Archive for September, 2014

Hong Kong Democracy Movement- 2014

Sunday, September 28th, 2014
  • Oct 6 update : Legacy of Tienanman Square looms

  • Oct 5 update: news from Hong Kong..

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    IN PICTURES: On the front lines of the Hong Kong democracy movement

  • The first tear gas fired..

  • Message from Taiwan President

  • Exciting time.. second night (see more photos).

  • In the Mood for Smiles.

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    Michelangelo Antonioni : Born: September 29, 1912, Ferrara, Italy

    Previous post – here

    High Hopes of Eleanor, FDR’s Cape & Fala

    Monday, September 22nd, 2014
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    High Hopes

  • Cape Fear-FDR 1CapeFDR

    A defining element of his image, the cape projected an aura of power and strength to the public at large—a subliminal invocation of the emergent superhero and nod to the kings of old—allowing Roosevelt, afflicted with polio-induced paralysis from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, to command the respect of the nation and world as it faced its greatest challenges of the century.

  • I don’t want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster.

    Presidential press conference (May 21, 1940), when America entered WWII

  • Excellent Bio 1cFDRbio
    Book report from Agog –FDR-Depression Shock

    FDR served as undersecretary of the Navy during the Wilson presidency and WWI, giving FDR a unique insight into the workings of government in Washington and of the workings of the military and armaments industry. This experience was invaluable in his subsequent political career and his preparation to act as Commander in Chief during WWII. Unlike Lincoln in the civil war, FDR made hardly a misstep in selecting his military commanders in WWII.

    Confirming the TV movie Warm Springs , FDR’s struggle with polio, discovery of Warm Springs Georgia, and meeting for the first time, the poor of America and particularly rural southern America resulted in a dramatic change in his perceptions and empathy with the struggling poor. Without his polio and Warm Springs, it is doubtful FDR would have conceived and implemented the far reaching changes underlying the New Deal. (Excerpt)

  • The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

    First Inaugural Address (4 March 1933).

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    photo via

    Churchill and Roosevelt met and it was here that they agreed upon only accepting “unconditional surrender” from the Axis powers. At the end of the conference, Roosevelt was anxious to get home, but Churchill begged and convinced him to take some time off to go visit Marrakech. Churchill said “You cannot come all this way to North Africa without seeing Marrakech. Let us spend two days there. I must be with you when you see the sun set on the Atlas Mountains.”

    They made the 150-mile journey with the road lined with American soldiers cheering them on. Staying at the Villa Taylor, which was owned by the wealthy American socialite Mrs. Moses Taylor, Churchill convinced Roosevelt to view the sunset from the top of the famed Berber tower. The President’s personal assistants, making a chair with their crossed arms, carried him to the top. Roosevelt was so taken with the scene from the tower; he exclaimed to the Prime Minister “I feel like a sultan, you may kiss my hand my dear.”

    (See Churchill’s Painting, his gift to FDR ” )

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    No presidential pet was ever publicized more than FDR’s beloved pet Scotty, Fala. Fala was given to Roosevelt as a Christmas gift in 1940 by his cousin, Daisy. His original name was Big Boy, but Roosevelt changed it to Murray the Outlaw of Falahill. This was shortened to Fala. Fala frequently traveled with FDR and the president ordered that only he could ever feed his beloved dog. Fala was to outlive FDR by seven years, dying in 1952. He was buried alongside the president and a statue of him with FDR is featured in Washington DC’s Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. He is the only presidential pet so honored.

    Roosevelt facts

    Born on January 30, 1882, FDR was nameless for the first seven weeks after his birth.

    FDR was a C student at Harvard

    Franklin pink-and-blue-Franklin-Roosevelt-2eleanor_01 and Eleanor
    Why was Franklin dressed as a girl?

    * Frank Sinatra claimed that he named his son Frank Sinatra Jr. not after himself, but after FDR. Frank’s full name is Franklin Wayne Emmanuel Sinatra.

    Hitler & FDR study in contrast

    Newsha Tavakolian – Refused the Prize Money

    Friday, September 19th, 2014

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    Newsha Tavakolian 1newsha

    Newsha Tavakolian (see more from her portfolio)

    Keeping True to an Iranian Vision, Minus Big Money

    Lens plus

    She has instead walked away from the prestigious prize after what she considered repeated interference from Mr. Carmignac, whom she accused in a lengthy Facebook post and subsequent interview with Lens of distorting her vision by editing her images, demanding changes to her text and insisting on titling the project “The Lost Generation,” which she thought was not only a cliché, but could possibly provoke Iranian authorities. While she said the foundation had announced it had “adjourned” her prize because of fears for her safety in Iran, she said the only perils she faced were artistic ones from Mr. Carmignac, who she said seemed intent on controlling her take on her homeland and experiences.

