Calin's Blog

Google Art Project

2011-10-10T22:26:00.005+03:00

I just found out about the Google Art Project, an online compilation of high-resolution images of artworks from galleries worldwide, which makes masterpieces accessible to all.

On-line Archives

2010-06-19T07:18:00.010+03:00

Text Archives

AntiqueBooks.Net
Archimedes Project Texts
Archive
Babson College -Online Newton Project
Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliográfico (BVPB)
أعـظـم 100 كتاب فـي تـاريخ الـبشريـة
books.google.com
books.google.com[India]
British Museum -Online Gallery
Confucius Lun Yu or Analects
Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum
Digital Assets Repository (DAR)
Digital Internet Astrology Library (DIAL)
Digital Library of India (Bangalore)
Digital Library of India (Hyderabad)
Digital Library of India (Noida)
DML: Digital Mathematics Library
Documenta Catholica Omnia
ECHO (European Cultural Heritage Online)
ETANA
Euler Archive
Eureka
Gallica
GandhiServe
Geeta Supersite
Google Books για ΦιλολÏŒγους
GRETIL - Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Language
Gutemberg
hellenisticastrology.com
Indology E-Texts
La Biblioteca di BASE Cinque
Leibniz: Sämtliche Schriften und Briefe (Akademie-Ausgabe), Reihe VII
Library of Ancient Texts Online (LATO) (Greek)
Linda Hall Library History of Science Collection
List of Great Mathematicians
Michio Yano's Webpage ( digitized versions of many Sanskrit texts )
Million Books Project
Neoplatonic texts
O'Reilly Open Books
Online Library of Liberty
Open Library
Oxford Text Archives
Perseus (Tufts)
Princeton University Digital Library Collection - Islamic Manuscripts
Public Domain Classics Books
Public Literature
Quran translation and commentary
Ramayana
Sacred Text Archives
Sanskrit Documents List
St. Augustine in Latin
St. Thomas Aquinas in Latin
University of Strasbourg Old Book Collection
Vienna University Observatory Library
Vishnu Purana
Wiki with links to online texts in Latin and Greek
Works of Gauss Online
textkit.com (PDFs for learning Latin and Greek)
The Latin Library
The Philological Museum-An Analytic Bibliography of Online NeoLatin Texts
The Sanskrit Library
The Universal Digital Library (UDL)
ZVDD

Bookstores / Publishers/ Libraries

Bagchee( India)
Biblia Imex (India)
Bodleian Library request form for reproductions
Fadak Books (USA)
Kessinger Publishers (reprints)
Laurentianus Library request form for reproductions
List of booksellers from Columbia University
Motilal Banarasidass (India)
Nataraj Books (India)
New Age Books (India)
Saujanya Books (India)
Schoenhof's (USA)
South Asia Books (USA)
Vatican Library request form for reproductions

(I took the majority from Dr. Joseph G. Leichter website Wilbourhall and I'll try to improve them)

Noam Chomsky

2010-03-20T18:40:00.011+02:00

Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is one of the world's most prominent and controversial public intellectuals. He is an internationally renowned professor of linguistics at MIT. You can find some about his political views here. You can see an interview with him on HardTalk and his view about 9-11. And here is his website and his profile on NNBD. "Noam Chomsky’s books are in print, much of his writing is Web-accessible, and there are his steady contributions to Z magazine. He can be viewed on film, video, and in cyberspace. But Chomsky is not a seer, nor is he prone to dispensing easily quotable maxims. What is to be done, of course, is up to us."

George Henrik von Wright (1916 - 2003)

2010-02-27T17:35:00.004+02:00

Georg Henrik von Wright was a Finnish philosopher and logician the successor of the famous philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein at the University of Cambridge. You can find some info about him here and here. I heard firstly about him some years ago, when I started to read 'Language and Thought in Indian Culture' of our regretted Doctor and Orientalist, Sergiu Al-George. I recently found on-line two of his books: Norm and Action and The Varieties of Goodness.

One Hundred Reasons to be a Scientist

2009-09-04T09:46:00.006+03:00

International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) was founded in 1964 by Pakistani scientist and Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam. It operates under a tripartite agreement among the Italian Government, UNESCO, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and provides advanced studies and researches to scientists from developing countries. While the name of the centre reflects its beginnings, its activities today encompass most areas of physical sciences and mathematics including their applications. It is located near Miramare Park, about 10 kilometres from the city of Trieste, Italy. Personally, I know it to be a great institution and I enjoyed a lot the time spent there with the occasion of some of their schools and workshops.
On 2004 they published a very nice collection of essays where the scientists have distilled their messages for budding researchers.

You can read it here in english or italian if you'll ignore the copyright message.

SeaBiscuit

2009-07-29T19:44:00.020+03:00

Motto: "You know, everybody thinks we found this broken-down horse and fixed him, but we didn't. He fixed us. Everyone of us. And I guess, in a way, we kind of fixed each other too." John (Red) Pollard

Vincent, I've seen seen the movie you told me about, Sea Biscuit (2003), just today, on the day when you left.

It is a very nice movie about a great horse, Sea Biscuit (1933-1947), the 1938 Horse of the Year (following the famous one-on-one match-up against War Admiral on November 1, 1938). It was directed by Gary Ross, with a great casting: Tobey Maguire star of Spider Man (as jokey Red Pollard), Jeff Bridges (Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard), Chris Cooper (Seabiscuit's trainer, Tom Smith) and Elisabeth Banks (as Marcela Howard).
You can read the Roger Ebert's review here (and another one here) and see some pictures here.
It is based on the book SeaBiscuit by Laura Hillenbrandt, a great read also. An interview with her is here.

