#Wonder Festival 2013 [Summer]

[nyaa]

[csuitebitches]

Skiing - a beginner’s guide

I first went skiing in Switzerland with my friends nearly 10 years ago and I loved it. The feeling of the wind on my face, the speed, the adrenaline- it was exhilarating.

I’ve compiled a basic list of ski events, a semi-scandalous article and some of the best destinations in the world as well as some budget friendly ones.

Socialite ski events:

Snowboxx:

Since it launched in 2013, winter festival Snowboxx has been growing in popularity - and it involves flying out to the Alps for a week-long ski party.  It takes place in Avoriaz ski resort, Morzine, France each March, and this year saw a superstar lineup of artists performing in the mountains, including ex-Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, Becky Hill, Jax Jones, Sonny Fodera and Andy C. 

The combination of partying to some of the world's best DJs, with the unusual day-activites of skiing and snowboarding, are making many turn away from the summer festival circuit in favour of the winter one. 

Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel , Austria:

The Hahenekamm ski race weekend in Kitzbühel is arguably the biggest alpine ski event in the world. The world’s best take on the iconic Streif downhill track, which is historically the toughest ski race track on the World Cup circuit. A lot of the speed skiers consider winning races here as a bigger honour than the Olympics. As a spectator, the atmosphere is electric with fans around the world admiring some breathtaking ski racing.

X Games, Aspen, USA:

The world’s best freestyle skiers and snowboarders compete annually in Aspen. The event is a prestigious honour to win amongst action sports athletes and has propelled careers. Spectating the event is excellent because you can see most of the action from the viewing areas. The halfpipe events in particular are excellent to watch for this reason.

European Snow Pride, Tignes, France:

Tignes is home to Europe’s biggest gay ski week, with the European Snow Pride. Each day has a theme with nights of brit-pop to superhero days. Many international DJs are invited to play each evening party in the resort’s local clubs and bars.

Slightly scandalous tales: Things I Never Knew About Skiing Until I Was a Private Instructor in Aspen

Really interesting read. I was thoroughly entertained.

Popular ski destinations:

1. Whistler Blackcomb, Canada

Whistler makes it onto pretty much every ‘World Top 10’ list when it comes to ski resorts

2. Niseko, Japan

Located on the northern island of Hokkaido, this Japanese skiing destination is a snow-covered paradise. With a huge 15 metres of average snowfall, it’s no wonder that Niseko is the country’s premier ski resort.

3. Zermatt, Switzerland

As the highest resort in the Alps, it’s got the views. The incredible peak of the Matterhorn can be seen from just about anywhere on the slopes! It also boasts the greatest vertical drop in Switzerland, and there’s all year round skiing at the Matterhorn Glacier.

4. Courchevel, France

The resort is a part of the world’s largest alpine ski area, offering more than 600 kilometres of terrain and interconnected ski runs across 10 summits. The snow here is well-groomed, and there’s a legendary black run that’s considered to be one of the trickiest in the world.

5. Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy

Known only to the most dedicated, well-travelled skiers prior to the 1956 Winter Olympics, Cortina is a hidden gem in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains.

6. Baqueira-Beret, Spain

It may be a surprising destination for skiing, but Baqueira-Beret in Spain is one of the best places in Europe where you’ll find value for money for a ski holiday. You’ll be able to find affordable accommodation as well as some of the finest tapas restaurants in the country.

7. Ylläs, Finland

The arctic landscapes of Lapland are perfect for skiing. If you dream of snow-dusted trees, the magic of the Northern Lights, or the glow of the midnight sun, Ylläs is a unique winter resort that you won’t want to miss. As Finland’s largest ski resort, it’s got everything you need.

Budget friendly destinations

1. Vogel, Slovenia

An ideal spot for couples or families, this Slovenian spot is a truly beautiful and peaceful ski area. Overlooking Lake Bohinj, Vogel is part of the Triglav national park.

2. Livigno, Italy

Duty-free zone Livigno offers excellent slopes for intermediate skiers. But advanced skiers and snowboarders will be kept busy too – especially if they’re keen to explore off piste.

3. Poiana-Brasov, Romania

Poiana Brasov is Romania’s biggest mountain resort and certainly one of the nicest. The fairytale slopes, flanked by pine trees, are the perfect place to take your skis. With more than 24km of ski runs, there’s plenty to explore.

4. South Korea -Muju Deogyusan Resort

Muju Deogyusan Resort in Jeolla province is only 3 hours away from Seoul. So, if you want to spend your holiday skiing and still enjoy the city of Seoul, this is the place to go.

5. Niseko Ski Resort

Located in Hokkaido, Japan, Niseko Ski Resort boasts a total of four different resorts but with linked ski area. A single pass would give you access to all four resorts. One of the resorts, Mt. Resort Grand Hirafu has been officially named as Japan’s number one snow resort due to the wide array of activities offered.

