The New York Times eulogizes Pauline Kael, 1919-2001. “Provocative and Widely Imitated Film Critic, Dies at 82. Whether dismissing auteur theory,

reviewing Robert Altman’s Nashville

(1975) before it was finished, questioning

the extent of Orson Welles’s contribution to

Citizen Kane (1941) or proclaiming

Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris

(1973) as a cultural event comparable to

the 1913 premiere of Stravinsky’s Sacre

du Printemps, Ms. Kael was always provocative. Her seductive writing

style bred a legion of acolytes, known as Paulettes.”

…the most quotable critic writing; but what is important and bracing is that

she relates movies to other experiences, to ideas and attitudes, to

ambition, books, money, other movies, to politics and the evolving culture,

to moods of the audience, to our sense of ourselves — to what movies do

to us, the acute and self- scrutinizing awareness of which is always at the

core of her judgment.

–Eliot Fremont-Smith

Welcome to new readers who found FmH through Rebecca Blood. Like her, I found the piece below on infrasound and hauntings one of the most fascinating items in awhile. Hope you find something else you like here… [thanks, Rebecca]

Doctors Say a Chocolate a Day Keeps Them Away: ‘Chocolate contains compounds called

flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good

circulation and reduce blood clotting — which can cause heart attacks

and strokes.

“More and more, we are finding evidence that consumption of

chocolate that is rich in flavonoids can have positive cardiovascular

effects,” Carl Keen, a nutritionist at the University of California, Davis,

told a science conference.’ Reuters

Annals of Intolerance (cont’d.): Protestants Terrorize N.Irish Girls Second Day: “Irate

Protestants hurling stones and abuse

terrorized scores of Roman Catholic girls for

a second day Tuesday as they walked to

school under massive security in Belfast.”

And: U.S. and Israel quit U.N. conference against racism. Boston Globe

Strange bedfellows. The Rainbow Warrior puts in an appearance on my local seacoast. “It was classic Greenpeace… The rabble-rousers of the environmental movement are back”, reinvigorated by the environmental dangers posed by B—. Boston.com

Gore Attends Campaign-Like Event — “Former Vice President

Al Gore attended his first

campaign-style political event since his

narrow loss in the presidential election,

brushing aside questions about whether he

would run again.” Still sporting the sinister-looking beard. AP

I previously wrote about a theory that Federal regulatory changes would result in increasing shark attacks. Now here’s another one, which has killed one swimmer and left another in critical condition in North Carolina. And those wacky folks at PETA have unveiled a billboard urging sympathy for sharks: “Would You Give Your Right Arm to Know

Why Sharks Attack, Could it be Revenge? Go Vegetarian, PETA.”

Reno Moves to Run for Fla. Governor AP

Via randomWalks, a blink to Werewolf, a mind game for a large group of people. Links to a number of variants and related games. “I really like it. But then I go to some strange parties,” says the page’s poster.

Chuck Taggart at Looka! points to the fact that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was awarded the 2001 Hugo Award for best novel. While longtime readers of FmH know of my relish for Rowling’s Harry Potter books, each of which I’ve read aloud to my son, I agree with Chuck’s consternation that this is by no stretch of the imagination a work of science fiction. By the way, has any reader noticed any recent news of when (if?) we can expect the next in the Potter series?

How to Calibrate a Television FAQ: “Most televisions have electronic service adjustments. This means that adjustments like picture

geometry, white balance, and color presets are adjusted via on screen displays (OSD), using the

remote control and the service menu.” [from jerrykindall]

We Love You, We Hate You — “Despite the ill will of Barney haters everywhere, the saccharine purple dinosaur’s popularity is undiminished — and that’s not a bad thing…” Dallas Observer I hasten to add that the opinion expressed is not that of the editor of FmH, who had the misfortune of raising two children of susceptible ages during the peak popularity of Barney. The article suggests that the visceral revulsion most adults feel toward Barney is attributable to our cynicism in the face of the ‘image of genuine goodness’ he presents to guileless children. Oh boy, does this miss the point! My horror at watching children’s rapt attention to the show relates to the fear they are being irrevocably indoctrinated into the superficial, plastic, stiff, forced nature of the good-timey ambiance the show thrives upon…

Impulse Gravity Generator Based on Charged YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-y} Superconductor with

Composite Crystal Structure. In other words, as Phil Agre of Red Rock Eater puts it, they think they’ve created antigravity in the lab…