Peter – Page 53 – Peter Murmann

Drama, Movies

Recount

by: PeterOctober 3, 2009

The film takes a look behind the scenes of how Gore and Bush fought out their electoral battle for five weeks after the election. Even for someone who read the newspaper every day during this period, the writer and director manage put on a gripping drama. Clearly, the movie is written from the Democratic (loosing)

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Comedy, Movies

The Proposal

by: PeterOctober 1, 2009

The Proposal is a lot better than I had expected after seeing the trailer for it. The short preview made it look like a silly film with a lame plot and stale humor. The heroine (Sandra Bullock) starts out a bitch. She is the chief editor of a distinguished book publisher in New York City.

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Diary

The Emmancipation Paradox: Women have become unhappier since 1972

by: PeterSeptember 23, 2009

Maureen Down (NY Times) reports stunning data and speculates why the libration of women seems to have made them unhappier while men have become happier. Women are getting unhappier, I told my friend Carl. “How can you tell?” he deadpanned. “It’s always been whine-whine-whine.” Why are we sadder? I persisted. “Because you care,” he replied with a mock sneer.

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Humor, Situations

The World’s Best Condom Ads courtsey of Slate

by: PeterSeptember 17, 2009

Humor, Situations

Hell is Hurting

by: PeterSeptember 8, 2009

Ian Frazier has written a very funny satire in the New Yorker on the impact of global warming for hell and its inhabitants. Enjoy! THE TEMPERATURE OF HELL: A COLLOQUIUM According to the best scientific data currently available, both the average and the mean temperatures of Hell have risen 3.8 degrees since 1955. Although an increase of

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Humor, The Best

The Soul Storage Company

by: PeterSeptember 5, 2009

On page 29 of the July 24, 2009, issue of the New Yorker various small ads appear for products like the famous AERON chair, the National Geographic expedition to Costa Rica, organic almond butter, etc. On the top right corner my eyes hit upon an ad for the Soul Storage Company. Its

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Diary

Electric Car Alert: I want to take the Tesla for a Spin

by: PeterSeptember 4, 2009

Just read a story in the New Yorker about the development of an all-electric car by the California startup company Tesla. Despite the difficulities of refuelling the car quickly, I would love to experience driving this all electric car. Here is Tad Friend’s report on his test drive: IT’S ELECTRIC! This week in the New Yorker,

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Diary

4.6 million to lie forever on top of Marilyn Monroe

by: PeterAugust 29, 2009

I don’t know any man who was young in the early 1960s and who did not have a crush on Marilyn Monroe. As this generation is starting to face death, one rich man can be with Marilyn for eternity. The DailyNews reports: Even in death, Marilyn Monroe is still snagging millionaires. An unidentified deep-pocketed

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Drama, Movies

Cloud 9 (Wolke 9)

by: PeterAugust 23, 2009

The idea of making a film about sexual desires of seniors is brilliant. Such a film was overdue. But Andreas Dresen, the 46-year-old director of Cloud 9 constructed a film about his own desires rather than exploring how seniors cope with society’s predilection to see them as sexless creatures. Dresen’s drama is not about the

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Books, Non-Fiction

The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us about Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life

by: PeterAugust 20, 2009

Can’t wait until this book arrives in my mailbox. My own review will come later. In the meantime here is what Anthony Gottlieb wrote in the NYTimes: It’s always gratifying to hear a new twist on an old joke. In the Marx Brothers’ “Duck Soup,” Rufus T. Firefly, played by Groucho, is handed the

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