I have been asked by my editors to introduce the “Ask Simone” feature. What better way to do this than to ask myself some questions which I will then proceed to answer. Today’s topic is OPERA. So here goes! 1. If you wanted to introduce a total novice to opera which one would you select? […]
Swimming Against The Currents
To think and act against the fashion of the day is the beginning of wisdom. It is said that to get to the source you have to swim upstream. Salmon swim that way to lay their eggs and to maximize their offspring’s chances of survival. Other fish too swim from the ocean to the […]
Happy 97th Birthday Simone!
From the Editor….Here’s a video of Simone coming down the middle part of the 52 stairs from her front door to the street (taken about two weeks ago) Our author turned 97 on January 14th and we wanted you to see her in motion. I complimented her on how well she was navigating. She replied, […]
Send In The Women
Political scientist Valerie M. Hudson wrote: “Men agreed to be ruled by other men in return for all men ruling over women.” It is because of male domination at home and in the political arena that women’s march toward full equality has been painfully slow and tortuous. This year 110 women, nearly all Democrats, were […]
Mozart and Mambo
Music is a contact sport. An electric current passes through the conductor to the orchestra and through the orchestra to the audience. Audiences clap or shout “Bravo” (unless they boo and hiss.) This response in turn rebounds back to the performers. Gutsavo Dudamel understands this phenomenon extremely well and maximizes the connection. Dudamel is the […]
Putin Frolics in the Sea of Azov – The World Yawns
Last month, Russian forces seized and shot at three Ukrainian vessels attempting to cross through the Kerch Strait, a narrow passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Six sailors were injured. The Russians then boarded two warships and a tugboat, detaining more sailors and completely blocking the Strait. Some of the […]
Using Blasphemy To Maintain Power
Assia Bibi, a Christian woman living in Pakistan, was sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy for having participated in a protest march. Even though she was exonerated by the Supreme Court, she must now flee if she wants to avoid being attacked by an angry mob of people who fully intend to […]
Jackie and Daniel
Hillary and Jackie is a 1998 film about the two British sisters Jacqueline and Hilary du Pre, one a cellist, the other a flutist. The film pretty much mirrors their actual lives. Jackie became a virtuoso at an early age and rose to international prominence. Hilary struggled and eventually gave up performing to […]
Who is he really?
He lists his nationality in this way: Palestinian, Argentine, Spanish, Israeli. He was born in Argentina in 1942. His Russian-Jewish parents emigrated to Israel when he was 9. He had already performed his first piano recital. Like so many musicians, he was precocious. He started playing the piano at age five, but his greatest […]
The Man Who Repairs Women
His name is Denis Mukwege. He is a doctor at Panzi Hospital which he created in Bukavu in the Eastern Congo (formerly Zaire) near the border with Burundi. This beautiful region, (parts look like Switzerland and parts like the Caribbean), is being ravaged by more than 20 years of ethnic conflict, tribal wars between rival […]