Category Archives: Religion & Spirit

Religion & Spirit

Arts & Humanities, Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Libraries, Music, Religion & Spirit, Times They Are A-Changing

Happy 50th: “Dark Side of the Moon” | Now See Hear! | Library of Congress

Posted by: Cary O’Dell, March 22, 2023

From article…

Fifty years ago this month, one of the most remarkable and deeply enduring albums ever made was released. Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” was added to the Library’s National Recording Registry in 2013. In the essay below, exclusive to the Library, Dr. Daniel J. Levitin examines the brutal beauty of this masterwork.

Angst.  Greed.  Alienation.  Questioning one’s own sanity.  Weird time signatures. Experimental sounds.  In 1973, Pink Floyd was a somewhat known progressive rock band, but it was this, their ninth album, that catapulted them into world class rock-star status.

“The Dark Side of the Moon” spent an astonishing 14 years on the “Billboard” album charts, and sold an estimated 45 million copies.  It is a work of outstanding artistry, skill, and craftsmanship that is popular in its reach and experimental in its grasp.

An engineering masterpiece, the album received a Grammy nomination for best engineered non-classical recording, based on beautifully captured instrumental tones and a warm, lush soundscape.  Engineer Alan Parsons and Mixing Supervisor Chris Thomas, who had worked extensively with The Beatles (the LP was mastered by engineer Wally Traugott), introduced a level of sonic beauty and clarity to the album that propelled the music off of any sound system to become an all-encompassing, immersive experience.

Source: Happy 50th: “Dark Side of the Moon” | Now See Hear!

Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Memories & History, Politics, Religion & Spirit, Science & Health, Times They Are A-Changing

Scientists say planet in midst of sixth mass extinction, Earth’s wildlife running out of places to live – 60 Minutes – CBS News

By Scott Pelley, January 1, 2023 / 7:29 PM / CBS News

See video at source… 60 Minutes – Newsmakers

In what year will the human population grow too large for the Earth to sustain?

Dana Wilson

The answer is about 1970, according to research by the World Wildlife Fund. In 1970, the planet’s 3 and a half billion people were sustainable. But on this New Year’s Day, the population is 8 billion.

Today, wild plants and animals are running out of places to live. The scientists you’re about to meet say the Earth is suffering a crisis of mass extinction on a scale unseen since the dinosaurs.

Quote


We’re going to show you a possible solution, but first, have a look at how humanity is already suffering from the vanishing wild.
In Washington state, the Salish Sea helped feed the world.

Dana Wilson: With this weather and the way things feel once I get out here, it’s time to be fishing, that’s what it feels like.

Commercial fisherman Dana Wilson supported a family on the Salish Sea’s legendary wealth of salmon. He remembers propellers churning the water off blaine, washington and cranes straining for the state’s 200 million dollar annual catch.

Dana Wilson: That used to be a buying station, they’re gone now, they don’t buy anymore. So, that building over there used to buy salmon, they don’t buy salmon anymore, it’s just not here.

Source: Scientists say planet in midst of sixth mass extinction, Earth’s wildlife running out of places to live – 60 Minutes – CBS News

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Music, Pleasures, Religion & Spirit, Television

How “It’s a Wonderful Life” Almost Never Happened | Library of Congress Blog | Library of Congress

By Neely Tucker, December 21, 2022

James Stewart and Donna Reed, center, in a famous scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Photo: RKO publicity still.

Elizabeth Brown is a reference librarian in the Researcher and Reference Services Division. This article appears in the Library of Congress Magzine, Nov.-Dec. 2

Perhaps the most beloved Christmas film of all time got its start during a morning shave. Philip Van Doren Stern, while getting ready for work one day in 1938, had an idea for a story: A stranger appears from nowhere to save a husband and father from a suicide attempt on Christmas Eve, restoring his joy of living by helping him realize his value to others. Stern, an author and editor, eventually wrote a draft that he polished periodically and, in 1943, shared with his literary agent. It didn’t sell.

 The first page of the script of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Motion Picture, Film & Recorded Sound Division.

Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item...

Source: How “It’s a Wonderful Life” Almost Never Happened | Library of Congress Blog

Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Food & Drink, Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Music, Pleasures, Religion & Spirit, Television

The 65 Best Christmas Movies of All Time | Vanity Fair

‘Tis the season for staying in and watching your favorite Christmas flick, so pick a platform and let the holiday cheer begin.

By Tara Ariano and Savannah Walsh, December 16, 2022

The Bailey Family: (Clockwise from left to right: Larry Simms, Karolyn Grimes, James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs-Mueller, and Jimmy Hawkins. From Everett Collection.

‘Tis the season to watch the best Christmas movies. That means committing to the holly jolly bit—stick a candy cane in the hot chocolate, curl up under a blanket, and enjoy some holiday fare new and old. There are the tried-and-true classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone, the modern rom-coms such as Happiest Season or Love Hard, and the movies that aren’t strictly seasonal, but emit the yuletide aura nonetheless. Here’s our list of all the best titles you can stream at home—some undeniably Christmas-themed; others with just a few pivotal scenes that take place during the holidays, for when you need to take a little break from the merriment.

Source: The 65 Best Christmas Movies of All Time | Vanity Fair

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Libraries, Memories & History, Politics, Religion & Spirit

‘Our mission is crucial’: meet the warrior librarians of Ukraine | Libraries | The Guardian

When Russia invaded Ukraine, a key part of its strategy was to destroy historic libraries in order to eradicate the Ukrainians’ sense of identity. But Putin hadn’t counted on the unbreakable spirit of the country’s librarians

By Stephen Marche, Sun 4 Dec 2022 03.00 EST

Left on the shelf: Russian troops deliberately shelled this library in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, in April 2022. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

The morning that Russian bombs started falling on Kyiv, Oksana Bruy woke up worried about her laptop. Bruy is president of the Ukrainian Library Association and, the night before, she hadn’t quite finished a presentation on the new plans for the Kyiv Polytechnic Library, so she had left her computer open at work. That morning, the street outside her house filled with the gunfire of Ukrainian militias executing Russian agents. Missile strikes drove her into an underground car park with her daughter, Anna, and her cat, Tom. A few days, later she crept back into the huge empty library, 15,000sqft once filled with the quiet murmurings of readers. As she grabbed her laptop, the air raid siren sounded and she rushed to her car.

Source: ‘Our mission is crucial’: meet the warrior librarians of Ukraine | Libraries | The Guardian

Food & Drink, Love & Relationships, Religion & Spirit, Science & Health

Q&A: Columnist Steve Lopez and the ‘spiritual side’ of retirement | CNBC

Published Sat, Oct 22 20229:00 AM EDT, Aditi Shrikant@Aditi_Shrikant

Courtesy of Steve Lopez

Steve Lopez knows he is running out of time.

Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist and four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, isn’t collapsing into the grave just yet, but he is 69, with two artificial knees and a pacemaker.

“Although this is a scary thought, when you get to where I am, statistically speaking, you’re in the last quarter of your life and most of it is behind you,” he said. 

But there are still so many bullets on his to-do list.

He could retire and start crossing some off, but he is hesitant. “Being a columnist I’ve had a quasi-public life,” he said. “After that, who am I going to be?” 

He wanted to find out before the health problems that affected his parents interfered. 

“I mentioned it to everybody who I considered a peer age-wise, and they were all having the same conversations with themselves and others about when is the right time to go.” 

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/22/columnist-steve-lopez-and-the-spiritual-side-of-retirement-.html