Re -Train Your Brain To Happiness

January 03, 2014

The 100 Greatest Movie Characters

This site, Empire Online, has gone to a lot of trouble in listing their version of the 100 greatest movie characters, as well as the reasons for the choices.

I think this is an impressive effort!

Here are just a few. There are lots of other interesting choices.

Thanks to the site for most of the comments and pictures.I have seen many of these films and enjoyed them,especially "It's A Wonderful Life", and another James Stewart classic - "Mr Smith Goes To Washington". Both are very powerful films and they don't make too many like these any more. I really enjoyed the most recent "Pirates of The Caribbean", and all the "Dirty Harry" movies as I think Clint Eastwood is amazing!

I have forgotten how many times I have watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off'!

Enjoy finding your own favourites!

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down." George Bailey

Played By: James Stewart Film: It's A Wonderful Life
Why He's On The List: What would Christmas be like without this movie and Jimmy Stewart's finest role? As George Bailey, the small-town family man with a heart of gold but a head full of doubt, Stewart delivers an astonishingly nuanced turn as a suicidal case slowly getting to grips with the idea that life is worth living after all.
Finest Hour: That ending, when George realises that - hey! - it is a wonderful life after all.

Played By: Marlon Brando
Film: The Godfather

Why He's On The List: Although he's the title character (and Brando is top billed, naturally), it's often a surprise for newcomers to The Godfather to find that Don Vito isn't the primary focus of the film. It's an epic ensemble piece, but it's his youngest son Michael who's the spine of the story. Still, Vito is the one who everybody loves most, as the family man so honourable and dedicated that somehow nobody cares that he's the head of a massive criminal empire. Maybe it's something to do with feeling safe. Brando gives one of his trademark 'performances of a lifetime' (he gave about a half dozen of those, by our count), and there's a nice parallel in the role with the 'old man' providing love and guidance to this collection of next generation stars (Pacino, Caan, Cazale, Shire and Duvall), but it's always, always his show. Don by name, Don by nature.
Finest Hour: After his retirement, advising Michael of how his enemies will move around him.

"When I see a grown man chasing a woman down an alleyway with a butcher knife and a hard-on, I figure he's not out collecting for the Red Cross." Harry Callahan

Played By: Clint Eastwood Film: Dirty Harry
Why He's On The List: Only Clint could make a guy like Harry Callahan cool. A borderline fascist, with supply teacher chic and hair so big it shows up on Google Earth, Callahan is a shoot first, ask questions never kinda guy, a bit of a pervert and a massive racist, to boot. But as Eastwood deploys his laser-beam squint, massive gun and whispers his tough-guy dialogue, Harry becomes more than Dirty. He becomes an icon.
Finest Hour: Harry's grim, bitter delivery of the 'do you feel lucky?' speech at the end of the film, a world away from the glibness of the opening bank robbery sequence.

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game!" Mary Poppins

Played By: Julie Andrews Film: Mary Poppins
Why She's On The List: Practically perfect in every way is one hell of a boast to make on your CV (Empire tried it once; didn't work), but Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins pulls it off (stop sniggering). Sorry, Jo Frost, but Mary is the original and best supernanny. She can fly, for one. She's got a bottomless bag of tricks, for another, and an endless array of cracking tunes to keep any child in line. And, though Andrews is the very epitome of wholesomeness, there's always the nagging suspicion that, at some point, Dick Van Dyke's Bert swept her chimney. So, she's great with kids and a little naughty? Now that is practically perfect.
Finest Hour: The technicolour overload of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, with its cartoon penguins and mad Cockneys.

