The inspiration for this summer’s sci-fi blockbuster, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, goes back to a graphic novel from director Luc Besson’s childhood. The 58-year-old wanted to turn Valerian and Laureline, originally published in 1967, into a film as early as when he was directing the much-lauded film The Fifth Element. The seminal graphic novel is also rumored to have influenced George Lucas’ Star Wars.
Trump and Putin Held Undisclosed Meeting at G-20
It was off the record. The White House has now confirmed that President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a previously undisclosed second conversation at the G-20 summit earlier this month, holding a private discussion out of earshot of other leaders during a dinner event.
FORGET WARREN BUFFETT — THIS MILLENNIAL COULD BE THE NEXT GREAT INVESTOR
Alexis Assadi “semi-retired” at the ripe age of 28. But he’s no billionaire entrepreneur, nor the son of one. He’s an investor who purchased his first stock at 19: $500 worth of Exxon Mobil for $72.39 per share. He gradually built a portfolio of income-producing assets during college and his first couple of jobs until his passive-investment income eventually exceeded his living expenses, enabling him to become financially free by his mid-twenties — or, as the title of his book puts it, Rich at 26.
Who gave us hell, heaven, purgatory?
"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."
-- Dante Alighiere
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Is there really a hell, heaven and purgatory litterally?
Religion tells us they exist.
Many independent thinkers and philosophers believe they don't exist literally.
One of them is lawyer-philosopher Ernie J. Dayot of Dingle, Iloilo who exhorted this writer to read more about Italian poet Dante Alighiere or simply called "Dante."
37 YEARS BEHIND BARS: MY LIFE AS A BRAZILIAN JAILBIRD
I entered prison in 1976. I was 17 and I saw a lot of bad things, like death. My God, it was awful. It was a time of dictatorship in Brazil. Everyone was subject to repression. I was sent to prison just because I was on the street at night. There was a curfew. Several times I was tortured by soldiers. What could I do? Talk to who? At that time, we had no human rights. The killing of thousands of prisoners was common inside the jails. Sometimes, in the prison I was in, 20 to 30 prisoners died in a single day. I could not take it anymore. When my family went there, I said, “Get me out of here, for the love of God. I am desperate.”
THE HISTORY OF AMERICA TOLD THROUGH ONE CITY’S STREET CAVES
There’s something inherently transporting about swing dancing, which manages to feel both quaint and modernly accessible no matter the port or town. But pair a date night with a stage already steeped in a twisting and ornate history, and the time-traveling effect becomes complete.
That’s the magical feeling of the Wabasha Street Caves, an eclectic Minnesota event hall built from the sandstone cliffs on the shore of the Mississippi River, right across from downtown St. Paul and near Minneapolis. Each Thursday evening, dozens — sometimes hundreds, employees say — of locals and travelers gather for a night of swing lessons and dancing.
I WORK AT THE HEZBOLLAH MUSEUM OF RESISTANCE
This landmark is where Hezbollah first launched its resistance against Israel in 1985. Nobody lived here before; it was just an area for planting. It occupies 5,000 square meters and includes the captured remains of Israeli tanks and helicopters, cluster bombs that were dropped during the 2006 war, and a tunnel that was used as a safe place during 15 years of conflict.