George Andrew Romero was born February 4, 1940, and is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed “Godfather of all Zombies.”
At first I didn’t think of them as zombies, I thought of them as flesh-eaters or ghouls and never called them zombies in the first film. Then people started to write about them, calling them zombies, and all of a sudden that’s what they were: the new zombies. I guess I invented a few rules, like kill the brain and you kill the ghoul, and eventually I surrendered to the idea and called them zombies in Dawn of the Dead (1978), but it was never that important to me what they were. Just that they existed.
After graduation, he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed “Image Ten Productions” in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly US$10,000 a piece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: “The Night of the Living Dead” (1968).
Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over US$100,000, Romero’s vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his “Image” co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore) enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost, became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999.
My zombie films have been so far apart that I’ve been able to reflect the socio-political climates of the different decades. I have this conceit that they’re a little bit of a chronicle, a cinematic diary of what’s going on.
Yeah, I’m seen by the studios as a genre guy. I’ve made several non-genre films, but nobody went to see them. I guess I’ll never be a member of that club.
I don’t think you need to spend $40 million to be creepy. The best horror films are the ones that are much less endowed.
I don’t try to answer any questions or preach. My personality and my opinions come through in the satire of the films, but I think of them as a snapshot of the time. I have this device, or conceit, where something happens in the world and I can say, ‘Ooo, I’ll talk about that, and I can throw zombies in it! And get it made!’ You know, it’s kind of my ticket to ride.
I’ll never get sick of zombies. I just get sick of producers.
FILMS DIRECTED BY GEORGE A. ROMERO: Night of the Living Dead (1968) There’s Always Vanilla (1971) Season of the Witch (1972) The Crazies (1973) Martin (1977) Dawn of the Dead (1978) Knightriders (1981) Creepshow (1982) Day of the Dead (1985) Monkey Shines (1988) Two Evil Eyes (1990) The Dark Half (1993) Bruiser (2000) Land of the Dead (2005) Diary of the Dead (2007) Survival of the Dead (2009)
Greta Lovisa Gustafsson was born in Stockholm, Sweden on September 18, 1905. She was 14 when her father died, leaving the family destitute. Greta was forced to leave school and go to work in a department store. The store used her for her modeling abilities for newspaper ads. She had no film aspirations until she appeared in an advertising short at that same department store while she was still a teenager. This led to another short film when Erik A. Petschler, a comedy director, saw the film. He gave her a small part in the film, “Luffarpetter” (1922). Encouraged by her own performance she applied for and won a scholarship in a Swedish drama school. While there she appeared in two films, “En lyckoriddare” (1921) and “Luffarpetter” (1922) the following year. Both were small parts, but it was a start.
Finally famed Swedish director, Mauritz Stiller, pulled her from drama school for the leading role in “Gösta Berlings saga” (1924). At 18, Greta was on a roll. Following “The joyless Street” (1925) both Greta and Stiller were offered contracts with MGM. Her first US film was “Torrent” (1926). It was a silent film where she didn’t have to speak a word of English. After a few more films, such as “The Temptress” (1926), “Love” (1927/I), and “A Woman of Affairs” (1928), Greta starred in “Anna Christie” (1930) (her first “talkie”), which not only gave her a powerful screen presence, but also gave her an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. Unfortunately she didn’t win. Later that year she filmed “Romance” (1930) which was somewhat of a letdown, but bounced back as lead role in “Susan Lenox – Her Fall and Rise” (1931) with Clark Gable. The film was a hit and led to another exciting title role in “Mata Hari” (1931). Greta continued to give intensified performances in whatever was handed her. The next year Greta was cast in another hit “Grand Hotel” (1932).
But it was MGM’s “Anna Karenina” (1935) where she, perhaps, gave the performance of her life. She was absolutely breathtaking in the title role as a woman torn between two lovers and her son. Greta starred in “Ninotchka” (1939) which showcased her comedic side. It wasn’t until two years later she made what was to be her last film that being “Two-Faced Woamn” (1941), another comedy.
