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November 7, 2024
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FREEAstronomy Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Who would have thought that carpenters might lead humanity to the stars? Developed by scientists at Kyoto University and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, the first ever wooden satellite has been launched into orbit 250 miles above the Earth. It’s meant to serve a surprisingly practical purpose. With thousands of satellites orbiting around the Earth at any given moment, space junk has never been more of a concern. Not only are satellites leaving behind potentially harmful materials as they fall to Earth, the ever-growing collection of abandoned hardware floating around poses a serious threat to humanity’s future in space. When even small pieces of metal collide at orbital velocity, the result can be catastrophic—more so when passengers are involved. That’s why the scientists in Japan developed the LignoSat, a 4-inch wide, sube-shaped satellite made mostly of wood rather than metal. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on an unmanned SpaceX rocket, the satellite is designed to disintegrate harmlessly on reentry at the end of its service life, reducing its footprint on the environment both on Earth and in space. Wood might not be as fancy as space-age aluminum or titanium alloys, but the scientists who designed LignoSat believe that the material is perfectly adequate for use in space, as the lack of water and oxygen in that environment means that it can’t rot or burn. Of course, not everything on the satellite can be made of wood—the internal components in LignoSat are conventional electronics designed to monitor the wood’s condition during its journey—but it does significantly reduce the metal needed with a renewable resource. For now, LignoSat is scheduled to orbit around the planet for six months before it’s decommissioned, but if it proves wood’s mettle as a metal substitute, more wooden satellites could follow. What’s next, log-cabin space stations?
[Image description: A starry night sky.] Credit & copyright: Felix Mittermeier, Pexels
Who would have thought that carpenters might lead humanity to the stars? Developed by scientists at Kyoto University and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, the first ever wooden satellite has been launched into orbit 250 miles above the Earth. It’s meant to serve a surprisingly practical purpose. With thousands of satellites orbiting around the Earth at any given moment, space junk has never been more of a concern. Not only are satellites leaving behind potentially harmful materials as they fall to Earth, the ever-growing collection of abandoned hardware floating around poses a serious threat to humanity’s future in space. When even small pieces of metal collide at orbital velocity, the result can be catastrophic—more so when passengers are involved. That’s why the scientists in Japan developed the LignoSat, a 4-inch wide, sube-shaped satellite made mostly of wood rather than metal. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on an unmanned SpaceX rocket, the satellite is designed to disintegrate harmlessly on reentry at the end of its service life, reducing its footprint on the environment both on Earth and in space. Wood might not be as fancy as space-age aluminum or titanium alloys, but the scientists who designed LignoSat believe that the material is perfectly adequate for use in space, as the lack of water and oxygen in that environment means that it can’t rot or burn. Of course, not everything on the satellite can be made of wood—the internal components in LignoSat are conventional electronics designed to monitor the wood’s condition during its journey—but it does significantly reduce the metal needed with a renewable resource. For now, LignoSat is scheduled to orbit around the planet for six months before it’s decommissioned, but if it proves wood’s mettle as a metal substitute, more wooden satellites could follow. What’s next, log-cabin space stations?
[Image description: A starry night sky.] Credit & copyright: Felix Mittermeier, Pexels
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FREEMusic Appreciation Daily Curio #2974Free1 CQ
If you want a rags to riches story with a great soundtrack, there’s none greater than that of Quincy Jones. The celebrated composer, producer, and businessman passed away recently at the age of 91, leaving a legacy that is unlikely to ever be matched. Born on March 14, 1933 in Chicago, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. had a difficult childhood. After his mother was institutionalized due to mental health issues, Jones became involved with gangs, got into fights, and even had his hand nailed to a fence with a switchblade knife. However, he discovered a passion for music at an early age and began playing on a neighbor’s piano. As a teen, he befriended Ray Charles after a chance meeting, and by age 20, Jones was touring in a jazz band. By the 1960s, he was a music executive at Mercury Records and began working as a film composer.
As a producer, he branched out from his jazz roots and worked in a wide range of genres, finding himself just as much at ease with pop stars like Lesley Gore as he was with crooners like Frank Sinatra. Jones also collaborated with Michael Jackson frequently, producing several albums, including the iconic Thriller. Beyond music, Jones was also a prominent figure in TV and film. In 1985, he produced Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. In 1990, he founded Quincy Jones Entertainment, which produced a number of hit TV shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Through his prolific collaborations with some of the biggest musical acts in the world and the 35 films he scored, Quincy Jones helped shape the musical landscape of the last century. By the time he passed, he held 28 Grammy Awards and a slew of other accolades and awards. But even if you’ve never heard his name until now, you have heard his work and will continue to hear it for a very long time.
