Saturday, March 9, 2013

Financial Times "The Undivided Past" book review 3/10/2013

Since today was my book review reading day, this one nicely ties in to how we view the past, the point of view we take and how  maybe it should shift, from focus on subjects we think are important to more generalized growth of civilization topics thus doing away with labels that lead to warring ways.  This is a brief synopsis of the long book review that raises some interesting points.  I am not sure we can congregate in our similarities, because the nature of man, is our differences....just as an article on The Future Cities I read in one of my morning papers today talks about how the cities reflect the tastes, desires, culture etc., of the people that build them.

 In my opinion we differ for many reasons.  For a society to grow  we need to have leaders, who create companies that employ people, we need to work so we can earn  leisure to be creative, to think about how to make a better life, to create art and music etc.,  a great society needs all kinds of people so we can learn to love in all the ways intended by the universe.

Think about it...how creative can you be, to build a world that will help others?  The smallest acts of creativity can make life better for someone else.  Often when teaching school, I thought how we make our own lives, sad and depressed, happy and joyful, and it is all up to us, to set out to find the formula.
Just helping others in need by small acts of kindness, can change body chemistry, but it needs to be done regularly, just as exercise for the body, there has to be a mental  exercise for body chemistry to change .  But then what do I know....I am the one that says, we need to teach self awareness in the early grades....maybe if we talk about a change in teaching self awareness and helping others, the unmeasurable rewards will bring the needed change.


FDR and the Jews, Book review NY Times 3/9/2013

This is a good book review(page C1) that gives an emerging look at a much discussed subject.  It is best to read it and form your own opinion of the time, decide if you want to read the book and learn more.  What I liked best was the concluding two paragraphs of the article..in quoting Henry L, Feingold, the author of The Politics of Rescue: The Roosevelt Administration and the Holocaust, 1938-1945, 

"The survivors said, 'You didn't do enough to save us,' and who could deny it?"  Mr. Feingold said, "But do you write history as it should have been or as it was?"

Interesting, that another article (Page C5), A Triangle of Mutating Meanings , talks about the past, and uses these words in the play it is discussing, "There are things I remember which may never have happened, but as I recall them so they take place," Anna says in "Old Times."

Wall Street Journal Saturday 3/9/2013

Wow, what a lot of fun I had with the Journal this morning,especially the C section of the paper,
A Creative New /Frame Game, was interesting and a new trend for artists to make the frame as beautiful and or enticing as the picture in it.  I loved the + Rashaad Newsome creation titled Rapture take a moment to read the article or find it on line...

Wall Street Journal Themes and Variations of Willai Gass

As a music lover, and a person who feels music tells a story, this article interested me.  It begins with the belief that "life was mostly made of themes and variations."  I too, agree with that.  Gass tries to capture the spirit of music in his writings, but music composition, tonality etc., suffers in the replication of Schonbergs style in transfer to written words, rather than notes.  I stayed with the article because of my interest in it, and you too might find it worth reading the review of the book Middle C.  My feeling is that music has to tell a story in the mind of the listener.  What do you think?

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Newport Mansions activity..


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March 21
Lecture: Considering Cultural Landscapes, Design & Historic Preservation Together
April 11
Lecture: Restoring a Double Architectural Icon-Notre Dame de Paris
April 28-May1
The Newport Symposium
May 11
Green Animals Plant Sale
June 13
Annual Meeting
June 21-23
Newport Flower Show
August 2-August 3
Newport Mansions Stores Warehouse Sale
August 3
A Summer Masked Venetian Ball at The Elms
August 6
An Evening in Honor of John G. Winslow
August 19
Annual Golf Outing
August 30-Sept. 2
Newport Mansions Stores Members' Sale
September 20-22
Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival
November 14-17
Newport Mansions Stores Members' Sale
November 23-Jan. 1
Christmas at the Newport Mansions
December 6-7
Newport Mansions Stores Warehouse Sale
December 21
Holiday Dinner Dance


