I have more coming - soon, I hope. Thanks to everyone who has written with their ideas. And I must beg forgiveness for the outrageous length of time I've let pass before responding to some of my emails. I really need to get realistic about this time management thing. No matter how busy I am, I always seem to think that I can do more. This year, I decided to go back to school to get a degree in Music Education. I also joined a community orchestra. I still work full time, so now the rest of my time is completely filled with school work, practicing, rehearsals, etc. There's been little or no time for fun and games. But, there's no school this week, so I'll try to catch up here.
Also, there's a short excerpt from the new book at The Official Thomas Harris website. He is indeed continuing with variations on themes - stars, calendars, time, etc. Also, the song that Hannibal sings to his sister, Ein Mannlein, is a traditional German folk song featured in the opera, Hansel and Gretel. Appropriate, I'd say.
August 20,2006:
A couple of weeks ago, I found Hannibal's house. See here.
August 18, 2006:
Updates to Section III on Mason and Jezebel and Mischa's copper tub. Plus an added comment to Regarding Venus.
June 25, 2006:
Updates to Section I on The Yaqui slide and Pharoah, Faron, etc.
March 5, 2006:
Updates to The Letter S and Movie Notes.
February 5, 2006:
My apologies to all who wrote in recently and had to wait a very long time for a reply. I was planning on catching up on all my website work at the end of last year while on Christmas vacation but there was a family tragedy and I had to go to Texas for awhile. Since my return I've had to work every weekend until now to meet an important deadline. Such is life. Anyway, I've added a reader's observation on oranges to Section II.
December 17, 2005:
A little tidbit on amuse-gueule in Section VI. I also neglected to add an update I put up in November regarding the influence of Frankenstein on Hannibal. It's in Chapter 9.
October 23, 2005:
I've been without a computer here at home for some weeks. We're having a few home improvements done and I had to pack everything away for awhile. I have received a number of emails during this time and I appreciate everyone's patience. Now that I have my computer back, I'll be addressing them all as time permits. Today, I got to 3 of them. (Finding a particular spot in a 500+ page book takes time.) Updates on the movie, Inelle Corey, and "imperially slim".
September 11, 2005:
Robert Bollt sent in a fun piece regarding a walking tour of New york City.
July 4, 2005:
Trevor Patrick has an idea about Edgar Bolger in Section III.
May 30, 2005:
Caleb Marsh sent in some things of interest regarding Baylor University and Battle Creek Cemetery. Another reader sent in some speculations about the sixth finger. Thanks to both!
Apr 10, 2005:
A couple of small additions regarding Alpha Romeos in Cover Art and Section II.
Apr 2, 2005:>
Pictures from Ed Dittus of the Devil's Armor in Section II.
Feb 13, 2005:
A couple of additions from readers to Section III, and a link to an illustration in the Letters to Ebert.
Nov 28, 2004:
Updates from readers to Section I, Section III, and Section IV. Thanks to all who have submitted comments. I really do appreciate it.
May 3, 2004:
More on the Tears of Eros book in Section I
April 4, 2004:
The execution of Fou-Tchou-Li.
March 20, 2004:
More on Botticelli and the Bargello.
March 14, 2004:
A few notes on April, Harris on the Pig and Botticelli.
January, 19, 2004:
More on the Atrocious Torture Instruments exhibit in Section II.
January 11, 2004:
Michael Boyle sent in some comments on the movie.
December 7, 2003:
A little info on the Atrocious Torture Instruments exhibit in Section II.
November 16, 2003:
I added a short discussion on the suicide of Edgar Bolger in Section III.
July 12, 2003:
I added a paged on Hannibal and Catholicism. I've also added a Site News page and I've created a link to the Silence of the Lambs section which I'll be updating soon and frequently (I hope).
April 20, 2003:
Happy Easter! Shyvven sent me an essay titled Phantom and Lecter - A Comparison. Thanks Shyvven.
