Today, The Grandma has been reading about the first leap second that was added to the UTC time system on a day like today in 1972.
A leap second is a one-second adjustment that is occasionally applied to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), to accommodate the difference between precise time (International Atomic Time (TAI), as measured by atomic clocks) and imprecise observed solar time (UT1), which varies due to irregularities and long-term slowdown in the Earth's rotation.
The UTC time standard, widely used for international timekeeping and as the reference for civil time in most countries, uses TAI and consequently would run ahead of observed solar time unless it is reset to UT1 as needed.
The leap second facility exists to provide this adjustment. The leap second was introduced in 1972. Since then, 27 leap seconds have been added to UTC,with the most recent occurring on December 31, 2016. All have so far been positive leap seconds, adding a second to a UTC day; while it is possible for a negative leap second to be needed, one has not happened yet.
Because the Earth's rotational speed varies in response to climatic and geological events, UTC leap seconds are irregularly spaced and unpredictable. Insertion of each UTC leap second is usually decided about six months in advance by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), to ensure that the difference between the UTC and UT1 readings will never exceed 0.9 seconds.
This practice has proven disruptive, particularly in the twenty-first century and especially in services that depend on precise timestamping or time-critical process control. And since not all computers are adjusted by leap-second, they will display times differing from those that have been adjusted.
After many years of discussions by different standards bodies, in November 2022, at the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures, it was decided to abandon the leap second by or before 2035.
In about AD 140, Ptolemy, the Alexandrian astronomer, sexagesimally subdivided both the mean solar day and the true solar day to at least six places after the sexagesimal point, and he used simple fractions of both the equinoctial hour and the seasonal hour, none of which resemble the modern second.
When the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard was instituted in 1960, based on atomic clocks, it was felt necessary to maintain agreement with UT, which, until then, had been the reference for broadcast time services.
In 1972, the leap-second system was introduced so that the UTC seconds could be set exactly equal to the standard SI second, while still maintaining the UTC time of day and changes of UTC date synchronized with those of UT1. By then, the UTC clock was already 10 seconds behind TAI, which had been synchronized with UT1 in 1958, but had been counting true SI seconds since then.
After 1972, both clocks have been ticking in SI seconds, so the difference between their displays at any time is 10 seconds plus the total number of leap seconds that have been applied to UTC as of that time; as of 2024, 27 leap seconds have been applied to UTC, so the difference is 10+27=37 seconds. The most recent leap second was on December 31, 2016.
Today, The Grandma has been reading aboutMikhailBaryshnikov, the Latvianand American dancer, who defected from the USSR on a day like today in 1974.
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov, in Latvian Mihails Barišņikovs (born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male classical ballet dancer of the 1970s and 1980s. He became a noted dance director.
Born in Riga, Latvian SSR, into a Russian family, Baryshnikov had a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before defecting to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in Western dance. After dancing with the American Ballet Theatre, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer for one season to learn about George Balanchine's neoclassical Russian style of movement. He then returned to the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director.
Baryshnikov has spearheaded many of his own artistic projects and has been associated in particular with promoting modern dance, premiering dozens of new works, including many of his own. His success as a dramatic actor on stage, cinema, and television, has helped him become probably the most widely recognized contemporary ballet dancer. After his 1974 defection, Baryshnikovnever returned to the USSR.
Since 1986, he has been a naturalized citizen of the United States. After Latvia declared independence on 4 May 1990, he often returned there; in 2017, the Republic of Latvia granted Baryshnikov citizenship for extraordinary merit.
In 1977, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Yuri Kopeikine in the film The Turning Point. He starred in the movie White Nights with Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren, and Isabella Rossellini, and had a recurring role in the last season of the television series Sex and the City.
Mikhail Baryshnikov was born in Riga, in the Latvian SSR, Soviet Union, now known as Latvia. His parents were ethnic Russians: his mother was Alexandra (a dressmaker) and his father was Nikolay (an engineer). According to Baryshnikov, his father was a strict, nationalist military man, and his mother introduced him to theatre, opera, and ballet. She died by suicide when he was 12 years old.
Baryshnikov's talent was obvious from his youth, but being 165 cm or 168 cm tall -shorter than most male ballet dancers- he could not tower over a ballerina en pointe and was therefore relegated to secondary parts. More frustrating to him, the Soviet dance world hewed closely to 19th-century traditions and deliberately shunned Western choreographers, whose work Baryshnikov glimpsed in occasional tours and films. His main reason for leaving the Soviet Union was to work with these innovators.
On June 29, 1974, in Toronto while on tour with the Bolshoi, Baryshnikovdefected, requesting political asylum in Canada. As recalled by John Fraser, a ballet critic from Toronto who helped Baryshnikov to escape, Fraser wrote down phone numbers of people on a small piece of paper and hid it under his wedding ring. At a banquet after one show he managed to distract the KGB officer who followed Baryshnikov as an interpreter and gave Baryshnikov the paper.
