The Last of the Mohicans is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1826.
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper’s classic novel, although it owes more to George B. Seitz’s 1936 film adaptation than the source novel. The main cast includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Wes Studi, Eric Schweig and Jodhi May.
The soundtrack features music by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman, and the song “I Will Find You” by Clannad. The film won an Academy Award for Sound. The main theme of the movie is taken from the tune “The Gael” by Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean.
Enjoy a nice weekend :)
The last of the sunlight rays. Apocalyptic Sunset. Credit: author
Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera. The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, glide rather than fly, and only for short distances. Bats do not flap their entire forelimbs, like birds, but instead flap their spread out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane or patagium. Chiroptera comes from two Greek words, cheir “hand” and pteron “wing.”
There are about 1,100 bat species worldwide, which represent about twenty percent of all classified mammal species. About 70% of bats are insectivores. Most of the rest are frugivores, or fruit eaters. A few species feed from animals other than insects. Bats are present throughout most of the world and perform vital ecological roles such as pollinating flowers and dispersing fruit seeds. Many tropical plants depend entirely on bats for the distribution of their seeds.
Bats range in size from Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat measuring 29–33 mm (1.14–1.30 in) in length and 2 g (0.07 oz) in mass, to the Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox which has a wing span of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and weighs approximately 1.2 kg (3 lb). [wikipedia]
Smile for the Camera (Eptesicus fuscus) Credit: Furryscaly
The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (full name: Hunan Zhangjiajie National Forest Park; Chinese: 湖南张家界国家森林公园; pinyin: Húnán Zhāngjiājiè Guójiā Sēnlín Gōngyuán) is a unique national forest park located in Zhangjiajie City in northern Hunan Province in the People’s Republic of China.
In 1982 it was recognized as China’s first national forest park (4,810 hectares). Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was designated a much larger (397.5 km²) Wulingyuan National Park by the State Council on August 1, 1988. In 1992, Wulingyuan National Park was officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was then approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources as Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest National Geopark (3,600 km²) in 2001. In 2004, Zhangjiajie Geopark was listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark.
The most notable geographic features of the park are the pillar-like formations that are seen throughout the park. They are the result of many years of erosion. The weather is moist year round, and as a result, the foliage is very dense. Much of the erosion which forms these pillars are the result of expanding ice in the winter and the plants which grow on them. These formations are a distinct hallmark of Chinese landscape, and can be found in many ancient Chinese paintings.
Avatar film’s director and production designers said that they drew inspiration for the floating rocks from mountains from around the world, including those in the Hunan province. [wikipedia]
“‘O sole mio” is a globally known Neapolitan song written in 1898. It has been performed and covered by many artists, including such stalwarts of opera as Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Mario Lanza, The Three Tenors, as well as rock/pop artists such as Bryan Adams, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Vitas (who sings it in a high countertenor range) and Elvis Presley.
The lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro, and the melody was composed by Eduardo di Capua.
Today we can see The Three Tenors singing this song the first time they meet in 1990.
Original lyrics
Che bella cosa e’ na jurnata ‘e sole
n’aria serena doppo na tempesta!
Pe’ ll’aria fresca pare già na festa
Che bella cosa e’ na jurnata ‘e sole
Ma n’atu sole,
cchiù bello, oje ne’
‘O sole mio
sta ‘nfronte a te!
‘O sole, ‘o sole mio
sta ‘nfronte a te!
sta ‘nfronte a te!
Quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne,
me vene quase ‘na malincunia;
sotto ‘a fenesta toia restarria
quanno fa notte e ‘o sole se ne scenne.
Ma n’atu sole,
cchiù bello, oje ne’
‘O sole mio
sta ‘nfronte a te!
‘O sole, ‘o sole mio
sta ‘nfronte a te!
sta ‘nfronte a te!
What a beautiful thing is a sunny day,
The air is serene after a storm
The air’s so fresh that it already feels like a celebration
What a beautiful thing is a sunny day
But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s upon your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s upon your face!
It’s upon your face!
