Bernard Shaw Archives - Page 7 of 35 - Conscious Evolution TV Conscious Evolution TV

Ghost lights are kept burning in many theaters when they are empty. A ghost light is a single bulb that remains illuminated so, in theater lore, vexatious spirits are kept at bay when actors are not treading the boards and spectators are not taking in their work.

As the coronavirus pandemic has raged for the last nine months, ghost lights have been switched on around the clock in theaters around the world as in-person productions have been shut down, with no clear indication when they will resume.

Marya Sea Kaminski, artistic director for Pittsburgh Public Theater, explained there have been times she has walked through the empty expanse of the Pittsburgh Public Theaters auditorium and felt wistful about the productions that have gone unstaged there.

But even if there is nothing that quite matches the immediacy and spontaneity of live theater, Kaminski is one of many theater professionals who has been trying to devise ways to keep actors and crews working and audiences interested when the playhouse doors have remained locked.

To do that, theyve been turning to the internet, staging readings of new and classic plays or even recording fully-staged productions with actors in different locations.

Its not quite film or TV, and its not quite theater, but a hybrid that lands somewhere in between.

Its a salvation to be able to do this, both for the artists and audiences who are hoping for some sort of connection, Kaminski said.

Small theater groups, like Little Lake Theatre outside Canonsburg, have been giving it a whirl, as have internationally-renowed companies like the Old Vic in London. Others have been dusting off performances from yesteryear that survive on video or film and putting them online.

Were on a steep learning curve to find out what works, said Steven Breese, artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University.

Some companies have opted for the simplicity of using the video conferencing platform Zoom, or turning to YouTube. Others have turned to sites like On Stage Streaming, Broadway on Demand and ShowTix4U.

Even in the best of times, live theater is constrained by money, space and available talent, and that holds when the audience is wearing sweatpants and watching on their laptops. Actors practicing social distancing or not even performing in the same room at the same time limits the types of plays that can be chosen presenting a sprawling musical like, Miss Saigon or The Phantom of the Opera would be tough on Zoom. Instead, intimate, more small-scale productions have largely been the order of the day.

As Halloween approached this fall, many theater groups presented readings of works by Edgar Allan Poe. With Christmas looming, some companies will be dipping into their Santa sack to extend some holiday cheer. Little Lake Theatre, for example, will be presenting A Very Little Lake Christmas at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 on Zoom. It will bring to life favorite holiday stories and memories submitted by patrons.

We thought sharing family stories would be a lovely way to celebrate, according to Jena Oberg, Little Lakes artistic director.

Once it became clear the remainder of Little Lakes 2020 season would have to be scrapped because of the pandemic, Oberg and the Little Lake staff starting pulling together plans for the virtual productions. Almost everything is done virtually, she said, from read-throughs to rehearsals.

This has also presented challenges getting props and costumes to actors, since no one is ever in the same space. Little Lake has had to create duplicates of many props so it can appear actors are passing the same object back and forth. As a director, Oberg also has to determine what lighting levels are best in each actors home to support a plays visual presentation.

As a director, I have had to find new and inventive ways of focusing a scene and directing where we want the audiences eye to go, Oberg said. On stage, you can do this through movement, lighting, other characters focus. But on Zoom, it becomes much more difficult. We have been discovering ways to use the Zoom borders and movement within the Zoom frame to accomplish this.

Helping an audience understand what is happening as a play unfolds is another challenge Oberg has had to confront. When Little Lake presented the George Bernard Shaw comedy Arms and the Man this month, an actor was assigned to read the stage directions, like the floating voice of Shaw, she explained.

Pittsburgh Public Theater started presenting online productions almost as soon as the shutdowns started in March. There have been readings of new plays this fall, and in the first part of 2021, fresh adaptations of The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, and Cyrano de Bergerac are scheduled. If theres an upside to presenting plays online, its allowed her to make more adventurous choices, Kaminski said.

Its given me a little more bandwidth, she said.

Kaminski pointed out theater companies have had to confront knotty issues of licensing when choosing plays to present online, since streaming rights are not attached to some of them.

Its taken a while to figure out licensing, Kaminski said. That has absolutely been a factor.

In December, the Pittsburgh Playhouse presented Picasso at the Lapin Agile by comedian and musician Steve Martin, and the holiday chestnut Its a Wonderful Life was done in the style of a vintage radio play. Also on tap was the musical Ordinary Days, which, according to the description provided by the Playhouse, brings theater and film together in a new multimedia hybrid experience. The Pittsburgh Playhouse has presented both plays and dance productions online, and its program has been quite robust since the start of the pandemic, Breese said.