Soon, Baryshnikov joined the National Ballet of Canada for a brief time in a guest role. He also announced that he would not return to the USSR. He later said that Christina Berlin, an American friend, helped engineer his defection during his 1970 tour of London. His first televised performance after coming out of temporary seclusion in Canada was with the National Ballet of Canada in La Sylphide. He then went to the United States.
In December 1975, he and his dance partner Natalia Makarova featured prominently in an episode of the BBC television series Arena.
From 1974 to 1978, Baryshnikov was a principal dancer with the AmericanBallet Theatre (ABT), where he partnered with Gelsey Kirkland.
In 1978, Baryshnikov abandoned his freelance career to spend 18 months as a principal of the New York City Ballet, run by George Balanchine.
Baryshnikov returned to the American Ballet Theatre in September 1980 as an artistic director, a position he held until 1989.
From 1990 to 2002, Baryshnikov was artistic director of the White Oak Dance Project, a touring company he co-founded with Mark Morris.
In 2003, Baryshnikov won the Prix Benois de la Danse for lifetime achievement.
In 2005, he launched the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York.
Today, The Grandma has been reading about the OAAU, the organization formed by Malcolm X on a day like today in 1964.
The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) was a Pan-Africanist organization founded by Malcolm X in 1964. The OAAU was modeled on the Organization of African Unity, which had impressed Malcolm X during his visit to Africa in April and May 1964.
The purpose of the OAAU was to fight for the human rights of African Americans and promote cooperation among Africans and people of African descent in the Americas.
Malcolm X announced the establishment of the OAAU at a public meeting in New York's Audubon Ballroom on June 28, 1964. He had written the group's charter with John Henrik Clarke, Albert Cleage, Jesse Gray, and Gloria Richardson, among others. In a memo dated July 2, 1964, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described the nascent OAAU as a threat to the national security of the United States.
Malcolm X, along with John Henrik Clarke, wrote the following into the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) Basic Unity Program:
-Restoration: In order to release ourselves from the oppression of our enslavers then, it is absolutely necessary for the Afro-American to restore communication with Africa.
-Reorientation: We can learn much about Africa by reading informative books and by listening to the experiences of those who have traveled there.
-Education: The Organization of Afro-American Unity will devise original educational methods and procedures which will liberate the minds of our children. We will... encourage qualified Afro-Americans to write and publish the textbooks needed to liberate our minds... educating them [our children] at home.
-Economic Security: After the Emancipation Proclamation ... it was realized that the Afro-American constituted the largest homogeneous ethnic group with a common origin and common group experience in the United States and, if allowed to exercise economic or political freedom, would in a short period of time own this country. We must establish a technician bank. We must do this so that the newly independent nations of Africa can turn to us who are their brothers for the technicians they will need now and in the future.
-Self Defense: In order to enslave a people and keep them subjugated, their right to self defense must be denied. We encourage the Afro-Americans to defend themselves against the wanton attacks of the racist aggressors whose sole aim is to deny us the guarantee of the United Nations Charter of Human Rights and of the Constitution of the United States.
The OAAU pushed for black control of every aspect of the black community. At the founding rally, Malcolm X stated that the organization's principal concern was the human rights of blacks, but that it would also focus on voter registration, school boycotts, rent strikes, housing rehabilitation, and social programs for addicts, unwed mothers, and troubled children. Malcolm X saw the OAAU as a way of un-brainwashing black people, ridding them of the lies they had been told about themselves and their culture.
On July 17, 1964, Malcolm X was welcomed to the second meeting of the Organisation of African Unity in Cairo as a representative of the OAAU.
When a reporter asked whether white people could join the OAAU, Malcolm X said, Definitely not. Then he added, If John Brown were still alive, we might accept him.
Malcolm X did not have sufficient time to invest in the OAAU to help it flourish. After his death, Malcolm X's half-sister, Ella Little-Collins, took over the leadership of the OAAU, but dwindling membership and Malcolm X's absence eventually led to the collapse of the organization.
Today, The Grandma has been reading about the IRIS,the NASA solar observation satellite, that was launched on a day like today in 2013.
Interface Region ImagingSpectrograph (IRIS), also called Explorer 94 and SMEX-12, is a NASA solar observation satellite.
The mission was funded through the Small Explorer program to investigate the physical conditions of the solar limb, particularly the interface region made up of the chromosphere and transition region.
The spacecraft consists of a satellite bus and spectrometer built by the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), and a telescope provided by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). IRIS is operated by LMSAL and NASA's Ames Research Center.
The satellite's instrument is a high-frame-rate ultraviolet imaging spectrometer, providing one image per second at 0.3 arcsecond angular resolution and sub-ångström spectral resolution.
NASA announced, on 19 June 2009, that IRIS was selected from six Small Explorer mission candidates for further study, along with the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism (GEMS) space observatory.
