from firefoxchannel: The Web We Want: An Open Letter

[youtube.com/watch?v=Xm5i5kbIXzc]

The Web We Want: An Open Letter

The Web is our largest shared resource. Let’s keep it free and open for us, and for the next generation.

What kind of Web do you want? Tell us: http://mzl.la/1hHyqBq.

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Chikungunya virus gallops across Caribbean; may hit United States

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Guantánamo Prosecutor Asks Judge to Hold Off Declassification – NYTimes.com

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Ukraine moves towards civil war as Kiev hits back at pro-Russia rebels | World news | The Observer

Ukraine moves towards civil war as Kiev hits back at pro-Russia rebels | World news | The Observer.

US news articles and blogs – The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com

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The Politicization of Diet and Medicine

correct: First industrialized and then politicized: Food is feed…The perfect policy, to clearly portray the situation is of course Codex Alimentarius, allowing populus to be fed no more than such and such amount of hazardous materials…

On the Mark

I have noticed that medicine and nutrition has become so politicized that sometimes a person will not listen to reasonable dietary recommendations if those recommendations are “left-wing”. The premiere anarcho-capitalist site on the net, LewRockwell.com, seems to have become a “Paleo” diet site. At the same time some of the “whole foods, plant based” doctors veer off into worrying about catastrophic man made global warming on their sites rather than sticking to the science of health and diet. I had one friend who said that she mentioned “The China Study” to a friend and he rejected it as “a bunch of socialism”. What the heck is going on?

American health has been dominated by the government for well over a hundred years and we are now sicker than we have ever been. The cost of medical care is now at an all time high and the results are…

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Fabulous Musical Moments: Mozart Concerto No. 20 in D Minor K466 Freiburger Mozart-Orchester, Michael Erren,Valentina Lisitsa

[youtube.com/watch?v=FBVITUka_30]

Mozart Concerto D Minor K466 Freiburger Mozart-Orchester, Michael Erren,Valentina Lisitsa

Filmed live May 20, 2012, Freiburg im Breisgau ,Germany
Cadenzas by Mozart’s favorite student – and billiards pal, Jan Nepomuk Hummel 🙂 

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Saint of the Day for Saturday, May 3rd, 2014: ST. JAMES THE LESSER

Saint of the Day for Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

St. James the Lesser

St. James the Less, the author of the first Catholic Epistle, was the son of Alphaeus of Cleophas. His mother Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin, and for that reason, … continue reading

More Saints of the Day – May 3

St. James the LesserSt. AdalsindisSt. AlexanderSt. DiodorusSt. EthelwinSt. GluviasSt. James the Less

St. Juvenal of NarniBl. Marie Leonie ParadisSt. PhilipSt. Philip of ZellSt. ScannalSts. Timothy & Martha

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Great Compositions/Performances: Chopin Fantasy f minor Op 49. Valentina Lisitsa

[youtube.com/watch?v=5s2mtaQZQn0]

