Month: October 2023

11
Oct
2023

WED-NES-DAY or something…

Today is Revolution Day, a public holiday in North Macedonia. Also known as Uprising against Fascism Day, this holiday commemorates the start of the anti-fascist war on this day in 1941.

At the time of the second world war, North Macedonia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. On April 6th 1941, German armed forces launched the invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia quickly subjugating the nation. The area of modern-day North Macedonia was known as Vardar Banovina and axis control was divided between Bulgaria, German-occupied Serbia, and Italian-controlled Albania.

Initially, the communists in Yugoslavia had decided to remain neutral in the war and were happy enough to sit and watch the ‘imperials’ fight each other. That changed when Nazi Germany declared war on the Soviet Union. It then became the duty of every communist to resist the Axis powers, wherever and whenever they could.

The Macedonian resistance played a key part in the victory over fascism in the region. After the war, the resistance had created a renewed sense of Macedonian nationalism. The Communists, having taken a lead in the resistance would go on to overthrow the Yugoslav monarchy in November 1945 and proclaim the People’s Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Signz

I totally missed the birthday of Giuseppe Verdi, amazing opera composer, two days ago in 1813. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZvgmpiQCcI

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, opera
10
Oct
2023

the morning of TUESDAY!

Today is Maroons Day, a public holiday in Suriname. This holiday celebrates the heritage and contribution to Suriname by the Maroon people.

Maroons were Africans and their descendants in the Americas who formed settlements away from slavery. Some had escaped from plantations, but others were born free within these communities. Maroon communities grew up in several places in the Americas and even in other colonized parts of the world, such as Madagascar.

Suriname was seized by the Dutch in 1667. The Dutch then established about 200 plantations producing sugar, coffee, cocoa and cotton, most of which was exported back to Holland. Over 13,000 African slaves were brought to Suriname to man these plantations. The local Maroon community grew from slaves who managed to escape from the plantations into the jungle. It is a reflection on the horrific conditions within the plantations, that living in a wild, inhospitable South American jungle was preferable to most slaves. The Maroons grew in number and would attack the plantations to acquire supplies and to free female slaves.

On October 10th 1760, the Maroons signed a peace treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities whereby they were recognized as free people and received a yearly tribute that provided them with the goods they used to take from the plantations.

Today is the birthday, in 1955, of American rock vocalist, songwriter David Lee Roth who with Van Halen had the 1984 US No.1 & UK No.7 single ‘Jump’ and the solo, 1988 hit single ‘Just Like Paradise’. Van Halen’s 1978 debut album has sold more than twelve million copies. This video gets to a slow start so skip to about 1:30 to start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN-4lX0QyZc

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Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music
06
Oct
2023

F…R…I…D…A…Y!!!!!!!!

Today is Education Day, a public holiday in Kiribati. It is a day set aside to show respect and appreciation for teachers and their contribution to society. It is celebrated on World Teachers’ Day, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiative.

Kiribati is an island country in the central Pacific. Its total land area is about 313 square miles spread over about 1.3 million square miles of ocean. The name is pronounced Kiribass, as -ti in the Gilbertese language represents an s sound. The name “Kiribati” was adopted in 1979 at independence. It is the Gilbertese rendition of Gilberts, the plural of the English name of the nation’s main archipelago, the Gilbert Islands.

The Gilbert Islands gained independence from the UK as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Then, in September, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Islands, in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati and they became a part of Kiribati.

Kiribati is among the countries most endangered by climate change and associated sea level rise. It is an existential threat to the country and its people. Most of the atolls rise no more than 26 feet above sea level and the rising ocean levels are already reducing the arable land due to salt water encroachment. Two islets have already disappeared under water and the bulk of the country may be uninhabitable by 2050. High tides periodically inundate areas of the country.

Today is the birthday, in 1948, of Jamaican singer Millie Small, (Millie), who scored the 1964 US & UK No.2 single ‘My Boy Lollipop’. It remains one of the biggest-selling ska songs of all time, with more than seven million sales. She died on 5 May 2020 aged 72 after suffering a stroke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiuPND4W6KM

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
05
Oct
2023

It must be…….THURSDAY!!!!!!

Today is Republic Day in Portugal. In Portugal it is known as “Implantation of the Republic”. It commemorates the establishment of a republican form of government in 1910 when the monarchy, the House of Braganca, that had been in power since the 11th century was overthrown in a bloodless revolution.

The First Republic lasted for just 16 turbulent years, ending with the 28 May coup d’état of 1926. This put in place a military dictatorship known as the National Dictatorship. This was followed by the fascist Estado Novo (New State) regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, which proved to be the longest serving authoritarian regime in Western Europe.

Christmas is coming…

SIGNZZZZZZ…

Today is the birthday, in 1942, of American Richard Street, who with The Temptations had the 1971 US No.1 & UK No.8 single ‘Just My Imagination’ and the re-issued ‘My Girl’ which was a UK No.2 hit in 1992. Street died on 27th February 2013 after a short illness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eepLY8J4E6c

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
04
Oct
2023

Welcome WEDNESDAY!

Today is the Day of Peace and Reconciliation in Mozambique – a public holiday. The holiday marks the official end of the civil war on this day in 1992.

You can often get a sense of the trauma that a country has gone through in its history by looking at its public holidays. In the case of Mozambique, this is especially true with four public holidays charting the country’s long and violent struggle for independence from Portugal. Weapons on the country’s flag might be another indicator.

In 1976, Mozambique was still recovering from the struggle for independence, when the new FRELIMO (The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) government fought against the opposition RENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance). After ousting the Portuguese, FRELIMO had instigated a one-party Marxist state, which was resisted by the anti-communist RENAMO rebels, supported by the Rhodesian secret service and South Africa’s apartheid-era military.

The war was a devastating conflict that killed an estimated one million people, with 1.7 million Mozambicans becoming refugees in neighboring countries. Though no side was able to win a decisive victory, the change from Marxism to capitalism by the government after the collapse of the Soviet Union, enabled movements towards ending the war. On October 4th 1992, the government and RENAMO signed the General Peace Accord (GPA) in Rome, Italy, officially ending the Mozambican civil war.

Talking to kids…

No good birthdays today but tomorrow marks the death, in 1880, of Jacques Offenbach, the French composer responsible for much wonderful music including the excerpt from his opera, Orpheus in the Underworld, performed here by a delightfully unconventional orchestra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU0IyxvcH4E

Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music