American voters reject Washington as it is.#uniteblue #BernieSanders— AlterNet (@AlterNet)

American voters reject Washington as it is. #uniteblue #BernieSanders http://t.co/lGtxPNPkTG pic.twitter.com/vdxMDzt1JI

— AlterNet (@AlterNet) June 3, 2015

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A woman says she was fired after she deleted an app that her boss used to track her, 24/7: — CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) May 13, 2015

 

A woman says she was fired after she deleted an app that her boss used to track her, 24/7 http://t.co/GPZ0mHQfoH pic.twitter.com/lfBwpN7yCN

— CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) May 13, 2015

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Andre Rieu – The Emperor Waltz (Kaiserwalzer) 2008

fritz51268

Andre Rieu – The Emperor Waltz (Kaiserwalzer) 2008

Uploaded on Jan 5, 2009

Andre Rieu – The Emperor Waltz (Kaiserwalzer) 2008

Johann Strauss, Kaiser Walzer, op.437

Kaiser-Walzer op. 437 (Emperor Waltz) is a waltz composed by Johann Strauss II in 1889. The famous waltz was originally titled ‘Hand in Hand’ and was intended as a toast made in August of that year by Austrian emperor Franz Josef on the occasion of his visit to the German Kaiser Wilhelm II where it was symbolic as a ‘toast of friendship’ extended by Austria to Germany.

this day in the yesteryear: Johns Hopkins University Opens (1876)

Johns Hopkins University Opens (1876)

Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University is named for philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Poorly educated and aware of Baltimore’s lack of medical facilities, Hopkins donated $7 million for the foundation of Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. The university was modeled after European universities and emphasized graduate research rather than collegiate instruction—two groundbreaking and successful decisions that influenced many other US universities. How did Hopkins get his unusual first name? More… Discuss

today’s image: Abraham Lincoln (Image: Library of Congress)

Abraham Lincoln

Born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States during one of the most turbulent times in American history. Although roundly criticized during his own time, he is recognized as one of history’s greatest figures who preserved the Union during the Civil War and proved that democracy could be a lasting form of government. Lincoln entered national politics as a Whig congressman from Illinois, but he lost his seat after one term due to his unpopular position on the Mexican War and the extension of slavery into the territories. The 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates for the Senate gave him a national reputation. In 1860, Lincoln became the first president elected from the new Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865.

Image: Library of Congress

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/picture-of-the-day#sthash.aiva8CtV.dpuf

this day in the yesteryear: Edgar Allan Poe Publishes “The Raven” (1845)

Edgar Allan Poe Publishes “The Raven” (1845)

Like Poe’s other works, “The Raven” conveys the dreamlike and often macabre forces that pervaded the author’s sensibility. While his wife suffered from a protracted illness, Poe composed this poem, which became an instant sensation when it appeared in the Evening Mirror in 1845. In the poem, the speaker, who is mourning the death of his love, Lenore, is mysteriously visited by a talking raven and asks the bird a series of questions. What is the raven’s one-word response to each query? More… Discuss

How did Edgar Alllan Poe Die? (greatest unsolved mysteries)

How did Edgar Alllan Poe Die? (greatest unsolved mysteries)

http://wtop.com/news/2014/07/how-did-edgar-allan-poe-really-die/slide/1/

How did Edgar Allan Poe really die?

Edgar Allan Poe’s lifeless body has been found in a gutter, yet signs of the reclusive writer have been found all over Baltimore. A team of muckraking journalists sift through the clues to find out what happened to him.

WASHINGTON — Edgar Allan Poe’s lifeless body has been found in a gutter, yet signs of the reclusive writer surface all over Baltimore. A team of muckraking journalists sift through the clues to find out what happened to him.

Welcome to “A Dream Within a Dream,” an “immersive, transmedia production” that invites audience members to become part of the plot.

“We turn the story on its head,” says co-writer, director and producer Nasreen Alkhateeb.

“It’s not necessarily theater, film, dance or performance art. It’s all of the above.”

There is no stage and there are no seats. Instead, audience members walk through different scenes from Poe’s collection and meet a cast of twisted and tragic characters.

Familiar stories include “The Raven,” “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Poe enthusiasts also have a chance to dive into more obscure poems such as “The Oval Portrait.”