[Image description: A close-up photo of a record playing.] Credit & copyright: Bob Clark, PexelsIf you want a rags to riches story with a great soundtrack, there’s none greater than that of Quincy Jones. The celebrated composer, producer, and businessman passed away recently at the age of 91, leaving a legacy that is unlikely to ever be matched. Born on March 14, 1933 in Chicago, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. had a difficult childhood. After his mother was institutionalized due to mental health issues, Jones became involved with gangs, got into fights, and even had his hand nailed to a fence with a switchblade knife. However, he discovered a passion for music at an early age and began playing on a neighbor’s piano. As a teen, he befriended Ray Charles after a chance meeting, and by age 20, Jones was touring in a jazz band. By the 1960s, he was a music executive at Mercury Records and began working as a film composer.
As a producer, he branched out from his jazz roots and worked in a wide range of genres, finding himself just as much at ease with pop stars like Lesley Gore as he was with crooners like Frank Sinatra. Jones also collaborated with Michael Jackson frequently, producing several albums, including the iconic Thriller. Beyond music, Jones was also a prominent figure in TV and film. In 1985, he produced Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. In 1990, he founded Quincy Jones Entertainment, which produced a number of hit TV shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Through his prolific collaborations with some of the biggest musical acts in the world and the 35 films he scored, Quincy Jones helped shape the musical landscape of the last century. By the time he passed, he held 28 Grammy Awards and a slew of other accolades and awards. But even if you’ve never heard his name until now, you have heard his work and will continue to hear it for a very long time.
[Image description: A close-up photo of a record playing.] Credit & copyright: Bob Clark, Pexels
November 6, 2024
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Donald Trump has won the race for the White House. What does that mean for financial markets? With Ben Kumar, head of equity strategy at Seven Investment Man...
Donald Trump has won the race for the White House. What does that mean for financial markets? With Ben Kumar, head of equity strategy at Seven Investment Man...
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FREEBiology Daily Curio #2973Free1 CQ
It’s a tiny toad, but it’s making a big splash. Scientists at the Biology Institute of the University of Campinas in Brazil have discovered the second-smallest vertebrate ever. It’s a new species of toad that’s smaller than a fingernail. Also called toadlets, flea toads are possibly the smallest vertebrates in the world. The newly discovered species, Brachycephalus dacnis, is the second-smallest in stature, behind only Brachycephalus pulex, which was discovered in 2011. Flea toads get their name from their ability to jump astounding distances relative to their size. They have other differences that set them apart from larger frogs, too. For one, flea toads bypass the traditional tadpole stage and emerge from their eggs fully developed, a rare trait among frogs. Unlike other frogs that lay hundreds of eggs per reproductive cycle, flea toads only produce two at a time. Then there are some of the more extreme differences in anatomy, like fewer bones, fewer digits, and even missing organs. According to Luís Felipe Toledo, one of the researchers who published a paper on the new species, these adaptations are the result of miniaturization, a process in which a species evolves to be smaller.
Different species of flea toads are much more similar to one another than they are to larger frogs. In fact, they tend to look so much alike that their exact species can only be determined via DNA testing or in-depth analysis of their anatomy. That, combined with the fact that flea toads are very difficult to find in the wild, leads Toledo and other researchers to believe that there may be more species of flea toads than previously thought. Toledo also believes that flea toads may represent the very limit of how small vertebrates can get, and that it’s unlikely that any other undiscovered species in the genus Brachycephalus could be much smaller. That’s not too hard to believe; any smaller and they’d practically be microbes.
[Image description: A tropical rainforest with a palm tree and green vegetation.] Credit & copyright: Ayyuha Sideeq, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.It’s a tiny toad, but it’s making a big splash. Scientists at the Biology Institute of the University of Campinas in Brazil have discovered the second-smallest vertebrate ever. It’s a new species of toad that’s smaller than a fingernail. Also called toadlets, flea toads are possibly the smallest vertebrates in the world. The newly discovered species, Brachycephalus dacnis, is the second-smallest in stature, behind only Brachycephalus pulex, which was discovered in 2011. Flea toads get their name from their ability to jump astounding distances relative to their size. They have other differences that set them apart from larger frogs, too. For one, flea toads bypass the traditional tadpole stage and emerge from their eggs fully developed, a rare trait among frogs. Unlike other frogs that lay hundreds of eggs per reproductive cycle, flea toads only produce two at a time. Then there are some of the more extreme differences in anatomy, like fewer bones, fewer digits, and even missing organs. According to Luís Felipe Toledo, one of the researchers who published a paper on the new species, these adaptations are the result of miniaturization, a process in which a species evolves to be smaller.