Sea Biscuit was a hard-luck hero for Depression-era America being the first horse to top $400,000 in winnings. An unlikely winner with short legs, perpetually-bent knees, and an oddball gait, Seabiscuit became a national celebrity. In six years of triumphs and disasters, Seabiscuit compiled 33 wins, 15 second places, and 13 thirds in an incredible 89 races. You can hear the most important one's on radio and see some vintage photos on TIME.

Something I found about it:
"Initially dismissed as lazy, it took the understanding of trainer Tom Smith to bring out the best in Sea Biscuit - and create an American legend. He raced at a time when unemployment and poverty stalked the land, but his sheer will to win transformed him from mere horse to inspiration. He wasn't unbeatable, and at times it looked as though injuries might overwhelm him, but his fighting spirit saw him through, including spectacular wins over War Admiral at Pimlico and Kayak II at Santa Anita."
and
"In the spring of 1939 Red Pollard married his private duty nurse, Agnes Conlon, who cared for him after he shattered his leg. The two married at Charles Howard's ranch in Ridgewood, California. The movie unfortunately omitted Agnes, who did play a significant part in Pollard's recovery and return to the track. It was actually Agnes who hung the medal of Saint Christopher around Pollard's neck for good luck on the day of Seabiscuit's last race, not Charles Howard's wife. Agnes and Red had two children, a daughter born in 1940 and son born several years later."

Seabiscuit died May 18, 1947, at the age of 14.

July 18th - Mandela Day

2009-07-19T22:53:00.012+03:00

This weekend, on July 18th, was Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday.

Some of the world’s top musical talent gathered in New York to put on a three-hour spectacle celebrating Nelson Mandela’s birthday and life as well as the launch of the Mandela Day initiative.

Mandela Day is about ordinary people being positive. In short, Mandela Day celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an imprint.

46664 (four, double six, six four) was the prison number of Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, Cape Town where he was held in captivity for 18 years. The issue in South Africa then was Apartheid. The issue today across the continent is AIDS. 30 million people in Africa are currently imprisoned by the HIV virus, a death sentence among the poor due to lack of affordable medicines -- since the start of the pandemic 2 decades ago, 17 million Africans have died. You can make a donation at 46664.

Thank you Vincent for visiting me on this special day and for the Great Heart moments spent together.

Johnny Clegg

2009-07-19T21:52:00.035+03:00

Jonathan (Johnny) Clegg, born 7 June 1953 in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, is a musician from South Africa, who has recorded and performed with his bands Juluka and Savuka. Sometimes called Le Zoulou Blanc ("The White Zulu"), he is an important figure in South African popular music history, with songs that mix Zulu with English lyrics, and African with various Western European (such as Celtic) music styles.

Already in his youth, Johnny Clegg, a white, English-speaking person with what he called a "secular Jewish" upbringing in the UK, Israel, Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe), Zambia and South Africa, became interested in Zulu street music and took part in traditional Zulu dance competitions.

As a young man, in the early stages of his musical career, he combined his music with the study of anthropology, a subject which he also taught for a while at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he was influenced, among others, by the work of David Webster, a social anthropologist who was assassinated in 1989.

Clegg formed the first racially mixed South African band, Juluka (Juluka means "sweat", and was the name of a bull owned by Mchunu) , with gardener and Zulu musician Sipho Mchunu. In 1976 they had their first hit single Woza Friday. Because it was frowned upon (although not actually forbidden by law) for racially mixed bands to perform in South Africa during the apartheid era, their first album Universal Men released in 1979 received no air play on the state owned SABC, but it became a word-of-mouth hit.

The album "Work for All" picked up on South African trade union slogans in the mid-80's. Even more explicit was the later Savuka album Third World Child in 1987, with songs like "Asimbonanga" ("We haven't seen him"), which called for the release of Nelson Mandela, and which called out the names of three representative martyrs of the South African liberation struggle - Steve Biko, Victoria Mxenge, and Neil Aggett.

Juluka were able to tour in Europe and had two platinum and five gold albums becoming an international success. Juluka was disbanded in 1986, when Mchunu was asked by his father to return home and herd the family goats, although Mchunu made some solo recordings afterwards. Clegg went on to form his second inter-racial band, Savuka, continuing to blend African music with European, especially Celtic, influences. Savuka is based on the Zulu word for "we have risen" or "we have awakened".
The Savuka albums Shadow Man (which sold 250,000 copies within a week after its release went on to sell more than 1,000,000 copies in France alone), and Cruel Crazy, Beautiful World were dealing with more romantic topics, including "Cruel Crazy Beautiful World", where a father gives a message to his son, "Dela" where the essence of love is explored.

His song Scatterlings of Africa was featured on the sound track to the 1988 academy award wining film Rain Man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.In 2002 Clegg provided several songs and incidental background music for Jane Goodall's "Wild Chimpanzees" DVD.

In 2007, Clegg received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of the Witwatersrand. “It was a wonderful moment for me,” says Clegg. “The great irony for me is I don’t read a note of music! My music comes to me like it does to many Africans, through ear and feeling.” You can read an interview with Wits’ music man Johnny Clegg (or here).

46664 (four, double six, six four) is a series of AIDS charity concerts played in honour of Nelson Mandela by South African musicians in the 2000s.