March 26, 2003:
A little blurb about a sphinx in Section II.
February 16, 2003:
Some quick additions to the movie page and to Section I.
December 1,2002:
An addition to the Letter S page. A new section on Exercise and Intellect.
November 21, 2002:
A possible connection to Edgar Allan Poe in Section III.
October 27, 2002:
Updates to the movie page and the What is Hannibal? page.
October 18, 2002:
More updates to Section III and Section VI.
October 13, 2002:
Updates to Section III and Section VI.
September 8, 2002:
A word or two about Mourning Doves in Section I.
July 14, 2002:
A bit of a discussion on Pier della Vigna in Section II.
June 9, 2002:
I'm on a roll!
June 8, 2002:
Just a couple of things added to the Movie Notes page.
May 25, 2002:
A number of additions today:
May 14, 2002:
Gary Larson wrote to me about a book called "The Professor and the Madman" by Simon Winchester. It's about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and the many contributions from one William Minor, an American doctor and murderer confined to a mental institution. There are a number of interesting coincidences between this story and that of Hannibal Lecter. Chateau d'Yquem even gets a mention. It's a fascinating read. Thanks Gary.
I made a few additions to the movie notes page and Section IV.
April 22, 2002:
A couple of small additions to Section II in Chapters 27 and 33.
March 11,2002:
I saw my first Vermeer over the weekend - A Lady Writing a Letter - and now I'm thinking I want to take up Barney's quest to see them all. I made an update regarding Vermeer to Section VI.
November 18, 2001:
Updates to Section II, Section V and Section VI.
November 5, 2001:
I added some words to the Vide Cor Meum page. I also added a tenuous connection between this and Hannibal's dream on the plane in Section III.
October 26, 2001:
I added a new link to Anne Shingleton's Leda and the Swan in Section VI
October 14, 2001:
There's an update to Section II and I've added a couple more movie notes.
October 6, 2001:
More movie notes.
September 16, 2001:
These pages have received a surge in traffic since the DVD came out. We're just shy of 25,000 hits. The Vide Cor Meum page is the most popular these days. A couple readers have writen with comments on the movie. I've added them to the Movie Notes page.
August 25, 2001:
I got the DVD and gave it a quick once-over. I've made some additions to the Movie Notes page. Also a reader sent in some interesting views on Persephone. I've added it to the Hades pages.
July 23, 2001:
Section VI and I added a link to Zaillian's script on the links page.
July 11, 2001:
A reader sent in a surprising clue on nipples and cabochons. Section VI
July 2, 2001:
I added a little comment to Section IV regarding Nike. I had a little trouble with the scanner so the picture came out a little crooked. Sorry.
June 30, 2001:
Section III again.
May 22, 2001:
Section III. Smiley.
May 13, 2001:
Section III
Section VI
April 29, 2001:
Some of our stars are the same. Clarice. I got started on Dante and the stars.
April 28, 2001:
Section III. Sheriff Dumas.
April 19, 2001:
Section II. "All florists are thieves."
April 14, 2001:
I've added a little blurb on Time to the stars page.
April 13, 2001:
Section III
April 9, 2001:
I added a new page to the General Section called The Star Chamber.
April 8, 2001:
Some small additions to Section I regarding pigeons.
April 3, 2001:
I made an upade to Section I
April 1, 2001:
Today I made an update to the stars page.
March 22, 2001:
I've made additions to Sections III and VI. Section III pertains to Balthus and Section VI to Vaux-le-Vicomte and the Muses.
March 20, 2001:
Happy Vernal Equinox! I've updated Some of our stars are the same. Clarice. again. I'm still working on the precession of the equinox/Mithraism angle. Hope you find it interesting.
March 12, 2001:
I've updated Some of our stars are the same. Clarice. with some interesting stuff about Perseus. And on a more personal note, I made the local newspaper. What fun that was! Typical reporter though. Got the facts pretty mixed up and there are no pictures on the website but I'll grab my 15 minutes anyway I can. Maybe I'll scan the pictures in when I find time.
