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Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer. A major exponent of 20th century filmed dance, Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likeable characters that he played on screen.
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Although he is known today for his performance in Singin' in the Rain, he was a dominant force in Hollywood musical films from the mid 1940s until this art form fell out of fashion in the late 1950s. His many innovations transformed the Hollywood musical film, and he is credited with almost single-handedly making the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences.[1]
"Singing in the Rain"
Kelly was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1952 for his career achievements. He later received lifetime achievement awards in the Kennedy Center Honors, and from the Screen Actors Guild and American Film Institute; in 1999, the American Film Institute also numbered him 15th in their Greatest Male Stars of All Time list.
He was the third son of James Kelly, a phonograph salesman, and Harriet Curran, who were both children of Irish Roman Catholic immigrants. He was born in the Highland Park neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, at the age of eight, was enrolled by his mother in dance classes, along with his elder brother James. They both rebelled, and, according to Kelly: "We didn't like it much and were continually involved in fistfights with the neighborhood boys who called us sissies…I didn't dance again until I was fifteen." He thought it would be a good way to get girls.[2] Kelly returned to dance on his own initiative and by then was an accomplished sportsman and well able to take care of himself. He attended St. Raphael School Elementary School [3] In the Morningside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from Peabody High School in 1929 at the age of sixteen. He enrolled in Pennsylvania State College to study journalism but the economic crash obliged him to seek employment to help with the family's finances. At this time, he worked up dance routines with his younger brother Fred in order to earn prize money in local talent contests, and they also performed in local nightclubs.[2]
In 1930, Kelly's family started a dance studio on Munhall Road in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1931, he enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to study economics where he joined the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1933.[4] In 1932, the dance studio was renamed The Gene Kelly Studio of the Dance. A second location was opened in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1933. While still an undergraduate student and later as a student at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, Gene was a teacher at the dance studio. In 1931, he was approached by the Rodef Shalom synagogue in Pittsburgh to teach dance and stage the annual Kermess and was so successful that his services were retained for seven years until his departure for New York.[5] Eventually, though, he decided to pursue his career as a dance teacher and entertainer full-time and so dropped out of law school after two months. He began to focus increasingly on performing, later claiming: "With time I became disenchanted with teaching because the ratio of girls to boys was more than ten to one, and once the girls reached sixteen the dropout rate was very high."[2] In 1937, having successfully managed and developed the family's dance school business, he moved to New York City in search of work as a choreographer.[2]
An American in Paris, "I Got Rhythm"
After a fruitless search, Kelly returned to Pittsburgh, to his first position as a choreographer with the Charles Gaynor musical revue Hold Your Hats at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in April, 1938. Kelly appeared in six of the sketches, one of which, "La Cumparsita", became the basis of an extended Spanish number in Anchors Aweigh eight years later.
His first Broadway assignment, in November 1938, was as a dancer in Cole Porter's Leave It to Me! as the American ambassador's secretary who supports Mary Martin while she sings "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". He had been hired by Robert Alton who had staged a show at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and been impressed by Kelly's teaching skills. When Alton moved on to choreograph One for the Money he hired Kelly to act, sing and dance in a total of eight routines. His first career breakthrough was in the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Time of Your Life, which opened on October 25, 1939, where for the first time on Broadway he danced to his own choreography. In the same year he received his first assignment as a Broadway choreographer, for Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe. His future wife, Betsy Blair, was a member of the cast. They began dating and married on October 16, 1941.
In 1940, he was given the leading role in Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey, again choreographed by Robert Alton, and this role propelled him to stardom. During its run he told reporters: "I don't believe in conformity to any school of dancing. I create what the drama and the music demand. While I am a hundred percent for ballet technique, I use only what I can adapt to my own use. I never let technique get in the way of mood or continuity."[2] It was at this time also, that his phenomenal commitment to rehearsal and hard work was noticed by his colleagues. Van Johnson who also appeared in Pal Joey recalled: "I watched him rehearsing, and it seemed to me that there was no possible room for improvement. Yet he wasn't satisfied. It was midnight and we had been rehearsing since eight in the morning. I was making my way sleepily down the long flight of stairs when I heard staccato steps coming from the stage…I could see just a single lamp burning. Under it, a figure was dancing…Gene."[2]
"Moses Supposes"
Offers from Hollywood began to arrive but Kelly was in no particular hurry to leave New York. Eventually, he signed with David O. Selznick, agreeing to go to Hollywood at the end of his commitment to Pal Joey, in October 1941. Prior to his contract, he also managed to fit in choreographing the stage production of Best Foot Forward.
Selznick sold half of Kelly's contract to MGM and loaned him out to MGM for his first motion picture: For Me and My Gal (1942) with Judy Garland. Kelly was "appalled at the sight of myself blown up twenty times. I had an awful feeling that I was a tremendous flop" but the picture did well and, in the face of much internal resistance, Arthur Freed of MGM picked up the other half of Kelly's contract.[2] After appearing in the B-movie drama Pilot #5 he took the male lead in Cole Porter's Du Barry Was a Lady opposite Lucille Ball. His first opportunity to dance to his own choreography came in his next picture Thousands Cheer, where he performed a mock-love dance with a mop.
He achieved his breakthrough as a dancer on film, when MGM loaned him out to Columbia to work with Rita Hayworth in Cover Girl (1944), where he created a memorable routine dancing to his own reflection. In his next film Anchors Aweigh (1945), MGM virtually gave him a free hand to devise a range of dance routines, including the celebrated and much imitated animated dances with Jerry Mouse, and his duets with co-star Frank Sinatra.[6] Anchors Aweigh became one of the most successful films of 1945 and it garnered Kelly his first and only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In Ziegfeld Follies (1946) – which was produced in 1944 but not released until 1946 – Kelly collaborated with Fred Astaire – for whom he had the greatest admiration – in the famous "The Babbitt and the Bromide" challenge dance routine before leaving the studio for wartime service. Throughout this period Kelly was obliged to appear in straight acting roles in a series of cheap B-movies, now largely forgotten.
Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly
At the end of 1944, Kelly enlisted in the U.S. Naval Air Service and was commissioned as lieutenant junior grade. He was stationed in the Photographic Section, Washington D.C., where he was involved in writing and directing a range of documentaries, and this stimulated his interest in the production side of film-making.[4][7]
On his return to Hollywood in the spring of 1946, MGM had nothing lined up and used him in yet another B-movie: Living in a Big Way. The film was considered so weak that Kelly was asked to design and insert a series of dance routines, and his ability to carry off such assignments was noticed. This led to his next picture with Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli, the film version of Cole Porter's The Pirate, in which Kelly plays the eponymous swashbuckler. Now regarded as a classic, the film was ahead of its time and was not well received. The Pirate gave full rein to Kelly's athleticism and is probably best remembered for Kelly's work with The Nicholas Brothers – the leading African-American dancers of their day – in a virtuoso dance routine.
Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor
Although MGM wanted Kelly to return to safer and more commercial vehicles, he ceaselessly fought for an opportunity to direct his own musical film. In the interim, he capitalised on his swashbuckling image as d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers. and also appeared with Vera-Ellen in the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet in Words and Music (1948). He was due to play the male lead opposite Garland in Easter Parade (1948), but broke his ankle playing volleyball. He withdrew from the film and encouraged Fred Astaire to come out of retirement to replace him.[8] There followed Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), his second film with Sinatra, where Kelly paid tribute to his Irish heritage in The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day routine. It was this musical film which persuaded Arthur Freed to allow Kelly to make On the Town, where he partnered with Frank Sinatra for the third and final time, creating a breakthrough in the musical film genre which has been described as "the most inventive and effervescent musical thus far produced in Hollywood."[2]
Stanley Donen, brought to Hollywood by Kelly to be his assistant choreographer, received co-director credit for On the Town. According to Kelly: "…when you are involved in doing choreography for film you must have expert assistants. I needed one to watch my performance, and one to work with the cameraman on the timing..without such people as Stanley, Carol Haney and Jeanne Coyne I could never have done these things. When we came to do On the Town, I knew it was time for Stanley to get screen credit because we weren't boss-assistant anymore but co-creators."[2][9] Together, they opened up the musical form, taking the film musical out of the studio and into real locations, with Donen taking responsibility for the staging and Kelly handling the choreography. Kelly went much further than before in introducing modern ballet into his dance sequences, going so far in the "Day in New York" routine as to substitute four leading ballet specialists for Sinatra, Munshin, Garrett and Miller.[4]
t was now Kelly's turn to ask the studio for a straight acting role and he took the lead role in the early mafia melodrama: The Black Hand (1949). There followed Summer Stock (1950) – Judy Garland's last musical film for MGM – in which Kelly performed the celebrated "You, You Wonderful You" solo routine with a newspaper and a squeaky floorboard. In his book "Easy the Hard Way", Joe Pasternak, head of one of the other musical units within MGM, singled out Kelly for his patience and willingness to spend as much time as necessary to enable the ailing Garland to complete her part.[2]
Julie Andrews and Gene Kelly
There followed in quick succession two musicals which have secured Kelly's reputation as a major force in the American musical film, An American in Paris (1951) and – probably the most popular and admired of all film musicals – Singin' in the Rain (1952). As co-director, lead star and choreographer, Kelly was the central driving force. Johnny Green, head of music at MGM at the time, described him as follows:
"Gene is easygoing as long as you know exactly what you are doing when you're working with him. He's a hard taskmaster and he loves hard work. If you want to play on his team you'd better like hard work too. He isn't cruel but he is tough, and if Gene believed in something he didn't care who he was talking to, whether it was Louis B. Mayer or the gatekeeper. He wasn't awed by anybody and he had a good record of getting what he wanted".[2]
An American in Paris won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and, in the same year, Kelly was presented with an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to film musicals and the art of choreography. The film also marked the debut of Leslie Caron, whom Kelly had spotted in Paris and brought to Hollywood. Its dream ballet sequence, lasting an unprecedented seventeen minutes, was the most expensive production number ever filmed up to that point and was described by Bosley Crowther as, "whoop-de-doo … one of the finest ever put on the screen."[4]Singin' in the Rain featured Kelly's celebrated and much imitated solo dance routine to the title song, along with the "Moses Supposes" routine with Donald O'Connor and the "Broadway Melody" finale with Cyd Charisse, and while it did not initially generate the same enthusiasm as An American in Paris, it subsequently overtook the earlier film to occupy its current pre-eminent place among critics and filmgoers alike.[10]
Kelly, at the very peak of his creative powers, now made what in retrospect is seen as a serious mistake.[4] In December 1951 he signed a contract with MGM which sent him to Europe for nineteen months so that Kelly could use MGM funds frozen in Europe to make three pictures while personally benefiting from tax exemptions. Only one of these pictures was a musical, Invitation to the Dance, a pet project of Kelly's to bring modern ballet to mainstream film audiences. It was beset with delays and technical problems, and flopped when finally released in 1956. When Kelly returned to Hollywood in 1953, the film musical was already beginning to feel the pressures from television, and MGM cut the budget for his next picture Brigadoon (1954), with Cyd Charisse, forcing the film to be made on studio backlots instead of on location in Scotland. This year also saw him appear as guest star with his brother Fred in the celebrated "I Love To Go Swimmin' with Wimmen" routine in Deep in My Heart. MGM's refusal to loan him out for Guys and Dolls and Pal Joey put further strains on his relationship with the studio. He negotiated an exit to his contract which involved making three further pictures for MGM.
With Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal
The first of these, It's Always Fair Weather (1956) co-directed with Donen, was a musical satire on television and advertising, and includes his famous roller skate dance routine to "I Like Myself", and a dance trio with Michael Kidd and Dan Dailey which allowed Kelly to experiment with the widescreen possibilities of Cinemascope. A modest success, it was followed by Kelly's last musical film for MGM, Les Girls (1957), in which he partnered a trio of leading ladies, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall and Taina Elg, fittingly ending, as he had begun, with a Cole Porter musical. The third picture he completed was a co-production between MGM and himself, the B-movie The Happy Road, set in his beloved France, his first foray in his new role as producer-director-actor. Kelly did not return to stage work until his MGM contract ended in 1957, when in 1958 he directed Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play Flower Drum Song.[11] Early in 1960 Kelly, an ardent Francophile and fluent French speaker, was invited by A. M. Julien, the general administrator of the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique,[2] to select his own material and create a modern ballet for the company, the first time an American received such an assignment. The result was Pas de Dieux, based on Greek mythology combined with the music of George Gershwin's Concerto in F. It was a major success, and led to his being honored with the Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by the French Government.
Kelly continued to make some film appearances, such as Hornbeck in the 1960 Hollywood production of Inherit the Wind. However, most of his efforts were now concentrated on film production and directing. He directed Jackie Gleason in Gigot in Paris, but the film was subsequently drastically recut by Seven Arts Productions and flopped.[4] Another French effort, Jacques Demy's homage to the MGM musical: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) in which Kelly appeared, also performed poorly. He appeared as himself in George Cukor's Let's Make Love (1960).
His first foray into television was a documentary for NBC's Omnibus, Dancing is a Man's Game (1958) where he assembled a group of America's greatest sportsmen – including Mickey Mantle, Sugar Ray Robinson and Bob Cousy – and reinterpreted their moves choreographically, as part of his lifelong quest to remove the effeminate stereotype of the art of dance, while articulating the philosophy behind his dance style.[4] It gained an Emmy nomination for choreography and now stands as the key document explaining Kelly's approach to modern dance.
Three Tenors tribute to Gene
Kelly also frequently appeared on television shows during the 1960s, but his one effort at television series, as Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way (1962–63), based on the Best Picture of 1944 starring Bing Crosby, was dropped after thirty episodes, although it enjoyed great popularity in Roman Catholic countries outside of the United States.[4] He also appeared in three major TV specials: New York, New York (1966), The Julie Andrews Show (1965), and Jack and the Beanstalk (1967) a show he produced and directed which returned to a combination of cartoon animation with live dance, winning him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.
In 1963, Kelly joined Universal Pictures for a two-year stint which proved to be the most unproductive of his career so far. He joined 20th Century Fox in 1965, but had little to do – partly due to his decision to decline assignments away from Los Angeles for family reasons. His perseverance finally paid off with the major box-office hit A Guide for the Married Man (1967) where he directed Walter Matthau and a major opportunity arose when Fox – buoyed by the returns from The Sound of Music (1965) – commissioned Kelly to direct Hello, Dolly! (1969), again directing Matthau along with Barbra Streisand, but which unfortunately failed to recoup the enormous production expenses.
In 1970, he made another TV special: Gene Kelly and 50 Girls and was invited to bring the show to Las Vegas, which he duly did for an eight-week stint – on condition he be paid more than any artist had hitherto been paid there.[4] He directed veteran actors James Stewart and Henry Fonda in the comedy western The Cheyenne Social Club (1970) which performed very well at the box-office. In 1973 he would work again with Frank Sinatra as part of Sinatra's Emmy nominated TV special Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. Then, in 1974, he appeared as one of many special narrators in the surprise hit of the year That's Entertainment! and subsequently directed and co-starred with his friend Fred Astaire in the sequel That's Entertainment, Part II (1976). It was a measure of his powers of persuasion that he managed to coax the 77-year-old Astaire – who had insisted that his contract rule out any dancing, having long since retired – into performing a series of song and dance duets, evoking a powerful nostalgia for the glory days of the American musical film. Kelly continued to make frequent TV appearances and in 1980, appeared in an acting and dancing role opposite Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu (1980), an expensive theatrical flop which has since attained a cult following.[4] In Kelly's opinion "The concept was marvelous but it just didn't come off."[2] In the same year, he was invited by Francis Ford Coppola to recruit a production staff for American Zoetrope's One from the Heart (1982). Although Coppola's ambition was for him to establish a production unit to rival the Freed Unit at MGM, the film's failure put an end to this idea.[4] In 1985, Kelly served as executive producer and co-host of That's Dancing! – a celebration of the history of dance in the American musical. After his final on-screen appearance introducing That's Entertainment! III in 1994, his final film project was the animated movie Cats Don't Dance, released in 1997 and dedicated to him, on which Kelly acted as uncredited choreographic consultant.
Dean Martin and Gene Kelly
When he began his collaborative film work, he was heavily influenced by Robert Alton and John Murray Anderson, striving to create moods and character insight with his dances. He choreographed his own movement, along with that of the ensemble, with the assistance of Jeanne Coyne, Stanley Donen, Carol Haney, and Alex Romero.[1] He experimented with lighting, camera techniques and special effects in order to achieve true integration of dance with film, and was one of the first to use split screens, double images, live action with animation and is credited as the person who made the ballet form commercially acceptable to film audiences.[1]
There was a clear progression in his development, from an early concentration on tap and musical comedy style to greater complexity using ballet and modern dance forms.[12] Kelly himself refused to categorize his style: "I don't have a name for my style of dancing…It's certainly hybrid…I've borrowed from the modern dance, from the classical, and certainly from the American folk dance – tap-dancing, jitterbugging…But I have tried to develop a style which is indigenous to the environment in which I was reared."[12] He especially acknowledged the influence of George M. Cohan: "I have a lot of Cohan in me. It's an Irish quality, a jaw-jutting, up-on-the-toes cockiness – which is a good quality for a male dancer to have."[2] He was also heavily influenced by an African-American dancer Dancing Dotson, who he saw at Loew's Penn. Theatre around 1929, and was briefly taught by Frank Harrington, an African-American tap specialist from New York.[13] However, his main interest was in ballet, which he studied under Kotchetovsky in the early Thirties. As biographer Clive Hirschhorn explains: "As a child he used to run for miles through parks and streets and woods – anywhere, just as long as he could feel the wind against his body and through his hair. Ballet gave him the same feeling of exhilaration, and in 1933 he was convinced it was the most satisfying form of self-expression."[4] He also studied Spanish dancing under Angel Cansino, Rita Hayworth's uncle.[4] Generally speaking, he tended to use tap and other popular dance idioms to express joy and exuberance – as in the title song from Singin' in the Rain or "I Got Rhythm" from An American in Paris, whereas pensive or romantic feelings were more often expressed via ballet or modern dance, as in "Heather on the Hill" from Brigadoon or "Our Love Is Here to Stay" from An American in Paris.[12]
Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth
According to Delamater, Kelly's work "seems to represent the fulfillment of dance-film integration in the 1940s and 1950s". While Fred Astaire had revolutionized the filming of dance in the 1930s by insisting on full-figure photography of dancers while allowing only a modest degree of camera movement, Kelly freed up the camera, making greater use of space, camera movement, camera angles and editing, creating a partnership between dance movement and camera movement without sacrificing full-figure framing. Kelly's reasoning behind this was that he felt the kinetic force of live dance often evaporated when brought to film, and he sought to partially overcome this by involving the camera in movement and giving the dancer a greater number of directions in which to move. Examples of this abound in Kelly's work and are well illustrated in the "Prehistoric Man" sequence from On the Town and "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day" from Take Me Out to the Ball Game.[12] In 1951, he summed up his vision as follows: "If the camera is to make a contribution at all to dance, this must be the focal point of its contribution; the fluid background, giving each spectator an undistorted and altogether similar view of dancer and background. To accomplish this, the camera is made fluid, moving with the dancer, so that the lens becomes the eye of the spectator, your eye".[1]
Kelly's athleticism gave his moves a distinctive broad, muscular quality,[12] and this was a very deliberate choice on his part, as he explained: "There's a strong link between sports and dancing, and my own dancing springs from my early days as an athlete…I think dancing is a man's game and if he does it well he does it better than a woman."[2] He railed against what he saw as the widespread effeminacy in male dancing which, in his opinion, "tragically" stigmatized the genre, alienating boys from entering the field: "Dancing does attract effeminate young men. I don't object to that as long as they don't dance effeminately. I just say that if a man dances effeminately he dances badly — just as if a woman comes out on stage and starts to sing bass. Unfortunately people confuse gracefulness with softness. John Wayne is a graceful man and so are some of the great ball players…but, of course, they don't run the risk of being called sissies."[2] In his view, "one of our problems is that so much dancing is taught by women. You can spot many male dancers who have this tuition by their arm movements — they are soft, limp and feminine."[2] He acknowledged that, in spite of his efforts — in TV programs such as Dancing: A Man's Game (1958) for example — the situation changed little over the years.[2]
"You Were Meant For Me'
He also sought to break from the class-conscious conventions of the 1930s and early 40s, when top hat and tails or tuxedos were the norm, by dancing in casual or everyday work clothes, so as to make his dancing more relevant to the cinema-going public. As his first wife, actress and dancer Betsy Blair explained: "A sailor suit or his white socks and loafers, or the T-shirts on his muscular torso, gave everyone the feeling that he was a regular guy, and perhaps they too could express love and joy by dancing in the street or stomping through puddles…he democratized the dance in movies."[14] In particular, he wanted to create a completely different image from that associated with Fred Astaire, not least because he believed his physique didn't suit such refined elegance: "I used to envy his cool aristocratic style, so intimate and contained. Fred wears top hat and tails to the manner born — I put them on and look like a truck driver."[2]
Kelly was married to Betsy Blair for 15 years (1941–1957) and they had one child, Kerry. Kelly divorced Blair in 1957. In 1960, Kelly married his choreographic assistant Jeanne Coyne, who had divorced Stanley Donen in 1949 after a brief marriage. He remained married to Coyne from 1960 until her death in 1973 and they had two children, Bridget and Tim. He was married to Patricia Ward from 1990 until his death in 1996.
