Protect the Palisades--Don't let LG win

In recent months, I have become an avid online supporter of protecting the Hudson River Palisades from those who would destroy its natural beauty. I've signed my share of online petitions, shared them on Facebook and tweeted them on Twitter. There comes a time in each person's life when he or she has to take a stand. This is my time. I just never figured that it would take the form of environmental preservation issues, but it has. No apologies for that--I'm quite happy about it. I grew up in a Hudson River valley town--Tarrytown--and looked across the river for years at the beautiful Palisades, that were always especially lovely in the autumn. Talk about the colors of the foliage; you didn't need to travel to New England to witness the gorgeous colors. But like so many people, I may have taken that view for granted. And now it may change unless more people act to stop what is happening.

In short, the fight is to stop the multinational electronics manufacturer LG (a South Korean company with headquarters in Seoul) from building a high-rise office building on the Palisades that will ruin the natural beauty of the Palisades and open for more development along that lovely ridgeline. The alternative suggestion is for them to build a low-rise office building, but they are refusing to consider that because they were granted permission to build their high-rise building by the borough of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey and its mayor Joe Parisi. Hence the fight.

Please support this fight against LG. You can read more about this on the following sites:

http://www.protectthepalisades.org/

https://www.facebook.com/ProtectThePalisades

https://twitter.com/StopLGTower

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2013/07/protect_the_palisades_editoria.html

http://www.nynjtc.org/issue/protecting-palisades-ridgeline

The feeling of Easter--walking along the Akerselva river

Spring has arrived in Oslo, and I took a long walk today up along the Akerselva river. Watching the river and the land come back to life after winter’s pall warms my heart the way the sun warms my face and hands. It’s the best feeling in the world—walking along the river on a sunny blue-sky spring day, not a care in the world. This is the feeling of Easter—a peaceful rebirth of the heart and soul, and nature reflects that. Trees and bushes are budding en masse, the magpies, seagulls, ducks, pigeons and sparrows are out in force, sitting in the tree branches, searching for worms in the earth, sitting at the river's edge, or flying overhead. Green ivy is starting to make its way up along the stone wall of a house. Daffodils and tulips are blooming, forsythia likewise. And the river? It does what it does best—flows along through the natural curves and bends in the landscape, through the city that borders its banks, and over the small waterfalls. The stillness and peace of a walk along the river, out in nature, are gifts that money cannot buy. I have waited an entire winter to feel like this. 

Flirting at the river's edge

Reaching for the sun

Pigeons roosting

Magpie nest

Hanging blooms

Reflections of spring

The Akerselva River winding its way through Oslo

River curve and tree shadow

Ivy on its way to taking over a wall

Daffodils add color to the greens

The waterfall at Hønsa Lovisas house

Tulips are a true sign of spring

Cleansing and rebirth--Darren Aronofsky's Noah

It’s hard to have a clear opinion about Noah, Darren Aronofsky’s new film about the ark-builder, family man and reluctant servant of God given the task of saving the animals in order that the old corrupt world can be destroyed and a new purified one can take its place. That's because it raises so many unanswerable questions, using the biblical story of Noah. The Earth must suffer fire to cleanse what little remains in the way of civilization and flood waters that will wipe out mankind and allow for the birth of a new world. Noah is aided in his task of building the ark by the Watchers, creatures that are essentially beings of light (angels) that disobeyed the will of God by helping mankind, and who ended up punished by God--trapped by the elements of Earth—mud and rock. They are also called the 'giants in the earth'. When Noah (played by Russell Crowe), his wife Naameh (played by Jennifer Connelly) and his family meet them, they are giant stone creatures resembling small mountains when stationary, who destroy any person who dares to cross into their territory; they no longer trust humans. But they come to understand that Noah, who visits his grandfather Methuselah (played by Anthony Hopkins) in order to discuss with him the dreams he’s been having, is a good man, descended from the line of Seth, and not of Cain (who murdered his brother). The latter line has succeeded in the space of five generations in ravaging and plundering the Earth and destroying the creatures—animals and birds—who live on it. The Earth is a devastated place, lacking food and water. Noah and his family are nomads and vegetarians, who at times run into large groups of marauders who think nothing of murdering innocent people and taking what they want from them. As you watch the film, you know that the end of the world is coming; it cannot continue this way forever; the film is pervaded by this apocalyptic vision. It’s hard not to make the jump to the present day, where mankind’s brutality, violence, and continual devastation of the environment have marked our own world for extinction—in our case perhaps via global warming and/or natural catastrophes caused by our destruction of the planet we live on. The symbolism is not subtle.