2nd 46664 Concert 19.03.2005 in Fanfourt, SA

You can see more concert photos captured at Fête de l'humanité and at the Festival of World Sacred Music 2007.
On YouTube you can enjoy IMPI, Scatterlings of Africa, Great Heart, Dela (It means "Come Closer" in Zulu), Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World, Asimbonanga, Zulu Dance (Isoka liyatatazela'), December African Rain, In my African Dream, Siyayilanda and Kilimanjaro.
And others: Circle of Light, Devana, I Call Your Name, Inkunzi Ayihlabi Ngokumisa, Gijim'beke, Makhabeleni, Moliva, Sonqoba, Thula 'Mtanami, Unkosibomvu The Red King, Uwinile Unumber One, Wangizonda, Woza friday.

I enjoyed the most the documentaries and interviews Un Zoulou Blanc - The Dancer, Chez Ses Freres 1987, Zulu Street Guitar Songs, Interview 1 & 2, Interview Australia Tour 2005 1 - 2 - 3, Interview La Voix De La Liberte 1988, Report Festival 'Fiesta Sète' 2007, Asimbonanga & Nelson Mandela, Dis Hoe Dit Is, docu from Renaud 1987 (2), Interview France 12/2007, Oor Die Kole 1 & 2 and Scatterlings of Africa.

You can find more informations about him on the Official Johnny Clegg Website, Johnny Clegg Blog, Scatterlings Club, johnnyclegg.de.vu and In my African Dream website.

Labuat - Soy tu aire

2009-07-15T23:05:00.008+03:00

Herraiz & Soto y Badabing! han creado el site promocional del primer single de Labuat, ex cantante del programa OT, llamado Soy tu aire. Un site interactivo bajo un estilo limpio y efectivo. Y premio FWA!

Soy tu aire, soy de agua
hago surcos pequeñitos en la cara
derretida de tus canas
y voy entrando poco a poco,
muy poquito en tus cosquillas,
me acomodo, te incomodo, pa' que rías
y me cuelo en este enredo sin llamar,
sin avisar.
Soy tu aire, soy tu agua,
te me bebes, te atraganto
me respiras te salpico
te me tragas
y me entretengo juego un rato en tus recuerdos
me los pongo en mis enaguas,
hago trizas tus lamentos, creo fantasías locas
y confundo tu memoria con la punta de mis besos.

soy del aire
soy del agua
soy del aire
soy del agua

Pues lo dicen no me ates que me escapo entre medio de tus dedos
impasible te convierto lo imposible en impensado
y construyo entre un seguro un futuro improvisado
en que uno y uno no hagan dos
y los demás estén de mas
ya no sea nadie nadie nadie nadie nadie.

soy tu aire
soy tu agua
soy tu aire
soy tu agua
soy tu aire
soy tu agua...

Buena Vista Social Club

2009-06-30T21:57:00.007+03:00

En 1996, el compositor, productor y guitarrista Ry Cooder viajó hasta los Estudios Egrem, en La Habana, interesado en cierta música con ritmos provenientes de África. Si bien su búsqueda resultó infructuosa, esto no le impidió conocer a un grupo de legendarios músicos cubanos, que habían pasado prácticamente al olvido, cuyas edades fluctuaban entre los 60 y 80 años. El resultado fue Buena Vista Social Club, un álbum ganador de un Grammy cuyo éxito fue aclamado internacionalmente. Filmado en 1998, este documental registra el regreso de Cooder a Cuba, ocasión en la que se reúne con el vocalista Ibrahim Ferrer y el resto de los músicos con la intención de grabar un nuevo álbum. El director de cine Wim Wenders, junto a un reducido grupo de filmación, observó a los músicos en el estudio y rastreó sus vidas en La Habana. Así se dio inicio a este documental, que registra el viaje de los ancianos desde su país natal hasta la ciudad de Ámsterdam -donde ofrecieron dos conciertos-, y que finaliza en Nueva York, con una presentación en el Carnegie Hall.

More wikiinfo es and en.

Dos gardenias para ti

Dos gardenias para tí,
con ellas quiero decir,
te quiero, te adoro, mi vida,
ponle toda tu atención,
porque son tu corazón y el mío.
Dos gardenias para tí,
que tendrán todo el calor de un beso,
de esos besos que te dí, y
que jamás encontrarás
en el calor de otro querer.
A tu lado vivirán,
y te hablarán como cuando estás conmigo,
y hasta creerás que te dirán te quiero.
Pero si un atardecer,
las gardenias de mi amor se mueren,
es porque han adivinado,
que tu amor se ha terminado,
porque existe otro querer.
Dos gardenias para tí,
que tendrán todo el calor de un beso,
de esos besos que te dí,
y que jamás encontrarás
en el calor de otro querer.

Sanskrit & Tibetan

2009-05-09T18:16:00.041+03:00

Here I'll post interesting links about Sanskrit an Tibetan Language and Culture and I'll update them periodically.