Gene Kelly was a lifelong Democratic Party supporter with strong progressive convictions, which occasionally created difficulty for him as his period of greatest prominence coincided with the McCarthy era in the U.S. In 1947, he was part of the Committee for the First Amendment, the Hollywood delegation which flew to Washington to protest at the first official hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. His first wife, Betsy Blair, was suspected of being a Communist sympathizer and when MGM, who had offered Blair a part in Marty (1955), were considering withdrawing her under pressure from the American Legion, Kelly successfully threatened MGM with a pullout from It's Always Fair Weather unless his wife was restored to the part.[4][15] He used his position on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West on a number of occasions to mediate disputes between unions and the Hollywood studios, and although he was frequently accused by some on the right of championing the unions, he was valued by the studios as an effective mediator. In later years he voiced opposition to the Vietnam War and was critical of presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
He retained a lifelong passion for sports and relished competition. He was known as a big fan of the New York Yankees. With his first wife, he organized weekly parties at their Beverly Hills home which were renowned for an intensely competitive and physical version of charades, known as "The Game".[15]
Kelly died in his sleep on February 2, 1996, in Beverly Hills, California after a stroke – he had also suffered a stroke the year before. His body was cremated the same day and he had left instructions that there was to be no funeral and no memorial services.[16] Kelly's papers are currently housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.
……and of course the only appropriate ending……
"Singing in the Rain"
Sources: Wikipedia, youtube, imdb.com, nndb.com
Musical films
Gene Kelly appeared as actor and dancer in the following musical films. He always choreographed his own dance routines, and often the dance routines of others, and often used assistants. As was the practice at the time, he was rarely formally credited in the film titles:[1]
|For Me and My Gal
|Harry Palmer
|Du Barry Was a Lady
|Alec Howe/Black Arrow
|Thousands Cheer
|Private Eddie Marsh
|Cover Girl
|Danny McGuire
|Anchors Aweigh
|Joseph Brady
|Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
|Ziegfeld Follies
|Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide'
|Living in a Big Way
|Leo Gogarty
|The Pirate
|Words and Music
|Take Me Out to the Ball Game
|Eddie O'Brien
|On the Town
|Summer Stock
|Joe D. Ross
|An American in Paris
|Jerry Mulligan
|Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
|Singin' in the Rain
|Don Lockwood
|Tommy Albright
|Deep in My Heart
|Specialty in 'Dancing Around'
|It's Always Fair Weather
|Ted Riley
|Invitation to the Dance
|Host/Pierrot/The Marine/Sinbad
|Les Girls
|Barry Nichols
|Marjorie Morningstar
|Let's Make Love
|What a Way to Go!
|Pinky Benson
|Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
|Andy Miller
|That's Entertainment!
|(also archive footage)
|That's Entertainment, Part II
|(also archive footage)
|Danny McGuire
|November 9, 1938 – July 15, 1939
|Leave It to Me!
|Secretary to Mr. Goodhue
|February 4, 1939 – May 27, 1939
|One for the Money
|various roles
|October 25, 1939 – April 6, 1940
|The Time of Your Life
|September 23, 1940 – October 19, 1940
|The Time of Your Life
|December 25, 1940 – November 29, 1941
|Pal Joey
|Joey Evans
|October 1, 1941 – July 4, 1942
|Best Foot Forward
|December 1, 1958 – May 7, 1960
|Flower Drum Song
|February 22, 1979 – April 1, 1979
|July 2, 1985 – May 18, 1986
|Singin' in the Rain
|Original film choreography
Nominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography
|Dancing: A Man's Game
|Going My Way
|Father Chuck O'Malley
|(30 episodes)
|Gene Kelly: New York, New York
|The Julie Andrews Show
|Jack and the Beanstalk
|Jeremy Keen, Proprietor (Peddler)
|Emmy Award for Best Children's Program
|The Funny Side
|Series host
|Frank Sinatra: Ol' Blue Eyes is Back
|Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena
|Muppet Show
|North and South
|Senator Charles Edwards
|Eric Hovland
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text:
watcher(redirected from Watchers)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia.
One who often checks the time during an activity or event, as due to boredom and/or a desire to leave. He's a total clock-watcher, so I doubt that he likes his job.
someone -- a worker or a student -- who is always looking at the clock, anticipating when something will be over. There are four clock-watchers in our office. People who don't like their jobs can turn into clockwatchers.
bird watcher
n. a girl watcher; someone, usually a man, who enjoys watching women go by. You bird watchers should just mind your own business!
clock watcher
n. someone—a worker or a student—who is always looking at the clock. People who don't like their jobs can turn into clock watchers.

subset: commoncrawl


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What happened? The UK is constitutionally in uncharted waters. After weeks of political campaigning no party won outright and a massive surge by the Liberal Democratic party fizzled into nothing (although in a remarkable turn of events they now have unprecedented power to decide the political future of the UK)
But after weeks of high profile, in which they went from years of dismally polling a fairly distant third to the other main political parties to sporadically outstripping both of them, to only for that 'surge' to melt away on the day that it mattered, even though they gained almost a million more votes ( a one percentage rise) than in the previous election in 2005. Of course, a presidential-style set of three television debates with the party leaders, a first for the UK, contributed to the media melee.
There are several lessons to learn here about political communication.
Firstly, the glare of overexposure threw the LibDem's campaign. Absurdly, a communication and reputation crisis was spawned from an unmitigated success, not a failure. Caught out by their sudden success, they had to maintain momentum but remained overfocussed on the Clegg effect and failed to spread the focus of attraction consistently. Differing messages were given to different media outlets, pandering to the audience without fully understanding that in the modern media environment, whispers get everywhere.
Secondly, CB3 always warns of the problem of over-messaging. But, being candid, this is in fact a misnomer. The message must be maintained but the data or information required to support the message – the flesh on the bones – must be varied, otherwise publics will become inured to, or at worst bored of, the same justifications. The LibDem message was good but the supporting data not varied enough – the public, initially made to sit up on the appearance of the third man saying new, fresh things, became tired of fresh ideas as they were represented in the same fashion repeatedly.
And thirdly, message momentum has to be maintained and increasingly detailed. The LibDem stance, and therefore message, on issues such as immigration and Trident, to name but a few, was never fully developed and given substance in terms of supporting data.
Of course, a largely right-wing press contributed to the failure of the surge, but a failure to develop arguments, spread the spectrum and loss of message momentum equally contributed to the failure of the LibDems to capitalise on brief but significant public adoration and the delivery of what is now a constitutional conundrum.
These are lessons, quickly observed but not assessed in detail. Importantly, they are not criticisms of actions taken or not taken during what must have been a whirlwind ride in the media glare which few could have foreseen or easily dealt with. CB3 doesn't wish to be an armchair general and recognises that the challenges faced by the LibDems, especially their campaign team, were massive and little understood by those looking in from the outside.
