Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

Destination: Belgium

May 15, 2020

Established: Treaty of Verdun – August 843, Republic – 22 September 1792
Population: 11,515,793 (2019)
Religion: 62.8%% Christianity, 29.3% No religion, 6.8% Islam
Language: Dutch, French, German
Capital: Brussels
Order of Visit: Eleventh
First Visit: 04 May 2006
Last Visit: 23 June 2009
Duration: 9 Days
Highlights: Atomium, Belgium waffles, Bruges Market Square, Chocó-Story Museum, Bruges Canal, Our Lady’s Cathedral, Grote Market, Steen Castle, Antwerp Diamond Museum, Fort Breendonk, Rubens House
Cities: Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels
Belgium Journal Entry

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Destination: France

May 13, 2020

Established: Treaty of Verdun – August 843, Republic – 22 September 1792
Population: 67,076,000 (2020 Estimate)
Religion: 57.5% Roman Catholic, 35% Non-religious, 3.5% other faiths, 3% Protestant
Language: French
Capital: Paris
Order of Visit: Tenth
First Visit: 24 April 2006
Last Visit: 8 July 2006
Duration: 18 Days
Highlights: Chateau De Versailles, Climbing the Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, Moulin Rouge, The Louvre, Arc de Triumph, Auguste Rodin’s House, Sacre Coeur Monument, Night bike ride along the Seine River, Promenade des Anglais, Beaches at Cannes, The Palace of the Popes (Avignon)
Cities: Avignon, Cannes, Paris, Nice
Frances Journal Entry

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France
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 043 – To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

May 11, 2020

Ranked 043 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch), Mary Badham (Scout Finch), Phillip Alford (Jem Finch), John Megna (Charles Baker “Dill” Harris), Frank Overton (Sheriff Heck Tate), Rosemary Murphy (Miss Maudie Atkinson), Ruth White (Mrs Dubose), Brock Peters (Tom Robinson), Estelle Evans (Calpurnia), Paul Fix (Judge John Taylor), Collin Wilcox (Mayella Ewell), James Anderson (Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell), Robert Duvall (Arthur “Boo” Radley)
Director: Robert Mulligan
My rating: 9.5 / 10

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Best Actor, Brock Peters, Collin Wilcox, Estelle Evans, Frank Overton, Gregory Peck, James Anderson, John Megna, Mary Badham, Paul Fix, Phillip Alford, Robert Duvall, Robert Mulligan, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, To Kill a Mockingbird, Top 100 Movie Review
Destination: Swaziland (now Eswatini)

May 11, 2020

Established: Kingdom of Eswatini 1968
Population: 1,093,238 (census 2017)
Religion: Christianity (83%), African Traditional Religions (15%)
Language: Swazi, English
Capital: Mbabane
Order of Visit: Ninth
First Visit: 8 April 2006
Last Visit: 8 April 2006
Duration: 1 Day
Must Do: Enjoy the stunning countryside
Cities: None
Swaziland Journal Entry

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Eswatini, Swaziland
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 044 – An American in Paris (1951)

May 10, 2020

Ranked 044 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: Gene Kelly (Jerry Mulligan), Leslie Caron (Lise Bouvier), Oscar Levant (Adam Cook), Georges Guétary (Henri Baurel), Nina Foch (Milo Roberts)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
My rating: 6.5 / 10

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An American in Paris, Best Picture, Gene Kelly, Georges Guétary, Leslie Caron, Nina Foch, Oscar Levant, Top 100, Top 100 Movie Review, Vincente Minnelli
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 045 – The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

May 9, 2020

Ranked 045 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: Dana Andrews (Captain Fred Derry), Fredric March (Platoon Sergeant Al Stephenson), Harold Russell (Petty Officer 2nd Class Homer Parrish), Myrna Loy (Milly Stephenson), Teresa Wright (Peggy Stephenson), Virginia Mayo (Marie Derry), Cathy O’Donnell (Wilma Cameron), Hoagy Carmichael (Uncle Butch Engle)
Director: William Wyler
My rating: 8.0 / 10

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Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, Cathy O’Donnell, Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Harold Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, The Best Years of Our Lives, Top 100 Movie Review, Virginia Mayo, William Wyler
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 046 – My Fair Lady (1964)

May 7, 2020

Ranked 046 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Doolittle), Rex Harrison (Professor Henry Higgins), Stanley Holloway (Alfred P. Doolittle), Wilfrid Hyde-White (Colonel Hugh Pickering), Gladys Cooper (Mrs. Higgins), Jeremy Brett (Freddy Eynsford-Hill)
Director: George Cukor
My rating: 9.5 / 10

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Audrey Hepburn, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, George Cukor, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Top 100 Movie Review, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 047 – A Clockwork Orange (1971)

May 5, 2020

Ranked 047 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: Malcolm McDowell (Alex DeLarge), Warren Clarke (Dim), James Marcus (Georgie), Michael Bates (Chief Guard Barnes), Patrick Magee (Mr Frank Alexander), Adrienne Corri (Mrs Mary Alexander), Carl Duering (Dr Brodsky), Paul Farrell (Vagrant), Clive Francis (Joe the Lodger), Michael Gover (Prison Governor), Miriam Karlin (Cat-lady)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
My rating: 8.5 / 10

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A Clockwork Orange, Adrienne Corri, Carl Duering, Clive Francis, James Marcus, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Bates, Michael Gover, Miriam Karlin, Patrick Magee, Paul Farrell, Stanley Kubrick, Top 100 Movie Review, Warren Clarke
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 048 – Doctor Zhivago (1965)

May 3, 2020

Ranked 048 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: Omar Sharif (Dr. Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago), Julie Christie (Lara Antipova), Geraldine Chaplin (Tonya Gromeko), Rod Steiger (Victor Ippolitovich Komarovsky), Alec Guinness (Lieutenant General Yevgraf Andreyevich Zhivago), Tom Courtenay (Pasha Antipov / Strelnikov), Siobhán McKenna (Anna Gromeko), Ralph Richardson (Alexander Gromeko), Rita Tushingham (Tanya Komarova)
Director: David Lean
My rating: 9.0 / 10

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Alec Guinness, Best Picture, David Lean, Doctor Zhivago, Geraldine Chaplin, Julie Christie, Omar Sharif, Ralph Richardson, Rita Tushingham, Rod Steiger, Siobhán McKenna, Tom Courtenay, Top 100 Movie Review
Top 100 Movie Review: No. 049 – The Searchers (1956)

May 3, 2020

Ranked 049 on the IMDb Top 100 Movie List (as at May 2017). Watched movie during May 2020.

Cast: John Wayne (Ethan Edwards), Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Pawley), Ward Bond (Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton), Natalie Wood (Debbie Edwards), John Qualen (Lars Jorgensen), Henry Brandon (Scar), Hank Worden (Mose Harper), Vera Miles (Laurie Jorgensen)
Director: John Ford
My rating: 7.5 / 10

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Hank Worden, Henry Brandon, Jeffrey Hunter, John Ford, John Qualen, John Wayne, Natalie Wood, The Searchers, Top 100 Movie Review, Vera Miles, Ward Bond