Posts tagged child
“Anna Karenina” Is Cinematic Opera
Dec 13th
“Cinematic Opera”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Anna Karenina is based on Count Leo Tolstoy’s second great major novel, it is about a tragic love story, and of all the versions that have been filmed about it, this one is the most recent.
This one might also be the most daring of them all, considering how it portrays the action, and it undoubtedly will not be to everyone’s liking.
It stars Keira Knightly as Anna, Jude Law as her stodgy husband, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the dashing Count Vronsky.
The story begins in 1874 Imperial Russia, and you might wonder what the heck is going on with the action consisting of actors and actresses being on a stage in a theater?
Talk about suspension of disbelief! We have to pretend that we are watching a stage performance of this familiar story, and then we have to pretend that we didn’t see the actors walk through the back of the theater building and continue acting in a realistic setting like we are accustomed to seeing in most traditional films.
And then before we know it, the realistic scenes switch back and forth without warning with the surrealistic scenes inside a theater, including an unbelievable scene inside the theater about a horse race with real horses and riders dashing across the stage.
If that technique doesn’t throw off the audience enough, even if you are familiar with the story, you might be thrown off by the confusing Russian names, which make it difficult to keep all the characters straight, as well as by a subplot of another love story between two of the minor characters.
The main love story is about Anna, an aristocratic married woman with a child who falls in love with Count Vronsky and eventually has a child with him.
I won’t spoil the ending for those of you who are not familiar with the story, but for those of you who are, you might be disappointed in that a subplot coda is tacked on after the traditional ending, which in my mind ruined the story.
In addition, this film reminded me of opera, which is a stylistic rendition of a story consisting of vocal performances with orchestral accompaniment.
Anna Karenina is cinematic opera without the singing, but with music throughout, it ruins a perfectly good, classic love story, and I don’t like opera.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Flagler College news – November 2, 2012
Nov 3rd
Rene Shwartzbuckle has an obsession for a turnip-like vegetable called rapunzel. After spotting a delectable patch of the plant in Witch Izwitch’s garden, Rene sends her husband to “borrow” some. When the witch has her malicious henchmen terrorize him, he agrees to give his firstborn child to the witch in exchange for unlimited amounts of the plant.
Sixteen years later, the child, a daughter named, you guessed it, Rapunzel, has been placed in a tower, destined to be rescued in the children’s musical play, “Let Your Hair Down Rapunzel,” presented by Flagler College’s Children’s Musical Theatre class.
“We make a point of selecting shows that appeal to the child in all of us, ” says director Phyllis Gibbs. “We hope everyone will be entertained.”
The play will be presented at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 and 2 p.m. Nov. 10-11 in the Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St. in St. Augustine.
Tickets are $10 and $5 for children. A special Tea Party with the characters will be held after the Nov. 10 performance by reservation only. Tickets to the performance and Tea Party are $20 for adults and $10 for children. For more info, call 904-819-6217.
Flagler Professor to Deliver Keynote Election Night Speech in New York City
Will Miller, assistant professor of public administration at Flagler College, has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker for an election night dinner hosted by Danske Capital at the New York City Public Library on Nov. 6.
Miller will be speaking before roughly 150 invited guests including internal representatives from Danske Capital along with select clients who are primarily CEOs and CIOs from Northern Europe’s leading pension funds, insurance companies and capital funds.
“The 2012 Presidential race is shaping up to be one of the most interesting of our time. With a clear difference between the views of the two major party candidates and a fairly polarized electorate with few truly undecided voters, all of Election Day will be spent looking at turnout and exit polls,” said Miller. “A small handful of voters in a few number of states have the potential to select the course of our country as we look toward the next four years.”
Miller’s presentation will focus on an overview of both the Romney and Obama campaigns and how their policy beliefs will potentially impact the economies of Northern Europe along with relationships between our nation and the region. He will be providing a detailed discussion of both demographic and polling trends in key battleground states and will be offering an analysis of exit polls as they become available and issuing predictions based on that data as merited. Miller’s research focuses on public opinion and electoral studies.
Miller has published an edited volume on the Tea Party’s impact on Senate races and American politics in 2010. He has two additional volumes set to be released in early 2013-one looking at the 2012 Republican Party nomination and the other on the Tea Party’s impact on 2012 races.
The dinner and Miller’s address serve as the culminating events for Danske’s two-day Capital Summit Seminar Program entitled “The U.S. & Global Economy: Outlook and Investment Implications.”
In lieu of an honorarium, Danske Capital will be donating to Flagler College to establish a textbook scholarship for students within the Public Administration Program.
“This is an excellent opportunity to speak as a member of the Flagler College faculty to an audience of international investors in a historic location about a potentially monumental election and help further awareness of our first-rate academic programs and students,” said Miller. “To be able to have Danske Capital make a donation to help students in the Public Administration Program only makes the opportunity that much more exciting.”
Source: Flagler College
2012 Fiat 500
Oct 13th
We’ll have to wait and see about its reliability, but the 2012 Fiat 500 is yet another stylish subcompact that proves that small can be cool. Pros: Adorable styling, highly customizable, fuel-efficient, surprisingly spacious for two people. Cons: Wait-and-see reliability, limited dealer network, less cargo room than rivals, cramped for four people. There was once a car so small it made the Mini seem like a Big. A car so cute the animators of the movie Cars did little to transform one into the adorable “Luigi.” A car that if you saw one on the streets, you’d swear it was a child’s scale replica. That car was the Fiat 500, or Cinquecento en Italiano, and it left such an indelible impression during its 18-year lifespan that Fiat performed a Mini-like resurrection to it three years ago. Now, with Fiat purchasing Chrysler last year, the 500 has been chosen to be the pioneer model to reintroduce the Fiat brand to North America.
The 2012 Fiat 500 certainly has the potential to be the next big (or rather, small) thing. While the original 500 was the size of a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, the nuova 500 looks far more like a regular car — albeit a tiny one. Compared to a Mini Cooper, it’s 6 inches shorter in overall length and 2 inches narrower. However, it is also more than 4 inches taller, allowing for an elevated seating position that not only increases visibility but creates more interior legroom. The result is a cabin that is surprisingly spacious, with more rear legroom on hand than its British nemesis (not that that’s saying much).