Posted by cb3blog in political communications Tags: Alternative vote, AV, cleggmania, conservative, constitution, constitutional crisis, david cameron, first-past-the-post, FPTP, gordon brown, immigration, labour, libdems, liberal democrats, message momentum, Nick Clegg, right-wing media, surge, trident, TV debates


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Where to eat, where to wait, and secrets about the historic train station
From Curbed Philly by By Melissa Romero and Anna Merriman
Philly is home to one of the last remaining grand train stations in America, the monumental 30th Street Station. Each year, more than 4 million passengers travel to and from the train station, making it Amtrak's third busiest hub in the nation.
Chances are you are one of those million-plus passengers who has passed through here, whether it was on your way to New York's Penn Station or to hop onto the SEPTA Regional Rail. Either way, happening upon the station's grand concourse, with its five-story-high windows and Art Deco chandeliers, is a no doubt a highlight of many travelers' experience.
It's a big place, though, and navigating it can be a bit tricky once you're able to look past the building's grandeur. Amtrak is on a multi-billion-dollar mission to make the station more pedestrian-friendly and ease traffic congestion around it.
So as you begin to navigate Fourth of July travel this week, here's a guide to help you get the most out of the iconic station.
Three train services operate out of 30th Street Station: Amtrak, SEPTA (local and regional rail), and NJ Transit
The station is located at 2955 Market Street, bound by Market to the South, Arch to the North, and N. 30th Street to the west.
There are a number of entrances to the station, including: The south entrance off Market Street; the west entrance off N. 30th Street; and the east entrance off Schuylkill Avenue.
30th Street Station is open 24 hours, seven days a week.
During the 1970s, the north-end terminal of 30th Street Station used to be home to a bowling alley, of all things. But it's been closed since it was damaged by a fire in the 1980s.
On the second floor of the train station there is a chapel that was frequently used by passengers when the station first opened. In later years, it became a temporary morgue for the remains of soldiers coming home from World War II. Today, it's used as a conference room for Amtrak employees.
The train station's roof is reinforced with concrete, an original feature that the architects incorporated to allow for a landing space for small aircrafts.
You could hail a cab or ride-sharing service, or park in a nearby lot, but you may have to add a few more minutes to your travel time given the traffic that tends to surround the train station. Assuming best case scenario, get dropped off a block away and walk the rest of the way, or just take the subway, trolley, or bus. In Philly already? 30th Street Station is serviced by the Market El-Frankford Line and five trolley lines: Routes 10, 34, 13, 11, and 36. Note that there is no direct connection from the SEPTA station to 30th Street Station; you have to go above ground and cross 30th Street—this is something that should be remedied with the 30th Street Station District Plan (more on that later).
You can also take bus route 21: Coming from west of 30th Street Station, it runs along Chestnut Street; coming from east of the station it runs along Walnut.
If you're coming from the airport or from the 'burbs, the station is also served by more than a dozen SEPTA regional rail lines, all listed here.
For a long time, 30th Street Station was surrounded by a whole lot of nothing, save for the Schuylkill and a large rail yard. Today, it's in the heart of University City's development boom, which has brought some much-needed hotels to the neighborhood. Here are some of the best options within walking distance to the station.
This stay aka location opened two years ago in the new 47-story FMC Tower at 2929 Walnut Street. The swanky suites take up the top floors of the mixed-use tower, so expect some impressive views of Center City. There's also access to Level 28, a private lifestyle club with a gym, indoor pool, movie theater, and more. Rooms start at $220/night.
This 212-room hotel is officially open at 20 S. 33rd Street and delights with its bright and contemporary interiors. Given its location between Drexel and Penn, the Study tends to cater towards professors, families of students, and other visitors to the neighborhood. It features a mix of overnight and extended-stay rooms with study areas and suites. Rooms start at $189/night.
30th Street Station doesn't exactly rank as a foodie destination, but there are some options whether you have time to kill or just need a quick grab-and-go option. Here are your best picks, from our friends at Eater Philly:
30th Street Station houses the standard food court fare, with chains like Au Bon Pain and Dunkin' Donuts offering grab-and-go coffee and carbs that will tide you over until you can get something better. But if you're looking for more flavor, head to the Beck's Cajun Caféstand. Philly chef Bill Beck has a thing for New Orleans, showcased in his mufaletta sandwich, gumbos, and po'boys made with fried seafood, blackened chicken, short ribs, or alligator sausage. There's also a veggie po'boy available, but hungry meat-eaters will want to go with the Trainwreck: chopped steak, salami, andouille sausage, and cheese on a baguette.
If it's too early for jambalaya, head outside the train station to seasonal pop-up The Porch. Set on the southern side of the station's property, The Porch has outdoor seating and food trucks from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the week, plus 7 to 9:30 a.m. on Thursdays. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., The Pub at The Porch is open with beer, wine, and bar bites.
Once you're outside, you might as well keep going to Walnut Street Café, two blocks south of 30th Street Station at 2929 Walnut Street. Inside the restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, there's an airy café with savory and sweet pastries from star pastry chef Melissa Weller.
The 30th Street Station we know today is considered one of the last-remaining grand train stations in the U.S. Built between 1929 and 1933, it was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White with a neoclassical exterior and Art Deco details within. The main concourse's 95-foot tall ceilings and incredible ornamentation are no doubt the most striking features of the train station. The main concourse (aka the waiting room) stretches the length of two football fields.
The train station, commissioned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, was built to replace Frank Furness's aging, but still grand, Broad Street Station in Center City. 30th Street Station's design was considered groundbreaking at the time by accounting for efficiency without sacrificing the building's monumentality. It's no wonder that this was the late architect Louis Kahn's preferred way of coming back home after his many travels, according to Wendy Lesser, author of You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn. (Kahn was waiting for his train to Philly when he died in a bathroom in New York's Penn Station.)
30th Street Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
One major recent change that longtime commuters are likely to notice is the absence of the iconic flipboard, which was taken down last year; Amtrak officials said it didn't meet ADA guidelines. Oat Foundry has been working on a new sign that they say retains the same character as the original, though.
Need to charge your phone? There are some wall outlets around. Out of luck? There's a MobileQubes cell charging kiosk that lets you rent ($4.99/24 hours) or buy ($44.99) the charging device.
If you want to store your bags at 30th Street Station, it'll cost you; Amtrak offers lockersfor $10/bag for 24 hours.
Yes, there is free WiFi, although it can be finicky.
Gotta go? The bathrooms at 30th Street are hit or miss (and hard to find—there are some near the food court, and another set of restrooms across the concourse near the North Waiting Room). While one Yelp reviewer claimed they were in worse shape than those at New York's Penn Station (yikes), others have commented on their surprising cleanliness.
There's an exclusive section of 30th Street Station above the grand concourse, but you can only get in if you shell out for a ticket on one of Amtrak's Acela trains. You can hang out here on the lounge's leather sofas while munching on free soda and snacks.
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Local and National Policymakers, SEAI, NUIG, GMIT, Galway Energy Agency
Galway could generate some of its own power through large single wind turbines installed within the city at appropriate locations and at a distance from residential housing. Turbines could be erected both onshore and offshore, circa 1MW capacity each. Possible sites include Roscam, Parkmore and the NUIG campus at Dangan. One turbine could be on either side of the entrance into Galway Docks (one on Mutton Island and one on the Renmore side). The turbines could be of varying designs (such as traditional horizontal axis, vertical axis turbines, etc.), with an information board at its base explaining the main technical information. A digital display showing the real time electricity generation of the turbine for local people and tourists is also possible.
Dundalk Institute of Technology campus wind turbine, Co. Louth
Burtonport Harbour wind turbine, Co. Donegal
Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm, New Jersey, USA
Middelgrunden Offshore Wind Farm, Copenhagen, Denmark


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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Some Of My Favorite Things
Posted by Rachel at 11:17 PM 2 comments
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
I Promise I Know Something About Nutrition
Hey peeps! I hope you all are having a good week. I didn't post last night because well, I wasn't in the mood. I didn't open my laptop or phone all night actually. I was going to go to the gym for a second workout of the day and decided about midway through the afternoon that all I really wanted was some unplugged relaxing time. So that's exactly what I did and it was fabulous. The reason for this laziness...
Posted by Rachel at 10:07 PM 4 comments
Monday, May 16, 2011
A Great Harvest Experience
Hi! How was everyone's Monday? And WEEKEND? Both of mine were great. I was in a good mood all day today and even though work was kinda boring, I managed to keep my mood high. I just got back from a walk with Molly and she is worn out.
Posted by Rachel at 8:38 PM 3 comments
Friday, May 13, 2011
Friday Favorites
Posted by Rachel at 9:10 PM 2 comments
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
That's What She Said
It's almost the WEEKEND!!! My friends and I were just talking at work today about how time seems to be zipping by lately. I feel like even if a day drags by, the week is gone in a flash. And the weekend is gone even faster. Not that I've been dragging at work lately.. I've been super busy. The past two days I've needed to stay about a half hour late each day, but that's ok. I really hate being slow and bored at work and that's how it's been the past couple of months. I'm liking being busy, it makes the time go by so much faster and I don't get bored and sleepy. Let's hope the workload keeps up!
I got to work early this morning due to waking up with a bad headache and missing my workout :( I decided to just go ahead and come in, that way I could leave early. (Silly me, since I ended up staying till my regular time.) Breakfast was my pseudo vanilla yogurt mess and some hot tea.
Posted by Rachel at 8:55 PM 1 comments
Monday, May 9, 2011
Why It Seems Like I'm 97 Instead Of 27
Hey peeps! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was pretty uneventful like usual, but that's how I like them lately. I don't usually like to go out and drink anymore since I have been getting regular migraines, and it's nice out so I like to get outside and lay in the sun and just relax. At night instead of drinking I will usually be watching a movie or reading blogs and going to bed early. I'm SUPER lame at this time in my life.. you know, right before my 90th birthday ;) After I get these migraines under control and move out of the apartment I
uncomfortably share with my ex, I will try to have more of a life, I promise.
