After having enjoyed two of Akira Kurosawa’s previous films , Redbeard and The Seven Samurai, I was so looking forward to viewing Kagemusha. Not only was it in color but it had been shot on a much larger budget and had shared the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film Festival in 1980. Besides, it was reputedly [...]
Archive for August, 2008
Kurosawa’s “Kagemusha” : Disappointing
Posted in Asia, Culture, Movies, Observations on August 31, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Sex at the Olympic Games
Posted in Sports on August 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Watching the Olympics my thoughts never strayed from the action on the field, or the court, or the mat. Well, almost never. I may have been distracted once or twice during the beach volleyball matches. Which means that either I am a true sports fan or that I have gotten really old. Or both !
In [...]
Retirement, Brett Favre and Michael Strahan
Posted in Life, Sports on August 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
They say there are three seminal events in a person’s life ( Birth, Death and Marriage ) and that we have no control over two of them. Particularly in the case of men, there is a fourth : Retirement . For men, many of whom tend to define themselves in terms of their careers, retirement often [...]
Bronze is better than silver !
Posted in Sports, Thoughts on August 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
When I first read that bronze medal winners were happier with their medals than those who won silver, it didn’t seem to make sense. Why would anyone be happier to finish third rather than second ?
Psychologists tell us that those who finish second say to themselves that if only they had been a little faster [...]
The Olympic Medal Count Controversy
Posted in Sports on August 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Beijing Olympic Games, which just ended Sunday, seem to have spawned a controversy regarding which country ‘won ‘ . China was comfotably ahead in gold medals ( 51 to 36) while the United States had more total medals ( 110 to 101). This has never happened before ; until now , the country winning [...]
Michael Phelps and his Rivals
Posted in Sports on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In my previous post I had written that, much as I admired Michael Phelps, neither he nor anyone else could be acclaimed as the Greatest Athlete Ever. I listed a number of reasons why I felt that way and said that there were a number of athletes all bunched together at the top, each great [...]
Michael Phelps and the Gold Standard
Posted in Sports on August 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics and I couldn’t be happier. As I said in a previous post, Phelps’ middle class roots make us feel he’s one of us and his great personality makes us root all the harder for him. I must admit I was relieved when the American [...]
Michael Phelps, Jack ( “Pal”) Smurch, Mark Spitz and # 85
Posted in Sports on August 16, 2008 | 2 Comments »
THE story of the 2008 Olympics has got to be Michael Phelps, and not just because of all the gold medals he’s won. What makes him espescially appealing is his back story ( his humble beginnings, his stuggle with ADHD, his devotion to his mother) and his terrific personality. Even as we are told about [...]
If I were to hire my own personal ( Celebrity) Chef
Posted in Food, Random on August 14, 2008 | 2 Comments »
One of the luxuries that the rich indulge in is to hire a personal chef, a live-in chef who wll cook all their meals to order. In my case, I do like to cook but, if I ever win the lottery , one of the first things I’d do is to hire my own personal chef, [...]
Top Earning Celebrity Chefs… Some Surprises
Posted in Food on August 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yestrday’s Yahoo News carried a list of the top earning celebrity chefs and there were some big surprises. Here is the list :
The Top 10 Earning Celebrity Chefs:
10. Anthony Bourdain – $1.5 million
9. Bobby Flay – $1.5 million
8. Tom Colicchio – $2 million
7. Mario Batali – $3 million
6. Paula Deen – $4.5 million
5. Alain [...]