Sanskrit

Altindische Grammatik - Jacob Wackernagel
Amarakosha
Bloomfield's A Vedic Concordance

Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies (see books.google)
Gita supersite
GRETIL
Indica et Buddhica
IndologyInfo, etexts, links and SARIT

INRIA Sanskrit Resources
Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies, Köln
Language in India
Lennart Warnemyr's Grammar
Mahabharata and Ramayana

Pāṇini: a survey of research by Cardona

Recent research in Pāṇinian studies by Cardona

Indian linguistic studies festschrift in honor of Cardona

Panini's Astadhyayi and Kasikavrtti
Panini's Grammatik - Otto von Böhtlingk
SanskritaPradipika
Patañjali's Vyakarana-Mahabhasya
SanskritDocuments, SanskritLinks, e-texts and dict

Sanskrit Library
The Sanskrit Heritage and Sanskrit Grammarian
Tim Lubin Sanskrit Kavya
Wilbourhall
Whitney's Grammar
Yves Ramseier’s page on BhartRhari

Hindi, Hindustani and Urdu

A Dictionary Hindustani and English by John Shakespear

A romanized Hindūstānī and English dictionary by Nathaniel Brice

Colloquial Hindi Part 2 by Tej K. Bhatia

Colloquial Urdu by Tej K. Bhatia, Ashok Kou

Ferozsons English to English and Urdu dictionary

Hindi & Urdu, a rough guide phrasebook

Hindi Learning And Speaking Course by Amitbha Dhingra

Let's learn Hindi by Chaytna Deborah Feinstein

Learn Tamil in 30 Days Through English by Krishna Vikal

Urdu, an essential grammar by Ruth Laila Schmidt

Urdu-Hindi-English dictionary by Khursheed Alam

Urdu English Dictionary by S. Sangaji

Dictionaries

Andre Signoret's French-Sanskrit dictionary
Apte Sanskrit dictionary or here
Boehtlingk & Roth - Sanskrit-German Dictionary

Capeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Critical Pali Dictionary
Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries, downloads
Digital Dictionaries of South Asia
English-Sanskrit Computer Dictionary
GerardHuet's
Macdonell, A practical Sanskrit dictionary
Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, scanned, MWSDD
Multilingualbooks
Sanskrit Dictionary Homepage
SanskritDocuments
Sanskrit Reader
SpokenSanskrit

Blogs

David Nelson
T. Matthew Ciolek and Ciolek

John Smith

Dominik Wujastyk html files

Tibetan

Alexander Berzin Archive
Tibet - American Geographical Society Library
Andreas Montano Translation Tool
Asian Classics Input Project and here
AICP Sutra of Perfect Wisdom in 8,000 Lines

Digital Library of India (Bangalore)
Indologie und Tibetologie, München
Ciolek Tibetan Studies and language
Daniel Winkler
Goldstein Melvyn Center for Research on Tibet
Latse Contemporary Tibetan Cultural Library
Leigh Brasington's Web Site or here, Links
Nitartha Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dictionary and Sambotha Fonts
Nyingma
Old Tibetan Documents on-line
SnowLionPub
The Tibetan & Himalayan Digital Library
THDL Kangyur
The Tibetan Webhotel
The Tibetan & Himalayan Library
Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center
Virginia_edu

Dictionaries

Charles Alfred Bell English Tibetan colloquial dictionary and grammar

Sarat Chandra Das Dictionary or here

English to Tibetan on-line

Goldstein English-Tibetan dictionary of modern Tibetan

H. A. Jäschke Dictionary or here

Herbert Bruce Hannah, A grammar of the Tibetan language

Essay towards a dictionary, Tibetan and English By Sándor Kőrösi Csoma

Jeffrey Hopkins Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary
THDL Dictionary, fonts, guide and TranslationTool
Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dictionary
YourDictionary

Blogs
T. Matthew Ciolek and Ciolek

Google Books

A collection of Tibetan proverbs and sayings by Cüppers and Sørensen

A companion to Sanskrit literature by Banerji

A concise history of classical Sanskrit literature by Bhattacharyya Shastri

A cultural history of Tibet by Snellgrove and Richardson

A guide to conversation in the English and Chinese

A handbook of the Chinese language by Summers

Annales Du Musee Guimet

Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan by Tod vol 1

Elements of Chinese grammar by Marshman

A history of modern Tibet, 1913-1951 by Goldstein and Rimpoche

Approaching the great perfection by Schaik

Asiatic mythology by J. Hackin

Asiatic Researches vol 3, 4 (4), 5 (5), 8, 9, 10, 12, 20 Index

Dictionary of Tibetan materia medica

The Encyclopedia of Indian philosophies by Potter vol 2, 3, 9,

Essentials of modern literary Tibetan

Foundations of Dharmakīrti's philosophy by Dunne

Grammaire de la langue tibétaine By Philippe Édouard Foucaux

Health Through Balance by Yeshi Donden, Jeffrey Hopkins

Iconography of the Derge Kanjur and Tanjur by Kolmaš

India by Stanley A. Wolpert

Indian Kāvya Literature by Warder

Introduction to the History of Indian Buddhism by Burnouf

Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol 6, 9

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 2, 5, 8, 9

Linguistics of the Himalayas and beyond by Bielmeier and Haller

Mipham's dialectics by Karma-phun-tshogs, Karma Phuntsho

Narrative of the expedition to China by Bingham vol 1, 2

Prisoners of Shangri-La by Donald S. Lopez

Recognizing reality Dharmakīrti's philosophy by Dreyfus

Rig-Veda-Sanhitáedited by Cowell and Webster or here

Scripture, logic, language essays on Dharmakīrti by Tillemans

The Asiatic annual register, vol 1, 2, 9, 11

The Asiatic journal, vol 1 (1), 11, 23, 24

The Chinese repository, vol 3, 7, 11, 15, 16-20

The Empire of the Steppes by Grousset

The History of Tibet The medieval period, c. 850-1895 by Alex McKay

The religions of Tibet by Tucci and Samuel

The Tibetan empire in central Asia by Beckwith

The Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika distinction by Dreyfus and McClintock

The two truths debate Tsongkhapa and Gorampa by Thakchoe

The Vedas by Griffith

Tibet by Mayhew and Kohn

Tibet, past and present by Blezer

Tibetan by Philip Denwood

Tibetan Civilization by Stein and Driver

Tibetan phrasebook by Sandup Tsering

Travels into Bokhara by Burnes vol 1, 2, 3

Il Divo

2009-05-04T19:38:00.014+03:00

Il Divo es un grupo internacional de ópera-pop. La creación de Il Divo fue una idea del productor musical Simon Cowell tras ver una actuación de Los Tres Tenores.

