have been out hunting most of the day with poor success one duck but the woods are full of game and the lakes covered with ducks.
Brother Coley and Mr. Reading went to attend the drill at Willow Bayou and to bid adieu to Mr. Reading’s friends. They went from there to Omega. No mail. But Brother Coley brought back the paper containing the resolutions of sympathy passed by the Willow Bayou company on Ashburn’s death. How he loved all military matters.
Mamma was talking tonight of her early days. She was married before she was sixteen, before she had left school, but she had been out enough to reject ten lovers before she met papa. All of them are living still. She was and is a beautiful woman of most attractive manner and a brilliant conversationalist with a great power of attracting love, the first and greatest gift that can be bestowed on anyone. She has the most cheerful, brightest spirit and is a brave resourceful woman. None of the children bear a strong resemblance to either her or our Father. Brother Walter is most like her.
Nov. 30:
This is the last day of a month that brought us unmixed joy and hopeless sorrow. My Brother was with us at its commencement and now at the close he is in camp again, and one of our dearest and best has bidden farewell to Earth and floated out on the dark river.
As Stone celebrated one brother, she expressed deep discomfort with another.
From 2012 to 2015, Stillness of Heart will share interesting excerpts from the extraordinary diary of Kate Stone, the daughter of Louisiana cotton plantation owners who chronicled her turbulent life throughout the Civil War era.
Learn more about Stone’s amazing life in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and beyond. Click on each year to read more about her experiences. You can read the entire journal online here.
(Photo edited by Bob Rowen)
In mid-October 1861, Stone’s brother, who served in the Confederate army in Virginia, returned to Brokenburn for a rest. Stone was elated to see him. His stories from the battlefields fascinated and horrified her. He rejoined a family wracked by seasonal sicknesses. As Stone celebrated one brother, she expressed deep discomfort with another.
Oct. 19:
What a joyous evening to us all. My Brother came a complete surprise to us all. Sent home on sick furlough. He has had typhoid fever for a month and as soon as convalescent the surgeon sent him home. He looks taller and has lost forty pounds. Home life and love will soon build him up. He came at dusk. We have kept him talking until eleven, and that was not wise, as of course he is tired. He told us many funny anecdotes of his experiences as assistant provost marshal. He likes the marshal exceedingly. How horrible is the idea of the visitors to the Manassas battlefield rifling the graves of Northern soldiers for mementoes. They should be put in the front ranks of the next battle. It is positively ghoulish. Johnny went out for the mail and brought My Brother instead. Mr. Bledsoe kindly sent him out in his buggy. Our heartfelt thanks go up to God for having returned to us our best beloved brother.
Oct. 22:
My Brother is a bright yellow, even the skin of his head, like an orange or a pumpkin, and Dr. Lily has prescribed sugar cane for him. He is to eat all of it he can. Dr. Carson sent him a wagonload of it by the wagon that carried out the cotton that Mamma and others subscribed to the sewing society.
Oct. 28:
Today is but a catalogue of chills. Ashburn and Brother Coley shivered through the morning and burned all the evening. Timely doses of quinine kept them off Sister and Johnny. Sister has been sick since Friday and Mamma had Dr. Lily for her. Charles and Sarah are up today and Lucy and Prank down.
My Brother went out this evening to see Dr. Carson. His appetite is better and he is gaining strength.
They are digging potatoes today. Promises to be a noble lot. Annie is helping Uncle Hoccles gather the goober peas [peanuts]. It looks like a month’s job for him. Jimmy and I made some pecan and pull candy this evening and I wish we had not.
Brother Walter teased and worried us, and we all got tired of it and appealed to Mamma when Brother Walter flew into one of his unreasoning rages (fortunately such attacks are rare) and behaved so badly that we have all been uncomfortable ever since. He is the only one of my brothers I ever thought really needed punishing and the only one I ever feel like quarreling with. I believe he is the brightest of all the boys, converses so well, has Mamma’s gift in that, and looks more like her than any of her children.
Nov. 10:
My Brother left us today to join his regiment at Evansport on Occoquan Creek in Virginia. His health is quite restored but Oh! how we hate to give him up. His visit home has been such a delight to us. When will he come to gladden our hearts again?
Stone lived in consistent dread of the violence of war.
From 2012 to 2015, Stillness of Heart will share interesting excerpts from the extraordinary diary of Kate Stone, the daughter of Louisiana cotton plantation owners who chronicled her turbulent life throughout the Civil War era.
Learn more about Stone’s amazing life in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and beyond. Click on each year to read more about her experiences. You can read the entire journal online here.
(Photo edited by Bob Rowen)
Stone lived in consistent dread of the violence of war. The demands of war were already very evident all around her. Her brother and uncle were away serving the armies. Her mother’s foresight called for austerity measures — a war garden, cutbacks on travel — to get the family through lean times ahead. Stone noticed the unavailability of certain fabrics critical to military uniforms, and as she sewed and repaired clothing, she made do with other materials. Stone carefully followed the news from the military and diplomatic fronts and hoped for the best. But bad news came in late September 1861.
