The Story of Job
Roth has the ability to create suspense even though we are reading about the "Life of a Simple" man. The central theme of the novel is the role of destiny in human life that has become surrounded by the products of science and technology. The tale begins with a prophecy in prerevolutionary Russia and ends up in New York. More I shall not tell.
Germany
In July I had a chance to visit Germany. I wanted to see not the big cities but smaller places. Weimar, a small city in which Goethe spent most of his life and later became synonymous with German high culture and the failure of the short-lived German Republic, 1918-1933, proved to be a feast for one’s eyes. Early in the 19th century, the poet Schiller also called Weimar his home. The town, situated in the middle of Germany, has been beautifully restored and deserves to be on the intineary of every visitor of Germany. In the map to the right Weimar lies just a bit west of Erfurt in the state of Thuringa.
Travelling through Southern Bavaria, I also came through a beautiful small village of Neubeuern. The place has been voted in 1981 as Germany’s most beautiful village. Visit its website and see for yourself why. The village was built in medieval times half way up on a rock. At the very top of the rock clever people built a castle with a huge tower to see the enemies all the way to Innsbruck and Salzburg (this a slight exaggeration on my part). Here is a picture of the view towards Innsbruck.
Enlarge the map of Germany
Cold Mountain
This Civil War movie works because it is has historical depth and employs a love story very effectively. Instead of going overboard with passion, the lovers take cautious steps toward each other and just as they allow themselves a kiss and the dream of a life together, Inman (Jude Law) is forced to join the army and fight in the war. Ada (Nicole Kidman) is left behind in the Cold Mountain region, waiting day after day, year after year, for Inman’s return. Despite all the hardship they individiually encounter, their hearts do not want to turn cold. Inman deserts from the army and tries to find his way back to Ada and the beauty of Cold Mountain. Love in this film is put in modest clothing and that’s what renders it interesting to watch.
Unite Against the Power Nap Killers!
For the last 20 years I have taken almost daily refreshing power naps. Now the guardians of pseudo disclipine want to banish this smart daily routine from the work place. I fear that we may be returnig to the dark ages of knowledge about human productivity. SUE SHELLENBARGER filed in today’s Wall Street Journal this very troubling report that should be a call to arms for all power nappers around the globe.
The Power Nap’s 15 Minutes Is Over
An Unlikely Fad Gets
A Rude Awakening
After a brief “power napping” craze in the late 1990s, workplace napping has retreated to the corporate closet. When David Oboyski of Kansas City, Mo., suggested starting a naproom at his previous job at a public-relations agency, citing research on how naps aid the bottom line, his boss and co-workers just laughed. “It became a running punch line,” he says. Luckily, “being the ‘nap guy’ didn’t hurt my career, but I learned my lesson and never brought it up again,” says Mr. Oboyski, who is now a self-employed marketing consultant.
Continue ReadingRachmaninoff’s “Variations Number 17”
Variation Nr. 17 on a theme of Paganini is a very beautiful piece. One does not have to have much experience with classical music to grasp and enjoy the sense of drama and celebration that Rachmaninoff was able put into this composition.
A Few Questions
How can you make holy water at home? You boil the hell out of it.
How do crazy people go through the forest? They take the psycho path.
What do fish say when they hit a concrete wall? Damn!
What do eskimos get from sitting on the ice too long? Polaroids
What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work? A stick.
What do you call cheese that isn’t yours? Nacho cheese.
What do you call santa’s helpers? Subordinate clauses.
What do you call four bullfighters in quicksand? Quatro sinko.
What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite.
What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches? A nervous wreck.
What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef.
Where do you find a dog with no legs? Right where you left him.
Why do gorillas have big nostrils? Because they have big fingers.
Why don’t blind people like to sky dive? Because it scares the hell out of the dog.
What kind of coffee was served on the titanic? Sanka.
What is the difference between a harley and a hoover? The location of the dirt bag.
Why do a pilgrim’s pants always fall down? Because they wear their belt buckle on their hat.
What’s the difference between a bad golfer and a bad skydiver?
A bad golfer goes, whack, “damn.” A bad skydiver goes “damn,” whack.
How do you catch a unique rabbit? Unique up on it.
How do you catch a tame rabbit? Tame way, unique up on it.
What do you call skydiving lawyers? Skeet.
What goes clop, clop, clop, bang, bang, clop, clop, clop?
An amish drive-by shooting.
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Collected Fictions of Jorge Louis Borges
I have lately become quite enchanted with Jorge Luis Borges. What a pitty that he did not get the Noble Prize for his work! I hereby bestow upon him the Murmann Prize! If you don’t enjoy his work, write to me and I may give you back the money you spent on Borges.
Read his story Funes, the Memorious.
Long live the Murmann Brewery!
I learned today that there is a Murmann brewery in Germany. Shirley Maclaine claims to have lived before as a different person. If Shirley’s views on reincarnation are correct, I may have founded this this small little brewery in Untersiemau in 1862.
The only evidence I have for this is my joy of “Weissbier.” My liking of this wheatbear has grown even stronger after I read that scientists are increasingly coming to a delightful conclusion: a little bit of alcohol every day is good for you. On that note, let me say: Prost!
Visit the Murmann Brewery.
Ali
An interview with Will Smith, in which he described all the preparations that he went through to play “The Champ,” intrigued me enough to rent the video despite the fact that the film was a failure at the box office. I did not get beyond minute 15. This film bombed not because it was too good for the masses but because the film is not watchable even for die hard Ali or Will Smith fans. Who are the people who approve these kinds of scripts?
Mystic River
After launching a frontal assault on intelligent film making with “The Bridges of Madison County”, Clint Eastwood redeems himself with this beautifully directed psychodrama. Mystic River explores the complexities of human relations, following three kids from the playground to the difficultities of living an adult life in the very same neighborhood in which their experience with the vagaries of life started. The film keeps you at the edge of the seat because you realize that any second one of the characters may take a step over the edge and fall into an deep abyss from which they may never be able to return. Eastwood assembled a great cast of actors who show off how well they kwow their craft.
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