Así, en el 2001 se embarcó en la búsqueda de jóvenes talentos que conjugasen una buena voz con un aspecto físico impactante. Los escogidos fueron el español Carlos Marín (Barítono), el norteamericano David Miller (Tenor), el francés Sébastien Izambard (Voz popular) y el suizo Urs Bühler (Tenor).

Discografía:

Il Divo (2004)
Ancora (2005)
The Christmas Collection (2005)
Voices (2006) - The Time of Our Lives
Siempre (2006)
The Promise - salió a la venta el 10 de noviembre de 2008

Página web oficial y Il Divo “The Promise” Preview.

I wrote this after listening The Power of Love (La fuerza mayor).

Sebastien:
Yo te protegeré de tus miedos
Soy tu príncipe azul
Angel del cielo
No hay más que temer

Carlos:
Hoy como ayer siempre
Me vas a tener

Solo importa tu amor
Dámelo aquí estoy

David:
La fuerza mayor está en el amor
Es interior
La meta es darlo de veras
Mostrarlo sin razón
Con el corazón

Urs:
Yo prometo que te cuidaré
Y para amarte solo viviré
Cuando triste estés allí estaré
Con este inmenso amor que yo siento por ti
Y nunca llorarás
Tú serás lo único

[Todos]

Amar es comprensión
Es dar completo el corazón
Es besarnos perdonarnos
Es un tesoro, un gran regalo

Sebastien:
Solo importa tu amor
Dámelo aquí estoy

[Todos 2x]

Amita Bhose and Cicerone Poghirc

2009-05-02T18:39:00.009+03:00

Today I found with sadness that on April, 15, Prof. Cicerone George D. Poghirc (b. March 28, 1928), a great Romanian linguist and orientalist, left us for a better world. I have good memories about Professor Poghirc, with which I talked shortly at the phone, when, years ago, he helped my good friend I. D. to publish his Sanskrit - Romanian dictionary (Verbal Roots). I deeply regret that I never had the opportunity to met him.

Those of you, understanding romanian, can read the obituary and a bibliography.

I also regret that I never met Prof. Amita Bhose (February 9, 1933 - October 24, 1992) with which I think I have not only one thing in common and whose writings I like very much. On 1959, by chance, she arrived in Romania which finally turn to be 'one of the capital and revealing events of her life'. After learning Romanian language, she said that she 'discovered a world'. She sustained her doctor's degree in Bucharest, producing an ample and detailed research work on our national poet Mihai Eminescu, Eminescu and India issued in 1978 by the Junimea Publishing House of Iaşi, in the prestigious Eminesciana collection. She translated many romanian litterary works in bengali language and was professor at the Department of Oriental Languages (Bucharest University).

Many other informations about Prof. Amita Bhose can be found at the website dedicated to her amitabhose.net.

Is Everything Relative ?

2009-04-09T21:01:00.016+03:00

I had a big ‘existential’ problem lately. It was about how the notion of Relativity is generalized by some friends of mine to nearly everything in our society and even to the truth itself. It was a big and long dispute. I found it strange that I had a different idea about the subject.

It was practically the refrain of modern life I doubted: "Everything's relative."

Please ask yourself very carefully, if this statement is really true
Did Einstein showed exactly that, in his work ?
Can Einstein's Relativity Theory be considered also a Philosophical Theory not only a physical one ?

After some moments of thought, you can find the answer here, competently exposed by the Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Ray Bradley.

Doña Isabel Cobos de Porcel

2009-03-28T18:47:00.008+02:00

Francisco de GOYA y Lucientes (1746 - 1828)
National Gallery, London - Bought, 1896
Original dimensions: 54.6cm x 82.0cm (21.5in x 32.3in)

Esta hermosa mujer va vestida de maja, según la moda popular femenina vigente a finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX. Su esposo Antonio Porcel también fue retratado por Goya el mismo año (1806), como expresión de la gratitud del pintor por la hospitalidad recibida del matrimonio, seguramente en su casa de Granada. Porcel era protegido de Godoy, el favorito de la reina María Luisa, y socio de un amigo de Goya, el escritor y político liberal Jovellanos.

Goya debía de sentirse satisfecho con este retrato, porque lo exhibió en la Real Academia de San Fernando. La belleza y vivacidad de la retratada y el atractivo vestido, que no oculta el brillo de la seda debajo de la mantilla, están emparejados con la habilidad de Goya en la factura. En algunas de sus obras Goya incluyó mujeres para satirizar la locura y vanidad del sexo, pero el artista también fue capaz de dar una respuesta ante la visión de una mujer deslumbrante, segura de su belleza y posición.

