CURRENT EVENTS
West Side Stories
First we have the 1961 West Side Story
Now we have the 2021 West Side Story
My favorite of the above two films is the 1961 film. However, if you are looking for a different take on this story, check out:
West Bank Story (2005)
BOOK OF THE WEEK
I tend to favor short easy to read books, but not always. This is a very interesting book, but had I to do it over I would have simply read Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary.
His dictionary contains so many interesting ideas such as, “Faith consists in believing not what seems to be true, but what seems to be false to our understanding.”
The Portable Voltaire
Edited By Ben Ray Redman
This encyclopedic anthology acquaints us with Voltaire’s mercurial range of expression as well as with the steadfastness of his vision, which might be called the religion of reason. It includes his sardonic comedies Candide and Zadig; the tales “Micromegas” and ‘Story of a Good Brahmin”; more than seventy articles from the Philosophical Dictionary that offer heretical definitions of subjects from Adultery to Tyranny; and letters written to such correspondents as Frederick the Great and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. (Source: Goodreads)
MOVIE OF THE WEEK
This week’s films are under Current Events.
MUSIC OF THE WEEK
No disrespect towards the Amish, as I look around at today’s world, I appreciate their point of view.
Nevertheless, I found some humor in the following.
Amish Paradise
By “Weird Al” Yankovic
ART OF THE WEEK
Photography is an art form. Below is a rather interesting photo if you look “closely”.
EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK
Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known as Voltaire
Satirist, novelist, poet, dramatist, historian, moralist, critic, courtier and correspondent, champion of reason and fanatical adversary of fanaticism, a darling of kings with the unfortunate habit of turning them into enemies, François Arouet de Voltaire is one of the few writers to have imposed his name on an entire epoch. It is entirely appropriate that the French Enlightenment is also known as “the age of Voltaire.” And if that age ended with a revolution, Voltaire was nothing if not a subversive. His abiding motto was “Écrasez l’infame”: “Crush infamy.” (Source: Goodreads)
JOKE OF THE WEEK
This one is for Star Trek fans
PHYSICAL TRAITS
The Corona Virus Continues to Mutate
CHARACTER TRAITS
Tips On How To Avoid Criticism
SOCIAL TRAITS
This could help one get along better with people in 2022.
LEARNING TRAITS
Some of you may find this helpful.
MISCELLANEOUS
You may want to think about this before
taking down your Christmas decorations.
Book
If you have ever been curious about this book, the Kindle version of this book has now been reduced to $1.00 and the paperback version has been reduced to $6.34 with Prime Membership
However, I must warn you that this book will not change your life,
only you can do that.
This book can be ordered from Amazon or Barnes & Nobles.
Batman….
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Yes!!! Thanks for commenting LA
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👍
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Batman, love it!
I always thought Michael Jackson’s Bad video was a mini version of West Side Story. Best thing my high school English teacher ever did to endear us to Shakespeare: we had to read Romeo and Juliet, then watch West Side Story, then write a comparison-contrast essay.
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I literally just finished a documentary on Netflix about Rita Moreno which was really interesting and she talks about West Side Story!
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Good to hear from you Melissa. The interview with Rita Moreno had to be especially good since she was in both versions of West Side Story.
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Thanks
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I love the first West Side Story movie, I think I watched it three or four times already. I’m really looking forward to watch Steven Spielberg’s version and compare.
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Thanks for commenting Bianca. I think you will find the Steven Spielberg’s version also very good.
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I haven’t watch both the movies, I should try watching it. 🙂 That covid post is spot on by the way. 😆
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Thank you very much for commenting Daphny and for the feedback on the Covid post.
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It was my pleasure Allen.
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The new West Side Story is interesting, however, Voltaire is ALWAYS particularly of interest and every age is a Voltaire age. Recently re-read his Candide. Fun. Cheers.
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Thank you very much Muriel for commenting. Good to hear from you. I thought it really interesting that Rita Moreno was in both the 1961 and the 2021 versions of West Side Story. Some stories are well worth re-reading. Again, thanks very much Muriel for commenting.
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Yes, I know Rita Moreno is in the new one too. She is fantastic. I have watched some really stupid segments of ‘One Day at a Time’ just because SHE is so talented and funny. Unfortunately, because I’m ancient, I’m not going to movies yet.
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Given the 60 year gap between these two West Side films, I thought it amazing she was in both of them.
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