I dont know of anyone trying to do exactly what were trying to do, he added. Weve been able to do things that other theater companies are not doing.

Putting resources into the online presentation isnt just a way for the Pittsburgh Playhouse to soldier through the pandemic, according to Breese, but also an investment in the future.

We need to be able to do this very well, he said.

More here:
Theater groups present plays virtually to stay connected to audiences - Uniontown Herald Standard

Syed Badrul Ahsan | Published: December 28, 2020 20:43:10

Reading the memoirs of Andrei Gromyko does something cheering to the soul. In the first place, it takes one back to the rather energising days that symbolised the Soviet Union before its collapse in the Gorbachev era. In the second, it reinforces the idea of how statesmen, especially communists, happened to be voracious readers, and right from their young days. Gromyko, a diplomat who served for decades as his country's foreign minister, is quite frank about the way his mother inspired him into reading books. The rich results of his wide reading are evident in this work, the English translation of it giving it the title 'Memories'. His sweeping view of the history of his times is a boon for anyone curious about the ramifications of the Second World War and the Cold War that was soon to come in its wake.

Reading habits in statesmen in our times have consistently been reflected in the many ways in which they have conducted themselves in carrying out their public responsibilities. When Charles de Gaulle was once asked about the biggest influence on his life and career, he wasted no time in coming up with a telling response. 'Do not ask a lion how many lambs it has eaten', he said. 'I have been reading books all my life.' The statement was blunt, but it made its mark. We now know of the sheer intellectual prowess which guided de Gaulle in his administration of France even as he dealt with the world, on his terms.

Joseph Stalin, we understand through studies of the man, read profusely and could copiously quote Shakespeare and Goethe, among so many other writers, at dinner with his party colleagues. There was cruelty in him, to be sure, as evident from the innumerable purges of his real and imagined enemies. But that did not detract him from his fascination for books. Ironically, it was some powerful writers and poets he went after, individuals like Osip Mandelstam and Anna Akhmatova. But that did not interfere with his reading of history and the classics. Adolf Hitler was no statesman, of course. But the mass murderer in him too spent a considerable time reading, a truth borne out by the huge personal library he built at home.

Politicians are often ruthless, depending on where they happen to be at given points of history. Mao Zedong, without whom the history of China would be different from what we know of it today, wrote poetry of a defining sort. 'Beauty lies at the top of the mountain', he declaimed. His study was piled chaotically with books, all of which he had read and the results of which reading came through in his interaction with foreign leaders. Richard Nixon, himself an avid reader and writer of informed articles and books, especially on foreign policy, was suitably impressed when he met the Chairman in February 1972 in Beijing. And there was too Zhou En-lai, the urbane scholar whose association with reading constantly manifested itself in his interaction with visitors humble and great, local and foreign.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was an ardent reader, as his library at his Dhanmondi home has shown. He admired Bertand Russell and George Bernard Shaw. On his last night alive, he was reportedly reading the latter's 'Man and Superman'. His readings of Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill were detailed. He was also conversant with Dostoyevsky's 'Crime and Punishment.' In an earlier time, Jawaharlal Nehru epitomised political leadership which rested on scholarship. His letters to his daughter, coupled with his authorship of 'The Discovery of India', are instances of the wide reading which went into the development of his personality as a political figure. Gandhi remains another example of a politician whose individuality was enriched by a lifelong habit of reading and, yes, writing.

In the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a fast reader, rushing through a thousand words a minute. Books were among his fascination, but he was to be clearly upstaged here by two future presidents. Bill Clinton has had the reputation of reading five books at a time. Barack Obama's brilliance, and expansive reading habits, have shone through the books he has written (Audacity of Hope, Dreams From My Father and A Promised Land). In the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln's reading clearly shaped him for the leadership he was to provide his country during the Civil War. He simply stretched out on the floor, leaning against an upturned chair (which irritated his wife to no end) and read on.

Tajuddin Ahmad was a profound reader, proof of which was to be found in his political and intellectual discourse throughout his career. His diaries in his youthful days between the late 1940s and early 1950s are even today pointers to the remarkable Bengali nationalist he was to become. Francois Mitterrand, a voracious reader, would slip away from the Elysee in his presidential days and go off to the many bookshops in Paris looking for copies of rare books to add to his collection. He enjoyed power; and he enjoyed reading more. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, for all his arrogance and insensitivity to people around him, was a good reader. His library at his Clifton home in Karachi is rich, with a good number of works on Napoleon Bonaparte, a man he admired hugely. Harold Wilson and Michael Foot in Britain were fond of books, losing themselves in reading all their lives.

