#legat school

[saintartemis]

"This year’s list challenges us to broaden our perspectives about American history, what it means to save places, and what our goals for preservation should be. Places like Estate Whim Museum in St. Croix and the Tangier American Legation in Morocco embody important but lesser-known stories that help us understand the breadth and complexity of American history. The Indigenous-led work to save and reconstruct Tlingit Clan Houses in Sitka, Alaska encourages us to think more broadly about what preservation means and how it can support perpetuation and celebration of clan traditions."

[girlactionfigure]

Angel Named Angel: Angel Sanz Briz

Made Them Citizens Of Spain.

Angel Sanz Briz was a Spanish diplomat in Budapest who saved over 5000 Jews from the Nazis after Germany invaded Hungary in 1944.

Born in Zaragoza in 1910, Angel trained as a lawyer and in 1933 enrolled in diplomat school in Madrid. His first posting was to Cairo, Egypt, and in 1942 he was sent to Budapest, where he served as first secretary of the Spanish legation.

In March 1944, Germany invaded Hungary and the Nazis quickly began rounding up Jews for deportation. At this point in the war, Nazi genocide of the Jews ran like a well-oiled machine, and the Jews of Hungary were arrested with shocking speed.

Horrified at what was happening, Angel came up with a clever plan to save Jews. He told the Hungarian authorities that Spain was offering citizenship to Jews  “of Spanish origin” – meaning Sephardic Jews, who trace their ancestry to Jewish communities that were kicked out of Spain in 1492. It was true that Spanish dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera had issued a decree to that effect in 1924, but Angel neglected to mention that the decree was canceled in 1930.

Unwilling to risk a dispute with Spain, Hungarian authorities begrudgingly told Angel he could issue passports to 200 Jews. Cleverly, Angel changed the order to read 200 Jewish families. When he reached the 200 family limit, he discreetly falsified documents to change the number, and he did this several times.

Officially, the Jews Angel was saving were supposed to be Sephardic, descended from Spanish refugees. However, the vast majority of Hungarian Jews were Ashkenazi rather than Sephardic. Undeterred, Angel simply claimed that all the Jews he was saving were Sephardic. He used his extensive contacts in Hungary to place the Jews in safe houses, where he personally gave them lessons in basic Spanish. This was enough to convince the Hungarian authorities, most of whom did not know any Spanish, that their “Spanish heritage” was genuine. When Angel ran out of Hungarians willing to take Jews into their homes, Angel purchased inexpensive properties with his own money. He decorated the buildings with prominent Spanish flags, marking them as officially part of Spain and therefore off-limits to the Nazis and Hungarian collaborators. The Jews staying in these safe houses couldn’t leave, so Angel brought them food, medicine, and other necessary supplies. Incredibly, he persuaded the Red Cross representative in Budapest to put Spanish signs on hospitals, clinics and orphanages where Jews were hiding to make sure everybody knew the occupants were under the protection of Spain.

Between June and December 1944, Angel issued fake Spanish passports to 5200 Jews, saving them from Nazi death camps and enabling them to live safely in Spain until the war ended.

Angel continued to serve as a diplomat after the war, with postings in San Francisco, Washington DC, Lima, Brussels and China, among other places. In 1977 he was appointed Ambassador to the Holy See in Rome, where he died in 1980. In 1991, Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem posthumously honored Angel Sanz Briz as Righteous Among the Nations, and in 1994 Hungary awarded him the Cross of the Order of Merit. A Spanish TV series about Angel Sanz Briz, called “El Angel de Budapest” aired in 2011. In 2015 a street in Budapest was named after this brave Spaniard.

For saving 5200 Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps by making them citizens of Spain, we honor Angel Sanz Briz as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[scotianostra]

On 2nd November 1902 The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition led by William Speirs Bruce set sail from Troon on the “Scotia”.

I would think not many of you will know of this expedition itself but most of you will have seen the photos of Piper Kerr playing his bagpipes to the indifferent penguin.

William Speirs Bruce work in both the Arctic and Antarctic should see his name ranked very highly, even alongside Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen, yet hardly any Scots will recognise his name at first glance.

That is because unlike Scott and Shackleton, Bruce was a difficult man – he may have been on the autistic spectrum – who was wholly dedicated to science and did not seek attention or publicity for his work. Most London newspapers ignored him, and unlike other explorers he had no media sponsor, as we would call them nowadays. Nor did Bruce die or need to be rescued on his expeditions – doing things right was rarely a way to endear yourself to the press.

There have been attempts in recent years, especially during the centenary of the SNAE, to boost Bruce’s reputation. There was also a documentary from the BBC in 2011, but he is still not given the accolades that he surely deserves.

Born in London in 1867 to a Scottish doctor and his Welsh wife, he was given the middle name Speirs. He was sent to boarding school in Norfolk and prepared to study medicine at University College London, but a brief stay at the Scottish Marine Station a floating research laboratory – at Granton Edinburgh convinced him to stay in Scotland.

In 1895, the continental Antarctica was entirely unknown, as was much of its coastline. At the 6th International Geographical Congress a motion was adopted declaring “the exploration of the Antarctic Regions” to be “the greatest piece of geographical exploration still to be undertaken”. During the following 25 years, no less than sixteen major expeditions were to be sent to Antarctica during an episode widely referred to as The Heroic Era of Antarctic exploration. Amongst the various national expeditions organised was one from Scotland. Its leader, William Bruce, was one of the most capable polar scientists of his generation.

The Scotia reached the Falkland Islands in December, continuing south to make the first oceanographic exploration of the Weddell Sea. Scotia, with a complement of 33, wintered at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands. Here a meteorological observatory Omond House was established on 26th March 1903. The island was mapped, and when the engineer of Scotia, Alan Ramsay, died during the Antarctic winter, his grave became the first in the island cemetery.

