Werner Herzog's Stroszek is about Bruno Stroszek and his adventure to America to escape the emptiness of Germany and it's fitting for today in that the ending features a Thanksgiving of sorts, although a myth breaking version of it.

Bruno, a prostitute named Eva, and Scheitz, Bruno's older friend, go on a journey to America to make it and escape oppressive and depressive Germany. Bruno and Scheitz are alike in their impracticality and dreamy disposition. Eva is a little too practical, even desperate and her new life in America looks more like a scenery change only. The difference between America and Germany to Bruno seems to be the way in which the society breaks you down. Germany does it physically but America does something even more insidious, they break your spirit while smiling with overly white teeth and being seemingly friendly.

Interesting things abound in this magical, bleak film: dancing chickens, mobile homes, colorful idiot hicks, banker schmucks, country and western songs - a panoply of American mythology looked at depressingly but lucidly. America is shiny and glamorous but that's just the surface, the persona or mask. What's behind the mask isn't that pretty and the uglier and more fragmented the truth becomes the thicker the veneer that is needed to fool others and oneself. This film is about that duality but it's also an adventure that's enjoyable.

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Small, plain and poor, Jane Eyre comes to Thornfield Hall as governess to the young ward of Edward Rochester. Denied love all her life, Jane can't help but be attracted to the intelligent, vibrant, energetic Mr. Rochester, a man twice her age. But just when Mr. Rochester seems to be returning the attention, he invites the beautiful and wealthy Blanche Ingram and her party to stay at his estate. Meanwhile, the secret of Thornfield Hall could ruin all their chances for happiness. Source

The film adaptation of Jane Eyre (from Charlotte Brontë's greatest novel) is a wonderfully gothic journey into the dark side of love. I'm a sucker for a good love story but a Victorian Gothic love story is more than I could've hoped for. This film features understated and atmospheric performances by Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles (one of the greatest directors and an excellent actor). Jane's childhood is heartbreaking and upon meeting Welles as Mr. Rochester we realize that class can't separate intertwined souls.

The story has some similarities to Wuthering Heights, another incredible novel and screen adaptation, but the storyline is less tragic and more hopeful. A significant part of the film are the childhood sequences which are both sorrowful and dreamy. Each "chapter" of the film has a reminder of the literary work with pages being turned and direct quotes before transitioning into the drama. Although this wasn't an official Orson Welles directed film it has his artistic essence all over it probably making it better than it probably would've been. This was filmed during Welles' peak directing and acting years in the mid 1940's.

On a side note I've always been a Brontë person rather than a Jane Austen one. If you love the Brontës and Victorian Gothic then check out this wonderful film.

"Are you anything akin to me, do you think, Jane?"
I could risk no sort of answer by this time; my heart was still.
"Because," he said, "I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you — especially when you are near to me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land, come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapped; and then I've a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly."
Mr. Rochester and Jane (Ch. 23)

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The beautiful fugitive, Grace (Nicole Kidman), arrives in the isolated township of Dogville on the run from a team of gangsters. With some encouragement from Tom (Paul Bettany), the self-appointed town spokesman, the little community agrees to hide her and in return, Grace agrees to work for them. However, when a search sets in, the people of Dogville demand a better deal in exchange for the risk of harboring poor Grace and she learns the hard way that in this town, goodness is relative. But Grace has a secret and it is a dangerous one. Dogville may regret it ever began to bare its teeth...Source

Dogville by experimental director and writer Lars von Trier has been said to be anti-American but to me it's primarily about iconically named Tom Edison (played by Paul Bettany) and his alter-ego, aptly named Grace Margaret Mulligan (played by Nicole Kidman in another adept performance) and his ultimate fall from "grace". It could take place in any small town in any country in desperate conditions.

Grace is a forgiving type, too forgiving. As the townspeople get more scared of the situation (or maybe they were just rationalizing being bastards), she's treated worse and worse - it's heartbreaking really. Tom has intellectualized his way out of admitting that although he's probably the most moral and decent person in the town, when the going gets too rough Tom turns into the same despicably scared and spineless exploiter. I found myself enraged at times that Tom let so much happen to Grace when he was the only one that could have done something. But social pressure and his own fear paralyzed him while he intellectualized it all and remained a decent person in his own mind. Ultimately Tom falls from "grace" within himself by revealing that his true nature isn't so lofty and that evil can be done by inaction as much as by action.

This is the best Kidman performance I've seen since To Die For and she is, along with Judy Davis, among Australia's greatest female actors. The rest of the cast is also first rate and the experimental setup (like an avant garde play) was easy to get into - some people were put off by it but the incredible performances and atmosphere made me forget about the format completely. You create the scenery yourself, so actual scenery isn't needed but the artificiality could be distracting to some - but I loved it. Three hours wasn't long enough and like a good novel I dreaded it ending!

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As I struggle with ASP.NET, these words comfort me...

ASP is good for these reasons:

• It operates well on all Windows web servers since 1996. (And there's a surprising number of old servers out there still churning pages.) The last version of the ASP script engine (v3.0) was released coincidentally with Windows Server 2000 (IIS 5.0) and remains fundamentally unchanged since that time.
• It's well documented with many forums, books, and web sites dedicated to the purpose.
• There are many free script resources and tutorials available.
• Experts abound.
• It's capable of interfacing with old and new objects, components, services, etc. and continues to provide powerful server-side processing.
• Commercially available WYSIWYG editors like Macromedia's Dreamweaver are equipped with ASP script libraries and extensions.
• It's learning curve isn't intimidating. It's logic is still very approachable to newcomers and I'd argue still serves as a great introduction to server-side programming.
• Its successor (ASP.NET) is maturing and gaining popularity at break-neck pace.
• And best of all, and the reason I write this article, is that I am able to look at the ASP environment in its entirety -- from its beginning to its end -- all its history -- and make this list of things I do and do not like about it. There's no stress in wondering if the next version will fix the things I don't like; or if my current code will break on the next version web server. Instead there's a rather comfortable feeling knowing that it is what it is and always will be.

Read "ASP: The Beauty of a Dead Language"

This is the best album I've listened to by Barbara Casini so far for a number of reasons: it features her great guitar playing, it has a recording sound that's not overproduced but also very clear, and she writes a lot of the songs (only one song is a cover). I'm still getting some Joyce influences on this album but who would complain about that? The songs and recording sound are dense in atmosphere. I especially like the instrumental "Sururu" featuring flutes, some energized percussion which sounds like a Celtic-Italian march. "Un Canto" has a nice guitar intro that's a nod to Baden Powell's version of "Samba do Avião". Deft acoustic guitar, enjoyable songs, and strong atmospheric vocals make this album my favorite so far (I'm still searching for her "Luiza" album though so that may change in the near future).

Tracks:

1. Uma Mulher (B. Casini) (3:41)
2. Rio (L. Maia, B. Casini) (7:45)
3. Conhecer (B. Casini) (5:33)
4. Sururu (B. Casini) (1:39)
5. Da Sola (S. Bollani, B. Casini (4:15)
6. Noite Clara (B. Casini) (3:13)
7. Lalaia (B. Casini) (4:12)
8. Un Canto (Novelli, B. Casini) (3:00)
9. Se Não Há Lugar (B. Casini) (4:44)
10. As Cartas (Chico Buarque) (3:43)
11. Todo O Amor (B. Casini) (3:24)