Yuja Wang

27
Jun
2024

WED….no, no, no – it’s THURSDAY

Today is the Day of National Unity, a public holiday in Tajikistan. National Unity Day commemorates the signing of the national peace accord in 1997 which ended the civil war.

By the middle of the 19th century, Russian conquests in Central Asia brought most of modern-day Tajikistan under Tsarist control. During the Soviet period, and despite the efforts of the USSR to establish a Soviet collective culture, the Tajiks maintained a fierce sense of nationalism and pride in their own history and culture. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Soviet declared Tajikistan’s independence from the Soviet Union on September 9th 1991.

Almost immediately, Tajikistan descended into civil war. The war was fought on regional lines, with rebels from the Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions rising up against the newly-formed government of President Rahmon Nabiyev, which was dominated by people from the Khujand and Kulyab regions. All but about 25,000 of the 400,000 ethnic Russiansin Tajikistan fled to Russia.

In the five years of the conflict, an estimated 100,000 had died in the fighting, with more than a million others being refugees with the country. On June 27th 1997, the “General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan” and the “Moscow Protocol’ were signed, bringing the war to an end.

Found in a Chinese shop

Some…

Some folks are introverts

SIGNZ

I didn’t find any good birthdays today. Here is the amazing Yuja Wang playing ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ (Vol du Bourdon). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alxBofd_eQ

Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music
26
Oct
2023

This…………….is THURSDAY!

Today is Austria’s National Day. Austria’s national holiday (German: Nationalfeiertag) is a public holiday on October 26th each year. This public holiday commemorates Austria’s Declaration of Neutrality on this day in 1955.

The Declaration of Neutrality was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on October 26th 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament.

The declaration was a direct result of the allied occupation by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France between 1945 and 1955. The Soviet Union would not have agreed to the signing of a State Treaty in May 1955 if Austria had not committed itself to declare its neutrality after the allied forces had left the country. The final foreign troops left Austria on October 25th 1955.

Geeky stuff…

SIGNZ

Today is the birthday, in 1685, of Doménico Scarlatti, Baroque composer known mainly for his 555 keyboard sonatas. Here is the amazing Yuja Want with one of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIAk61xEZ80

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Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music
17
Oct
2023

TUESDAY has arrived!

Today is the Day of Dignity, a public holiday in Bolivia. This day commemorates those who died on this day in 2003 protesting the exploitation of Bolivia’s oil and gas reserves by a US-based company.

Oil had become an important export for Bolivia, a land-locked country. However under the agreement with the company exploiting the resources and under a trade agreement with the United States, only 18% of the price of the oil would come to Bolivia. In 2002, the government proposed building a pipeline through Chile to export the oil. This decision exacerbated the unrest of the Bolivians as Chile had an antagonistic relationship with Bolivia.

The conflict escalated into confrontations with the Bolivian military until October 17, 2003 when more than 60 were killed and more than 400 injured. The President fled to the United States. In 2006, Evo Morales was elected and he nationalized the gas reserves and declared this Day of Dignity.

Ummm…okay…

Bada Bing!!!

When I say “the other day” it could be any time between yesterday and my birth.

I assume that a Columbus Day sale means I can just walk into a store and take whatever I want.

How many times do I have to click ‘I accept cookies’ before they send me the COOKIES!

Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving so self-checkout cashiers can be with their families.

Turns out I’m “woke.” All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history.

So, do you wash your clothes before you drop them off at a Goodwill donation center mostly to make sure your DNA won’t show up at a crime scene someday or do I overthink things?

I was in the half of the class that made the top half possible.

Welcome to old age. All the foods you ever loved are now trying to kill you.

Facebook has taught me a couple of things. First, there are some incredibly brilliant people in the world. Second, they are vastly outnumbered.

Today marks the death, in 1849, of Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose “poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation” Here is the amazing Yuja Wang playing is beautiful Waltz in C sharp minor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_E51SV0Zus

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Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music
28
Jun
2023

Last WEDNESDAY in June!

Today is Independence Day in Djibouti. It is the National Day of Djibouti and marks the country’s declaration of independence in 1977, ending nearly a century of French rule. On May 8th 1977, a referendum took place. An overwhelming 98.8% of the electorate voted for independence from France and thus, on June 27th 1977, Djibouti became the last of France’s African colonies to gain independence.

That time of year…

I Came Into The Office Early And Switched As Many M And N Keys On Keyboards As I Could. Some Might Say I’m A Monster But Others Will Say Nomster

No good birthdays today. Here’s the amazing Yuja Wang playing variations on the Turkish March (Mozart) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGAPTRrAilY

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Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music
20
Mar
2023

MONDAY – the First Day of Spring!

Today is Saint Joseph’s Day, a public holiday in Colombia. Saint Joseph’s Day is the feast day for Joseph, the husband of Mary and the adoptive and earthly father of Jesus according to Christian belief. In Colombia, Saint Joseph’s Day is also referred to as “Dia del Hombre”, meaning “Day of Men”. It is seen as a celebration not only of Joseph and of the role of good fathers, but also of the role of men in general in society.

KOLLEDGE

Today is the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere. In pagan circles it is a day to honor the Goddess of Spring known as Ostara or Eostre (from whose name the word “Easter” comes).

Saturday was the birthday, in 1844, of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian romantic composer. Here is the amazing Yuja Wang playing ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ a musical interlude from his opera – the Tale of Tsar Saltan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alxBofd_eQ

Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music