This lameness and grandma-like behavior means that one of the highlights to my weekend was grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. The store is 10 miles from where I live but I think I will now be going there all the time even though there are 2 other stores within 2 miles of my apartment. I walked up to the register at TJ's with an overloaded hand basket and three things juggled in my hand, and walked out of there only $50 lighter. Amazing, since I am used to dropping anywhere from $80-$100 on groceries every week for just ME. It's the overwhelming amount of produce.. I can't believe I essentially cut this in half and got so much stuff. I mean, I can't even fill my gas tank on $50 anymore.
One thing you know I got- TOFURKEY!! It made an appearance in my lunch today along with sugar snap peas and the cutest little mini peppers I've ever seen:
Aren't they SO cute? Bite sized peppers! Of course I dipped everything in this dip that I am currently loving:
If you still haven't gotten this, I'm not sure what you are waiting for. TJ's doesn't send out engraved invites last I checked. Just do it. You will thank me.
My workout this morning was spin class. You're welcome for the following sweaty pictures, just because I felt like sharing.
Posted by Rachel at 10:09 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Debbie Downer, But I Save It With Dessert
Hey blog peeps, sorry for lack of post yesterday. To be honest, I was in a bad mood all day yesterday and didn't really break out of my pity party till this evening. I feel stressed about a bunch of stuff right now, not the least being that I have been working out like crazy and trying to eat as healthy as I can and my weight is not budging. No joke, I've worked out consistently for 2.5 months straight and when I weighed myself yesterday morning, I realized that I weigh exactly what I did when I started. I have not lost one single pound. I have been over and over in my head what the reason could possibly be for this.. am I eating too much or too little? Am I working out too much or too little? Do I have some sort of medical issue preventing me from losing weight? Why have I been busting my ass at 6 am at the gym for so long and I don't have ONE POUND to show for it? I have 40 to lose.. I can't continue like this. I don't understand why it can't be as simple as, "Eat well and work out." Trust me, it's not. And definitely not as simple as "calories in, calories out." If that were the case, I would be halfway to my goal by now. What is the problem??
But enough of that. That was yesterday. This is today, the third sleep-deprived day in a row, the day when I dragged myself to the gym yet again at 6 am and completed what was possibly the most pathetic elliptical workout ever. I know the elliptical gets a bad rap, but I always make sure to put in 110% on it, and according to the
super accurate calorie counter, I burn almost 700 calories in an hour sometimes. (In addition to drenching a towel.) I was so tired this morning that I just didn't have the energy to push myself to the limit. At least I went, so I am happy with that.
After sleepwalking through my workout and showering, it was time to head to work. Want to talk about food? Because I do :) Breakfast was another Plain-Chobani-mixed-with-too-sweet-vanilla-trying-to-mimic-vanilla-Chobani, strawberries and granola.
Posted by Rachel at 9:36 PM 0 comments
Monday, May 2, 2011
A New Favorite
To begin, I would like to say that I actually meant to post this yesterday, but the pictures I took were accidentally taken without the memory card being IN the camera. So I was forced to eat the same thing again today. The things I do for this blog..
Anyway, I hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was great, I went to the gym and spent lots of quality time in the sun by the pool. It was really relaxing and low key, just like I like it. On Saturday, I
forced asked a friend of mine to come with me to Trader Joe's because she always finds great stuff and I get overwhelmed by the small space and never really branch out and get different food. She introduced me to a new mac and cheese, a truffle-mushroom flatbread, tofurkey, (and she isn't even the vegetarian so I will let you decide how wrong and backwards that is,) and a few other things. In return, I introduced her to Sunflower Seed Butter and we went for fro-yo. I'm nothing if not fair ;) So far I haven't tried everything, but the one thing I did try was tofurkey. And ohmygod, how did I go for 2.5 vegetarian years and never have this??
Let's start with breakfast. She told me their English muffins were so much better than Thomas's, and she was correct.
Posted by Rachel at 9:04 PM 3 comments


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by Quentin Wodon
Infrastructure matters for poverty and development (first post in this series), but the needs of the poor are not being met (second post). In this third post, the discussion shifts to what can be done to improve infrastructure services for the poor, considering first reforms and subsidies, and next projects including those by service organizations.
Reforms and Subsidies
PPIs (private participation in infrastructure) and IRAs (independent regulatory agencies) have been among the most important reforms implemented in the past two decades. The empirical evidence reviewed in my book with Antonio Estache suggests that these reforms have improved investment and service quality (as well as reduced corruption in the case of IRAs), but there are differences in these impacts between sectors and the effects have been relatively modest. In addition, while these reforms have helped some households, they probably have helped mostly households among better off groups since the poor simply have no access to basic infrastructure countries in low income countries.
Another area of concern is that of subsidies. Many countries have (often large) consumption subsidies for basic infrastructure services such as electricity and piped water. These subsidies prevent cost recovery by the utilities and this reduces the incentives for them to expand the networks. But in addition, while the subsidies are justified in theory by the aim to make services affordable to the poor, they are in practice very poorly targeted to the poor. In most countries the average subsidy received by a poor person is only a third (or less) of the average subsidy received by a person randomly chosen in the population as a whole.
Most existing subsidies are consumption subsidies implemented through the inverted block tariff (IBTs) structures. With IBTs the unit cost per kWh or cubic meter of water is lower for the first few blocks of consumption for all those connected to the network, and often below cost recovery levels. In low income countries, these subsidies are poorly targeted to the poor simply because most of the poor are not connected to the networks.
The targeting performance of those subsidies could be improved by reducing the lower bands of the IBTs so that only those who consume very low amounts of water or electricity benefit from the largest subsidies. Another option is to shift to Volume Differentiated Tariffs, whereby only those consuming in a tariff band receive the subsidy for that bans (under IBTs, all clients receive the subsidies in the lower bands for the part of their consumption in those bands). Both approaches tend to have a limited positive impact on targeting performance, but they help in reducing the cost of the subsidies.
Another alternative is to shift from consumption to connection subsidies. Instead of subsidizing the consumption of those already connected to the water network or the electricity grid, the idea is to subsidize the connection of new and typically poorer households to the network. Still another alternative is to target subsidies to those in need more purposefully (this can be done among others through geographic targeting or proxy means- testing). In those cases, targeting performance to the poor can under some conditions be improved significantly. These are all high priorities that governments and utilities should implement, as argued for example here.
What about the role of the nonprofit community, including NGOs and service clubs? Precisely because so many among the poor do not have access to basic infrastructure services, the role of nonprofit organizations is important to fill part of the gap in coverage of basic infrastructure services. It is important however for nonprofits, including service clubs, to operate in a highly professional and sustainable manner.
Providing access to electricity, water, sanitation, or other basic infrastructure services in poor areas is hard. Many projects are implemented in an unsustainable way, so that they ultimately fail. Research I am doing with Clarence Tsimpo on Uganda suggests that many small water projects fail in large part because of lack of infrastructure functionality (facilities stop to work properly, even shortly after being installed) or lack of local responsibility (poor local leadership or lack of proper community arrangements hinder maintenance, thereby yielding a slower but often irreversible damage in the infrastructure).
Sometimes, expensive technologies are put in place that communities have simply no way to keep up because of the high cost of parts for repairs. Training for proper maintenance may not be provided at all, or provided in a haphazard way, to beneficiary communities. These and other factors lead to the failure of many projects despite the best of intentions. So what are NGOs and especially service clubs to do? They need to get professional advice. In the Rotary family, the good news is that advice may be available from Rotarian Action Groups (RAGs). In the case of water and sanitation WASRAG is ready to help.
My Rotary club was recently considering a promising water harvesting and sanitation project in India. We got detailed specifications ready and they looked good. But we asked for a professional review by a district Rotarian expert in the field. He raised concerns and suggested we contact WASRAG for advice. We did, and in the end we decided to subsume our own small individual project and funds into a much larger project run by WASRAG. This gave us piece of mind that the project would benefit from the professional expertise it needed.
In Rotary, on average (there are of course exceptions), larger projects are likely to be better designed than small ones. They also tend to be better managed because the stakes are higher. This means that they probably have (again on average) more impact, and are more likely to be sustainable. Larger projects also require less administrative work than multiple smaller ones. Not all Rotary service projects need to be large projects where many clubs and districts pool resources together with professional advise from RAGs. But in some cases, when the expertise of RAGs is available, it is a good idea to work with them and pool resources.


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News Bar »
News: No food shortage in Vanni ...
Business: Dankotuwa eyes Indian market ...
Sports: Pakistan hope Sri Lanka tour will go ahead ...
dailynews ONLINE
Premasara EPASINGHE
While turning the pages of the valuable book of Information depicting
the significant events, book place for each day of the year, and also
which includes the details or the important historical personalities
titled "DINA 366" authored by A. J. M. Shiranee Perera, I found, the
112th Birth Anniversary of the Father of Archaeology Dr. Senarat
Paranavitana falls on December 26, 2008.
"Some are embellished by their position. It is however not so with
Paranavitana, whose radiance illuminates the position".
Dr. Senarat Paranavitana
The above quotation from Pandit Munidasa Cumaratunga, Scholar and
Great Visionary is worthy of mention here. Immortality is no easy
achievement in any sphere. The writer the painter, artist, musician,
composer, scholar, live as long as their work is allowed to live. Wren
lives in St. Paul's, Shakespeare at the old Vic, Rembrandt at the
National Gallery, Mozart at Sadler's Wells and our Dr. Senarat
Paranavitana lives in Sigiriya.