Scotia revisited the Falkland Islands in December 1903 then called at Buenos Aires, Argentina, where transfer of the meteorological station to the Argentine government was arranged through the British Legation. Scotia sailed to the Falkland Islands for a third time then back to Laurie Island where the transfer was made on 22 February 1904. This second southern voyage saw the discovery of the northern part of Caird Coast, Coats Land (named for two brothers who had funded much of the expedition). With no landing possible on the Antarctic continent the ship then called at Gough Island and Cape Town, South Africa. A comprehensive scientific programme was conducted throughout the expedition; cine photographs and sound recordings were made.

[artemlegere-art]

Vlad the Impaler

Portrait of Vlad III Dracula (Ambras Portrait)

Artist: European School

Date: Second Half of the 16th Century

Collection: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

No other historical figure from Eastern Europe has enjoyed as much popularity in the historical record and the modern imagination as Vlad III Dracula. He was prince of Wallachia on three separate occasions during the second half of the 15th century (Oct–Nov 1448; 1456–62; and Nov–Dec 1476).

This was a time of great turmoil across Eastern Europe, following the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and the subsequent fall of the Byzantine Empire. Although many of the details of Vlad’s life and deeds remain open to interpretation, several surviving visual and textual sources offer a complex picture of this medieval hero who inspired the modern vampire.

This portrait (commonly known as the Ambras Portrait) preserves an iconic image of Vlad III Dracula. Completed several decades after his death and supposedly based on a now-lost original, this painting shows the Wallachian ruler’s bust in three-quarter view and dressed in a red velvet coat with gold buttons and a large fur collar. His elaborate headdress is lined with pearls, a large central gem, and gold accents. His appearance is stern, with large, piercing eyes, arched eyebrows, an aquiline nose, long curly hair, and a prominent mustache. In this painting, the “Dux Balachie” (or ruler of Wallachia)—as the portrait was described in the inventory of Archduke Ferdinand in 1596—is shown as a respectable, yet stern, figure.

The portrait seems to match the only extant written description of Vlad, penned by Niccolò Modrussa (Modruš)—a papal legate at the court in Buda while Vlad was in captivity there for more than a decade, from 1462–74. Modrussa’s description reads:

"(Vlad) was not very tall, but very stocky and strong, with a cold and terrible appearance, a strong and aquiline nose, swollen nostrils, a thin and reddish face in which the very long eyelashes framed large wide-open green eyes; the bushy black eyebrows made them appear threatening. His face and chin were shaven, but for a mustache. The swollen temples increased the bulk of his head. A bull’s neck connected [with] his head from which black curly locks hung on his wide-shouldered person." Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, Dracula, Prince of Many Faces, 1989

[stephensmithuk]

The Greek Interpreter

Another one from Memoirs.

Diogenes was a Greek philosopher of the Cynicism school, best known for his unsocial behaviour.

London had a lot of private clubs at this time for wealthier men, catering to all tastes and politics. Pall Mall in particular was, and still is, famous for them.

Joining these clubs generally required other members to propose and second you; being "unclubbable" meant no-one else liked you enough to let you in their club.

Watson should stop fat-shaming people!

The Diogenes Club, which has turned up in a bunch of other works, is believed to have been based on the Athenaeum Club, which is still there.

Wandsworth Common is a green area in SW London, not the biggest still present in the city by any means,

Clapham Junction, actually in Battersea, was and still is a major railway interchange with trains going to Victoria and Waterloo in particular. Major as in having over 100 trains an hour use it, the busiest station for interchanges in the UK and the only station there with more interchanges than people starting or ending their journey there.

The Daily News was a 'radical' paper originally founded in 1846 by Charles Dickens of all people, who was its first editor. It eventually ceased publication in 1930 with its merger with the Daily Chronicle to become The News Chronicle, which eventually folded, very strangely given its liberal editorial line, into the Daily Mail.

Legations were a lower form of diplomatic mission, below an embassy; only Great Powers could send and receive full ambassadors - and historically only monarchies; France by this point was a republic and so of course was the USA. Greece, as a small kingdom at the time, was not Embassy worth. The last legations became full embassies in the 1990s.

The Metropolitan Police District covered a large area outside of London too, including Beckenham and even areas that would not become part of Greater London in 1965. It now matches the Greater London boundaries.

Beckenham, then in Kent, had become a full town already by this point due to rapid expansion fuelled by the railway. The main station at Beckenham Junction also serves as the eastern terminus of the Tramlink network, London's revived tram system.

Another case of "I've run out of word count - let's have the villains die off-screen!"

[megabif]

Marc Camille Chaimowicz

L’opera di Marc Camille Chaimowicz si distingue a prescindere dalla pratica artistica: da oltre cinquant’anni, questo artista coniuga la scultura, la performance, l’installazione, l’architettura, la pittura, il video, la fotografia e il design con le arti della moda, del tessuto e dell’arredamento. A partire dagli anni ’70, si dedica all’allestimento del suo appartamento londinese per farne un’opera in situ. Rivendica allora il privato come spazio di costruzione del sé, rispetto a un ambiente percepito come alienante. Simile a un’oasi sognata, questa dimensione fittizia viene di volta in volta rivelata nelle sue mostre, condivisa con lo spettatore. Paraventi, mobili da toeletta, vasi e console dai toni pastello, il cui repertorio formale evoca frutti, fiori e parti del corpo, rimandano a un tabù sociale, mentre le arti applicate e gli interni domestici sono considerati minori o femminili.

Offuscando i confini tra arte e design, sollevando questioni legate all’identità e al genere, Marc Camille Chaimowicz trasforma l’intimità in uno spazio politico.

