Ataraxia

  A Work of Art by Anton Chekhov is one of The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov, which are included on The Bokklubben World Library’s Best 100 Books of All Time list, and they are ranked 127th on The Greatest Books of All Time site…you have thousands of reviews on magnum opera from the aforementioned and other web pages on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, where my macaws are the stars   10 out of 10   The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-short-stories-of-anton-chekhov-are.html is one of The Best 100 Books of All Time – I am curious to see what AI, or autocorrect until them will do with the verb – because we have ‘Stories’ it looks like plural, except this is just ‘one chef d’oeuvre’   This Work of Art is both thought provoking and jocular: “SASHA SMIRNOV, the only son of his mother, holding under his arm, something wrapped up in No. 223 of t...

  The Untouchables written by Oscar Fraley, Eliot Ness, directed by Brian de Palma has won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Sean Connery, and it is a wondrous motion picture – you find thousands of notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   9 out of 10   Let me put in here my conclusion: https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/01/confidence-man-making-of-donald-trump.html Eliot Ness fights Al Capone and wins, the mob boss is sent to jail for many years, I think it was Alcatraz, alas, another gangster has won, he is now the quintessential Godfather and controls much of the world   Kevin Costner is formidable as the hero, Eliot Ness, incorruptible, determined, brave, resilient, intelligent – he seems to have no chance, his men are killed, corruption is pervasive, and Al Capone appears to cont...

  Little Children written by Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, directed by the former was nominated in 2007 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Kate Winslet, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Jackie Earle Haley and for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay- it is a feature I liked, even seeing it for the second time, albeit it would only make it to my Top 500 or so, it is not on the say level with say Parasite…you find thousands of notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   8 out of 10   Kate Winslet https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-reader-by-david-hare-based-on-novel.html is excellent as Sarah Pierce, the main character of Little Children, she has won The Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Reader, and has an immense career, I think she moved into directing, something with her daughte...

  62 out of 100 for Mitica Popescu | realini

  The Riddle of Poetry by Jorge Luis Borges, or Borges: el misterio esencial: Conversaciones en universidades de los Estados Unidos – Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges is included on The Bokklubben World Library’s Best 100 Books of All Time, while on The Greatest Books of All Time site you find it in 45 th place – there are thousands of reviews on magnum opera from the aforementioned and other web pages on my blog   https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   9 out of 10   Jorge Luis Borges https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-garden-of-forking-paths-by-jorge.html is one of the greatest writers of all time, although he is a bit cryptic, too sophisticated for me - however, The Riddle of Poetry is much more accessible, for these are lectures in which he explains…The Riddle of Poetry   Nevertheless, he starts with modesty, by saying that he does not possess the secret, does not know what the...

  Temporary Kings by Anthony Powell is the eleventh volume of the chef d’oeuvre A Dance To The Music of Time, which is included on some of the most prestigious (perhaps all of them) lists: The All-TIME 100 Best Novels, The Modern Library’s Best 100 Novels, and it is ranked 329 th on the Greatest Books of All Time site, most important for this space, it is one of my Top 50 Favorites…you have thousands of reviews of magnum opera from the aforementioned and other lists on my blog   https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, where my macaws are the stars   10 out of 10   I am coming to the end of the masterpiece https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/05/books-do-furnish-room-by-anthony-powell.html A Dance To The Music of Time, Temporary Kings is the one before last, and although I am sorry to end this delightful ride, for the second time, there is always a t...

  The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov are included on The Bokklubben World Library’s Best 100 Books of All Time list, and they are ranked 127th on The Greatest Books of All Time site…you have thousands of reviews on magnum opera from the aforementioned and other web pages on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, where my macaws are the stars   10 out of 10   The Stories of Anton Chekhov https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/05/a-country-cottage-by-anton-chekhov.html are included among The Best 100 Books of All Time in one important version, while they sit at 127 on The Greatest Books of All Time site, and indeed, I have started listening to some of them again, and they are wondrous   One of the latest is called The Illegitimate, albeit I did not find it listed as such, there is a theatrical adaptation, so the original might be under a different name, notwithstanding that, it is about an…...

  The Jubilee by Anton Chekhov – The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov are included on The Bokklubben World Library’s Best 100 Books of All Time list, and they are ranked 127th on The Greatest Books of All Time site…you have thousands of reviews on magnum opera from the aforementioned and other web pages on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   8 out of 10   Anton Chekhov https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-marriage-proposal-by-anton-chekhov.html is one of my favorite authors, I like his plays and the short stories, indeed, his Collection of Short Stories are included on The 100 Best Books of All Time list, and they are ranked 127 th on the Greatest Books of All Time site   The humor in Jubilee is provided by this woman who intrudes upon The Jubilee: this bank is celebrating, when this character walks in, asking for money, she feels it is a legitimate request, albeit they keep t...

