Quotable

"Amongst all possessions knowledge appears pre-eminent. The wise call it supreme riches, because it can never be lost, has no price, and can at no time be destroyed." - Hitopadesa

Literature Pick #14

The Thirty-Nine Steps
By John Buchan
First published in 1915, this is a masterful spy adventure thriller set right before the breakout of World War I. This is the first of five novels featuring the heroic protagonist Richard Hannay, a man with a certain knack for stumbling into trouble and then miraculously escaping it. I also recommend Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie version, even though it does differ significantly from the book.

Quotable

"One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night, or deep in sloping meadows, the feeling that every flower and leaf has just uttered something stupendously direct and important, and that we have by a prodigy of imbecility not heard or understood it. There is a certain poetic value, and that a genuine one, in this sense of having missed the full meaning of things. There is beauty, not only in wisdom, but in this dazed and dramatic ignorance." - G. K. Chesterton

Paintings of William Stanley Haseltine

Arco Naturale, Capri

Morning LIght, Roman Campagna

William Stanley Haseltine (1835-1900)
Haseltine was one of the best American artists, he was a master of landscape art and is one of the legends of the Hudson River School style of art.

Santa Maria della Salute, Sunset

Mt. Aetna from Taormina

Quotable

"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."
Edgar Allan Poe - Eleonora (1841)

Orion the Hunter

Orion the Hunter

from Leiden Aratea
by an unknown artist

Leiden Aratea is a 9th century AD illuminated copy of an astronomical treatise by Germanicus, who based his work on Phaenomena, an ancient Greek poem about the constellations written by Aratus, who himself based his work on a lost work by Eudoxus of Cnidus, a student of Plato.

Literature Pick #13

The Sky Trap

by Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994)

From the July 1941 issue of Comet, this is a wonderfully imaginative and exciting work of science fiction.

Favorite Actress Showcase #3: Danielle Fishel

Danielle Fishel played Topanga Lawrence on Boy Meets World, one of the greatest television shows ever made. More recently she has been the host of The Dish on the Style network, a channel I don't even have, luckily there're clips of the show on Youtube. The show is like The Soup but with a much hotter host. Danielle is stunningly beautiful and should be getting way better acting roles.

Deer Among Red-leaved Maple Trees

Deer Among Red-leaved Maple Trees
by an unknown artist
10th century Chinese painting - ink and colors on silk.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard art

Rinaldo in the garden of Armida

by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

This painting is based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Jerusalem Delivered. Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French Rococo artist, he painted this work circa 1763.

Literature Pick #12

The Talkative Tree 

by Horace Brown Fyfe
From the January 1962 issue of Worlds of If, this is an imaginative science fiction story.

Literature Pick #11

The Delegate from Venus

by Henry Slesar

A brilliant science fiction short story first published in the October 1958 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories.

Mountain landscape by Paul Bril

Mountain landscape by Paul Bril

Bril was born in Antwerp in 1554 and was a noted painter of landscapes and Capriccio art (works depicting fantastical architectural scenes). His brother Matthijs was also a well-known artist. This work is oil on copper and painted in the 1590's, the size is 4.6 × 6.9 inches.

Literature Pick #10

The Attendant's Confession

by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908), from Brazilian Tales

A masterful short story written by one of Brazil's greatest literary masters.

The Top Ten TV Shows To Premiere in the 90's

      Here is my list of what could be the best shows to begin their life in the 1990's.
      Of Course, this is only my opinion.
 
1. Home Improvement (1991-1999)
      The best show to premiere in the 90's is this one. Chronicling the life of an accident prone local TV tool show host and his wife, three sons, and quirky friends. 

2. Futurama (1999-present)
      Matt Groening's humorous retro-futuristic story of a man accidently frozen in 1999 and reawakened in the year 3000.
 
3. Boy Meets World (1993-2000)
      A show about Cory Matthews and his family, friends, and teacher/principal Mr. Feeny.
 
4. King of the Hill (1997-2010)
      The story of an honest but uptight man named Hank Hill and his egotistical wife Peggy, unathletic comedy loving son Bobby, and their wacky cast of friends. Set in a small Texas town.
 
5. NewsRadio (1995-1999)
      An office full of eccentric, quirky characters made for  constant hilarity.
 
6. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
      A Starfleet crew and a Maquis crew are thrown far from earth and must make their way back home together.
 
7. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996-2003)
      The story of girl who frequently deals with typical problems by using her magic and having her spells comically backfire.
 
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
      Joss Whedon's show about a girl who secretly was chosen to save the world from vampires and demons and all sorts of supernatural threats.
 
9. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997)
      Another version of the Superman comic book character.
  
10. 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001)
      Four aliens come to explore earth while trying (though not always succeeding) to pretend to be an average American family.