Nato dopo la Seconda guerra mondiale da padre polacco e madre francese, Marc Camille Chaimowicz si trasferisce da bambino nel Regno Unito. Studia a Ealing, Camberwell e alla Slade School of Art di Londra. In una nuova epoca artistica che si preoccupa di avvicinare l’arte alla vita spesso mediante le performance, l’esistenza di Marc Camille Chaimowicz si trasforma in una specie di grande laboratorio. L’artista vive infatti negli spazi espositivi, arreda le hall degli alberghi, decorandole con i propri oggetti, in cui serve il tè agli ospiti con tanto di sottofondo musicale. Abbandona la performance allorché questa viene identificata come pratica ufficiale dell’arte, troppo poco sovversiva. Allora, tra il 1975 e il 1979, allestisce il proprio appartamento in Approach Road. Carta da parati, tende e video di sé in azione: tutto è immaginato, disegnato, progettato su misura per trasformare questi interni in un luogo propizio alle fantasticherie. A partire dagli anni ’80, oggetti e mobili prendono posto nei musei all’interno di scenografie quasi teatrali. Da allora, le centinaia di mostre su questo artista internazionale organizzate a Londra, New York e Basilea ‒ solo per citarne alcune ‒ propongono una successione di interni. 

-

La sua storia è quella che rivela con meno facilità e spiega, forse, perché lavora nelle rifrazioni. È nato nella Parigi del dopoguerra, da padre polacco e madre francese. Non hanno mai parlato della guerra. “Non ne parliamo. Non l'abbiamo mai fatto", dice, come se i suoi genitori fossero vivi e tutte le regole familiari fossero ancora in vigore. Suo padre, che aveva una laurea in matematica, ottenne un lavoro all'Institut Curie di Parigi e in seguito fu coinvolto nella prima elettronica. Quando Chaimowicz, che ha due sorelle più giovani, aveva circa 8 anni, la famiglia si trasferì nel Regno Unito. "Vedi, i miei genitori erano molto ingenui", spiega con il suo sorriso astulo. “Avevo sentito che il sistema educativo inglese era molto buono. Non avevano sentito parlare del sistema di classe”.

Chaimowicz, che non parlava inglese, arrivò nel dopoguerra quando il sistema educativo britannico a due livelli lasciò gli alunni meno accademici al freddo. Armato, a 16 anni, con pochissime qualifiche, andò all'Ealing Art College, poi alla bohémien Camberwell School of Art, e fece una laurea post-laurea in pittura alla famosa Slade School of Fine Art. Quando arrivò, aveva bruciato tutti i suoi dipinti. Rispettava teorici e artisti concettuali come Victor Burgin e Gustav Metzger, ma non riusciva a identificarsi con nessuno di loro. Simpatico per le correnti emergenti nel femminismo, ha trovato quel mondo dell'arte intellettuale molto maschile. "La mia mente era attratta dall'ideologia di sinistra", ricorda. "Ma la pratica di sinistra ha prodotto un'arte che non potevo godere. Mancava di piacere, colore e sensualità. Tutte le cose che contano per me”. A Slade, la premessa classica che devi soffrire per la tua arte era pervasiva, ma Chaimowicz non ne aveva niente. “Le persone che stavo guardando non sembravano aver sofferto fino a quel punto. Fragonard sembrava divertirsi. Ho pensato: voglio essere come Fragonard!” Dopo la laurea, Chaimowicz è stato premiato con uno spazio studio a East London da Acme, un programma senza scopo di lucro che collabora con le scuole d'arte di Londra per concedere agli artisti in erba un posto sovvenzionato per creare, e si è offerto volontario in uno studio di design di tessuti a Lione. Man mano che il suo interesse per le arti applicate si evolveva, è emerso anche il suo senso del lavoro come evoluzione della sua vita. Bonnard e Vuillard erano una luce guida. “È stato un periodo molto ricco in termini di pratica. Penserei: voglio un po' di carta da parati, ma non c'è niente che mi piaccia e non posso davvero permettermelo comunque. Forse potrei fare la mia carta da parati”, dice. “Stavo dando la priorità al mio stile di vita, nella misura in cui c'erano lamentele su di me alla sede centrale. Altri artisti stavano camminando lungo la strada vedendomi al piano terra del mio studio con tende floreali, bevendo il tè con gli amici e socializzando, e dicevano: 'Questo ragazzo non sta lavorando! È fraudolento, sta sprecando spazio prezioso!' ” Da quella stessa trasgressione, Chaimowicz ha costruito una carriera.

(via Close Watch | Frieze) + Via + Via

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (May 25)

On May 25, the Catholic Church celebrates Pope St. Gregory VII, who sought to reform the Church and secure its freedom against the intrusion of civil rulers during his 11th-century pontificate.

Born in the Italian region of Tuscany sometime between 1020 and 1025, the future Pope Gregory VII was originally named Hildebrand.

His father Bonzio is thought to have been a carpenter or peasant farmer, while his mother's name is unknown. His uncle Laurentius was abbot of a monastery in Rome.

Sent to the school run by his uncle's monastery, Hildebrand entered a world of discipline and fervent devotion.

After his primary education, he entered religious life as a monk.

Hildebrand served as chaplain to his mentor John Gratian who had a brief and turbulent reign as Pope Gregory VI.

In 1046, Hildebrand left Rome for Cologne along with Gratian, who was forced to leave Rome and resign from the Papacy.

After the former Pope's death in 1047, Hildebrand left for France and spent more than a year in the monastery at Cluny.

During 1049, he made the acquaintance of Bruno of Toul, who would soon become Pope Leo IX.

Under his reign, Hildebrand was put in charge of a historic monastery, which he rescued from structural and administrative ruin through a series of reforms.

Hildebrand served Leo IX as an adviser and legate until the Pope's death in 1054.

While others considered him a possible successor to Leo, Hildebrand did not wish to be elected, though he continued his work as an influential and respected cardinal during several subsequent pontificates.

In April 1073, Hildebrand was finally elected as Pope Gregory VII.

Though he still did not want the office, his electors praised him as “a devout man … mighty in human and divine knowledge, a distinguished lover of equity and justice, a man firm in adversity and temperate in prosperity.”

Overwhelming challenges confronted the new Pope – including scandalous corruption among the clergy, a hardening schism between the churches of Rome and Constantinople, and a struggle against civil rulers who claimed a right to choose the Church's clergy and control its properties.

In March 1074, Gregory promulgated a sweeping set of reforming decrees. These met with widespread opposition, but the Pope stood his ground.

The resulting standoff pitted him against the German Emperor Henry IV, who sought to depose the Pope when threatened with excommunication.

The Pope carried out his threat and declared that the emperor's subjects were no longer bound to obey him as their ruler.

In 1077, the emperor was forced to come before the Pope as a penitent, spending three days waiting in the snow before he was received and given the conditions of his reconciliation.

Though temporarily reconciled, Henry was excommunicated for later attacks, which included supporting a rival pope and invading Rome.

Gregory never gave up his pontificate but was forced to flee the city in 1084.

“I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile,” he proclaimed, just before his death in Salerno on 25 May 1085.

Remembered as a champion of the Church's freedom against state intrusion, Gregory VII was beatified by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on 24 May 1728.

[safyresky]

Nobody:

Nobody:

Me: sorry, did someone ask for some older Fino, Fiera, and Jacqueline? Oh! Well here you go!

Okok so these are kinda lil. BAD sketches lmao except for the top ones!! Practise makes perfect and I'll get them right eventually!! :3 Mind the cam scan watermark, I always forget to crop it out 🙄🙄🙄

anyway some hot facts about Fiera, Fino, and Jacquie when they are a weee bit older than they are now below the cut!

First up: Fiera!

BUNS. She has FIERY BUNS! On her head. And freckles, apparently

Absolutely VIBING ribbons

She causes a ruckus, a stir up, but in the most elegant of ways which nobody expected, least of all Fiera

She's become v good at summer sprite-ing. Her fire is RAINBOW sometimes, she's very proud of that!

She and Fino both have the same face shape, same noses, and same freckles funnily enough! V. similar twins

The second doodle is a bit of a better Fiera-Hair. She's not as spinelly as I drew her at the top!

What is she up to? No idea! Adventure is out there and she's an on fire ribbony mess. She's carpe dieming that SHIT

Both she and Fino got a lot of Winter's more angular (pointy) features, and are very lanky. they have no fluff or curves. They are also both very tall!

Fino!

He's a very very VERY skilled warlock

And just as good as Fiera at fire manipulation--he's seen his Dad and Uncle and Fino went yeah, no, I'm gonna get real good at BOTH the summer sprite shit AND the warlock shit!

And then he did.

Smaller simmer of hair at the top; but it's pretty long! By Fino standards, at least. not quite a mullet but if you squint....

Spends most of his time in the human world cultivating the reputation of weird forest wizard, helping local kids and ordibeings down on their luck

he likes nature a LOT

Went to castor school in Crystal Springs, fucking ROCKED IT

And of course, last but certainly not least: Jacqueline!

Happily married to Dite (who has, at this point, forged her own identity and goes by her name: Hedone! Jacqueline calls her Donnie for short ;)

They have 3 kids!

They are just as unhinged as Jacqueline with all of the Frost crazy and bits and pieces of god power thanks to Donnie (Dite), and sass out the ass since their granpater (Cupid) is. well. like that lol

Jacqueline loves them very, very, VERY much

Jacqueline: My kids are so terrible and I love them soooo much for it 🥺🥺🥺🥺

She tries really hard to keep her hair up in a messy fat bun, but by the end of the day it's fallen down completely

Has smile lines like her parents do!!!!

She is out here Jack Frosting officially

SMILE LINES!

Still cannot seem to leave behind poofy sleeves 🤔

Lives in ordibeing world with Donnie and the kids. Kids go to human school; they cause all sorts of shenanigans

The middlest, Bianca, has a tiktok devoted to her moms called magic moms. In it, Donnie and Jacquie just exist as their magical selves and Bianca gets a kick out of all the human commentors being like WOW THEY ARE SUPER GOOD AT MAGIC HOW DOES SHE GET HER HAIR LIKE THAT? HOW DOES YOUR MATER MAKE HER WINGS MOVE LIKE HANDS? And their insistence that Bianca's answer of "they're for real actually magical beings" is not true

Also has a smattering of magibeans following who like to cause problems with ordibeings in the comments and Bianca LIVES for this

Jacqueline also lives for this magic moms thing, she thinks it's funny. Her fave video is one where Bianca charges in and goes MOM SHOW THEM HOW YOU DO YOUR HAIR and Jacqueline goes WELL, I FREEZE DRY, AND IT'S VERY EASY. YOU SUMMON YOUR FROSTY POWERS AND JUST RUN YOUR HANDS THROUGH YOUR HAIR AND MOLD IT INTO THE SHAPE YOU WANT! BOOM! DONE! You can use snow or ice or mix it UP. sometimes a light dusting of frost is gr8 for when you wanna just. have your hair down but not in your face :)

Everyone trying to debunk the sfx after that one gave Bianca and Jacquie many fun nights in the evening chillin on the couch. watching the replies. just a Legend and her Legate bonding

Jack follows magic moms and is the BIGGEST shit stirrer in the comments

EVERYONE LOVES UNCLE JACK LMAO

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS OF THE DAY FOR MAY 19

STS. PARTHENIUS AND CALOGERO, MARTYRS ON THE VIA APPIA

Bl. Peter Wright, 1651 A.D. Jesuit martyr in England. Born in Slipton, Northamptonshire, England, Peter converted to Catholicism and was given preparation for the priesthood in Ghent and Rome. Entering the Jesuits in 1629, he ministered to English soldiers in Flanders and accompanied Sir Henry Gage back to England. He also served as a chaplain to the Royalist army during the English Civil War. After the war, he was arrested at the home of the Marquis of Winchester during the oppression of Catholicism by Oliver Cromwell and was put to death at Tyburn.