Politicians generally remain busy dealing with statecraft. But administering nations or dealing with people is infinitely lifted to a higher plane when politicians read, when they make it a habit to read. Intense, focused reading transforms politicians into statesmen, provided they can prevent hubris from infecting the statesmanship with its poison.

Reading teaches humility. Think here of India's poet-politician Atal Behari Vajpayee.

[emailprotected]

SHE gained an army of fans after playing sexy Bond girl Strawberry Fields but Gemma Arterton says she prefers her latest role wearing a nuns habit.

Gemma also had to have part of her hair shaved off for the role in tonights hotly-anticipated BBC One drama Black Narcissus.

7

The three-part series is about a 1930s religious group that sets up a school and hospital in an abandoned palace in the Tibetan Himalayas.

Gemma said: I have this weird hairstyle. I was very grateful that I didnt have to shave it all off but I did bits and bobs.

Im still growing it out actually, Ive got short bits all over the place. I loved wearing the habit, though.

The role of a nun couldnt be further from MI6 agent Strawberry in 2008s Quantum Of Solace, starring Daniel Craig as 007.

Despite beating 1,500 other hopefuls to become a Bond girl, Gemma has admitted shes had criticism for the role.

She has said: At the beginning of my career, I was poor as a church mouse and I was happy just to be able to work and earn a living.

7

I still get criticism for accepting Quantum Of Solace, but I was 21, I had a student loan, and you, know, it was a Bond film.

But as I got older I realised there was so much wrong with Bond women. Strawberry should have just said no, really, and worn flat shoes.

Gemma grew up on a council estate in Gravesend, Kent, with her mum, Sally-Anne, who runs a cleaning business, and her younger sister Hannah.

Her parents split when she was very young but Gemma is close to her dad Barry, a welder.

She won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at 18 and has gone on to star in St. Trinians, Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, Clash Of The Titans, Kingsman: The Secret Service and BBCs Tess Of The DUrbervilles.

Gemmas extraordinary success means she can now pick and choose new roles.

7

In one interview, she said: Im at a point in my life where if Im going to take on a project, it has to be really something great. I dont simply want to work for the sake of working.

In Black Narcissus she plays Sister Clodagh, who leads a group of nuns to their new home on a remote mountain top in Nepal, only to discover it is a former harem filled with tragedy and dark secrets.

The psychological drama, based on the 1939 novel of the same name by Rumer Godden, was filmed before the pandemic.

Production was split between Pinewood Studios in London and three weeks in the Himalayas, ending two days before Christmas last year.

She said: Im so proud of the work we did on this. We put our hearts and souls into it.

We all went to Nepal and it took us three flights and a week to get there. We were in the middle of nowhere in the Himalayan mountains and it was a really special bonding experience.

These things dont come along very often at all. There was something really magical about this and the shoot itself for me was one of the highlights of my career so far.

However, filming in a village 8,900ft above sea level doesnt come without its disadvantages.

As well as freezing temperatures, Gemma says the high altitude made them all hyperactive one night.

She said: We were well looked after, we had blankets, but its extreme. The temperatures drop dramatically at night and you are out there on your own, the altitude gets you.

"I remember we had a party one night and we were all dancing outside and none of us had had anything to drink. But we all got really hyperactive because the air is so thin, you just get really dizzy.

Despite its remote location, the cast and crew were delighted to find a familiar-sounding Yac Donalds restaurant, which serves happy meals made from the local long-haired cow called a yak.

7

Gemma said: You have Yac burger and Yac cheese and its quite well known, this place. People come from all over the world to go there. We got quite excited about it.

Black Narcissus is the latest in a string of gritty parts for Gemma.

In 2009 noir thriller The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, she played a kidnap victim, who was handcuffed, gagged and tied to a bed for much of the film.

There was 2017s largely improvised drama The Escape, about a bored and desperate housewife, and in this years Summerland, her character Alice is a recluse whose life is dramatically changed by a child war evacuee.

As well as avoiding decorative roles, Gemma wants to help bring about a shift in Hollywood.

She set up her own production company Rebel Park in 2013, focused mainly on female talent, and has been a vocal campaigner for equal pay in the film industry.

She has said: I have my own production company which is all about giving women an opportunity in film.

Its [the industry] getting better but it definitely isnt there yet.

I struggled with that a little bit at first but Ill keep making suggestions to people.

The down-to-earth, straight-talking star says she has learned from the mistakes she made in her early career and intends to act for as long as she can.

