SPIEGEL Surfs the Web Welcome to Neverland Ranch
Lions and Tigers and Child Stars, Oh My!
Testifying for the defense on Thursday in Michael Jackson's trial in Santa Barbara, "Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin, 24, dismissed the allegations that Jackson molested any of the children that visited him at the theme-park-like Neverland Ranch. Culkin, who was himself once a regular at Jackson's Disneyland-esque estate, said he didn't remember ever sharing a bed with the singer. "I fell asleep basically everywhere on that ranch. I would basically flop down anywhere." As these maps -- one a guide map to the park , the other a satellite image -- show, though, that's a lot of ranch to find a spot to nap in. Wouldn't sleeping by the train tracks or bear cages be kind of, you know, scary?
Movie Troopers
Don't be too concerned if you see oddly dressed folks wandering through town soon after May 19. They'll likely just on their way to the new Star Wars film "Revenge of the Sith." The plot, as usual, is none-too-complex: the droid R2D2 is once again out cruising the universe on the lookout for evil to destroy. Which is also, as it happens, the favorite pastime of a number of hardcore Star Wars fans. Indeed, many of them like to spend their time examining every second of every movie in the series looking for mistakes. What do they find? Light sabers changing colors, for example, or ammunition belts appearing and disappearing. In fact, if you look closely enough, Star Wars is full of editing errors.
And so too is the new addition to the series. Which is to say, even before the release of "Revenge of the Sith" two errors have already been posted. The site, incidentally, has also examined the editing quality of countless other cinematic tours de force.
Schiller the American
What does a famous German writer have to do with American history? Quite a lot apparently. Indeed, it used to be that 18th century German literary luminary Friedrich Schiller -- who died 200 years ago on Monday -- was quite well-known and honored in the United States. The US celebrations of his 100th birthday in 1859 even rivalled those in Germany. The reason? Schiller's focus on human rights and on political freedom for all of mankind fit right in with the founding ideals of the infant US. Indeed, Schiller was a great fan of the Declaration of Independence and his drama "William Tell" -- perhaps the most famous telling of a legend about Swiss herdsmen who free themselves from the tyrannical yoke of the emperor -- was written shortly after, and was partially inspired by, the American Revolution. Schiller's ideas likewise played an important part in pre-Civil War America, with circles of Schiller admirers becoming well-connected with anti-slavery activists.
