Film is based on the period when Russia was under control of the Golden Horde. Ryazan knight Evpaty Kolovrat is the leader of the squad, which decides to fight back Batu Khan, who divided Russia.
Everyone is aware of the nineteenth-century Irish potato famine, but fungal diseases of many other crops have had similarly apocalyptic consequences. Today, coffee, cacao, and rubber are threatened by fungi throughout the tropics. Indeed, fungi have carved their way through the ages, attacking every plant that we cultivate, constantly exploiting new hosts. In The Triumph of the Fungi, Nicholas Money offers an intimate picture of these pernicious microbes, the scientists who have sought to control them, and the people directly impacted by the loss of forest trees and cash crops. Even with the development of fungicides and other scientific breakthroughs, fungi continue to be unstoppable – this is the story of their triumph. (amazon)
The stories range from the true story of Johnny Appleseed to Pollan’s first-hand research with sophisticated marijuana hybrids in Amsterdam to the paradigm-shifting possibilities of genetically engineered potatoes. Pollan also discusses the limitations of monoculture agriculture: specifically, the adoption in Ireland of a single breed of potato (the Lumper) made the Irish vulnerable to a fungus to which it had no resistance, resulting in the Irish Potato Famine. The Peruvians from whom the Irish had gotten the potato grew hundreds of varieties, so their exposure to any given pest was slight.
Paragraph 201 in the Passengers’ Guide warns that Area 1224- 1225 is especially cold. The train heating won’t be strong enough. Passengers are advised to hug each other to keep warm.
2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong romantic drama film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to Wong’s films Days of Being Wild (1990) and In the Mood for Love (2000). It follows the aftermath of Chow Mo-wan’s unconsummated affair with Su Li-zhen in 1960s Hong Kong but also includes some science fiction elements and makes frequent references to the date of December 24 or Christmas Eve, on which many significant events in the film occur.
The main character (Tony Leung) writes science fiction stories, in which 2046 is a popular year and place to which people travel through time. The stories are titled 2046 and later 2047 (a collaboration with Faye Wong’s character). The year 2046 has its own significance for Hong Kong. It is 49 years after the handover of Hong Kong by the British on 1 July 1997. At the time of handover, the Mainlandgovernment promised fifty years of self-regulation for the former British colony. The year 2046 references the moment before Hong Kong’s special, self-regulated status ends.
The title may also be a reference to the Twilight Zone episode “The Lonely“, about a man sentenced to solitary confinement on a distant asteroid beginning in the year 2046. The isolated inmate falls in love with a gynoid that was delivered to keep him company. This plot structure parallels some of the science fiction motifs in Wong’s 2046. (wiki)
TimeSpace Warps 