Solange's Posterous

Profile on: Jane Goodall, anthropologist & UN Messenger of Peace

This is the second in a series of posts about interesting, inspiring and influential people. 

Jane Goodall with Freud. Pre-approved image by Michael Neugebauer

Who: Jane Goodall, British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist and UN Messenger of Peace 
Born: 3rd April, 1934  
Claim to fame: Goodall is considered to be the world's leading expert on chimpanzees

Snapshot of Notable Facts and Achievements: 

• After a series of chance encounters, Goodall arrived at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in western Tanzania in 1960 to take on a project: studying chimpanzees.
• Goodall defied scientific convention by giving the chimps she was researching names instead of numbers.
• Soon after commencing her research Goodall saw chimps strip the leaves off twigs in order to make tools for fishing out termites from a nest. This was an important discovery and proved that humans aren't the only tool-making species. 
• Other of Goodall's significant discoveries about chimpanzees included that they were not vegetarians, they engaged in war, they taught each other skills and they displayed compassion.
• In 1962 Goodall entered Cambridge University as a Ph.D candidate. She was one of few people to be admitted without a college degree and earned her Ph.D. in ethology (animal behaviour) in 1965. 
• In 1965 Goodall established the Gombe Stream Research Centre in Gombe and in 1977 she established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which continues the Gombe research an is a leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees. 
• Goodall paved the path for other women primatologists. Gilbert Grosvenor, the chairman of the National Geographic Society wrote that "women now dominate long-term primate behavioural studies worldwide."
• In 2002 Goodall was appointed to serve as a United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
• In 2004 she was made a Dame of the British Empire during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. 
• Jane Goodall has written numerous articles, books and children's stories and has appeared in many documentaries.
• Today Jane continues working by speaking to all types of audiences as well as high-level conferences about the threats facing chimpanzees.

Photos of a young Jane Goodall:

There are some beautiful photos here of a young Jane Goodall, including one of her with her first chimpanzee soft toy. 

Words by Jane Goodall:

• "I wanted to talk to the animals like Dr. Doolittle."
• "The most important thing I can say to you - yes, you who are now reading this - is that you, as an individual, have a role to play and can make a difference. You get to choose: do you want to use your life to try to make the world a better place for humans and animals and the environment? Or not?"
• "We have so far to go to realize our human potential for compassion, altruism, and love."
• "Lasting change is a series of compromises. And compromise is all right, as long as your values don't change." 
• "The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves."

Profile on: Michel de Montaigne, writer and the father of Modern Skepticism

Here's the first post of my new blog post project: short, snappy profiles on interesting, inspiring and influential people from the past and present. 

Who: Michel de Montaigne, French writer & philosopher who lived during the French Renaissance
Born: 28th February, 1533
Died: 13 September, 1592 (Aged 59)
Claim to fame: Montaigne founded the essay and was amongst the first to write philosophically with modern skepticism

Snapshot of Notable Facts & Achievements:

• He is regarded as the founder of the essay. Michel de Montaigne described his works as 'essays' - 'essayer' is French for 'to try' or 'to attempt'.
• In his essays he expressed opinions on his nature and the habits of people, and he questioned the wisdom of humans. 
• He is most well known for the remark, "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?")
• There is a biography of Michel de Montaigne written by Sarah Bakewell called How To Live. The question, "How to live?" obsessed Montaigne. In the book, Bakewell addresses Montaigne's essays with 20 chapters including, "Don't Worry About Death", "Read A Lot, Forget Most of What You Read", "Survive Love and Loss", "Question Everything", "Do Something No One Has Done Before" and "Reflect on Everything; Regret Nothing". 
• For some time, he moderated between Catholics and Protestants.
• In his essay Of Cannibals Montaigne wrote that "one calls 'barbarism' whatever he is not accustomed to," questioning the differences between barbaric and moral man.  
• His skepticism got him into the Index of Forbidden Books for almost 200 years. The Index of Forbidden Books was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. It was abolished in 1966.
• His birthplace is now called Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne.

