Few men have acquired so scandalous a reputation as did Basil Zaharoff, alias Count Zacharoff, alias Prince Zacharias Basileus Zacharoff, known to his intimates as “Zedzed.” Born in Anatolia, then part of the Ottoman Empire, perhaps in 1849, Zaharoff was a brothel tout, bigamist and arsonist, a benefactor of great universities and an intimate of royalty who reached his peak of infamy as an international arms dealer—a “merchant of death,” as his many enemies preferred it.

The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots in 1943 during World War II that erupted in Los Angeles, California between European-American sailors and Marines stationed throughout the city and Latinoyouths, who were recognizable by the zoot suits they favored.

Aloys Zötl

Zouave was the title given to certain infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962.

The Zubr class is a class of air-cushioned landing craft of Russian and Ukrainian design. This class of military hovercraft is currently the world’s largest hovercraft. There are currently nine ships in active service in the world.

Zukofsky’s major work was the long poem “A“ - he never referred to it without the quotation marks – which he began in 1927 and was to work on for the rest of his life, albeit with an eight-year hiatus between 1940 and 1948. The poem was divided into 24 sections, reflecting the hours of the day. The first eleven sections contain a lot of overtly political passages but interweave them with formal concerns and models that range from medieval Italian canzone through sonnets to free verse and the music of Bach. Especially the sections of “A” written shortly before World War II are political: Section 10 for example, published in 1940, is an intense and horrifying response to the fall of France.

The tone of the poem changes for good with Section 12, which is longer than the first eleven sections combined. Zukofsky introduces material from his family life and celebrates his love for his wife Celia and his son Paul. From here on “A” interweaves the political, historical and personal in more or less equal measure. The extensive use of music in this work reflects the importance of Zukofsky’s collaborations with his wife and son, both professional musicians. “A” grew frequently difficult and even eccentric (section 16 is only four words long). The complete poem, 826 pages long, beginning with the word “A” and ending with “Zion”, was published in 1978.

Francisco Zurbarán was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname Spanish Caravaggio, owing to the forceful, realistic use of chiaroscuro in which he excelled.

Le Professeur. In Italy, the gambler and professor of poetry Daniele Dominici arrives in the seaside town of Rimini and is hired to teach for four months in the Liceu replacing another teacher. His relationship with his mate Monica is in crisis and he spends most of the time with his new acquaintances and gamblers Giorgio Mosca, Marcello and Gerardo Pavani. In classroom, he meets the gorgeous nineteen years old mysterious student Vanina Abati, who is Gerardo’s girlfriend, and he feels a great attraction for her.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x51p1n_limportant-cest-daimer_shortfilms

Polish director Andrzej ?u?awski’s film, L’important c’est d’aimer. With Klaus Kinski, Romy Schneider, and Jacques Dutronc (!!!).