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Tag Archives: Benjamin Franklin
NYFCC: Best Non-Fiction Film: My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow
This year, the NYFCC awarded Julia Loktev’s five-and-a-half-hour documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow Best Documentary. There were many good docs this year, it was a very strong year, but this one was undeniable. For … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers, Movies
Tagged Benjamin Franklin, documentary, Russia, Ukraine, women directors
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“Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief!” — Benjamin Franklin
A re-post for Benjamin Franklin’s birthday, born in Massachusetts on this day in 1706. My grandmother had a big illustrated copy of Poor Richard’s Almanac, which I had practically memorized by the time I was 6 years old. The illustrations … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Founding Fathers, On This Day
Tagged Arguably, Benjamin Franklin, Christopher Hitchens, essays, politics, war
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Recommended Books: Memoirs
More recommendations: Recommended Fiction Recommended Non-Fiction MEMOIRS The Fervent Years: The Group Theatre And The Thirties, by Harold Clurman Probably the most famous of all the Group Theatre-related books. Harold Clurman writes his memories of that time and what those … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Music, writers
Tagged Anjelica Huston, Austria, Baby Doll, Benjamin Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Carroll Baker, Czechoslovakia, Diane Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Elia Kazan, Ellen Terry, Elvis Presley, Frank McCourt, Ginger Rogers, Goldie Hawn, Group Theatre, Harold Clurman, Ireland, James Salter, Jeanette Winterson, John Strasberg, Katharine Hepburn, Kathleen Turner, Lana Turner, Lauren Bacall, Lee Strasberg, Marlon Brando, Maud Gonne, Memoirs, Patricia Bosworth, Primo Levi, Robert Evans, Rosalind Russell, Russia, Shane Leslie, Shelley Winters, Shirley MacLaine, Stefan Zweig, Steve Martin, The Kid Stays In the Picture, Victor Serge, WWII
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Recommended: Biographies
For starters: My recommended Fiction books My recommended Non-Fiction books BIOGRAPHIES: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, by Joseph Ellis I’ve written a lot about Joseph Ellis’ work here. While I love David McCullough’s work so much, Ellis is … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Founding Fathers, James Joyce, Theatre, writers
Tagged A. Scott Berg, Abigail Adams, Alexander Hamilton, American Sphinx, Benjamin Franklin, Biography, Bruce Springsteen, Charles Lindbergh, Charlotte Bronte, David McCullough, Dean Martin, Edie Sedgwick, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ellen Terry, Elvis Presley, Emily Bronte, George Washington, Henry Irving, His Excellency, Howard Hawks, Howard Hughes, James Dean, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Adams, John Wayne, Joseph Cornell, Joseph Ellis, Marlon Brando, Mitford sisters, Montgomery Clift, Nick Tosches, Nureyev, Orson Welles, Oscar Wilde, Patricia Bosworth, Patricia Highsmith, Richard Ellmann, Ron Chernow, Sam Cooke, Simon Callow, Tennessee Williams, Thomas Jefferson, Truman Capote, W.B. Yeats, Zelda Fitzgerald
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Today In History: October 19, 1781: The Surrender at Yorktown
The surrender at Yorktown, which ended the American Revolutionary War. The day before: General Lord Charles Cornwallis to General George Washington, October 18, 1781 I agree to open a treaty of capitulation upon the basis of the garrisons of York … Continue reading
Posted in Founding Fathers, On This Day
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, politics, war
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On This Day: January 17, 1706
Ben Franklin was born on this day in 1706. I have only a few years to live and I am resolved to devote them to the work that my fellow citizens deem proper for me; or speaking as old-clothes dealers … Continue reading
On This Day: December 19, 1732: Happy Birthday, Poor Richard’s Almanack
On this day in history, December 19, 1732, Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac was born. Franklin included all the information that almanacs normally provide (sun rise, sun set, eclipses, weather predictions), but he did so in a tone and a … Continue reading
Today in History: November 14, 1732
On this day in history, the Library Company of Philadelphia (founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731 – and still open today) hired its first librarian, and opened for “business”. Here is a painting of Benjamin Franklin opening the first subscription … Continue reading
Happy birthday to Ben Franklin
I have only a few years to live and I am resolved to devote them to the work that my fellow citizens deem proper for me; or speaking as old-clothes dealers do of a remnant of goods, ‘You shall have … Continue reading
Happy birthday, Poor Richard
On this day in history, December 19, 1732, Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack was born – and the first issue published. Franklin included all the information that almanacs normally provide – sun rise, sun set, eclipses, weather predictions, yadda yadda. … Continue reading