6. India - Gulmarg

Gulmarg is a rare gem in the Himalayans that will undoubtedly take your breath away with its picturesque beauty. However, skiing in Gulmarg, Kashmir is not for the weak-hearted as the terrains are not suitable for beginners - to add to that, the ski lifts carry you to the highest point in the Himalaya at 13, 780 feet!

7. China - Nanshan Ski Resort

80km away from Beijing, Nanshan Ski Resort is perfect for skiing and snowboarding as the snow are neither too hard nor too soft.

[satureja13]

Beltane - Part 3 It all starts -> here (incl prequel)

After a (more or less) fun day at the beach, they went over to Porto Azzurro. And while Noxee and Saiwa dress the Boys up for the festivities...

... and took silly photos, (Omg I so wish we had better poses for photos. The ones we have are so stupid. Almost all of them are unusable -.-)

the other group sets up the stage. And Greg is having a talk with Kiyoshi. Probably about Jack ö.Ö'

And then it's time for Ji Ho's Siren's Song. They all agreed so he can put them under a little spell. Now they are able to enjoy their time together even though they have so many issues. At least for a few hours.

They were all enchanted. Ji Ho's voice is so wonderful. And Saiwa is more determined than ever to work so hard to get back together with Jeb. He is so beautiful and amazing. And Jack was able to think a bit clearer about the things Greg and Noxee said. He's still shocked that he'd never be able to completely get rid of Kiyoshi. But maybe they just have to hang around each other and don't have to be a couple? It's fated mates after all, not fated lovers. Hahaha omg Jack! ^^'

Ji Ho and Jeb performed 'Gente di Mare'. A song from Umberto Tozzi. 'Gente di mare che se ne va dove gli pare dove non sa. gente corsara che non c'è più gente lontana che porta nel cuore questo grande fratello blu. Al di là del mare, c'è qualcuno che c'è qualcuno che non sa niente di te.'

Translation (not by me): 'People of the sea, who leave it behind Going to where they like, they don’t know where Buccaneer people who are no more Faraway people carrying in their hearts This big blue brother At the other side of the sea, there’s someone who There’s someone who knows nothing about you'

And after the concerto it's finally time for dinner! They eat at the boat ristorante! Such a beautiful day!

Thanks to Ji Ho's song, they enjoy their meal together (to Jack's great joy there's Pizza! But he's still lost in thoughts.)

Haha and the way Kiyoshi looks at him! I wish I knew what Greg had said to him earlier!

Of course Noxee and Saiwa wanted to take some fashion shoots for their store, Strawberry Cake Fashion.

They took a stroll through the town to find some awesome places to take the photos. (Vlad wears the suit he wore in our Heidi special and Ji Ho one of the outfits Saiwa picked for him for the prom in the very beginning!)

The others have new outfits. They look so good!

There is also a club boat! Arturo is here too! 🐊 They danced to the songs of our 'Summer at Tartosa' playlist. You can find it on Spotify or youtube.

I don't know if it's wise to start a fire on a wooden boat but I couldn't stop Jack 'the pyromaniac'. It's also one of the Beltane traditions so ... Vlad is mixing the drinks. He's still so awkward around Ji Ho and being still under the spell, he rather stays away from him to not do something stupid.

Ji Ho is tired. The ride with the TukTuk was exhausting and the Siren's Song drained him, as always. But he's happy. He's the most sensible of them and their quarrels affect him the most. He hates living apart from the others.

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🕹️ 'Therapy Game' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[sachi]

☆ Cirno // Touhou Project “Devil ver.” ☆ Resin kit / Yutaka House ☆ Wonder Festival 2013 [Summer] ¥10,000 ☆ Sculpt Machizou

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

Angela Bassett earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a devoted mother in the sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” So I couldn’t help but wonder while watching “Dune: Part Two” whether Rebecca Ferguson could follow a similar trajectory to awards glory.

The two roles are similar in that both women play mothers whose life partners are killed and whose children carry great power. Of course, beyond that there are significant differences. Bassett’s Queen Ramonda is thrust into leadership reluctantly after the deaths of her husband and son. Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, on the contrary, actively seeks power for herself and her child Paul (Timothee Chalamet), preying on people’s faith and fear in order to fulfill a prophecy.

But both actresses give standout performances among their films’ ensemble casts. Bassett lends emotional depth and raises the stakes of what might have been a conventional superhero sequel. Ferguson deepens her film’s narrative in a different way. We recognize her love for her son and unborn daughter, but there are subtle shades of Lady Macbeth underneath; her pure love for her family is twisted by a thirst for power. It’s through her unsettling performance that the film comments on the dangers of religious fanaticism and begins to suggest that Paul’s rise might not be as heroic as we’re first led to believe.

Clarisse Loughrey (The Independent) writes of the performances that “Chalamet and Ferguson take all that was regal and dignified about their performances, and apply to them a poisoned tip.” Brian Truitt (USA Today) adds that “Ferguson’s Lady Jessica rises to become a gripping ‘Dune’ persona, who goes from being extremely dry in the first film to an intriguingly determined figure.” Brian Tallerico (RogerEbert.com) argues that her “slippery performance” adds “flavors here that weren’t in the first outing.”