IRIS is intended to advance Sun-Earth connection studies by tracing the flow of energy and plasma into the corona and heliosphere for which no suitable observations exist. To achieve this IRIS obtains a high-resolution UV spectra and images of the Sun's chromosphere, specifically on the non-thermal energy that creates the corona and the solar wind.
IRIS seeks to determine: (1) the types of non-thermal energy which dominate in the chromosphere and beyond; (2) the means by which the chromosphere regulates mass and energy supply to the corona and heliosphere; and, (3) how magnetic flux and matter rise through the lower solar atmosphere, and the role played by flux emergence in flares and mass ejections. To answer these questions, IRIS utilize a single instrument, a multi-channel imaging spectrograph.
The spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 16 April 2013 and was successfully deployed from an Orbital L-1011 carrier aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean at an altitude of 12,000 m, roughly 160 km northwest of Vandenberg. The launch vehicle was dropped at 02:27:46 UTC on 28 June 2013 (7:27 p.m. PDT on 27 June 2013) by a Pegasus-XL launch vehicle.
IRIS achieved first light on 17 July 2013. NASA noted that IRIS's first images showed a multitude of thin, fibril-like structures that have never been seen before, revealing enormous contrasts in density and temperature occur throughout this region even between neighboring loops that are only a few hundred miles apart.
On 31 October 2013, calibrated IRIS data and images were released on the project website. An open-access article describing the satellite and initial data was published in the journal Solar Physics.
Data collected from the IRIS spacecraft has shown that the interface region of the Sun is significantly more complex than previously thought. This includes features described as solar heat bombs, high-speed plasma jets, nano-flares, and mini-tornadoes. These features are an important step in understanding the transfer of heat to the corona.
In 2019, IRIS detected tadpole like jets coming out from the Sun according to NASA.
Today, The Grandma has been reading about Richard III, the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty, who became the king of England on a day like today in 1483.
Richard III (2 October 1452-22 August 1485) wasKing of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485.
He was thelast king of the Plantagenetdynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.
Richard was created Duke of Gloucester in 1461 after the accession of his brother Edward IV. This was during the period known as the Wars of theRoses, an era when two branches of the royal family contested for the throne; Edward and Richard were Yorkists.
In 1472, Richard married Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and widow of Edward of Westminster, son of Henry VI. He governed northern England during Edward's reign, and played a role in the invasion of Scotland in 1482. When Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Edward's eldest son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V. Before arrangements were complete for Edward V's coronation, scheduled for 22 June 1483, the marriage of his parents was declared bigamous and therefore invalid. Now officially illegitimate, Edward and his siblings were barred from inheriting the throne.
On 25 June, an assembly of lords and commoners endorsed a declaration to this effect, and proclaimed Richard as the rightful king. He was crowned on 6 July 1483. Edward and his younger brother Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, called the Princes in the Tower, disappeared from the Tower of London around August 1483.
There were two major rebellions against Richard during his reign. In October 1483, an unsuccessful revolt was led by staunch allies of Edward IV and Richard's former ally, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Then, in August 1485, Henry Tudor and his uncle, Jasper Tudor, landed in Wales with a contingent of French troops, and marched through Pembrokeshire, recruiting soldiers. Henry's forces defeated Richard's army near the Leicestershire town of Market Bosworth. Richard was slain, making him the last English king to die in battle. Henry Tudor then ascended the throne as Henry VII.
Richard's corpse was taken to the nearby town of Leicester and buried without ceremony. His original tomb monument is believed to have been removed during the English Reformation, and his remains were wrongly thought to have been thrown into the River Soar.
In 2012, an archaeological excavation was commissioned by Philippa Langley with the assistance of the Richard III Society on the site previously occupied by Grey Friars Priory. The University of Leicester identified the human skeleton found at the site as that of Richard III as a result of radiocarbon dating, comparison with contemporary reports of his appearance, identification of trauma sustained at Bosworth and comparison of his mitochondrial DNA with that of two matrilineal descendants of his sister Anne. He was reburied in Leicester Cathedral in2015.
Richard was born on 2 October 1452, at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, the eleventh of the twelve children of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the youngest to survive infancy. His childhood coincided with the beginning of what has traditionally been labelled the Wars of the Roses, a period of political instability and periodic open civil war in England during the second half of the fifteenth century, between the Yorkists, who supported Richard's father (a potential claimant to the throne of King Henry VI from birth), and opposed the regime of Henry VI and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, and the Lancastrians, who were loyal to the crown.
Richard's Council of the North, described as his one major institutional innovation, derived from his ducal council following his own viceregal appointment by Edward IV; when Richard himself became king, he maintained the same conciliar structure in his absence. It officially became part of the royal council machinery under the presidency of John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln in April 1484, based at Sandal Castle in Wakefield.
