
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
by Dr. John M. McCrae
first published in Punch on December 8, 1915.
Text from The First World War, by Martin Gilbert
Special: Selections from War Poems, by
Siegfried Sassoon (updated 01/11/2002)
So, pal, what's here?
Last updated September 24, 2006
Contents
Favorite movies
- Internet Movie Database Search
the online database
- Beauty and the Beast (Disney) - lovely story about
seeing past the superficial apperances
- Blade Runner - a gritty future ... what makes a human,
um, human?
- Captain Horatio Hornblower - historical adventure
- Chariots of Fire - pursuit of excellence, use your
talents
- A Christmas Story - a hilarious family christmas ...
"How does a piggy eat?"
- Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) - tragic effects of a bad
self-image
- The Day the Earth Stood Still - classic first encounter
situation
- High Noon - best Western I've ever seen, about personal
integrity at a cost
- A High Wind in Jamaica - an underappreciated story about
adults, children, and pirates
- Indiana Jones series - pure adventure
- Lawrence of Arabia - epic story about the importance of
the individual
- Mr. Mom - comedy with gender role reversal
- My Favorite Year - comedy about personal life vs. public
life. Peter O'Toole's evolving facial expressions as he watches his
daughter are breathtaking
- Predator - sf drama ... "Boy, are you an ugly mother
^%$&*!"
- Road Warrior series - influence of personal loss on
personality
- Secret of NIMH - the power of love ... wonderful theme
song
- Seven Samurai (and anything else by Kurosawa) -
historical action dramas
- Star Wars series - pure adventure, strongly influenced
by Kurowawa's works
- To Kill a Mockingbird - importance of personal integrity
- Tootsie - comedy with cross-gender awareness
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Favorite tv shows
Are You Being Served? - British farce set in the
clothing business. See Grace Brothers for
more information.
Babylon 5 - epic story about the Forces of Light vs the
Forces of Darkness, asking Who Are You and What Do You Want. See Lurker's Guide to
Babylon-5 for more information.
Dr. Who - longest-running SF tv series, about a Time
Lord. See Dr.
Who Home Page and Dr.
Who Image Archive for more information
Fawlty Towers - Most consistently hilarious tv series
I've ever seen, and only 12 episodes were ever made. "BASIL!" See TV Comedy Resources for episode guide
and scripts
Good Neighbors (U.S. title) - British comedy about
self-sufficiency. See The Good Neighbors for
more information.
I, Claudius (PBS) - first-rate historical drama about
the Roman emperor Claudius and his rise to power
Lord Peter Wimsey (PBS Mystery series) - British
mysteries with an upper-class sleuth
Sherlock Holmes (PBS Mystery series) - Brett's protrayal
of Holmes is the best
Simpsons - consistently hilarious cartoon series
Star Trek: The Original Series and The Next Generation -
classic TV SF
Taxi - wonderful portrayals of ordinary (and weird)
people
To The Manor Born - trials and tribulations of a poor
British aristocrat. See To The Manor Born
for more information.
Upstairs, Downstairs - British upper class/lower class
personalities tied together. See Upstairs,
Downstairs for more information.
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Favorite tv specials
- Marty (E. Borgnine) - ordinary guy with bad self-image
finds love
- Wallace and Grommit specials - first-rate claymation
comedies about a dog named Grommit and his bumbling owner Wallace
- In search of the Trojan War - Was the Trojan War a
historical event?
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Books I'd take to a desert island
- Collected Sherlock Holmes, A. C. Doyle - the master of crime
detection
- Doctor Thorndyke series, R.A. Freeman - Master of medical crime
detection, author invented the "Inverted Detective Story" style.
- Jude the Obscure, T. Hardy - Brooding story about how having
exceptional talent is usually not enough when you aren't born into the
right social class. Caused a cry of outrage when it was first published
- Captain Horatio Hornblower et al., C.S. Forester - British
naval hero in Napoleonic wars
- The Story of Mankind, H.W. van Loon - world history in a
nutshell
- Outline of Philosophy, B. Russell - history of philosophical
thought
- Topper et al., T. Smith - humorous stories about a
straight-laced banker and his not-so-straight-laced ghost friends
- War and Peace, L. Tolstoy - unbeatable for epic scope
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Authors that influenced me the most
- Bertrand Russell - importance of rational thinking
- G.B. Shaw - the prefaces to his plays
- T. H. Huxley - the importance of facts over supposition
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Favorite www sites
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Favorite actors/actresses
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Comments? Questions? Mail me at bbrown@radix.net