Tag: music

  • Fiddler’s Bridge Rings—Answers

    Here are the answers to the questions posed earlier today plus some additional information.

    A portrait in oils in the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna is generally believed to be of Vivaldi.
    Image Wikipedia
    1. Venice, Republic of Venice (now Italy)—Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678–1741) was a pivotal Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era, known for his innovative contributions to orchestration, violin technique and the concerto form. Born in Venice, he was ordained a priest in 1703, earning the nickname Il Prete Rosso—the red priest. Vivaldi worked at the Ospedale della Pietà, composing numerous concertos, sacred works, and over fifty operas, including the famous The Four Seasons. Despite initial success, his popularity declined in the 1730s. He moved to Vienna in 1740, seeking royal support, but died in poverty. His works were rediscovered in the 1920s, reviving interest in his music.
      Forth Bridge pier off Inchgarvie Island. The Forth Road Bridge can be seen in the background.
      Image Wikipedia
    2. Edinburgh—The Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth (Estuary of the River Forth) in Scotland, was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker in the late 1880s and opened on 4 March 1890. Initially criticised for its aesthetics, it is now a symbol of Scotland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located 9 miles west of Edinburgh, it carries the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line, is 8,094 feet (2467 m) long and features three 1,348 ft (411 m) cantilevers and two 351 ft (107 m) suspended spans, with a total clear span of 1,699 ft (518 m). Constructed with 58,000 tons of steel at a cost of £3,000,000 (£493,000,000 in 2025). Recent research by the Queensferry Historian Group has discovered that 78 men died during the construction of the bridge.
      A plaque honoring Perkins at Boston’s Logan Airport.
      Image Wikipedia
    3. Franklin D. Roosevelt—Frances Perkins was appointed Secretary of Labor on 4 March 1933. Born on 10 April 1880, in Boston she was a pioneering American workers-rights advocate and the first woman in the U.S. cabinet, serving as Secretary of Labour from 1933 to 1945 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A key figure in the New Deal coalition, she focused on labour issues and social security policy, developing the Social Security Act in 1935. Perkins championed reforms like the minimum wage, maximum workweek, and child labour restrictions. Educated at Mount Holyoke College, Wharton School, and Columbia University, she passed away on 14 May 1965, in New York.
      Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon during a Beatles performance for Dutch television, 1964.
      Image Wikipedia
    4. John Lennon, Beatles—In 1966, during a controversial interview, John Lennon of the Beatles made a bold statement that would spark widespread debate and backlash around the world. Lennon asserted that the band had become “more popular than Jesus”. This comment was part of a larger discussion about the changing role of religion and the cultural influence of rock music, particularly among the youth of the 1960s. The remark was initially unnoticed in the UK but gained significant attention in the United States, leading to protests and record burnings by those who viewed the statement as blasphemous. Despite the uproar, the Beatles continued to dominate the music scene and influence the cultural landscape, solidifying their legacy as one of the most iconic bands in history.
    5. Voyager 1—Voyager 1, launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, is a pioneering interplanetary probe that visited Jupiter and Saturn, becoming the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space. Part of a twin mission with Voyager 2, it utilised a rare planetary alignment for a multiplanet tour. Voyager 1 discovered Jupiter’s ring and volcanic activity on Io, and revealed Saturn’s ring structures. It carries a gold-plated phonograph record with Earth’s images and sounds. By 2012, it entered interstellar space and is now the most distant human-made object. It is expected to operate until 2030.
    Distance from Earth screenshot, 12:42 4 March 2025*
    Image JPL NASA Voyager

    *Voyager Live information can be viewed at JPL NASA Voyager.

  • Fiddler’s Bridge Rings

    Image Wikipedia

    Here are some questions based on this day in history.