Gemma said: I look forward to getting older and wiser. My role model is my grandfather. Even in his mid-nineties he gave the impression of being in his twenties.

He was very sharp-minded and looked like Clark Gable with his moustache and hair. He was still sexy a really hot guy. I secretly hope Ive inherited his genes.

7

She has certainly inherited her familys grafter work ethic.

Gemmas latest blockbuster, The Kings Man, is directed by Matthew Vaughn and due for release in February.

She is also voicing two animated movies and is set to star alongside Colin Firth in 1930s theatre drama, Curtain Call.

The Kings Man is the third film in the Kingsman series and also stars Ralph Fiennes and Djimon Hounsou.

Gemma is again playing a secret agent but, unlike her Bond girl, Polly is funny and a bit different.

She added: I remember telling Matthew she is Mary Poppins but more rock n roll. She runs this global network of spies. Pollys incredibly quick and smart.

7

Away from the cameras, Gemmas personal life couldnt be better.

She married Peaky Blinders and War & Peace actor Rory Keenan, 40, in a private ceremony in Co Wicklow, Ireland, last year.

The pair began dating shortly after appearing together in West End play Saint Joan, by George Bernard Shaw, in 2016.

During lockdown Irish Rory wrote and made two films, while Gemma took up painting.

The pair both love cooking and, as a huge fan of The Great British Bake Off, Gemma has even considered what she would make if she was given the chance to be a contestant.

During an interview on the Table Manners podcast, she said: I really like a Gypsy Tart which is a Kentish tart. If I went on GBBO, I would do that as its such a guilty pleasure.

Acting, film production, campaigning, baking . . . is there anything Gemma cannot do?

GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAILexclusive@the-sun.co.uk

Excerpt from:
My Bond girl should have turned down sex with 007, says Gemma Arterton - The Sun

Investigation Discoverys The Crimes That Changed Us: Patty Hearst is an episode that chronicles the 1974 abduction of the then-19-year-old publishing heiress Patty Hearst by the urban guerrilla left-wing group Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Within months of this incident, Patty resurfaced again, but this time, she was working alongside SLA.

She later revealed that she had been brainwashed and threatened into joining them. And then, after a brief stint in prison for her actions, Patty turned over a new leaf and managed to create a normal life for herself. She found love, got married, and birthed two daughters, continuing her life in domestic bliss.

Gillian Hearst-Shaw, born on May 3, 1981, in Palo Alto, California, as Gillian Catherine Hearst-Shaw, is Pattys first-born. Her other daughter, Lydia Marie Hearst-Shaw, was born three years later, on September 19, 1984, in New Haven, Connecticut. They are both fathered by Pattys late longtime-husband, Bernard Shaw. The two girls grew up in Wilton, Connecticut, where they lived a good and stable life thanks to their surroundings. After all, their father was a security personnel, and their mother, at that time, was an active author and actress. Of course, the fact that their great grandfather was publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst helped their cause as well.

After attending The Lawrenceville School, the sisters went their separate ways. While Gillian earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Marketing from Georgetown University the McDonough School of Business, Lydia graduated from Wilton High School before attending the Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. And since then, both of Patty Hearsts daughters have been in the spotlight in their own way. Gillian, quite like her great grandfather, has made a name for herself in the publishing industry, whereas Lydia is in the entertainment business as a fashion model, actress, and lifestyle blogger. She was a columnist before she launched her own blog.

Gillian Hearst joined Hearst Magazines, Town & Country, back in 2008 as an Editorial Assistant. And soon, she rose through the ranks, becoming an Associate Editor and Society Editor, before landing the position of a Contributing Editor, a post which she has held for over seven years now. Residing in Greater New York City, New York, the socialite used to be married to lawyer Christian Simonds, with whom she has three adorable daughters.

But in early 2018, after nearly ten years of marriage, Gillian filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. So today, Gillian is a single working mother whose motto is, I know I cant do it all, but I can try. Lydia, on the other hand, was discovered by photographer Steven Meisel, who shot her first magazine cover for Vogue Italia in April 2004. Since then, the model has been featured in Harpers Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, GQ, LOfficiel, and Esquire, amongst many others.

Lydia has also walked the runway for fashion designers such as Chanel, Fendi, Catherine Malandrino, Nicole Miller, and Jeremy Scott. Some of her acting roles include Abigail Folger in The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019), Charlotte Roberts in South of Hell, and Velvet in Velvet Morning (2012). And now, Lydia, residing in California, is married to actor and comedian Chris Hardwick.

