Once Upon a Time in America might be the best film of Robert De Niro’s career. I’ll listen to the argument, that’s for sure. Directed by Sergio Leone, every time I watch this film, I see/learn something new. Leone never received the proper credit he deserved for this masterpiece.
He was sent to a mental hospital three times and later became one of the world's top-selling authors. His most popular book has sold over 150 million copies and has been translated into more than 80 languages.
They tied him to a table and turned on the electricity. He was just a teenager whose only crime was wanting to be a writer instead of a lawyer. His panicked parents thought his creative mind was a sign of insanity and committed him to a psychiatric institution three times.
Yet, decades later, that same man sat down and wrote a book that would change the world in just fourteen days.
His name is Paulo Coelho, and his story proves that our harshest critics are often completely wrong about our future.
In 1988, Paulo poured his soul into a simple fable about a shepherd boy chasing a dream in the desert. He called it "The Alchemist." He knew it was special, but the publishing world didn't care.
The first publishing house to print the book watched it sit on the shelves gathering dust. Sales were so poor that they officially dropped it and gave him back the rights.
They told him the book was a complete failure. Anyone else would have given up right then. After all, the experts had spoken out. But Paulo had survived actual electroconvulsive therapy; he wasn't going to let a rejection letter stop him.
He firmly believed in the central message of his book, which states that when you want something, the universe conspires to help you.
He refused to give up. Paulo found a second publisher willing to give him a chance, and then something wonderful happened. It wasn't a resounding success due to a massive and expensive marketing campaign. The book grew slowly, almost whispering.
One person read it, felt a change in their heart, and passed it on to a friend. That friend passed it on to another.
Soon, that whisper turned into a roar.
The book traveled from the streets of Brazil to the entire world. Today, The Alchemist is one of the most successful books in human history. It has sold over 150 million copies and has been translated into more than 80 languages.
It sits on the desks of the most powerful world leaders and in the backpacks of penniless students.
If Paulo had listened to his parents, he would have spent his life as an unhappy lawyer. If he had listened to his first publisher, his masterpiece would have been lost forever. Instead, he chose to trust his inner voice.
He showed the world that the only true failure in life is refusing to begin the journey, or giving up the moment someone says no.
Your current difficulties are not a punishment. They are simply preparation for the wonderful things that await you along the way.
Keep moving forward, because the world is waiting for your story.
Lucrezia Borgia: Poison, Incest, and Court Intrigue
Few women of the Renaissance have been surrounded by as much scandal as Lucrezia Borgia. Born in 1480, she was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and became one of the most infamous figures of the powerful Borgia family. Tales of poisonings, incest, and ruthless political intrigue followed her name for centuries, turning her into a symbol of corruption in Renaissance Italy.
Much of Lucrezia’s dark reputation came from the enemies of the Borgias. Her father, Pope Alexander VI, and her brother Cesare Borgia were feared for their ambition and willingness to use violence to gain power. In the dangerous politics of 15th-century Italy, rumors became powerful weapons. Stories claimed Lucrezia carried poison in a hollow ring and helped murder political rivals during lavish banquets. However, historians have found little evidence that she personally committed any killings.
The most shocking accusations involved incestuous relationships within the Borgia family. Gossip spread that Lucrezia had improper relations with Cesare. These rumors were fueled by political propaganda and the sensational atmosphere of the papal court. While the Borgias certainly lived extravagantly and scandal surrounded them constantly, modern historians generally view the incest allegations as exaggerated or entirely false.
Lucrezia’s marriages were deeply tied to court intrigue. Her first marriage was annulled when it no longer suited Borgia political interests, humiliating her husband publicly. Her second husband, Alfonso of Aragon, was later murdered, likely on Cesare Borgia’s orders after alliances shifted. Through these events, Lucrezia became both a political pawn and an important player in Renaissance diplomacy.
Yet her later life painted a different picture. After marrying Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, Lucrezia became a respected duchess, patron of the arts, and capable administrator. She supported poets, artists, and religious institutions, gaining admiration in Ferrara’s sophisticated court.
Today, Lucrezia Borgia remains one of history’s most fascinating figures—a woman trapped between truth and legend. Whether victim, villain, or political survivor, her story reflects the dangerous world of Renaissance power struggles, where reputation could be as deadly as poison itself.
#Borgias #Borgia #History #LucreziaBorgia #EuropeanHistory #historyfacts #HistoricMoment #historywillremember #Renaissance
George III kept his daughters under extraordinarily tight control, rarely allowing them to marry, rarely allowing them to leave. Elizabeth was the seventh of his fifteen children, artistic, cheerful, and trapped inside a court that had no idea what to do with her energy. She designed prints, illustrated books, produced a series called The Birth and Triumph of Cupid that was engraved and published at the king's expense, and waited. She was forty-seven by the time she was allowed to marry.
