Forces pulling Obama toward armed conflict in Syria grow stronger

http://ww2.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/23/forces-pulling-obama-toward-armed-conflict-in-syria-grow-stronger

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Events in Iraq, Syria and Russia further stoke debate about Obama’s worldview – The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/events-in-iraq-syria-and-russia-further-stoke-debate-about-obamas-worldview/2014/08/23/eb95db18-23ea-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html

Are we suffering from consumption?

Are we suffering from consumption? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28756372

Thumbs up for Capaldi’s Doctor

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That joke isn’t funny any more

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S Leone to punish hiding Ebola cases

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Obama orders review of U.S. police use of military hardware

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this pressed from WIRED: Measuring Inbreeding in the Greek Gods | Science Blogs | WIRED

 

Measuring Inbreeding in the Greek Gods | Science Blogs | WIRED.

Itzhak Perlman – Pablo de Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen Op.20: great compositions/performances

Itzhak Perlman – Pablo de Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen Op.20

Itzhak Perlman Violine
Pablo de Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen Op.20

Arthur Sullivan – The Mikado – Overture: make music part of your life series

FROM: Fledermaus1990

Arthur Sullivan – The Mikado – Overture

Conductor: John Carewe
Orchestra: Nürnberger Symphoniker

Frédéric Chopin – 24 Études Op. 10 & Op. 25 and 3 Nouvelles Études | Claudio Arrau, piano: make music part of your life series

Frédéric Chopin – 24 Études Op. 10 & Op. 25 and 3 Nouvelles Études | Claudio Arrau, piano

Frédéric Chopin – 12 Études Opp. 10 & 25. 3 Nouvelles Études. (Claudio Arrau, “The Philosopher of the Piano”, 1956) (2007 Digital Remastering)
Recorded: 15-22 & 29.VI. and 5.IX.1956, No.3, Abbey Road Studios, London. First issued in 1957 by Columbia Ltd. Mono/ADD
“Great Recordings of the 20th Century”. EMI Icons, EMI Classics, 2011 & Warner Classics, 2013.

I. Book No.1: 12 Etudes for Piano Op.10, 1830-32.
Before Chopin, there was a tradition of writing studies for the development of keyboard technique, but the pieces were primarily didactic. This set of 12 Études, dedicated to Liszt, represents a new form: concert pieces that serve a secondary function as development of advanced piano skills. Each étude begins with a pattern of pianistic figuration, which creates the specific technical problem for the étude and persists for the duration of the piece. That Chopin was able to create poetry in spite of such controlled and limited means of expression is a testament to his creative genius. The twelve Études published as Chopin’s Opus 10 are an indispensable tool of the modern pianist’s craft: they are a rite of passage that no serious pianist can ignore.
00:00 Nº 1 in C major. Allegro
01:59 Nº 2 in A minor. Allegro
03:23 Nº 3 in E major. Lento ma non troppo (Tritesse – L’intimite) – http://youtu.be/FKDir13g7ow
07:55 Nº 4 in C sharp minor. Presto (Torrent)
10:10 Nº 5 in G flat major. Vivace (Black Keys)
11:55 Nº 6 in E flat minor. Andante
14:49 Nº 7 in C major. Vivace (Toccata)
16:26 Nº 8 in F major. Allegro
18:51 Nº 9 in F minor. Allegro molto agitato
21:00 Nº 10 in A flat major. Vivace assai
23:14 Nº 11 in E flat major. Allegretto
26:17 Nº 12 in C minor. Allegro con fuoco (Revolutionary – Fall of Warsaw)

II. Book No.2: 12 Etudes for Piano Op.25, 1835-37.
This Op.25 collection bears a dedication to Liszt’s mistress, Countess Marie d’Agoult, a writer who used the pseudonym Daniel Stern (the Op.10 Études are dedicated to Franz Liszt). One reason Chopin attempted to capture Liszt’s sympathies with the dedications had to do with the performance design of the pieces in the two sets: each was written to highlight some facet of pianism.
28:57 Nº 1 in A flat major. Allegro sostenuto (Aeolian Harp – Shepherd Boy)
31:21 Nº 2 in F minor. Presto (Balm)
33:05 Nº 3 in F major. Allegro (Carwheel)
35:08 Nº 4 in A minor. Agitato
37:28 Nº 5 in E minor. Vivace
40:52 Nº 6 in G sharp minor. Allegro (Thirds)
43:00 Nº 7 in C sharp minor. Lento (Cello)
48:21 Nº 8 in D flat major. Vivace (Sixths)
49:30 Nº 9 in G flat major. Allegro assai (Butterfly)
50:35 Nº 10 in B minor. Allegro con fuoco
55:04 Nº 11 in A minor. Lento – Allegro con brio (Winter Wind)
58:41 Nº 12 in C minor. Allegro molto con fuoco (Ocean)

III. Trois Nouvelles Études for piano, 1839-40.
Chopin composed this set of etudes for the Méthode des methods, a publication of Ignaz Moscheles, a leading pianist and composer of his day who was not always in agreement with Chopin’s compositional techniques, and François-Joseph Fétis, a now largely forgotten Belgian musicologist.
1:01:26 Nº 1 in F minor
1:03:31 Nº 2 in A flat major
1:05:56 Nº 3 in D flat major

As always with Arrau, the Pianist takes a back seat to Music Making, are a prime example of how myth making regarding Arrau’s Recordings. Arrau approaches Chopin’s Etudes as a genuinely mature musician and sensitive interpreter. In Opus 10, No. 3, for instance, he infuses the music with a deep sadness that recalls its XIX Century title, “La Tristesse.” Incidentally, this record received the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin from the Warsaw Chopin Society when it was re-released in 1990.