"I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically." Captain Jack Sparrow

Played By: Johnny Depp Film: Pirates Of The Caribbean 1-3
Why He's On The List: If you had told Johnny Depp, just before he opened the script of Pirates Of The Caribbean, that a movie based on a Disney theme park ride would provide him with his most unforgettable character, he'd probably have told you to eff off. But there you go: the dandyish, dishevelled, permanently addled Sparrow was already there on the page, but it was Depp's genius in basically nicking the personality, voice and appearance of his mate, Keith Richards, that brought Cap'n Jack to life and fuelled Pirates' extraordinary success. The rum do on the part of the sequels was sidelining and failing to develop Sparrow in favour of the bland Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, a mistake that Disney and Bruckheimer are keen to rectify for the forthcoming Pirates 4.
Finest Hour: His drunken, bewildered outrage at discovering that Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann has burned all the rum.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry Potter

Played By: Daniel Radcliffe Film: Harry Potter 1-6
Why He's On The List: Five films down, two (well, three) to go, but clearly Harry Potter has already made an impression with you lot. It's not hard to see why: as played by an increasingly convincing Daniel Radcliffe, Harry has morphed before our very eyes from wide-eyed child to embattled, moody teenager and yet managed to remain likeable and sympathetic.
Finest Hour: The last, freezeframed shot of Prisoner Of Azkaban, as Harry flies, carefree and smiling, on his Firebolt.

"It's not the years, honey - it's the mileage." Indiana Jones

Played By: Harrison Ford Film: Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Why He's On The List: Hands up any who was ten or under when they first saw Raiders, and didn't want to be an archaeologist afterwards? Liars. The poster promised the return of great adventure, and they delivered. Of course it would have all been worthless without a great character holding it all together, but boy did they nail that one. You all know the Tom Selleck story by now, but that doesn't make trying to picture anyone but Ford in the role today any easier. So why does Indy work? Well there's no secret to the formula: charming everyman on the side of the angels (quite literally, in this case), involved in high adventure, always triumphing over the odds - not without significant obstacles to overcome - and easy to hate bad guys. Add a laconic sense of humour and a lack of appreciation from those he works for, and you've got the ideal hero. All you need after that is a brilliant script and a production team to match...
Finest Hour: After being thrown through the windshield of a truck and dragged under it, fighting his way back into the cabin, Jones finally gives the Nazi driver a taste of his own medicine.

"A) You can never go too far. B) If I get caught, it is not going to be by a guy like that." Ferris Bueller

Played By: Matthew Broderick Film: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Why He's On The List: Perhaps the least angry voice of teen rebellion you'll ever come across, Ferris has no great obstacles in life (he's from a wealthy family, and his biggest gripe is that he was given a birthday computer instead of a car), but his quest is universal - to have a good time, and to do it now while he's young. Broderick's challenge is to keep what could be a malcontent brat likeable, and he achieves this in spades. It's a role he's never managed to top, but if you're going to be remembered, why not for something as awesome as this?
Finest Hour: Performing Twist & Shout on a Chicago parade float in front of thousands of people.

And here's "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

Trailers from Hell take on "It's A Wonderful Life".

Julie Andrews To Direct My Fair Lady production At Sydney Opera House

Biopics Now Focus On Key Moments Rather Than A Whole Life

Top 10 Best Actress Oscar Winners Ever?

The Book Every Movie Lover Should Own:David Thomson’s New Biographical Dictionary of Film

Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films

10 Historical Movies That Mostly Get It Right

Clint Eastwood - A True "Renaissance Man" - Updated

The 100 Most Iconic Movie Lines of All Time

The Importance of Costume in Films: Some Iconic Images of our Culture

Hollywood Costume Exhibit In Los Angeles

Orry-Kelly:The untold story Of A Hollywood legend - "Women He's Undressed" Review

Top 10 Movie Sets Ever Built

Marilyn Monroe: Fashioning The Myth And The Reality

The Lasting Legacy Of The Good, The Bad And the Ugly

Are These The Top 10 Songs Named After Famous People?

January 02, 2014

Jamie Oliver: How Being A Special-needs Student Changed My Life

You don't need to be a university graduate to make a positive contribution to humanity: perhaps the opposite is true?

Neither Bill Gates nor Albert Einstein were university graduates.

