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Wow.

Optical Illusions - Freaky!

] LOS ANGELES - Gregory Hines, the greatest tap dancer of
] his generation who also transcended the stage with
] successful film and television roles, has died at 57.

I thought that "White Nights" was an incredible movie, both for the cutting-edge dancing and the political commentary. The movie was a classic, and Hines was a brilliantly gifted dancer who could not only execute extremely difficult sequences, but also pushed himself even further, pushing his own limits, and, as a result, the boundaries of the entire artform. He was an inspiring craftsman, and will not be forgotten.

Gregory Hines dies of cancer at 57

On a recent trip to Minneapolis, I visited the Walker Sculpture Garden. One part I especially liked was by Jenny Holzer: A series of benches placed around a garden, with truisms engraved on each bench. Some of them I very much identified with:

] IT TAKES A WHILE BEFORE YOU CAN
] STEP OVER INERT BODIES AND GO AHEAD
] WITH WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO.

Jenny Holzer 'Living' Series Quotes

Last week I saw the movie "Legally Blonde 2". The movie was so-so, but one of my favorite parts was when Reese Witherspoon's character was working on a bill to send to Congress, and the soundtrack at that section was the tune from America Rock:

] I'm just a bill.
] Yes, I'm only a bill.
] And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
] Well, it's a long, long journey
] To the capital city.
] It's a long, long wait
] While I'm sitting in committee,
] But I know I'll be a law some day
] At least I hope and pray that I will
] But today I am still just a bill.

To this day, I can still recite the Preamble to the Constitution, with the melody from "The Preamble" playing in my head.

Or from "No More Kings":

] Rockin' and a-rollin', splishin' and a-splashin',
] Over the horizon, what can it be?

Gawd, I loved those tunes.

Schoolhouse Rock

Way back when, as a brighter-than-average child, I coped with life (some might also say I hid from it) by spending enormous amounts of time at the library. Because of my age I was only allowed to check out 10 books at a time, but I'd dutifully take the bus to the library, peruse the shelves carefully to choose my 10 with great deliberation, check them out, and then head back to the bus stop, my nose already buried deep in what I'd chosen. As fast a reader as I was, I'd usually have finished them all within a day or two (sometimes even before the bus got me back home from the library visit). So at the first opportunity I'd be back on the bus to the library for my next 10...

One of my favorite authors was McCloskey, especially via his books "Homer Price" and "Centerburg Tales" about a boy inventor. Even to this day, if I were in that same library (assuming they hadn't moved things around too much), I could probably walk straight to the shelf where his books were.

I don't know if anyone else here ever heard of his books or drawings or loved them as much as I did, but I was very sorry to hear of Mr. McCloskey's passing.

Famous titles of his, that he either authored or illustrated:

Homer Price
Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Price
Blueberries for Sal
Make Way for Ducklings
Henry Reed, Inc. (illustrator)
Henry Reed's Babysitting Service (illustrator)
Henry Reed's Big Show (illustrator)

Children's Author McCloskey Dies at Home in Maine

I spent days scouring the web trying to find some sort of comprehensive list of James Sanborn's artwork, but no dice (Sanborn, btw, is the sculptor that made "Kryptos"). I even contacted his agents and asked for a list, but they said that there wasn't such a thing, and that if they were to ask the artist for a complete list of his sculptures, he'd probably laugh at them since there were so many.

So, I went ahead and made my own list. I guess this makes me the self-appointed head of the Jim Sanborn fanclub. ;)

Artist/Sculptor James Sanborn

] An estimated 33.1 million people watched "Chicago" win
] best picture, Nielsen said on Monday, down sharply from
] the 41.8 million who watched the Oscars last year.
 . . .
] The Academy Awards is often the most popular
] entertainment program of the year, but even last month's
] finale of "Joe Millionaire," with 40 million
] viewers, beat it this year.

'Joe Millionaire' TV Ratings Beat Out the Oscars

A good searchable database of downloadable MP3s.

eMP3finder.com Database