The group of marauders descended from the line of Cain is led by a man named Tubal-Cain (played by Ray Winstone), who is ruthless, dangerous and proud. He believes man was made in the image and likeness of God, using that as an excuse to behave badly; he is not God-fearing, preferring to believe that man can behave like God and decide who lives and who dies. Noah is presumably the hero and Tubal-Cain is the anti-hero. Except that it never is that black-and-white, because as the film nears its end, it’s clear to all that Noah is not without sin. In fact, he is a guilt-ridden, deluded, plagued man, angry with the world and with God for assigning him this mission, merciless and ruthless in his own way. The tasks of building the ark, saving the animals, and saving his family prove to be too much for one man’s sanity, especially when he is challenged by his son Ham (played by Logan Lerman), whose pleas to save the young woman he has met and wishes to take with him onboard the ark are ignored, resulting in her death. Ham and Noah become estranged, and Ham is tempted to betray his father by Tubal-Cain, who has managed to come aboard the ark, threatening the survival of all those on board.

The film’s imagery is impressive. It’s hard not to be moved by the scenes of earthly devastation, the eventual flood (rising waters and death by drowning), the battle scenes between the marauders and the Watchers (and their eventual deaths and release from this world), the scenes of birds and animals making their way to the ark, as well as the segment on the creation of the world in seven days. The latter is especially impressive. But it’s also a provocative film as well as at times an over-the-top and illogical one. The numbers of innocent women and children who perished in the flood is hardly justifiable, if God is a righteous God. But we know that the God of the Old Testament was hardly a merciful God, in contrast to Jesus in the New Testament. In fact, the lives of women and children in this patriarchal age were worth very little. Why did God allow that? Why did God spare Noah and his family alone? Surely there were other good families that could also have been saved? Why did Noah first listen to Ham’s wish to find a woman to take aboard so that he would not be alone in the new world, only to vehemently repudiate that idea (he concludes that his only task was to save the animals, not that humans should repopulate the Earth. The scene where he tells his infertile adopted daughter Ila (played by Emma Watson) who is together with his son Shem (played by Douglas Booth) that she is a gift no matter that she cannot reproduce perhaps portends this)? Was that the correct conclusion? Who can know? Why did he consider murdering Ila’s twin daughters, only then to change his mind (he presumably goes against the will of God as he had divined it)? Did God really want him to kill his own grandchildren (one is reminded of the story of Abraham being asked to kill his son Isaac)? These questions are not answered in the Old Testament, and Aronofsky does not answer them either. I left the theater knowing that I had seen a film that would make me think about the things that Aronofsky is clearly preoccupied with—what are we doing to our planet, are we incurring the wrath of its Creator, is the Apocalypse coming, why are we so preoccupied with the end of the world and can we stop it, can we cleanse our world of sin, how can we be reborn and what will it take, is there a merciful Creator, is love the answer to all things (do women intuit and understand that message better than men), and are both men and women necessary to keep the balance between the cerebral and the emotional worlds we inhabit? We cannot have too much of the one or the other as mortal human beings. Or can we? What is Paradise, and why were its original inhabitants so willing to risk their happiness for something they (perceived that they) did not have? Why were they so gullible to temptation? And if they did not have happiness, then how could where they lived be called Paradise? Is it man’s curse to be forever dissatisfied with what he has? Or is this perhaps the greatest temptation of all—to trust others (sometimes in the guise of well-meaning, wise, 'religious' seekers and worldly leaders) to define happiness for us, when we know deep within ourselves what it really is? We must constantly be on the lookout for, and be able to identify, those who would deceive and mislead us, and we must not deceive ourselves. Not easy tasks, much like building an ark and rebuilding a broken world. 

A Sinkhole and a Chimney Fire

Our little neighborhood in the Sagene district of Oslo has been the subject of two newsworthy events within the past several days, both rather disconcerting. On Tuesday evening, a sinkhole about ten feet wide and fifty feet deep opened up in the road in front of a housing development right around the corner from where we live. Sinkholes seem to be a more common occurrence around the world now than they were before, or perhaps it’s just that they make the news more often these days, especially when they claim lives, as did the one in Florida in March 2013, when a house fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened up, taking the owner with it (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/01/florida-sinkhole_n_2788114.html).

