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Elephants In The Room
The expression "the elephant in the room" (or "the elephant in the living room") is a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or enormous topic, question, or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one mentions or wants to discuss because it makes at least some of them uncomfortable and is personally, socially, or politically embarrassing, controversial, inflammatory, or dangerous. The metaphorical elephant represents an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about. It is based on the idea and thought that something as conspicuous as an elephant can appear to be overlooked in codified social interactions and that the sociology and psychology of repression also operates on the macro scale. Various languages around the world have words that describe similar concepts. Origins In 1814, Ivan Krylov (17691844), poet and fabulist, wrote a fable entitled "The Inquisitive Man", which tells of a man who goes to a mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Rose
Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with shows such as ''Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt'' (1931), ''Jumbo'' (1935), '' Billy Rose's Aquacade'' (1937), and '' Carmen Jones'' (1943). As a lyricist, he is credited with many songs, notably " Don't Bring Lulu" (1925), " Tonight You Belong To Me" (1926), " Me and My Shadow" (1927), "More Than You Know" (1929), " Without a Song" (1929), " It Happened in Monterrey" (1930), and "It's Only a Paper Moon" (1933). Despite his accomplishments, Rose may be best known today as the husband of comedian and singer Fanny Brice (1891–1951). Life and work Rose was born to a Jewish family in New York City. He attended Public School 44, where he was the 50-yard dash champion. While in high school, Billy studied shorthand under John Robert Greg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. He made his feature-length directorial debut film ''Mala Noche'' (1985). He earned acclaim for a string of independent films such as the crime drama ''Drugstore Cowboy'' (1989), the adventure film ''My Own Private Idaho'' (1991), and the black comedy ''To Die For'' (1995). He earned Academy Award for Best Director nominations for the drama ''Good Will Hunting'' (1997), and the biographical film ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (2008), both of which also received Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture nominations. Van Sant directed the psychological drama ''Elephant (2003 film), Elephant'' (2003), a film based on the Columbine High School massac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephant (1989 Film)
''Elephant'' is a 1989 British short film directed by Alan Clarke and produced by Danny Boyle. The film is set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and its title comes from Bernard MacLaverty's description of the conflict as " the elephant in our living room" — a reference to the collective denial of the underlying social problems of Northern Ireland. Produced by BBC Northern Ireland, it first screened on BBC2 in 1989. The film was first conceived by Boyle, who was working as a producer for BBC Northern Ireland at the time. The film, which contains very little dialogue, depicts eighteen murders and is partly based on actual events drawn from police reports at the time. It is shot with 16mm film with much of it filmed using a steadicam and features a series of tracking shots, a technique the director used regularly. The grainy 16mm film, together with the lack of dialogue, plot, narrative and music, give the film a cold, observational documentary feel. Nothing is learnt abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Clarke
Alan John Clarke (28 October 1935 – 24 July 1990) was an English television and film director, producer and writer. Life and career Clarke was born on 28 October 1935, in Wallasey. Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands ''The Wednesday Play'' and ''Play for Today''. His subject matter tended towards social realism, with deprived or oppressed communities as a frequent setting. As Dave Rolinson's book details, between 1962 and 1966 Clarke directed several plays at The Questors Theatre in Ealing, London. Between 1967 and 1969, he directed various ITV productions including plays by Alun Owen (''Shelter'', ''George's Room'', ''Stella'', ''Thief'', ''Gareth''), Edna O'Brien (''Which of These Two Ladies Is He Married To?'' and ''Nothing's Ever Over'') and Roy Minton (''The Gentleman Caller'', '' Goodnight Albert'', '' Stand By Your Screen''). He also worked on the series '' The Informer'', ''The Gold Robbers'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.Gerald O'Collins, O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites#Churches, ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and Eparchy, eparchies List of Catholic dioceses (structured view), around the world, each overseen by one or more Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the Papal supremacy, chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedro Rubiano Sáenz
Pedro Rubiano Sáenz (; 13 September 1932 – 15 April 2024) was a Colombian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Bogotá from 1995 to 2010. He was Bishop of Cúcuta from 1972 to 1983, and Archbishop of Cali from 1985 to 1994 after two years as coadjutor there. Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 2001. Biography Early life and ordination Pedro Rubiano Sáenz was born in Cartago, Colombia, on 13 September 1933, the fourth of six sons born to Pedro Rubiano and Tulia Sáenz. He attended the Colegio de María Auxiliadora and the Colegio Ramírez, then the Diocesan College of Santa Teresita in the Bitaco neighborhood, and then at the minor seminaries of Cali and Popayán. He studied at the seminary in Popayán and the Université Laval in Quebec, where he earned his licentiate in sacred theology. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Cali on 8 July 1956 from Bishop Julio Caicedo y Téllez. He then studied at Catholic University in Washington and at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernesto Samper
Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He is a lawyer, economist, academic and politician. He was involved in the 8000 process scandal, which takes its name from the folio number assigned to it by the chief prosecutor's office. The prosecutor charged that money from the Cali Cartel was funneled into Samper's presidential campaign to gain his success in what would have been a very close race after he failed to win by a majority during the first round (Colombia has 2 rounds of elections, unless the first round yields a majority winner). The Colombian Chamber of Representatives acquitted Samper by a vote of 111 to 43, concluding the process. Genealogy Samper is related to several other Colombians of note. One of his great great grandfathers, Teodoro Valenzuela Sarmiento, was the nephew of the former president and hero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8000 Process
The Process 8000 () is the unofficial name given to the corruption scandal surrounding accusations that Colombian Liberal Party candidate Ernesto Samper's 1994 campaign for President of Colombia was partially funded by drug money. The name came from the case number issued by the Office of the Attorney General for their investigation into the allegations. The investigation formally ended in the mid-1990s. The investigation found several of Samper's close associates to be guilty, although Samper himself was absolved of any wrongdoing. Timeline June 1994 *15 June: Defeated Conservative Party candidate Andrés Pastrana Arango says he has received tape recordings from an unnamed man during a visit to Cali. These tapes, nicknamed the "narco-cassettes", contain hours of discussions between members of the Colombian Liberal Party and a man speaking on behalf of the Cali Cartel. *19 June: The second half of the 1994 Colombian presidential election is held. *24 June: The Office of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seeing Pink Elephants
"Seeing pink elephants" is a euphemism for hallucinations caused by delirium tremens or alcoholic hallucinosis, especially the former. The term dates back to at least the early 20th century, emerging from earlier idioms about seeing snakes and other creatures. An alcoholic character in Jack London's 1913 novel ''John Barleycorn'' makes reference to the hallucination of "blue mice and pink elephants" while describing the two different types of men that consume alcohol excessively. Another notable instance of the appearance of pink elephants in popular culture is the " Pink Elephants on Parade" section of the 1941 Walt Disney animated film ''Dumbo''. Pink elephants actually exist in nature. Although they are extremely rare, albino elephants can appear to be pink as well as white. History of the euphemism For many decades before "pink elephant" became the standard drunken hallucination, people were known to "see snakes" or "see snakes in their boots." Beginning in about 1889, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''.Taboo. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2012 Such prohibitions are present in virtually all societies. Taboos may be prohibited explicitly, for example within a legal system or religion, or implicitly, for example by social norms or conventions followed by a particular culture or organization. Taboos are often meant to protect the individual, but there are other reasons for their development. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Taboos can help use a resource more efficiently, but when applied to only a subsection of the community they can also serve to suppress said subsection of the community. A taboo acknowledged by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