Ferguson’s career has been building for more than a decade now. She earned a Golden Globe nom for her breakthrough performance in the 2013 TV limited series “The White Queen.” A couple of years later she got a Critics Choice bid for Best Actress in an Action Movie for “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (2015). She also received a smattering of awards attention for her role in the “Shining” sequel “Doctor Sleep” (2019) and made additional appearances in awards contenders like “Florence Foster Jenkins” (2016), “The Girl on the Train” (2016) and “The Greatest Showman” (2017), but she has yet to be nominated by a major industry peer group like SAG, Emmy, BAFTA or Oscar.

The question, of course, is whether Ferguson can survive the gauntlet of the rest of the 2024-2025 awards season, which to be honest hasn’t even really begun yet and won’t get into high gear until this summer and fall’s festivals. Still, we’ve seen early releases survive the long haul of an Oscars campaign like “Black Panther,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Past Lives.” And the Oscar success of the first “Dune” film (six wins out of 10 nominations) indicates that awards voters will surely have this sequel on their radars. Will Ferguson also garner attention for her chilling performance?

[dreamerwitches]

Charlotte garage kit by Akicyon, sculpted by Mahou ji Tensha : Kohaku

From Wonder Festival 2010, summer and 2013, winter

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actress Blythe Duff, born 25th November 1962 in East Kilbride.

Her love of acting started with youth theatre. On leaving Hunter High School she joined The Company, a youth opportunities theatre company, based at the Glasgow Arts Centre in Washington Street and spent her summers with the Scottish Youth Theatre. She entered the profession in 1983 with her first job at the Young Playwrights Festival, I’m sure she would have known my old school friend, who won The Young Scottish Playwright of the year award back then, may he rest in peace.

Blythe worked in theatre for seven years, appearing with Scottish Opera in Street Scene as Shirley Kaplan in 1989, and at the Coliseum Theatre in London with the English National Opera. She also performed on the soundtrack album which was released on Decca Records in 1989. She was working for Scottish Opera when she landed the role of Jackie Reid in the sixth series of Taggart in 1990. Her first appearance was a community police officer in the second episode of the sixth series, “Death Comes Softly”, on 3rd December 1990, in which she is credited as playing WPC Reid. In the third episode, which first aired on 31st December 1990, she was credited as playing Jackie Reid and her character was seconded to CID as DC Reid. By series eight in 1993 her character was promoted to Detective Sergeant. She became the longest-serving member of the Taggart cast after James Macpherson left the show in 2002. The last Taggart was shown in 2011, seeing Jackie Reid finally reach Detective Inspector.

Apart from Taggart, and a couple of short films Blythe has only really appeared as herself, voice overs and quiz shows etc as well as crime shows and documentaries. She has however performed on stage regularly and was a double winner, in 2013 and 2014, of the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland, for her role as Fay Black in Iron, Rona Munro’s psychological drama set within a women’s prison.

Duff is married to former police officer Tom Forrest and became stepmother to his two daughters Sarah and Katie. She was made a patron of Scottish Youth Theatre in the year 2000. Blythe was Chieftain of Bute Highland Games in 2009 and Chieftain of the Cowal Games in 2011.

She was given an Honorary Doctorate in June 2011 from Glasgow Caledonian University for her outstanding contribution to the performing arts.

In 2020 Duff and singer Cameron Barnes teamed up to re-imagine the classic Christmas song Fairytale of New York to raise funds for freelance creatives and their families.

In the past month Blythe has bee touring some Scottish theatres in James IV: Queen of the Fight, by the acclaimed playwright Rona Munro.

Last year Blythe said about growing up in Calderwood, East Kilbride, surrounded by references to Shakespeare due to the new town’s habit of clustering local street names around a certain theme. “The streets all had brilliant names” she says. “You live next to Edmond Kean and Hamlet and MacBeth, all these theatre references on street signs. I wonder whether or not that was soaking into my subconscious from an early age. I only thought about that when I was older but I like the idea.”

On acting Blythe said

'I'll never retire but don't tell my husband that'

In September Blythe returned to the No Mean City streets in a new music video based on the role which made her a household name for 21 years. Described as ‘an homage to Taggart, and a love letter to Glasgow’, the film echoes the opening credits and gritty underworld scenes of the long-running cop show which made her a household name longside Mark McManus, Colin McCredie and Alex Norton until its demise in 2011.

It sees the actor crouched over a dead body behind police lines in a back alley, surrounded by rubberneckers and the dead boy’s devastated mother.

Have a wee look and listen to the video, Blythe has a fine voice and it is a powerful emotional video.

