Category: Literature & Poetry

February 18, 2015

My Personal Top 10 Female Singers – No 5

…in no particular order & with my favorite recording…

Number Five: Gundula Janowitz

Richard Strauss: “Four Last Songs”, with Herbert von Karajan directing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

GundulaGundula Janowitz

Perhaps it is often the first version you hear of an iconic piece of music, that becomes your favorite! In my case it is this particular recording of “The Four Last Songs” by Richard Strauss, sung by Gundula Janowitz and directed by Herbert von Karajan. (Sorry fans of Elisabeth Schwartzkopf)

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February 14, 2015

Love, according to Snoopy

The Meaning of Life and Love in Peanuts

peanuts-lovestory1

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February 11, 2015

Latin Lover!

Carpe Diem! Ad hoc! Mea Culpa! Bona Fide! Ad Nauseam! De Facto! Ergo! Cum Laude! Modus Operandi! Per Se! Sine Qua Non! Vice Versa! Etc.!

Latin scholar or not, so many expression in our daily life are straight from Latin and they are GOOD! Short and to the point, like the Romans themselves…

SPQR2 2Original Roman inscription “Senatus Populusque Romanus”, The Senate and People of Rome (great font too!)

So why is Latin so enduring despite it being a dead language? It served as the universal language until the 17th century when it was gazumped by French, which was in turn gazumped by English in the mid-20th century (the French are still not over that, but that is another subject!).

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February 10, 2015

Napoleonic Tiger

“What news? Ma foi! The tiger has broken out of his den. The monster was three days at sea. The wretch has landed at Fréjus. The Brigand has arrived at Antibes. The Invader has reached Grenoble. The General has entered Lyons. Napoleon slept last night at Fontainebleau. The Emperor proceeds to the Tuileries to-day. His Imperial Majesty will address his loyal subjects to-morrow.”

This is how Napoleon’s return from Elba was progressively regarded in Paris.

Leopard1

After zebra and leopard, we still have to discuss tiger print… Less common, but perhaps more subtle, tiger print works well in velvet and silk, and when used sparingly, has maximum effect. The lady above has adorned my mood board for years: a total look, but irresistible!

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February 6, 2015

Feline Elegance

The Lady & her Cat…

“The term “Cat Lady” can evoke the image of an unfashionable, unkempt, and slightly unhinged spinster hoarding multiple cats. The book “Cat Lady Chic” by Diane Lovejoy serves as the antidote to this unflattering point of view, celebrating the Cat Lady with a compilation of artful, playful, and sophisticated images of some of the most renowned, beautiful, and accomplished women in modern history with the cats they love”.

BlackCatModel Mary Jane Russel with black cat – photograph by Louise Dahl-Wolf

This is the amusing description of the book “Cat Lady Chic“. Much is written about the attraction between women and cats, a subject often looked upon with great suspicion by those who do not understand it.

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