That's a long stay
Wednesday 25 January 2012 at 11:23 am
I was looking to a reservation at Don Hall's Guest House in Fort Wayne for this week, and got the following:
Movie: The Artist
Sunday 22 January 2012 at 5:28 pm
Haruko and I saw The Artist yesterday.The move plot is not extraordinary, but the telling of the story is what makes is excellent. A star of the silent film, George Valentin, refuses to do talkies, but a starlet he help goes on to become a big star. He goes down into drink and deterioration, selling everything, but she looks out for him. In his pride, he refuses her help, but eventually acquiesces and goes on to make a movie with her.
The film is entirely in black and white, and his no dialog except for the last 30 seconds, when it shows a take of the talkie the stars are putting together. Expression and movement were the only way to tell the story, and the actors and actresses did a really good job.
The actress, who was French, said that she had to learn to act like an American actress - be louder, talk with her hands, occupy more space. Gloria Swanson was her model.
Douglas Fairbanks, whose popularity declined as talkies came out, was the model for Valentin. The directory used some subtle techniques to portray Valentin's decline, dressing him in suits that were a little too big, and making him wear heavy boots.
Interestingly, they shot the film on color stock because black and white film was not grainy enough.
Although the film is Fench, they shot in Hollywood for realistic locations. Sites included various theaters around town where silent films premiered, and Mary Pickford's residence as the startlet's house.
I recommend seeing it.
Corn and Sausage Chowder
Wednesday 28 December 2011 at 4:42 pm
One of my favorite winter dishes is Corn and Sausage Chowder. I got this from alt.gourmand, back on April 8, 1987. Steve Fritzinger, of Computer Consoles, Inc., contributed it. The email address is a blast from the past, predating the "@" sign: seismo!rlgvax!jsf.
Corn and Sausage Chowder
CORN-CHOWDER-2 in the USENET Cookbook
This chowder is a variation on a family recipe from an old roomate of mine. (She makes it without the sausage, and with more water). It goes very well with most seafood. I am especially fond of it served with crab cakes
Ingredients (Serves 6-8)
1 Polish sausage, cut into thin round slices
6 bacon slices, chopped
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
4 cups corn
2 cups cubed potatoes (pieces about 1/4 in. on a side)
1/8 tsp white pepper
red pepper sauce
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter
Procedure:
- In a big saucepan, brown the sausage and bacon until the bacon is crispy. I (Willard) find that this works best in a non-stick pan, and will even cook these in a non-stick frying pan, then make the rest of the recipe in a large saucepan. Remove sausage and bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Discard most of the fat, leaving enough to cook the onion.
- Saute onion in reserved fat until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Gradually stir in the flour. Add stock and water, stiffing constantly.
- Add sausage, bacon, corn, potatoes and white pepper. Add red pepper sauce to taste. Heat to boilding.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add milk and cook until soup is heated through, and potatoes are tender.
- Top with butter and serve.
My notes say that this is good with a sip of Chardonay.
Tea Review - Coconut Milky Oolong
Sunday 11 December 2011 at 2:16 pm
Coconut Milky Oolong at The Tea Spot
A tasty tea. Mild tea with some coconut flavor. A lot of flavored teas don't have much flavor, and taste just like tea. However, this has coconut overtones. It is not a strong coconut, however, like a coconut soda. I think it is pretty good. It is an easy-to-drink tea.
Computerized Archaeology - The Cenobium Project
Wednesday 23 November 2011 at 10:37 pm
The Cenobium Project is taking high resolution photographs of Romanesque cloister capitals in Medeterranean churches, and will eventually provide 3-D models. It is specialized, but it is an interesting example of computer usage in archaeology. The pictures show the capitals better than you could seem them in person.
Learning and Science - why Khan isn't enough
Sunday 06 November 2011 at 12:08 pm
The Kahn Academy got a large grant to expand their work, but evidence is that Kahn isn't the way to teach kids science.
Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos
Basically, if you have the wrong ideas to begin with, then you won't pay too much attention to the video and you won't learn anything. A better method was to discuss the misconceptions immediately. The students find it harder, but they actually learn something.
Why Economic Models are Wrong
Thursday 27 October 2011 at 04:41 am
Scientific American had an article summarizing a paper about why economic models are always wrong, but the first comment said it more succinctly: given a finite set of points, you can find an infinite number of equations (model parameters) that generate those point. Only one of that infinite number is correct, and you aren't going to find it. Of course, when the model changes over time, it is that much harder.
Climate models are basiclly the same thing, and have the same problem. Which means that all the conclusions based on computer models are a poor basis for changing society.
When are photographs no longer evidence?
Monday 24 October 2011 at 11:04 am
Amazing job here inserting synthetic objects into photos.
Rendering Synthetic Objects into Legacy Photographs from Kevin Karsch on Vimeo.
Drones - we aren't going to like where this goes
Saturday 08 October 2011 at 8:16 pm
The NY Times has an article that expresses my concern about drones. Basically, everyone will have drones soon enough, and the US is setting the precendent that it is ok to use them to kill people you don't like in other countries. We can expect to be on the receiving end in the not too distant future. If we can kill their people in their home, we should expect to have hostile drones flying over the United States and killing people. The defense contractors are probably ecstatic at the thought of the billions we will be spending on anti-drone defense systems. Drones may have seemed a cheap way to fight a war, but I think that in the end, they will end up costing us a lot of money, and leave us feeling forever uneasy. It will not have been worth it.
- « Previous page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 32
- Next page »