[thatrickmcginnis]

KATHY ACKER, Toronto 1988

Kathy Acker was having a good year in 1988, when I photographed her at the International Festival of Authors (now the Toronto International Festival of Authors). If I'm frank, I don't know whether to be more impressed that the city has an author's festival, or that it's still running. Back in 1988 it was a very big deal, with a packed roster of authors from around the world in addition to Canadian ones, but publishing and even just reading were still a much bigger deal back then, and the IFOA (now the TIFA) was the follow-up punch to the film festival here, attracting literary star power to the city as summer turned to fall.

Kathy Acker published her first novel in 1973 under the pseudonym Black Tarantula, but she hit it big near the end of the decade as a punk writer, influenced by people like William S. Burroughs and drawing everything from Dickens and Bataille to pornography together in what was described as a post-modern style. She published what was probably her most famous novel, Blood and Guts in High School, in 1984 on Grove Press in the U.S., an imprint famous for its influential avant-garde writers.

Kathy Acker (born Karen Lehman) was incredibly prolific, publishing countless novels in addition to poetry, essays, movie and art reviews in addition to releasing records and doing interviews like her one with the Spice Girls for the Guardian. In 1988 alone she published three books, including the novel Empire of the Senseless and two collections - Young Lust and Literal Madness. This was a long way from when she worked as an office worker and a stripper, and even further from her childhood in New York's Upper East Side, though her past was very much up front in her adamantly controversial reputation. She presented a glamourous and defiant face publicly and to my camera when I sat her down in the lobby of a hotel by the waterfront for our brief sitting.

I don't remember having a client when I shot Kathy Acker and others at the 1988 author's festival; it's hard to believe now, but I think I just talked my way into getting the festival's publicists to send writers down to the hotel lobby for me to photograph, in a wood-paneled space under a big skylight, just off the main part of the lobby that provided a little bit of privacy. I can't imagine that happening today; later that same day a friend - a poet who'd come to Canada just a couple of years earlier from Serbia (then still Yugoslavia) - knocked on Acker's hotel room door and introduced himself. He said she was delighted to meet him and they carried on a conversation about publishing and writers' festivals while she changed outfits. Recalling all of this now feels like a very different time.

Kathy Acker was diagnosed with cancer less than a decade after this shoot, and after a double mastectomy opted for alternative therapies. She died in November of 1997 in a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, just 50 years old. Her work still abides posthumously, with biographies and studies published since her death and a literary prize, the Acker Award, founded in 2013 to celebrate avant-garde artists in NYC and San Francisco (and for three years from 2017-2019 here in Toronto). Still, I can't help but wonder if someone like Kathy Acker would have had the same kind of career if she'd started writing and publishing today.

[halliescomut]

Jeff Satur-Lucid MV costar Nene Pornappan Pornpenpipat

So I know we've all been rewatching Lucid's MV, because it's so wonderful and beautiful, but of course I was curious about Jeff's costar, because I always am. So I looked her up, and turns out if you're a BL watcher, you may have recognized her. (I did not, though I have watched both seasons of this show, but I did think she was really beautiful.)

She's in 2gether the series, which is awesome. I did a very brief look into her, and the woman has a pretty wild career history and is also wonderfully talented. I didn't want anyone who watched Jeff's video to think that she's just a pretty face (though clearly she's very beautiful) so I did a smidgen of a deep dive.

I'll start with the basics...she is a Thai-Chinese (born in Bangkok, though both parents have Chinese ancestry) actress, and singer. Her Thai name is Pornnappan Pornpenpipat, and her Chinese name is Zheng Naixin. She uses the nickname Nene across pretty much all of her career endeavors. She's 25, and her birthdate is 25 June 1997. You can find her Instagram (nenevader) here.

Her professional career starts out in 2013, where she competed in True Academy Fantasia 10 (AF10) as the youngest contestant, being 16 at the time. Two years later she would debut with Thai idol group MilkShake managed by GMM Grammy. (You can see her in the center below.)

They released 2 singles, one in 2015 as their debut, and a second in 2016. While not officially disbanded as far as I can find, they have not released new music since 2016.

From 2016 to 2022 she would act in various roles in various countries, including Vietnam and China, and eventually play the role of Air in 2gether the series, which is also produced by GMM (specifically GMMTV).

In April of 2020 Nene participated in the Tencent Video's Chinese girl group reality competition show, Produce Camp 2020, eventually debuting as a member of BonBon303 in August of that year.

From 2020 to 2022 BonBon303 would release 3 EPs eventually disbanding in July of 2022. During those two years Nene would also continue appearing in various Chinese shows, including reality and variety shows.

She debuted as a solo artist with the single Promise on July 12, 2022, under Sony Music China.

You can watch the official MV here. (It's a good song, very much a kind of chill pop-y summer bop, appropriate to it's release date.)

In the midst of all of this she also works sporadically modelling (unsurprising, as she is very beautiful) and was also a brand ambassador and promoter for Leader and Lancome respectively.

