Diode Zone

part 2 of 3. Not gonna lie, that bridge puzzle is actually clever... outside of the blind wall jumping.

BTW, if you wanna see these live, go here https://www.twitch.tv/lizardguy3 I go live 8:30pm EST on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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The Tale of the Cigar was composed by Poul Udbye Pock-Steen as a musical framework for an untitled text included in an 1862 travelogue by the Danish poet Hans Christian Andersen. A traditional Cuban song is also incorporated to underpin the declamation of the text.

Background:

Hans Christian Andersen is staying with the British ambassador and his Danish wife, in a beautiful coastal mansion. One late afternoon, he sits on the terrace, with a swarm of fishing boats dotting the Strait of Gibraltar in the background, and enjoys a Cuban cigar, a true Havana. The smoke dissolves into the still, warm air. From that smoke, a miniature fairy tale begins to take shape:

"In Cuba stood black girls, cutting tobacco plants; their eyes glittered like stars, but the eyes of the youngest among them glittered more than the rest. She was a king's daughter from hot Africa, now a slave in a large West India island.

There fell a tear on the leaf she had just cut from the tobacco plant; there is a soul in a tear; a soul can never die, and this contained the memories of her childhood, longing, and regret. The leaf was rolled up, -the brown mummy was called a good cigar.

It was the very one I had just lighted, here, on the coast of Africa; it steamed, the smoke, undulating, extended itself; it became a little cloud-land, a dreamworld. What lay in it ? A soul, a tear from Africa's daughter.

It freed itself, it raised itself in its fatherland, and flew over the Atlas mountains to the unknown inner region. The soul in the tear was at liberty in thought's homeland!"

(Translation by Mrs Anne Bushby (1864)

This tiny tale is a small stroke of genius and a social-political manifesto from the poet, and, as in many of Andersen's other tales, there is a universal human core. The refined manner in which it is presented becomes even clearer when we consider the context of that time:

Denmark had abolished the slave trade by law as early as the beginning of the 19th century. In the decades that followed, however, public debate continued on the humanitarian aspects of slave labor and the economic impact of a full prohibition. In 1839, Andersen wrote a critically acclaimed romantic drama, The Mulatto, in which slavery in the Danish colonies in the West Indies was a central theme.

It was precisely the disagreement on the issue of slave labour that had led the United States into a civil war, raging at the very time Andersen sat writing on the terrace in Tangier. Although news traveled slowly in those days, one can easily imagine that Andersen, who was staying with the British ambassador, had some awareness of the situation in America. Slavery was abolished there by law in 1863, though the war continued until 1865. In Cuba, which was still a Spanish colony, slavery persisted until as late as 1886.

It was not until the early 1800s that an independent Cuban tobacco industry truly gained ground. By 1859, Cuba was home to a full 10,000 tobacco plantations and numerous prestigious brands, some of which still exist today.

So, when Hans Christian Andersen lights his Cuban cigar, he follows the fashion of the era. He is a man of his time—in the company of the elite from both Europe and the United States. Also, he lights his cigar fully aware that it was produced in a country where much of the labor force is enslaved.

We did the thing! Two complete speedpuzzling noobs taking part in the UK Jigsaw Puzzle National Championship, what could possibly go wrong?!

Grab your own set of puzzle earrings in all kinds of colours from https://ravenstorcreative.co.uk/products/jigsaw-drop-earrings and perhaps you too can get random compliments from complete strangers (also livestream commentators).

And the two puzzles are on sale now too!

If you enjoy my videos, please consider supporting the channel or checking out my patterns over at https://ko-fi.com/thegiddystitcher

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Tout le monde l'entend.

An unlocked music reward, "Downhill Stream," from Lafayette's adventure in Bottle World: Explore.

The adventures have concluded (for now!) but you can still review the outcomes and all potential paths: https://www.azdion.com/bottle-world-explore/

Un petit bout de toujours la première sonate de Brahms pour alto.

