word: ultramarine

ultramarine

Definition:	(noun) A blue pigment made from powdered lapis lazuli; a vivid or strong blue to purplish blue.
Synonyms:	indigo, French blue
Usage:	She found a piece of fabric dyed ultramarine, which would make a perfect sash for the light blue dress she was making. Discuss.

Angela Gheorghiu – Je dis que rien ne me epouvante – Carmen Bizet, great compositions/performances

Bizet: Angela GHEORGHIU – Je dis que rien ne me epouvante – Carmen

Alice Bathory

Uploaded on Aug 3, 2007

Angela Gheorghiu sings Micaela’s aria “Je dis que rien ne me epouvante”, in Bizet’s opera ‘Carmen’, Conducted by James Levine.
(MET, 1997)

Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante, Micaëla's aria from Carmen

C'est des contrebandiers le refuge ordinaire.   It is the smugglers ordinary 
                            refuge.
Il est ici; je le verrai!           He is here, I will see him!
Et le devoir que m'imposa sa mère       And the task that his mother 
                            imposed
Sans trembler je l'accomplirai          Without  trembling, I will 
                            accomplish it.

Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante,     I say that nothing can frighten me.
Je dis, hélas! que je réponds de moi;   I say, alas, that I respond to myself;
Mais j'ai beau faire la vaillante...    But I play the part of the courgeous
                        one in vain...
Au fond du coeur je meurs d'effroi! From the bottom of my heart, I die of 
                        fear!
Seule en ce lieu sauvage        Alone in this savage place
Toute seule j'ai peur,          All alone I am afraid,
Mais j'ai tort d'avoir peur.        But I am wrong to have fear.
Vous me donnerez du courage;        You will give me courage;
Vous me protégerez, Seigneur!       You will protect me, Lord!

Je vais voir de près cette femme,   I am going to see face to face this
                        woman,
Dont les artifices maudits      Whose cursed guile
Ont fini par faire un infâme        Has ended up to make a vile person
De celui que j'aimais jadis!        Of him that I love once!
Elle est dangereuse...elle est belle!   She is dangerous, she is beautiful!
Mais je ne veux pas avoir peur!     But I do not want to be afraid!
Non, non, je ne veux pas avoir peur!    No, no, I do not want to be afraid!
Je parlerai haut devant elle...ah!  I will speak up before her...ah!
Seigneur, vous me protégerez.       Lord, you will protect me.
Protégez-moi!  Ô Seigneur!      Protect me!  O Lord!
Donnez-moi du courage!          Give me courage!

Word by word translation by Terri Eickel

Article: Diamond Simulants (you know look alikes)

Diamond Simulants

Country singers and Las Vegas dancers, among others, can thank diamond simulants for jazzing up their glitzy ensembles. Diamond simulants are materials with gemological characteristics resembling those of real diamonds. They are distinct from synthetic diamonds, which, unlike simulants, are made of the same chemical elements as natural diamonds. Common examples of artificial diamond simulants are rhinestones and cubic zirconia. What are some examples of natural diamond simulants? More… Discuss

today’s birthday: Fritz Lang (1890)

Fritz Lang (1890)

A successful Austrian director, Lang gained worldwide acclaim with his early German expressionistic films Metropolis and M. After making the anti-Nazi film The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse, he fled Germany in 1933, eventually settling in the US, where he revived his career. His Hollywood films rival his earlier works in their intensity, pessimism, and visual mastery. What was Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels‘s unexpected response to The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse? More… Discuss

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The MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas (watch youtube video)

The MGM Grand Hotel

One of the largest hotels on Earth, the MGM Grand opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1993. It had a very different look then than it does today, originally boasting an extensive Wizard of Oz theme that has since been scrapped in favor of an Art Deco motif. The complex also included a theme park, which was meant to make the Vegas Strip more family friendly, but it performed poorly and was closed in 2000. Why did many Chinese patrons avoid the MGM Grand’s main entrance prior to its redesign? More… Discuss
[youtube.com/watch?v=MFarG_FbsAY]

MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas

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