Each vignette in “A Dream Within a Dream” offers a clue as to how Poe might have died. Was he killed by a rival writer or a jealous lover?

History has never quite answered that question. Poe died in 1849 in Baltimore’s Washington College Hospital after having disappeared for several days. Theories about the exact cause of death include excessive drinking, rabies, heart failure and murder. But details of his final days remain sketchy at best, and Poe’s death will remain one of literature’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

“A Dream Within a Dream,” titled after a poem of the same name, uses that as its premise to immerse the audience in Poe’s macabre world.

this day in the yesteryear: Treaty of Ghent Signed (1814)

Treaty of Ghent Signed (1814)

The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812 between the US and the UK. Although the treaty was signed in December, fighting continued for several weeks because it took time for news of the agreement to reach North America. The treaty essentially restored prewar borders and failed to deal with the matters of neutral rights and impressment that were the ostensible causes of the conflict. It did, however, included certain progressive terms that called for the signatories to put a stop to what? More… Discuss

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Today’s Holiday: Bill of Rights Day (2014)

Today’s Holiday

Bill of Rights Day (2014) The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution of 1787—referred to collectively as the Bill of Rights—were ratified on December 15, 1791. This landmark document protected American citizens from specific abuses by their government and guaranteed such basic rights as the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated December 15 as Bill of Rights Day and called upon Americans to observe it with appropriate patriotic ceremonies. More… Discuss

this pressed: The Wall Street Takeover of Charity – ProPublica

The Wall Street Takeover of Charity

by Jesse Eisinger

ProPublica, Dec. 10, 2014, 12:23 p.m.

Donor-advised funds run by huge money management firms are exploding.

via The Wall Street Takeover of Charity – ProPublica.

A Little Awareness Goes a Long Way

If you were told that you would need to run for 50 minutes or walk five miles (eight kilometers) in order to work off the calories of the soda you were about to buy, would you return it to the shelf? It would seem that being confronted with this sort of information about sugary beverages while shopping does influence buying habits, particularly among teens, and could be a cheap and simple way to combat the growing obesity problem plaguing many countries. More… Discuss

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Triumph of Death (El triunfo de la muerte) Psalter. Germany (S., Augsburg?), 1st half of the 16th century: Bibliophilia (@Libroantiguo) August 22, 2014

Triumph of Death (El triunfo de la muerte) Psalter. Germany (S., Augsburg?), 1st half of the 16th century. pic.twitter.com/4JJLWJWVej

(— ✍ Bibliophilia (@Libroantiguo) August 22, 2014)

great compositions/performances: Hélène Grimaud plays Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F

Gershwin : Piano Concerto (Hélène Grimaud)

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937)
“Concerto In F For Piano & Orchestra”

I. Allegro (00:00)
II. Adagio (13:53)
III. Allegro agitato (25:45)

*** Hélène Grimaud, piano

*** David Zinman & Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

(Recorded on May 24 1997, at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, Unites States.)

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facebook, poetic thought by George-B (the smudge and other poems)

facebook, poetic thought by George-B

To like or not to like:
That is today’s question:
Facebook plays with my feelings of liking and disliking,
but you know that,
it’s all over the news…the betrayal of trust of confidence,
of the most basic relationship…among people:
Fairness, not taking advantage of each other,
as a tool to make yourself rich (and make another poor)
But then you knew there is nothing sincere about facebook, that some made into faithbook: big mistake, big, big mistake)

need: to return ethics to the world!

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Today’s Birthday: FRANCES ELLEN WATKINS HARPER (1825)

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825)

Born free in Baltimore, Maryland—where slavery was still in place—Harper was raised by an abolitionist uncle and published her first volume of poetry when she 20 years old. In 1854, she gave her first anti-slavery lecture. Her second volume, Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects, made her the best known African-American poet of the era. Her short story, “The Two Offers,” was probably the first such published work by any African American. How old was she when she published her first novel? More… Discuss

 

Today’s Birthday: JOHNS HOPKINS (1795)

Johns Hopkins (1795)

Hopkins, a US merchant and financier, worked with an uncle as a wholesale grocer before going into business with his brothers in 1819. As he continued to prosper, his interests diversified into banking, insurance companies, steamship lines, and railroads. In his will, he set aside $7 million—the largest philanthropic bequest in US history at the time—for the founding of a free hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. His will also called for the establishment of what other institution? More… Discuss