Read More: Where Is Patty Hearst Now?

Follow this link:
Patty Hearst's Daughters Now: Where Are Lydia and Gillian Hearst Today? Update - The Cinemaholic

The great advantage of a hotel is that it is a refuge from home life, claimed writer George Bernard Shaw.

Following a year of being cooped up in our houses, the idea of a future change of scenery has never been more appealing and the thought of having someone else cook, clean and even pull the curtains at night is blissful.

Although lockdowns and tier restrictions have created barriers for hoteliers, many plan to open new properties in 2021.

If youre dreaming of an escape once we are able to travel again, here are a few of the top new hotels due to open in the UK and Ireland that will be well worth seeking out.The Londoner,London

The capital has lost its mojo in recent months, but glamour and sophistication are set to bounce back next year with the opening of new hotel, The Londoner. Billed as the worlds first super boutique hotel, the 350-room property promises to deliver all the best bits of an intimate, designer set-up on a much bigger scale. Built with sustainability in mind, it has already received an excellent rating from BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), exceeding requirements for energy and water use and choice of materials. Expect to find a ballroom, private screening rooms, underground spa and six restaurants in the Leicester Square setting. Open from April 12. From 341 per night with breakfast. Visit thelondoner.com

The Cashel Palace Hotel, Ireland

Following a meticulous restoration project, this sprawling country house is set to re-open in 2021. Built in 1734, it was once home to an Archbishop, eventually becoming a hotel in the early 1960s. Along with 42 bedrooms, new additions to the property will include a ballroom, a spa overlooking the gardens and the Bishops Buttery Restaurant serving a seasonal local menu. Highlight attractions close to the 25-acre site in Tipperary include The Rock Of Cashel, an ancient monument that was once the seat of the High Kings of Munster. Prices TBC. Visit cashelpalacehotel.ie

Bodmin Jail Hotel, Cornwall

A night behind bars might not sound too appealing, but the new Bodmin Jail Hotel is set to put a fun spin on mock prison stays. Find bars on the windows, stone walls and an original guard tower at the 70-room Cornish property, which sits alongside a new immersive visitor attraction inside the revamped 18th century Bodmin Jail. Fortunately, the cells today, which form part of the original civil, naval and womens wings, also have more luxurious fittings such as free-standing baths and vast beds. The Governors Office has been transformed into a cocktail bar, and theres a restaurant serving traditional afternoon tea and filling British fodder. Open from February 12. Rooms from 104 with breakfast. Visit bodminjailhotel.com

The Harper, North Norfolk

Forced to close its doors before even opening, this new Norfolk hotel plans to finally welcome guests from March 5. A short drive from Blakeney on the coast, in the village of Langham, the former glass-blowing factory will feature 32 rooms, two restaurants, a bar, a lounge with wood-burning stove, play area with a projector for movie nights, and a luxury spa with a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and treatments. Paying homage to its past, the property will be decorated with locally-crafted artisanal glass features. But the best artwork of all sits outside in Norfolks big skies and beautiful seascapes. Rooms from 175 including breakfast. Visit theharper.co.uk

Eden Project hotel, Cornwall

TODO: define component type factbox

The Eden Project is already one of the highlights of a visit to Cornwall. But next year, a new 8.5million project will see the addition of a 109-bedroom hotel, welcoming even more guests to the attraction. Designed by Tate Harmer, one of the UKs leading architects for sustainability and natural environments, the property has been built to blend into the surrounding environment, incorporating existing features such as trees and stone walls. There are also plans to create a meadow and an orchard around the hotel. Alongside bedrooms, a series of classrooms will support students enrolling for educational programmes. Open 2021. Prices TBC. Visit edenproject.com

Famous for being the archetypal Scottish country estate in Perthshire, Gleneagles launches its urban arm in Edinburgh in Autumn 2021. Housed in a renovated 200-year-old Bank of Scotland building in St Andrew Square, the townhouse will have 33 bedrooms, an all-day restaurant and two bars including a panoramic rooftop terrace. Local residents can enjoy access to a members club for work or play, with access to exclusive private spaces and on-site gym and wellness facilities. Prices TBC. Visit gleneaglestownhouse.com.