Newport Mansions News & Events
An Important International Loan
The Preservation Society will loan one of its paintings to Houghton Hall in Norfolk, England, which is planning a major exhibition to reconstruct the 18th century art collection of Sir Robert Walpole, its founder and Britain's first Prime Minister. This portrait of Anne of Ditchley (c. 1680) by Sir Peter Lely, which hangs in the Morning Room of The Breakers, was originally part of the Walpole collection. The State Hermitage Museum and five other museums in Russia, as well as the National Gallery of Art in Washington and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York are also contributing pieces to the exhibition. The Houghton Hall exhibition is scheduled to run from May 8-September 29, 2013.
Researching Newport's Historic Urban Plan
You're invited to join us this Wednesday, March 6 for a presentation explaining Newport's historic maps in detail and to hear the latest news about this ongoing research project. Funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, the Preservation Society is conducting extensive research examining the historic urban plan of Newport from its initial settlement in 1638 to the present day. Join us at Rosecliff on Wednesday at 11 a.m. for a panel discussion with five local experts. Admission is free, but advance registration is requested.
Drexel Lecture Examines Cultural Landscapes
Save the date and join us at Rosecliff at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 for the annual Noreen Stonor Drexel Preservation Lecture, Considering Cultural Landscapes, Design & Historic Preservation Together, with Charles Birnbaum, Founder and President of The Cultural Landscape Foundation. From the formal gardens of its grand estates to the natural beauty of Ocean Drive, Newport's historic landscapes have played a critical role in shaping the region's historic identity. Mr. Birnbaum will explore the preservation of cultural landscapes, which include historic sites, formally designed and vernacular landscapes.The lecture is free but advance registration is required.
Read our Architectural Historian's Blog
Our Architectural Historian John Tschirch is writing regularly about art, design and culture in Newport.

Read his most recent post here.
Please Support the Annual Fund
We're in the home stretch for the 2013 Annual Fund! Great houses connect people to a nation's heritage and open windows to another age. Your contribution to the Annual Fund is an investment in Newport's cherished architectural and cultural history and in our region's economic well-being. We thank everyone who has been so very generous so far. All who give $250 or more will be recognized in the 2013 Annual Report. If you haven't made your Annual Fund contribution yet, please do so by March 31 to be included in this year's campaign. Making a gift is easy. You may:
1) Make your donation online;
2) Mail a check made out to The Preservation Society of Newport County to : Annual Fund, The Preservation Society of Newport County, 424 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840;
3) Call (401) 847-1000 ext. 142
Easter Egg Hunt Tickets Going Fast
The Easter Bunny and friends There's still time to make your reservations for our annual Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch at Rosecliff. But don't wait, space is filling up fast. It's Saturday, March 30 at 10 a.m. Collect eggs, compete for prizes, meet the Easter Bunny and then retire into the house for a hearty Easter brunch. Sponsored in part by Lindt.
Register Now for the Newport Symposium:
Hidden Treasures
Newport Sympoisum logo
The 21st annual Newport Symposium, April 28 to May 1, 2013, will explore the rarest and finest objects from all corners of the globe, with lectures that examine the most remote, hard-to-see historic sites, and the remarkable stories of art treasures that have been lost and then reclaimed.
Admission to the Symposium is $500 for Preservation Society members; $550 for non-members; and $150 for students (student price valid for lectures only & requires proof of enrollment).

The Newport Symposium is sponsored in part by National Trust Insurance Services, LLC; U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; and Christie's.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Blossom Dearie - Lover Man (1957)

Bet you forgot Blossom Dearie, I did....just a little treat...to bring her back to your attention

Monday, March 4, 2013

Is this the end of death as we know it? | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Is this the end of death as we know it? | Technology | guardian.co.uk   This was a tidy little piece about everyone's favorite subject.  Will we live on after death....I have my own ideas, which I published in my book, Secrets of the Heart, about the Resurection and how it came about, thru light waves.  Maybe the researchers will finally prove that, as it appears from the History Channel last night, where they recreated the face of Christ from the Shroud of Turin that is in Italy and the Veil..that is in Spain.    Anyway, have fun reading this little piece, and look on the History Channel to find the latest on the Shroud of Turin.

1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster on of the world's rarest cars

1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster   I posted this, and a box came up for Amazon, which might have led some of you to believe that the picture was not available, you had to touch the  blue letters, so I am posting it again for those of you that missed it.

"Siriously Sinatra", a great contribution to music

Can;t help but think how important Siriously Sinatra is now and how it will be in the future.  Just think about it, interviews with stars who have passed on, a catalogue of programs that will be forever, because the music lives forever.  I wonder if they can develop a video Siriously Sinatra program ?  It might be just as wonderful with the advent of tv in the cars, to see and hear the performers will be great!

If you are a young singer, and want to be heard in the Jazz world, find your way to Siriously Sinatra.  The new young singers that are frequently appearing with the old jazz songs on Siriously Sinatra, are + Michael Buble, and +Steve Tyrell.  There is nothing like being heard to get your career going!  I love Siriously Sinatra, and I love being able to share my favorite music with you on my blogspot, to boost the music of the Great American Songbook, and  the original singers who are fading away, while introducing  the new singers, who really don't need the promotion, but, doesn't everyone love to be loved?
It is such a boone to have this technology..  Steve Tyrell was at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach this past week and everyone is talking about him.  We love him!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Crystal Gayle - Cry

One more by Crystal, her voice has tears in it, when she sings this song.

Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

Here is a beauty , we have not heard for years, and where is Crystal Gayle?  What a wonderful feeling when listening to this song, great voice, melody, arrangement.