Classical music for the heart and intellect. A classical art song based on a modern arrangement of two 15th century Renaissance compositions and a contemporary composition based on early flamenco styles.

Woe is Me, Alhama!: 00:00

THE SONGS

'A mi pena'

A mi pena y desengaño

MIRROR OF THE SUN

The music in 'Mirror of the Sun' is composed and arranged for an unusual combination of instruments: piano, marimba, romantic guitar, early flamenco guitar, clarinet, gaita (a Spanish folk music instrument), and viola da gamba. The songs are sung by two classical singers and a singer who uses vocal techniques from world music genres.

'Mirror of the Sun' is based on a series of quasi-modernist and sensuous poems that Hans Christian Andersen wrote during a trip to Spain in 1862. The poems show a range of strong contrasts; South-North, passion-sobriety, sensuality-abstinence, youth-old age, nationalism-global outlook, Protestantism-Catholicism, life-death, and more.

[This video is just one in a longer series of 'Classical music for the heart and intellect'. Please consider subscribing to our channel to keep up with the ensemble's ongoing work: https://www.youtube.com/viaartiskonsort?sub_confirmation=1]

Read more about Woe is Me, Alhama! at the Ballhaus blog: https://ballhaus.dk/da/post/vee-mig

#classicalmusic #classical #hanschristianandersen #19thcentury #ensemble #clarinet #piano #granada #hcandersen #4k #classicalmusicians #renaissance #renaissancemusic #romanticmusic #spanishguitar #earlyflamenco #classicalartsongs #soprano #mezzosoprano #marimba #gamba #classicalmusiclive #spain #spanish #danish #viaartiskonsort #liverecording #liveperformance #4kclassicalmusic

Part 1 of 3. You'd think the land of the death would have some respect for DEATH.

BTW, if you wanna see these live, go here https://www.twitch.tv/lizardguy3 I go live 8:30pm EST on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As a reminder, I take ko-fi donations if you want to support my attempts to entertain. https://ko-fi.com/lizardguy

There's a cosmetic sitting on a high shelf in the treehouse area of Driving Is Hard, with no obvious path to get to it. I tried two routes in from the roof, and one other across the rafters, before I learned about this way to get there.

Classical music for the heart and intellect. 'Soledad Nórdica is a classical art song composition by contemporary classical composer Poul Udbye Pock-Steen.based on Spanish dance songs and early flamenco compilations.

SEGUIDILLA is popular song from the Spanish region La Mancha, compiled by the Spanish musicologist and composer Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, and arranged by Poul Udbye Pock-Steen.

Seguidilla: 00:00

MIRROR OF THE SUN

The music is composed and arranged for an rare setup of instruments: piano, marimba, romantic guitar, early flamenco guitar, clarinet, gaita (Spanish folk music instrument) and viola da gamba.

Most of the songs from 'Mirror of the Sun' are based on a series of quasi-modernist and sensual poems written by Hans Christian Andersen during his journey to Spain in 1862. The poems exhibit a number of strong contrasts; South-North, passion-sobriety, sensuality-abstinence, youth-old age, nationalism-global outlook, Protestantism-Catholicism, life-death, etc.

This video is only one in a larger series of 'Classical music for the heart and intellect'. Please consider subscribing to our channel to follow the ongoing work of the ensemble: https://www.youtube.com/viaartiskonsort?sub_confirmation=1]

Read more about 'Mirror of the Sun' at the Ballhaus web blog: https://ballhaus.dk/en/post/mirror-of-the-sun-videoes

#classicalmusic #classical #hanschristianandersen #hanschristiananderson #19thcentury #ensemble #clarinet #piano #19thcentury #hcandersen #4k #classicalmusicians #romanticmusic #spanishguitar #earlyflamenco #classicaldancesongs #soprano #mezzosoprano #marimba #viol #classicalmusiclive #spain #spanish #danish #viaartiskonsort #liverecording #liveperformance #4kclassicalmusic