  Swan Song by Anton Chekhov – The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov are included on The Bokklubben World Library’s Best 100 Books of All Time list, and they are ranked 127 th on The Greatest Books of All Time site…you have thousands of reviews on magnum opera from the apportioned and other web pages on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   10 out of 10   Kingsley Amis https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-letters-of-kingsley-amis-edited-by.html my absolute favorite novelist wrote about the ‘Checkoff formula: you take a lot of characters, all miserable because of something they won't do, and let them talk without influencing each other for three acts, and at the last moment you introduce some arbitrary calamity, or some proposed change like a return to Petrograd or a holiday in the Cry-mere, which you know won't make any difference to any o...

  Being There by Jerzy Kosinski   What an intriguing and fascinating book!  Considering that I have seen the film based on the novel, with an excellent Peter Sellers in the leading role, I knew what to expect. Up to a point. There are a few angles or perspectives that can affect your perception of this story. The easiest one would be to just dismiss it as a simple, impossible fantasy that sends such a primitive, obvious message, that you can just forget about it. Stupid people manage to get ahead and our leaders are troglodytes that speak in tongues. Actually, perhaps I should stop here and take this way out and cross out this short saga - there's another book finished for you I am not going do to that, for I am still thinking about the other angles. Another option that I hate, would be preferred by my buddies from the sauna. They are thrilled by the conspiracy theories and from one stage on, the plot will offer them ammunition. - you see, this is how they promote me...

  The Snow Goose: A Story of Dunkirk by Paul Gallico 11 out of 10 Notwithstanding the heartbreaking, soul searching, perhaps even serious pain inflicted by this mesmerizing book, it is one Magnum opus that one must not miss – indeed, you can find it on the internet as read by one of the Titans of the Arts, glorious Sir Laurence Olivier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N47Neoo8P3o – or you can rent it from one of the best libraries in the world, seeing as you do not even have to travel anywhere but to your very own living room, balcony or wherever you want to read it, because it is online - https://archive.org/ - and this extraordinary, very short tale that one can finish in about one hour is included among the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction as compiled by The Guardian…I cried at the end. The setting is the Essex coast, near an oyster fishing hamlet, where a man with a disability – though when we say that we tend...

  The Robot Who Looked Like Me by Robert Sheckley – adapted as Robots was aired last night, and here is my view of it – in a nutshell, it is quite forgettable…you find thousands of notes on better films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other web pages on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, where my macaws run the show   7 out of 10   Robots have been a major theme for Science Fiction https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/08/i-robot-by-isaac-asimov-adapted-for-bbc.html and now that Artificial Intelligence has made astounding progress we need to think harder about what will happen with humanity, some say that we are doomed, Robots will take over   The motion picture that I have seen last night (more or less, it is not good enough for maximum concentration) has a more positive outlook, indeed, comical at times, but...

  Wyatt Earp written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan was not appreciated by the critics, the Metascore is a feeble 47 out of 100, nevertheless, I enjoyed (most of) it and here is my take – before that, let me invite you to check my blog, where you find thousands of notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other sites https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   8 out of 10   Kevin Costner https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/05/note-on-dances-with-wolves.html has the leading role of Wyatt Earp, and he is very good, though not on the same level we have admired in Dances With Wolves…I disagree though with the poor ratings, even if this is not a magnum opus, it is a good film   One of the greatest thespians ever, Gene Hackman, winner of two Academy Awards, for The French Connection and Unforgiven, plays Earp senior, a very severe father – near...

  The Trial by Franz Kafka has climbed one place since last July (2025) and it is now 20 th on The Greatest Books of All time site - we have the term Kafkaesque from this classic, indeed, we have another two magnum opera, The Castle and The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, included on the Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian: Verdensbiblioteket) list of The Best 100 Books of All Time – more than five thousand reviews from both lists, and others, are posted on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, where the macaws run the show Kafkaesque has become Trumpian today? I wonder…   9 out of 10   I have posted a review of The Trial https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-trial-by-franz-kafka-is-in-21st.html and more importantly, I think I have lived in a ‘Kafkaesque’ universe, seeing that Ceausescu was the ruler in these parts until 1989, and even after his demise, it was still an absurd environm...