ARTICLES

ARTICLES: ISSUES AND TOPICS

P.36. ANALYSIS: AMERICANS VERSUS FOREIGNERS: What foreigners like and dislike most about us, by Maximillien de Lafayette, from his book:" The Secret Book of Nations". 1-Why the majority of foreign countries lost faith in the United States (Who cares? Yah, right!); 2-Why many foreigners look down on American men and women; 3-Why the majority of foreigners would never trust us again; 4-Why American women scare the hell out of them; 5-Why contemporary American art is falling apart in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East; 6-And why those bloody antagonistic foreigners keep on coming to America and suck our blood, eat our honey and drink our milk…Why Europeans and 99% of educated foreigners look down on American men and women who walk barefoot in their homes and drink straight up from the bottle?

P.70. GODARD: One of Godard’s masterpieces, in which Marianne Renoir (Karina, who was divorcing the director at the time), accompanies Belmondo’s Pierrot, who has abandoned his wife and children in Paris, on a doomed escape to the Mediterranean. The movie is important for its themes of alienation and brooding narcissism, especially revealed in a party where mannequin-like capitalists spout American TV ad copy instead of conversation.

P.102-119. WORLD CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION: COMPARATIVE HISTORY AND SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF DEITIES, GODDESSES, GODS, WOMEN AND MEN ART OF FASHION AND DRESS-MAKING FROM THE BRONZE AGE TO EARLY 20th CENTURY.

P.120.-134. WORLD CULTURE, ART AND CIVILIZATION. HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CIVILIZATION, ART, CULTURE AND HISTORY OF IRAQ?

P.198. Bizarre Art: IN ENGLAND, THE BRITS DISPLAY A TOILET SEAT IN THEIR MUSEUMS AS AN ART MASTERPIECE!! THE ENGLISH ARE BIZARRE THIS YEAR!!!! From Saatchi offensive art exhibitions to displaying a toilet as “PUBLIC ART”!!

ANCIENT ART AND CIVILIZATIONS

P.202. ART OF VANISHED CIVILIZATIONS: THE GREAT ART OF THE KINGDOM OF URARTU: A FORMIDABLE ANCIENT EMPIRE AND A CIVILIZATION CRADLE. In the early twentieth century, a long forgotten magnificent kingdom and a cradle of civilization was rediscovered in the Anatolian highlands of Asia Minor. Not until 1936 was the first systematic and scientific excavation of an edifice or a fortress of that lost civilization begun. And that was, the ancient Kingdom of Urartu (a name created by the Assyrians) which was centered around Lake Van. Sometimes, historians refer to Urartu as the kingdom of Van. The first Uraturians were called Nairi by the Assyrians and inhabitants of Asia Minor and their homeland was frequently called Urartu, while the Uraturians referred to their nation as the Land of Biani.

P.207. KINGDOM OF CILICIA: The kingdom of Cilicia is considered by eminent historians, archaeologists and anthropologists as one of the greatest ancient empires of all times. It did not last very long in the history of human kind but, most certainly, it made an immense mark on the European civilization, its way of life, its trade and commerce, its arts and laws, its architecture and above all, it left an extra-ordinary impact on Early Christianity edifices, castles, palaces, cathedrals and churches, as well as on the Crusaders who learned from the Armenians how to build circular- round-shaped castles and towers.

P. 246-250. ART, METAPHYSICS AND THE HEALING POWERS OF RELIGIOUS ART: THE KATCHKARS The most recognizable Armenian art is the traditional stone carving. The carving of Khatchkars is an artistic Armenian tradition. An Armenian trademark and monopoly. Khatchkar, literally means "cross-stone"; khatch means cross and “kar” means stone. It refers to an upright basalt stone resting on a rectangular base with its back facing eastward. It is a slab of stone incorporating various patterns of carved crosses with inscriptions and different designs pertaining to various epochs.

MYSTERIES AND CONSPIRACY

P.251-275. THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY: Who Killed Kennedy? That is the question! Why they killed Kennedy? This is the second biggest question! Nobody really knows except those who were involved. But who are those people who designed and executed the most famous and infamous assassination-plot-cover-up and enigmatic intrigue of the 20^th century? There are so many theories and possibilities encompassing the “One Bullet Theory”, “The Three Bullet Theory”, “The New Orleans Connection”, “The Marseilles Connection”, “The Corsican Killers Connection”, “The Mafia Involvement”, “The Castro Involvement”, “The Jimmy Hoffa’s Group Connection”, “The FBI Hoover Cover Up”, “The Lyndon Johnson Involvement”, “The Oswald-KGB Involvement”, you name it and you will find a fertile terrain...

281-310. DIASPORA: UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATING THE DIASPORA ART. To fully understand the Diaspora contemporary painting in all its styles and genres from surrealism to cubism and from neo-classicism to abstract, one must learn about the adjacent and parallel national/ethnic arts that gave birth to the art of painting. Maximillien de Lafayette explores and reviews the various facets of the Diaspora art from its birth to present.