Bl. Alcuin, 804 A.D. Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York. He was born in York, England, circa 735 and became a monk in the Benedictine Order in York. Ordained a deacon, Alcuin became headmaster of the cathedral school. He went to Rome and then met Charlemagne at Parma. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to become the minister of education for the Frankish court. Alcuin also founded a school and tutored the emperor. Upon retiring from the court, he became the abbot of St. Martin of Tours Monastery, reforming the house with St. Benedict of Aniane. Alcuin was listed in martyrologies as a Blessed. He was known for his holiness and scholarly wisdom, writing theological and liturgical treatises, and for his contributions to the so called Carolingian Renaissance.

ST. PETER CELESTINE V, POPE (PIETRO DEL MORRONE)

ST. URBAN I, POPE

ST. IVES, PRIEST, ADVOCATE OF THE POOR

ST. CRISPIN OF VITERBO, CAPUCHIN

St. Dunstan, Patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers. Born of a noble family at Baltonsborough, near Glastonbury, England, Dunstan was educated there by Irish monks and while still a youth, was sent to the court of King Athelstan. He became a Benedictine monk about 934 and was ordained by his uncle, St. Alphege, Bishop of Winchester, about 939. After a time as a hermit at Glastonbury, Dunstan was recalled to the royal court by King Edmund, who appointed him abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in 943. He developed the Abbey into a great center of learning while revitalizing other monasteries in the area. He became advisor to King Edred on his accession to the throne when Edmund was murdered, and began a far-reaching reform of all the monasteries in Edred's realm. Dunstan also became deeply involved in secular politics and incurred the enmity of the West Saxon nobles for denouncing their immorality and for urging peace with the Danes. When Edwy succeeded his uncle Edred as king in 955, he became Dunstan's bitter enemy for the Abbot's strong censure of his scandalous lifestyle. Edwy confiscated his property and banished him from his kingdom. Dunstan went to Ghent in Flanders but soon returned when a rebellion replaced Edwy with his brother Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Bishop of Worcester and London in 957. When Edwy died in 959, the civil strife ended and the country was reunited under Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury. The king and archbishop then planned a thorough reform of Church and state. Dunstan was appointed legate by Pope John XII, and with St. Ethelwold and St. Oswald, restored ecclesiastical discipline, rebuilt many of the monasteries destroyed by the Danish invaders, replaced inept secular priests with monks, and enforced the widespread reforms they put into effect. Dunstan served as Edgar's chief advisor for sixteen years and did not hesitate to reprimand him when he thought it deserved. When Edgar died, Dunstan helped elect Edward the martyr king and then his half brother Ethelred, when Edward died soon after his election. Under Ethelred, Dunstan's influence began to wane and he retired from politics to Canterbury to teach at the Cathedral school and died there. Dunstan has been called the reviver of monasticism in England. He was a noted musician, played the harp, composed several hymns, notably Kyrie Rex splendens, was a skilled metal worker, and illuminated manuscripts.

[momento-hashbrowni]

Propers of the Feast Day of St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church

St. Robert Bellarmine was born in 1542 to impoverished Tuscan nobles,Vincenzo Bellarmino and Cinzia Cervini, in a town outside of Siena. His mother was the sister of Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, who in 1555 would be Pope Marcellus II for 22 days. He was a Jesuit in the early days of the order, entering only 20 years after the order's founding. He was a student and later formidable professor of Thomistic theology, having studied in Padua and teaching in Louvain (the city's first Jesuit professor), and a powerful preacher. He actually started as a professor, being ordained a year after securing his professorial position. His career as a theology professor would last from 1569 until 1589.

It was thanks to his career in theology that he would be called upon ever more by the Church, such as in 1589 after the murder of King Henry III of France when he was called to join the Papal legate of Pope Sixtus V to serve as the accompanying theologian. The next year, upon Pope Sixtus V's death, he was briefly considered for the Papacy, though some would advise against this, such as the Count of Olivares writing to King Phillip III of Spain:

Bellarmine is beloved for his great goodness, but he is a scholar who lives only among books and not of much practical ability . . . . He would not do for a Pope, for he is mindful only of the interests of the Church and is unresponsive to the reasons of princes . . . He would scruple to accept gifts . . . I suggest that we exert no action in his favor.

Quoting directly from the Galileo Project's webpage on him: "Bellarmine served as rector of the Collegio Romano in 1592, as provincial of the Neapolitan province of the Jesuits in 1594, and papal theologian in 1597. In 1599 he was made a cardinal. From this time forward he was a member of the Roman Congregation and served on many commissions. In 1602 he was consecrated an archbishop and sent by Pope Clement VIII to Capua, where he concerned himself mainly with pastoral duties. In 1605 he was recalled to Rome."

One of 37 Doctors of the Church, St. Robert Bellarmine was a leading figure in the Counter-Reformation, and in so doing saved the Church from the ravages of Protestantism. He wrote theological treatises and catechisms written for different demographics ranging from fellow professors to children and was a major player in multiple high-profile cases of the day, including (as shamelessly quoted from Wikipedia): the Giordano Bruno affair, the Galileo affair, and the trial of Friar Fulgenzio Manfredi. He was an active supporter of the reforms of the Council of Trent and defended for all of his days the authority of the Papacy, as exhibited in the trial of Friar Fulgenzio Manfredi, who had preached against Papal authority in Venice. It is fascinating that, alongside his ardent defense of the power of the Papacy, he numbers among the Catholic thinkers in history who believed that a Pope could lose his station by merit of misdeeds; it is an uncommon yet important question, what happens if the Pope is a heretic, and his answer was simple: a Pope who can be proven a heretic or tyrant, or who otherwise acts in ways to directly and intentionally undermine the faith, has lost his authority and position.