Some of Montaigne's quotes:

• "Don't discuss yourself, for you are bound to lose; if you belittle yourself, you are believed; if you praise yourself, you are disbelieved."
• "Even on the most exalted throne in the world we are only sitting on our own bottom."
• "When I am attacked by gloomy thoughts, nothing helps me so much as running to my books. They quickly absorb me and banish the clouds from my mind."
• "A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears."
• "An untempted woman cannot boast of her chastity."
• “I speak the truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare a little more as I grow older.” 
• “I know that the arms of friendship are long enough to reach from the one end of the world to the other” 
• “There is no knowledge so hard to acquire as the knowledge of how to live this life well and naturally.” 
• “Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.” 

Image from Wikipedia

Opinion: Top 10 female vocalists of all time

This post has been saved in my drafts for a few months now, but the passing of the talented Etta James has prompted me to finally finish and post it.

There are ballads, there are songs, and there are voices. The voices that I've selected here are truly enchanting and full of not only talent, but zest. These are women who are (or were) completely devoted to their passion, and there's more than just a pretty voice that echoes through when you hear them. 

Disclaimer: This list is limited to the genre of popular music and consists only of English-speaking chanteuses. It is also a personal selection. 

10. Celine Dion

She's been criticized for not having enough involvement in the production component of her musicand she's been parodied and impersonated countless times. But love her or hate her, she's got talent.

Signature song: 'My Heart Will Go On'
Voice: Nasal
Best decade: The 1990s saw Celine's rise to fame and commercial success. She became popular in the English market with 'Where Does My Heart Beat Now' and continued with several albums including Falling Into You which had a number of hits. 

Listen to Celine's rendition of 'Ave Maria': 

9. Tina Turner

Quite possibly an odd choice for this list and maybe more fitting for a 'Top 10 Performers' list, but either way, I just couldn't leave Tina and her powerful voice off. 

Signature song: 'The Best'
Voice: Throaty
Best decade: Tina doesn't stop. Her career has spanned over 50 years but her greatest success came in the 1980s with hits 'The Best', 'Private Dancer', 'What's Love Got To Do With It' and 'We Don't Need Another Hero'.

Listen to Tina in her earlier days with 'River Deep, Mountain High', which was covered by Celine Dion in the 90s.

8. Ella Fitzgerald

With a wide-ranging, pitch-perfect and ageless voice, Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most popular jazz singers in the USA. Her 1956 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook is on the National Recording Registry. 

Signature song: 'Summertime'
Voice: Rich
Best decade: Ella is best known for the tracks she released in the mid 50s to mid 60s, but she was very active again from around the mid 70s to mid 80s. 

Listen to Ella performing scat singing in 1969

7. Barbra Streisand

Like Celine, Barbra has also been the subject of much ridicule and impersonation, but you can't deny her skill. Not only an excellent singer, she's also won awards for her acting, as well. 

Signature song: 'Woman in Love'
Voice: Finely-tuned
Best decade: The 70s were very prosperous for Barbra, but she had her greatest commercial musical success in the 1980s, in particular with the album Guilty.

Listen to 'Woman in Love', and at the same time have a giggle at the very 80s music video:

6. Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is also known as "The Queen of Soul" and in 1987 she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her voice is powerful, energetic and assertive.

Signature song: 'Respect'
Voice: Strong
Best decade: 1960s 

Listen to 'Respect', 1967

5. Etta James

As mentioned at the start of this post, Etta James passed away today (20th of January in the USA). She had a beautiful, sultry voice that featured on the tracks of many romance albums. Her version of 'At Last' was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. 

Signature song: 'At Last'
Voice: Soulful
Best decade: 1960s 

Listen to Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind'

4. Eva Cassidy

Like many young talents, Eva Cassidy was taken from this world too soon. She was only 33 years old when cancer claimed her life. Her voice was really something else.

Signature song: 'Songbird'
Voice: Effortless 
Best decade: Eva was most active in the 80s and early 90s, but much commercial success has come posthumously.  

