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Those who 'abjure' violence can only do so because others are committing
violence on their behalf.
George Orwell
from Notes on Nationalism
Special: Selections from War Poems, by
Siegfried Sassoon (updated 01/11/2002)
Special: In Flanders Fields, by Dr. John M.
McCrae (updated 07/09/2011)
So, pal, what's here?
Last updated March 13, 2009
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
Back to table of contents
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.
Back to table of contents
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
Back to table of contents
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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