Category: Member Blogs

Return of the Kung Fu Dragon, 1976

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Return of the Kung Fu Dragon

Return of the Kung Fu Dragon, 1976

“The complicated story involves the military conquest of a peaceful island-nation by an evil despot and his sorcerer ally. His victory leaves the island’s three heroic protectors dead, but, their young children are hidden away to grow to adulthood with different identities, unaware of their heritage, in hope that, in time, they might challenge and defeat the evil ruler. The charming Polly Kuan stars as one of these children who has been adopted by the conquerer himself, initially as an insult to the defeated hero, later as his protégé.”
(from: imdb) (Browse our Movie Archive)

Origins of Indonesian Hobbits finally revealed

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Origins of Indonesian Hobbits finally revealed

Origins of Indonesian Hobbits finally revealed
“The most comprehensive study on the bones of Homo floresiensis, a species of tiny human discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, has found that they most likely evolved from an ancestor in Africa and not from Homo erectus as has been widely believed…” (Science Daily)

Environmental ‘memories’ passed on for 14 generations
“The impact of environmental change can be passed on in the genes of tiny nematode worms for at least 14 generations — the most that has ever been seen in animals — scientists have discovered…” (Science Daily)

Erin Moran, ‘Happy Days’ actress, dead at 56
“Popular actress Erin Moran, a mainstay on TV from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s and best known for her kid-sister role in the sitcom “Happy Days,” has died. She was 56…” (CNN)

Bill Nye: Science made America great
“I was proud to join thousands of concerned citizens, scientists and engineers in Saturday’s March for Science. With more than 600 marches taking place around the world, we conveyed that science is political, not partisan, and science should shape our policies…” (CNN)

Cynically led, and out of electricity, Gaza is close to breaking point again
“Hamas is funneling all available resources into its military infrastructure to fight Israel, complaining that Abbas won’t pay for its fuel, and milking everything it can from Gazans. It won’t end well…”
(The Times of Israel)

Clashes erupt after settlers said to attack Palestinian homes in West Bank
Security forces break up skirmish in Nablus-area village; 4 Palestinians reportedly injured by rubber bullets…” (The Times of Israel)

Battle for the French presidency
“Decades of practice at tactical voting may keep the far right out, but at the price of a business as usual neoliberal for president…” (Le Monde diplomatique)

No more playing policeman in Africa
“France’s military is underfunded, overstretched abroad and at home, connected with a massive arms industry and its exports; it doesn’t suit a changed world.”
(Le Monde diplomatique)

Farron’s pledge to voters: Lib Dems won’t make coalition deals
“The Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has ruled out any form of coalition with the Tories or Labour after the general election as he sets out a bold ambition to attract enough Remain voters to form the main opposition party in parliament…” (The Guardian)

Nearly 40 million people live in UK areas with illegal air pollution
“Nearly 40 million people in the UK are living in areas where illegal levels of air pollution from diesel vehicles risk damaging their health, according to analysis commissioned by the Labour party…” (The Guardian)

 

Playwright Edward Albee dies at 88

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Playwrite Edward Albee dies at 88

Celebrated playwright Edward Albee has died at 88 years of age. Considered by many to be America’s greatest living playwright, he penned such classics as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?, The American Dream, and Three Tall Women, among many others. Long-recognized as a master of his craft, he wrote 30 plays and won the coveted Pulitzer-Prize for Drama three times over the course of his long career.

Adopted by a wealthy family with close connections to the old Vaudville tradition (his father owned several theaters,) he felt out of place both at home and at school. He was expelled from two high schools, and left a military academy early. Though he did ultimately graduate from high school, he was eventually expelled from college for skipping classes and failing to comply with chapel attendance requirements—-how times have changed.

Albee knew he wanted to be a writer very early on, and moved to New York City as a very young man, living in the fast-paced and avant-garde Greenwich Village neighborhood, long before gentrification, and then home to struggling artists of all kinds. Working odd jobs to support himself, he tirelessly practiced his art, and gained recognition as a writer fairly early. Openly gay for much of his life, he once said that he wanted to be known not as a gay playwright, but as a playwright who happened to be gay.

Learn more about playwright Edward Albee (Time.com)

 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (public domain image)

Mobile marketing essential to Millennials

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Millennials didn’t really matter to most businesses 10 years ago, but now it seems they have become the base of most company’s sales. As they are getting older, they are starting to make up a larger portion of the economy, and missing out on sales to Millennials means you might be missing out on selling to a huge audience of people who are willing to spend. Here are some things to know about them if you are going to get them to buy your products or services. Read more