Johann Sebastian Bach (1685) One of the greatest and most influential composers of the Western world, Bach created masterful works in almost every musical form known in his period. During his lifetime, Bach was better known as an organist than as a composer, and his works, which include the six Brandenburg Concertos, four orchestral suites, and more than 200 church cantatas, were not fully appreciated until long after his death. Bach is the most represented artist on the Voyager Golden Record, which is what? Discuss
Ovid (43 BCE) Publius Ovidius Naso, a Roman poet better known as Ovid, is ranked alongside Virgil and Horace as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. Ovid was a great storyteller whose writings generally deal with the themes of love, mythology, and exile. His poetry, much imitated during late antiquity and the Middle Ages, had a decisive influence on European art and literature for centuries. Why did Augustus banish Ovid in 8 CE?
"Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?" (1813) David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer, was the first European to cross the African continent. He aimed to facilitate the abolition of the slave trade by opening Africa to commerce and missionary stations. During his travels, Livingstone made many geographic discoveries and amassed a complex body of knowledge that took decades to mine after his death. He is the subject of the popular quotation, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Who uttered the famous phrase upon meeting him in 1871?
Invisibility Cloak Hides Bump in Gold Invisibility cloaks are often viewed as the stuff of fairy tales, but scientists are now one step closer to making them a reality. Using a structure of crystals with air spaces in between, researchers were able to cloak a tiny bump in a layer of gold. In this trial, the bump was miniscule, a mere micrometer high. While the design can theoretically be scaled up, it is not entirely practical, as creating the cloak used in this experiment took several hours. Discuss
US Citizen Admits to Role in Mumbai Attack US citizen David Coleman Headley, son of an American mother and Pakistani father, admitted Thursday that he scouted out the Indian city of Mumbai for a 2008 terrorist attack that left 166 people dead and helped plot an attack on a Danish newspaper that had printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Prosecutors said Headley made several surveillance trips to India and Denmark and then passed on the information he collected to members of the Pakistan-based Islamic militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba. By pleading guilty, Headley avoids facing the death penalty, but he could still be sentenced to life in prison.
Multigenerational Living on Rise in US The economic downturn, extended life spans, and increased options in home health and outpatient care are just a few of the factors prompting many multigenerational families in the US to live together under one roof. According to census data, about 6.6 million US households in 2009 had at least three generations of family members, a 30 percent increase since 2000. In total, about one in six people in the US lives in such a household. Many of these households contain "boomerang kids," young adults who move back in with their parents because of limited job prospects and the high cost of living independently.