The Hall of Fire

Yay, Ireland!

I saw WOMAN IN GOLD today (with my amazing 92yo father-in-law)--about Marie Altmann's attempts to get the Klimt paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis back from Austria. The heroine is played by Helen Mirren. Who is perfect. Oh my heavens, I worship at the feet of Helen Mirren!

Ax, thanks for posting the link to that interview. I heard it on NPR and thought it was just amazingly illuminating. I had never thought about the effects of housing policies in that way! The difference in wealth that results is so egregious . . . . Wow.

Frelga, just a clarification: is the sum really (x + 1), not (x + y)?

Oh, Alatar, that's just lovely, that is!

"And visitors say: how does such a big city exist? What keeps it going? Since it's got a river you can chew, where does the drinking water come from?" (Men at Arms) and another subtle moment of river info: "The bolt whiffled past Corporal Nobbs' ear and landed in the river, where it s...

You guys! This thread! Ullllllllllllgh......

Crying also at my desk. "Men at Arms" is the book that's been walking me home this week. Frelga, thank you, thank you, for being my introduction to Pratchett--who has enriched my life so much. Tears are now splashing on my knees, by the way. Something in the way they bounce about puts me i...

"Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"








(originally Henry II about Thomas Becket)

Kirov, yes.

Well, we'll see what happens next.

He made it cool to be cerebral. :) But Nimoy, like the character he played, also valued culture, the arts, loyalty and kindness. Well done, Mr. Nimoy! (And for some reason I'm also sniffling because a part of my childhood has lurched away: the crinkly, flimsy tin edges of the TV dinners we had ONLY ...

Thanks for sharing that, narya! Hurray!

This discussion just reminded me of a book that absolutely enthralled me as a child: Henry Treece's THE QUEEN'S BROOCH, about the clash of cultures during the Roman invasion of Britain. That book showed me how vivid historical fiction could be! I'm going to go find myself a copy of SWORD AT SUNSET n...

Well, I'm curious about this myself, so I looked around and found some interesting survey data here: http://www.pewforum.org/2014/03/28/shrinking-majority-of-americans-support-death-penalty/#fn-20067-1 There do seem to be some important demographic differences between death penalty supporters and de...

nel, I do see the reason things are done this way. But where you say, That's not prejudicing the trial, it's ensuring it is not futile. , I would suggest it is ensuring the trial's not futile, at the possible [even likely] price of . . . prejudicing the trial. It's not a case of one thing or the oth...

I heard a brief report on the news about the trial that's finally starting in Boston (of the marathon bomber), and I wanted to ask you thoughtful people about one aspect of the jury vetting process. The newscaster said one reason sorting through the 9000 (!!) people called in as potential jurors wil...

I saw Mr. Turner and really liked it. I liked its plotlessness and its suggestion that sometimes language is beside the point (starting with the women chattering in Dutch in the beautiful opening landscape and continuing with the grunts and mumbling of the main character). Some really gorgeous image...

Thank you so much for these songs, Jude!

I have been in tears about this off and on all day. I deeply fear what it means for France and for Europe. And a friend of mine lives in that neighborhood and came into that street just five minutes after it happened. We are all in shock.

I'll toast the Professor with a mug of fresh tea in three minutes!