Puede ver una imagen zoomable de alta resolución en el sitio Web de NG y un detalle aquí:

Ginevra de' Benci

2009-02-28T19:07:00.003+02:00

Ginevra de' Benci (Born 1457) was a lady of the aristocratic class in 15th century Florence, admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. She is the subject of one of only about 17 existing paintings attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. The oil-on-wood portrait was permanently acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., USA, in 1967 for US$5 million paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein, a record price at the time. This portrait is currently the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas.

You can also see it on a high resolution zoomable image at NGA.

Matila Ghyka

2009-02-26T21:31:00.010+02:00

Prince Matila Costiescu Ghyka (September 13, 1881–July 14, 1965), was a poet, novelist, mathematician, historian, and diplomat, and the Romanian Plenipotentiary Minister in the United Kingdom during the late 1930s and until 1940. Recently, a good friend (I.D.) - which continuously surprise me - put him under my eyes.
In his book 'The Geometry of Art and Life' pleads for a mathematical theory of aesthetics talking about the fascinating relationship between geometry, aesthetics, nature and the human body. This classic study probes the geometric interrelationships between art and life in discussions that range from Plato, Pythagoras and Archimedes to modern architecture and art, flowers, shells and marine life, the human face and much, much more. Also explored: the Golden Section, geometrical shapes on the plane, geometrical shapes in space, crystal lattices and many other fascinating topics.

You can read more about him here (or in romanian). Also, there were published recently 3 articles in romanian: Matila Ghyka, everywhere and nowhere, Following the traces of Matila C. Ghyka and Matila Ghyka in America .

Parrot and squirrel in Hampi

2009-01-05T20:00:00.021+02:00

I've capture it on June 2006 during my visit of Hampi, Karnataka, India, which was one of the most beautiful place I've seen in my life. I think the parrot only wanted to be left alone... and 'regretted' it after that. The scenery was beautiful from there, directly to the Zenana enclosure, very close of Lotus Mahal. You can see it here (where Maruthu Pandian have a nice capture) or here (one of so many nice photos of Jol Laurijsen) or take a 360 degrees tour around. May be I'll post sometime, other pictures from there.

If you'll have the occasion to be somewhere close of it, please don't miss it.

Schmap Salzburg Sixth Edition

2009-01-03T14:20:00.007+02:00

A photo which I took during my visit of Salzburg, two years ago, has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of Schmap Salzburg Guide:

I'm really pleased. The museum Haus der Natur is great. Don't miss it if you'll visit sometime Salzburg. Can somebody tell me the latin scientific name of it ?

LOVG - A las cinco en el Astoria

2008-12-31T09:51:00.013+02:00

El Astoria es un lugar de encuentro en San Sebastián. A las cinco en el Astoria es el título del nuevo álbum de La Oreja de Van Gogh, el reencuentro con la banda donostiarra tras la marcha de Amaia Montero y la aparición de Leire Martínez como nueva voz del grupo de Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas, Álvaro Fuentes y Haritz Garde. El 2 de septiembre 2008 aparece A las cinco en el Astoria con la canción El último vals como primer single, que permanece durante cuatro semanas en el nº1 de las listas de radio españolas. La Oreja de Van Gogh viene de liderar el pop español en los últimos diez años con la voz de Amaia, en un recorrido de cuatro álbumes de los que se han vendido más de seis millones de ejemplares en todo el mundo con incontables premios y canciones nº1. Pero el 28 de febrero de 2008 apareció Leire en el local de ensayo donde La Oreja de Van Gogh ensayaba sus nuevas canciones y en ese momento cambió todo. Las canciones sólo se terminaron cuando las cantó Leire.

A las cinco en el Astoria se grabó en la primavera de 2008 en los estudios Du Manoir (Las Landas, Francia) y Red Led (Madrid). Producido en comandita por esa garantía llamada Nigel Walker y La Oreja de Van Gogh y masterizado por Bob Ludwig (Coldplay, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Dire Straits, Pearl Jam...) en Gateway Mastering (Estados Unidos), contiene 12 canciones compuestas por Xabi San Martín y Pablo Benegas y un bonus track (Pequeños momentos) sólo disponible para los que se descarguen el álbum digitalmente en iTunes. Doce nuevas canciones que mantienen la esencia pop que ha caracterizado a La Oreja de Van Gogh, con variedad de ritmos, estribillos de libro, mayor audacia, un trabajo muy cuidado de guitarras y teclados, una base rítmica de batería y bajo de enorme solidez, con mayor dureza en el sonido y un papel más determinante de los coros en todo el álbum. A las cinco en el Astoria es La Oreja de Van Gogh más contundente que nunca, con espíritu de grupo y con una nueva voz, dúctil y poderosa, que se ha adaptado perfectamente a la manera de entender la música de la banda donostiarra.

El álbum comienza con su primer single, El último vals (“Siempre serás bienvenido a este lugar, a mi lista de obsesiones, de nombres a olvidar. Cómo recordarte sin mirar atrás. Yo nunca olvidaré el último vals”). Es una canción sobre la que planea la película homónima de Martin Scorsese, que acepta lecturas diversas y que comienza con un riff de guitarra que marca el lado pop enérgico, para desembocar en un estribillo contundente marca de la casa y apuntes de sintetizador y el piano como sostén del tema. Es la presentación de Leire Martínez como la nueva voz de La Oreja de Van Gogh, que a lo largo del álbum se desdobla constantemente en coros y segundas voces. Es una de las características de A las cinco en el Astoria, que se mantiene en Inmortal (“Después de ti entendí que el tiempo no hace amigos. Qué corto fue el amor, qué largo el olvido”), una canción que se abre con guitarras acústicas y eléctricas, para romper el ritmo y desembocar en un final con cierto aire vintage, pop fresco y rítmico, casi high-school con “sha-la-la” incluido.

