GeaCron

Interactive Historical World Atlas since 3000 BC in Englih, French or Spanish, with connections to on-line encyclopedias, for the countries listed in the historical maps of GeaCron. The political maps of the history of mankind from the year 3000 BC until today.

http://geacron.com/home-en/?sid=GeaCron251997

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/conquista/espanola/fin/Union/Sovietica/minutos/elpepucul/20110728elpepucul_9/Tes

RINGO SHIINA

From JAPAN: Ringo Shiina

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Sheena

http://www.facebook.com/pages/%E6%A4%8E%E5%90%8D%E6%9E%97%E6%AA%8E/108041055895667

http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp/artist/ringo/ (In Japanese)

3 GREAT FILMS YOU WILL NOT PROBABLY SEE

RABBIT HOLE (by John Cameron Mitchell)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_Hole_(film)

BLUE VALENTINE (by Derek Cianfrance)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Valentine_(film)

HUNGER (by Steve McQueen)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_(2008_film)

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

http://www.guardian.co.uk/galleryguide/0,6191,395635,00.html

July 17/18, 1936 - April 1, 1939...
In a century of horrors which included two world wars, the Holocaust, the Stalin terror and Hiroshima, one event stands out like a blazing beacon. It is the Spanish civil war, whose stark injustice moved tens of thousands of selfless young people from Europe and America to offer their lives in defence of democracy.
They failed, thanks mainly to the craven cowardice of - among others - Britain's Conservative government. Its prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, and his foreign office spokesman, RA Butler, consistently denied the blatant presence of German and Italian troops fighting alongside Franco's fascists. On the basis of Butler's lies, Britain and France enforced a one-sided policy of so-called "non-intervention" which denied the elected government of Spain the weapons it desperately needed.
The cause of the Spanish republic became the great moral crusade for the European and American left in the 1930s. It wasn't an obviously romantic cause, as it had been for Byron in the Greek war for independence. It was a grim battle to halt worldwide fascist aggression and thereby avert a second world war. The volunteers of the International Brigades were, quite simply, fighting to save the world from Nazism.
True, the issues were clouded by sectarianism. Something close to a second civil war broke out between Spanish anarchists and communists behind republican lines. Many of the foreign volunteers were communist party members, and their leaders were often communist. But most were straightforward idealists who had identified a cause worth fighting for. Contrary to legend, they were mostly working class.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,395343,00.html
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/spancivwar/Spanishcivilwar.html
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/spancivwar/lispeas.html
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Spanish_Civil_War_in_literature_film.html?id=XszxexAXmF4C

THE HORRORS

Well, THE HORRORS have a brand new album out this week. Many fans are saying that this band reminds them of the likes of Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen. It this were so, that's not a bad influence. Anyhow, rock wasn't born last yesterday and no band in the world starts from scratch.

Can you imagine a love poem written by a contemporary poet that doesn't remind you of other thousands of poems written throughout the previous centuries? Will the XXIInd century bands remind their listeners of other bands? Will rock still be?

I think that the same thing happens when you say "I Love You". It makes sense to you and you don't care about other people having said it before. It's your moment and you have to live it. And when your girl or boyfriend hears the love words, will she or he think they aren't true because they have heard them many times before? Long live rock!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/jul/14/british-rock-album-the-horrors?&CMP=EMCMUSEML4601

AWESOME BENICÀSSIM FESTIVAL LINE-UP

To see who's playing and who everybody is click on the link bellow and then choose an act. If afterwards you download a song (played live) by each artist, you will have your own BEST OF BENICÀSSIM 2011. It may be fun in case you aren't attenting this year's bash. I'm featuring an example made up with 4 headliners.
http://www.nme.com/news/nme/55488

http://www.nme.com/festivals/benicassim

DANGER MOUSE & DANIELE LUPPI

The long-anticipated brainchild of producer-composer Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniele Luppi, Rome benefits from a bit of context. More than five years in the making, the project assembles many of the surviving performers of classic '60s and '70s Ennio Morricone scores — and, in half a dozen memorable cases, pairs them up with the vocals of Norah Jones or The White Stripes' Jack White.

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/31/136094599/first-listen-danger-mouse-and-daniele-luppi-rome
http://romealbum.com/

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (by THE GUARDIAN ONLINE)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/gallery/2011/jul/07/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-premiere-gallery#/?picture=376616437&index=0

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/jul/07/harry-potter-fans-childhood-video

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/emma-watson

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jul/07/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-part-2-review

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jul/07/harry-potter-making-the-films-cast-and-crew

INDEPENDENCE DAY - FOURTH OF JULY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klQtI_rVeTM

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
...
Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (like the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.
Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue and take advantage of the day off and, in some years, long weekend to gather with relatives. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades are often in the morning, while fireworks displays occur in the evening at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)
http://www1.american.edu/heintze/fourth.htm
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oew-quiz-fourth-of-july,0,3791281.triviaquiz

ANNA CALVI

Anna Calvi is an English musician who plays in the band of the same name. On 6 December 2010, Calvi was announced as a nominee for the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll. Her self-titled debut album was released in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2011, where it debuted at number 40 on 23 January.
...
Calvi is known for her intense guitar playing and seductive live performance. She has said that she tries to create the sounds of other instruments through her guitar, and is noted for her particular style of playing which involves hitting the strings in a circular motion, rather than strumming up and down.
Following her album release show at Hoxton Hall in London, Calvi won over critics with her "performance of superb self-possession and dramatic timing. The Independent called her a "strumming seductress" who was "born to be heard in person" playing "with every ounce of passion."
Visually, Calvi nods to the world of Flamenco in her stage outfits. However, rather than wearing the traditional frilly dress, she opts for the high trousers and blouse of a male dancer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Calvi
http://www.annacalvi.com/