I admit I am a Jamie Oliver fan.I had been meaning to write something about him for quite some time and this piece below was the catalyst.

I didn't know Jamie suffered from Dyslexia.

As an ex-school teacher I had come across pupils who had it. I know their years at school were very difficult, yet some had success in other school activities like sport, for example.

Many years ago, before Dyslexia was officially recognised these pupils were simply called 'dunces' or worse.

When I was teaching we knew about it but we didn't know how to deal with it.

It is true many famous, and not-so-famous people have it: actors, singers, and others.

Just look here and here. And on You Tube also.

Truly amazing, but I digress.

It is impressive to see what Jamie has achieved. I love to watch him de-construct some seemingly complex meals and make them look so simple to replicate.

I should say I am a very competent cook but have picked up a few very useful tips and become more adventurous with different ingredients!

His enthusiasm and energy are contagious.

His passion seems to be the key to his success and also that of his friend, Jimmy Doherty, both pictured above.

THE air is almost wet with Northernness - a lowering Lancashire sky, a rutted field with a long line of women stout of heart and body, immune to weather and fashion. There's even a brass band. And yet someone has found the soft underbelly of even these people.

They heard a rumour and came in their hundreds, bearing votive offerings for his blessing - crumbling baked goods in Tupperware containers. He will later lay upon these people his meaty sausage hands. First, I have to get inside the security cordon, and that's when I am singled out.

"Oi, darling," shouts Jamie Oliver. "Get some food down ya. We don't want you back on that train saying ya hungry."

I had been hovering by the TV crew's lunch buffet, wondering if it was impolite to stuff your face while interviewing Oliver or rude not to. We'd not even met, and already I'm following a laddish-yet-friendly, patronising-yet-well-meaning command; hard to dislike and harder to ignore. Why, I think as I dollop potato salad, does Oliver mean so much to us?

The second biggest-selling British author since records began, bested only by J.K. Rowling; his latest book Save With Jamie surprised no one by being the best-selling cookbook of Christmas, making him the yuletide bestseller for the fourth year running; one of his books was the UK's fastest-selling nonfiction work ever. This all on top of his various restaurant, campaigning and TV tentacles that make him one of our best-known international exports.

We are on location for Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast, his follow-up to his Food Fight Club series with his friend of 37 years, Jimmy Doherty. I'm glad that he's with Doherty (they met aged one), because he shared with Oliver one of his most formative experiences: his years in the "special needs" room at school. The more you hear about it the more you see it as a driving force in his appeal. Of course, Doherty's presence - sitting next to Oliver, wolfing down food in between excitable riffs that turn to obscene guffaws - also means you quickly start to feel a degree of empathy with their teachers. Why were you two selected for the special-needs stream at your comprehensive?

Oliver: "Because we were the thickest shites who didn't do any work. Basically, the minute I left school, Jimmy got all clever and went to university." He pauses. "But while we were at school, I struggled. Imagine a boys' school. Thirty boys in the middle of English, bang bang bang on the door, 'Can we have Jimmy and Jamie for special needs?' Just us two out of our class."

Doherty: "A lot of our time was spent writing the word knob," and he mimes passing me a note as if right back in the classroom. "When the special needs teacher called for me and Jamie, all the rest of our friends would sing ' Special Needs, Special Needs'."

Oliver: "Yeah, they used to harmonise as well," and here Oliver croons a falsetto, "'Special needs, ooooh yeah'".

What did they do in there?

Oliver: "Mrs Murphy tried to teach us how to spell conclusion. With four cards, con-clu-sion. God no, three cards. You can see now why I was there."

Mrs Murphy, their remedial reading teacher in their teenage years, was quoted in Oliver's biography as saying "To be honest I never thought he would go far", a boy so severely dyslexic he has now only in his late thirties read his first book and who tells me that of the two core subjects of the British system, reading and maths, "I couldn't think of two things that frighten me more."