His patronage is as follows: Bellarmine University (Kentucky), Bellarmine Preparatory School (Washington state), Fairfield University (Connecticut), Bellarmine College Preparatory (California), St. Robert's School of Darjeeling (West Bengal, India), canonists, canon lawyers, catechists, His Excellency Bishop Robert Barron, catechumens, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, St. Robert Catholic High School (Ontario), and St. Robert Bellarmine's Church of the SSPX (Minnesota).

I can't deny his place as a Doctor of the Church. Like all Counter-Reformers, he contributed his mind, body, and soul to the preservation of the Church when She was under assault by liturgical abuse and reckless reforms. He deserves the honor among the 37. We need a Robert Bellarmine now, or maybe we have one and we just need to know who he is. I know several canonists have recently written extensively on the post-Conciliar issues and even the issues unique to the Papacy of Francis, so maybe we already have at least one modern Bellarmine.

Saint Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, patron of canonist and catechists, defender of the Faith: pray for us.

(edit) I forgot the picture. Here is the picture:

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Wheeler was holding a fragment of a Roman wine jar dug up at Arikamedu (Pondicherry), eighty miles down the coast. He took the overnight train and after a long, alcoholic breakfast at the town's French legation, went looking for Romans.

An inner room of the public library contained three or four museum cases. I strode hopefully forward, and, removing the dust with an excessively sweaty arm, peered into them. For the second time within the month, my eyes started in their sockets. Crowded together were fragments of a dozen more Roman amphorae [wine jars], part of a Roman lamp, a Roman intaglio [cameo brooch], a mass of Indian material – potsherds, beads, terracottas – and several fragments of a red-glazed ware no one trained in the school of classical archaeology could mistake.

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[lamilanomagazine]

Latina, Celentano al Blue Forum di Gaeta: riuniti i sindaci di alcune città italiane nelle giornate dedicate all'educazione ambientale

Latina, Celentano al Blue Forum di Gaeta: riuniti i sindaci di alcune città italiane nelle giornate dedicate all'educazione ambientale.  Il sindaco di Latina Matilde Celentano ha preso parte, insieme all'assessore all'Ambiente Franco Addonizio,  alla prima giornata del III Summit Nazionale sull'Economia del mare Blue Forum, organizzato a Gaeta dalla Camera di Commercio di Frosinone e Latina. L'iniziativa, che si conclude oggi sabato 13 aprile, ha lo scopo di celebrare anche la "Giornata nazionale del mare". "E' stata una bellissima esperienza di confronto tra istituzioni, imprenditori, associazioni e stakeholders sulle politiche di sviluppo legate al mare e alla sua crescita qualitativa", ha commentato la prima cittadina del capoluogo pontino "Il mare – ha aggiunto il sindaco Celentano – è una risorsa strategica per la provincia di Latina e per l'intera Penisola. I temi affrontati nella giornata di oggi a Gaeta saranno fondamentali per la programmazione degli investimenti a livello nazionale nel triennio 2025-2027, partendo dal primo importante Piano del Mare del ministro Nello Musumeci, che affronta, in un'ottica unitaria, i problemi legati alle dieci filiere che compongono l'economia del mare come nautica, crocieristica, cantieristica, sport e biologia marina. Ho molto apprezzato la presenza, prevista per domani, del ministro Musumeci, che già il 16 febbraio scorso era intervenuto a Latina all'evento Sorella Acqua – Stati generali del turismo e del mare, che ancora una volta ha mostrato attenzione al territorio pontino. ". In particolare, il sindaco di Latina ha preso parte a una tavola rotonda sul ruolo dell'educazione ambientale, organizzato dal presidente della Fee Italia, Claudio Mazza. "L'iniziativa – ha spiegato la prima cittadina – era dedicata esclusivamente ai sindaci di alcune città italiane, tra cui Latina, che nell'ambito del riconoscimento della Bandiera Blu, si sono particolarmente distinte nella promozione dell'educazione alla sostenibilità nelle scuole, attraverso il programma Eco-schools, meglio conosciuto come Bandiera Verde. Per me è stato un orgoglio rappresentare la nostra città in questo autorevole contesto. Al tavolo ho relazionato sui risultati ottenuti dal Comune di Latina in dieci anni di certificazioni Fee, Bandiera Blu e Bandiera Verde. Il programma Eco-Schools, partito con l'adesione iniziale di tre plessi scolastici e che oggi ne conta 30, rappresenta la carta vincente per impedire che gli sforzi, gli investimenti, gli impegni assunti per l'ottenimento della Bandiera blu non siano fini a se stessi, ma che alimentino la cultura della sostenibilità allo scopo di migliorare la qualità della vita nel presente e nel futuro". "Il Comune di Latina, la cui esperienza è stata presa a modello da altre città italiane rivierasche, ha investito molto nel programma Eco-Schools, coinvolgendo non soltanto le scuole, quindi studenti, insegnanti e genitori, ma anche altri enti, come ad esempio la Asl, il Consorzio di Bonifica e la propria azienda speciale Abc, nell'eduzione ambientale per la diffusione delle buone pratiche ambientali tra i giovani, le famiglie e i diversi stakeholders", ha aggiunto il sindaco Celentano, che ha sottolineato l'obiettivo dell'amministrazione comunale di voler aumentare il numero dei plessi certificati dalla Fee come Bandiera Verde, fino alla totale copertura. "Latina deve diventare la città delle eco-scuole. Stiamo a metà percorso, ce la possiamo e dobbiamo fare", ha concluso il sindaco Celentano.... #notizie #news #breakingnews #cronaca #politica #eventi #sport #moda Read the full article

[scotianostra]

On January 17th 1926 Moira Shearer, ballet dancer and film star was born in Dunfermline.

