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The Saragossa Manuscript

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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: Film

Published: 16 February 2023

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I don't know how I've never heard of this.

Absolutely bloody brilliant, 1965 Black & White Polish movie about...

Well, I don't want to spoil it, but it's an Arabian Nights of sorts, and as I'm going to briefly describe it (Spoilers below - don't do the read more unless you've first watched it...) 

 

Read more: The Saragossa Manuscript

The Seven Dwarves...

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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: Blog

Published: 13 February 2023

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So, apparently, as the story goes, at the original screening of "Snow White & The Seven Dwarves" in 1937 Walt Disney hired a bunch of real-life dwarves, put them in costumes and exhibited them above the Marquis on a little balcony, by way of drumming up business. Provided with free food and wine, they did what dwarves are expected to do, they stripped off their costumes (too hot!!) and got naked and quarrelsome with the audience and passers-by.

Now, I'd read this on reddit, and, rather thrilled at this piece of history trivia thought I'd do a bit of digging before sharing it with you.

There is something inherently comic and salacious about the thought of dwarves getting rowdy and naked.

And - you know it, the most trivial of research seems to disprove it, apparently it was the premier of Pinocchio, and there were 11 midgets (not dwarves), and, no, they just got hot, took off their costumes and went inside into the shade to play cards and dice and lie down.

Which kind of saddens me, it's one of those rare instances where the truth is far more boring than fiction, usually it's quite the other way around...

Below the Surface

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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: Link of the day

Published: 13 February 2023

Hits: 847

This is an intriguing site. While digging the tunnels for the Amsterdam subway, Archaeologists categorized some 20,000+ objects going back 12, 000 years.

Find them here: Link: https://belowthesurface.amsterdam/en/vondsten

You scroll endlessly through them, click on an object to learn more about it, where it was found, what it was used for.

Probably the best new website I've discovered this year.