Also had a chance to watch the screening of a fantastic animated short film made by former Hampshire College students. Wednesday: Attended a talk on the development of Qur'anic writing and how the style of presentation evolved over the first few centuries. (Also see my earlier posts about Encounters at the End of the World and Cave of Forgotten Dreams) And if nothing else, check out his latest documentary, Into the Abyss. If you get a chance, see him speak in person. Needless to say - he is absolutely amazing. There is sooo much more to say about Herzog's talk - but it will take just too much time. Here are the three books I remember: Virgil's epic poem Georgics (it precedes The Aeneid), The Peregrine by Baker, and the third, I think was Bartolomé de las Casas' 16th century book A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. His main advice for student film-makers: "Read, read, read, read, and read!" He even gave a short reading list that he thinks is absolutely essential for everyone. Tuesday: Attended a talk by Werner Herzog! Now this is amazing that we had John Sayles and Herzog here within a week. Monday: Attended a talk on the art and architecture of Dome of the Rock. Listened and learnt from some excellent talks about the history of North-African Jews in Israel, on Turkey's AKP, architecture of post-war Beirut, the record of the British state building in Iraq, and on fluid identities of Muslim medical professionals. Saturday: Moderated sessions at student-organized 5-College Middle-Eastern and North African Studies Conference. He is headed to UCSD this fall for graduate school in sociology ( woo hoo!). Wednesday-Friday: Worked on a paper with former Hampshire student, Don Everhart, who was here for three days. Our film autopsy of Amigo will be coming soon. Also, if you have never seen any of John Sayles films, give Lonestar - from 1996 - a try (and then proceed to Metwan and the Secret of Roan Inish. So if you get a chance, try to get it on-Demand or on a DVD/Blue-ray. There is a problem when a director like Sayles cannot get a wide release for an excellent film. It is a very well done film, but amazingly it didn't get a wide release!! No seriously. The story - like all of Sayles films - looks at the issues from all sides: the rebels, those who reluctantly agree to cooperate with the US, American soldiers who thought they were doing the right thing, and commanders who knew what they had to win the war. It is one of the less talked about wars - and the movie brings up the questions of US imperialism at the time. It was a pleasure watching his new film about the Philippine-American war at the turn of the 20th century. Screening of the new John Sayles film Amigo at Amherst Cinema and follow-up Q & A with the director. Here are the highlights - starting from Thursday, April 19th. These days have been non-stop intellectually stimulating and phenomenally rewarding. Winning 11 Oscars, it was the first film to gross over a billion dollars and eventually grossed over $2 billion.I think if someone were to ask for the justification for being in academia, I can point to the last 10 days in the 5-college area. In 1998, in the year of John Sayle's passing, on December 19th, the movie Titanic - based on the 1912 sinking of the ship and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet - was released. In 1987, John was 68 years old when was the first time that a criminal in the United States - a serial rapist - was convicted through the use of DNA evidence. Previously the Vice President to President Eisenhower, Nixon was the only President to resign in office - in his second term. Nixon became the 37th President of the United States. In 1969, at the age of 50 years old, John was alive when on January 20th, Richard M. In 1955, John was 36 years old when in January, President Eisenhower sent direct aid to South Vietnam. Several months later, the Volstead Act was passed, creating laws to enforce the Amendment. Private consumption and possession were not prohibited. The 18th Amendment established Prohibition - a law against the production, transport, and sale of alcohol. In 1919, in the year that John Sayle was born, in January, Nebraska was the 36th state to ratify the 18th Amendment, making it the law of the land. Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during John's lifetime.
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