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Walker Hamilton
Walker Hamilton (born 1934 in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire; died February 1969) was a Scottish writer known for the 1968 novella '' All the Little Animals''. He was the son of a coal-miner who left school at fifteen to do National Service, which did not last long due to poor health. In 1960, he married Dorothy and moved to a cottage in Cornwall. He died of a heart attack nine years later. ''All the Little Animals'' is a dark and hard to categorise story about a mentally disabled 31-year-old man-child who runs away from his abusive stepfather and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a strange old man who buries roadkill he finds in the Cornish country lanes. Hamilton also wrote '' A Dragon's Life'' about an out-of-work actor on the run, searching for himself while wearing a dragon costume, published posthumously in 1970. The original edition's blurb announced that: "''A Dragon's Life'' is as unclassifiable a novel as was ''All the Little Animals'', and is likely to be as successfu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie (; sco, Airdrie; gd, An t-Àrd Ruigh) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft (130 m) above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow city centre. , the town had a population of around 37,130. Historically part of Lanarkshire, Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in what is commonly known as the Monklands, formerly a district. (population approximately 90,000 including outlying settlements). Name Airdrie's name first appeared in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland (Registrum Magni Sigilii Regum Scotorum) in 1373 as Ardre. By 1546 it had become Ardry and by 1587 it was known as Ardrie. In 1630 it finally appeared in the Register as Airdrie. Given the topography of the area, the most likely interpretation is that the name derives from the Gaelic ''An Àrd Ruigh'' meaning a level height or high pasture land. Another possibility is that it is from the Gaelic ''An Àrd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All The Little Animals
''All the Little Animals'' is a 1998 drama film directed and produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring Christian Bale and John Hurt. Based on the 1968 novella of the same name by Walker Hamilton, it was adapted for the screen by Eski Thomas. The film screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in the United States on 3 September 1999. Plot The story centers on an emotionally challenged man named Bobby (Christian Bale). He runs away from home in order to escape his abusive stepfather (Daniel Benzali), nicknamed "The Fat", who had killed Bobby's pet mouse and, as Bobby puts it, screamed at his mother until she died as a result. He finds himself in woodlands near Cornwall in England, eventually meeting an old man after being involved in a car accident (John Hurt). Mr. Summers, as the man calls himself, spends his time traveling and giving burials to animals that have been killed by cars, a task he refers to as "The Work". Bobby, also h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The length and nature of national service depends on the country in question. In some instances, national service is compulsory, and citizens living abroad can be called back to their country of origin to complete it. In other cases, national service is voluntary. Many young people spend one or more years in such programmes. Compulsory military service typically requires all citizens to enroll for one or two years, usually at age 18 (later for university-level students). Most conscripting countries conscript only men, but Norway, Sweden, Israel, Eritrea, Morocco and North Korea conscript both men and women. Voluntary national service may require only three months of basic military training. The US equivalent is Selective Service. In the Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, with the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land's End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of and an area of . The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city. Cornwall was formerly a Brythonic kingdom and subsequently a royal duchy. It is the cultural and ethnic origin of the Cornish dias ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roadkill
Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mitigated. History Essentially non-existent before the advent of mechanized transport, roadkill is associated with increasing automobile speed in the early 20th century. Naturalist Joseph Grinnell noted in 1920 that "this oadkillis a relatively new source of fatality; and if one were to estimate the entire mileage of such roads in the state alifornia the mortality must mount into the hundreds and perhaps thousands every 24 hours." In Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ... and North America, deer are the animal most lik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Dragon's Life
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, " a", and its variant " an", are indefinite articles. History The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also written 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which consisted entirely of consonants (for that reason, it is also called an abjad to distinguish it fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in the world". He possessed what was described as the "most distinctive voice in Britain". He's received numerous accolades and honours including the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award in 2012 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 for his services to drama. He came to prominence playing Richard Rich in the film '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966) and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for '' The Naked Civil Servant'' (1975). He played Caligula in the BBC TV series ''I, Claudius'' (1976). Hurt earned Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and Best Actor for ''The Elephant Man'' (1980). Other films include ''Alien'' (1979), '' Heaven's Gate'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. ''Forbes'' magazine ranked him as one of the highest-paid actors in 2014. Born in Wales to English parents, Bale had his breakthrough role at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's 1987 war film ''Empire of the Sun''. After more than a decade of performing in leading and supporting roles in films, he gained wider recognition for his portrayals of serial killer Patrick Bateman in the black comedy '' American Psycho'' (2000) and the titular role in the psychological thriller ''The Machinist'' (2004). In 2005, he played superhero Batman in ''Batman Begins'' and again in ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) and ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), garnering acclaim for his performance in the trilogy, which is one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE (born 26 July 1949) is a British film producer, founder and chairman of Recorded Picture Company. He produced Bernardo Bertolucci's ''The Last Emperor'', which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema. His father was director Ralph Thomas (director of many of the ''Doctor'' films), while his uncle Gerald Thomas directed all of the films in the ''Carry On'' franchise. Life and career Thomas was born in London, England into a filmmaking family with his father, Ralph Philip Thomas, and uncle, Gerald, both directors. His childhood ambition was to work in cinema. As soon as he left school he went to work in various positions, ending up in the cutting rooms working on films such as ''The Harder They Come'', '' Family Life (film)'' and ''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'', and worked through the ranks to become a film editor for Ken Loach on ''A Misfortune''. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Review Of Books
The ''Scottish Review of Books'' is a quarterly literary magazine published in Scotland. It was established in October 2004 with the support of the Scottish Arts Council. In 2009 it became a limited company with a board of directors, Scottish Review of Books Limited. It has published articles by many distinguished contributors and commentators. The ''Review'' has been highly successful since its launch and now has a circulation of around 320,000 copies per year. The magazine is inserted free of charge in '' The Herald'' newspaper and is also available by subscription in print or online and in schools, museums, libraries, book festivals and bookshops across Scotland. The tie-in with ''The Herald'' has been of considerable benefit in improving its reach; Carla Sassi of the University of Verona comments that "the ''Scottish Review of Books''... probably reaches a larger reading public than any specialised literary journal or magazine did in the past." According to the editor, Alan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1934 Births
Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people. * January 26 – A 10-year German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed by Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic. * January 30 ** In Nazi Germany, the political power of federal states such as Prussia is substantially abolished, by the "Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich" (''Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reiches''). ** Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, signs the Gold Reserve Act: all gold held in the Federal Reserve is to be surrendered to the United States Department of the Treasury; immediately following, the President raises the statutory gold price from US$20.67 per ounce to $35. * February 6 – F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1969 Deaths
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to London's Gatwick Airport, killing 50 of the 62 people on board and two of the home's occupants. * January 14 – An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' near Hawaii kills 27 and injures 314. * January 19 – End of the siege of the University of Tokyo, marking the beginning of the end for the 1968–69 Japanese university protests. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is sworn in as the 37th President of the United States. * January 22 – An assassination attempt is carried out on Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev by deserter Viktor Ilyin. One person is killed, several are injured. Brezhnev escaped unharmed. * January 27 ** Fourteen men, 9 of them Jews, are executed in Baghdad for spying for Israel. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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