Different species of flea toads are much more similar to one another than they are to larger frogs. In fact, they tend to look so much alike that their exact species can only be determined via DNA testing or in-depth analysis of their anatomy. That, combined with the fact that flea toads are very difficult to find in the wild, leads Toledo and other researchers to believe that there may be more species of flea toads than previously thought. Toledo also believes that flea toads may represent the very limit of how small vertebrates can get, and that it’s unlikely that any other undiscovered species in the genus Brachycephalus could be much smaller. That’s not too hard to believe; any smaller and they’d practically be microbes.
[Image description: A tropical rainforest with a palm tree and green vegetation.] Credit & copyright: Ayyuha Sideeq, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
November 5, 2024
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: The European Union has launched a formal investigation into the Chinese e-commerce site Temu over concerns it may be allowing the...
From the BBC World Service: The European Union has launched a formal investigation into the Chinese e-commerce site Temu over concerns it may be allowing the...
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day
: November 5, 2024\see-FAH-luh-jee\ noun
What It Means
Psephology is the scientific study of elections.
// Brianna was excit...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: November 5, 2024\see-FAH-luh-jee\ noun
What It Means
Psephology is the scientific study of elections.
// Brianna was excit...
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FREESong CurioFree2 CQ
Happy Election Day! On this politically-charged day, it’s only appropriate to learn about one of the nation’s most politically-charged songs. 1966’s For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield is one of the most famous protest songs of the Vietnam era, and its chorus of “I think it's time we stop/ Children, what's that sound?/ Everybody look, what's going down?” was played at plenty of anti-war marches. However, the song wasn’t actually written in response to the Vietnam War. Rather, it was written after Buffalo Springfield guitarist Stephen Stills attended an impromptu gathering of around 3,000 teens and young adults who were paying respects to the recently-closed West Hollywood nightclub called Pandora's Box. Despite the fact that the gathering was peaceful, police in riot gear showed up and began to aggressively clear the crowd. This clash, and others like it, came to be known as the Sunset Strip Curfew Riots. Still, it’s not hard to see why the folk song, with its somber-yet-resolute tone and slow, steady beat came to be known as an anti-war song. Who says a protest song can only be used to protest one thing?
Happy Election Day! On this politically-charged day, it’s only appropriate to learn about one of the nation’s most politically-charged songs. 1966’s For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield is one of the most famous protest songs of the Vietnam era, and its chorus of “I think it's time we stop/ Children, what's that sound?/ Everybody look, what's going down?” was played at plenty of anti-war marches. However, the song wasn’t actually written in response to the Vietnam War. Rather, it was written after Buffalo Springfield guitarist Stephen Stills attended an impromptu gathering of around 3,000 teens and young adults who were paying respects to the recently-closed West Hollywood nightclub called Pandora's Box. Despite the fact that the gathering was peaceful, police in riot gear showed up and began to aggressively clear the crowd. This clash, and others like it, came to be known as the Sunset Strip Curfew Riots. Still, it’s not hard to see why the folk song, with its somber-yet-resolute tone and slow, steady beat came to be known as an anti-war song. Who says a protest song can only be used to protest one thing?
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FREEWorld History Daily Curio #2972Free1 CQ
We really take metal and plastic for granted. In Dorset, England, archeologists recently unearthed a remarkably intact tool from the Bronze Age—a spade made entirely from wood. The tool, crafted from a single piece of oak, is over 3,000 years old and was used for farming purposes. It would have taken a long time to carve by hand, but the Bronze Age worker’s effort was clearly worth it, as the spade was strong enough to survive for centuries. The landscape in which the spade was found helped in its preservation. The ground in Poole Harbour, along the south-east coast, is waterlogged. Water can preserve wooden objects by preventing oxygen from reaching them, which in turn prevents fungal decay and the eventual breakdown of the wood.
