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Paul Haggis - Oscar Award Winner
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Tuesday, March 09, 2010
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The legendary Paul Haggis is the award-winning filmmaker who, in 2006, became the first screenwriter, since 1950, to write two Best Film Oscar winners back-to-back - Million Dollar Baby (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and Crash (2005) which he himself directed. For Crash, he won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film also received an additional four nominations including one for Haggis' direction.
In 2006, Haggis' screenplay collaborations included the duo Clint Eastwood productions Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, the latter earning him his third screenplay Oscar nomination. He also helped pen Casino Royale, which garnered considerable acclaim for reinvigorating the James Bond spy franchise and has written the screenplay for the next Bond production Quantum of Solace.
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Governor Jesse Ventura
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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Jesse Ventura is the former professional wrestler who served as the governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. After graduating from high school in 1969, Governor Ventura enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was accepted into the elite Navy SEALs program. In 1970, Governor Ventura completed the SEALs training program and was sent to Vietnam. During his service in Vietnam, he made over 100 parachute jumps as well as many deep-sea dives. He was honorably discharged in 1973 and settled in California, where he joined a motorcycle gang and worked as a bodyguard for the Rolling Stones. Hhe wrestled professionally from 1975 to 1984, usually playing a villain and using the name Jesse The Body Ventura. He then became an movie actor starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Predator and other movies before running for governor of Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket in 1998. 6'4 tall, muscular and bald, Ventura carried his wrestling image as a blunt-talking tough guy into the political arena and (more...)
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Raquel Welch
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Monday, March 15, 2010
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Since the 1960's Raquel Welch has been an icon of glamour and sex appeal whose honesty, high-level energy, and self-deprecating sense of humor is greatly admired. She was most recently named one of People's 100 Most Beautiful People in the World and one of GQ's 25 Sexiest Women in film. Raquel received a Best Actress Golden Globe Award for her part in The Three Musketeers. She has also appeared in the Naked Gun, Legally Blond, and Seinfeld. Her upcoming book is called The Secret to Timeless Appeal.
Some of Raquel Welch's famous quotes include:
Being a sex symbol was rather like being a convict.
I couldn't stand that my husband was being unfaithful. I am Raquel Welch - understand?
We all have a childhood dream that when there is love, everything goes like silk, but the reality is that marriage requires a lot of compromise.
Once you get rid of the idea that you must please other people before you please yo (more...)
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Nobel Prize Winner Joseph Stiglitz
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Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in 2001 and forever changed economics. His pioneering work helped create a new branch of economics. In 2009 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the list of most influential thinkers. President Clinton appointed him Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in 1995. Stiglitz is also the former Chief Economist to the World Bank.
Stiglitz sees globalization's unrealized potential to eradicate poverty and promote economic growth. He blames the market fundamentalism that endorses the view that a free market solves all problems flawlessly. Stiglitz believes one-size-fits-all economic policies can damage rather than help countries with unique financial, governmental and social institutions.
Stiglitz was one of the few individuals that predicted the present economic crisis. Stiglitz visionary work has helped explain the circumstances in which markets do not work well, and how se (more...)
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The Oxford Gargoyles
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Friday, April 09, 2010
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Free event for members. The Oxford Gargoyles will perform live for the Society. They have performed at Lincoln Center, Columbia, Princeton, Yale and Harvard Universities, and on NBC's Today Show. Over the last decade the Gargoyles have become a staple of the world music scene. The group's repertoire, though rooted in the jazz songbook, offers a tasty cocktail of musical styles from pop to show-tunes. So whether they're flying you to the moon or picking up good vibrations, sit back and enjoy an evening of live and intricate arrangements, heavenly harmonies and soulful solos. A sample of their world renowned performances can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb5ZunC5p4M (more...)
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