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Month: October 2016
How many of you are aware of atrocities done by the Assyrians, Armenians and Kurds in 1918 in Western Azerbaijan?
A2A from Pegah. Same answer as User. I know of the Armenian genocide, and the counterclaims of Armenians massacring Turks. Being Greek, I have been disinclined to research the counterclaims too seriously. I wouldn’t be surprised if the statistics of Azeris killed were conscripted into the statistics of Turks killed. But no, I was not […]
If Americans have Niagara, Koreans Jeju-do and other people come to Greek Islands for this reason,what is the place for honeymoon in your own country?
Australia: Depends on your budget. In order: Bali Far North Queensland (Port Douglas) Hawaii Europe. Yes, to Australians, Europe might as well be just one country. 6 countries, 6 weeks. Or, as we said to each other at the conclusion of it: “we’re too old for this shit.” Answered 2016-10-12 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/If-Americans-have-Niagara-Koreans-Jeju-do-and-other-people-come-to-Greek-Islands-for-this-reason-what-is-the-place-for-honeymoon-in-your-own-country/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
What do you think about people of Iran (not politicians)?
A2A by Pegah Esmaili, who is Iranian. And not Persian. So I’m not going to say “Persian”. Iranian #1: I am an avid follower of Pegah Esmaili, and her combat boots. And of course I am going to say nice things about Iranians, and Azeri Iranians in particular, because when Pegah starts wiping out all […]
If the Louvre was on fire and you had to choose between saving an unconscious person or the Mona Lisa, what would you do? You are a scholar and curator at the museum and nobody will know who or what you saved. You are not in harm’s way.
Thx4A2A, Linda. I’ll go with the painting too. Even if I’m not a visual arts kind of guy. I won’t do a long justification of that; others have, pro and con, mostly jocular. Some have been less jocular. But you know what? Doodles do matter. And even though Tom Groves meant it jocularly, well, when […]
How is Mahler’s 7th Symphony different from the others?
People pretty universally say the 7th is crap. I think the reason is only the last movement. The first four movements are great. They are quite not as great as the 5th or 6th, which seems to say what they say better. In fact, each of the first three movements seems to be quite close […]
Do you enjoy Mahler’s 8th symphony? I find it to be one of his most boring and least exciting or moving works after the initial shock at how many performers are involved.
The 8th is a barrage and a tour de force. And it has some amazing moments. But… IMHO you’re on to something there. It is something of a step backwards for Mahler. It is not less competent, but it is less personal, and musically more conservative than what he did before or after. I love […]
At what tempo do you feel the Mahler 5 Adagietto ought to be played?
Slower than the Mengelberg Andy Anderson linked to, faster than Bernstein’s dirge. Mahler may have played it that fast, but geez, what does the author know about his own text? As Curtis Lindsay said, it is meant to be a song, not the slow-mo ringing of the spheres. Embarrassingly in fact Mahler did make lyrics […]
Which author have you lost respect for, whose works you once enjoyed reading?
I’m all about the style in literature. When I was an early teen, I read all the Isaac Asimov I could. Sci-fi and Science. And there was a lot. By my late teens, I discovered stylistics. And I realised that Asimov could not write. Oh, he could come up with great ideas; on occasion, even […]
What are the libertarian parties in Australia?
Supplemental to the other answers: David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democratic Party (Australia) is the most prominent voice of overt libertarianism in Australia, the way Americans would recognise it. He gets to be that by virtue of getting a Senate seat (through people confusing his party name with the Liberals, as he has cheerfully admitted). […]
Who started democracy in Australia? How did this benefit the Australians?
Blame Canada! (And thank you, Gareth Jones, for pinging this in my brain.) Been reading Geoffrey Blainey’s Shorter History of Australia this week. I have serious gaps in my knowledge of Australian history before… oh, before I was born. Australia in the 1850s had de facto universal male suffrage, which made it one of the […]