While it’s unusual to find any fully-intact object from so long ago, the setting for the spade’s discovery was particularly strange. Most people in the Bronze Age lived in rural, agricultural communities, but it doesn’t seem like such a community existed where the spade was found. No other objects like it have been found nearby, nor anything else to suggest that the site was a permanent settlement. Instead, archeologists believe that the area might have been visited on a seasonal basis. Poole Harbour often floods in winter and dries out over the summer. During warmer months, the area could have been used as a pasture for livestock or as a place to dry peat, and gather rushes. The ditch where the spade was found might have been built to protect drying peat, which was used for burning, or for temporarily storing rushes, which were used to weave baskets. Senior Archeologist Greg Chuter explained in a statement: “We’re working across a vast landscape that is dominated by nature with very little to suggest to the naked eye that much human activity has taken place here. However, just beneath the surface we’ve uncovered evidence of the ways humans have cleverly adapted to the challenges presented by this particular environment for over 3,000 years.” It goes to show that even archeologists never know what they’ll find unless they keep digging.
[Image description: A view of Poole Harbour with trees in the foreground and boats on the water.] Credit & copyright: Theonhighgod at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Theonhighgod at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.We really take metal and plastic for granted. In Dorset, England, archeologists recently unearthed a remarkably intact tool from the Bronze Age—a spade made entirely from wood. The tool, crafted from a single piece of oak, is over 3,000 years old and was used for farming purposes. It would have taken a long time to carve by hand, but the Bronze Age worker’s effort was clearly worth it, as the spade was strong enough to survive for centuries. The landscape in which the spade was found helped in its preservation. The ground in Poole Harbour, along the south-east coast, is waterlogged. Water can preserve wooden objects by preventing oxygen from reaching them, which in turn prevents fungal decay and the eventual breakdown of the wood.
While it’s unusual to find any fully-intact object from so long ago, the setting for the spade’s discovery was particularly strange. Most people in the Bronze Age lived in rural, agricultural communities, but it doesn’t seem like such a community existed where the spade was found. No other objects like it have been found nearby, nor anything else to suggest that the site was a permanent settlement. Instead, archeologists believe that the area might have been visited on a seasonal basis. Poole Harbour often floods in winter and dries out over the summer. During warmer months, the area could have been used as a pasture for livestock or as a place to dry peat, and gather rushes. The ditch where the spade was found might have been built to protect drying peat, which was used for burning, or for temporarily storing rushes, which were used to weave baskets. Senior Archeologist Greg Chuter explained in a statement: “We’re working across a vast landscape that is dominated by nature with very little to suggest to the naked eye that much human activity has taken place here. However, just beneath the surface we’ve uncovered evidence of the ways humans have cleverly adapted to the challenges presented by this particular environment for over 3,000 years.” It goes to show that even archeologists never know what they’ll find unless they keep digging.
[Image description: A view of Poole Harbour with trees in the foreground and boats on the water.] Credit & copyright: Theonhighgod at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Theonhighgod at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.
November 4, 2024
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FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Wouldn't you love to impress this year’s holiday guests with a spectacular piece of serveware? Tureens are vessels for serving soup at the table, but this piece is a particularly elaborate example made for the English Duke of Kingston. The tureen is made entirely from silver and features a langoustine, also called a Norway lobster, lying on a pigeon as its lid. On the bottom and leaves of various vegetables that serve as the base of the stand. The rococo style, developed in the 1700s, is known for being ornate, and this tureen is no exception. Both the material and complex design by Pierre-François Bonnestrenne (King Louis XV’s official architect) were meant for the unremarkable purpose of serving soup…but their real purpose was to be an ostentatious display of wealth. The realistic details on the langoustine, pigeon, and vegetables were cast from actual specimens, and the asymmetrical, dynamic shape of the tureen is characteristic of the rococo movement, which valued naturalistic designs. Now if we only knew what the ladle looked like.
Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot-à-oille), Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695–1750), Henry Adnet, Pierre-François Bonnestrenne, 1735–38, Silver, 14.5 x 15.125 x 12.5 in. (36.9 x 38.4 x 31.8 cm.), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, Pierre-François Bonnestrenne, Henry Adnet, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1977.182, Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.Wouldn't you love to impress this year’s holiday guests with a spectacular piece of serveware? Tureens are vessels for serving soup at the table, but this piece is a particularly elaborate example made for the English Duke of Kingston. The tureen is made entirely from silver and features a langoustine, also called a Norway lobster, lying on a pigeon as its lid. On the bottom and leaves of various vegetables that serve as the base of the stand. The rococo style, developed in the 1700s, is known for being ornate, and this tureen is no exception. Both the material and complex design by Pierre-François Bonnestrenne (King Louis XV’s official architect) were meant for the unremarkable purpose of serving soup…but their real purpose was to be an ostentatious display of wealth. The realistic details on the langoustine, pigeon, and vegetables were cast from actual specimens, and the asymmetrical, dynamic shape of the tureen is characteristic of the rococo movement, which valued naturalistic designs. Now if we only knew what the ladle looked like.
Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot-à-oille), Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695–1750), Henry Adnet, Pierre-François Bonnestrenne, 1735–38, Silver, 14.5 x 15.125 x 12.5 in. (36.9 x 38.4 x 31.8 cm.), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, Pierre-François Bonnestrenne, Henry Adnet, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1977.182, Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation. -
2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: November 4, 2024\uh-MAL-guh-mayt\ verb
What It Means
Amalgamate is a formal verb meaning "to unite (two or more things) int...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: November 4, 2024\uh-MAL-guh-mayt\ verb
What It Means
Amalgamate is a formal verb meaning "to unite (two or more things) int...
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FREEMusic Appreciation Daily Curio #2971Free1 CQ
First a new Mozart earlier this year, and now a new Chopin? After a museum curator discovered a previously unknown piece of composition by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, the 200-year-old piece can now be heard for the first time. Written on a piece of paper the size of an index card, the waltz was discovered by Morgan Library and Museum curator Robinson McClellan. It’s safe to say that McClellan, who was cataloging new collections received by the institution at the time of the discovery, was not expecting to find a centuries-old lost composition by one of the greatest composers of all time. After McClellan found the lost piece, he consulted a handwriting expert to analyze the paper, and the expert determined that while Chopin’s name wasn’t written by the composer himself, the notation indeed matched his idiosyncratic style, including the stylized bass clef symbol. Since the discovery, the piece has been recorded and can be found on YouTube under the title Waltz in A Minor.
Chopin, born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was only 39 years old when he died in 1849. The composer suffered from poor health and hallucinations for much of his life, and some scholars believe that he likely had epilepsy. Among his peers, Chopin was unusual in that he didn’t leave behind nearly as many pieces in his catalog, only writing around 250 pieces in his lifetime (not that that’s anything to sneeze at). Most of his pieces were for solo piano, making him a perennial favorite of many pianists. The newly-discovered piece is also a solo piano piece. About a minute long, the waltz has been described by the museum thusly: “Several moody, dissonant measures culminate in a loud outburst, before a melancholy melody begins.” They added, “None of his known waltzes start this way, making this one even more intriguing.” Experts believe that this discrepancy might be due to the fact that Chopin wrote it in his early 20s, when he experimented more with his music. It might have been a throwaway experiment for Chopin, but it’s a treasure to music lovers today.
[Image description: A black-and-white portrait of Frédéric Chopin, wearing a suit and tie with jacket.] Credit & copyright: Louis-Auguste Bisson (1814–1876), Amano1, Wikimedia Commons. The author died in 1876, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.First a new Mozart earlier this year, and now a new Chopin? After a museum curator discovered a previously unknown piece of composition by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, the 200-year-old piece can now be heard for the first time. Written on a piece of paper the size of an index card, the waltz was discovered by Morgan Library and Museum curator Robinson McClellan. It’s safe to say that McClellan, who was cataloging new collections received by the institution at the time of the discovery, was not expecting to find a centuries-old lost composition by one of the greatest composers of all time. After McClellan found the lost piece, he consulted a handwriting expert to analyze the paper, and the expert determined that while Chopin’s name wasn’t written by the composer himself, the notation indeed matched his idiosyncratic style, including the stylized bass clef symbol. Since the discovery, the piece has been recorded and can be found on YouTube under the title Waltz in A Minor.
Chopin, born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was only 39 years old when he died in 1849. The composer suffered from poor health and hallucinations for much of his life, and some scholars believe that he likely had epilepsy. Among his peers, Chopin was unusual in that he didn’t leave behind nearly as many pieces in his catalog, only writing around 250 pieces in his lifetime (not that that’s anything to sneeze at). Most of his pieces were for solo piano, making him a perennial favorite of many pianists. The newly-discovered piece is also a solo piano piece. About a minute long, the waltz has been described by the museum thusly: “Several moody, dissonant measures culminate in a loud outburst, before a melancholy melody begins.” They added, “None of his known waltzes start this way, making this one even more intriguing.” Experts believe that this discrepancy might be due to the fact that Chopin wrote it in his early 20s, when he experimented more with his music. It might have been a throwaway experiment for Chopin, but it’s a treasure to music lovers today.