March 4, 2001:
I added 2 new sections, one on movie notes (I actually took a little notebook into the theater with me this last time and scribbled notes in the dark) and the other on my letters to Roger Ebert. There's also a delightful little addition to Section III sent in by Timothy Mason on MOMO. Do check it out. And there's another little essay that's still being worked on in the General section called Stay toward the middle.
Feb 27, 2001:
I've added a little blurb on Venus in the General section of the website. No reply from Ebert. So I've written to him again, this time on roller pigeons. It amuses me.
Feb 23, 2001:
I rewrote the movie review once again this past Monday. Now that I get it, I consider it a great movie. I've been concentrating pretty heavily on the constellations finding more and more things in the book and the movie that simply delight me. See Some of our stars are the same. Clarice. I've been updating quite regularly. I have also written to Roger Ebert (The Movie Answer Man) a couple of times regarding the astrological nature of the story, but I do not really expect a response. We'll see.
Feb 10, 2001:
I went and rewrote the review. The Netscape crash was a blessing in disguise. I had a night to sleep on it and I like this review better.
Feb 9, 2001:
I skipped out of work today for a few hours to go see the movie. And I just spent an hour or so writing down my thoughts only to lose it all in a Netscape crash. The condensed version of my review is that it was quite good right up to the climax. They really should have kept Harris' ending or at least given the movie some kind of proper conclusion. The sequel setup contrivance they employed robbed the rest of the movie of any real purpose or punch. We're right back where we started from.
Dec 31, 2000:
I put a link to the official MGM movie site on the home page. It's at the bottom.
Nov 30, 2000:
I've gotten the pictures back and after a little problem with the scanner I've started to scan them in and upload them. I've got two up today and I should be making several more updates in the next few days. Hope you like them.
Nov 24, 2000:
Just got back from Florence last night. What a fantastic city! As soon as I get the pictures developed, I'll update the site. I did find a few of the things I was looking for, like the Capponi Chapel and the Madonna del Latte in Santa Croce, and the gourmet shop Vera dal 1926, though in actuality, it's Vera dal 1928. A presto, ciao!
Aug 26, 2000:
Busy again! What a crazy year! Anyway, I have been following the progress of the movie all along but since this site is dedicated the book I haven't mentioned it. But recently I came across a picture, from the film, of Hannibal and his harpy. I've added it to the Florence section. Enjoy! Other updates too. Hope they're interesting.
Jul 15, 2000:
The past couple of weeks have been busy for me. Sorry for the lack of updating. I should have more time now.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in contributions. If they're not on the site already, I'll get to them soon. Keep 'em coming!
I've been adding the paperback page numbers to the annotations. I hope to finish that up this week.
Jun 30, 2000:
I decided to give geocities a try. Delphi was driving me crazy with all their problems. The whole site manager system had fallen apart apparently and I had to FTP in to retrieve my pages.
I've made a few administrative changes since I was moving things about - added frames, etc. Hope they're agreeable to everyone.
I finally DID finish "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci." While there were a number of coincidences, there were no big revelations, so I'm reading "The Art of Memory" now. Already I'm wondering why I didn't read it first. More to come on that later.
Old News:
Here it is, nearly a year since I first read Hannibal, and I am still as entralled with it as I was then. Maybe even moreso. Fortunately there's plenty of research yet to be done. Best of all, I'm planning a trip to Florence in the fall. Non posso aspettare!
I am still reading "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci" by Jonathon D. Spence. Harris mentions this book in his Acknowledgments. It's a great book, but I keep getting interrupted and/or distracted. I hope to have something worth adding soon.
Back in March, I took my daughter to the museum where they had a special exhibit on the making of music. There was a theremin there and I got to play it for awhile. I haven't come any closer to figuring out why Harris has Hannibal play this particular instrument, but it sure was fun. Maybe that's all there is to it.
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