He was the first Sri Lankan Commissioner of Archaeology. He assumed
duties on October 1, 1940. He has been a prolific writer far ahead of
the others in the field both in quality and quantity of his writings.
His Sigiri Graffiti in two volumes, and the "Inscriptions" of Ceylon,
suffice to rate him among the Greatest Scholars in the World. Senarat
Paranavitana was born in Mataremba Galle, in the Southern Province, on
December 26, 1896, 112 years ago.
In 1902, he began his primary education at Mataremba school and
entered Bonavista College, Galle in 1906. Later in 1910, he studied
Sanskrit and Pali at the Heenatigala Ranawalagoda Pirivena. From June 8,
1920 till May 1923 he served as an English Assistant Teacher at
Udugampola English School.
He joined the Archaeological Department on June 13, 1923.
Paranavitana's special field was Epigraphy. He became an authority on
this subject within his first few years with the Department. To begin
with he underwent training in India. He attained a thorough knowledge on
all branches of Archaeological Activity such as Epigraphy, Iconography,
Numismatics, Muselogy, Excavations, Conservation and Archaeological
He got married to Roslin Kitulagoda on March 3, 1930. He obtained his
Doctorate in 1936 and on October 18, 1940, he was appointed as the first
Sri Lankan Commissioner of Archaeology.
The king is known as the Rain Giver and the Protector of Tooth Relic
of the Buddha.
The people believe, when the Tooth Relic is ceremonially taken out,
the rains invariably comes. The rural folks of Sigiriya believed,
whenever Dr. Paranavitana visits them, the rains will never fail.
Way back in 1966, I was the first graduate teacher appointed to
Sigiriya Maha Vidyalaya before joining Nalanda Vidyalaya, Colombo
tutorial staff in 1968. It was amazing and unbelievable, the visit of
Dr. Paranavitana, during my stay there, did in reality bring rain to
that area.
When I was serving in Silumina Editorial in the 1960's Wimalasiri
Perera, Editor of Silumina assigned me to interview him on Folk Poetry
Janakaviya the topic the Cultural Department selected that year for
their annual Literary Day.
When I met Dr. Paranavitana he asked: Epasinghe, who gave you this
topic? Tell the Cultural Department, that dogs, cats, lions, tigers do
not write books or sing songs or write or recite poetry. Even Totagamuwa
Rahula Thera is also "Jana". An ordinary man who recited "Thandale Denna
Depale Dakkanawa" is also a "Jana". The second occasion I met him was on
October 15, 1967 to write an article on the "Defacing of Sigiriya
The late Cecil Graham, Editor Daily News and Dharmapala Wettasinghe,
assigned me to write a feature as I was the one who reported the Scoop
Story on Defacing of Sigiriya Frescoes exclusively for the Lake House
When I met this Great Man, at his Raymond Road residence at Nugegoda
he told me with tearful eyes.
"Epasinhge, I looked after Sigiriya like my own eyes". In my days, I
assigned watchers and guards and gave top security to Apsaras,
Megalathas and Vijulathas, day and night. They are the most valuable
treasures that we possess".
Dr. Paranavitana was a veritable gold mine of knowledge as a Great
son of Sri Lanka.
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text:
Abubakar, who addressed reporters on Wednesday in Benin City, said other security strategies also put in place have made the criminals to flee.
He said no kidnapping has occurred on the Benin-Ore road since the forest was cleared.
The police boss said he took the battle to the hoodlums because the Benin-Ore highway is too strategic for hoodlums to be allowed to operate.


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Ketone supplements experiment: your help needed!
Part of my background research is to find out how and why the supplements are used, especially by people in the low carb community. Whether or not you take ketone supplements and whether or not you follow a low carb diet, I would be grateful if you would answer this short 5-minute questionnaire to help me with my research!
Scroll down to answer the questionnaire or click here to learn more about the ketone supplements experiment.


text:
Ship Management International, a well-respected international publication within the maritime field, approached the Shipping practice at GANADO Advocates to contribute to their Special Malta Report, that was published in the May/June issue of the magazine.
Dr Karl Grech Orr, Dr Matthew Attard and Dr Jan Rossi, from the firm's Shipping practice, commented on the current state of play as well as on what the future looks like for the local shipping industry.
Click here to access the full article.


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Vashikaran Specialist Working Towards an Affectionate Atmosphere Build-Up
All Vedic science trusts that words have perfect forces and when they are legitimately presented, they can wield unbounded force that can be utilized to achieve anything. This is a result of the logical conviction that words are made of vibrations which think their vitality and when that vitality is unleashed in a legitimate way, anything can be accomplished, offering ascend to Tantra Mantra Yantra Vigyan. Mantra implies a gathering of particular words in a particular grouping or beat, are droned or discussed in a specific way to satisfy wishes. Tantra is a particular arrangement of systems to be followed in a petition to God. Yantra is a gadget, metallic or paper based, to think the awesome forces of a divinity. Together they finish the old Vedic technique for conjuring gods to give our wishes and make us fruitful or even look for awesome information. Tantras and mantras can be trailed by almost everyone except Yantras are outlined by soothsaying and Vedic specialists. Vashikaran specialist is a devotee to the force of the Tantra Mantra Yantra vigyan and has undisputable information through which he will satisfy your wishes and tackle any issues throughout your life by summoning perfect forces to secure you.
How Vashikaran Specialist Guru can help you?
Vashikaran Specialist gives the answer for all your affection, family, marriage, business, cash, and relationship, profession and so on issues arrangement. Vashikaran Specialist Guru says that when there is visionary development in the grower position they will influence the life of persons that can be antagonistic or constructive. Vashikaran Specialist Use force of Mantra and Yantra to control a man's psyche, musings, activity and conduct. Vashikaran Specialist will constantly consider the planetary positions before performing Vashikaran. Vashikaran Specialist says that Vashikaran demonstration ought to be performed by the aced and it can't be performed to yield the wanted result by just anybody. Vashikaran Specialist will give you the Mantra which is extremely successful with energy to get one's fascination towards you, yet not constraining anybody to create affections for the wearer. Hence, Vashikaran Specialist says that it is vital to have some level of Karmic penchant in the middle of the wearer and the individual wearer wishes to draw in, with a specific end goal to infer most extreme effect of vashikaran.
These are couple of nature of Vashikaran Specialist there are all the more yet in the event that you need to know arrangement of issue contact Vashikaran Specialist. Vashikaran Specialist will give you the technique as indicated by your issue and get your adoration life, proficient life, profession life or much other issue arrangement in brisk time. There are a few deplorable situations where a mate or a young lady is spellbound or her unique contemplations are changed or stifled by any illicit or corrupt technique including contrary vashikran (To make a man slave of specific musings) or by dark enchantment. On the off chance that any of your nearby relative.
Email :- email@example.com
Contact :- +919928447013 ,+91-9928447013 ,09928447013 , +91-99284-47013


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What is involved in relocating your pet to the UK? The UK has specific requirements when importing your pet to the UK. They follow a set of rules and regulations referred to as the Pet Travel Scheme. Some new changes took effect December 2014 requiring owners to arrive into the country within +/- 5 days in order for the animal to be considered a "non commercial pet". This requires some planning with the vaccines, travel booking, and vet appointment for final health certificate. Additional documentation may be required for pets with vaccines more than 12 months old. Effective April 2017, The UK now requires a ToR (Transfer of Residence) number required for customs processing and VAT for all pets importing to the UK. Continental Pet Relocation can help with this process to ensure you have everything you need to import your pet to the UK.
A basic summary of what is required to enter the UK from the US: Pets are required to be microchipped and vaccinated for rabies after the microchip was implanted. The ISO microchip is recommended. Pets must be at least 12 weeks of age prior to the rabies vaccine being administered. Pets must have an EU Passport or health certificate for travel. Dogs must be treated for tapeworm between 24 and 120 hours prior to arrival in to the UK. Please check with you pet relocation specialist to ensure an approved treatment is used. Some airlines will require a Letter of Acclimation. The Transfer of Residence is required for all pets arriving the UK.
Meet Leo, a 10 month old Cavapoo. We had the pleasure of helping him to relocate to live with his Grandma in East Sussex (South East England) to train to work as a Hospice Therapy Dog. Leo's mum, Suzanne was heart broken to let him go, but knew that it was a good decision for him and for the benefit of others.
As a Hospice Therapy Dog, the goal is to enrich the quality of life for the hospice patient and often their families as well. The sight of the dogs and the touch of their fur often brings peace and joy to those patients whose life once included animals. Physical contact has a calming effect and dogs have the ability to bring back pleasant memories of a person's life. Therapy dogs help combat loneliness and they give people the chance to have something to look forward to. Exposure to the dogs allows the patient to feel needed and wanted at a time in their life when death is evident.
While working with a hospice program, dogs learn to be able to sense the process an individual goes through with death. Signs may include a change in breathing, restlessness or possible disorientation. In addition to the patient, dogs and handlers often have the ability to comfort family members including children. There are times when the family may request that the therapy dog lay by the end of the bed during the patient's final moments of life. This might be because the patient loved dogs and the sight of the dog brings a sense of normalcy for not only the patient but the family as well.
Click on the link below to see footage of Leo running free in his new backyard !


