Flanders

Flanders (Dutch: Vlaanderen [ˈvlaːndərə(n)], French: Flandre) today normally refers to the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, and the government of Flanders only oversees some cultural aspects of Brussels life.

Historically, the name referred to the County of Flanders, which around 1000 CE stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. The only parts of historical Flanders that lay within modern-day Flanders are the provinces West Flanders and East Flanders. Nevertheless, during the 19th and 20th centuries it became increasingly commonplace to use the term "Flanders" to refer to the entire Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, stretching all the way to the River Maas. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made into two political entities: the "Flemish Community" (Dutch: Vlaamse Gemeenschap) and the "Flemish Region" (Dutch: Vlaams Gewest). These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a broader cultural mandate, covers Brussels, whereas the Flemish Region does not.

The Sisters Grimm

The Sisters Grimm is a children's fantasy series written by Michael Buckley and illustrated by Peter Ferguson. The series features two sisters, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, and consists of nine novels, published from 2005 to 2012.

Summary

Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have gone through a series of foster homes after their parents disappear. They have been treated as maids, servants, and other things that children shouldn't be. They've even been abused and ignored. This is mostly because they have a harsh and uncaring caseworker, Ms. Smirt, who is supposed to help find a safe new home for them. After all of their trouble, they end up in the care of their long-lost and supposedly dead grandmother whom Sabrina believes is crazy. They soon find that they are living in a town of Everafters, live characters from fantasy and fairy tales. Their family business is working as detectives, who solve mysteries that might be connected to the disappearance of their parents. Unluckily for them, an evil group of Everafters, called The Scarlet Hand, are determined to find a way out of the barrier created by a witch and take over the world; they also have to deal with Puck the fairy boy that lives with them. This barrier stops the Everafters in Ferryport Landing from leaving. The only way to destroy the barrier is if all the Grimms leave the town or if they all die.

Amateur Hour

"Amateur Hour" is a song by Sparks. It was released as the second single from their 1974 album Kimono My House. Bassist Martin Gordon was requested to replace his original bass part (recorded using a Rickenbacker 4001 bass) with a Fender Precision bass, belonging to his subsequent replacement in the band.

A re-recording was produced in 1997 for the retrospective Plagiarism album. This new version was given a complete electronic synthpop overhaul and was performed with Erasure.

On 25 June 2009 the song "Amateur Hour" was featured in a stunt when UK magician and mentalist Mark Cairns predicted that radio personality George Lamb would choose the Sparks song in a free choice from a list of 100 tracks that had been recently played on Lamb's BBC Radio 6 Music show.

Track listing

Personnel

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La traviata

La traviata (Italian: [la traviˈaːta; traˈvjaːta], The Fallen Woman) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias (1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The opera was originally titled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at the La Fenice opera house in Venice.

Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged.

Composition history

For Verdi, the years 1851 to 1853 were filled with operatic activity. First, he had agreed with the librettist Salvadore Cammarano on a subject for what would become Il trovatore, but work on this opera could not proceed while the composer was writing Rigoletto, which premiered in Venice in March 1851. In addition, personal affairs in his home town limited his activities that spring, but after Rigoletto's success in Venice, an additional commission was offered by Brenna, the secretary of La Fenice. After Verdi's return from Paris a contract was signed in May 1852, with performances scheduled for March 1853, although no subject was chosen at that time.