Reading And Writing Books

     

Tucson Weather Today


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On March 23, 1999, bestselling author Thomas Harris delivered the 600-page manuscript for his new novel, Hannibal, to Delacorte press. Hannibal was part of a two-book contract that paid Harris a $5.2 million advance. The book was the third novel featuring serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter, who first appeared in Harris' 1981 book Red Dragon as a minor character. He played a larger role in The Silence of the Lambs (1988), which sold some 10 million copies and was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1991.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter

Personal Opinion:
The book is great -- the movie, in my estimation, is not. The movie takes such flagrant liberties with the plot, such as, among other things, leaving out the character of Mason Verger's sister (a fascinating study) and completely changing the book's ending. The movie utterly destroys the story's original magnificence.

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WORD FOR TODAY

motivation
noun
the act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way.

Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas.

Motivation may be rooted in a basic impulse to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure. It can also originate from specific physical needs such as eating, sleeping or resting, and sex.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Wernher Von Braun

 Born Mar. 23, 1912
Died June 16, 1977

Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and, subsequently, in the United States. He is credited as being the "Father of Rocket Science".

Joan Crawford

 Born Mar 23, 1905
Died May 10, 1977

Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theater. She starred in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. after Crawford's death, daughter Christina wrote a "tell-all" memoir, Mommie Dearest, in which she alleged a lifelong pattern of physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by Crawford.

Roger Bannister

 Born Mar 23, 1929
Age:   83 years old

Roger Gilbert Bannister is an English former athlete best known for running the first mile in less than 4 minutes.

Amanda Plummer

 Born Mar 23, 1957
Age:   55 years old

Amanda Michael Plummer is an actress best known for her work on stage and for her roles in films such as The Fisher King (1991), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), and Pulp Fiction (1994).

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You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C. S. Lewis
 

What Makes Art Art?

I discovered long ago that I know nothing of Art. Nor do I even wish to learn. Sometimes I can recognize (what I believe to be) a work of art. But not often.

I am a pragmatic soul.

pragmatic
(adj.)
Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

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Pasted below is a photo of a supposed work of art

Is it truly Art?
I couldn't say.

Is this Art?

(I seriously doubt it)

Cormac McCarthy

produces works of art
and I like those works

“Deep in each man is the knowledge that something knows of his existence. Something knows, and cannot be fled nor hid from.”
--Cormac McCarthy

Thomas Harris

is not accused of producing Art,
but I like his work . . . art or no.

“When the Fox hears the Rabbit scream he comes a-runnin', but not to help.”
--Thomas Harris

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It might be artistic if I were to insert a piece of Art here.

But I won't.

No time.

I am busy working on another project.

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“There is no God and we are his prophets.”
--Cormac McCarthy

“How seldom we recognize the sound when the bolt of our fate slides home.”
--Thomas Harris

And Habitual Laziness, Perhaps...

The reasons as to why I neglected to write an entry in yesterday's blog are two-fold: first because I simply did not feel adequate to the task of investing the necessary mental effort to compose any profound or even vaguely rational text, and second because I spent the allotted time in a much more pleasant pursuit, that being the continued re-reading and careful examination of the style and craftsmanship (not mere artistry) of Thomas Harris novel: Hannibal.

More about that later . . .