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Firearms – Rights – Responsibility – Laws
The laws and arguments on the topic of Firearms (Gun Control in some circles) is an emotional and complicated issue. Many laws have been passed over and above the fundamental law that it is illegal to murder, rape or rob anyone by use of any force or weapon. As violent activity escalated in the 1960's numerous laws were passed which covered the sale, traffic and even the possession of specific firearms beyond the 1934 National Firearms Act. The Gun Control Act of 1968 came about after several high profile assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. The assassination of John F. Kennedy, who was killed by a mail-order gun that belonged to Lee Harvey Oswald, inspired many major revisions to federal gun law. In spite of what I've often heard reported on the news, it isn't legal to purchase firearms through either the Internet or by mail. These transactions must be carried out through dealers with a Federal Firearms License. Ammunition purchases however, arent' quite as regulated.
After years of violence using guns knives or gangs roving the streets, Chicago politicians answer to curtailing violent criminal activity is to pass a $25 tax on all gun sales in Cook county. Is that the answer to this level of violence? A new $25 tax on every gun purchased in the county took effect Monday. February 23, 2013 Cook County adopts new gun law. Firearms owners will be required to report loss or sale of guns. Firearms owners in suburban Cook County will face fines up to $2,000 if they don't report to police when their guns are lost, stolen or sold, under an ordinance county commissioners approved Tuesday.
2 Dead and 21 Injured in over the week end Chicago gun violence
28 Arrested In Weekend Mag Mile Mob Violence in Chicago
Chicago's Gun Ban Fails To Prevent Murders
Illinois and in particular Cook county, which Chicago is part of, has passed more restrictive firearms regulation and that has done nothing to stop those who flaunt such laws. Many of their problems stem from gang violence.
Illinois created a law to not issue licenses for the concealed carry of firearms, or recognize licenses issued by other states. Open carry is also prohibited in most areas. When a firearm is being transported, it must be unloaded and enclosed in a case. On December 11, 2012, these blanket restrictions were struck down as unconstitutional by a federal appeals court panel, which gave the state 180 days to change its laws. On February 22, 2013, a request by the Illinois attorney general for a rehearing by the full appeals court was denied.
To legally possess firearms or ammunition, Illinois residents must have a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, issued by the state police. Non-residents who may legally possess firearms in their home state are exempt from this requirement. There is a waiting period to take possession after purchasing a firearm — 72 hours for a handgun, or 24 hours for a rifle or shotgun.
The regulation of an inanimate object, in spite of the potential use for it to harm others, doesn't stop people who desire to harm others. Use of firearms for private citizens to protect themselves in states such as Illinois or New York are often met with high legal expenses related to their defense or in some cases fines and or imprisonment. The abuse of government power in passing laws that penalize the over 95% law abiding legal gun owners, rather than protect the citizens of those states has achieved the opposite result. Statistics bear this out when comparing states which support gun ownership rights vs. those who create new regulation. It simply does nothing to curb violent criminal / gang activity. Existing laws are simply not being enforced currently in these states.
As far as Universal background checks and the idea that 40% of gun purchases are not being background checked is highly dubious. Anyone with an ounce of experience knows those that attend gun shows must go through a background check before making a purchase from anyone with a booth at a gun show. It's possible that people roaming through a show can and sometimes do make independent sales to another private party but it's extremely small in number and is nowhere near the un-substantiated 40% without background checked figures. Many responsible private gun owners simply sell to someone they know quite well or go through someone that has an FFL to sell a gun which then requires a background check. This is the reality from experienced gun owners not some news / opinion source which wants to pump up support of their broadcast program or political agenda.
For the last several months the President and some members of Congress have suggested the solution to limiting or controlling the mayhem brought about by mentally deranged people such as the Newtown elementary school or the Aurora Colorado movie theater shootings are to pass universal background checks and define and pass new legislation to prevent the sale of any firearm with magazine capacities in excess of 10 rounds and rifles which appear to have certain physical features. These measures wouldn't have prevented the Newtown massacre and in all likelihood wouldn't have stopped the Aurora movie theater shooting. Witnesses say, James Holmes semi-automatic rifle jammed and he was left with shotgun and pistols. In a similar situation at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Oregon, further shootings were curtailed by someone with a Concealed Weapons Carry Permit.
Concerned citizens want to end the violence but fail to understand the source of the behavior and that anyone who wants to use a firearm to commit a violent crime, such as murder, could care less about whether their possession of a banned unregistered firearm is against the law. The common connection for gun control advocates is the firearm. Their solution is to pass another law however, the failure to understand the only way to prevent such problems is to take a longer term more comprehensive approach to the cause of violence, which always comes down to the individual. Not only do we lack adequate mental health support in this country, we fail to see the violent person doesn't care about breaking a gun law and just like drugs for the addict, they will get want they want and won't care about breaking a law.
Passing laws which pretend to solve the problem actually work against the vast majority of responsible citizens who want to own a firearm but aren't necessarily legal experts with large sums of money to defend themselves in court. The so called assault weapons ban didn't work when it was in effect. Tragic violent episodes still occurred. Once again, focusing on cosmetic features of a gun don't prevent abhorrent behavior.
Stricter gun laws won't make most Americans feel safer, a new CBS "60 Minutes"/Vanity Fair poll reveals.
The survey also found Americans uncomfortable with the idea of arming schoolteachers. And when it comes to protecting their homes, more Americans picked a firearm for security over installing an alarm system or a having a dog. Also, the vast majority say they believe violent games and films contribute to violence in society. In addition, most respondents didn't know who Wayne LaPierre is — the chief executive of the National Rifle Association.
Firearms Stolen during Household Burglaries and Other Property Crimes, 2005–2010
14 Ways Obama Can Push Gun Control Without Congress
Assault Weapons ban is a PR stunt
Search: Cook County Illinois Firearms Law (right to carry)
FOID is an acronym for Firearm Owners Identification. To legally possess or purchase firearms or ammunition, residents of the state of Illinois are required to have a FOID card.
Top Ten Weeks of National Gun Sales
12/17/2012 – 12/23/2012, 953,613
01/14/2013 – 01/20/2013, 641,501
02/11/2013 – 02/17/2013, 618,361
01/07/2013 – 01/13/2013, 603,882
12/10/2012 – 12/16/2012, 602,003
02/04/2013 – 02/10/2013, 592,542
02/25/2013 – 03/03/2013, 565,699
02/18/2013 – 02/24/2013, 543,259
01/21/2013 – 01/27/2013, 541,822
12/03/2012 – 12/09/2012, 527,095
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Family and Individual Safety
I recently have become involved with a company that sells safety shelters for your home. I'm not in the financial or income side of the equation so this isn't an endorsement of one type of shelter over another. I'm not a paid spokesman or employee receiving income from the sale of any shelter.
If you haven't seen a secure safety shelter for an individual or family think of the principle of a turtle. The hard shell on the outside protects against normal threats and often as necessary the turtle will withdraw limbs, head and tail into this protective shell. There are several kinds and shapes of shelters available but they generally fall into one or another category, either above ground or just below the ground which has the top face slightly above the ground for easy access.
I'm just going to show a few images, however there are a much larger array of options than I'm showing. I will include links to some of the manufacturers and if you find this information worthwhile, I suggest you look into this further on your own. Be sure to check local codes for permits and if there are restrictions of the type and location of any shelter you might want to install.
I have experienced tornado and hurricane storms and they can be frightening. You've seen the damage and besides the immediate threat, you should be prepared for the aftermath. I lived in Florida when storm damage in our area wasn't severe however, electricity was out for several weeks. After cutting away a tree that fell on my car with the neighbors help and removing debris in the neighborhood, I as well as others were able to exit the neighborhood. Gasoline was in short supply for awhile and for the most part cooperation among locals was good. I'm sure this varied based on neighborhood. Getting back to the shelter idea though as I could tell from some of the damage, some people didn't do as well as others. They were hit more direct and in some situations, tornadoes were spawned from the main storm.
Recent pictures in the past few years have shown just how bad the damage can be; areas in Missouri, Georgia and Texas vividly display how serious and intense weather phenomena can be. A steel encased shelter installed properly should protect anyone from any storm in most conditions. The exception to this would be when flooding occurs. If you lock yourself into one of these shelters which are firmly attached to a concrete slab, foundation or installed into a garage floor would be in jeopardy once high water flows into the area. You would have to evacuate the protection of the shelter because most of these are not water proof. There are some steel shelters designed to protect property which are water tight but that means they would be unsuitable without some type of modification to permit human oxygen requirements.
I can see some of these designs are adaptable to a property owner's requirements. I've lived in homes without a basement and both the in garage or under the stairs shelter minimizes the impact on living space while still giving you an option to stay protected.
• Secure Home (Recommended Equipment and Sources)
• The Secure Home – paperback (Joel Skousen's research on architectural designs for a secure home)
• Family Safe
• Storm Safe Rooms
• Safe Shelters
♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞
I admit it, I'm behind the tech curve. Yes, the long time gadget and tech nerd has a thing or two to learn about security and the link to this article demonstrates to me an area I was totally oblivious. Yes, I knew that digital phones and cameras embed information into a photo called meta data. I've observed that when I look at it to see what settings my camera chose and the date of the picture however this additional information is a bit too revealing. It should concern many people using digital technology because sometimes our personal privacy is all we have to protect ourselves and as we all know, privacy is an issue we often wrestle with when it's too late. Here's the article and you judge for yourself. Location information in our pictures.
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After receiving the umpteenth e-mail about wanting me to contact someone so that I may be blessed with unimaginable riches, I believe it's time for me to add my two cents on the topic of security. Yes, that was my labored attempt at humor as well.
I shouldn't think it's necessary to add my warning to the many already out there on these scams, however the fact is they must work on some people or these frequent e-mail messages wouldn't be sent. The latest one I received, tries for a couple hooks, although I can imagine there are some that automatically wouldn't find it appealing. The scam email starts out as;
Dear Beloved in Christ,
I am Mrs Wendy Olsen,suffering from cancerous ailment.I was married to Mr.Kent Olsen,my husband worked with Chevron/Texaco in the United Kingdom for twenty years before he died in the year 2003.
