Leo Tolstoy or Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer widely regarded as among the greatest of novelists. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina represent in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes, the peak of realist fiction. Tolstoy's further talents as essayist, dramatist, and educational reformer made him the most influential member of the aristocratic Tolstoy family. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stage name for the legendary Punk rock performance artist, ultradegenerate gg allin groupie, hedonistic essayist, and Rollerderby editor Lisa Carver.

1) Phenomenal book and documentary about Jaime Escalante and his success in turning a class of 18 barrio students struggling with basic math from East L.A. in the poor public school of Garfield High into math enthusiasts who would go on to pass the AP Calculus Exam.
2) To give a good speech or lecture.
3) To assume a sexual position.

Albert Camus was a 20th century french essayist and novelist. He was born in Algeria and studied philosophy at university then embarking on a journalistic career before starting to write.

His novels were concerned with deeply philosophic problems and curiosities. He is often referred to as the "godfather of existentialism", there is a lot of truth in this as he and Sartre were he pioneers of the revised investigation into phenomolical ontology (existence as it appears to humans).

He never referred to his own work as existential which although naturally a tad absurd helps to elucidate his isolation from the existentialist crowd such as Sartre. He never seemed committed or asssured of one theory but instead was interested in experimenting and disseccting the world philosophically as he saw it.

His huge influence also spread to the theatre through his concept of the "absurd" as outlined in his masterwork, "the myth of sysiphus" which starts with the preposition that as humans we live in a cold, non-responsive mateial world devoid of meaning, and since he was an atheist no leap of faith or god could provide consolation. From this thought he then considered suicide as a possible solution but instead wished to design a philosophy for existing in such an absurd and cruel world and therefore giving it meaning. His struggle with suicide, or arguable nihilistic thoughts, emanated throughout this work as the notion of solipsism (believing you are the only conscious being in...

Noun - Marthakay is the psuedonym for an Upper South journalist, photographer and researcher. Born Feb. 11, 1958. A pundit on popular culture relating to the baby boomer generation and a social illuminatrix helping those of that age to decipher the way that current popular culture affects them and their offspring, co-workers and people unlike themselves.

City of approximately 146,000 residents, and counting. Located in the center of Orange County. Close to almost everything. 30-minute drive or less to Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Disneyland, and San Juan Capistrano-San Clemente. 45 minutes from downtown L.A. in good traffic; approximately double that in bad. 90 minutes or less from San Diego.
America's most successful master-planned community. City is comprised of "villages," which are residential areas with common architectural themes, as well as commercial and industrial areas. Irvine Company, which still owns most of the land in the city, likes to say that villages were meant to be "jewels" and University of California, Irvine (UCI) the "pendant"; however, in "Where We Are Now: Notes from Los Angeles," essayist/L.A. Times commentator D.J. Waldie states that villages were also meant to dilute residents' political power and allow the Irvine Company to do as it pleased, "with the compliant oversight of County government." This attempt backfired in 1971, when residents revolted by incorporating the city and taking control of its future. Irvine development now much slower than 35 years ago, under "Master Plan."
Middle to upper-middle class. Excellent public schools, thanks in part to local charitable foundation. City school district receives lowest per-capita funding of any district in California, but donation offset allows schools to maintain extensive art, music, science, and athletics programs. Dedicated a...

One of the most famous opera divas of all times, Malibran was born in Paris, France (March 24, 1808) as María Felicitas (Francesca) García into a famous Spanish musical family. She was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28 in Manchester, UK (September 23, 1836).

Contemporary accounts of her voice describe the range, power and flexibility as extraordinary. She had a strong, beautiful soprano although she also sang as a mezzo-soprano and contralto due to her outstanding talent and perfectly trained vocal.

Her father, Manuel García, was a celebrated tenor much admired by Rossini, having created the role of Count Almaviva in his The Barber of Seville. In addition to being a prolific composer, Garcia was a vocal instructor who developed a school of thought in his field that had an immense impact. (He recommended that singers stand erect and with their hands crossed behind their backs so as to "develop the chest and project their voice effectively.") Maria was the guinea pig for his experiments. He was inflexible and tyrannical, and the lessons he gave his daughter were reduced to constant quarrels between two powerful egos.

According to one anecdote, composer Ferdinando Paer and a friend happened to pass by the window of the Garcia home in Paris one day. Paer's friend was astounded to hear screams emanating from the window. The composer reassured him: "Oh, don't worry about that. Garcia is beating...