Tag Archives: war

The Books: The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town, edited by Lillian Ross; ‘Masterpiece’, by John McCarten

Posted on April 10, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town, edited by Lillian Ross The Fun of It is a collection of “The Talk of the Town” pieces in The New Yorker, grouped … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On This Day: March 23, 1775

Posted on March 23, 2013 by sheila

Patrick Henry made his famous “give me liberty or give me death” speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. Benson Bobrick writes in his book Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution about a speech Henry … Continue reading →

Posted in Founding Fathers, On This Day | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Books: A Collection of Essays, ‘Inside the Whale’, by George Orwell

Posted on February 20, 2013 by sheila

On the essays shelf: A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell “Inside the Whale” is a gigantic essay which is a review of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer (the book is its focal point), but also spans out to discuss … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, James Joyce | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Books: A Collection of Essays, ‘Looking Back on the Spanish War’, by George Orwell

Posted on February 19, 2013 by sheila

On the essays shelf: A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia details his personal observations of the Spanish Civil War in the mid to late 1930s. He had gone there to fight for the Republicans … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Katyn (2007); Dir. Andrzej Wajda

Posted on February 16, 2013 by sheila

In mid-September, 1939, on a bridge in Poland, groups of people flee from opposite directions. The Germans invade from behind, and the Russians approach from the front. It is utter chaos. The crowd is well-dressed, for the most part, holding … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Stalin | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

The Books: A Collection of Essays, ‘Reflections on Gandhi’, by George Orwell

Posted on February 14, 2013 by sheila

On the essays shelf: A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell I love the first words of Orwell’s 1949 review of Gandhi’s partial autobiography, published in the 1920s: Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent… Christopher … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

The Books: A Collection of Essays, ‘Rudyard Kipling’, by George Orwell

Posted on February 8, 2013 by sheila

On the essays shelf: A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell “I woshipped Kipling at 13, loathed him at 17, enjoyed him at 20, despised him at 25, and now again rather admire him.” – George Orwell, 1936 I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Blue Kite (1993); Dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang

Posted on February 3, 2013 by sheila

It is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill. – Mao Zedong Tian Zhuangzhuang’s The Blue Kite is both an intimate story about the everyday life of a family, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged | Leave a comment

06/05 (2004); Dir. Theo van Gogh

Posted on January 30, 2013 by sheila

Director, Theo van Gogh On November 2, 2004, Dutch film director Theo van Gogh (his great-grandfather was Vincent van Gogh’s brother, Theo) was killed in broad daylight by Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Bouyeri. Van Gogh was cycling to work, and Bouyeri shot … Continue reading →

Posted in Directors, Movies | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

On This Day: “December 7, 1941 – A Date Which Will Live In Infamy.”

Posted on December 7, 2012 by sheila

Here is a cool fact about my home state, little Rhode Island: There is only one newspaper in the United States that comes out on Sunday afternoon, (as opposed to Sunday morning) and that is the local paper for Westerly, … Continue reading →

Posted in On This Day | Tagged | 4 Comments