It is considered to have greatly improved conditions for northern England, as it was intended to keep the peace and punish lawbreakers, as well as resolve land disputes. Bringing regional governance directly under the control of central government, it has been described as the king's most enduring monument,surviving unchanged until 1641.
Today, The Grandma talks about Antoni Gaudí,theCatalan architect considered one of the greatest of all time, who was born on a day like today in 1852.
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (25 June 1852-10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, sui generis style. Most are located in Barcelona,including his main work, the church of the SagradaFamília.
Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion.
He considered every detail of his creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces.
Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernist movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme,culminating in an organic style inspired by natural forms.
Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them.
Gaudí's work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study by architects. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Catalonia. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Gaudí's
Roman Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images
appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname God's Architect and led to calls for his beatification.
Antoni Gaudí was born on 25 June 1852 in Riudoms or Reus,
to the coppersmith Francesc Gaudí i Serra (1813–1906) and Antònia
Cornet i Bertran (1819–1876). He was the youngest of five children, of
whom three survived to adulthood: Rosa (1844–1879), Francesc (1851–1876)
and Antoni.
Gaudí's
family originated in the Auvergne region in southern France. One of his
ancestors, Joan Gaudí, a hawker, moved to Catalonia in the 17th
century; possible origins of Gaudí's family name include Gaudy or Gaudin.
Gaudí's first projects were the lampposts he designed for the Plaça Reial in Barcelona, the unfinished Girossi newsstands, and the Cooperativa ObreraMataronense building. He gained wider recognition for his first important commission, the Casa Vicens, and subsequently received more significant proposals.
At the Paris World's Fair of 1878 Gaudí
displayed a showcase he had produced for the glove manufacturer
Comella. Its functional and aesthetic modernista design impressed
Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell, who then commissioned some of Gaudí's most outstanding work: the Güell wine cellars, the Güell pavilions, the Palau Güell, the Park Güell and the crypt of the church of the ColòniaGüell.
Gaudí also became a friend of the marquis of Comillas, the father-in-law of Count Güell, for whom he designed El Capricho in Comillas.
In 1883 Gaudí was put in charge of the recently initiated project to build aBarcelona church called Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada
Família. Gaudí completely changed the initial
design and imbued it with his own distinctivestyle. From 1915 until
his death he devoted himself entirely to this project.
Given
the number of commissions he began receiving, he had to rely on his
team to work on multiple projects simultaneously. His team consisted of
professionals from all fields of construction.
Several of the architects who worked under him became prominent in the field later on, such as Josep Maria Jujol, Joan Rubió, CèsarMartinell, Francesc Folguera and Josep Francesc Ràfols.
In 1885, Gaudí moved to rural SantFeliu de Codines to escape the cholera epidemic that was ravaging Barcelona. He lived in Francesc Ullar's house, for whom he designed a dinner table as a sign of his gratitude.
The 1888 World Fair was one of the era's major events in Barcelona and represented a key point in the history of the Modernisme movement. Leading architects displayed their best works, including Gaudí,
who showcased the building he had designed for the Compañía
Trasatlántica. Consequently, he received a commission to restructure the
Saló de Cent of the Barcelona City Council, but this project was
ultimately not carried out.
In
the early 1890s Gaudí received two commissions from outside of
Catalonia, namely the Episcopal Palace, Astorga, and the Casa Botines in
León. These works contributed to Gaudí's growing renown across Spain.
In 1891, he travelled to Málaga and Tangiers to examine the site for a
project for the Franciscan Catholic Missions that the 2nd marquis of
Comillas had requested him to design.
In
1899 Gaudí joined the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc, a Catholic artistic
society founded in 1893 by the bishop Josep Torras i Bages and the
brothers Josepand Joan Llimona. He also joined the Lliga Espiritual de
la Mare de Déu deMontserrat, another Catholic Catalan organisation. The
conservative and religious character of his political thought was
closely linked to his defence of the cultural identity of the Catalan
people.
At
the beginning of the century, Gaudí was working on numerous projects
simultaneously. They reflected his shift to a more personal style
inspired by nature.
In
1900, he received an award for the best building of the year from the
Barcelona City Council for his Casa Calvet. During the first decade of
the century Gaudí dedicated himself to projects like the Casa Figueras,
better known as Bellesguard, the Park Güell, an unsuccessful
urbanisation project, and the restoration of the Cathedral of Palma de
Mallorca, for which he visited Majorca several times.
Between
1904 and 1910 he constructed the Casa Batlló and the
Casa Milà, two of his most emblematic works.
As
a result of Gaudí's increasing fame, in 1902 the painter Joan Llimona
chose Gaudí's features to represent Saint Philip Neri in the paintings
for the aisle of the Sant Felip Neri church in Barcelona. Together with
Joan Santaló, son of his friend the physician Pere Santaló, he
unsuccessfully founded a wrought iron manufacturing company the same
year.
After moving to Barcelona, Gaudí
frequently changed his address: as a student he lived in residences,
generally in the area of the Gothic Quarter; when he started his career
he moved around several rented flats in the Eixample area.