More impressively she also worked as a cultural Ambassador in 2022 as the China-Thailand Cultural Ambassador (I'm assuming one of many) and as the 2022 Thailand Customs Festival China-Thailand Cultural Exchange Ambassador. We have been seeing especially over recent years an increase in cross-country- and cross-cultural cooperation amongst many East Asian and South East Asian countries (Remember Jeff was also part of the KonnecThai Music and Arts event in late April of this year).

She also has her first solo fanmeet in Bangkok coming up at the end of this month for her birthday, which is awesome and I hope she has a really fun time.

Now this is a lot of basic information, but doesn't give us much in the way of personality other than to clearly display that this women is multi-talented and determined. I can't personally attest to her personality, but based around her choices for her solo song/MV, and her Instagram posts, she seems to be very cool, she doesn't shy away from posting casual, candid, or unmade-up photos on IG, which always adds point in my book for authenticity.

I'm not saying you need to follow her or stan her, or anything else, but I know how much Jeff values his own career (especially now that it's 100% under his control) and I don't think he would have chosen Nene, if he didn't think she was a pretty cool person. Here's some pics/clips she and Jeff posted of the BTS of the Lucid MV where they are clearly having a lot of fun.

If you wanna look for some more info, you can start on her Kprofile page here, or also check her Wikipedia page here.

[supersonicoscans]

Wonder Festival 2013 [Summer] Super Sonico Acrylic Panel

[beardedmrbean]

A column in Helsingin Sanomat examines the use of 'doublespeak' by members of the nationalist Finns Party — meaning the practice of deliberately disguising a controversial statement behind innocent-sounding words.

HS cites as one example a post on X by Finns Party MP Ari Koponen, in which — on the surface at least — he bemoans the spread in Finland of lupines, an invasive plant species.

"The alien species arrives uninvited and unexpectedly. It spreads and multiplies uncontrollably until it has spread so widely that it leaves the native species behind. In Finland, especially in the south, this is already a big problem. Go and voluntarily remove the lupines," Koponen wrote.

HS notes that Koponen may indeed be referring to the purple plants that adorn Finnish roadsides, but it's also possible that he is continuing the Finns Party habit of saying one thing but meaning another — for example a coded reference to immigration.

"The use of irony makes it possible to address different audiences at the same time: A wink to one's own supporters, another message to others," political researcher Johanna Vuorelma said.

As well as citing other examples of this phenomenon within the Finns Party, HS writes that the timing of Koponen's post on Thursday afternoon has drawn widespread criticism.

Later that day, a 12-year-old child was stabbed in a shopping centre in Oulu, with police suspecting the attacker was a well-known far-right extremist.

HS ends the column by noting that it tried to reach Koponen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to ask him to clarify the meaning of his post on X, but without success.

Child stabbing suspect faces remand hearing

Many of Monday morning's newspapers, including Oulu-based Kaleva, report that the suspect in the shopping centre stabbing of a child last Thursday will appear in court on Monday.

Kaleva writes that the man is suspected of stabbing one 12-year-old child and attempting to stab another. He will face a remand hearing at Oulu district court on Monday.

Tampere-based Aamulehti also reports on the remand hearing, naming the suspect as Juhani Sebastian Lämsä and noting he has an extensive record of violent crimes.

This includes pepper-spraying a Left Alliance politician in 2012, stabbing a man at Jyväskylä City Library in 2013, as well as being a member of the now-banned Nordic Resistance Movement.

Police are investigating Thursday's incident as a hate crime, as the two children targeted by Lämsä are both Finnish citizens of foreign background.

Festival fever

With a long winter season and relatively short summer, it's little wonder that Finland loves music festivals.

But not everyone is so enamoured. Iltalehti reports that people living in the vicinity of the Bolt Arena in Helsinki's leafy Töölö district experienced festival fever of an entirely different kind over the past weekend.

"At six o'clock on Friday, people were throwing up in a row on the street," one resident, Heidi Valo, tells IL.

The stadium was the venue for the Helsinki City Festival on Friday and Saturday, but residents reported seeing festival-goers urinating in the street and defecating in bins throughout the weekend.

People in the area — which houses the Olympic Stadium, the ice hockey stadium as well as the football ground — are used to large-scale events, but some residents told IL that this weekend's festival caused the greatest disturbance they've ever experienced.

"Nobody has anything against the events. The problem is in the thinking, the information and the attitude of the organisers," Valo says.

[classicalmusicdaily]