The one in our neighborhood did not result in any casualties, luckily; the police and fire departments were on the scene immediately, and a geologist was called in for consultation. As it stood on Wednesday morning, road crews were busy working on it. Why it developed is a mystery, but it seems as though the combination of steady rain and recent roadwork contributed to its formation.

Sinkholes, whether they are on land or in the water, are scarily fascinating, as this link clearly demonstrates:  http://abcnews.go.com/International/photos/incredible-sinkholes-world-18651806/image-corvettes-collapse-giant-sinkhole-22481216. They can also suck in whatever is near them in the space of seconds, as the following video depicts. In this case, the sinkhole devoured trees in Assumption Parish, Louisiana http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcOPz_7KVQU&list=FL4rKLincZWuFolZVFChzj5g&feature=share.

Besides the sinkhole, our neighborhood also experienced a chimney fire on Wednesday evening. If you have never seen one, be glad that you haven’t. It’s a powerful reminder of how fast a fire develops, especially on a windy evening. The homeowners had clearly forgotten to clean their chimney before they lit a fire in their fireplace; whatever creosote and ash buildup that remained from previous use had obviously not been removed. I was watching TV in my living room when suddenly I noticed that the sky outside had become foggy. Within seconds there was a blanket of fog outside. And the fog was moving and blowing about, since Wednesday night was quite windy. But then the fog got thicker and darker, and I knew that it was smoke from a fire and not fog. I looked out the window and saw where the smoke was coming from—the chimney of one of the houses right across the street from where we live. As I watched, the smoke got even darker, billowing out of the chimney, followed by fire that leapt up out of the chimney. At that point, I ran to get my phone to call the fire department, but then I noticed that there were people in the house. I could see them through the windows, and I wasn’t sure if they knew their chimney was on fire. I decided instead to knock on their door and let them know, but when I got there, there were already people who had had the same idea, and who had called the fire department as well. The firemen arrived very quickly, and set about putting out the fire. Two of them made it onto the roof, and lowered down a device called a fire scrubber into the chimney, which by this time was spitting out glowing embers of quite some size. The fire scrubber removes the burning creosote by scraping the sidewalls clean; this took some minutes but it worked.

One thing is certain; had the roofs been made of wood, they would have caught fire. Luckily, they were Mediterranean-style clay tile roofs. However, the houses they sit atop are often old wooden houses that do burn rapidly and effectively if they catch fire, unfortunately. Watching what transpired was a reminder of how quickly accidents and disasters can happen. In the case of the sinkhole, no one could have really predicted that it would have happened, but with the chimney fire, it’s clear that it could have been prevented if the homeowners had remembered to clean their chimney before using the fireplace. 

This video will touch your heart

A wonderful video, actually a commercial from Thailand, with a positive uplifting message. If it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, I don't know what will.

This is the kind of book promotion I like

I'm a Kindle book reader; I download a lot of e-books to my iPad from Amazon.com. Every now and then I get emails from Amazon recommending books for me to read; their recommendations run the gamut from science fiction to workplace organizational behavior. I've gotten several emails from Amazon.com lately recommending Management and Leadership books that might be of interest to me. Imagine my surprise when I saw the first book suggestion--my book! Couldn't be happier with this kind of book promotion, especially if these types of promotional emails are being sent to other customers with similar interests. Thank you Amazon!

Want to see a touching and beautiful pet video? This is it.

Quotes about friendship

One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.

--Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

--Marcel Proust

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.

--Henri Nouwen

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

--Albert Schweitzer

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun.

--Charles R. Swindoll

So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.

--Helen Keller

A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else.

--Len Wein

Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

--Anais Nin

There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.

--Thomas Aquinas

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.

--Octavia Butler

Friends... they cherish one another's hopes. They are kind to one another's dreams.

--Henry David Thoreau

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

--Walter Winchell

You can always tell a real friend: when you've made a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job.

--Laurence J. Peter

Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend.

--Plautus

Thinking about the future and retirement when you are young

I’m always a bit surprised by what people respond to on social media sites. I am a rather infrequent commenter myself on social media; it takes a lot to get me to write a pithy response to an online article that I found provocative, timely or interesting. If something strikes me as inherently kind or compassionate, I may write a short note praising the writer for his or her insights and empathy. This past week I read a very short but good article on the Care2 website that dispensed some good advice on how to stop wasting money and to think about the future (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-6-ways-we-all-waste-money-and-how-to-stop.html). I thought the article was well-written enough to comment on, and this is what I wrote:

Very good tips. If I could emphasize one thing, it would be this. Think about retirement when you are young and starting out in the work world. It's never too soon to start saving your own money toward retirement.