[Image description: A black-and-white portrait of Frédéric Chopin, wearing a suit and tie with jacket.] Credit & copyright: Louis-Auguste Bisson (1814–1876), Amano1, Wikimedia Commons. The author died in 1876, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. -
10 minFREEWork Business CurioFree6 CQ
From the BBC World Service: In the United Kingdom, the government has unveiled its first budget since the Labour Party got back in power, its first in 14 yea...
From the BBC World Service: In the United Kingdom, the government has unveiled its first budget since the Labour Party got back in power, its first in 14 yea...
November 3, 2024
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FREEArt Appreciation PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
There are movements that shape artists, and there are artists that shape movements. Henri Matisse was decidedly the latter of the two. The multidisciplinary French artist passed away on this day in 1954, and during his illustrious career, he became one of the most prolific and influential artists of all time, engaging in friendships and rivalries with other masters of modern art, most notably Pablo Picasso.
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was born on December 31, 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambresis, Nord, France. Unlike many of his artistic contemporaries, Matisse wasn’t trained in the discipline nor did he show any significant interest in it until he was already a young man. Before picking up his first paintbrush, Matisse moved to Paris in 1887 to study law and went on to find work as a court administrator in northern France. It wasn’t until 1889, when he became ill with appendicitis, that he began painting after his mother gifted him some art supplies to stave off boredom during his recovery. The young Matisse quickly became completely enamored with painting, later describing it as "a kind of paradise.” Much to the chagrin of his father, Matisse abandoned his legal ambitions and moved back to Paris to learn art, studying under the likes of William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Gustave Moreau. However, the work produced in his early years, mostly consisting of still lifes in earth toned palettes, was quite unlike the work that would eventually make him famous. His true artistic awakening didn’t occur until 1896, when he met Australian painter John Russell. A friend of Vincent van Gogh, Russell showed the struggling artist a collection of Van Gogh’s paintings, introducing Matisse to Impressionism.
In the following years, Matisse began collecting and studying the work of his contemporaries, particularly the Neo-Impressionists. Inspired by their bright colors and bold brushstrokes, his own vision of the world began coalescing along with that of other, like-minded artists into a relatively short-lived but influential movement called Fauvism. The works of the “Fauves” (“wild beasts” in French) like Matisse were defined by unconventional and intense color palettes laid down with striking brushstrokes. Despite being a founding member of a movement, Matisse was never one to settle for just one style or medium. Throughout his life, he dabbled in pointillism, printmaking, sculpting, and paper cutting. At times, he even returned to and was praised for his more traditional works, which he pursued in the post-WWI period. Among his contemporaries, there was only one who seemed to match him: Pablo Picasso. Matisse’s rivalry with this fellow master of modern art is well documented, and the two seemed to study each other’s works carefully. Matisse and Picasso often painted the same scenes and subjects, including the same models. At times, they even titled their pieces the same, not for lack of creativity, but to serve as a riposte on canvas. Matisse once likened their rivalry to a boxing match, and though the two didn’t initially care for each other’s work, they eventually developed a mutual admiration.
Today, the name Matisse is practically synonymous with modern art, and his influence goes beyond the canvas. In his later years, Matisse’s failing health forced him to rely on assistants for much of his work. During the 1940s, Matisse worked with paper, creating colorful collages called gouaches découpés that he described as “painting with scissors.” His final masterpiece, however, was his design for a stained-glass window for the Union Church of Pocantico Hills in New York City. No matter what medium he touched, Matisse always left an impression, leaving behind a body of work that is wildly eclectic yet always recognizably his. Surely his father had to admit that Matisse did the right thing by leaving law school.
[Image description: A fanned-out group of paint brushes smattered with paint.] Credit & copyright: Steve Johnson, PexelsThere are movements that shape artists, and there are artists that shape movements. Henri Matisse was decidedly the latter of the two. The multidisciplinary French artist passed away on this day in 1954, and during his illustrious career, he became one of the most prolific and influential artists of all time, engaging in friendships and rivalries with other masters of modern art, most notably Pablo Picasso.
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was born on December 31, 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambresis, Nord, France. Unlike many of his artistic contemporaries, Matisse wasn’t trained in the discipline nor did he show any significant interest in it until he was already a young man. Before picking up his first paintbrush, Matisse moved to Paris in 1887 to study law and went on to find work as a court administrator in northern France. It wasn’t until 1889, when he became ill with appendicitis, that he began painting after his mother gifted him some art supplies to stave off boredom during his recovery. The young Matisse quickly became completely enamored with painting, later describing it as "a kind of paradise.” Much to the chagrin of his father, Matisse abandoned his legal ambitions and moved back to Paris to learn art, studying under the likes of William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Gustave Moreau. However, the work produced in his early years, mostly consisting of still lifes in earth toned palettes, was quite unlike the work that would eventually make him famous. His true artistic awakening didn’t occur until 1896, when he met Australian painter John Russell. A friend of Vincent van Gogh, Russell showed the struggling artist a collection of Van Gogh’s paintings, introducing Matisse to Impressionism.