First, they're trying the religious angle. Next they hope to gain your sympathy because of a terrible illness compounded by the loss of spouse. Afterward comes the bait to set the hook;
My late husband deposited the sum of £ 5,300,000 (Five Million Three Hundred Thousand Pounds) with a Bank in United Kingdom.Recently,my Doctor told me that I have limited days to live due to the stroke and cancerous problems I am suffering from.
I have decided to donate this fund to you and i want you to use this fund for the upkeep of widows and charities worldwide.I believe you will be able to carry out this task with a kind heart,because some one recommended you to me as a trust worthy person.
I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do not want my husband hard earned money to be misused.
Awaiting your urgent reply via my email.address: firstname.lastname@example.com
The obvious thing to do is trash this e-mail message and go about your normal business. Others seem to be tempted because of the implied potential of receiving a large sum of money. C'mon people! Perhaps if your long lost cousin, Billy Bob or Barbara Ann Bob sent you an e-mail wanting to give you a lot of money or asked for your help, maybe just maybe, it might be legitimate. The idea of someone legitimate wanting to give you money or honest and have them help you sneak money into the country is about as likely as you winning the lottery twice in a week.
Don't be foolish! If you receive an e-mail of any kind from even a well known institution, such as your bank, credit card company, auction site, gym club or auto club, DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK IN THE E-MAIL! Why? . . . Because this is another type of fraud whereby the sender mocks up a web page which looks official but is set up for you to enter your personal information on-line. If you fill out the on-line form, they may have enough to empty your bank account or charge to your credit accounts. If you want to know if the institution really needs this information, use a published telephone number (not the one in the e-mail) to verify their request. If you have further doubts, before you give them one piece of information, end the call and visit the place of business in person. These type of scams are referred to commonly as PHISHING. So, don't be a fish by being duped.
The Internet and cellular phones have permeated the planet. It's difficult to retain any type of privacy or information protection. Don't give up your privacy despite the willfulness of some business owners promoting their identity theft protection plans.
I'll add one other piece of advice as a person of many years of experience in dealing with anything from pranks to those with criminal intent; use good judgment. The things you think are OK today, may pan out to be foolish or reckless tomorrow. That is why people with experience and have learned from it, are useful when it comes to getting & receiving advice.
The latest example of using bad judgment is when a person allows another to photograph or shoot a movie of themselves nude. Of course there are art programs or movies which might also promote nudity but as a rule in any relationship, don't permit it Frequently the relationship goes bust but the photos linger on and somehow find there way into public view. Several states have or are in the process of enacting legislation which involves sexting.
The issue of trust is usually brought up by the perpetrator in order to gain psychological advantage over the person they wish to persuade. Years later these photos or videos are often used to exploit or embarrass a person. Some people may become well known in their profession, such as Dr. Laura, who did this while young and didn't think of any potential harm. Others, such as Paris Hilton, do want the exposure as a form of self promotion. With the wide spread use of graphical based cell phones this has become an ever increasing problem for many young adults.
Try to avoid becoming a digital dupe!
Related articles
- Storm Causes Damage in Fort Payne (whnt.com)
- After the Storm: 5 Ways You Can Help (everydayfamily.com)
- Summer Storms (everydayfamily.com)
- Shelter from the Storm: Underground Shelters (wtvy.com)
- Shelter from the Storm: Testing (wtvy.com)
- Tornado Safety (davewenzel.com)
- The Truth About the Universal Background Check Bill (Senate Bill S. 374) (thetruthaboutguns.com)
- Do You Keep a Gun in the Home? (everydayfamily.com)
- Gun Rights Under "Side Channel Attack" (thetruthaboutguns.com)
- Reluctant Chicago Democrats change tune on concealed carry (watchdog.org)


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Hand Grenades Not Fit For City Life(汉语:别让手榴弹进入我们的生活)是是自由树出版社在其官方网站上对于非法武器所作的报道。这篇报道写于2001年6月。编者是Howard Child。
正文 编辑
Previously gun-friendly mayor, O' Donovan has come out and said what many of us had long thought: "Hand grenades have no place in our city." Following a recent rise in the use of exploding projectiles, including hand grenades and Molotov cocktails, O' Donovan has said he will look into opening a commission which will investigate the plausibility of a study into the funding of a research document which will question limiting their sale. "Although I am against any form of gun control, I think the recent rise of explosions, burning cars and dangerous assaults in our city has to be carefully monitored," he said. "My people say there has been a thousand-fold increase in fires in recent months, due to our de-regulation of the personal firearms market to include hand grenades and rocket launchers, but I think it has more to do with people failing to put out their cigarettes."
Another government spokesman added, "Let's be honest, hand grenades don't kill people, people kill people. Where do these people get their stupid ideas from? From entertainment. If nobody knew about blowing people up, we could happily and safely own hand grenades forever at no public risk. We really need tighter censorship on the way people are entertained. We want to get them out of the dangers of the video arcade and cinema and into the safety of the shooting range."
And so say all of us.


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It's been a long, long time, since I have blogged. Primarily because I am lazy. Secondarily because I am a self conscious writer. Tertiarily (no that's not a real word) because, well, I can't think of a reason right now. Excuses, excuses, hah! Okay. Hopefully there weren't too many tears shed or love lost or protests staged to mourn my absence.
From time to time, I face these inane Prufrockian dilemmas. The "Do I dare?" kind. The procrastinating kind. The kind which really have no reason or rhyme to plague my mind to begin with, but do anyhow (it's called procrastination for a reason). That's why, I wanted to name my new and improved blog "Prufrockian Lamentations". But I realized that it sounds too much like an eulogy for a tragic hero. Or a vague, cursory commentary on the tragedy of modernity. That's not it at all…not really what I want to do. I also thought of "Prometheus Unbound", but immediately got vivid images of a hapless, semi naked man tied to a rock, with an enthusiastic eagle feasting on his liver. Too much violence for an otherwise benign morning, I say. Nomenclature is important. It's what we are known as for the rest of our lives. It's what we are, in more ways than one, even if Shakespeare disagrees. It's what gives rise to pseudonyms. It causes dissent among agitated youths, if deemed uncool. It gives occasion for heated clannish arguments when there's a birth in the family. It causes embarrassment. It can strike fear and awe in others if you make something of yourself, something worthwhile. And if you're unlucky, it can even be an expletive. ("What a Dick!", "Stop being a Potol," "Why are you such a Stuti?") Bengalis tend to face this even more, thanks to the marvelously bizarre and intensely common nicknames that parents bestow on us. We all know a Babu, and a Mamoni and a Shonai. We all laugh. But we all feel a tug of knowing empathy. So yes, names are important.
I thought, why not Shakespeherian Rag? It sounds fancy, maybe even pretentious. Evidently. But you see, it is "The Mysterious Rag." And as the great Eliot noted, "it's so eloquent, so intelligent." Good thing to aspire to then. I like it, and since this is my creation, this is what it shall be known as, forever and ever. Amen.
But no. This is about hitch-hiking. Of transgressions and stumbling upons. What I figured is, too many thoughts, too many stray incidences pass by every day, day after day. And I forget. I try to remember, but I forget. So, this blog shall be all about recollections and observations. Things which fascinate me- randomly, passionately, hazily. It won't be a well crafted exaltation on the glory of life, or sermons on how to adopt hygienic means for the betterment of the self, it doesn't aim to inspire or incite. It's more like a quick scribble on all things fleeting- ideas, experiences, stories chanced upon, recurring thoughts and random musings on all and sundry.
Thank you for being a compassionate and large hearted (and thankfully invisible) audience.


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Recently, I make another installation - an origami white dress, trussed up by strings leading to different directions, and nailed to the back of a frame.
It was a found frame, with the original artwork removed, though I kept the battered backing material, which was flaked and a bit tainted in a very interesting way, as an evocative backdrop. The pose of the dress was simple and serene, yet the splash of red ink all over the dress and on the backdrop, hinted at some dark undertone:
Paper, Gouache, and Threads on Paper, with Wooden Frames
21.25" x 17.25" x 2"
The recent gouache paintings I made in last several weeks include some still life, landscape, figurative and some semi-abstract paintings:
White Rose Iceberg
Dressing Sketch of a young man
À la russe, I
À la russe, II
The last two pieces were inspired by Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- A New Installation/Mixed Media Work Completed
- Congregation - My New Art Installation
- Niobe - An Installation
- Several More Gouache Paintings
- Gouache Painting Wildflowers
- My First Two Gouache Drawings
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Recent Installation and Gouache Paintings
Posted by Matthew Felix Sun at 3:56 PM
Labels: Gouache, My Installation, My paintings, White Dress
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13 May, 2011
Muqdisho — – Bitter Clashes between Somalia government forces supported militarily by African Union peacekeepers and Al shabaab fighters on Friday occurred in parts of Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu.
Most of the confrontation, which was very fierce, rocked the neighborhoods of Mogadishu's Hodan district as heavy gunfire and artillery shell could be heard from war-zones.
The clash is said t have commenced after Somali forces with the help of AU troops launched premeditated attacks on Al shabaab military bases in the seaside capital.
At least 10 people were confirmed dead and more than eight others injured, according to witnesses and local health sources.
No comments related to the confrontation on Friday were available from Somali government, AMISOM or Al shabaab so far.
But, it comes hours after wobbly clam returned to Mogadishu after one of fighting that left more than 10 dead including civilians.