The Care2 community likes to deal out what it calls Green Stars of Appreciation, and I got quite a few for this little comment (notification by email). All well and good. What struck me was that this way of thinking is perhaps not so widespread as you might think. When I worked at different American workplaces in the 1980s, there was always the requisite orientation day that included presentations of 401K plans and IRAs and that sort of thing, so we were in fact briefly introduced to the topic of retirement. But it wasn’t ‘emphasized’ to think ahead, to sock away as much as possible so that you had a good nest egg for when you were older. And when you’re young, you think you’ll be young forever, so you don’t save as much as you should toward retirement. I asked several people, all of whom are middle-aged like me, whether they had been encouraged to save for retirement when they were young and starting out in the work world. The answer was unanimously ‘no’, and that’s true for me as well. Several of those I talked to wished that it had been hammered into them—save for retirement no matter what.

I make it a point to tell the young people I know to save a lot toward retirement when they’re young. Think income, promotions and salary raises. Look out for yourself. I say this to young women especially, but the advice is relevant for young men as well. Why? When you are young, work matters a lot, in fact, identity becomes wrapped up in one’s work. You love your job and you think you will want to work forever. You don’t consider any other possibility. And the world around you is telling you ‘don't play it safe, take risks, live for now’. But mindsets change as we grow older--gradually for some people, abruptly for others, depending upon how you are treated by your workplaces in many cases when you reach middle-age. Suddenly you may find yourself thinking about retiring early in order to pursue a new career, course of study, hobbies, volunteer work—but you don’t have the funds to retire. You don’t have the freedom to change your life. This might not seem like a big deal to some people, but it is a big deal. It is no fun to be stuck in a job or a way of life you are weary of until you are 70 years of age in order to have enough money to retire. I think it might also be smart to tell young people that they don’t have to have the biggest homes, multiple cars, expensive vacations, and all the rest, at the expense of a good retirement account. You don't have to achieve the materialistic dreams that society deems important. Enjoy life, enjoy material pursuits (to a point), pursue your work dreams and goals, but be smart about the future. One day you will retire and you may want to do it sooner than later.   

Favorite movies from the 1980s until now (so far)

