(Ward 1988) The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
(Clough 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.665 ― Dragonfire, Part 1
(Bole 1991) Star Trek, the Next Generation: Ep.89 ― First Contact
(Stevenson 1974) The Island at the Top of the World
(Clough 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.666 ― Dragonfire, Part 2
(Clough 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.667 ― Dragonfire, Part 3
(Bill 1980) My Bodyguard
(Moore 1990) Demon Wind
(Trelfer 2018) Dark Corners Review: (329) Demon Wind
(Pal 1960) The Time Machine
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FILMS – DECEMBER 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on December 31, 2018
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First-time listening for December 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on December 31, 2018
No comments
25361. (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Bastien et Bastienne, Operetta in One Act, K.50
. . . . . [d. Clemencic; Choy, Kirchner]
25362. (Audra McDonald) Sing Happy
25363. (Wham!) The Best of Wham
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READING – DECEMBER 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on December 31, 2018
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24041. (Mario Liverani) The Ancient Near East ― History, Society and Economy
24042. (Johnny Hart) B.C. ― Great Zot, I’m Beautiful
24043. (Ni Sheng; U Wa Tang & Adam Grydehøj) Urban Morphology and Urban
. . . . . Fragmentation in Macau, China: Island City Development in the Pearl River Delta
. . . . . Megacity Region [article]
24044. (Fred C. Woudhuizen) The Luwian Hieroglyphic Contribution to the Alphabet [article]
24045. (Robert van Gulik) The Emperor’s Pearl
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Image of the month: The Palace of Purification
Posted by Phil Paine
on December 1, 2018
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This is not the magnificent main building of the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto. It’s merely a pumphouse and maintenance building below the more famous main structure which is “opulent with marble entryways and vast halls filled with pools of water and filtration equipment”. Yet even this structure is grand, worthy of the self-taught genius who believed that civil engineering was a spiritual calling.
FILMS – NOVEMBER 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 30, 2018
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(Hunt 1982) The Mysterious Stranger
(Honda 1957) The Mysterians [地球防衛軍; Chikyû Bôeigun]
(Trelfer 2014) Dark Corners Review: (175) The Mysterians
(Wright 2010) Murdoch Mysteries: Ep.39 ― The Tesla Effect
(Breakston & Crane 1959) The Manster [双頭の殺人鬼]
(Trelfer 2018) Dark Corners Review: (322) The Manster
(De Felitta 1981) Dark Night of the Scarecrow
(Morgan 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.654 ― Time and the Rani, Part 1
(Morgan 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.655 ― Time and the Rani, Part 2
(May 1940) The Invisible Man Returns
(Morgan 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.656 ― Time and the Rani, Part 3
(Morgan 1987) Doctor Who: Ep.657 ― Time and the Rani, Part 4
(González 1965) The Fool Killer Read more »
First-time listening for November 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 30, 2018
No comments
25328. (Richard Strauss) Macbeth, Tone Poem after Shakespeare for Orchestra
25329. (Seun Kuti & Egypt 80) Many Things
25330. (Infected Mushroom) Converting Vegetarians
25331. (Hildegard of Bingen) O vis aeternitatis
25332. (Hildegard of Bingen) Nuch aperuit nobis
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READING – NOVEMBER 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 30, 2018
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24016. (Philip José Farmer) Sail On! Sail On! [story]
24017. (Joan Collins) The Snow Queen [ill. Kathie Layfield]
24018. (Clive Gamble) Archaeology: The Basics
The Magazine of Fantasy [& Science Fiction], Vol.1, #1, Fall 1949:
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Seventh Meditation on Democracy [written October 1, 2008] REPUBLISHED
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 10, 2018
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In the beginning years of this blog, I published a series of articles called “Meditations on Democracy and Dictatorship” which are still regularly read today, and have had some influence. They still elicit inquiries from remote corners of the globe. They are now buried in the back pages of the blog, so I’m moving them up the chronological counter so they can have another round of visibility, especially (I hope) with younger readers. I am re-posting them in their original sequence over part of 2018. Some references in these “meditations” will date them to 2007–2008, when they were written. But I will leave them un-retouched, though I may occasionally append some retrospective notes. Mostly, they deal with abstract issues that do not need updating.
A few days ago, I was in the subway, and I overheard a conversation about our current national election. Two boys who, from their appearance, could have been no further along in school than grade nine or ten, were discussing the televised debates between the leaders of the five major political parties. What struck me, as I listened in, was that the discussion was cogent and intelligent. One of the boys, who seemed the youngest, was particularly articulate, and his opinions were not the simple parroting of some adult he had heard, or the pursuit of a party line. In fact, his analysis of the debate showed keener observation and judgment than that of the professional commentators who dissected the debate after the broadcast. Read more »
Image of the month: Kel Tagelmust
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 1, 2018
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A Tuareg noble of the Sahara, exactly as I remember such men. They are occasionally referred to as kel tagelmust (veiled people) because of the headgear and robe dyed with shimmering indigo. This garment is fine-tuned for the Sahara’s violent sandstorms, blistering sun, wild swings in temperature, and is designed to conserve precious body moisture. Perhaps it’s the inspiration for the “stillsuit” in Frank Herbert’s Dune. The seven tribal confederations of the Tuareg always seemed to me a much more plausible model for Herbert’s science fiction classic than the Badawi of Arabia, and the history of the Sahara and Maghrib have episodes that parallel the story of Dune.
FILMS – OCTOBER 2018
Posted by Phil Paine
on October 31, 2018
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(Young 1962) Dr. No
(Sheldon 1981) Lovely But Deadly
(Trelfer 2018) Dark Corners Review: (321) Lovely But Deadly
(Schaffner 1965) The War Lord
(Raymond 1931) The Speckled Band
(Wright 2010) Murdoch Mysteries: Ep.38 ― In the Altogether
(Mann 2008) Les enquêtes de Murdoch: Ep.1 ― D’un courant à l’autre
(Elvebakk 2014) Ballet Boys
(Seiler 1939) Dust Be My Destiny
(Waters 1994) Serial Mom
(Pavlou 1986) Rawhead Rex
(Tenold 2018) Brandon’s Cult Movie Reviews: Rawhead Rex
(Sachs 2016) Little Men
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