5✭♫: Brahms’ First & Haydn Variations · If I were asked to pick my favorite symphony, well, I couldn’t. If I were backed into a corner and really pressured, I still couldn’t. But if it were a matter of life and death and I were making short lists, Symphony No. 1 by Brahms would be on all of them. Some have argued that the First isn’t really his first symphonic work; that would be Variations on a Theme of Haydn. Which, if granted, might not change my answer. (“5✭♫” series introduction here; with an explanation of why the title may look broken.) ... [7 comments]
Tab Gleanings · A rare gaggle-of-interesting-links fragment. Don’t look for a unifying theme, there isn’t one. Item:Lauren Wood bemoans the ephemerality of blogs, specifically the late great Enplaned. This is Internet Vandalism, and it’s happening all the time. Item:Lauren Weinstein rings the alarm bells on the anti-piracy facilities in Windows Vista. This sounds terrifying; every black-hat in the world, and I mean every one, will be thinking up cool extortion scenarios around this technology. Item:Rebecca Bollwitt reveals that greeting-card categories are outta control; outta control, I tell ya! (Example: “Suitable for Remarriage”). Item:Shelley Powers has some mesmerising autumn-leaf pictures, with a subtext. Item:Il a neigé sur la Réunion. Item:Rob Bray on interesting government lists; for example, terrorist organizations. [1 comment]
