Operas have been captivating audiences since the sixteenth century, and this highly revered art form continues to gain new enthusiasts today. An opera is a piece of performance art that combines music with text, and is often a dramatic enaction of a story, complete with acting, scenery and costumes.
There is no better time to celebrate your passion for opera than Opera Day. If you have yet to develop a passion for opera, Opera Day is the perfect day to begin. The most standard way of celebrating is to experience an opera for yourself. Check with your local theater and see if there is a performance you can attend. If this isn’t an option, the Internet has made it easy to experience the wonder of opera from the comfort of your home. Try browsing Youtube for performances of masterpieces by the likes of Verdi, Mozart and Wagner.
If you’re musically inclined, you can take your Opera Day celebrations a step further. Get together with your most musical friends, and put on an opera of your own. It is easy to find the text of famous operas online, and you can divide the parts up among yourselves and have a riot of a time.
Paula Modersohn-Becker was a German painter and one of the most important representatives of early expressionism. Born in Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Modersohn-Becker was raised in a cultured and intellectual household environment. Her art studies began when she was 18, training in the methods of realism and naturalism. She later abandoned these techniques to embrace Fauvism, a brief period characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strong colors. Her most productive years were 1906 and 1907, right before her death later that year, caused by an embolism that formed in her leg after she gave birth to her daughter. She was 31.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (verb) Take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property. | ||
| Synonyms: | lift | ||
| Usage: | At the beginning of the semester, the teacher warned her students not to plagiarize their reports because she would find out and fail them. | ||
Idiom of the Day
lose (one's) buttons— To be or become mentally deficient, incompetent, or deranged; to become of unsound mind. |
History
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| Two years after his record-setting win at the Epsom Derby, the acclaimed Irish racehorse Shergar was loaded into a trailer at gunpoint and abducted by a gang of masked men. At that time, the retired 1981 "European Horse of the Year" commanded a stud fee upwards of £50,000 and was thus extremely valuable. The horse's owners refused to pay the demanded ransom, and police were unable to find him. Shergar was never seen again. |
Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876)
Modersohn-Becker was a German painter who became an important early Expressionist despite her tragically short career. After studying in London and Paris, she helped introduce French Post-Impressionism into German art. She was greatly influenced by her stay at the artists' colony of Worpswede and later shifted from painting landscapes to portraits and still lifes, focusing on the expression of her feelings rather than a portrayal of reality.
Hari-Kuyo
| Hari-Kuyo is a requiem service for needles held throughout Japan. The services are attended not only by tailors and dressmakers but also by people who sew at home. Traditionally, a shrine is set up in the Shinto style. On the top tier are offerings of cake and fruit, on the second tier there is a pan of tofu, and the bottom tier is for placing scissors and thimbles. People insert their broken or bent needles in the tofu while offering prayers of thanks to the needles for their years of service. A hari-kuyo is also held in Kyoto on Dec. 8. |
Space lasers to track Earth's ice
With new space missions come new and improved capabilities. And for those interested in what's happening to the ice on Planet Earth, we have two ventures this year that are going to make a major contribution to our understanding. Ice is the "climate ...READ MORE:
Space lasers to track Earth's ice
1693 - A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.
1910 - William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America.
1922 - The White House began using radio after U.S. President Harding had it installed.
1936 - The first National Football League draft was held. Jay Berwanger was the first to be selected. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles.
1952 - Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne. Her father, George VI, had died on February 6.
1956 - Buddy Holly signed a recording contract with Decca Records. He left the "e" out of his last name (Holley) and dropped it from his stage name as well.
1958 - The "Annette" serial began on ABC-TV's "Mickey Mouse Club." The first episode was an introduction to the series presented by the housekeeper.
1964 - The publisher of the song "Louie Louie" offered $1,000 to anyone would could find suggestive lyrics in the song.
1969 - The last issue of the "Saturday Evening Post" was published. It was revived in 1971 as a quarterly publication and later a 6 times a year.
1971 - The Nasdaq stock-market index debuted.
1974 - The three-man crew of the Skylab space station returned to Earth after 84 days.
1985 - "The Dukes of Hazzard" ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television.
2002 - The exhibit "Places of Their Own" opened at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The works displayed were by Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo and Emily Carr.