Finally,
in 1906, he settled in a house in the Güell Park that he owned and
which had been constructed by his assistant Francesc Berenguer as a
showcase property for the estate. It has since been transformed into the
Gaudí Museum.There he lived with his fatherand his niece Rosa Egea
Gaudí. He lived in the house until 1925, several months before his
death, when he began residing inside the workshop of the Sagrada
Família.
The
decade from 1910 was a hard one for Gaudí. During this decade, the
architect experienced the deaths of his niece Rosa in 1912 and his main
collaborator Francesc Berenguer in 1914; a severe economic crisis which
paralysed work on the Sagrada Família in 1915; the 1916 death of his
friend Josep Torras i Bages, bishop of Vic; the 1917 disruption of work
at the ColòniaGüell; and the 1918 death of his friend and patron Eusebi
Güell. Perhaps because of these tragedies he devoted himself entirely
to the Sagrada Família from 1915, taking refuge in his work.
Gaudí
devoted his life entirely to his profession. Those who were close to
him described him as pleasant to talk to and faithful to friends. Among
these, his patrons EusebiGüell and the bishop of Vic, Josep Torras iBages, stand out, as well as the writers Joan Maragall and JacintVerdaguer,thephysician Pere Santaló and some of his most faithful collaborators, such as FrancescBerenguer and LlorençMatamala.
Gaudí was always in favour of Catalan culture but was reluctant to become politically active to campaign for its autonomy.
In 1920 he was beaten by police in a riot during the Floral Games celebrations.
On 11 September 1924, National Day of Catalonia, he was beaten at a demonstration against the banning of the Catalan language by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.
Gaudí was arrested by the Civil Guard, resulting in a short stay in prison, from which he was freed after paying 50 pesetas bail.
On 7 June 1926, Gaudí was taking his daily walk to the Sant Felip Neri
church for his habitual prayer and confession. While walking along the
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes between Girona and Bailén streets, he was struck by a passing number 30 tram and lost consciousness. Assumed to be a beggar, the unconscious Gaudí
did not receive immediate aid. Eventually some passers-by transported
him in a taxi to the Santa Creu Hospital, where he received rudimentary
care.
By the time that the chaplain of the Sagrada Família, Mosén Gil Parés,recognised him on the following day, Gaudí's condition had deteriorated too severely to benefit from additional treatment.
Gaudí died on 10 June 1926 at the age of 73 and was buried two days later. A large crowd gathered to bid farewell to him in the chapel of Our Lady of MountCarmel in the crypt of the Sagrada Família.
Gaudí is usually considered the great master of Catalan Modernism,
but his works go beyond any one style or classification. They are
imaginative works that find their main inspiration in geometry and
nature forms.
Gaudí studied organic and anarchic geometric forms of nature thoroughly, searching for a way to give expression to these forms in architecture.
Some of his greatest inspirations came from visits to the mountain of Montserrat, the caves of Mallorca, the saltpetre caves in Collbató, the crag of Fra Guerau in the Prades Mountains behind Reus, the Pareis mountain in the north of Mallorca and Sant Miquel del Fai in Bigues i Riells.
This study of nature translated into his use of ruled geometrical forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the cone, which reflect the forms Gaudí found in nature.
Ruled
surfaces are forms generated by a straight line known as the
generatrix, as it moves over one or several lines known as directrices. Gaudí
found abundant examples of them in nature, for instance in rushes,
reeds and bones; he used to say that there is no better structure than
the trunk of a tree or a human skeleton. These forms are at the same
time functional and aesthetic, and Gaudídiscovered how to adapt the language of nature to the structural forms of architecture. He used to equate the helicoid form to movement and the hyperboloid to light.
Trencadís, also known as pique assiette, broken tile mosaics, bits and pieces, memoryware, and shardware, is a type of mosaic made from cemented-together tile shards and broken chinaware used by Gaudí in his works.
Several of Gaudí's works have been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO: in 1984 the Park Güell, the Palau Güell and the Casa Milà; and in 2005 the Nativity façade, the crypt and the apse of the Sagrada Família, the Casa Vicens and the Casa Batlló in Barcelona, together with the crypt of theColònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló.
Paraboloids, hyperboloids and helicoids, constantly varying the incidence of the light, are rich in matrices themselves, which make ornamentation and even modelling unnecessary.
Today, The Grandma has been reading about John the Baptist,
the prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of
Jesus, and patron of some European cultures like Catalan one.
The Nativity of John the Baptist is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, whom he later baptised.
Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, and the circumstances of his birth, as recorded in the New Testament, are miraculous. John's
pivotal place in the gospel is seen in the emphasis Luke gives to the
announcement of his birth and the event itself, both set in prominent
parallel to the same occurrences in the life of Jesus. The Nativity of John the Baptist on June 24
comes three months after the celebration on March 25 of the
Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth
was in her sixth month of pregnancy, and six months before the
Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus. The purpose
of these festivals is not to celebrate the exact dates of these events,
but simply to commemorate them in an interlinking way. The Nativity of John the Baptist anticipates the feast of Christmas.
