From:
A Tale Of Starvation
by Amy Lowell
There once was a man whom the gods didn't love,
And a disagreeable man was he.
He loathed his neighbours, and his neighbours hated him,
And he cursed eternally.
He damned the sun, and he damned the stars,
And he blasted the winds in the sky.
He sent to Hell every green, growing thing,
And he raved at the birds as they fly.
His oaths were many, and his range was wide,
He swore in fancy ways;
But his meaning was plain: that no created thing
Was other than a hurt to his gaze.
Read Entire Poem
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Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon I watched an older black & white movie titled The Miracle Worker. This was the 1962 American biographical film directed by Arthur Penn. The screenplay by William Gibson is based on his 1959 play of the same title. Gibson's original source material was The Story of My Life, the 1902 autobiography of Helen Keller.
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director for Arthur Penn, and won two awards, Best Actress for Anne Bancroft and Best Supporting Actress for Patty Duke.
Plot Synopsis:
Young Helen Keller, blind and deaf since infancy due to a severe case of scarlet fever, is frustrated by her inability to communicate and subject to frequent violent and uncontrollable outbursts as a result. Unable to deal with her, her terrified and helpless parents contact the Perkins School for the Blind for assistance. In response they send Anne Sullivan, a former student, to the Keller home to tutor her. What ensues is a battle of wills as Anne breaks down Helen's walls of silence and darkness through persistence, love, and sheer stubbornness.
I had seen this 1962 movie many years ago but had forgotten much of it. And I have to admit that, while it is a gripping story, I find myself wondering about the validity of it. How in the world could a young child with such an affliction actually be taught to understand people and become able to talk and communicate, as was Helen Keller?
I just can't accept it as presented, and I feel that some facts were left out of the film. Perhaps the child was able to remember more of her life from an earlier time, before the Scarlet Fever episode.
Yes, it could be that I am too cynical, too much of a skeptic.
I enjoyed the movie, though.
I find that it was remade twice for television, in 1979 with Patty Duke as Anne and Melissa Gilbert as Helen and in 2000 with Alison Elliott and Hallie Kate Eisenberg in the lead roles.
I think I'll seek them out, maybe at the Public Library as DVDs and view them.
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TRIVIA
There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
On this day, June 24 in 1997, U.S. Air Force officials released a 231-page report dismissing long standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier.
Barely a week before the extravagant 50th anniversary celebration of the incident, the Air Force released a report on the controversial subject. Titled "The Roswell Report, Case Closed," the document stated definitively that there was no Pentagon evidence that any kind of life form was found in the Roswell area in connection with the reported UFO sightings, and that the "bodies" recovered were not aliens but dummies used in parachute tests conducted in the region.
Any hopes that this would put an end to the cover-up debate were in vain, as ufologists rushed to point out the report's inconsistencies.
Roswell continues to thrive as a tourist destination for UFO enthusiasts far and wide.
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WORD FOR TODAY
skepticism
noun
- A doubting or questioning attitude.
- Doubt or disbelief of religious tenets.
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Sherry Stringfield is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the medical television drama ER, a role for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. She is also known for her regular roles on NYPD Blue and Guiding Light. She has acted mainly on television, but she has also played various parts in films.
Nancy Anne Allen
(born June 24, 1950)
(born June 24, 1950)
Nancy Allen is an American actress and cancer activist . Allen began an acting and modelling career as a child, and from the mid-1970s appeared in small film roles, most notably the anchor of Robert Zemeckis's ensemble comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978). A pivotal supporting role in Carrie (1976) brought her recognition, and after marrying the director Brian De Palma, she appeared in several of his films, including Dressed to Kill (1980) and Blow Out (1981). Her subsequent films include Strange Invaders (1983), The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), Poltergeist III (1988), Limit Up (1990), Out of Sight (1998), and the RoboCop trilogy.
Mindy Kaling
(born June 24, 1979)
(born June 24, 1979)
Mindy Kaling (born Vera Mindy Chokalingam) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer who portrayed Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office and created and currently stars in the Fox sitcom The Mindy Project. She is also a co-executive producer, director and writer of several of the show's episodes; she also wrote, executive produced and directed various episodes of The Office.
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey
(June 24, 1895 - May 31, 1983)
(June 24, 1895 - May 31, 1983)
Jack Dempsey, known as "The Manassa Mauler" was an American professional boxer. He was a cultural icon of the 1920s. He held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history.
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Skepticism is the mark and even the pose of the educated mind.
--John Dewey
NASA TV
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