Adrian gives his stage debut at the Romanian National Opera Cluj-Napoca in 2003 as Zuniga in Carmen, followed by appearances as Masetto in Don Giovanni, Colline in La Bohème and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. During the 2007-08 season he was a member of the Young Artists Project at the Bavarian State Opera Munich. He could be heard in the 2008-09 season in Der Vampyr at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, in The Queen of Spades at the Opéra de Monte Carlo and in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf. Starting with the 2009-10 season he became a member of the Deutsche Opera am Rhein Düsseldof. In 2011 he made his debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival and appeared in the same role in 2012 at the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, in the frame of a tour of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano and in 2013 at the Staatsoper Berlin under the baton of M° Daniel Barenboim. He is winner of various singing competitions: International Singing Competition „Hariclea Darclée“, International Singing Competition „Eugenia Moldoveanu“ and so many others. Dear Adrian, it’s a pleasure to talk to you! Only a few know that you are the first artist I have ever interviewed, back in 2016, so it is also, indirectly, thanks to you that OPERA Charm Magazine was eventually born, 4 years later. Thank you very much for believing in me at that time and for accepting our invitation! It’s a pleasure! Hello, Bianca, the pleasure is mine, as it was 6 years ago. Thank you for the invitation. First of all I have to admit I am happy as well as a bit proud to have contributed, even indirectly, to the birth of such an interesting project. Congratulations to you and the whole OPERA Charm team for your dedication! First of all, where do our questions find you? How did Anna Bolena go? This was a role debut for you, wasn’t it? Well, Anna Bolena had it’s last performance at the Dutch National Opera two days ago and I am already in Aix-en-Provence rehearsing for Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon as Pharaon for this year’s Summer Festival. Yes, Enrico VIII was a role debut as is Pharaon, by the way, so two in a row. This is the exciting dynamics of our profession, sometimes you sing for seasons in a row only the roles you already have in your repertoire and then comes a time, like this year for me, with three role debuts. The third one will be Count Rodolfo in La sonnambula, but I prefer not to say where, since the season is not announced yet from what I know. Coming back to Anna Bolena, I have to say it was a production that I enjoyed a lot, lovely house to work in, wonderful conductor and colleagues, great staging, beautiful costumes and set, so I was spoiled to have my debut under this circumstances and now that it is over, I am missing it already. reposted from https://opera-charm.com/

[brookston]

Holidays 6.2

Holidays

Acacia Day (French Republic)

American Indian Citizenship Day

Autograph Day

Children’s Day (North Korea)

Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)

Contango Day

Coronation Day (UK)

Decoration Day (Canada)

Elfreth's Alley Day (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Emancipation Day (Tonga)

Father’s Day (Lithuania, Switzerland)

Festa della Repubblica (Italy)

Festival of Light and Dark Spots

Festival of Utter Confusion

Hristo Botev Day (Bulgaria)

I Love My Dentist Day

Important People Day

International Sex Workers Day (a.k.a. International Whore's Day)

Isabel Province Day (Solomon Islands)

Lesbian Pride Day

Lou Gehrig Day

Mindfulness Day (Zen Buddhism)

Mother Earth's Day

National Bubba Day

National First Ladies Day

National Janice Day

National Leave the Office Early Day [6.2 or Closest Weekday]

Republic Day (Italy)

Seaman's Day (a.k.a. Sjómannadagurinn, Iceland)

Sir Randol Fawkes Day (Bahamas)

Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)

Telangana Day (India)

3-Ring Circus Day

World Day to Fight Myasthenia Gravis

World Eating Disorder Action Day

World Mind Map Day

World Peatlands Day

Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras in North America Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Fish & Chips Day (Australia)

National Rotisserie Chicken Day

Rocky Road Ice Cream Day

Vanilla Coke Day

Velveeta Day

1st Friday in June

Action Mesothelioma Day (UK) [1st Friday]

Clean Air Day (Canada) [1st Friday]

Horseradish Weekend begins [1st Friday]

Hug an Atheist Day [1st Friday]

International Socks4Docs Day [1st Friday]

National Banana Split Weekend (Begins 1st Friday]

National Donut Day (a.k.a. National Doughnut Day) [1st Friday]

National Fish & Chip Day (UK) [1st Friday]

National Gun Violence Awareness Day [1st Friday]

National Lemonade Days begin [1st Friday]

National Wear a Jockstrap to Work Day [1st Friday]

Salvation Army Day [1st Friday]

Wear Orange Day [1st Friday & Saturday]

Independence Days

Aenderia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Telangana State Formation Day (India)

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Alexander (Christian; Martyr)

Binkham Tamino McDoyal III (Muppetism)

Blandina (Christian; Martyr)

Buddha Day (Indonesia; Buddhism)

Elmo (Christian; Saint)

Erasmus (Christian; Saint)

Eugene I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Felix of Nicosia (Christian; Saint)

Isaac van Ostade (Artology)

Juno Regina’s Day: Queenship Rite (Pagan)

Laugh Like a Bad Guy Day (Pastafarian)

Marquis de Sade Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

St. Gregory the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Marcellinus and Peter (Christian; Martyrs)

Pothinus, Bishop of Lyon, and Attalus, Blandina, and other martyrs of Lyon (Christian; Saint)

Vesak Day (Buddha Day; Singapore)

Yell “Fudge” at North American Cobras Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Churchill (Film; 2017)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Food Book; 2013)

Corvette Summer (Film; 1978)

Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1978)

Dead Poets Society (Film; 1989)

De-Lovely (Film; 2004)

The Light Fantastic, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1986) [Discworld #2]

Obscured by Clouds, by Pink Floyd (Album; 1972)