The Nativity of John the Baptist is one of the oldest festivals of the Christian church, being listed by the Council of Agde in 506
as one of that region's principal festivals, where it was a day of rest
and, like Christmas, was celebrated with three Masses: a vigil, at
dawn, and at midday.
It is one of the patronal feasts of the Order of Malta. All over Europe Saint John's fires are lighted on mountains and hilltops on the eve of his feast. As the first day of summer, Saint John's Day
is considered in ancient folklore one of the great charmed festivals of
the year. Hidden treasures are said to lie open in lonely places,
waiting for the lucky finder.
Divining
rods should be cut on this day.Herbs are given unusual powers of
healing, which they retain if they are plucked during the night of the
feast. Festivals of Midsummer'sEve or St.John's Eve among Christians have roots in ancient celebrations related to the summer solstice. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southward again.
In later years, witches were also thought to be on their way to meetings with other powerful beings.
In the 7th century, Saint Eligius warned against midsummer activities
and encouraged new converts to avoid them in favor of the celebration of
St. John the Baptist's birth.
The Bonfires of Saint John is a traditional and popular festival celebrated around the world during Midsummer, which takes place on the evening of 23 June,St. John's Eve. The bonfires are particularly popular in Catalan-speaking areas from Salses to Guardamar,
and for this reason it's regarded 24 June as the Catalan nation day,
even though Catalonia's patron saint is actually St. George.
June 23. The Grandma is going to participate in one of her favourite traditions, LaFlama del Canigó.
Every
year, she participates in this traditional event, carrying the flame
some kilometres. It is her way to collaborate in this tradition that
evokes the commonroots of the Catalan Countries.
Due to the current situation, TheGrandma
has taken all the possible precautions, but she has reached her goal.
Today, she wants to talk about this tradition linked to the summer
solstice and Sant Joan, the patron of the Catalan Countries.
La Flama del Canigó is a Catalan tradition linked to the summer solstice that takes place in various places in the Catalan Countries every year, between 22 and 23 June.
It begins with the renovation of the fire at the top of the Canigó and culminates with the lighting of the bonfires on the night of Sant Joan after the flame, carried by volunteers, spread throughout the country.
It is related to other
summer solstice fire festivals in the Pyrenees, such as the Isil, Alins,
Durro, Vilaller, Barruera, Pont de Suert and Andorra faults or the Haro
burn of the Val d'Aran, where the fire coming down from the mountain is
also the protagonist of the night. But beyond this festival, the Canigó
Flame has a symbolism linked to the persistence and vitality of Catalan
culture.
In 1955, Francesc Pujada, a villager from Arles de Tec (Vallespir, Northern Catalonia), driven by his enthusiasm for the Canigó massif and inspired by the epic poem by Jacint Verdaguer (Canigó, 1886) took the initiative, together with Esteve Albert and Josep Deloncle, to light the fires of the Night of Sant Joan at the top of this mountain and, from there, to spread the flame throughout all the regions of the Catalan Countries.
Thus began the tradition of the Canigó Flame, which connected with the millennial celebration of the summer solstice linked to fire and its collective significance.
The new tradition gained strength in a short time, so that, according to ÒmniumCultural, today it is practically impossible to find a single bonfire in NorthernCatalonia that is not lit with the Canigó Flame.
La Flama del Canigó
In
1966 the fire crossed the border between the French and Spanish states
for the first time and reached Vic. Despite the Franco dictatorship, the
tradition spread throughout the Principality of Catalonia,oftenunderground, as a symbol of the survival of Catalan culture.
Gradually the network spread, and the fire that descends from the Canigó also reached the Valencian Country and Balearic Islands.
There
are currently dozens of organizations that celebrate the festival by
spreading the flame that is lit on the beautiful top of the Canigó and is preserved in the Castellet de Perpinyà. Barcelona receives the flame in Plaça de Sant Jaume with the cobla, the eagle and the giants of the city, and from there it goes to the neighbourhoods.
In Terres de l'Ebre and the Priorat,
every year a different village welcomes it, and people from the
neighbouring counties gather there, who go in a caravan of cars, with
the heir and heiress of the major festival of each locality. Alacant has kept alive the tradition of the fires of Sant Joan in the Valencian Country. Other cities also have their tradition, such as Tarragona in the Serrallo.
Every June 22, a group of hikers from the Cercle de Joves de Perpinyà catch the fire that has been lit in the kitchen of the Casa Pairal Museum, in Castellet de Perpinyà, since 1965, and climb to the top of the Canigó, 2,784 metres, where they light a new bonfire, after reading a manifesto.
