Saturday, September 21, 2013
Trivia Bits 21 September
- Joseph “Little Joe” Cartwright in the TV western series Bonanza was played by Michael Landon.
- Oenology is the science and study of wine and winemaking.
- Frank Lloyd Wright, noted US architect said “The truth is more important than the facts”.
- The uncredited singing voice of the character Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 movie My Fair Lady was Marni Nixon.
- Adelaide, South Australia’s first commercial radio station was 5DN.
- Puberty Blues, the 1979 book was written by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette.
- The Capital of Syria is Damascus.
- Glossitis is an inflammation of the tongue.
- In cricket, a dot ball is a delivery from which no runs are scored.
- Mickey Mouse in Cockney is a rhyming slang for a house.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Movie Clichés ... Phones
- All phone numbers begin with 555.
- People speaking on the phone never introduce themselves, and never ever say "good-bye" at the end of a conversation.
- A ringing phone is usually picked up within 3 seconds.
- Don't give the person on the other end of the phone time to say what they have to.
- You also never have to look up a phone number, for anyone.
- When a phone line is broken or someone hangs up unexpectedly, communication channels can be restored by frantically beating the cradle and saying "Hello? Hello?".
- Always knock over the phone if it wakes you up. If you are expecting a call, make sure that you pull the covers up completely over your head so that knocking it over becomes easier. All houses have phones next to the bed.
- There's a dial tone to be heard on A's phone immediately after B has hung up on his/her end.
Dr Leopold Auenbrugger
An Austrian doctor, Leopold Auenbrugger, used to watch his father, a vintner, tap wine casks to discover the level of the wine inside them.
This gave Auenbrugger the idea of tapping a patient’s chest with fingers and listening to the sound produced as a guide to the internal condition of the patient. Auenbrugger published his findings in 1761, but they went unnoticed until they were translated into French in 1808.
The Titans – Greek
The Greek Titan of Intelligence » KOIOS (or Coeus)
- The first generation of Titans (strainers) were named after primal ideas eg Coeus – query. They were referred to as strainers or strugglers reflecting their desire for power.
- The youngest Titan, Cronus, was king after he overthrew his father, Uranus.
- The Titans symbolized pre-historic disorder to the Greeks.
- Cronu’s son, Zeus, represented the birth of order.
- The most well known Titans were six males – Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Crius, Iapetus and Cronus – and six females – Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemesyne, Phoebe and Thetis.
Cronus
Uranus
Zeus
Movie Review ... Trance
Simon (James McAvoy) is part of a criminal gang stealing works of art. After a daring heist, an accident robs him of his memory. Failing to recall the location of a valuable painting, he goes to hypnotherapist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson). Hoping to remember where it is, Simon’s task is made harder with the presence of his shady colleagues including Franck (Vincent Cassel). Demanding to know where it is, Franck’s threats become the only real aspect of Simon’s increasingly surreal existence.
‘Trance’ is an effective twist-driven thriller with enough red herrings to stump viewers. As Simon becomes lost between his real and imagined worlds, the element of surprise is constant. The plot commands attention with Boyle gleefully layering the deceit and double-cross. Occasionally he goes too far with some strands becoming muddled although the performances are consistently arresting. The actors make this brisk guessing-game enjoyable with the outcome not always certain.
The way it’s shot also makes ‘Trance’ stand-out. It’s easy accepting Simon’s confusion of reality due to the striking cinematography. It moves shadows and colours with lightning speed which aid the ongoing tense atmosphere. This adds to the stark intensity of the brutal world in which the characters reside as violence increasingly becomes their mode of communication.
Fans of engaging thrillers should enjoy ‘Trance’. It certainly keeps you on your toes with its game of wondering how events will conclude a puzzle most would be happy to solve.
Movie Review Rating out of 10: 7
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.
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Trivia Bits 20 September
- Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love.
- Australia has no state religion with section 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibiting the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. In the 2011 census, 61.1 per cent of Australians were counted as Christian, including 25.3 per cent as Roman Catholic and 17.1 per cent as Anglican. About 22 per cent of the population stated "no religion" (which includes humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism). The largest non-Christian religion in Australia is Buddhism (2.5 per cent), followed by Islam (2.2 per cent), Hinduism (1.3 per cent) and Judaism (0.5 per cent). Overall, 7.2 per cent of Australians identify with non-Christian religions. A 2001 census showed there are almost 9,000 Wiccans and 10,623 pagans.
- The musician Yehudi Menuhin was closely associated with the violin.
- Released in 1925, the movie Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ boasted a cast of 125,000.
- Irish poet, W B Yeats, wrote The Lake Isle of Innisfree.
- Scientist Henry Cavendish discovered the existence of the chemical element Hydrogen.
- Saturn is the least dense planet.
- Gelati is the plural of the word Gelato.
- Sally Ride was the first American woman in space.
- The French word auberge means inn or tavern.
