Jack London was born in San Francisco, California, on January 12, 1876. Even though he quit school at 14, London was a great reader. While still in his teens, he worked as a coal-shoveler, a jute mill worker, and an oyster pirate in America. And then as a seal hunter in Japan and Siberia.
Returning home from this expedition, London became a tramp and was jailed for vagrancy. In 1897, after the Gold Rush started, 21-year-old London went prospecting in Canada and Alaska. There, he learned about the lives of trappers, Indians, gold prospectors-and very importantly-sled-dogs. His experiences in the North formed the basis for many of his adventure books, especially his best-sellers, The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf.
During his 17-year writing career, London wrote 50 books, novels, and short stories in addition to newspaper articles and political essays.
By the time he was 40, London had earned a million dollars through his writing, but his own personal suffering led him to leave man’s world, just as it led Buck, his Call of the Wild dog hero. And on November 22, 1916, Jack London committed suicide. He had experienced more of life than most people, and he told the world about it in a fascinating, vigorous, and memorable style.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Hispanic Icon Series 4
Roberto Clemente (1934-1972)
It has been decades since his unfortunate death, but Roberto is still remembered as one of the greatest athletes and humanitarians of all time. Roberto was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. During his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955-72), he compiled a lifetime batting average of 317 and was considered baseball’s premier defensive outfielder. After he obtained his 3,000th hit in the last game of the 1972 season, his life tragically cut short when he perished in a plane crash. On New Year’s Eve, Roberto’s plane was taking medical, food, and clothing supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. Despite bad weather, an unstable cargo plane, and the advice of his friends and family, Roberto was determined to take off. He was infuriated that the previous supplies had not made it to the victims. Roberto was going to personally see to it that the victims received the much-needed supplies. Unfortunately, the plane went down off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente’s body was never found. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Raúl Júlia (1944-1994)
Many theatergoers mourned Júlia when he passed away at the early age of 50. After graduating from the University of Puerto Rico (1964), where he majored in drama, he moved to New York City to pursue a stage career. In the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in a number of Broadway productions. He also worked steadily for the New York Shakespeare Festival. He was nominated for a Tony for his proposal of Macheath in Brecht’s The Three-Penny Opera (1978). Mr. Júlia created the role of Valentine in the Broadway musical, Two Gentlemen of Verona. In the 1970s, he began his movie career, which brought him great success in films such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Tequila Sunrise (1988), and The Addams Family I and II (1991 & 1993). In addition to his successful stage career, Júlia frequently appeared as a spokesperson for Puerto Rican tourism.
It has been decades since his unfortunate death, but Roberto is still remembered as one of the greatest athletes and humanitarians of all time. Roberto was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. During his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955-72), he compiled a lifetime batting average of 317 and was considered baseball’s premier defensive outfielder. After he obtained his 3,000th hit in the last game of the 1972 season, his life tragically cut short when he perished in a plane crash. On New Year’s Eve, Roberto’s plane was taking medical, food, and clothing supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. Despite bad weather, an unstable cargo plane, and the advice of his friends and family, Roberto was determined to take off. He was infuriated that the previous supplies had not made it to the victims. Roberto was going to personally see to it that the victims received the much-needed supplies. Unfortunately, the plane went down off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente’s body was never found. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Raúl Júlia (1944-1994)
Many theatergoers mourned Júlia when he passed away at the early age of 50. After graduating from the University of Puerto Rico (1964), where he majored in drama, he moved to New York City to pursue a stage career. In the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in a number of Broadway productions. He also worked steadily for the New York Shakespeare Festival. He was nominated for a Tony for his proposal of Macheath in Brecht’s The Three-Penny Opera (1978). Mr. Júlia created the role of Valentine in the Broadway musical, Two Gentlemen of Verona. In the 1970s, he began his movie career, which brought him great success in films such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Tequila Sunrise (1988), and The Addams Family I and II (1991 & 1993). In addition to his successful stage career, Júlia frequently appeared as a spokesperson for Puerto Rican tourism.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Hispanic Icon Series 3
Fernando Botero
Fernando Botero is one of the most influential contemporary artists in the world. Botero comes from a humble background in Medellín, Columbia. He has received numerous awards and his works have been exhibited in many of the major galleries and museums around the world. Botero is famous for his characteristic rotund figures. His manner is satirical, reflecting social commentary with a political overtone. In 1956, he taught at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Bogotá and traveled to Mexico to study the work of Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. In 1969, the Inflated Images exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York established him as one of the Masters of the Twentieth Century. Although at first impression his signature style seems purely esthetic, a deeper interpretation of his work suggests a mockery of the excesses of militarists, people of power and the morals and manners of the bourgeoisie.
Pedro Almodóvar
In 1988, Pedro Almodóvar received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for his film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. In 1999, Almodóvar took the film world by storm with his critical smash, All About My Mother. That year, he was awarded with a coveted Oscar and with the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Almodóvar’s outrageous films have no problems breaking taboos. A provocative director known for his compassionate portrayal of women and outcasts, he started his career as an amateur director while working at the Spanish telephone company in Madrid.
Fernando Botero is one of the most influential contemporary artists in the world. Botero comes from a humble background in Medellín, Columbia. He has received numerous awards and his works have been exhibited in many of the major galleries and museums around the world. Botero is famous for his characteristic rotund figures. His manner is satirical, reflecting social commentary with a political overtone. In 1956, he taught at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Bogotá and traveled to Mexico to study the work of Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. In 1969, the Inflated Images exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York established him as one of the Masters of the Twentieth Century. Although at first impression his signature style seems purely esthetic, a deeper interpretation of his work suggests a mockery of the excesses of militarists, people of power and the morals and manners of the bourgeoisie.
Pedro Almodóvar
In 1988, Pedro Almodóvar received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for his film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. In 1999, Almodóvar took the film world by storm with his critical smash, All About My Mother. That year, he was awarded with a coveted Oscar and with the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Almodóvar’s outrageous films have no problems breaking taboos. A provocative director known for his compassionate portrayal of women and outcasts, he started his career as an amateur director while working at the Spanish telephone company in Madrid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)