At dawn on June 23, they begin the descent with the renewed Flame. Together with the group of hikers of the Cercle Jove many other people gather at the top to catch the flame and thus begin the journey to different parts of the CatalanCountries doing relays on foot, by bike, by car and even in lute in the Ebre to make it possible for the Flame to spread through towns and cities and arrive in time to light the bonfires on the night of Sant Joan.
Every year, the Canigó Flame is received by the Parliament of Catalonia in an institutional event, as well as by town councils, county councils and cultural, social and sports organizations in more than 350 municipalities in the Catalan Countries.
In this way, and thanks to hundreds of volunteers,
the fire coming from the mountain illuminates the popular festivals
that take place around the fire. It is estimated that about 3,000 bonfires were lit that night with the fire coming from the top of the Canigó.
To make this ritual possible, on the weekend before Sant Joan, hundreds of people from all over the Catalan Countries and, especially, from NorthernCatalonia, are in the Cortalets refuge, in the Cadí valley, at the foot of the Canigó. They arrive on Saturday night and stay at the shelter or camp with tents nearby.
The next morning they perform the first ritual of the Focs de Sant Joan: go up to the top of the Canigó
and leave the small bundles of firewood that each one has brought from
their city, town, village or orchard. The branches and twigs are tied
with a ribbon that bears the name of the place where they come from, and
some have drawings and writings with wishes to burn at the bonfire of Sant Joan.
All these bundles of firewood are left stacked around the iron cross at
the top of the mountain until the night the bonfire is lit.
Ja les podeu fer ben altes les fogueres aquest any cal que brillin lluny i es vegin els focs d'aquest Sant Joan. Cal que es vegin de València, de Ponent i de Llevant...
I en fareu també en la Serra perquè els vegin més enllà... i el crit d'una sola llengua s'alci dels llocs més distants omplint els aires encesos d'un clamor de Llibertat!
Today,
Claire Fontaine and TheGrandma have been enjoying, again, the greatest of all
artists, BruceSpringsteen, The Boss, who has offered with The E Street
Band another unforgettable concert in the EstadiOlímpic de Montjuïc-Lluís
Companys in Barcelona.
I'll See You in My Dreamsis a 2020 song by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The song was released as a single in March 2021. The song was dedicated to Michael Gudinski with the music video released on March 3, the day after Gudinski died. The song is the closing track on the 2020 album Letter to You, and along with the opening track One Minute You're Here, it is one of the two songs about mortality and death that bookend the album.
The song was first performed in a solo-acoustic arrangement on November 18, 2020, at Springsteen's Stone Hill Farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey for a virtual broadcast of the annual Stand Up for Heroes event, along with another song from the same album, House of a Thousand Guitars and the 2007 song Long Walk Home.
Later, it was one of the two songs from the album, the other one being Ghosts, performed by Springsteen and The E Street Band on the December 12, 2020 episode of Saturday Night Live.
On June 26, 2021, the song was added to the Springsteen on Broadway setlist, replacing Born to Run as the closing track, once again performed by Springsteen acoustically on guitar.
On September 11, 2021, Springsteen performed the acoustic version of I'll See You in My Dreams at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks, during the 9/11 20th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony.
As of 2023 and 2024, on the ongoing 2023 and 2024 Tours, Springsteen has closed all but one show with the acoustic version of I'll See You in My Dreams.
Music Musings & Such gave the song 9.7/10 points, describing Springsteen'svoice in the song as contemplative and spirited and saying there is clearly a lot of meaning and personal relevance behind the words; the song has a definite energy and verve that portrays a sense of reconciliation and optimism.
Ultimate Classic Rock describes the album as ending as contemplatively as it begins, with the hopeful song declaring death is not the end, and like the opening One Minute You're Here, it serves as a melancholy bookend to Springsteen's most reflective work.
NJ.com ranks the song 7th on the album, describing it as a vibrant and telling finale to a record that could easily function as a fond farewell for the full-band outfit if they choose to never record another LP as ambitious as this one.
Rolling Stone, comparing the song to opener One Minute You're Here, says it is more of an upbeat and folky number that finds Springsteen echoing Dylan, declaring death is not the end.
The road is long and seeming without end The days go on, I remember you my friend And though you're gone and my heart's been emptied it seems I'll see you in my dreams I got your guitar here by the bed All your favorite records and all the books that you read And though my soul feels like it's been split at the seams I'll see you in my dreams I'll see you in my dreams When all our summers have come to an end I'll see you in my dreams We'll meet and live and laugh again I'll see you in my dreams Yeah, up around the river bend For death is not the end And I'll see you in my dreams I'll see you in my dreams When all our summers have come to an end I'll see you in my dreams We'll meet and live and laugh again I'll see you in my dreams Yeah, up around the river bend For death is not the end And I'll see you in my dreams (See) you in my See you in my dreams Go And I'll see you in my dreams
Today, The Grandma has been reading about John Paul Young, the Australian singer who was born on a day like today in 1950.