In the following years, Matisse began collecting and studying the work of his contemporaries, particularly the Neo-Impressionists. Inspired by their bright colors and bold brushstrokes, his own vision of the world began coalescing along with that of other, like-minded artists into a relatively short-lived but influential movement called Fauvism. The works of the “Fauves” (“wild beasts” in French) like Matisse were defined by unconventional and intense color palettes laid down with striking brushstrokes. Despite being a founding member of a movement, Matisse was never one to settle for just one style or medium. Throughout his life, he dabbled in pointillism, printmaking, sculpting, and paper cutting. At times, he even returned to and was praised for his more traditional works, which he pursued in the post-WWI period. Among his contemporaries, there was only one who seemed to match him: Pablo Picasso. Matisse’s rivalry with this fellow master of modern art is well documented, and the two seemed to study each other’s works carefully. Matisse and Picasso often painted the same scenes and subjects, including the same models. At times, they even titled their pieces the same, not for lack of creativity, but to serve as a riposte on canvas. Matisse once likened their rivalry to a boxing match, and though the two didn’t initially care for each other’s work, they eventually developed a mutual admiration.
Today, the name Matisse is practically synonymous with modern art, and his influence goes beyond the canvas. In his later years, Matisse’s failing health forced him to rely on assistants for much of his work. During the 1940s, Matisse worked with paper, creating colorful collages called gouaches découpés that he described as “painting with scissors.” His final masterpiece, however, was his design for a stained-glass window for the Union Church of Pocantico Hills in New York City. No matter what medium he touched, Matisse always left an impression, leaving behind a body of work that is wildly eclectic yet always recognizably his. Surely his father had to admit that Matisse did the right thing by leaving law school.
[Image description: A fanned-out group of paint brushes smattered with paint.] Credit & copyright: Steve Johnson, Pexels -
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Get your pom poms ready, it’s about to get spirited in here! The first organized cheer took place on this day in 1898. While it might seem inconceivable to hold a modern sports match without a squad of cheerleaders to hype up players and spectators, that wasn’t always the case. In the 1890s, universities had pep clubs, which were composed of male students who cheered their teams from the sidelines, but they didn’t really interact with the crowd. Princeton University was the first to come up with an official cheer for their team in 1884, but the pep club was in charge of chanting it. The first instance of someone leading a cheer together occurred in 1898, when a medical student named Johnny Campbell at the University of Minnesota led the crowd to chant “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity!” while their team was struggling. It was simple, and the cheer wasn’t anything new, but Campbell’s decision to lead the crowd was novel, and the idea stuck. More than a century later, cheerleading has evolved into an acrobatic sport of its own. Once a male-dominated activity, female cheerleaders took the helm during and after WWII. Squads today also perform a variety of tumbles, flips, and lifts to keep the crowd engaged, and cheerleading squads often compete against each other in contests of their own. Of course, that begs the question: who cheers the cheerleaders?
[Image description: Blue and white pom poms on a yellow auditorium seat.] Credit & copyright: cottonbro studio, Pexels
Get your pom poms ready, it’s about to get spirited in here! The first organized cheer took place on this day in 1898. While it might seem inconceivable to hold a modern sports match without a squad of cheerleaders to hype up players and spectators, that wasn’t always the case. In the 1890s, universities had pep clubs, which were composed of male students who cheered their teams from the sidelines, but they didn’t really interact with the crowd. Princeton University was the first to come up with an official cheer for their team in 1884, but the pep club was in charge of chanting it. The first instance of someone leading a cheer together occurred in 1898, when a medical student named Johnny Campbell at the University of Minnesota led the crowd to chant “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity!” while their team was struggling. It was simple, and the cheer wasn’t anything new, but Campbell’s decision to lead the crowd was novel, and the idea stuck. More than a century later, cheerleading has evolved into an acrobatic sport of its own. Once a male-dominated activity, female cheerleaders took the helm during and after WWII. Squads today also perform a variety of tumbles, flips, and lifts to keep the crowd engaged, and cheerleading squads often compete against each other in contests of their own. Of course, that begs the question: who cheers the cheerleaders?