Sept. 27
No mail this week, but a rumor that 12,000 Federalists have taken possession of Mississippi City. That is bringing the war near us. How we wish the authorities could carry the war into Washington City. What an awful responsibility rests on our statesmen and generals. May God give them wisdom.
Throughout late August 1861, Stone offered a glimpse at the seasonal dangers of rural life that were tragically normal for a 19th century family. The Stones and their neighbors probably suffered from malaria.
From 2012 to 2015, Stillness of Heart will share interesting excerpts from the extraordinary diary of Kate Stone, the daughter of Louisiana cotton plantation owners who chronicled her turbulent life throughout the Civil War era.
Learn more about Stone’s amazing life in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and beyond. Click on each year to read more about her experiences. You can read the entire journal online here.
(Photo edited by Bob Rowen)
Throughout late August 1861, Stone offered a glimpse at the seasonal dangers of rural life that were tragically normal for a 19th century family. The Stones and their neighbors probably suffered from malaria.
Aug. 24
Did not reach home until nearly ten, much to the surprise of the family who had given us out. Ashburn was to have been with me but I left him sick at Vicksburg. Such an unhealthy season. Everybody in the house, but Brother Coley, has been sick since I left, and I was in bed nearly a week. It has been raining for three weeks and is cool enough for fall. Mr. McRae fears it will make the cotton crop light.
Chainey died of paralysis a few days ago. The place must indeed seem like a graveyard to the poor Negroes so many deaths since we moved here. Clearing land and digging ditches may make it worse now.
Aug. 25
Mrs. Hardison and the baby both have fever, and Josa and the rest of the family look as if there was not an ounce of red blood between them the whitest, weakest looking set of people. … Aunt Sarah complains so much of loneliness and is so afraid to be alone that I would have remained longer with her, but I was anxious about Mamma and the boys. There is so much sickness.
Aug. 28
I have slight chills and fevers and am being dosed on bitters and drugs of varied meanness. There is danger of
congestion or swamp fever at this season.
Aug. 30
Mamma and I, after knitting awhile, went to work on the boys’ uniform shirts. I did the machine stitching, but Mamma soon broke down and went to bed with a chill. Johnny was tossing with fever. …
Sept. 17
We fear Ashburn, Jimmy, and Johnny all have whooping cough. Ashburn must have taken it in Vicksburg, though he had it when a little fellow. There are seventeen little cribs of Negroes to have it in the quarters and Mamma dreads it getting among them. Thus the house is under strict quarantine.
Persia’s Alexander the Great / Iraq emerges as Iranian ally / Pakistan, our frenemy / More shelter needed for Austin’s homeless / One man juggles five lovers
Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.
1.Alexander the not so Great: History through Persian eyes By Ali Ansari | BBC News Magazine | July 14
“lexander the Great is portrayed as a legendary conqueror and military leader in Greek-influenced Western history books but his legacy looks very different from a Persian perspective.”
2.The Afghan Air War By C.J. Chivers and Ben Solomon | The New York Times | July 2012
“[Chivers] flies in an F/A-18 over Afghanistan, examining changes in America’s air power and how Afghan troops will fare without it.”
3.Amber Waves of Green By Jon Ronson | GQ | July 2012
“Guess what, compatriots? The gap between the richest and the poorest among us is now wider than it has been since we all nose-dived into the Great Depression.”
5.More shelter space for homeless women needed, local advocates say By Andrea Ball | Austin American-Statesman | July 13
“Currently, those who want a place to stay are routinely turned away from local shelters because of a shortage of beds, said Richard Troxell, founder of the advocacy group House the Homeless.”
6.Our high-maintenance relationship with Pakistan By David Ignatius | The Washington Post | July 13
“The two countries talk about strategic cooperation one month and feud the next. They claim to be allies against terrorism, even as each side’s intelligence service conducts operations the other regards as hostile.”
7.Terry Moore: Why is ‘x’ the unknown? TEDx | June 2012
“Why is ‘x’ the symbol for an unknown? In this short and funny talk, Terry Moore gives the surprising answer.”
8.An Interview with Eva Illouz By Jessa Crispin | Bookslut | July 2012
“Haven’t you for years felt like you were being conned somehow in the realm of relationships?”
9.The Single Guy Juggling Five Girls in One Week Daily Intel :: New York Magazine | Feb. 28
“Once a week, Daily Intel takes a peek behind doors left slightly ajar. This week, the Single Guy Juggling Five Girls in One Week: 29, male, single, East Village, straight.”
10.Death of Sid Vicious Witness :: BBC News | Feb. 2
“With his snarl and spikey hair, the Sex Pistols bassist, Sid Vicious, was the embodiment of punk rock.”
Observations on the Hudson River as it passes through New York City. The section of the Hudson which passes through New York is historically known as the North River, called this by the Dutch to distinguish it from the Delaware River, which they knew as the South River. This stretch of the Hudson is still often referred to as the North River by local mariners today. All photos copyright Daniel Katzive unless otherwise attributed. For more frequent updates, please follow northriverblog on Facebook or Instagram.
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