The 24 Études of Frédéric Chopin (divided into two separate opuses, 10 and 25, but actually composed almost simultaneously) remain the most significant entries in that particular musical genre. Chopin refers, in a letter dating from the fall of 1829, to having written a study “in [his] own manner,” and indeed, a great chasm stands between his achievements and the far drier études of his predecessors (one thinks of Moscheles, Czerny, and Hummel in particular). It was not Chopin’s intent, as it was with many nineteenth-century pianist-composers, to create studies of mere technique and raw dexterity; here, instead, are works with an inexhaustible array of textures, moods, and colors to explore. These are works meant for the concert hall as well as for the practice room

Despite the slightly cramped, airless sonics, Arrau’s characteristically warm and ample sonority makes itself felt in these 1956 recordings. The pianist uncovers layers of depth and disquiet in the slower Études that others merely prettify. The treacherous extensions in the E-Flat Étude, for instance, are distinctly projected and balanced, rather than strummed. Arrau’s spectacularly honest technique enables him to articulate Chopin’s sparkling figurations with a liquid legato unaided by the pedal.

Related articles

• Études de concert (3), for piano, S. 144 – Claudio Arrau – HD: great compositions/performances
• Arthur Rubinstein plays Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto N.º 2 Op. 21 in F minor with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn
• Great Compositions/Performances: Liszt 3 Concert Etudes No 3 Un Sospiro Arrau Rec 1974
• Claudio Arrau
• Vladimir Horowitz 1950 / Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 “Funeral March”: unique musical moments

Modest Mussorgsky – Saint John’s Night on the Bare Mountain (Original score) / Abbado – LSO: great compositions/performances

FROM:     Panagiotis Papadakos

Modest Mussorgsky – Saint John’s Night on the Bare Mountain (Original score) / Abbado – LSO

The original Mussorgsky score (1867) and not the Rimsky Korsakov one (1886).

From wikipedia:
Night on Bald Mountain is a composition by Modest Mussorgsky that exists in, at least, two versions—a seldom performed 1867 version or a later (1886) and very popular “fantasy for orchestra” arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, A Night on the Bare Mountain (Ночь на лысой горе, Noch’ na lysoy gorye), based on the vocal score of the “Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad” (1880) from The Fair at Sorochyntsi with some revisions, most notably the omission of the choir.[citation needed] There is also a version orchestrated by twentieth-century conductor Leopold Stokowski; this is the version used in the now-classic 1940 Walt Disney animated film Fantasia.

Inspired by Russian literary works and legend, Mussorgsky made a witches’ sabbath the theme of the original tone poem, completed on 23 June 1867 (St. John’s Eve). St. John’s Night on the Bare Mountain and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “musical picture” Sadko (also composed in 1867) share the distinction of being the first tone poems by Russian composers.

As with so much of Mussorgsky’s music, the work had a tortuous compositional history and was arranged after his death in 1881 by his friend and fellow member of The Mighty Handful Rimsky-Korsakov. It was never performed in any form during Mussorgsky’s lifetime.[2] The Rimsky-Korsakov edition premiered in 1886, and has become a concert favorite.

Setting:
Russian legend tells of a witches’ sabbath taking place on St. John’s Night (June 23–24) on the Lysa Hora (Bald Mountain), near Kiev.

Program:
The following program is taken from the score: Сбор ведьм, их толки и сплетни (Assembly of the witches, their chatter and gossip) Поезд Сатаны (Cortège of Satan) Чёрная служба, Messe noire (Black service, Black mass) Шабаш (Sabbath)

More details and a variation to this program may be found in a letter written by the composer to Vladimir Nikolsky: “So far as my memory doesn’t deceive me, the witches used to gather on this mountain, gossip, play tricks and await their chief — Satan. On his arrival they, i.e. the witches, formed a circle round the throne on which he sat, in the form of a kid, and sang his praise. When Satan was worked up into a sufficient passion by the witches’ praises, he gave the command for the sabbath, in which he chose for himself the witches who caught his fancy. –So this is what I’ve done.
At the head of my score I’ve put its content:
1. Assembly of the witches, their talk and gossip;
2. Satan’s journey;
3. Obscene praises of Satan; and
4. Sabbath… The form and character of the composition are both Russian and original”.