Moira was educated at Dunfermline High School, Ndola in Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) and Bearsden Academy. She received her professional training at the Mayfair School and The Nicholas Legat Studio and made her debut in the International Ballet with 1941 and then danced at Sadler's Wells in 1942.

From 1942 to 1952 she danced all the major classic roles and a full repertoire of revivals and new ballets. Her first ballet role was Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1946.

Shearer was married to the Scottish journalist and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy from 1950, they had four children together. Moira passed away aged 80 in 2006 and is buried at Durisdeer Parish Churchyard, Dumfries and Galloway.

[lboogie1906]

Harriet Gibbs Marshall (February 18, 1868 - February 25, 1941) a pioneer in the world of African Americans was born in Victoria, British Columbia to Mifflin Wistar Gibbs and Maria Ann (Alexander) Gibbs. In 1869 her family moved to Oberlin, Ohio. She began her study of music at the age of nine and continued the pursuit at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied piano, pipe organ, and voice culture. She was the first African American to complete the program and earn a Mus.B.

She trained in Europe after graduating and returned to the US to found a music conservatory at Eckstein-Norton University. She held the position of supervisor for the DC’s African American public schools, Divisions X-XIII, and served as the division’s director of music.

She founded the Washington Conservatory of Music in 1903. It was renamed the Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression when the school expanded to include drama and speech. In establishing a school exclusively operated by African American musicians for the advancement of African American education, she realized a lifelong goal.

She married Napoleon Bonaparte Marshall (1906-33) a Massachusetts lawyer. Together they promoted her conservatory, his career would draw her away from her work in music education for years at a time. In 1922 she accompanied her husband to Haiti, where he was sent by President Warren G. Harding to be a part of the US legation. She founded the Jean Joseph Industrial School in Port-au-Prince and worked extensively with Haitian social welfare charities.

After he died, she refocused her attention on the Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression. She founded the National Negro Music Center as a resource to both promote creative work and preserve traditional African American music. Her conservatory was a landmark in the history of Black education. The Center sponsored regular concerts for the Black community, trained many prominent musical professionals, and attracted the nation’s most talented musicians as teachers. It remained in operation until 1960. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[arqanil]

arqanil adorin

altmer • mage/archer • the last dragonborn

resides in the College of Winterhold, but is in the process of building Heljarchen Hall in the Pale. would like to return to Solitude someday, but doesn’t have the coin at the moment.

grew up in a well-to-do family in Solitude, her mother and father were highly skilled alchemists and healers and their concoctions were highly revered amongst the citizens of Haafingar, including the High King Torygg and his wife, Elisif (prior to his untimely death of course). she was trained in the alchemical and restoration arts, as well as archery. her mother was a talented archer and taught her everything she knows.

several years prior to the incident in Helgen, arqa’s father began to grow cold and distant, and more and more absorbed in his work. he went on long trips away from home and refused to tell his family what they were for. after one such trip, arqanil awoke to find her father standing over her — he explained that his research into escaping death had been a success; he had found a vampire willing to turn him, and now he wanted to share his everlasting life with his family. arqa managed to escape him, but her mother and sister were not so lucky. she has no idea where they are now, as she left Solitude and refused to return until after Helgen.

because of this, she despises vampires and undead of any sort, and seeks to destroy them whenever she should come across them. for two years before she was unjustly apprehended at the border she studied the magical art of destruction, sought out information regarding vampires and their weaknesses, and learned how to survive outside the safety of the capitol city.

currently:

- Legate: joined the Imperial Army due to her loyalty to Jarl Elisif and because her family has been loyal to the Empire for generations. defeated Ulfric Stormcloak in Windhelm and helped end the Civil War. has very little interest in continuing her role as a soldier now that Jarl Elisif and Skyrim are settled, and plans to continue her studies from before she joined the war.

- Student: joined the College of Winterhold to grow her magical ability. she has chosen the path of a fire mage, though she dabbles in other schools of magic from time to time.

- Dragonborn: studying with the greybeards and finding out why and how the dragons have returned.

[notiziariofinanziario]