2006 - Kelly Clarkson won two Grammys. The awards were for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone" and Best Pop Vocal Album for "Breakaway". She was the first "American Idol" participant to win a grammy. She also performed "Because of You" at the show.
thanks, Heide
If You Were Born Today, February 8
There is nothing modest about your ambitions, although you are generally patient enough to pursue your long-term goals. You also have the drive and spirit to achieve success. You are a responsible and respectable person who believes in being fair to all. You are confident and frank, but also friendly and tactful. Work is extremely important to you, and you have little patience for those who don’t do their fair share. You possess much stamina. Others can truly count on you! Famous people born today: James Dean, Seth Green, Lana Turner, Mary Steenburgen, Nick Nolte.
READERS INFO
1998 -
Halldór Laxness, poet, writer, and only Icelandic Nobel Prize winner, dies.
2.
A 1915 silent epic drama film released on this day.
3.
American Liberty Festival 2018
Feb 8-9, 2018 | Phoenix, AZ
Northwest Christian School|16401 N 43rd Ave
It's time to lay the smack down on ancient textbooks and one-sided history documentaries. We Make History works hard to be a living history lesson, and their next educational pursuit is the American Liberty Festival. You'll be thrusted into an informative and entertaining lecture that includes live period music, battle reenactments, demonstrations of American and British military operations, old-school weapons training and meetings with famous American figures.
4.
Gold Rush Days and Senior Pro Rodeo 2018
Feb 8-11, 2018 | Wickenburg, AZ
Travel back in time and explore the long history of gold mining with the Gold Rush Days and Senior Pro Rodeo in Wickenburg, Arizona. Guests can enjoy three full days of family-friendly activities including a classic carnival, gold rush parade, classic car show, arts show, gold panning and naturally, a senior pro rodeo. The event provides an opportunity for locals to celebrate their modern-day community while taking an in depth look at their historical origins.
further information: 70th ANNUAL GOLD RUSH DAYS-February 8-11, 2018 - Out Wickenburg Way
Pictures of the day
Issued during the German occupation of a small section of Iran during the Persian Campaign of World War I, this 1904 five Mark German Imperial Treasury note has been overstamped in Farsi with the denomination of 12 qiran 10 shahi for local circulation. This note is the smallest denomination in a five-note issue which included 25 qiran (overprinted on a 10 Mark note), 5 tomans (20 Mark), 25 tomans (100 Mark), and 250 tomans (1,000 Mark).
For more than 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as one of the most powerful symbols of the Cold War
knit
thanks, Nancy
knit
thanks, Phyllis
knit
knit
knit
crochet
thanks, Gabby
thanks, Nancy
crochet
crochet
crochet
RECIPE
thanks, Shelley
CROCKPOT RECIPE
SWEETS
thanks, Tina
ADULT COLORING
CRAFTS ... Valentine's Day
Sharpie Silhouette Mugs for Valentines Day
hometalk
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... Valentine's Day
thanks, Jill
PUZZLE
Butterfly Green Blue Jigsaw Puzzle
WORD SEARCH
| assault attraction award children citadel clank costume cuts | detect discover discussion inning memory month moral music | nurse picture prophecy rend reveal round | sector series simple spread stead straw | talent tier tire tropic vision weapon wear weekly |
SUDOKU ... hard
solution:
QUOTE
CLEVER
thanks, Helen
Written by *Regina Brett*, 90 years old, Cleveland, Ohio
*To celebrate growing older, I once wrote few lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.*
1. *Life isn't fair, but it's still good.*
2. *When in doubt, just take the next small step.*
3. *Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.*
4. *You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.*
5. *Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.*
6. *Make peace with your past so it won't mess up the present.*
7. *Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.*
8. *Take a deep breath every now and then. It calms the mind.*
9. *'Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.*
10. *It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.*
11. *Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.*
12. *No one is in charge of your happiness but you.*
13. *Forgive others and yourself.*
14. *What other people think of you is none of your business.*
15. *Time heals almost everything. Give time a little time.*
16. *However good or bad a situation is, it will change.*
17. *Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.*
18. *Believe in miracles.*
19. *God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.*
20. *Growing old Beats the alternative of dying young.*
21. *Your children get only one childhood.*
22. *All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.*
23. *Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.*
24. *Envy is waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need.*
25. *The best is yet to come...*
26. *No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.*
27. *Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."*
EYE OPENER
thanks, Barbara (Part 1)
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