Jueves (“Si fuera más guapa y un poco más lista, si fuera especial, si fuera de revista, tendría el valor de cruzar el vagón y preguntarte quién eres. Te sientas enfrente y ni te imaginas que llevo por ti mi falda más bonita”) es la primera balada del álbum, una canción que se sostiene sólo con piano y teclados y la voz de Leire casi desnuda, sin la ayuda de guitarras, bajos ni baterías. Intimidad, sencillez y emoción que dan paso a Más (“Dicen que una herida que te ha rozado el alma se cura en el espejo si aguantas su mirada, y no consigo escapar”) para recuperar el recuerdo al pop de los 80 con dureza en el estribillo, un buen trabajo de las guitarras y los teclados y Leire dando el contrapunto en los coros.

Cumplir un año menos (“Las noticias contarían que las balas regresaron a esas armas que apuntaron a matar. Volverían a la vida las voces que disentían, y con ellas algo más de libertad”) es una canción de ausencias, un grito antiviolencia con aire de himno a medio tiempo. Europa VII (“La vida más pequeña vale mil veces más que la nación más grande que se invente jamás”) es un canto humanista casi de ciencia ficción, lanzado a través de un beat disco que se mezcla con guitarras acústicas y teclados, para derivar después a un ritmo más pesado con secuencias y voces y efectos espaciales, que se mezclan con el comienzo de La visita (“Hoy ha venido a verme una mujer alta y sonriente. Me ha dicho coge mi mano fuerte y sígueme”). Un tema de tiempo dinámico, pop puro con sintetizadores y con un interesante desarrollo en la melodía, que termina con unos acordes de piano que evocan el Let It Be de los Beatles. No será el único recuerdo del álbum al cuarteto de Liverpool.

Sola (“Dormiré entre diamantes para desayunar, siempre sola, tan sola que el silencio es ahora un buen amante para escuchar”), con referencias cinematográficas, recupera el beat disco con efectos en la voz de Leire para transformarse después en pop por derecho. Es una mezcla que recorre el tema con guitarras eléctricas sencillas y efectivas con sonidos que nos trasladan a los 50 y continuos cambios de ambiente. Palabras para Paula (“Es pronto para comprender que pueda mirarte y verme a la vez, que escuches hoy mi voz que tanto te cantó los meses que tú fuiste yo”) es una canción esperanzadora que oscila entre la balada y el medio tiempo con buenas guitarras y teclados, mientras Flores en la orilla (“Te esperé mil noches después y me llevé mil besos del sol. Te dejé una flor cada vez antes de irme a casa”) es el único tema con aires latinos, fronterizos y sonoridades de guitarras españolas que se fusionan con nuevos recuerdos al pop de los 80.

En la recta final del álbum, Un cuento sobre el agua (“Quisiera ser la lluvia que empapó tus ojos negros pidiéndome un beso. Quisiera ser el viento que sopló dejando tan gracioso cabello, parando el tiempo en mi corazón”) es una de las canciones más originales del repertorio de La Oreja de Van Gogh, con un ritmo de marcha y la voz de Leire de protagonista casi absoluta. Un tema diferente que precede a La primera versión (“La primera versión de tus ojos mirando la perdí por temor a seguirte mirando. La primera versión de tu mano y mi mano se la di a un escultor para hacerte un regalo y se la quedó”) que cierra el disco y se mueve a ritmo de vals rápido con elaborados arreglos de teclados, la voz de Leire más negra del álbum y un recuerdo final guitarrero al Norwegian Wood de los Beatles. Los que se descarguen el disco digitalmente a través de iTunes tendrán como regalo una canción extra (Pequeños momentos), un ejercicio de pop electrónico con inspiración a los 80 y ambiente dance. Es la guinda de un álbum variado, sólido, maduro y que vuela por encima de las comparaciones. Es lo nuevo de La Oreja de Van Gogh.

Nicolae Grigorescu - Maria Nacu Portrait

2008-12-30T19:54:00.007+02:00

Nicolae Grigorescu (May 15, 1838—July 21, 1907) - Portretul Mariei Nacu (Bucharest National Art Museum)

Thank you - X -.

Nicolae Grigorescu - Springtime

2008-12-28T23:14:00.004+02:00

Nicolae Grigorescu (May 15, 1838—July 21, 1907) - Primăvara (Constanţa Art Museum)

Deezer - Music on demand

2008-12-28T11:11:00.009+02:00

Did you heard about Deezer ?

Try it. You can also read more about it here.

La Oreja de Van Gogh - guapa

2008-01-26T11:11:00.001+02:00

I also like the LOVG's last album guapa, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the group’s formation, which I bought on my last trip to Barcelona:

“guapa (Beautiful) is the story of a person who refuses to give up on the marvellous journey to find themself”, writes La Oreja de Van Gogh in the insert for guapa, their fourth studio album.
LOVG says, guapa “is the story of a person who makes time a secret ally which, each morning in front of the mirror of the soul, will make them feel just that little bit more beautiful”.
Ten years have passed since Pablo Benegas, Xabi San Martín, Álvaro Fuentes and Haritz Garde persuaded Amaia Montero to become the voice of a group which was just starting out, and which could offer her little more than a dream.