But, I say, it must be unique to have two boys from the same learning difficulties unit present a show such as this, Oliver with an estimated fortune of pounds 150 million, Doherty a PhD in entomology and a TV presenter in his own right. Watching, earlier, Doherty and Oliver drive across the fields in the trademark car of their TV series - an orange Capri - is seeing an impossible boyhood fantasy come true. I tell them that they're poster boys for all those written off as "thick shites".

Oliver: "Jimmy's passion was for animals and mine was food."

Doherty: "If you get that spark that engages your interest, you're away. That's how you teach."

Oliver: "A few years ago we lived in Los Angeles for three months. My kids started at this hippy school. The first thing they asked our daughter was, 'What do you love?' and Poppy's like, 'Writing songs.' So they taught her through songwriting. I liked that. I think traditional education has got a lot to answer for. Fifty-odd per cent don't leave with five GCSEs, A-C. Not 8 or 10 per cent. In my mind we're half crap at education."

They grew up in the village of Clavering like identical twins, says Oliver: same schools, girlfriends, Kouros aftershave, "haring round to each other on our BMX". They also shared the same feeling of exclusion. By 14, Oliver was already working full-time hours in his parents' pub kitchen, Doherty was using the money he earned washing up alongside him to buy exotic animals.

"Jimmy wanted to work in a zoo," Oliver says. "I'll never forget Jimmy's mum, the offence and confusion in her eyes, as she tried to pull fishfingers out of her new freezer and instead got bags and bags of dead chicks and embryos. I just thought: 'God, it's really hard living with Jim, I'm knackered just being his friend.' I feel sorry for the whole crew. When they put us together in the Capri, they start to look quite frightened."

But, I say, I see male buddies, dads of growing children, I see a sports car, and I can't not think: midlife crisis. "Grab her," Oliver says. "I'll gag her, send her back."

Doherty says: "How old do you think we are? When that happens, I'll dress as a cowboy on horseback, chaps on, nothing else. Now that's midlife."

Your family don't mind? "They hate it," Doherty says.

"When I put shots on Instagram, of me and Jimmy in the Capri," Oliver says, "my wife goes, 'Ah, have you been "working"?' For me, you try to be a good boss, a good husband and a good father; sadly friends get kicked to the back, rightfully so, that's where they deserve to be. But without sounding too camp about it, quite a lot of the documentaries I've done, I've really wanted to be with someone else. Like say, in Huntingdon, West Virginia, they hated me for at least a month, then there's a period of transition. I could have done with saying, 'Jimmy, you have half this grief.'"

I think it is a bit like Malcolm Gladwell's new book David and Goliath, which argues that the high rate of dyslexia among entrepreneurs is no accident, that they were forced from an early age to tackle problems on their own using unorthodox methods. What Oliver does best is throwing himself into a pit of people who hate him most, but most need his help: one of our favourite spectator bloodsports is watching him being eaten alive by dinner ladies. I'm musing on this when I catch Oliver scolding Doherty for his people skills.

"Dude, can I grab a cup of tea? Thanks!" says Doherty to a passing TV crew lackey.

"Dude? You must learn his name one day. It's Dan, isn't it?" Oliver says.

"If you don't know someone's name you call them Big Bollocks," retaliates Doherty.

"I don't! I call them by their name," Oliver says. I ask him if that extends to his use of "darling" for women, and he gets quite serious. "I work with women, most of my family are women. The girls in my life are very much in control of Mr Oliver, at home and at work. They all batter me on a daily basis. That's fine, I allow them to."

Doherty: "I went to your office the other day and it was like 90 per cent women."

Oliver: "I just don't trust men as much. All of our businesses are about things that need to be looked at with a longer view - it seems to be women are better at that. I've never tried to shape it in that particular way. If anything it looks like I'm an old pervert; that's really not intentional."