1. 2010 (1984) with Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban
2. 28 Days Later (2002) with Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer
3. A Fish Called Wanda (1988) with John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin 
4. Aliens (1986) with Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
5. Another Earth (2011) with Brit Marling, William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, DJ Flava
6. Body Heat (1981) with William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
7. Brokeback Mountain (2005) with Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
8. Bugsy (1991) with Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley
9. Casino (1995) with Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci
10. Children of a Lesser God (1986) with William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie
11. Coraline (2009) with Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders
12. Dances with Wolves (1990) with Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
13. Despicable Me (2010) with Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand
14. Dracula (1992) with Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins
15. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010 documentary) with Banksy, Space Invader, Mr. Brainwash
16. Far from Heaven (2002) with Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert 
17. Ghost Busters (1984) with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver 
18. Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) with Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt
19. Grey Gardens (2009 TV Movie) with Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ken Howard
20. Hamam (The Turkish Bath) (1997) with Alessandro Gassman, Francesca d'Aloja, Carlo Cecchi 
21. Home Alone (1990) with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern 
22. I Am Legend (2007) with Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan
23. Ice Age (2002) with Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano  
24. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) with Sam Neill, Jürgen Prochnow, Julie Carmen, David Warner
25. In the Valley of Elah (2007) with Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jonathan Tucker, Jason Patric
26. In Time (2011) with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde
27. Jacob's Ladder (1990) with Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena, Danny Aiello  
28. Jane Eyre (2011) with Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Su Elliot
29. Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011) with Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini
30. Jurassic Park (1993) with Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
31. Lady Chatterley (2006) with Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Hippolyte Girardot  
32. Le renard et l'enfant (2007) with Bertille Noël-Bruneau, Isabelle Carré, Thomas Laliberté, Camille Lambert
33. Light Sleeper (1992) with Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, Dana Delany, David Clennon
34. Lincoln (2012) with Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
35. Marley (2012 documentary) with Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Lee 'Scratch' Perry
36. Max Manus (2008) with Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ken Duken
37. Men in Black (1997) with Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino 
38. Michael Clayton (2007) with George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Michael O'Keefe
39. Minority Report (2002) with Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
40. Miss Potter (2006) with Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn
41. Moon (2009) with Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw
42. Oblivion (2013) with Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
43. Out of Africa (1985) with Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer
44. Pandorum (2009) with Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue
45. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) with Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
46. Phoenix (1998) with Ray Liotta, Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin 
47. Pitch Black (2000) with Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Vin Diesel, Keith David
48. Prometheus (2012) with Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
49. Ratatouille (2007) with Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm
50. Romancing the Stone (1984) with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito
51. Romeo is Bleeding (1993) with Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Wallace Wood, Juliette Lewis
52. Scarface (1983) with Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
53. Shoot the Moon (1982) with Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller
54. Skyfall (2012) with Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
55. Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) with Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson 
56. Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) with Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill, Gil Bellows
57. Solaris (2002) with George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Tukur, Viola Davis
58. Something Wild (1986) with Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta  
59. The Accidental Tourist (1988) with William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, Amy Wright
60. The Age of Innocence (1993) with Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder  
61. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) with Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard 
62. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) with Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson
63. The ‘Burbs (1989) with Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman
64. The End of the Affair (1999) with Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea 
65. The Grifters (1990) with Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening, Jan Munroe
66. The King's Speech (2010) with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
67. The Last Seduction (1994) with Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman  
68. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) with Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko
69. The Money Pit (1986) with Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov, Maureen Stapleton
70. The New Daughter (2009) with Kevin Costner, Ivana Baquero, Samantha Mathis, Gattlin Griffith
71. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) with Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
72. The Proposal (2009) with Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson
73. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) with Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
74. The Shining (1980) with Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
75. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) with Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney, Kasi Lemmons
76. The Sixth Sense (1999) with Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
77. The Skeleton Key (2005) with Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Gena Rowlands
78. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) with Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint
79. The Witches of Eastwick (1987) with Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer
80. Traitor (2008) with Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Archie Panjabi, Saïd Taghmaoui
81. Twelve Monkeys (1995) with Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt  
82. Volver (2006) with Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo
83. What Dreams May Come (1998) with Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow
84. What Lies Beneath (2000) with Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katharine Towne, Miranda Otto
85. What Women Want (2000) with Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Alan Alda

Favorite movies from the 1930s - 1970s

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) with Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
2. 40 Carats (1973) with Liv Ullmann, Edward Albert, Gene Kelly, Binnie Barnes
3. Adam’s Rib (1949) with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday
4. Agatha (1979) with Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton, Helen Morse
5. Alien (1979) with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
6. All That Heaven Allows (1955) with Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel
7. All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) with Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton
8. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey
9. Barefoot in the Park (1967) with Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick
10. Brigadoon (1953) with Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart
11. Burnt Offerings (1976) with Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart
12. BUtterfield 8 (1960) with Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Eddie Fisher, Dina Merrill
13. De Dødes Tjern (1958) with Andre Bjerke, Bjørg Engh, Henki Kolstad
14. Dial M for Murder (1954) with Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings
15. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973, TV) with Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson, William Demarest
16. Don’t Look Now (1973) with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie
17. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) with Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner
18. Fantasia (1940)
19. House of Dark Shadows (1970) with Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roger Davis
20. House of Wax (1953) with Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk
21. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) with Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Noel Francis 
22. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) with James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
23. Klute (1971) with Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider
24. Light in the Piazza (1962) with Olivia de Havilland, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux
25. Marlowe (1969) with James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carroll O'Connor, Rita Moreno
26. Midnight Cowboy (1969) with Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver
27. Mon Oncle (1958) with Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie, Lucien Frégis
28. Oliver! (1968) with Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed
29. Psycho (1960) with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
30. Rebecca (1940) with Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
31. Romeo and Juliet (1968) with Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery
32. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) with Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
33. Splendor in the Grass (1961) with Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle
34. Straight Time (1978) with Dustin Hoffman and Theresa Russell
35. Sunday in New York (1963) with Rod Taylor, Jane Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Robert Culp
36. The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) with Jennifer Jones, John Gielgud, Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna
37. The African Queen (1951) with Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
38. The Apartment (1960) with Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray
39. The Paradine Case (1947) with Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn
40. The Pearl of Death (1944) with Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey
41. The Sentinel (1977) with Cristina Raines, Ava Gardner, Chris Sarandon, Martin Balsam
42. The Split (1968) with Jim Brown, Diahann Carroll, Ernest Borgnine, Julie Harris
43. The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) with Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith
44. The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp, Cornelia Otis Skinner
45. Westworld (1973) with Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Norman Bartold

