Author: admin
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Frank Oz
Frank Oz is more than a great director. He’s the genius who brought Yoda to life in The Empire Strikes Back. He’s worked closely with Jim Henson on many projects. And he’s one of my heroes. He directed one of my favorite comedies of all time, Bowfinger. Karilyn and I love this movie, partly because…
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Counting Crows
My sister got me interested in Counting Crows. While I don’t know much about the band, I still love their debut album, August and Everything After, which includes the following songs. One day last week, I found myself thinking about them, so I listened to each of these songs again. I also listened to a…
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Small Change?
Conceptually, it seemed like a small change. Just move several scenes around in a screenplay to improve the overall structure. It wasn’t a small change. When I moved the scenes, parts of the story began to unravel. I started a ripple effect. Ideas that made sense with the original ordering suddenly became clouded. Characters no…
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An Overheard Conversation
While picking up our dinner from a nice restaurant, I overheard a conversation between two women, Jan and Vera (made-up names), probably in their fifties. I’m not inclined to believe the story Jan was telling. It went something like this. She had been married and divorced a few times. Jan was currently single. She wanted…
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Peter Weir
Peter Weir is one of my favorite directors and one of my heroes. Here are my favorite movies that he has directed. The Year of Living Dangerously, Dead Poet’s Society, and Fearless are each so good that I would love Peter Weir’s work if he had done nothing else. But he has! Each of the…
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The Milky Way
Okay, this is interesting. I just read the article Why Is Our Galaxy Called The Milky Way? I’m not sure why I haven’t heard about this before. I guess it must not be in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology book (which I know from a high school English class). According to mythology, Hera was breastfeeding Zeus’s half-mortal…
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Sir Isaac Newton
This man’s accomplishments defy understanding! How is it possible for one man to make so many world-changing discoveries? Obviously, he’s one of my heroes. Newton is best known for his laws of motion and universal gravitation. It’s worth stating them each here. Newton’s Laws of Motion Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation Each object attracts every…
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A Great Bartender
Tonight, I ordered food to go from the bartender at a fancy restaurant. His grey beard was a least four inches long while his short hair was not even a quarter-inch long. He worked with effortless efficiency. He engaged everyone with respectful enthusiasm. And you could just tell that he was having fun. When I…
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Nostalgia
Yesterday, I decided to take a trip down Memory Lane. I drove through the neighborhood where I grew up, where I went to school from kindergarten through third grade. The house where my family lived during this time is still there. Here’s what it looks like now, almost 50 years later. If you look behind…
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Discoveries
Theoretical physicists “discover” the laws of nature. What I mean by this is that the laws of nature can’t just be made up. Sure, a physicist can make up any theory that strikes her fancy; however, it doesn’t become a law of nature without rigorous experimental testing. Suppose I make up a mathematical model that…