Her husband, Frederick, was the Landgrave of a small German territory measuring eighty-five square miles. It was the smallest principality in Europe and one of the most indebted. Elizabeth's dowry and annual allowance rebuilt the roads, restored the castles, and funded an English garden at Homburg planted with seeds she brought from home. She used her own money to found a school and care center for the children of working mothers in Hanover. She said she had never been happier. She wrote after her husband's death that no woman had ever been happier than she was for their eleven years together, "and they will often be lived over again in the memory of the heart."
She outlived him by eleven years, spent her widowhood painting and running her charitable work, and died in Frankfurt in 1840. Her father had kept her caged for nearly half a century. She made the most of what came after.
Born on this day in 1770, Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg. One of the most overlooked daughters of George III, and one of the happiest.
-History Roadshow
The 90-minute test window opens at 5:30 p.m. CT with live coverage starting ~45 minutes before liftoff. Weather is currently 55% favorable for liftoff → https://t.co/2gZQUxS6mm
Monica Bellucci peaked in Malena.
She said about the scene:
“It’s just desire. Nothing to do with love. We’re in male dominated society, a woman doesn't exist without a man.”
BREAKING: Starship Flight 12 NET May 12, 22:30 UTC / 17:30 CDT
An advisory has appeared on the CADENA Operational Information System.
- NEW Trajectory
- Afternoon Launch Window
The window spans 22:30 - 00:43 UTC, which is 17:30 - 19:43 Starbase local time.
Instead of flying the corridor between Florida and Cuba, Starship Flight 12 appears to be targeting a more inclined corridor, threading the needle between Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
Despite this change in launch trajectory, splashdown remains in the Indian Ocean, with a corridor running through Madagascan, Mauritian, and Australian airspace.
🗺️ CADENA Operational Information System
Credit to @NeedPizza42 for spotting
Miles Davis composed the score for Elevator to the Gallows (1958) in a single session, watching the film as it played.
He brought in four musicians with no rehearsal and recorded it in one take.
Javier Bardem says he still can’t believe he’s married to Penélope Cruz
“When I see her being photographed in magazines, I go, ‘Is that my wife? Jesus, is it? It must be!
"She’s a woman I feel blessed to have met at the right time in life”
“She’s amazingly f*cking beautiful!”
I’ve officially launched a GoFundMe to finish my latest film, Preacher Six — a gritty, stylized story with a tone inspired by the raw energy of Tarantino-style storytelling.
It’s something I’ve been pouring everything into.
Everything helps!
https://t.co/qyqIeau8rQ
Calling all Indie film CHAMPIONS! My horror documentary "Haunted Lake Lanier" is LIVE on Amazon Prime!!
Rent it on Amazon to help keep indiefilm alive!
https://t.co/wrpHYoc8IR
If not Amazon watch on Opprime!
https://t.co/3l6x88uVpL
Watch it today and please share! #Filmsky
Burt Lancaster on why Frank Perry was the wrong choice to direct "The Swimmer" (1968) & the directors he felt would have handled it better:
"'The Swimmer' (1968) is certainly one of my favorites. It's a John Cheever story and there was the very difficult problem of translating a literary work to the screen. Cheever speaks in the short story of how a man is walking through a lane and he smells a fire, it's an autumn fire; he describes it as the smell of autumn in the air. Well, that kind of thing in writing is lovely, especially in Cheever's phrases, but when you try to get this quality onto film, it requires some kind of approach.
I'll say that I don't think Frank Perry was able to do this, and I don't know that any other director would have been. But you certainly need someone like a Fellini or a Truffaut, or someone with that kind of imagination to let the camera also tell your story. Film has its own particular life—regardless of what's actually going on in a film.
And it needed some kind of strange, weird approach to capture the audience and make them realize that, in a way, they were not looking at anything real. In talking about the script we would say, "I don't know why two men in white coats don't come take this guy away." It should have been obvious that this man was going through something that was not quite real; it was all part of his imagination. But it was played in a realistic sense—so when you come to the end of that film, instead of being sympathetic and heartbroken for the man, you were surprised and shocked."
("Take 22: Moviemakers on Moviemaking" Judith Crist, 1984)
Director Werner Herzog's new film, Bucking Fastard, starring real-life sisters Rooney Mara and Kate Mara, is about two deeply codependent twin sisters who share thoughts, dreams, and a single man. Based on the true story of the Chaplin twins, they dig a tunnel through an Irish mountain range searching for a mythical land of love while dealing with a social worker. Herzog finished the film in 2025 and it might be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year. The film also stars Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson.