Finding a William Shakespeare portrait

Believed to be the only portrait of William Shakespeare (1564-1616,) the image of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon will be displayed for several months in London. England’s most celebrated playwright is represented as a handsome well-dressed wealthy youngish gentleman with pink cheeks, light red-brown beard, and smooth wrinkleless skin.

It’s just the right depiction of the prodigious poet credited for writing the most exquisite and inspiring words of the English language. The alleged portrait thought to have been done almost 400 years ago belongs to the Cobbes family who for years didn’t know of the gentleman’s identity until it was authenticated after three years of rigorous research.

Dated to be 1610 when the portrait was made, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old at that time. His exceptional literary works included 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. (Photo Credit Clyde Fitch Report/ Shakespeare Birthplace Trust) =0=

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Great Britain’s 13-year old boy-dad

Among the most alarming images I have seen lately is the picture of a four-foot tall, baby-faced Alfie Patten, the British boy who at 13 fathered a newborn girl. Sadly, little can be said, but much has to be done, about the immature kid and his infant whose heart-breaking photo appeared in the front page of the The Sun. The young mom is Alfie’s 15 year-old girlfriend Chantelle Steadman.

“It’s an indication that we’ve lost our way, that people don’t know the difference between right and wrong,” he said of Alfie. ‘The plain fact is society can’t proceed on this basis. I think this is an indication of broken Britain,'” said Sir Bernard Ingham, Former Press Secretary of Margaret Thatcher. San Francisco Chronicle/AP (02/16/09, Katz, G)

In another vein, in California, USA, Nadya Suleman, a 33-year old, jobless woman who has been battling emotional instability gave birth to octuplets (8 babies) by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) done a fertility MD against the standard of medical practice. Before the birth of her 8 babies, Nadya who shares a 3 bedroom home with her financially bankrupt parents has 6 children from previous assisted pregnancies.

It’s debated how the unmarried woman who lives on welfare will be able to take care of her 14 children. The hospital bills she has incurred are beyond the roof. With meager sense of accountability, she has hired a PR person to handle her book deals, TV interviews, and appeals for donations to keep her kids.

Great Britain suffers from inordinately high rate of teen pregnancies, petty thievery, alcoholism, and rampant street crimes among teenagers. America has problems which mirror these problems as well. As human beings, we think inwardly and ask, “Why? What has gone wrong in our world?” (Photo Credit: Stringer/ AFP/ Getty Images/ SFC)=0=

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The Icarian Dream of Flight Which Makes Daedalus Proud

Unlike Icarus who had his wings melted for coming too close to Helios (sun,), plunging him to his death at sea, Switzerland’s Yves Rossy flew like a proud visitor from space, making us feel the ill-fated son of Daedalus in his escape from Crete, didn’t “drown” after all in the open waters.

The daring modern flier glided high and soared in the air to simulate sparrows and seagulls in flight— a symbolic return of Icarus and his proverbial wings. The state-of-the-art jet-propelled contraption was more sophisticated than the ruffled feathers welded on Icarus’ arms by his father and the flying machines conceived by Leonardo Da Vince in his drawings. Rossy was successful in traveling over hills and plains, a 22-mile flight from Calais, France to Dover England on September 25, 2005. Photo Credit: AP;AnjaNiedringhaus=0=

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
by Peter Breugehl (1558)

Amidst complacency and denial, terror persists, USA & the world still on the edge

Two days before the 7th year after 911, a bipartisan report suggests that the United States is still dangerously at risk of being attacked by weapons of mass destruction (WMB’s.) Democrats critical of Pres. George W. Bush are quick to highlight the dangers. And they don’t leave the psyche of Americans traumatized by the randomness of the attack.

“The report and supporting studies describe the failure of international cooperation to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, which they call a major problem. Many countries continue to ignore a United Nations mandate to prevent the spread of weapons; the ability of many countries to monitor potential bioterrorism is “essentially nonexistent,” and dangerous chemical weapons stockpiles remain in some countries, including Russia and Libya, the report said.” AP (09/09/08, BlackledgeB; SullivanE.)

In spite of moves to make the homeland secure, the nature of terrorism makes it hard to wipe out the threats. This worry is part of the legacy of 911 when the rules of engagement of war have been defined by a small group of extremists who are bent to make America and the rest of the civilized world accede to Al Qaeda’s and other Islamic toxic ideology of hate.

Bringing America down has serious implications in emerging and poor countries like the Philippines whose economies will further suffer in the midst of a threat of war, worldwide recession, dwindling resources, and exploding population. Though Pres. Bush must be credited for foiling a number of plots and in improving security during his administration, many don’t look at it this way. It is hard to see success in prevention that has an astronomical price tag.

The cost of underwriting a protective shield for Americans and the world is causing a toll on the US economy. Only when another attack as spectacular and hideous as 911 will Americans, (especially the cynical and complacent) will realize that the world they know has been turned upside down by a few rogues who wait for the singular chance to do harm and damage. Terror resonates in 911 and the attacks in Madrid, London, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Nairobi, Bali, Manila and other cities worldwide. As security experts experts have said, it’s not a question of if that another attack will be waged, but when. (Photo Credits: AP/TayloC;bp.blogspot)=0=