Chopin Fantasy f minor Op 49. Valentina Lisitsa

FROM VALENTINA:  “This is Chopin’s response to Liszt’s “Funerailles” ( I know, I know, Liszt wrote it AFTER Chopin died – so let’s say it was Liszt’s response to Chopin’s Fantasy) The same plan – starting with a funeral introduction , same f -minor, same abundance of octaves… But Funerailles is a great piano war-horse, favorite of any “virtuoso” with a decent octave technique – sure and cheap way to impress and thrill the audiences. Fantasy in comparison is a poor cousin , underappreciated and often misunderstood : the worst offenders are often female pianists ( LOL, huuuuuge grin goes here ) playing it in overly sentimental and romanticized way – complete with hands flailing , eyes rolling and hair flying 🙂 Guys just can’t do it  🙂
How did it happen? Liszt was a great self-promotion and marketing guy – he discovered a neat trick of “programming” in music , forcing music “to tell a story”- and listeners suddenly thought ” Gee, now we understand what this music is about , how cool !” This was his trademark -but it was certainly not his invention. In fact , most if not all music has a “program” , something composer thought of when composing and something we think of when we listen .It can be something very concrete and extremely detailed ( Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique for example)- or just a vague hint of an idea that makes us think further ( Beethoven 5th Symphony ).The problem with detailed programs is that music can become “dated” , tied to a certain event that might be of no importance to future listeners. People can relate in perpetuity to ” the fate knocking on the door” of the 5th symphony. But we can never again ( hopefully ) feel what French audience must have felt on Berlioz’ premiere during the third movement with its guillotine strike. I bet their hair was standing up and Goosebumps were covering the listeners who still remembered Terror some years before…I think that even watching Avatar in 3D is nothing in comparison to that experience 🙂
Chopin was much more subtle in his “programs”-he catered to more sophisticated smaller audience of salons rather than big concert halls. These people knew the historical context and could understand him without need to spell it out . In order to fully appreciate his music we must know at least a bit of history too. Then it becomes clear that Chopin was so different from a stereotyped effeminate ,sickly romantic virtuoso image. He was a true titan, not in body but in spirit – singlehandedly ( with few brethren poets ,artists etc.)keeping the whole people from oblivion and cultural destruction. For his people , his country, was at this time a mere geographic term . Formerly a proud and powerful nation ,one of Europe superpowers, Poland has fallen so low because of internal discord that it was picked piece by piece by strong and brutal neighbors until it disappeared. New “owners” were bent on wiping national identity and pride to secure their new acquisitions. They would have succeeded was it not for Chopin. You know that musicologists call him a first” national” composer. For a good reason – he created an epic of his nation in music just as Homer created his in Odyssey or Virgil in Aeneid… And we are not only talking about things like Polonaises or Mazurkas fitting into this “national” category. Fantasy is a prime example of thinly veiled national music. Why? Bear with me while I take you through last foray into history. Chopin and his family ended up in a part of Poland that was grabbed by Russian Empire. He traveled abroad with Russian passport ( Chopin , a Russian composer ? LOL) and he had to lie on his exit visa application ( yes, I am serious ) that he is in transit to New World, Americas. He lived for almost whole his life with a stamp ” in Transit”. The single event in history that changed his life was Polish uprising of 1830-31, a noble but doomed to fail attempt by patriots to overthrow occupying forces ( Revolutionary Etude was written the night he got the news of Russian Cossacks entering Warsaw , he didn’t know if his family even survived all carnage and rape ) . The rebels was brutally destroyed and all the hope of freedom was lost. Chopin realized that he will never see his native land – or even his family. All his life he was carrying in his soul – and in his music – the memory of this event and of its unsung heroes. Fantasy is an ode to all those who lost their lives in the fight for freedom.”

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GREAT COMPOSITIONS/PERFORMANCES: Schubert Impromptu op. 142 No.3 B flat major

[youtube.com/watch?v=8YFX-XQLToE]
Schubert Impromptu op. 142 No.3 B flat major

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Valentina Lisitsa
Background information
Born	1973 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Classical pianist
Instruments	Piano
Website	www.valentinalisitsa.com

Valentina Lisitsa (Ukrainian: Валентина Лисиця, translit. Valentyna Lysytsya) is a Ukrainian-born and trainedclassical pianist who resides in North Carolina.^[1][2] Lisitsa is among the most frequently viewed pianists on YouTube and is often praised as a highly commendable pianist.^[3][4] Lisitsa followed a unique path to success, independently launching the beginnings of her career via social media, without initially signing to a tour promoteror record company.^[3][4]

Biography[edit]

Lisitsa was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1973. She started playing the piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital at the age of four.^[5]

Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess player.^[6]Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory,^[7] where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied under Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko.^[8] It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously.^[9] In 1991, they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida.^[7][10] That same year, they moved to the United States to further their careers as concert pianists.^[3] In 1992 the couple married.^[3] Their New York debut was at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in 1995.^[8]

After the death of her manager, and with the thought that she was “just another blonde Russian pianist”^[11] Lisitsa almost gave up on her career as a concert pianist, and contemplated becoming a local worker for the government in Washington, D.C., but changed her mind at the last minute influenced by one of her new fans in England. Lisitsa posted her first YouTube video in 2007, gaining even more online attention after uploading her own set of Chopin etudes online for free (in response to an illegal upload of the same set beforehand). Her set of Chopin etudes reached the number one slot on Amazon’s classical video recordings, and became the most-viewed online set of Chopin etudes on YouTube.^[3]