Room and Bird (WB MM Cartoon; 1951)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Animated Film; 2023)

Storms of Life, by Randy Travis (Album; 1986)

The Unexpected Pest (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Wire (TV Series; 2002)

Whitney, by Whitney Houston (Album; 1987)

Wonder Woman (Film; 2017)

Today’s Name Days

Armin, Erasmus, Marcel, Petrus (Austria)

Erazmo, Eugen, Marcelin, Petar (Croatia)

Jarmil, Jarmila (Czech Republic)

Marcellinus (Denmark)

Veevi, Viiva, Viive, Viivi, Viivia, Viivika, Vivian (Estonia)

Venla (Finland)

Blandine (France)

Armin, Blandine, Erasmus (Germany)

Marinos, Nikiforos (Greece)

Anita, Kármen (Hungary)

Emilia, Erasmo, Marcellino (Italy)

Emma, Emmija (Latvia)

Auksė, Ąžuolas, Erazmas, Eugenijus (Lithuania)

Runa, Runar, Rune (Norway)

Efrem, Erazm, Eugeniusz, Marcelin, Maria, Marianna, Mikołaj, Nicefor, Piotr, Racisław (Poland)

Ioan (România)

Oxana, Xénia (Slovakia)

Eugenio, Marcelino, Pedro (Spain)

Roger, Rutger (Sweden)

Elma, Elmer, Elmo, Elmore, Erasmo (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 153 of 2024; 212 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 22 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 19 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ding-Si), Day 15 (Xin-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 13 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 13 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 3 Sol; Threesday [3 of 30]

Julian: 20 May 2023

Moon: 97%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 13 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Gregory the Great]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 74 of 90)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 12 of 32)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.2

Holidays

Acacia Day (French Republic)

American Indian Citizenship Day

Autograph Day

Children’s Day (North Korea)

Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)

Contango Day

Coronation Day (UK)

Decoration Day (Canada)

Elfreth's Alley Day (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Emancipation Day (Tonga)

Father’s Day (Lithuania, Switzerland)

Festa della Repubblica (Italy)

Festival of Light and Dark Spots

Festival of Utter Confusion

Hristo Botev Day (Bulgaria)

I Love My Dentist Day

Important People Day

International Sex Workers Day (a.k.a. International Whore's Day)

Isabel Province Day (Solomon Islands)

Lesbian Pride Day

Lou Gehrig Day

Mindfulness Day (Zen Buddhism)

Mother Earth's Day

National Bubba Day

National First Ladies Day

National Janice Day

National Leave the Office Early Day [6.2 or Closest Weekday]

Republic Day (Italy)

Seaman's Day (a.k.a. Sjómannadagurinn, Iceland)

Sir Randol Fawkes Day (Bahamas)

Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)

Telangana Day (India)

3-Ring Circus Day

World Day to Fight Myasthenia Gravis

World Eating Disorder Action Day

World Mind Map Day

World Peatlands Day

Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras in North America Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Fish & Chips Day (Australia)

National Rotisserie Chicken Day

Rocky Road Ice Cream Day

Vanilla Coke Day

Velveeta Day

1st Friday in June

Action Mesothelioma Day (UK) [1st Friday]

Clean Air Day (Canada) [1st Friday]

Horseradish Weekend begins [1st Friday]

Hug an Atheist Day [1st Friday]

International Socks4Docs Day [1st Friday]

National Banana Split Weekend (Begins 1st Friday]

National Donut Day (a.k.a. National Doughnut Day) [1st Friday]

National Fish & Chip Day (UK) [1st Friday]

National Gun Violence Awareness Day [1st Friday]

National Lemonade Days begin [1st Friday]

National Wear a Jockstrap to Work Day [1st Friday]

Salvation Army Day [1st Friday]

Wear Orange Day [1st Friday & Saturday]

Independence Days

Aenderia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Telangana State Formation Day (India)

Feast Days

Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Alexander (Christian; Martyr)

Binkham Tamino McDoyal III (Muppetism)

Blandina (Christian; Martyr)

Buddha Day (Indonesia; Buddhism)

Elmo (Christian; Saint)

Erasmus (Christian; Saint)

Eugene I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Felix of Nicosia (Christian; Saint)

Isaac van Ostade (Artology)

Juno Regina’s Day: Queenship Rite (Pagan)

Laugh Like a Bad Guy Day (Pastafarian)

Marquis de Sade Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

St. Gregory the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Marcellinus and Peter (Christian; Martyrs)

Pothinus, Bishop of Lyon, and Attalus, Blandina, and other martyrs of Lyon (Christian; Saint)

Vesak Day (Buddha Day; Singapore)

Yell “Fudge” at North American Cobras Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Churchill (Film; 2017)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Food Book; 2013)

Corvette Summer (Film; 1978)

Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1978)

Dead Poets Society (Film; 1989)

De-Lovely (Film; 2004)

The Light Fantastic, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1986) [Discworld #2]

Obscured by Clouds, by Pink Floyd (Album; 1972)