After World War II, Greta, by her own admission, felt that the world had changed perhaps forever and she retired, never again to face the camera. She would work for the rest of her life to perpetuate the Garbo mystique. Her films, she felt, had their proper place in history and would gain in value. She abandoned Hollywood and moved to New York City. She would jet-set with some of the world’s best known personalities such as Aristotle Onassis and others. She spent time gardening flowers and vegetables. In 1954, Greta was given a special Oscar for past unforgettable performances. She even penned her biography in 1990. On April 15, 1990, Greta died of natural causes in New York and with it the “Garbo Mystique”. She was 84.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
THE FILMS OF GRETA GARBO
The silents: Mr and Mrs Stockholm Go Shopping (Herrskapet Stockholm ute på inköp, Sweden 1920) – Role: Elder sister, Director: unknown (Garbo’s segment is often known as How Not to Dress). The Gay Cavalier (En lyckoriddare Sweden 1921) – Role: Maidservant (Uncredit), Director: unknown (the film is lost) Our Daily Bread (Konsum Stockholm Promo, Sweden 1921) – Role: Companion, Director: unknown. Peter the Tramp (Luffar-Petter, Sweden 1922) – Role: Greta Pettersson. Director: unknown. The Saga of Gosta Berling (Gösta Berlings saga, Sweden 1924) – Role: Countess Elisabeth Dohna, Director: Mauritz Stiller. The Joyless Street (Die freudlose Gasse, Germany 1925) – Role: Greta Rumfort, Director: G. W. Pabst. The Torrent (USA 1926) – Role: Leonora Moreno aka La Brunna (First American movie; all of Garbo’s American movies were produced by MGM), Director: Monta Bell. The Temptress (USA 1926) – Role: Elena, Director: Fred Niblo (Mauritz Stiller, Garbo’s Swedish mentor, was originally assigned to direct; his directing methods and personality led to conflicts with MGM producer Irving Thalberg who fired him). Flesh and the Devil (USA 1926) – Role: Felicitas, Director: Clarence Brown (First of seven Garbo movies directed by Clarence Brown and first of four with co-star John Gilbert). Love (USA 1927) – Role: Anna Karenina, Director: Edmund Goulding (Adapted from the novel Anna Karenina by Tolstoy). The Divine Woman (USA 1928) – Role: Marianne, Director: Victor Seastrom (Only a 9 minute reel exists). The Mysterious Lady (USA 1928) – Role: Tania Fedorova, Director: Fred Niblo. A Woman of Affairs (USA 1928) – Role: Diana Merrick Furness, Director: Clarence Brown (The first of seven Garbo films with actor Lewis Stone who, with the exception of Wild Orchids, played secondary roles). Wild Orchids (USA 1929) – Role: Lillie Sterling, Director: Sidney Franklin. The Single Standard (USA 1929) – Role: Arden Stuart Hewlett, Director: John S. Robertson. The Kiss (USA 1929) – Role: Madame Irene Guarry, Director: Jacques Feyder (Garbo’s, and MGM’s, last silent picture).
The Talkies: Anna Christie (USA 1930) – Role: Anna Christopherson aka Anna Christie, Director: Clarence Brown (Garbo’s first talkie and first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress). Romance (USA 1930) – Role: Madame Rita Cavallini, Director: Clarence Brown (Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress). Anna Christie (Germain 1930) – Role: Anna Christopherson aka Anna Christie, Director: Jacques Feyder (MGM’s German version of Anna Christie was also released in 1930). Inspiration (USA 1931) – Role: Yvonne Valbret, Director: Clarence Brown Susan Lenox – Her Fall and Rise (USA 1931) – Helga aka Susan Lennox, Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Mata Hari (USA 1931) – Role: Mata Hari, Director: George Fitzmaurice. Grand Hotel (USA 1932) – Role: Madame Grusinskaja aka Elisaveta Alexandrowna Grusinskaja, Director: Edmund Goulding. As you Desire me (USA 1932) – Role: Zara aka Maria Varelli, Director: George Fitzmaurice. Queen Christina (USA 1933) – Role: Queen Christina of Sweden, Director: Rouben Mamoulian. The Painted Veil (USA 1934) – Role: Katrin Koerber Fane, Director: Richard Boleslavski. Anna Karenina (USA 1935) – Role: Anna Karenina, Director: Clarence Brown (New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress). Camille (USA 1936) – Role: Marguerite Gautier, Director: George Cukor (New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress). Conquest (USA 1937) – Role: Countess Marie Walewska, Director: Clarence Brown. Ninotchka (USA 1939) – Role: Nina Ivanovna Yakuschowa aka Ninotschka, Director: Ernst Lubitsch (Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress). Two-Faced Woman (USA 1941) – Role: Karin Borg Blake, Director: George Cukor (National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Best Acting Award).
Front cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine
Sharbat Gula (born ca. 1972) is an Afghan woman who was the subject of a famous photograph by journalist Steve McCurry. Gula was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed. The image brought her recognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine at a time when she was approximately 12 years old.
In 1984 journalist Steve McCurry photographed 12-year old Sharbat Gula in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan.
Pashtun by ethnicity, Sharbat Gula was orphaned during the Soviet Union’s bombing of Afghanistan and sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984. Her village was attacked by Soviet helicopter gunships sometime in the early 1980s. The Soviet strike killed her parents — forcing her, her siblings and grandmother to hike over the mountains to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in neighboring Pakistan. She married in the late 1980s and returned to Afghanistan in 1992. Sharbat Gula had three daughters: Robina, Zahida, and Alia. A fourth daughter died in infancy. Sharbat Gula has expressed the hope that her girls will receive the education she was never able to complete.