Furthering her career, Lisitsa and her husband put their life savings in recording a CD of Rachmaninov concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2010.^[3] In the spring of 2012, before her Royal Albert Hall debut, Lisitsa was signed on to Decca Records, who later released her Rachmaninov CD set.^[3] By mid-2012 she had nearly 50 million views on her YouTube videos.^[4]

Lisitsa has performed in various venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Benaroya Hall, Musikverein and Royal Albert Hall. She is well known for her online recitals and practicing streams. She has also collaborated with violinist Hilary Hahn for various recital engagements.^[7]

Discography

Lisitsa has recorded six CDs for Audiofon Records, including three solo CDs and two discs of duets with her husband Alexei Kuznetsoff; a Gold CD for CiscoMusic label with cellist DeRosa; a duet recital on VAI label with violinist Ida Haendel; and DVDs of Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Etudes, Schubert–Liszt Schwanengesang.^[12]

Her recording of the 4 sonatas for violin and piano by composer Charles Ives, made with Hahn, was released in October 2011 on Deutsche Grammophone label. Her album “Valentina Lisitsa Live at the Royal Albert Hall” (based on her debut performance at that venue 19 June 2012) was released 2 July 2012.

Lisitsa has recently recorded several projects from the composers Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Chopin, and Beethoven. Her complete album of Rachmaninoff concertos was released in October 2012 by Decca Records.^[13] The most recent album of Liszt works was released in October 2013 on Decca label in 2 formats – CD and 12″ LP which was cut unedited from analog tape.

External links

• Valentina Lisitsa’s website
• Valentina Lisitsa’s videos on YouTube
• Review of Valentina Lisitsa’s September 30, 2010 recital at George Fox University

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QUOTATION: James Fenimore Cooper – A refined simplicity is the characteristic of all high bred deportment, in every country, and a considerate humanity should be the aim of all beneath it.

A refined simplicity is the characteristic of all high bred deportment, in every country, and a considerate humanity should be the aim of all beneath it.

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) Discuss

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TODAY’S HOLIDAY: POLISH CONSTITUTION DAY

Polish Constitution Day

May 3, known in Poland as Swieto Trzeciego Maja, is a patriotic legal holiday honoring the nation’s first constitution, adopted in 1791. It introduced fundamental changes in the way Poland was governed, based on the ideas of the French Revolution, and represented an attempt to preserve the country’s independence. Although the May 3rd Constitution (as it was called) represented a great advance for the Polish people, it also aroused the anxieties of neighboring countries and eventually led to theSecond Partition two years later. More… Discuss

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TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI (1469)

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469)

Machiavelli was a prominent Florentine author and statesman. He entered political service in 1498 and became acquainted with power politics through diplomatic missions, but he eventually fell out of favor and died embittered. His best-known work, The Prince, describes the means by which a leader may gain and maintain power. The adjective “Machiavellian” has since come to describe amoral cunning and justification by power. Did Machiavelli write the work as serious advice or as satire? More… Discuss

THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: POST-WAR JAPANESE CONSTITUTION GOES INTO EFFECT (1947)

Post-War Japanese Constitution Goes into Effect (1947)

The Constitution of Japan was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II. It replaced Japan‘s previous imperial system with a form of liberal democracy, which provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees human rights. Under its terms, Japan renounces the right to wage war, and the emperor exercises a purely ceremonial role, with the prime minister acting as the head of government. What amendments have been made to the constitution since its adoption? More… Discuss

LANDSLIDE TRAGEDY IN AFGHANISTAN

Hundreds have been killed and thousands remain missing after a landslide crashed down on a remote village inAfghanistan. The enormous slide made roads impassable for the heavy machinery needed to carry out rescue and recovery efforts, so people from nearby villages have begun digging using the only tools they have available to them—their hands. More than 2,000 people resided in the village, and many had been in the process of trying to recover their belongings and livestock following an earlier, more minor landslip when the side of a nearby mountain collapsed, burying the village.More… Discuss