Today, the Internet has become a household word that is used to denote high-tech, super fast, and highly convenient communication between people. Since its introduction in 1973, the ?Net? has been use as a research program to investigate techniques and develop technologies for interlinking different computer packet networks. Later on, it was expanded to serve as an electronic means of sending and receiving mails and messages. It is now widely used as a research tool for news, education, entertainment, and informal web-based education.
The Internet has changed the course of the world completely. It has reshaped the way we communicate, work, play, and how we understand the world around us.
Instead of buying and reading a newspaper, people can now watch the news, sports, and stock market updates in the Internet. With just a click of a mouse, an Internet user can get in touch with other users in different continents. The use of e-mails and online chatting had redefined the way we conduct long-distance communication and, yes --- even the way we maintain long-distance relationships.
The Internet became a tool for long-distance relationships to flourish --- bridging the geographical distances to bring families and lovers together. Internet technology has allowed human beings to reduce gaps created by distance and time zones. Thus, no two persons are really far apart if they learn to maximize the features and benefits of Internet technology. For example, Internet chatting is used by people as a means to exchange instant messages and images. Through the use of web cameras, ?chatters? are able to ?talk? and see each other on the Web. In the old days, it took weeks or even months for a letter to arrive. Traditionally written mail is sent via courier. The letter or ?snail mail? is transported by land, sea, or air --- all of which take time and are dependent on good weather and travel conditions.
With the rise of the Internet as a digital highway for messages and images --- people now have a fast, convenient, and reliable means to transmit and receive information, not to mention the means to send love letters through e-mail. For lovers located in two separate countries, the Internet becomes a place where they can meet and even have the digital version of dating. In this day and age, there is no reason for a boyfriend or husband to miss the opportunity of sending the ladylove a bouquet of fresh flowers. Romance is still possible even if two lovers are hundreds of miles apart. Surprising a loved one at home with flowers even if you are overseas is just one of the many surprises that one can make with the use of the Internet. By going to websites that sell flowers, you can choose, purchase, and send greetings and bouquets to your family and special friend. Most online flower shops include a printable special mail order forms. Online shoppers have the option to fill-in needed information and then send the message to a specified address by mail or email. You can even surprise a loved one at the office by using Internet faxing as a means to send a love letter or an encouraging note. The online network of flower shops has enabled people to send flowers to just about anywhere in the world.
Floral Internet sites can be found through individual searches, while others conduct searches, and deliver online coupons, coupon codes, and deal directly with registered buyers. When buying flowers online, shoppers can select from a wide range of choices like roses, tulips, Malaysian mums, and gerbers. These flowers can be delivered to a family member or loved one on the same day it was ordered, regardless of time and country where the buyer is located. Some online companies charge a minimal processing fee for international flower deliveries while others do not. There are times, however, when slight delays may be experienced due to the need to verify the recipient's address. When it comes to international orders and deliveries, it is very important to have the correct name of and address of the recipient. Payment is usually done through checks, credit cards, and money orders. Most companies offer the ?right to return? goods or cancel the order within a period of seven days. Aside from the convenience of shopping for flowers using a Net-capable computer, people also have the benefit of receiving information about the background, social uses, and meanings associated with each flower being sold on the site.
Even across the miles, relationships can still flourish by using Internet technology. Deep, personal relationships need not suffer and end with each parting. By using Internet technology, we can still make our relationships strong and keep the love alive.
Camelot ? 4 Stars (Excellent)
"Camelot" is a wonderful Broadway musical that garnered Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Music, and Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. In other words, Camelot was a superb technical triumph in its day.
Camelot also won Golden Globes for Richard Harris for Best Actor (as King Arthur), Frederick Loewe for Best Original Score, and both Frederick Loewe (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) for Best Original Song "If Ever I Should Leave You".
Golden Globe nominations also went to Camelot for Best Picture, to Vanessa Redgrave for Best Actress (as Guenevere) and to Franco Nero for the Most Promising Newcomer (as Lancelot Du Lac).
The cast was superb and included David Hemmings (as Mordred, who looked as slimy and cunning as possible), Lionel Jeffries (as King Pellinore) and Laurence Naismith (as Merlyn, the Magician).
Joshua Logan directed this film like a beautiful flower coming into blossom where it is planted only to be destroyed by fire.
Camelot, released in 1967, celebrates its 40th anniversary this October, and was based on the 1960 musical play Camelot written by Alan Jay Lerner with music by Frederic Loewe.
The play was based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White novel "The Once and Future King" and ran on Broadway for 873 performances. To say the least, it was well received.
The original cast for the play included Richard Burton as King Arthur, Julie Andrews as Queen Guenevere, Robert Goulet as Sir Lancelot, Roddy McDowell as Mordred, Robert Coote as King Pellinore and David Hurst as Merlyn with Moss Hart as the Director.
Camelot became a modern day legend when it was immortalized-after President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963-by revealing that the show's original cast recording had been the favorite bedtime listening in the White House. Kennedy's favorite lines were in the final number (when King Arthur knights a young boy and tells him to pass on the story of Camelot to future generations):
Don't let it be forgot,
That once there was a spot,
For one brief, shining moment
That was known as Camelot.
Since then, Camelot has been associated with the Kennedy administration, and the glory and the tragedy of the Kennedy family. Kennedy was the youngest elected President, the first Roman Catholic President, and the youngest President to die.
