Charlie Chaplin speaks

I hadn't before seen Charlie Chaplin's movie, The Great Dictator, but it ends with a rousing speech. First, a bit of background from Wikipedia:

Chaplin spent two years developing the script, and began filming in September 1939. He had submitted to using spoken dialogue, partly out of acceptance that he had no other choice but also because he recognised it as a better method for delivering a political message. Making a comedy about Hitler was seen as highly controversial, but Chaplin's financial independence allowed him to take the risk. "I was determined to go ahead," he later wrote, "for Hitler must be laughed at."Chaplin replaced the Tramp (while wearing similar attire) with "A Jewish Barber", a reference to the Nazi party's belief that the star was a Jew. In a dual performance he also plays the dictator "Adenoid Hynkle", a parody of Hitler which Maland sees as revealing the "megalomania, narcissism, compulsion to dominate, and disregard for human life" of the German dictator.
Watching this speech reminds me about how history so often repeats itself.

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Photos of fear

I don't know what is going on at Nightmares Fear Factory in Niagara, Canada--I've never been there.  Based on these photos of horrified people, though, they have many satisfied customers. At least these Nightmares Fear Factory customers asked for it, unlike this creepy elevator scenario foisted on unsuspecting people by this Brazilian television show.  You couldn't do this in America--the show would get sued after one of the victims had a heart attack.

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Earth as Art

NASA has put together an extraordinary new booklet: Earth as Art. Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:

This book celebrates Earth’s aesthetic beauty in the patterns, shapes, colors, and textures of the land, oceans, ice, and atmosphere. Earth-observing environmental satellites can measure outside the visible range of light, so these images show more than what is visible to the naked eye. The beauty of Earth is clear, and the artistry ranges from the surreal to the sublime. Truly, by escaping Earth’s gravity we discovered its attraction.
Let this booklet load up and enjoy the show. Earth as you've never seen it before, from satellites.

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