Street Art in Oslo III

Out walking yesterday in the nice weather, as were many others. We came upon some newer street art (at least I haven't seen it before on my walks around Oslo) and snapped some photos. There were a lot of other hobby photographers doing the same. A lot of artistic talent out there......Enjoy today's photos, and my earlier posts about street art in Oslo: http://paulamdeangelis.blogspot.no/2012/10/street-art-in-oslo.html and http://paulamdeangelis.blogspot.no/2013/06/more-street-art-in-oslo.html

Another great poem

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 

A great poem by Charles Bukowski

air and light and time and space 

”– you know, I’ve either had a family, a job,
something has always been in the
way
but now
I’ve sold my house, I’ve found this
place, a large studio, you should see the space and
the light.
for the first time in my life I’m going to have
a place and the time to
create.”

no baby, if you’re going to create
you’re going to create whether you work
16 hours a day in a coal mine
or
you’re going to create in a small room with 3 children
while you’re on
welfare,
you’re going to create with part of your mind and your body blown
away,
you’re going to create blind
crippled
demented,
you’re going to create with a cat crawling up your
back while
the whole city trembles in earthquake, bombardment,
flood and fire.

baby, air and light and time and space
have nothing to do with it
and don’t create anything
except maybe a longer life to find
new excuses
for.

------------------------------------------

What a great poem, and it came along just at the right time for me. I've been feeling 'stuck'--as though I've been sitting in creative prison, waiting for the jailor (most likely myself) to come free me so that I can write, take photos and work on book projects again. I forgot that most of my creative work has in fact been done while I have been 'stuck' doing other things, like working full-time at another kind of job. So thank you Mr. Bukowski for your inspiring words--they got me out of my funk and back to work..........

Started watching Sleepy Hollow, still watching TWD

Started watching the show Sleepy Hollow at the beginning of January; we’re some months behind the USA where I know the season finale already took place in December. I love the show; it works for me, thanks to the superb acting of Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane, Nicole Beharie as Abbie Mills and Orlando Jones as Frank Irving. I grew up in Tarrytown NY, the sister town to Sleepy Hollow (which was formerly called North Tarrytown); The Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving was required reading in high school. Most inhabitants of both towns are familiar with the story of the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane. The TV show bears little resemblance to the original story, but it’s a cleverly-written supernatural show that works. Tonight’s episode, Sanctuary, was especially good; we now know that Katrina, Ichabod’s wife, gave birth to a son in a house that was a sanctuary for former slaves as well as a haven against supernatural evil forces. The baby’s birth breaks the protective spell surrounding the house and the evil forces invade the house. It is implied that many of the inhabitants were killed. In the present time it is an abandoned haunted house—haunted by good and evil ghosts, and ‘guarded’ by the ‘tree monster’ that was sent by the demon Moloch to destroy the original inhabitants of the house. The tree monster is awakened to life when a descendant of the original family who owned the house overtakes it and decides to renovate it and live there. Every now and then when I watch this show, I am (briefly) reminded of The X-Files, another favorite show of mine, because the wonderful chemistry between the two main characters Ichabod and Abbie in Sleepy Hollow reminds me of the chemistry between The X-Files’ Dana Scully (played by Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny).

Still watching The Walking Dead (and it still gets under my skin—as in, it’s still pretty creepy after four seasons in). It’s not so much that I’ve grown attached to any particular character; it wouldn’t make much sense to do that, given that the show is not averse to killing off major as well as minor characters. Again, the actors (thanks to the writers) do a very credible job of showing us what it might be like to live in an apocalyptic world peopled by zombies. But the show also realistically depicts what it might be like to have to deal with other survivors who might not be the nicest people (the Governor and his lackeys). It is one of those rare shows where the group dynamics provide much of the reason for my watching it. I like the interplay between the characters, their different strengths and weaknesses, the way they depend on each other, and the way they face their fears, as well as watching them deal with the ‘walkers’, because that’s what the show is really about—dealing with the living dead that are always lurking about. It’s not so much the shuffling and the way they move and look that are unnerving, but rather the way they sound—you can hear them coming (growling) long before they actually appear. I suppose in one way this should be advantageous, as it gives the characters time to get away or to prepare for confrontation. On the other hand……..