    1. Antonio Vivaldi, composer and virtuoso violinist was born on 4 March 1678. Where was he born?
      • Vigo, Kingdom of Galicia (now Spain)
      • Vienna, Austria
      • Venice, Republic of Venice (now Italy) 
    2. What Scottish city is located about nine miles east of the bridge, which opened this day in 1890, pictured above? 
      • Aberdeen
      • Dundee
      • Edinburgh
      Frances Perkins
      Image Wikipedia
    3. Frances Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet in the United States. Which president appointed her as the fourth US Secretary of Labor?
      • Calvin Coolidge
      • Herbert Hoover
      • Franklin D. Roosevelt 
    4. On 4 March 1966, it was claimed during an interview that we are ‘more popular than Jesus’. Who made this claim?
      • John Lennon of the Beatles
      • Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas
      • Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones
    5. On this day in 1979 the first photograph of the rings of Jupiter (below) was sent back to Earth by what spacecraft?
      • Voyager 1
      • Galileo
      • Pioneer 11
    Jupiter.
    Image Wikipedia

    Good luck! The answers will be posted later today.

  • Who, What, When, Where, Why and How: 26 February

    The following Who, What, When, Where, Why and How all relate to this date: 26 February.

    Who

    A singer-songwriter born this day in 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas, US. recorded songs such as Hey, Porter; Cry, Cry, Cry and I Walk the Line and in the 1950s became the top country and western recording artist. He later became a champion for social justice and penal reform.

    • Who is being described?
      • Johnny Cash
      • Jim Reeves
      • Hank Williams

    What

    From Here to Eternity by James Jones was published today in 1951 and later was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name.

    • What was the novel mainly about?
      • Roald Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition
      • Roman Catholic Church’s Papal Conclave
      • US Army in Hawaii

    When

    Grand Canyon
    [Image from Wikipedia]

    On 26 February the Grand Canyon National Park was established by the US Congress.

    • When was this?
      • 1899
      • 1909
      • 1919 

    Where

    Napoleon
    [Image from Wikipedia]

    Napoleon escaped exile from an island on this day in 1815 and made his way to Paris where, on his arrival on 20 March, a period now known as the Hundred Days began.

    • Where was the island situated?
      • South Atlantic Ocean 
      • English Channel
      • Mediterranean Sea

    Why

    The Berlin West Africa Conference concluded on the 26 February 1885.

    • Why had it been convened some 3 months previously?
      • German Empire sought all territory between the Niger and Zambezi Rivers
      • Portugal wished to control the Congo Basin
      • Great Britain desired sole control of West Africa south of the Sahara

    How

    Victor Hugo, born today in 1802, is, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, renowned in France as one of the country’s greatest poets but that is not the case abroad.

    • How is he widely thought of elsewhere?
      • As a musician
      • As a novelist
      • As a painter

    The answers will be posted later today. 

  • Twenty-four Hours from …—Answer

    Q1. Tulsa

    Q2. Gene Pitney

    “Oh, I was only twenty four hours from Tulsa 
    Ah, only one day away from your arms 
    I saw a welcoming light 
    And stopped to rest for the night” 

    The song, titled Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa, achieved international stardom for Pitney due to its chart success peaking at number five in the UK and seventeen in the US. Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song is featured on Pitney’s fifth album, Blue Gene.

    The lyrics narrate a man’s journey home to his beloved, where he stops at a motel for the night and falls in love with a woman who takes him to a café, ultimately abandoning his return home.

    Read “24 Hours From Tulsa” by Gene Pitney on Genius

  • Twenty-four Hours from …

    Image from Wikipedia

    “Oh, I was only twenty four hours from … 
    Ah, only one day away from your arms 
    I saw a welcoming light 
    And stopped to rest for the night”

    The above lines are taken from a Burt Bacharach and Hal David song that achieved chart success in 1963—a top five hit in the UK and a top twenty hit in the US.

    Q1. What US city was the singer only twenty-four hours away from?

    Q2. Who is the singer, born on 17 February, who achieved the chart success mentioned above?

    The answers will be posted later today.