Gula was known throughout the world simply as “the Afghan Girl” until she was formally identified in early 2002.
At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Sharbat Gula’s photograph was taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry on Kodachrome color slide film, with a Nikon FM2 camera and Nikkor 105mm F2.5 lens. The pre-print photo retouching was done by Graphic Art Service, based in Marietta, Georgia. Sharbat Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry seized a rare opportunity to photograph Afghan women and captured her image.
Although her name was not known, her picture, titled “Afghan Girl”, appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and with her piercing sea-green eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980’s Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image itself was named “the most recognized photograph” in the history of the magazine. The identity of the Afghan Girl remained unknown for over 17 years; Afghanistan remained largely closed to Western media until after the removal of the Taliban government by American troops and local allies in 2001. Although McCurry made several attempts during the 1990s to locate her, he was unsuccessful.
Sharbat Gula, April 2002
In January 2002, a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan to locate the subject of the now-famous photograph. McCurry, upon learning that the Nasir Bagh refugee camp was soon to close, inquired of its remaining residents, one of whom knew Sharbat Gula’s brother and was able to send word to her hometown.
The team finally located Sharbat Gula, then around the age of 30, in a remote region of Afghanistan; she had returned to her native country from the refugee camp in 1992. Her identity was confirmed using biometric technology, which matched her iris patterns to those of the photograph with almost full certainty. She vividly recalled being photographed — she had been photographed on only three occasions: in 1984 and during the search for her when a National Geographic producer took the identifying pictures that led to the reunion with Steve McCurry.
Sharbat had never seen her famous portrait before it was shown to her in January 2002.
Peripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze. There is a broad set of non-central points in the field of view that is included in the notion of peripheral vision. “Far peripheral” vision exists at the edges of the field of view, “mid-peripheral” vision exists in the middle of the field of view, and “near-peripheral”, sometimes referred to as “para-central” vision, exists adjacent to the center of gaze.
The loss of peripheral vision while retaining central vision is known as tunnel vision, and the loss of central vision while retaining peripheral vision is known as central scotoma.
The eye as a double system: the foveal system delivers 3 to 4 high quality images per second (via the line of sight). The peripheral system delivers up to 90 blurred images per second
Peripheral vision is weaker in humans, compared with other animals, especially at distinguishing color and shape. This is because receptor cells on the retina are greater at the center and lowest at the edges (see visual system for an explanation of these concepts). In addition, there are two types of receptor cells, rod cells and cone cells; rod cells are unable to distinguish color and are predominant at the periphery, while cone cells are concentrated mostly in the center of the retina, the fovea.
TEST YOUR PERIPHERAL VISION NOW:
– Pay attention to the picture below:
– What in the picture you saw first? The woman or the dog driving the car? – Car? What car? – Answer: Some people see only what they want…
On September 21, 2011, R.E.M. announced their retirement in a news release on its website. Enjoy my Top 5 Videos of R.E.M and see what we going to miss. Official site: www.remhq.com. Official R.E.M. YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/remhq
1. LOSING MY RELIGION
(Peter Buck/Michael Stipe/Bill Berry/Mike Mills)
From the album Out of Time
Life is bigger
It’s bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I’ve said too much
I set it up
That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don’t know if I can do it
Oh no I’ve said too much
I haven’t said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
Every whisper
Of every waking hour
I’m choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no, I’ve said too much
I set it up
Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I’ve said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don’t know if I can do it
Oh no I’ve said too much
I haven’t said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream, try, cry, why, try
That was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream
Dream
SEE LOSING MY RELIGION VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:
2. AT MY MOST BEAUTIFUL
(Peter Buck/Michael Stipe/Mike Mills)
From the album Up
I’ve found a way to make you
I’ve found a way
A way to make you smile
I read bad poetry
Into your machine
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkwards rhymes.
You always say your name.
Like I wouldn’t know it’s you
At your most beautiful.
I’ve found a way to make you
I’ve found a way
A way to make you smile
At my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes secretly.
With every one, whisper I love you.
I let you sleep.
I know you’re closed eye watching me,
Listening.
I thought I saw a smile.
I’ve found a way to make you
I’ve found a way
A way to make you smile
SEE AT MY MOST BEAUTIFUL VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:
3. DAYSLEEPER
(Peter Buck/Michael Stipe/Mike Mills)
From the album Up
Receiving dept. 3 a.m.
Staff cuts have socked up the overage
Directives are posted.
No callbacks complaints.
Everywhere is calm.