Is it a relief now to do this show about food that's fun? Oliver said a while back that he was resting his campaigning on school food, although he has maintained a team of staff dedicated to school food for the past eight years. "Now's the time to let people do their jobs and come back if required. The public are incredible with me but if you keep whining at them, everyone gets fatigued. No one likes a whiner."

Is Oliver warming to Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, who drew his rage by allowing academies to ignore nutrition standards inspired by Oliver?

"I always thought he was very charismatic, it's just I don't like him touching our standards. The parents asked us to put them there and there was no logical reason for them to go away: it was a base level that protected our kids. They've essentially been put back in slightly different wording. In some respects I'm happy that we're back where we were two years ago, but also upset we've missed two years."

At this point, Doherty and Oliver start riffing on a bewildering array of topics, from how the Government must "put a tax on sugar " (Oliver) to how the price of food, now too low, will soon rise due to the booming Chinese middle classes (Doherty).

When Oliver flits on to food miles, saying, "When you send over 100 tonnes of beans from Kenya, you're not just shifting beans you're shifting water from somewhere that needs water," Doherty looks at him with a cocked eyebrow. "That is interesting, I've not heard the argument put like that before."

The plates are cleared and the producer pulls us away to give the crowd what they want. Oliver is swarmed, yet never seems flustered: for the men, a well-placed shoulder clasp and matey oven chat; for the old ladies, intense, huggy flirting.

He listens and likes energetically and catholically; he knows how it is. I've seen a lot of celebrities work a crowd. The only other person who could make individuals feel as worthy is Bill Clinton. The chef's latest book is Save With Jamie; the theme of his career could be Saved By Jamie.

In farewell, Oliver draws me aside and says in a lowered voice, half-apologetic, half-triumphant: "We've sidetracked you completely."

Thanks be to Mrs Murphy, for not doing her job too well.

With thanks to The Australian

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Is Academia Getting In the Way of Today’s Geniuses?

Are our 'educational institutions' letting us down?
Is the Nobel Prize as worthwhile as we perhaps once thought?

Stuff of Genius has already covered how homogenous the winners of the 2013 Nobel Prize are. Now two of this year’s laureates have stepped forward, alleging that the academic publishing and promotion system is inherently flawed. Whatever your career, everyone wants to advance further and see financial rewards for their hard work. But according to Peter Higgs and Randy Shekman, the academic game isn’t as much about merit as it is about quotas. If their argument is valid, it implies career-changing consequences for the scholars of today.

Peter Higgs was already famous before winning his Nobel, as one of the researchers who discovered the origin of mass. In an interview with “The Guardian,” Higgs says he wouldn’t even be employable at a university today because he’s not considered productive enough for the system. In fact, he thinks that his first Nobel nomination in 1980 is what saved his career, because the inevitable pressure to publish wouldn’t have allowed him the necessary time to make his groundbreaking discovery.

While Higgs may come off as a bit of a curmudgeon with his complaints about everything from knighthood to “The Big Bang Theory,” he’s joined in his denouncement of academic publishing by fellow Nobel laureate Randy Shekman. In a recent piece, also for “The Guardian,” Shekman says that the biggest academic rewards unfortunately often go to flashier work appearing in what he calls “luxury journals.” He argues that if the scholarly community isn’t going to acknowledge the best work out there, it’s not serving the best interests of society or humanity.

Shekman continues pointing out the elephant in the room by identifying “Nature,” “Science,” and “Cell” as journals researchers are particularly rewarded for publishing in, even if those publications don’t have an exclusive on “outstanding” research. In fact, he accuses these three of being even more mercenary in their practices, by purposefully restricting how much they publish to create an artificial scarcity of genius.

How often your articles are cited is referred to as “impact factor” when a scholar’s peers review their curriculum vitae for promotion. The three journals Shekman calls out are more likely to be cited than others, so his colleagues are in constant competition to publish in them. But is citation really a factor that indicates quality? I cite articles in all our Stuff of Genius posts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the articles I list are the best ones on a topic. What citations should do is provide external evidence for your arguments and contentions, while providing others with the credit they’re due for original ideas. But as Shekman points out:

A paper can become highly cited because it is good science – or because it is eye-catching, provocative or wrong. Luxury-journal editors know this, so they accept papers that will make waves because they explore sexy subjects or make challenging claims.

