Music for Relaxation

Music: Quiet music for relaxation at Relaxdaily.net, including some videos on YouTube.

FactCheck.org

FactCheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. Says to monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Currently focusses especially on Obamacare.

Man and Nature

Paradox: Man is part of Mother Nature, despite being profoundly incompatible with her.

'Round Midnight (1986)

Movie (YT): 'Round Midnight (1986). w/ Dexter Gordon (Dale Turner), François Cluzet (Francis Borler), Gabrielle Haker (Berangere), Sandra Reaves-Phillips (Buttercup), Lonette McKee (Darcey Leigh), Christine Pascal (Sylvie), Herbie Hancock (Eddie Wayne), Bobby Hutcherson (Ace). Directed by Bertrand Tavernier. Jazz film based on the lives of pianist Bud Powell and saxophonist Lester Young. The fictional tenorist Dale Turner, who is a musical genius but also an alcoholic, meets jazz fan Francis Borler, who helps him to stay on track. Won an Academy Award Won for Best Music, Original Score (Herbie Hancock). The music for this film was entirely recorded on the set. In real life, Francis was the French author Francis Paudras, who had befriended Powell during his Paris expatriate days and told the story in the memoir/biography 'Dance of the Infidels'. Paints a moving picture of the life of a jazz musician in the early sixties. Acting and dialogs of Dexter Gordon are superb. Music is breathtaking, peaking in the performance of 'How long has this been going on' with Lonette McKee and Dexter Gordon. Overall rating 8 out of 10.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). w/ Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Martin Freeman (Bilbo), Richard Armitage (Thorin). Directed by Peter Jackson. Bilbo Baggins, under the guidance of Gandalf, sets out on a journey to the Lonely Mountain with a group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home. Prequel to Lord of the Rings. Shows how Bilbo found the ring. Story too slow. Overall much weaker that LOTR movies, drags on at times. Overall rating 5 out of 10.

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

Informative BBC documentary on the famous painting 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' (between 1490 and 1510) by Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450–1516) with some interpretations.

Mittsommernachts-Sex-Komödie

Theater: Burgtheater Wien: Eine Mittsommernachts-Sex-Komödie (A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy) directed Matthias Hartmann. Written by Woody Allen. w/ Esmée Liliane Amuat, Martin Schwab, Roland Koch, Sunnyi Melles, Michael Maertens, Dorothee Hartinger. Comedy. A couple with marriage problems is visited by friends over the weekend, swapping partners and developing a story of sex, love and disappointment. Boring story, predictable plot. Acting okay. Overall rating 3 out of 10.

Newton's Laws

Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion were first compiled in his work Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica and published in 1687:

• First law: If there is no net force on an object, then its velocity is constant. The object is either at rest (if its velocity is equal to zero), or it moves with constant speed in a single direction
• Second law: The acceleration a of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force F acting on the body, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass m of the body, i.e., F = m*a.
• Third law: When a first body exerts a force F1 on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force F2 = −F1 on the first body. This means that F1 and F2 are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Actio = Reactio.

Kepler's Laws

Johannes Kepler's laws of planetary motion:

1. 1. The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci, i.e. planetary orbits are not circluar but eliptical
2. 2. A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time, i.e. motion of the planet is faster when closer to the sun
3. 3. The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. Captures the relationship between the distance of planets from the Sun, and their orbital periods

Kepler published his first two laws in 1609, having found them by analyzing the astronomical observations of Tycho Brahe. Kepler published the third law in 1619.

Eric Weisstein's World of Science

Eric Weisstein's World of Science contains entries on Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Biographies.

Kepler's Defense of Tycho against Ursus

History of Astronomy: Kepler's Defense of Tycho against Ursus by Edward Rosen, Popular Astronomy, Vol. 54, p.405, 1946. In 1595, the inexperienced Kepler had written a flattering letter to Nicholas Reimers (who called himself Ursus (the bear)), then Imperial Mathematician to Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor in Prague. In 1597, Reimers issued his De astronomicis hypothesibus, with its venomous attack on Tycho Brahe. He incorporated Kepler’s letter in it without Kepler’s knowledge or consent, thereby unscrupulously making it appear that in his duel with Tycho he was supported by Kepler. Kepler himself had by now become renowned through publication of his Cosmographic Mystery. Reimers died in mid-August 1600. In October 1600, Kepler, at the request of Tycho, began composing a rebuttal of Reimers works (A Defense of Tycho against Ursus (Apologia Tychonis contra Ursum)), but it remained unpublished by the time of Tycho's death (24. October 1601). In the end, Kepler's Defense of Tycho was found among his unpublished manuscripts by Christian Frisch, who edited Kepler’s collected works, and put it in print for the first time in 1858. More on Kepler at Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is a Digital Library portal for researchers in Astronomy and Physics, operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) under a NASA grant. ADS maintains three bibliographic databases containing more than 9.9 million records: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics, and arXiv e-prints. Its main body of data consists of searchable bibliographic records and full-text scans of much of the astronomical literature that can be browsed or searched via our full-text search interface.

