True Grit (2010) – Iris Dement: Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (‘Time just gets away from us’)

Mahalia Jackson in concert 1961 part 3

Johannes Brahms – Lullaby, Celtic Woman and Nana Moskouri

Johannes Brahms – Op.49 No.4 Wiegenlied / Lullaby

Mozart Symphony No 41 C major ‘Jupiter’ N Harnoncourt Wiener Philarmoniker

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, on 10 August 1788.^[1] It was the last symphony that he composed.

The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony. This name stems not from Mozart but rather was likely coined by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon^[2] in an early arrangement for piano.

The four movements are arranged in the traditional symphonic form of the Classical era:

1. Allegro vivace, 4/4
2. Andante cantabile, 3/4 in F major
3. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio, 3/4
4. Molto allegro, 2/2

The sonata form first movement’s main theme begins with contrasting motifs: a threefold tutti outburst on the fundamental tone (respectively, by an ascending motion leading in a triplet from the dominant tone underneath to the fundamental one), followed by a more lyrical response.

This exchange is heard twice and then followed by an extended series of fanfares. What follows is a transitional passage where the two contrasting motifs are expanded and developed. From there, the second theme group begins with a lyrical section in G major which ends suspended on a seventh chord and is followed by a stormy section in C minor.    More…

 

New SKYFALL DB5 Videoblog

PG&E ignored gaps in data, engineer says (from SFGate)

PG&E ignored gaps in data, engineer says (from SFGate) (click to access report)

Japanese Women Overtaken in Life Expectancy Rankings

For the first time in 25 years, Japanese women are not the longest-lived women on the planet. Women in Hong Kong now have the highest life expectancy in the world. The expected lifespan for Japanese women fell from 86.3 years in 2010 to 85.9 years in 2011, in part as a result of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country in March 2011. The life expectancy for Japanese men also fell over this same period, dropping them from fourth to eighth place in the global life expectancy rankings. More… Discuss

Charles Francis Hall

Hall was an American explorer of the Arctic. In the 1860s, he made two notable—but mostly unsuccessful—searches for Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition. In 1871, he attempted to reach the North Pole. Though he set a new northern record, he died suddenly before reaching the pole. Later, 19 members of his crew became stranded on an ice floe for several months before being rescued. It is now believed that Hall was likely murdered, but it is also possible that he accidentally poisoned himself—how? More… Discuss

This Day in History: The Swiss Confederation Is Formed (1291)

The Swiss Confederation Is Formed (1291)

Despite its ethnic and religious diversity, Switzerland has maintained one of the world’s oldest democracies for more than 700 years. Concerned about the encroaching Habsburg Empire, the three mountain communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed a defensive league in 1291, laying the foundations of the Swiss Confederation. Today, Switzerland is well known for its neutrality and reluctance to join the European Union. In 2002, it became one of the last nations to do what? More… Discuss

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Today’s Birthday: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BCE)

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BCE)

The nephew of Tiberius, Claudius became the Roman emperor unexpectedly, after Caligula was murdered. Sickly, unattractive, and scholarly, he tended to disfavor the upper classes and cater to the freedmen. He expanded the frontiers, invading Britain in 43 CE. He spent lavishly on public works and extended Roman citizenship throughout the empire. Having executed his scheming third wife, he married his niece, who then likely poisoned him. What modern diagnoses might explain his lifelong ill health? More… Discuss

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Quotation: Mary Shelley on Woman conditioning and consequences thereof

Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s scepter, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.

Mary Shelley (1797-1851) Discuss

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