Room and Bird (WB MM Cartoon; 1951)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Animated Film; 2023)

Storms of Life, by Randy Travis (Album; 1986)

The Unexpected Pest (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

The Wire (TV Series; 2002)

Whitney, by Whitney Houston (Album; 1987)

Wonder Woman (Film; 2017)

Today’s Name Days

Armin, Erasmus, Marcel, Petrus (Austria)

Erazmo, Eugen, Marcelin, Petar (Croatia)

Jarmil, Jarmila (Czech Republic)

Marcellinus (Denmark)

Veevi, Viiva, Viive, Viivi, Viivia, Viivika, Vivian (Estonia)

Venla (Finland)

Blandine (France)

Armin, Blandine, Erasmus (Germany)

Marinos, Nikiforos (Greece)

Anita, Kármen (Hungary)

Emilia, Erasmo, Marcellino (Italy)

Emma, Emmija (Latvia)

Auksė, Ąžuolas, Erazmas, Eugenijus (Lithuania)

Runa, Runar, Rune (Norway)

Efrem, Erazm, Eugeniusz, Marcelin, Maria, Marianna, Mikołaj, Nicefor, Piotr, Racisław (Poland)

Ioan (România)

Oxana, Xénia (Slovakia)

Eugenio, Marcelino, Pedro (Spain)

Roger, Rutger (Sweden)

Elma, Elmer, Elmo, Elmore, Erasmo (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 153 of 2024; 212 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 22 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 19 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ding-Si), Day 15 (Xin-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 13 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 13 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 3 Sol; Threesday [3 of 30]

Julian: 20 May 2023

Moon: 97%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 13 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Gregory the Great]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 74 of 90)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 12 of 32)

[dreamresort]

NiGHTS Into Dreams garage kit figure by group ChocoHobby, distributed at Summer Wonder Festival 2013

[blackswaneuroparedux]

There are two phases of enjoyment in journeying through an unknown country - the eager phase of wondering interest in every detail, and the relaxed phase when one feels no longer an observer of the exotic, but a participator in the rhythm of daily life.

- Dervla Murphy

There are few better literary gatherings than the Immrama Travel Writing festival in Lismore, County Waterford. Huddled quietly on the banks of the River Blackwater at the base of the Knockmealdown Mountains, Lismore is a scenic enough spot but on the face of it an unlikely magnet for the global travel writing community. Yet for two decades a string of stellar travellers including Michael Palin, Jan Morris, Paul Theroux, Kate Adie, Ranulph Fiennes, Terry Waite and Pico Iyer have made pilgrimages to this small rural town three hours south-west of Dublin to share their stories.

What draws notable itinerants from around the world to this rural backwater on the fringe of Europe is the special status it holds for writers and lovers of travel literature. Lismore was the hometown of the remarkable Dervla Murphy, who died on 22 May 2022 at the age of 90.

Here are six must-read books by one of Ireland’s greatest travel writers and explorers. They are all in print and currently available from Eland Publishing, one of my favourite publishing houses of travel writers and explorers, past and present.

1. Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle (1965) Dervla’s debut recounts an epic ride to India. Setting out from Lismore in 1963, she travelled via Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan on her trusty bicycle, named Roz, facing 50ft snowdrifts in the Turkish highlands and some punishing pedalling through the heat of the Himalayan summer.

2. Where the Indus Is Young (1977) A vivid travelogue detailing Dervla’s somewhat extreme winter hiking trip through Baltistan, in the northern Kashmir region, battling temperatures that dipped to minus 20C. She was accompanied by her daughter, Rachel, then aged six; the only person Dervla ever deigned to travel with.

3. A Place Apart (1978) At the height of the Troubles, aiming to put aside the sectarian loyalties that might have come from her own family connections to the IRA, Dervla cycled to Northern Ireland to try to unpick the situation, creating a travelogue that features revealing interviews and exchanges with locals on both sides of the divide.

4. Wheels Within Wheels (1979) In the autobiography that followed seven travel books, Dervla notes: “Even at 16, I had a strong premonition that I would never marry. Possibly the predictability of the average marriage put me off; it was the antithesis of my ideal unplanned existence - travelling, writing, not knowing what was going to happen next year or next month or even next week.”

5. Through Siberia by Accident (2006) Due to a painful leg injury, Dervla had to rethink her planned trip to Ussuriland, a Russian outpost free of anything remotely touristic, to explore the vast territories of Siberia instead. There she found humbling hospitality and generosity from local hosts during a journey of self-discovery and contradiction - human warmth and kindness against a bleak, unforgiving backdrop.

6. A Month by the Sea: Encounters in Gaza (2013) Over the summer of 2011, in her 80th year, Dervla spent a month in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. Described by Irish novelist Colm Tóibín as a “a wake-up call to the world”, Dervla’s determination to understand how Arab Palestinians and Israeli Jews might find resolution gives voice to those rarely heard in the region and offers a unique insight into a place shaped by isolation.