Goyas Geister (2006)

Movie: Goyas Geister --- Goya's Ghosts (2006): w/ Javier Bardem (Lorenzo), Natalie Portman (Inés / Alicia). Directed by Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus). Some dark moments, good pace, some historic facts on the Spanish Inquisition in the late 18th century. Little about Goya and his life, rather than using Goya as an excuse to tell a tale of his time. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.

The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)

Movie (YT): The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970). w/ Roger Moore (Harold Pelham), Hildegard Neil (Eve Pelham). Directed by Basil Dearden. Good idea, but pace too slow, scope too narrow. Ending not consistent and somewhat disappointing. Overall rating 6 out of 10.

Stargate (1994)

Movie (YT): Stargate (1994). w/ Kurt Russell (Col. Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil), James Spader (Dr. Daniel Jackson). Directed by Roland Emmerich.Together with the military, a somewhat nutty specialist for hieroglyphics travels to a distant galaxy where they encounter an ancient civilization. Story flat. Some things unexplained. Mediocre acting and meager character development. Overall rating: 5 out of 10.

Die Liebe in den Zeiten der Cholera (2007)

Movie: Love in the Time of Cholera --- Die Liebe in den Zeiten der Cholera (2007). w/ Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt. Directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). Poet becomes rejected by his true love and waits until after her husband's death 52 years later to make his next move on her. Probably good movie, but story very slow, too sappy, annoying. Overall rating 3 out of 10.

Lifeforce (1985)

Movie (YT): Lifeforce (1985): w/ Steve Railsback (Col. Tom Carlsen), Peter Firth (Col. Colin Caine), Frank Finlay (Dr. Hans Fallada), Mathilda May (Space Girl), Patrick Stewart (Dr. Armstrong). Directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist). Sci-Fi, horror. Manned space mission investigating comet Halley finds alien lifeform in the shape of a beautiful women and two male companions. After bringing them to earth, it becomes apparent that they are vampires that draw the lifeforce from their victims. Zombie scenes remind of Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) and therefore lack originality. Story rather flat. Some gruesome scenes, some good special effects for its time. Mathilda May plays most of here role nude. Overall rating 6 out of 10.

Cosmetics Directive/Regulation

Cosmetics Directive/Regulation: Provides regulatory framework for phasing out animal testing for cosmetics purposes. Bans testing of finished cosmetic products and cosmetic ingredients on animals. Prohibits to market in the EU finished cosmetic products and their ingredients which were tested on animals for cosmetics purposes. The testing ban on finished cosmetic products applies since 11 Sep 2004; the testing ban on ingredients or combination of ingredients applies since 11 Mar 2009. The marketing ban applies since 11 Mar 2009 for all human health effects with the exception of repeated-dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity and toxicokinetics. For these specific health effects the marketing ban applies since 11 Mar 2013, irrespective of the availability of alternative non-animal tests. Exemptions: Substances which are also used in other industries (e.g. pharmaceuticals) and are thus not developed for cosmetic products exclusively. Products containing animal-tested ingredients that were developed before the ban. Industry revenues (2010): 71 billion EUR ($93 billion). Ärzte gegen Tierversuche (in German).

Mati Klarwein

Art: Mati Klarwein (1932-2002): German-born painter. Painted Annunciation in 1961, which later (1970) became the cover of the album Abraxas by Santana.

Klarwein also created the cover for Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (1969). Studied with Ferndand Leger and Salvatore Dali.

 

Metropolitan Museum Digital Collection

Art: In its Digital Collections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, the Metropolitan Museum in NYC makes available as PDFs numerous publications, including older catalogs. Great place to browse and download.

International Music Score Library Project

Music: Collection of sheet music and some recordings of classical pieces at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) in Wiki style.

Six-Word Memoirs

Poetry: Six-word memoirs: Describe life in six words. Some inspiring, compact accumulations of words with meaning.

Herr Lehmann (2003)

Movie: Herr Lehmann (2003, in German). Directed by Leander Haußmann (Sonneallee). w/ Christian Ulmen (Herr Lehmann), Detlev Buck (Karl), Katja Danowski (Katrin), Janek Rieke (Kristall-Rainer). A few days in the life of barkeeper 'Frank' in Berlin-Kreuzberg in the days just before the wall came down. Too many losers, but some funny, ironic moments. Overall rating 6 out of 10.

Ulysses (1954)

Movie (YT): Ulysses (1954). Directed by Mario Camerini. w/ Kirk Douglas (Ulysses), Silvana Mangano (Penelope, Circe), Anthony Quinn (Antinoo). Abridged story of Odysseus told after the ancient Greek poet Homer. Romantic action film. Overall rating 6 out of 10.

Adeste Fidelis

Music: Adeste Fidelis is a Christmas tune attributed to John Francis Wade (1711–1786), possibly based on a 13th century version by John of Reading. The English translation is "O Come, All Ye Faithful" by the English Catholic priest, Frederick Oakeley. German: "Nun freut euch, ihr Christen" or "Herbei, o ihr Gläub'gen". Contains the line: 'Kommt lasset uns anbeten...'.