John Inglis Young (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as JohnPaul Young, is an Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with Love Is in the Air. His career was boosted by regular appearances as a performer and guest host on Countdown, a 1974–1987 TV series for Australia's national broadcaster ABC.
Besides Love Is in the Air, Young had top ten chart success in Germany and the Netherlands with Standing in the Rain and four other top ten hits in South Africa, including No. 1 hits with I Hate the Music in 1976 and Yesterday's Hero in 1975.
On 27 August 2009, Young was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame.
Young was born John Inglis Young in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland to James and Agnes (nee Inglis) Young. Together with his parents, two sisters and a brother, Young emigrated to Australia on board the SS Canberra, arriving in Sydney on Australia Day (26 January) 1962 when he was aged 11.
After finishing school, he started an apprenticeship as a sheet metal worker. Initially performing as John Young, his first involvement in music began in late 1967 when he formed a band, Elm Tree, with schoolmates.
In mid-1971 they entered the New South Wales heats of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds and got as far as the Sydney finals, but they didn't make it through to the national final, and so never managed to break out of the Sydney suburban dance circuit.
At this point, Young's manager Dal Myles got him a role in the Melbourne production of The Jesus Christ Revolution. The show opened and closed in six weeks.
In February 1975, Young released Yesterday's Hero, a song about the fleeting nature of pop stardom which drew on Vanda & Young's own experiences as former teen idols.
Young's debut studio album, Hero was released in October 1975 and peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Album charts.
Late in 1977, the European markets began playing Standing in the Rain, the B-Side for the song Keep on Smilin'. The song became a top 10 hit in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany selling over 400,000 copies.
Young's next single, Love Is in the Air, became a worldwide hit during 1978, peaking at No. 3 on the Australian charts in May, No. 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 5 in the UK singles chart.
The associated album, Love Is in the Air was released in October and reached the top 40 on the Australian albums chart. Subsequent singles, The Day That My Heart Caught Fire which peaked in the top 20, and Heaven Sent continued the disco style. Young was crowned King of Pop in October 1978.
Love Is in the Air also won Most Popular Australian Single and Vanda & Young won both Best Australian Record Producer and Best Australian Songwriter at the same awards.
In 1992, an Australian comedy film titled Strictly Ballroom was released. The film and associated soundtrack featured new versions of Love Is in the Air and Standing in the Rain, both of which were released as singles. Love Is in the Air peaked at No. 3 on the Australian Singles Charts and was a top 50 hit in the UK.
In 1994 Young left 105.3 NEWFM in Newcastle and joined 2CH in Sydney, which only lasted six months.
On 4 November 1994, Young became a naturalised Australian citizen and received his papers from then Prime Minister, Paul Keating.
In 2000, he played to his largest audience as a featured performer at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics.
On 27 August 2009, Young was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame alongside Kev Carmody, The Dingoes, Little Pattie and Mental As Anything.
In 2012, Young was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the performing arts as a singer and songwriter, and through support for a range of charitable organisations.
During the 1980s, Young's 1978 hit Love is in the Air was adopted by fans of Scottish Premier League football team Dundee United as an unofficial club anthem. Played since then at many home matches, it was sung in its entirety by an estimated 28,000 fans before and after the 2010 Scottish Cup Final held on 15 May at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Today, Claire Fontaine and TheGrandma have been enjoying the greatest of all artists, BruceSpringsteen, The Boss, who has offered with the E Street Band an unforgettable concert in the Estadi Olímpic deMontjuïc-Lluís Companys in Barcelona.
Bruce Springsteen, born September 23, 1949 is an American musician, singer, songwriter and humanitarian. He is best known for his work with his EStreetBand.
Nicknamed The Boss, Springsteen is widely known for his brand of poetic lyrics, American working class and sometimes political sentiments centred on his native New Jersey, his distinctive voice and his lengthy and energetic stage performances, with concerts from the 1970s to the present decade running over four hours in length.
Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born to Run (1975) and Born in the USA (1984), showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life.
He has sold more than 64 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award as well as being inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
Bruce Springsteen draws on many musical influences from the reservoir of traditional American popular music, folk, blues and country. From the beginning, rock and roll has been a dominant influence and Springsteen's musical and lyrical evocations, as well as public tributes, of artists such as Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Gary Bonds, and many others helped to rekindle interest in their music.
Springsteen's other preferred musical style is American folk, evident on his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park and more strongly on Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad.
Springsteen songs such as This Hard Land demonstrate the lyrical and musical influence of Woody Guthrie.
Often described as cinematic in their scope, Springsteen's lyrics frequently explore highly personal themes such as individual commitment, dissatisfaction and dismay with life in a context of everyday situations. It has been recognized that there was a shift in his lyrical approach starting with the album Darkness on the Edge of Town, in which he focused on the emotional struggles of working class life.
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