Read the original post:
6 new hotels to seek out in the UK and Ireland in 2021 - NewsChain

Many western scholars and writers have praised the Prophet as the greatest man in history, but still the western society wont pay heed

Allah (swt) has been very clear in the Quran about the status of the Prophet (pbuh). Not only that, Allah (swt) has cursed those who tried to hurt the Prophet (pbuh) physically or emotionally and spoke ill of him. Once Abu Lahab used offensive language against the Prophet (pbuh), to which Allah (swt) replied through the Quran: May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined and ruined be he (111: 1). Walid ibn Mughaira was an enemy who would speak ill about the Prophet (pbuh). Allah (swt) responded by mentioning his ten flaws in Surah Qalam (68:10-13) and ended by saying that Walid ibn Mughaira was born out of wedlock. For any Muslim, these verses of the holy book are enough to understand how dear the Prophet (pbuh) is to the creator, Allah. Further, these verses are sufficient to conclude that the Prophet is the best of all creations. His slighting is intolerable even to the Almighty. However, it is not necessary that non-Muslims will ponder over these verses and will take them seriously. Plus, we cannot coerce any non-Muslim to believe these verses. However, there are many other sources to learn about the best of humankind the Prophet (pbuh). Christians can find his name in the Bible (revealed to Jesus Christ), Jews in the Torah (revealed to Moses), and Hindus in their scriptures. The atheists who have no interest in religion can also get to know about the Messenger of Allah without touching any religious scripture. They can get a fair perspective about almost all aspects of Muhammad (pbuh) by reading eminent non-Muslim scholars. Many non-Muslims have commented on the different qualities, talents, and temperamental genius of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Let us have a glance at the views of some of them. French historian Alphonse de Lamartine held the view that no man is greater than Muhammad. The historian wrote about the achievements of the Prophet (pbuh), such as subverting superstitions, restoring the rational and sacred idea of divinity, and declared that no other could do so in history. Never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, he wrote. Furthermore, he called Muhammad as philosopher, orator, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, founder of twenty terrestrial empires and a spiritual empire. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he (Histoire de la Turquie). Michael Hart, an American author, in his book The Hundreds calls Muhammad the most influential person in History. Hart writes, He (Muhammad) was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. George Bernard Shaw, the famous British playwright, wrote that if a man like Muhammad were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in resolving its problems in a way which would usher/herald much-needed peace and happiness (The Genuine Islam). Thomas Carlyle, political philosopher and historian of England, after commenting on various attributes of Muhammad in his famous book On Heroes, Hero-worship, and the Heroic in History asserts: Yes, the world today is in dire need of a man like Muhammad to solve its complex problems. Muhammad in truth is the Prophet of sublime morals. German philosopher Johann Goethe while glorifying the Prophet described him as the hero of humanity. Several other notable scholars and thinkers took a keen interest in reading and researching about the Prophet (pbuh). Interestingly, almost everyone declared Muhammad as the greatest person in the history of mankind. After going through their writings it becomes evident that none of them disagrees with the faith of Muslims that No one is like Muhammad (pbuh) and no one can be like Him. However, some people in contemporary times are not willing to accept the opinion of these men of letters even though they belong to their own race and religion. They deliberately pay no attention to the views of these historical personalities. They neither give any thought to their ideas and message, nor do they carry out independent research of their own. If they happen to read about the Prophet (pbuh) they take biased, prejudiced, and impartial writers into consideration, which is unjust. They do the reverse of what these thinkers stood for to call the spade the spade. They waste their energies to malign Islam and its founder. They say whatever comes to their mind and call it freedom of speech. Under the garb of this freedom, they sadistically create caricatures to insult Muhammad (pbuh) and his billions of followers, thereby inciting violence. To be frank, nothing good could be expected from those infected with Islamophobia which seems to have no cure. They may not shun this derogatory approach but the ideology and works of their scholars will always serve as proof that Muhammad (pbuh) is superior to all. Also, Muslims need to steady their nerves and promote, propagate, and practise Islamic teachings and proudly highlight the opinion of influential literary figures of the world. This is the best answer that could be given to Islamophobes.

mohdzeeshan605@gmail.com

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Email Print

Investigation Discoverys The Crimes That Changed Us tells us the tales of the baffling cases that have been seared into the American consciousness those that have become a part of how we look at our society. With archival footage, audio accounts, and one-on-one interviews, this series reintroduces such cases from a brand new standpoint and helps us re-immerse ourselves into it. So, of course, its latest episode titled, Patty Hearst, chronicling the life and 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst, is no different. Now, since its been a while since everything transpired, lets find out more about Patty and where she is now, shall we?

Born on February 20, 1964, Patty Hearst, or Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw is the granddaughter of 19th-century media mogul William Randolph Hearst. As the third of five daughters of Randolph A. Hearst and an heiress, she attended private schools in Los Angeles, San Mateo, Crystal Springs, and Monterey in California, before undertaking courses at Menlo College in Atherton, California and the University of California, Berkeley.

