Nosferatu

I downloaded a copy of F W Murnau's Nosferatu this weekend. My first encounter with this classic was in a high school film class. It seemed only appropriate to be watching the oldest vampire movie ever made at this time of the year. It was directed by a German immigrant named Friedrich Wilhelm Plump Murnau and based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula. Murnau's studio never received rights use Bram Stoker's Dracula so he changed the names and much of the story's ending in hopes of calling it his own. The similarities are striking.
It is the oldest known film adapation of the book. It amazes me how Murnau unfolds the tale of Count Dracula in a silent format. He used techniques like having the protagonist write letters to his beloved on screen to help convey emotions and to move the storyline.
It still raises the hairs on the back of my neck when I see shadows of the wicked Count Orlock.

Easter Island

I spent Saturday afternoon hiking with Sim and Scrumpy in Forest Park. The leaves are turning color -definately not Vermont -but it feels like Autumn. Scrumpy was off the leash and by the looks of her wagging tail , she seemed right at home in the big forest. I shot some video that captures a puppy's sense of wonder. It rained quite a bit on Sunday and I felt inspired to learn how to use the fireplace. More information to follow (assuming I don't cause any fire damage). I finished reading "The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes" and the book details 2 missing years when Holmes was travelling in Tibet without Watson. It was light reading and I finished most of it this afternoon.
I had a chance to hear Jared Diamond as a guest lecturer at a conference last week. As I watched all the technocrats shuffle out of the audience (like they really had somewhere better to be), I wondered if they had any idea this guy is a genius and had won a Pulitzer Prize. Diamond talked about some societies that he had researched for his latest book 'Collapse' and it details the fates of several civilizations and their respective rise and falls. He described a chapter on Easter Island and how when the Europeaners arrived -they found no trees or people -only the remnants of a once advanced civilization. Where did all the trees and people go ? How did they erect these structures -perhaps that is where the trees went? Research suggests that most of the timber was used to erect elaborate statues and the effects of this environmental change devastated the island, the people and an 'advanced' civilization. He stopped short of drawing any parallels to the modern day. He talked abouted the problems today in Haiti and the vastly diffferent fate of it's neighbor the Dominican Republic. Two similair societies that made very different decisions about their respective environments and how one is spiraling into political and social chaos and disorder while the other is headed towards a optimistic future. I'll add it to my wishlist of books to read.

tempus fugit

Tempus Fugit. At least it feels that way lately. The weather is changing and between my new puppy scrumpy and work -- I am busy. I just returned from a conference in Las Vegas. I was at a buffet at one of the big casinos and was probably eating some peach cobbler that I did'nt really need and I could hear Jewel playing in the backround ... "People living there lives for you on TV , They say their better than you and you agree..." and I caught myself being drawn into the allure of this place. I wasn't hungry anymore. I did a bit more exploring than last time and overall enjoyed the trip. I am looking forward to an upcoming quiet weekend at home. That sounds more domestic than it is - or at least I hope so.