Listen to Eva Cassidy's 'Songbird':

3. Mariah Carey

Mariah's vocal range is simply amazing. Both her and one of her influencers, Whitney Houston use melisma as part of their singing styles.  A melisma is "a group of notes sung to one syllable of text." 

Signature song: 'Hero'
Voice: Wide-ranging
Best decade: 1990s 

Listen to Mariah Carey's 'Without You':

2. Whitney Houston

Another singer with an incredible vocal range, she has been a source of inspiration and influence for countless chanteuses. 

Signature song: 'I Will Always Love You' (which was written and originally sung by Dolly Parton)
Voice: Huge 
Best decade: Mid-80s to mid-90s

Listen to 'I Will Always Love You':

1. Karen Carpenter

Karen Carpenter was another talent who was taken too soon. At just 32 years of age complications from anorexia claimed her life. Her voice was crisp and clean, and she had an extraordinary ability to hold long, low notes. For me she epitomises the art and purity of singing. 

Signature song: 'Close To You'
Voice: Pure
Best decade: 1970s

Listen to The Carpenters' 'Superstar' in 1971:

There are many other beautiful voices that I would add to a longer list: Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Cass Elliot, Billie Holiday, Stevie Nicks and Roberta Flack to name a few.

Who would be in your top 10?

 

 

6 movies that would make for awesome remakes

Remakes can be ghastly and disappointing: Clash of the Titans, Psycho, The Invasion (of the Body Snatchers) and Godzilla to name but a few. 

On the other hand, some remakes are fantastic, for example The Fly (1986) and The Thing (1982), the latter of which has been remade since. Here are six movies that I believe would make for awesome remakes:

 

6) The Langoliers (1995)

Story: A bunch of passengers on a flight wake up to find that all other passengers, including the pilot, are gone. An off-duty captain flies them into an airport but it's desolate and the sound of The Langoliers is getting louder by the minute.
Reason for remake: We have gems like The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Misery and The Green Mile. Stephen King deserves better with The Langoliers, too. 
Challenge: There is no challenge. The only thing that saved this film was David Morse's performance as the captain. 
Recommendation: Give the script a complete overhaul. Get Christopher Nolan to oversee this. 

 

5) Dreamscape (1984) 

Story: Dennis Quaid's character, Alex, has been using a psychic ability for personal gain. He is recruited by the government to save the US President, whose mind is trapped inside the dreamworld. Alex discovers that another psychic is killing people inside their dreams, causing them to die in real life. 
Reason for remake: The concept is brilliant and the movie is decent but it could do with fresh blood.
Challenge: Making it fresh without changing too much of the story. 
Recommendation: Get a completely new face for the lead character (or, don't get any young popular actors to do it!)

 

4) Flight of the Navigator (1986)

Story: A 12-year-old boy called David falls down an embankment, is knocked unconscious and is abducted by an alien spacecraft. When he wakes up, what feels like a few moments later is in fact 8 years later and everything has changed, except David.
Reason for remake: They just don't make stuff like this anymore. Classics for kids that ooze with imagination....rare to find these days. 
Challenge: Making the spaceship even more awesome. Big challenge!
Recommendation: Do not use a Pee-Wee Herman voice for when Max (the alien) speaks colloquially. 

 

3) Explorers (1985)

Story: A young Ethan Hawke plays Ben Crandall, who is obsessed with aliens. Ben and his friends Wolfgang (River Phoenix) and Darren make a spaceship and go on an amazing adventure to another galaxy.
Reason for remake: Same as for Flight of the Navigator. 
Challenge: Keeping it down-to-earth. 
Recommendation: Make the kids two boys and one girl instead of three boys, but all just as friends - no pre-teen romance, please.

 

2) The Lawnmower Man (1992) 

Story: Pierce Brosnan's character turns a simple-minded gardener into a genius as part of a science/virtual reality experiment. The gardener becomes super smart and starts having his own ideas about how the research should continue.
Reason for remake: On paper, there is nothing wrong with this film. Everything is pretty solid, but now that it's 20 years old it could do with a facelift.
Challenge: Casting the right actor for the lead role.
Recommendation: Get Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead. He played mentally-impaired in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape' exquisitely, and he can do serious just as well (The Departed). Quentin Tarantino to direct. 