Related articles

• Modest Mussorgsky – Saint John’s Night on the Bare Mountain (Original score) / Abbado – LSO
• Fabulous Composers/Compositions: Rimsky-Korsakov – Christmas Eve: Orchestral Suite (1895)

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Business Standard

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Forces pulling Obama toward armed conflict in Syria grow stronger

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Amazon to dig deeper into YOUR shopping habit BRAIN with targeted ads system • The Register

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‘Retaliation’: Unsealed docs show prosecutors’ broad search tactics against conservatives | Fox News

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Dude who stopped Starbucks kindness chain: Grinch or just grumpy? – CSMonitor.com

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Briton in Sierra Leone ‘tests positive for Ebola’ – BBC News

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CBC News – Gaza crisis: Violence continues despite Egyptian call for ceasefire

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Bombings kill 30 in Iraq after Sunni mosque attack – Houston Chronicle

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‘We are in your cities’: Alleged ISIS terrorists threaten U.S. via Twitter; FBI orders police to be on high alert – NY Daily News

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Miley banned in Dominican Republic

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China film festival shut down

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Russian aid convoy leaves Ukraine

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Beware the smartphone apps you download

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Suicide attacks kill at least 17 in Iraq after mosque shooting – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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Saint of the Day for Saturday, August 23rd, 2014: St. Philip Benizi

St. Philip Benizi

Servite cardinal and preacher. Born in Florence, Italy, to a noble family, he was educated in Paris and Padua where he earned a doctorate in medicine and philosophy. He practiced medicine for some … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

St. Philip Benizi St. Apollinaris St. Ascelina St. Astericus and Companions St. Eugene St. Flavian of Autun St. Lupicinus St. Lupus

St. Minervius St. Quiriacus of Ostia St. Restitutus St. Rose of Lima St. Theonas St. Tydfil St. Victor of Vita St. Zacchaeus of Jerusalem

today’s holiday: Festival of the Giants

Festival of the Giants

One of Belgium’s more distinctive and colorful pageants, held in Ath (or Aat), highlights the “Marriage of the Giants.” The giants—Goliath and his bride, strong-man Samson, a warrior named Ambiorix, and several others—20-foot-tall figures made of wicker and cloth, are paraded through the streets. After they lumber through the streets to the Church of St. Julien, Goliath and his lady are married. Besides the procession, the day is marked by the shooting of muskets, revelry, eating, drinking, and dancing. More… Discuss

quotation: The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. Charles Darwin

The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Discuss

today’s birthday: Georges Cuvier (1769)

Georges Cuvier (1769)

Cuvier was a renowned French naturalist and zoologist considered the founder of comparative anatomy. He rejected the theory of evolution and instead embraced catastrophism, which proposes that geological changes on Earth have been caused by sudden upheaval rather than by gradual and continuing processes. He also greatly advanced the science of paleontology by reconstructing the soft parts of fossils deduced from their skeletal remains. What extinct flying reptile did Cuvier identify and name? More… Discuss

this day in the yesteryear: William Wallace Is Executed (1305)

William Wallace Is Executed (1305)

Wallace was a Scottish knight who, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, led a resistance movement against the English occupation. He gained control of Scotland briefly, but a Scottish knight betrayed him to the English in 1305. Found guilty of treason, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. Much of what is known about his life is based on legend and the patriotic epic, The Wallace, written by 15th-century minstrel Blind Harry. What was done with Wallace’s remains after his execution? More… Discuss

Venice (on my mind) + Venetian and Neapolitan Music for Consort of Viols / L’Amoroso

Venice

The Italian city of Venice spans more than 100 small islands in the Venetian Lagoon of the Adriatic Sea. Separating the islands are about 150 narrow canals crossed by some 400 bridges. The curving Grand Canal is the city’s main traffic artery. Now a tourist, commercial, and industrial center, Venice was at its artistic peak during the Renaissance, and it owes its origin to refugees who came to the islands while fleeing Lombard invaders in the 6th century. What are traghetti? More… Discuss

 

word: calumniate

calumniate 

Definition:	(verb) To make maliciously or knowingly false statements about.
Synonyms:	asperse, besmirch, defame, slander, smirch, denigrate, sully, smear
Usage:	Martha knew it was wrong to calumniate her former employer, but she was still so angry about being fired that she could not help herself. Discuss.

DHS: Cyberattack launching ‘Backoff’ malware on businesses’ point-of-sale systems | Maine News

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this pressed from tomsguide.com: Google Blocks Local Content Streaming on Chromecast

“So much for streaming your own content with third-party apps.”

So much for streaming your own content with third-party apps.

Google has reportedly launched an update to its Chromecast media streamer that signals the company’s intention to heavily police what users can do with the device. As it stands now, Chromecast users can no longer stream local content to their HDTVs from a third-party app, a move believed to be no accidental side effect from the recent firmware update.

via Google Blocks Local Content Streaming on Chromecast.

Radical shifts needed to combat IS

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May pledges new anti-extremist powers

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UN call to ‘prevent Iraq massacre’

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Free PC Maintenance Software 2013 – PC Protection – Tom’s Guide

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Prosecuting Officer Wilson Won’t Bring Justice to Ferguson – The Daily Beast

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Russian Truck Convoy Begins Leaving Eastern Ukraine

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West poised to join forces with President Assad in face of Islamic State – Middle East – World – The Independent

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