However, her whole life turned upside down on the night of February 4, 1974, when she and her then-fianc, Steven Weed, were at her Berkeley flat, thinking of spending some quality time together. That night, three members of an urban guerrilla left-wing group, called the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), broke into her flat, beat up her fianc, and then kidnapped 19-year old Patty. Their goal was to garner a hefty ransom from her wealthy father.

But in a strange turn of events, two months after Patty was captured, she recorded an audiotape, heard around the world, announcing that she was now a member of SLA. In the months that followed, more such tapes were released by the group, and soon, Patty also started actively participating in the SLA-led criminal activity across California. She then became known as Tania. As a part of SLA, Patty extorted nearly $2 million from her father and had a hand in at least two different robberies.

Ultimately, though, on September 18, 1975, after more than 19 months since her abduction, Patty was arrested by the FBI in a San Francisco apartment. Shortly thereafter, she started showing signs of trauma. And when she stood trial for her actions, Patty testified that she was raped, coerced, and brainwashed under humiliating circumstances to join SLA. Nonetheless, in March 1976, Patty was convicted for the robberies and sentenced to 7 years in prison. She was released in 1979 after President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence.

Two months after her release, Patty Hearst married Bernard Lee Shaw, a policeman who was a part of her personal security detail when she was out of prison on bail. She subsequently published her memoir Every Secret Thing, co-written with Alvin Moscow, in 1982, where she gave a detailed account of her ordeals from 1974 to 1979. In the years that followed, Patty occasionally came into the public eye giving interviews, producing a special for the Travel Channel wherein she took viewers on a tour of her grandfathers impressive mansion.

She has also appeared in feature films like Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Cecil B. DeMented (2000), and A Dirty Shame (2004). Patty also collaborated with Cordelia Frances Biddle to write Murder at San Simeon, a novel based upon the death of Thomas H. Ince on her grandfathers yacht. In 2001, she was granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton as he was leaving office. Since then, Patty has been living a normal life, or at least as regular as a life that comes with being a wealthy woman on the East Coast. Patty wants nothing more than to put her past and trauma behind her.

When CNN made the documentary The Radical Story Of Patty Hearst, aiming to reexamine her history, Patty released a statement denouncing it. Its no secret that I was abducted, raped, and tortured at 19, she said. What followed was a series of events that were the direct result of a child having been destroyed both inside and out. Patty further went on to add, As hard as it was to do, I have grown well past the 19-year-old me and gone on to become a proud wife, mother, and grandmother.

She added, I have no interest in revisiting such a violent and hurtful time in my life. Now, Patty Hearst, a philanthropist, resides in Charleston, South Carolina, and can mostly be seen with her French bulldogs, competing in contests all around the nation. In fact, back in 2017, she even took home two titles at the Westminster Dog Show, revealing to the New York Times that she was kind of walking on air at the moment.

Read More: How Did Patty Hearsts Husband Die?

See the original post:
Patty Hearst Now: Where is She Today? Is She in Jail? Update - The Cinemaholic

A Bowie-inspired mannequin circles the sun in a Tesla, blasted into space just because.

The longer I live, the more I am inclined to believe that this earth is used by other planets as a lunatic asylum, wrote George Bernard Shaw back in the early 1900s. And now, more than a century later, Elon Musk is planning to return the favor.

Last week, the billionaire eccentrics SpaceX program launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, the latest step in Musks mission to send 1 million people on commercial flights to Mars by the year 2050.

Meanwhile, Starman, the Bowie-inspired mannequin thats strapped into a rocket-mounted Tesla Roadster, is celebrating its two-year anniversary by continuing to orbit the sun while listening to the song Space Oddity on infinite repeat.

Johnsons voice awaits listeners in the cosmos.

Bowie, who was even better at branding than Musk, released Space Oddity in 1969, a year after Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey and a week before the first man set foot on the moon. The song introduces Bowies character Major Tom, an astronaut whos losing contact with ground control as his capsule drifts aimlessly into deep space:

Though Ive passed one hundred thousand miles

Im feeling very still

And I think my spaceship knows which way to go

Tell my wife I love her very much

She knows.

Space Oddity was Bowies first single to chart in the States, and he followed it up with a number of other space-themed singles, including Moonage Daydream, Starman and Life on Mars. The most interesting was Ashes to Ashes, in which he recasts Major Tom as a junkie whos strung out on heavens high and hitting an all-time low.