[Image description: Blue and white pom poms on a yellow auditorium seat.] Credit & copyright: cottonbro studio, Pexels
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Move over soup, there’s another fall comfort food in town. When the weather gets chilly, it’s hard to beat a plate of warm, stuffed pasta in flavorful sauce. Ravioli has mysterious origins and seemingly endless variations, but one thing’s for sure: it’s a dish that Italy is extremely proud of.
Ravioli is made from a simple combination of flour, eggs, and water, then stuffed with a variety of fillings. Traditionally, ravioli is cut into squares, but it can also come in round or semi-round varieties. Squash is sometimes used as a filling, as is cheese and spinach, or ground beef. Vegetable or meat fillings must be cooked before ravioli is boiled, since the pasta itself takes only minutes to cook. Squash ravioli is often served in butter or wine sauce, sometimes with pine nuts. Cheese and spinach ravioli often has cheese or pesto sauce, and ground beef ravioli is usually served in a hearty tomato sauce.
The word “ravioli” comes from the Italian word “riavvolgere”, meaning “to wrap.” The dish was first mentioned in writing in the 14th century, in the personal letters of merchant Francesco Datini, meaning that ravioli had likely been around for some time by then. In 1549, famed Italian chef Bartolomeo Scappi served ravioli to the papal conclave in Rome, as they gathered to select a new pope after the death of Pope Paul III. Afterward, the dish grew extremely popular in the Italian capital, and other Italian cities created their own varieties. Italians were some of the first people to serve pasta with tomato sauce, after tomatoes were brought to their country in 1548. Many other European countries were hesitant to cook with tomatoes, which are native to South America, because their bright red color led them to believe that the veggies were poisonous.
Ravioli was a popular Italian staple for centuries before it became standard fare in the U.S. It was helped along in the early 20th century by none other than chef Ettore Boiardi, better known as Chef Boyardee. After running a successful Italian restaurant in New York City, Boiardi launched his own brand of canned food products which endures to this day. One of his first products was canned ravioli with beef filling in tomato sauce, and it remains a Chef Boyardee staple. Before Italian restaurants were common across the U.S., many Americans’ first taste of ravioli came from a Chef Boyardee can. Hey, it’s tasty in any form.
[Image description: Ravioli with clear sauce and cheese in a wooden bowl.] Credit & copyright: Max Griss, PexelsMove over soup, there’s another fall comfort food in town. When the weather gets chilly, it’s hard to beat a plate of warm, stuffed pasta in flavorful sauce. Ravioli has mysterious origins and seemingly endless variations, but one thing’s for sure: it’s a dish that Italy is extremely proud of.
Ravioli is made from a simple combination of flour, eggs, and water, then stuffed with a variety of fillings. Traditionally, ravioli is cut into squares, but it can also come in round or semi-round varieties. Squash is sometimes used as a filling, as is cheese and spinach, or ground beef. Vegetable or meat fillings must be cooked before ravioli is boiled, since the pasta itself takes only minutes to cook. Squash ravioli is often served in butter or wine sauce, sometimes with pine nuts. Cheese and spinach ravioli often has cheese or pesto sauce, and ground beef ravioli is usually served in a hearty tomato sauce.
The word “ravioli” comes from the Italian word “riavvolgere”, meaning “to wrap.” The dish was first mentioned in writing in the 14th century, in the personal letters of merchant Francesco Datini, meaning that ravioli had likely been around for some time by then. In 1549, famed Italian chef Bartolomeo Scappi served ravioli to the papal conclave in Rome, as they gathered to select a new pope after the death of Pope Paul III. Afterward, the dish grew extremely popular in the Italian capital, and other Italian cities created their own varieties. Italians were some of the first people to serve pasta with tomato sauce, after tomatoes were brought to their country in 1548. Many other European countries were hesitant to cook with tomatoes, which are native to South America, because their bright red color led them to believe that the veggies were poisonous.
Ravioli was a popular Italian staple for centuries before it became standard fare in the U.S. It was helped along in the early 20th century by none other than chef Ettore Boiardi, better known as Chef Boyardee. After running a successful Italian restaurant in New York City, Boiardi launched his own brand of canned food products which endures to this day. One of his first products was canned ravioli with beef filling in tomato sauce, and it remains a Chef Boyardee staple. Before Italian restaurants were common across the U.S., many Americans’ first taste of ravioli came from a Chef Boyardee can. Hey, it’s tasty in any form.
[Image description: Ravioli with clear sauce and cheese in a wooden bowl.] Credit & copyright: Max Griss, Pexels