Thomas Anderson This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. The Suburban and Wayne Times - Longfellow to be feted at Bryn Mawr bookstore on his 200th birthday

   www.pottstownmercury.com/site/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/22/2007   Last Visited: 2/23/2007

   According to Thomas Anderson, the retired maritime lawyer and classics aficionado who leads the discussion group, such attention is long overdue. "When he was alive, Longfellow was the most important literary figure in the U.S., barring none. He was the lion of American letters." However, his stay in the spotlight did not last, explains Anderson. As more eccentric poets - whose cryptic verses were understood only by other poets - took center stage, Longfellow was pushed into the wings. "It's amazing," Anderson observes, "that a poet to whom no other writer had even been a close second was later viewed as hopelessly old-fashioned." Fortunately, this birthday celebration provides the perfect opportunity for Longfellow to take a curtain call. "We need to be reminded," Anderson says, "of who Longfellow was and what he accomplished." Fluent in five languages and able to read in half a dozen others, Longfellow was a professor at Bowdoin College (his alma mater) and later at Harvard. His writings, Anderson says, celebrate themes such as God, patriotism and virtue. Despite his having been a great intellect, Longfellow "always wrote for the common man."
   ...
   Anderson and Kathy Siciliano, the community-relations manager for the Bryn Mawr bookstore, encourage anyone who is interested to come to the informal gathering.
   ...
   To start, Anderson will present a brief bio of the literary giant. Next, the group will discuss a variety of Longfellow's poems. At the end of the session, which usually lasts an hour, everyone will enjoy some birthday cake. The group will meet on the second floor in the Children's Literature section. Anderson and Siciliano stress that it is not necessary to have read ahead of time - or even to be familiar with - Longfellow's poems to come to the discussion group.
   ...
   Anderson founded the Classics Discussion Group about four years ago as a forum for talking about great picks in literature. A graduate of Georgetown's law school who specialized in admiralty law during his career with the firm of Rawle & Henderson in Philadelphia, Anderson had done his undergraduate work in philosophy and classics. After "retiring" 10 years ago, he began working part-time for the Barnes & Noble store in Bryn Mawr. The book set to be discussed at the classics group's inaugural meeting was "Kidnapped." Anderson was contacted by a local private school called the American Academy, in Gladwyne. Its students were reading the Robert Louis Stevenson classic and wanted to attend the forum. Thus began a close collaboration with the administration and faculty of the school, whose students have formed the core of the discussion group ever since. Anderson sometimes bases his topic on an upcoming movie release or an area theatrical production. For example, the Opera Company of Philadelphia will be performing Verdi's "Falstaff" in May. Anderson is considering have a discussion devoted to Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor," the inspiration for the opera. Whatever the selection, Anderson seems more than equipped to lead a discussion that will both stimulate and enlighten.

2. 2. JoBlo reviews the movie "The Matrix"

   www.joblo.com/matrix.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/23/2000   Last Visited: 7/27/2001

   Actors : Keanu Reeves as Thomas Neo Anderson