The following synopsis of Camelot from wikipedia.com is important in setting the stage for what I am about to reveal to you (the songs to accompany the scene are in parentheses):
"Guenevere arrives in Camelot on a wintry morning to marry King Arthur (of England) and is greeted festively by the Court. Arthur, shy and nervous, hides in the nearby woods ("I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight?").
"Guenevere comes to the woods, uncertain about herself and her future ("The Simple Joys of Maidenhood"). She stumbles into Arthur, who tells her about life in Camelot ("Camelot"), and then discloses his identity. They are each happily charmed by the other.
"Arthur learns from Merlyn the wisdom of peace and brotherhood, and is inspired to establish the Round Table. The news of this reaches young Lancelot in France, who is determined to come to Camelot and join Arthur's knights ("C'est Moi").
"A May Day celebration takes place on the castle grounds ("The Lusty Month of May"), where Arthur introduces his wife to Lancelot. Guenevere takes an instant dislike to the cocky young man and (challenges) him to engage three knights of the Round Table in a jousting match ("Then You May Take Me to the Fair"). Arthur is dismayed by this and (is) at a loss to understand a woman's way ("How to Handle a Woman").
"In the jousting match Lancelot easily defeats all three knights, drawing the admiration of them all, including Guenevere. Lancelot falls in love with (Queen) Guenevere and is torn by the conflict between this love and his devotion to Arthur. He asks permission to leave Camelot for foreign conquests.
"Returning two years later, Arthur makes him a Knight of the Round Table. Arthur is painfully aware of the feelings between Lancelot and Guenevere but remains silent to preserve the tranquility of Camelot.
"Lancelot reveals his feelings to Guenevere ("If Every I Would Leave You"). Nevertheless, she remains faithful to Arthur, and helps him in carrying out the affairs of State ("What Do Simple Folks Do?").
"Mordred, Arthur's illegitimate son, comes to Camelot to dishonor the King and try to gain the throne for himself. He schemes . . . to trap Arthur in a forest one night. During the night, Lancelot visits Guenevere in her chambers, where she reveals her love for him ("I Loved You Once in Silence").
"Mordred and some of the Knights of the Round Table interrupt, accuse Lancelot of treachery, and imprison him. Lancelot escapes, but Guenevere is sentenced to burn ("Guenevere"). At the last moment, Lancelot rescues her and takes her off with him to France.
"For the sake of his own honor and that of Camelot, Arthur must now wage war on France. Just before the final battle, he meets Lancelot and Guenevere, and forgives them both.
"In camp, Arthur meets a young stowaway who wants to join the Round Table. Arthur knights him on the field of battle and sends him back to England to grow up there and pass on to future generations the ideals of Camelot."
Two side notes and then my revelation.
First, the song "If Ever I Would Leave You" (erroneously called "If Ever I Should Leave You" in the Golden Globe citation) was nominated and won in the category Best Original Song Written for a Motion Picture, even though it was not written especially for the film.
It was written for the original stage production of Camelot, and all the other nominees were songs especially written for films. This is the only instance in the history of the Golden Globe Awards that this has happened.
Second, even though Richard Burton won a Tony for Best Actor in the stage play and was offered the same part as King Arthur in the film, he turned it down. Richard Harris was magnificent in his performance as King Arthur in the film.
And the revelation? Camelot the play and Camelot the film were both truly inspirational musical productions, but I submit that the story Camelot was much more.
I felt in my heart that Camelot was also a primer in civilized human relationships and personal growth as well as a step forward for humanity. Let me explain.
When King Arthur realizes the relationship between his Queen and his chief knight, he says this, reacting like a man:
"I love them and they answer me with pain and torment. Be it sin or not sin, they betray me in their hearts and that's far sin enough. I can feel it in their eyes. I can feel it when they speak, and they must pay for it and be punished. I shall not be wounded and not return it in kind! I'm through with feeble hoping! I demand a man's vengeance!
When he calms down and says this, reacting like a king:
"Proposition: I'm a king, not a man. And a very civilized king. Could it possibly be civilized to destroy the (ones) I love? Did they ask for this calamity? Can passion be selected?"
In the end, King Arthur takes the high road. He would not punish either of them given his druthers, he realizes he still loves Guenevere and loves his best friend and knight, Lancelot, as a brother.
He cannot, however, stop Guenevere from burning at the stake for her indiscretion. He enlists his confidant King Pellinore to watch and see if Lancelot will attempt to rescue her in time. Thankfully, Lancelot does.
King Arthur sees the wisdom of the Round Table, bringing the knights of the kingdom together to protect the weak rather than fight among themselves at the expense of the weak.
King Arthur sees the wisdom of a legal system that gives the accused his day in court rather than fighting for his life in a duel whether the accused is guilty or innocent. Poor King Pellinore does not understand or accept this precursor to rule by law rather than rule by might.
King Arthur uses his love to overcome his pain and suffering and ultimately loses not only the love of his life but his best friend.
And, most important, despite going into a battle he may well lose and perhaps even die, he has the presence of mind to knight a young man to carry his hope into the future, so his vision will continue.
Is Alan Jay Lerner a great writer of screenplays? Perhaps the best, ever. You decide.
Camelot has been on my Top 10 Favorite Movie List for 40 years. Now you know why.
Both Alexis & Ed Bagley are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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Ed Bagley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Disease & illness, Promotional Advertising and The Republican Party. Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley's Blog, which he Publishes Daily with Fresh, Original Articles on Internet Marketing, Jobs and Careers, Movie Reviews, Sports and Recreation, and Lessons in Life intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Reader. Ed Bagley's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.