Since academics are being compensated for where they publish, rather than the quality of their research, Shekman advocates for born digital, open access publishing as a way to level the playing field.

Universities and organizations that fund new research should judge research on its individual merits, not simply on where it’s published. The problem with the later is that while articles may be cited for their quality, other factors influence authors, including political positioning, attempts to influence editorial decisions, and cronyism to benefit one’s friends or colleagues.

Given the incentives involved, should citations alone be used to judge scholarly performance? Or should merit include a qualitative review of a scholar’s work by their peers?

By Christian Sager

With many thanks to Stuff of Genius

Bottom picture, and I couldn't agree more with this sentiment - Big Quote

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George Hurrell: Stars of the Silver Screen Immortalized By Master of the Hollywood Glamor Photo

By Jessica Jerreat

Top picture: Shirley Temple, George Hurrell and Veronica Lake.

Bottom picture: Carole Lombard.

Photographer George Hurrell not only captured stars such as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, he invented the Hollywood glamor shot that helped propel them to fame.

From 1929 to 1944 he was known as the Rembrandt of Hollywood, thanks to his ground-breaking use of light and contrast that sparked a new stylized era.

As the head portrait photographer for MGM, Hurrell could command a $1,000 sitting fee, and his eye for the perfect shot had everyone from Greta Garbo to Clark Gable clamoring for his services.

His mix of sharp focus and seductive poses created what has become known as the Hollywood glamor portrait.

The photographer's work kept movie fans - and his star subjects - clamoring for more.
Actress Joan Crawford enjoyed being photographed by Hurrell so much that she had 36 sittings in 16 years with him.

He was a 'master of light, elegance, and glamor', Sharon Stone, the last star to be photographed by Hurrell before his death in 1992, said.

A collection of images taken over his long career are included in George Hurrell's Hollywood - the new book by Mark Vieira.

Vieira, a photographer and historian, described him as: 'bigger than life - brilliant, mysterious and mythic'.

The book follows Hurrell from the moment he was discovered after shooting a portfolio for Ramon Novarro in 1929, to the giddy heights of his fame in the 30s and 40s, and his comeback when he was in his 70s.

Even in the twilight of his career Hurrell remained respected and could command a $5,000 sitting fee for his portraits of new stars such as Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli.

Pictures and story with thanks to Mail Online.

I wonder if he took any of these:

George Hurrell's Hollywood, published by Running Press, is available now.

Burt Bacharach Brings Back The Hits: From Marlene Dietrich to Glastonbury

Evidence of Diamonds in Antarctica

New evidence has been found that indicates the presence of diamonds in the permanently frozen area on the continent of Antarctica.

New evidence has been found that could indicate the presence of diamonds in the permanently frozen area on the continent of Antarctica.

Australian geologists have published a study that focuses on the discovery of kimberlite rocks that were found in the Prince Charles Mountains of Eastern Antarctica.

Although no actual diamonds were found in the course of the study, the kimberlite rocks are reportedly similar to those found in other places of the world that are rich in diamonds like Africa, Siberia and Australia.

With the exception of scientific research, mineral mining in Antarctica was forbidden by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty in 1991, but the ban will be reviewed and could be changed in the year 2041.

According to Doctor Kevin Hughes from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research: "...Nations outside the Protocol are not bound by its provisions, including the ban on mineral resource activities. We do not know what the Treaty Parties' views will be on mining after 2041 or what technologies might exist that could make extraction of Antarctic minerals economically viable."

Diamonds form when pure carbon is exposed to extreme pressure and heat at around 150 kilometers under the surface of the Earth.

From You Tube

See also World's Rarest Gemstones including the Pink Star Diamond