Musk, on the other hand, is hitting an all-time high. In May, he and his partner, the Canadian musician Grimes, announced the birth of their baby boy, whom they promptly christened X A-12 Musk. The name might have seemed inscrutable, had Grimes not posted this helpful explanation on Twitter:

X, the unknown variable

, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)

A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent + (A = Archangel, my favorite song) (metal rat)

Last month, NASA officially certified SpaceX as the first commercial spacecraft system in history capable of transporting humans to and from the International Space Station.

As remarkable as all this may be, its worth remembering that Elon Musk wasnt the first to send music by earthlings into space.

Zillionaire Elon Musk and Claire Boucher (aka Grimes)

That distinction goes to NASA, which launched its Voyager 1 back in 1977. On board is a gold-plated disc that contains greetings in 55 languages, a variety of nature sounds, and a 1927 recording of Blind Willie Johnsons eerie Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground.

The story of the Texas bluesmans ascension to the heavens is beautifully told in writer Gary Golio and illustrator E.B. Lewis Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnsons Journey to the Stars. Published in August by Random Houses Pelican Young Readers division, the book describes Johnson as a musician playing his guitar and humming a tune of light and hope to whoever might be listening.

As of this writing, Voyager 1 is some 14 billion miles from Earth. To the best of our knowledge, Dark Was the Night has yet to be heard by any alien lifeforms, and may never be.

The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space, wrote Carl Sagan, who supervised the compilation. But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.

Read the original here:
The cosmic explorations of Elon Musk, David Bowie and Blind Willie Johnson - Colorado Springs Independent

In the preface to Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw wrote: It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making another Englishman hate or despise him. As of last week, any French citizen who follows suit risks a prison sentence and a hefty fine. While the French electorate (like the rest of us) endures restrictions of liberty unheard of in peacetime, the French parliament has been busy debating accents. Last week, it passed a law making glottophobie a crime, giving discrimination because of accent equal status with race, gender ordisability.

The French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, is among those who have been ridiculed for not talking proper. Taking over this summer from the former prime minister, Edouard Philippe, who speaks with the urbane Parisian voice of the French ruling classes, M. Castex delivered his acceptance speech in a south-western accent that provoked a flurry of social media comment about his earthy style and ruggedtones reminiscent, a ParisMatch journalist observed, of a rugby commentator.

For a nation devoted to celebrating its vibrant regional variations of landscape, custom and cuisine, France is surprisingly intolerant of linguistic difference. Long after the BBC relinquished the idea of Received Pronunciation as the broadcasting standard, the intonations of Parisian French remain the default cadence of Gallic authority.

But perhaps not for much longer. The snobbish response to Castexs accent provoked a nationwide reaction: video footage resurfaced of an ugly incident from 2018, when the far-Left politician, Jean-Luc Mlenchon, insulted a woman journalist with a Toulouse accent. Linguistics experts emerged from the archives to anticipate the joyful day when the Comdie Franaise would cast someone with a Corsican accent in a play byMolire.

But it was an MP with an accent as dense as garbure, the robust soup-stew of his native Pyrnes-Atlantiques, who most vigorously opposed the idea of legislating about language. Jean Lassalle is a colourful presence in the Assemble Nationale. In 2003 he interrupted the then minister of the interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, with a lively rendition of the Occitan anthem, Se Canta. In 2015 he entertained his fellow MPs with a bravura account of his failures to pass the psychotechnique elements of the French driving test (a YouTube video shows the future president, Emmanuel Macron, shaking with laughter). Last week, he tweeted: I dont want a law that protects us against small-minded people.

It remains to be seen how the new legislation will work in practice. Will les flics find themselves arresting comedians or elderly uncles who make off-colour jokes about accents? It is a point worth considering here, where the Law Commissions recent report on hate crime suggested extending the scope of criminal legislation to remarks made in privatehomes.

Mathieu Avanzi, a linguistics expert at the Sorbonne, suggests that social change is already well ahead of legislation: noting that French marketing companies have begun to use dialect terms in their advertisements, he observes that regionalism sells. Or, as Jean Lassalle puts it, big laws may not be the most effective protection against small minds.

See more here:
The French law protecting those who speak funny is a real crime - Telegraph.co.uk

Ghost lights are kept burning in many theaters when they are empty. A ghost light is a single bulb that remains illuminated so, in theater lore, vexatious spirits are kept at bay when actors are not treading the boards and spectators are not taking in their work.

As the coronavirus pandemic has raged for the last eight months, ghost lights have been switched on around the clock in theaters around the world as in-person productions have been shut down, with no clear indication when they will resume.