    “I had to make a choice between my artistic freedom and my dignity, or the glory of something that is not real or not mine when it comes to what kind of book do I have,” Ms. Tavakolian said in a phone interview from Tehran.

    R.I. P Yoshiko Yamaguchi/Ri-Ko-Ran – Diva of China & Japan

    Monday, September 15th, 2014
  • Wartime film idol, propaganda tool Rikoran dies at 94 Japan times

  • Japanese Actress Shirley Yamaguchi, Who Starred in ‘House of Bamboo,’ Dies at 94 (Variety)

  • Yoshiko Yamaguchi1cYamguchi

    photo via

    Shirley and Charlie 1charlieYamaguchi
    (photo via)

    Yoshiko Yamaguchi and Isamu Noguchi1IsamuYoshiko

    photo via
    See previous post

    Hollywood reporter –

    After her first marriage to Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi ended in the mid-1950s, Yamaguchi married Hiroshi Ohtaka, who was Japan’s ambassador to Burma, now Myanmar, and occasionally appeared on television. In 1974, she was elected to parliament’s Upper House as a member of the governing Liberal Democratic Party and served until 1992. She was among the contributors to a private atonement fund for Asian “comfort women” used as prostitutes for Japan’s wartime military.

  • Shanghai no Onna 1952 (youtube)

  • Caught Between China & Japan: Superstar Li Xianglan

    She called China her fatherland and Japan her motherland.

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    (Scandal – directed by Kurosawa)

    She was active in promoting relations with China and other Asian countries. One of her concerns was Japanese “comfort women” military brothels, an issue that still strains ties between Japan and its neighbours.

    In her 1987 autobiography, Yamaguchi wrote she was shellshocked when she watched “China Nights” to prepare the book. “Why did I have to appear in such a movie and perform as ‘Chinese actress Ri Koran (Li Xianglan)’? I felt miserable realising this at this advanced age and I had sleepless nights for months.”

    However, according to some Japanese bloggers, the movie was not widely taken as a pure propaganda film but was appreciated by many people in both Japan and China.

    “I think song is something that helps shrink boundaries and distances,” Yamaguchi told public broadcaster NHK in 1985. “I myself suffered much as I was trapped in a war between two countries as long as I remember. Therefore I am determined not to tolerate any war.” (via)

    Adieu Antoine Duhamel – Film Composer For Godard & Truffaut

    Friday, September 12th, 2014
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    Antoine Duhamel (30 July 1925 – 11 September 2014) was a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher.

    Antoine Duhamel filmography

    Top tracks for Antoine Duhamel

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    In 2002 he was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his music for the Bertrand Tavernier directed film, Laissez-passer.

    Safe Conduct (Laisser-Passer) by Bertrand Tavernier.
    The film is almost 3 hours long. The first half was a bit frantic and confusing but the last half the film began to take shape and delivers.
    Filmmaking under Nazi rule during the occupation in France is the theme and the central character played by an actor who was a real biker made this cycling resistence movie memorable. The film deals with a controversial and difficult subject.

    Ridicule composed by Duhamel (Ridicule is a film about Wit.. a great film by Patrice Leconte).

    Antoine Duhamel :Les Charmes du Japon (Truffaut – Antoine Doinel series)

    In the Mood for Fan Ho’s Photography – Hong Kong 1950

    Wednesday, September 10th, 2014
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  • Fan Ho (homepage)

  • Fan Ho: finding love and light in 1950s Hong Kong – in pictures

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    Fan Ho 1fan-ho-43

    Ho Fan (Chinese: 何藩) (born October 8, 1937) is a celebrated Chinese photographer, film director and actor. He has won over 280 awards from international exhibitions and competitions worldwide since 1956 for his photography

    R.I.P Donatas Banionis – Star of Solaris

    Thursday, September 4th, 2014
  • See full film Solaris (youtube)

  • R.I.P Donatas Banionis – Star of Solaris dies

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    Donatas Banionis and Tarkovsky
    photo via

  • Hal Ashby of Being There – A Retrospective

    Monday, September 1st, 2014
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    b. September 2, 1929, Ogden, Utah
    d. December 27, 1988, Malibu, California

  • A Man Out of time
    Bruce Dern, Norman Jewison, Wexler paid moving tributes to Hal Asby.

  • Bound For Glory1aBoundforGlory1

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  • Intelligent Life – Why You Should Know the Name Hal Ashby..

    Hal Asby on Senses of Cinema (bio & filmography)