L' intelligenza artificiale sta rivoluzionando anche la produzione agricola

Nell’agricoltura di precisione vengono utilizzati droni e sensori per mappare il territorio e misurare in tempo reale la condizione del suolo, la presenza di agenti fitopatogeni, come parassiti, o il grado di maturazione delle culture. La raccolta dei dati può essere poi utilizzata per creare modelli predittivi o per guidare l’attività di trattori e macchinari, spesso in grado di modificare in tempo reale la loro funzionalità sulla base dei dati ricevuti. Tutto ciò al fine di utilizzare in modo mirato e senza sprechi i principali fattori della produzione agricola, ovverosia acqua, fertilizzanti e fitofarmaci. L’Agricoltura 4.0 in Italia Già da anni utilizzata nelle colture di mais statunitensi, l’Agricoltura 4.0 è ancora in corso di implementazione in Italia che sconta problemi strutturali come la scarsa diffusione della banda larga o ultra larga nello zone rurali o la ridotta dimensione delle aziende agricole che spesso non sono in grado di pagare le licenze necessarie all’utilizzo dei software di IA. Si registra comunque un trend positivo: secondo la ricerca realizzata dall’Osservatorio Smart Agrifood della School of Management del Politecnico di Milano e del Laboratorio RISE (Research & Innovation for Smart Enterprises) l’area coltivata con soluzioni 4.0 è cresciuta in Italia dal 2021 al 2022, dal 6 all’8%. Inoltre, sarà proprio un’eccellenza italiana e, in particolare, la Fondazione Bruno Kessler di Trento, a coordinare il progetto europeo “AgrifoodTEF”. Questo progetto, avviato lo scorso febbraio 2023,  ha proprio l’obiettivo di sperimentare e promuovere servizi basati su IA e robotica nel settore agroalimentare e prevede un budget totale di 60 milioni di euro. I vantaggi delle nuove tecnologie nella selezione dei semi  Rimanendo nel campo dell’agricoltura, le nuove tecnologie stanno portando enormi vantaggi anche nell’ambito della selezione dei semi e delle nuove varietà vegetali – tema molto dibattuto, considerato che a fronte della crescita della popolazione mondiale, si prevede che entro il 2050 sarà necessario il 70% in più di cibo. Varietà vegetali più resistenti e con migliori caratteristiche nutrizionali, potrebbero costituire una prima soluzione a questo problema. Da un punto di vista tecnico, la selezione delle piante e l’isolamento delle varietà più resistenti è un’attività molto onerosa, a causa dell’estrema complessità dei genomi vegetali. Le specie vegetali hanno infatti migliaia di geni e ciascun gene può assumere molteplici varianti possibili, il che rende difficile per i selezionatori prevedere quali combinazioni diano i migliori risultati, ad esempio in termini di tolleranza alla siccità o resistenza ai parassiti. È proprio qui che entra in gioco l’IA: analizzando grandi quantità di dati relativi a genetica e caratteristiche delle piante, gli algoritmi di deep learning sono in grado di guidare il processo di selezione ed agevolare lo sviluppo di nuove varietà vegetali. I nodi della proprietà intellettuale Da un punto di vista giuridico, l’uso dell’IA pone alcune questioni legate alla proprietà intellettuale. Una nuova varietà di pianta può essere infatti tutelata mediante il cosiddetto  “brevetto per nuova varietà vegetale” che conferisce al suo titolare alcuni diritti di esclusiva, tra cui quello di impedire a terzi la produzione o l’offerta in vendita, non solo del prodotto della raccolta, ma anche delle varietà essenzialmente derivate o la cui riproduzione necessita del ripetuto impiego della varietà protetta. Se nel precedente sistema, era facile identificare il costitutore – definito come “la persona che ha creato o che ha scoperto e messo a punto una varietà” nel caso di utilizzo dell’AI la questione si fa molto più complessa: chi può e deve considerarsi costitutore di una varietà vegetale sviluppata da un software di IA? E ancora, è possibile impedire lo sviluppo di una varietà derivata, nel caso in cui la stessa sia agevolmente individuata attraverso strumenti di IA? Questi ed altri temi dovranno essere chiariti dal legislatore e dalla giurisprudenza affinché gli strumenti di IA siano effettivamente utilizzabili dalle imprese anche nella selezione e produzione di nuove varietà vegetali. Una supply chain più sicura e i vantaggi per il Made in Italy Le nuove tecnologie stanno profondamente rivoluzionando non solo la produzione agricola, ma anche le altri fasi della filiera produttiva e, in particolare, la stessa “supply chain”. Da una linea di distribuzione binaria e lineare, che scontava difetti come rigidità e mancanza di trasparenza, gran parte delle aziende del Food sono passate oggi alla c.d. “Digital supply chain” che si avvale di sistemi che, come una rete, sono in grado di mettere in collegamento e monitorare simultaneamente tutti gli operatori coinvolti, con una tracciabilità del singolo prodotto alimentare, quasi perfetta – ovverosia dal fornitore della materia prima fino al consumatore finale. La Digital supply chain conferisce enormi vantaggi per le imprese, soprattutto in termini di compliance con la normativa regolatoria e in caso di eventuali emergenze. Per gli alimenti esiste infatti un sistema di allerta rapido (noto come RASFF) che richiede a tutte le aziende che fanno parte della filiera di notificare in tempo reale qualsiasi rischio diretto o indiretto per la salute umana, dovuto ad esempio ad alimenti contaminati o a confezioni ed imballaggi non a norma. Nell’ambito di tale sistema, gli operatori alimentari devono essere in grado di individuare tutti i lotti, tutti i fornitori e distributori dei prodotti contaminati, al fine di rendere possibile il loro ritiro o richiamo del mercato nel giro di poche ore. I vantaggi in termini di tracciabilità In questo quadro, è facilmente intuibile come i nuovi strumenti di tracciabilità “end-to-end” potranno davvero fare la differenza sia per il consumatore che per le imprese. Quest’ultime potranno infatti gestire le emergenze in tempi rapidi ed evitare il rischio di sanzioni amministrative e di eventuali danni, anche di tipo reputazionale. I vantaggi in termini di tracciabilità non riguardano soltanto la sicurezza alimentare. I sistemi di blockchain, che consentono di tracciare in maniera integrata, condivisa ed immutabile la filiera agroalimentare potrebbero fare la differenza anche nella lotta a fenomeni come il cosiddetto “Italian sounding” che ricorre quando denominazioni, riferimenti geografici, immagini o combinazioni cromatiche inducono il consumatore, soprattutto straniero, a credere che un determinato prodotto sia un prodotto autentico italiano, quando invece di italiano ha poco o nulla. Si tratta di un fenomeno che arreca all’economia italiana un danno enorme che si stima intorno ai 90 miliardi di euro. Conclusioni Una soluzione contro tale fenomeno potrebbe arrivare ancora una volta dalle nuove tecnologie: consentendo ai consumatori di essere certi dell’origine e della qualità dei prodotti, gli strumenti di IA potrebbero infatti rendere trasparente l’offerta italiana anche all’estero. Ciò a tutto vantaggio delle eccellenze italiane e del nostro Made in Italy. Read the full article