When night comes and the sun has gone down,
I almost start feeling melancholy;
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun has gone down.
But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s upon your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s upon your face!
It’s upon your face!
¡Qué cosa bella es un día de sol!
el aire sereno después de una tempestad,
por el aire tan fresco parece una fiesta,
¡qué cosa bella es un día de sol!
Pero otro sol,
qué es aún más bello,
el sol mío,
está frente a ti,
el sol, el sol mío,
¡está frente a ti!,
¡está frente a ti!
Cuando llega la noche y el sol se oculta,
casi me entra la melancolía,
estoy de pie bajo tu ventana,
cuando llega la noche y el sol se oculta.
Pero otro sol,
qué es aún más bello,
el sol mío,
está frente a ti,
el sol, el sol mío,
¡está frente a ti!,
está frente a ti!,
Blasting CME
Another treatment of a fiery Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) with stunning, bright details in the ejected material. In this composite image, an EIT image of the Sun in extreme UV light, taken at about the same time (January 4, 2002), was enlarged and superimposed on LASCO C2. In coronagraph images, direct sunlight is blocked by an occulter (covered by the Sun here) to reveal the surrounding faint corona. Credit: Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies (1824) by Alexander Pushkin. Mérimée had read the poem in Russian by 1840 and translated it into French in 1852.
The opera premiered at the Opéra-Comique of Paris on 3 March 1875, but its opening run was denounced by the majority of critics. It was almost withdrawn after its fourth or fifth performance.
Since the 1880s it has been one of the world’s most performed operas and a staple of the operatic repertoire. Carmen appears as number four on Opera America’s list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America.
Prelude
Maria CALLAS sings Carmen HABANERA in covent garden
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (October 9 or 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, some of his themes have long since taken root in popular culture – such as “La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto, “Va, pensiero” (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco, “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” (The Drinking Song) from La traviata and Triumphal March from Aida. Although his work was sometimes criticized for using a generally diatonic rather than a chromatic musical idiom and having a tendency toward melodrama, Verdi’s masterworks dominate the standard repertoire a century and a half after their composition.
It is quite difficult to choose only a masterpiece. But I think the most popular piece is La donna è mobile from Rigoletto, but today I have chosen Nabucco’s “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate” just because today a friend prefer to listen this.
Nabucco (short for Nabucodonosor, English Nebuchadnezzar) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue. It is Verdi’s third opera and the one which is considered to have permanently established his reputation as a composer.
Nabucco follows the plight of the Jews as they are assaulted, conquered, and subsequently exiled from their homeland by the Babylonian King Nabucco (in English, Nebuchadnezzar).
Its first performance took place on 9 March 1842 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan under the original name of Nabucodonosor. The definitive name of Nabucco for the opera (and its protagonist) was first used at a performance at the San Giacomo Theatre of Corfu, in September, 1844.
Traducción:
Vuela pensamiento con alas doradas
pósate sobre las praderas y montañas
donde derrama su fragancia
el suave aire de nuestra tierra natal
saluda a las riberas del Jordán
y las torres estremecidas de Sión
Ay, mi patria hermosa y perdida
Oh, recuerdo tan querido y lleno de desesperación
Arpa dorada de los profetas
¿por qué cuelgas silenciosa de los sauces?
Aviva nuestros recuerdos queridos
y háblanos del tiempo que fue
Canta en dulces lamentos
el destino de Jerusalén
o te inspire el Señor una fortaleza
para soportar nuestros sufrimientos
Translation
Fly, thought, on wings of gold,
go settle upon the slopes and the hills
where the sweet airs of our
native soil smell soft and mild!
Greet the banks of the river Jordan
and Zion’s tumbled towers.
Oh, my country, so lovely and lost!
Oh remembrance so dear yet unhappy!
Golden harp of the prophetic wise men,
why hang so silently from the willows?
Rekindle the memories in our hearts,
tell us about the times gone by!
Remembering the fate of Jerusalem
play us a sad lament
or else be inspired by the Lord
to fortify us to endure our suffering