The album opens with Noche (Night, “Son tan fuertes mis latidos, que el sonido de mi voz no se escucha cuando a gritos pide que me haga mayor” – “My heart beats so loudly that it drowns out the sound of my voice crying out for me to grow”), a medium tempo in the style of LOVG rock. The first single of the album is Muñeca de trapo (Rag Doll “Me abrazaría al diablo sin dudar, por ver tu cara al escucharme hablar” – “I would embrace the devil just to see your face as you listen to my words”), which starts off with the voice of Amaia shrouded in synthesizers and a crescendo leading to a chorus full of energy and backed by harsh, distorted guitars. A strong song, halfway between ballad and medium tempo, dealing with the themes which recur throughout the album: silence, lack of communication, the lost, the impossible... a bridge which links guapa with the previous work of LOVG.

Dulce locura (Sweet madness, “Vendo el inventario de recuerdos de la historia más bonita que en la vida escuché” – “I sell the stock of memories of the most beautiful story I ever heard”) is another song of longing which mixes a classically phrased piano with the intensity of rock. Perdida (Lost, “Yo crucé la línea blanca un día, fue una noche con su amanecer. Puse un par de rombos en mi vida, hice un viaje al mundo que no ves” – “I crossed the white line one day, it was a night turning to dawn. I placed a sign upon my life and travelled to the world you do not see”) has a certain gospel air before changing to dramatic pop style. Vuelve (Come back, “Un cumpleaños más sin ti, un regalo sin abrir” – “Another birthday without you, another unopened present”) maintains the level of intensity and deals with abandonment over a base of distorted guitars and synthesizers. Escapar (Escape, “De pronto tú, y mi reloj vuelve a marcar el tiempo. De pronto yo, y tú tan guapo que ni sabes verlo” - “Suddenly you, and once again my watch marks time. Suddenly me, and you so handsome you don’t even see it”) is a song of hope combining reggae and pop, a seal of identity on all LOVG records.

The halfway point on guapa comes with Irreversible (“Como hacer un surco en un vinilo o pintar un trazo en un Van Gogh, mi corazón se ha vuelto irreversible desde el momento que el destino lo marcó” - “Like scoring a groove on a vinyl record or a painting a brush stroke on a Van Gogh, there is no turning back for my heart since the moment it was touched by fate”), a ballad which starts off with acoustic guitars and tremolo which give it a classical feel. A diez centímetros de ti (Ten centimetres away from you, “A diez centímetros de ti, a diez años luz de mañana, que importan las ciencias exactas si tú and yo somos así” – “Ten centimetres away from you, ten light years away from tomorrow, what does science matter if this is the way we are”) shows LOVG’s more electronic and dynamic side, but is also seasoned with rock. The song V.O.S. (Original language with subtitles, “Si algún día nos cruzamos, no respondas ni hagas caso a los subtítulos que bajo mi sonrisa sabes ver” - “If we should meet one day, do not respond or pay heed to the subtitles you see below my smile”) has a free and easy style with a certain aroma of old cabaret, of the seventies.

Apareces tú (And you appear, “Y de repente apareces tú, mientras me hablas hago que estoy dormida” - “And suddenly you appear, and while you talk to me I pretend to be asleep”) has a certain flavour of the sixties in the chorus, while Manhattan (“Sola en el hotel de la calle del Perdón, los recuerdos con espinas dirán que te he roto el corazón” – “Alone in the hotel on the street of Forgiveness, the memories with thorns will say I broke your heart”) begins with Bacharach-style harmonies which lead to a rock overlaid with frontier melancholy. And the album finishes with Mi vida sin ti (My life without you, “Un día más vuelve a empezar, duerme la luna en San Sebastián. Busco café, oigo llover and pienso en ti” – “Yet another day begins, the moon sleeps in San Sebastián. I look for a place to have a coffee, I hear the rain and think of you”), which begins with a bossa nova rythmn and ends in dance style with a flavour of the sea. This is the end of guapa which, as with other LOVG albums, has a hidden surprise. Cuantos cuentos cuento (How many tales I tell, “Y es que a veces no puedo evitar que se escapen volando mis mil mariposas que sueñan contigo a diario” – “Sometimes I cannot stop my thousands of butterflies that dream of you each day from flying away”), is a true Mexican-style folk song, with mariachi and accordion included, which unites feelings and cultures.
You can find more about them on group's website and in here.

Julieta Venegas - Limón y Sal

2008-01-24T20:20:00.000+02:00

I like a lot Julieta Venegas's album, Limón y Sal.

Here you can find her Discography, the Lyrics
and some info.

Esta ternura

2008-01-24T19:52:00.000+02:00

Esta ternura y estas manos libres,
¿a quién darlas bajo el viento ? Tanto arroz
para la zorra, y en medio del llamado
la ansiedad de esa puerta abierta para nadie.
Hicimos pan tan blanco
para bocas ya muertas que aceptaban
solamente una luna de colmillo, el té
frío de la vela la alba.
Tocamos instrumentos para la ciega cólera
de sombras y sombreros olvidados. Nos quedamos
con los presentes ordenados en una mesa inútil,
y fue preciso beber la sidra caliente
en la vergüenza de la medianoche.
Entonces, ¿nadie quiere esto,
nadie?

Julio Cortázar - Pameos y meopas (1971)