Hong Kong is present
Taipei awakes
All talk of circadian rhythm
I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache gray
Daysleeper
The bull and the bear are marking
Their territories
They’re leading the blind with
Their international glories
I’m the screen the blinding light
I’m the screen, I work at night.
I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache gray
Don’t wake me with so much.
Daysleeper.
I cried the other night
I can’t even say why
Fluorescent flat caffeine lights
Its furious balancing
I’m the screen, the blinding light
I’m the screen, I work at night
I see today
Don’t wake me with so much. the
Ocean machine is set to nine
I’ll squeeze into heaven and valentine
My bed is pulling me.
Gravity
4. THE GREAT BEYOND
(Peter Buck/Michael Stipe/Mike Mills)
From the Original Soundtrack for the movie Man on the Moon
I’ve watched the stars fall silent from your eyes
All the sights that I have seen
I can’t believe that I believed I wished
That you could see
There’s a new planet in the solar system
There is nothing up my sleeve
I’m pushing an elephant up the stairs
I’m tossing up punchlines that were never there
Over my shoulder a piano falls
Crashing to the ground
And all this talk of time
Talk is fine
And I don’t want to stay around
Why can’t we pantomime, just close our eyes
And sleep sweet dreams
Being here with wings on our feet
I’m pushing an elephant up the stairs
I’m tossing up punchlines that were never there
Over my shoulder a piano falls
Crashing to the ground
I’m breaking through
I’m bending spoons
I’m keeping flowers in full bloom
I’m looking for answers from the great beyond
I want the hummingbirds, the dancing bears
Sweetest dreams of you
Look into the stars
Look into the moon
I’m pushing an elephant up the stairs
I’m tossing up punchlines that were never there
Over my shoulder a piano falls
Crashing to the ground
I’m breaking through
I’m bending spoons
I’m keeping flowers in full bloom
I’m looking for answers from the great beyond
I’m breaking through
I’m bending spoons
I’m keeping flowers in full bloom
I’m looking for answers from the great
(repeat next verses 3x each)
I’m breaking through
I’m bending spoons
I’m keeping flowers in full bloom
I’m looking for answers from the great beyond
I’m breaking through
I’m bending spoons
I’m keeping flowers in full bloom
I’m looking for answers from the great
SEE THE GREAT BEYOND VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:
5. EVERYBODY HURTS
(Peter Buck/Michael Stipe/Mike Mills)
From the album Automatic for the People
When your day is long and the night
The night is yours alone
When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life, well hang on
Don’t let yourself go
Everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it’s time to sing along
When your day is night alone (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (hold on)
When you think you’ve had too much of this life, well hang on
Everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts
Don’t throw your hand. Oh, no
Don’t throw your hand
If you feel like you’re alone, no, no, no, you are not alone
If you’re on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you’ve had too much of this life to hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
(Hold on, hold on)
Everybody hurts
You are not alone
SEE EVERYBODY HURTS VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:
BONUS: THE ONE I LOVE
(Peter Buck/Michael Stipe/Bill Berry/Mike Mills)
From the album Document
This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind
A simple prop, to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love
Fire
Fire
This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind
A simple prop, to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love
Fire
(She’s comin’ down on her own, now)
Fire
(She’s comin’ down on her own, now)
This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind
Another prop has occupied my time
This one goes out to the one I love
Fire
(She’s comin’ down on her own, now)
Fire
(She’s comin’ down on her own, now)
Fire
(She’s comin’ down on her own, now)
Fire
(She’s comin’ down on her own, now)
SEE THE ONE I LOVE FROM TOUR FILM 1989 ON YOUTUBE:
At first I didn’t think of them as zombies, I thought of them as flesh-eaters or ghouls and never called them zombies in the first film. Then people started to write about them, calling them zombies, and all of a sudden that’s what they were: the new zombies. I guess I invented a few rules, like kill the brain and you kill the ghoul, and eventually I surrendered to the idea and called them zombies in Dawn of the Dead (1978), but it was never that important to me what they were. Just that they existed.
My zombie films have been so far apart that I’ve been able to reflect the socio-political climates of the different decades. I have this conceit that they’re a little bit of a chronicle, a cinematic diary of what’s going on.
Yeah, I’m seen by the studios as a genre guy. I’ve made several non-genre films, but nobody went to see them. I guess I’ll never be a member of that club.
I don’t think you need to spend $40 million to be creepy. The best horror films are the ones that are much less endowed.
I don’t try to answer any questions or preach. My personality and my opinions come through in the satire of the films, but I think of them as a snapshot of the time. I have this device, or conceit, where something happens in the world and I can say, ‘Ooo, I’ll talk about that, and I can throw zombies in it! And get it made!’ You know, it’s kind of my ticket to ride.
I’ll never get sick of zombies. I just get sick of producers.
All That I Love 