 

1) Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Story: A diplomat is nearly assassinated and ends up with a blod clot in his brain. In order to save him, a submarine with a crew is shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his blood stream.
Reason for remake: This film has incredible special effects for 1966, but imagine what they could do now! It is a dream for lovers of biology.
Challenge: Finding the right person for Raquel Welch's character. 
Recommendation: Make the crew male-to-female ratio more even. 

What movies would you love to see remade? 

Image links:
The Langoliers http://www.moviepostershop.com/the-langoliers-movie-poster-1995
Dreamscape http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dreamscapeposter.jpg
Flight of the Navigator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flightofnavigatorpost.jpg
Explorers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Explorersposter1985.jpg
Lawnmower Man http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lawnmower_Man.jpg
Fantastic Voyage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fantasticvoyageposter.jpg

In brief: Why to make New Year's resolutions

5 things to learn from the film Midnight in Paris

Have you seen Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris yet? If not, get seeing! It's an awesome film - here are five things that it highlighted for me. 

(Image - Wikipedia)

1) It's common to believe that you would've belonged better in another place and/or time

This is the whole premise of the film. The protagonist, played by Owen Wilson, idolises the idea of Paris in the 1920s. Another character dreams about the late 1800s. I've often imagined growing up in the 50s and 60s. I can't help but think how nice it would've been to live in a (somewhat) safer time, when mail came once a day rather than in a constant electronic flow. It's easy to look at the past and think that, but each year, month and day had challenges of their own. The moral of the story is 'although the past can be alluring, we must accept and live with what we have before us in the present.'

2) Sprinkle your life with whatever fuels your passion, no matter what era it's from

Following on from the previous point, although we should accept the present, there's no reason not to embrace the beauty of past. I love 1950s-style dresses and music from the 1920s - 80s. Many people buy items from vintage shops because they remind them of their grandparents' homes, or simply because they're unique items. Reproductions of paintings by artists from all eras adorn the walls of millions of people around the world. Mouth-watering recipes are passed on from generation to generation. These things make us happy! Keep them going!

My vintage cedar dining table - plenty of character and it came in one piece!

3) Do what you love, not what you think will pay the bills

In the film, the protagonist has an easy gig as a screenwriter for Hollywood. He's good at what he does but his dream is to write a novel. It'll be challenging, but he knows the emotional reward will trump his cushy salary. I could write a short story about this topic, but in a nutshell the important thing is, 'It's never too late.' 

4) Reading is truly a portal for feeding creativity

In 1920s Paris, Owen Wilson's character encounters Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and T. S. Eliot - writers whose works have inspired so many people. When we were young we read stories about caterpillars and wild beings that come out of the wallpaper. We moved on to drama, mystery and romance followed by stories of war, philosophy and history. Although the way sentences and words are put together may change over the years, the messages from good books continue to entertain, touch and inspire us. 
If reading has fallen off the radar for you, chip away at some of the titles on this list. 

Ernest Hemingway & F. Scott Fitzgerald (Image from Daily Mail)

5) Travel to the places you love

Paris is my favourite city in the world. I've been three times and the last time was for an entire month. Of course, before I went the first time I didn't know how much I'd love it, but there was a little voice inside me that urged me, "Go, Solange, go to Paris." Maybe it was my love for the French language? For croissants and pain au chocolat?
For some people it's the spirituality in India. For others, the creativity in New York. Find the place that does it for you - there's nothing like strolling down a street in a city that awakens every single one of your senses.

Copyright
All images appearing on this blog (solange.posterous.com) may not be reproduced, copied or manipulated without the written permission of Solange Francois. © 2011

Being a young child #lifelessons

Copyright
All images appearing on this blog (solange.posterous.com) may not be reproduced, copied or manipulated without the written permission of Solange Francois. © 2011 

Observe the world around you... #lifelessons

Compliment people #lifelessons

Life can only be understood backwards... #lifelessons

A guest philosopher for today's Life Lesson.