01/19/2014 archive

A sex scandal engulfs France’s Francois Hollande when he is caught cheating on one mistress with another mistress

Vive La France! Vive La Différence!

I suppose I should feel more enthused about this, after all I hate the Patsies with the burning hatred of a thousand suns.

On the other hand Tebow.

On the third hand the Patsies gave him a shot after the Ponies passed on him finally.

I’m conflicted.

And it’s just a Throwball Game finally.  Fuck the ‘gators.

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 346 days remaining until the end of the year (347 in leap years).

On this day in 1853, Giuseppe Verdi‘s opera Il Trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.

Il trovatore (The Troubadour) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto. This gave the composer the opportunity to propose significant revisions, which were accomplished under his direction by the young librettist, Leone Emanuele Bardare, and they are seen largely in the expansion of the role of Leonora.

The opera was first performed at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, on 19 January 1853 where it “began a victorious march throughout the operatic world”. Today it is given very frequently and is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire. It appears at number 17 on Opera America‘s list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America.

Cultural references

Enrico Caruso once said that all it takes for successful performance of Il trovatore is the four greatest singers in the world. On many different occasions, this opera and its music have been featured in various forms of popular culture and entertainment. Scenes of comic chaos play out over a performance of Il trovatore in the Marx Brothers‘s film, A Night at the Opera. Luchino Visconti used a performance of Il trovatore at La Fenice opera house for the opening sequence of his 1954 film Senso. As Manrico sings his battle cry in “Di quella pira”, the performance is interrupted by the answering cries of Italian nationalists in the audience. In Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism, Millicent Marcus proposes that Visconti used this operatic paradigm throughout Senso, with parallels between the opera’s protagonists, Manrico and Leonora, and the film’s protagonists, Ussoni and Livia.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

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The Sunday Talking Heads:

Up with Steve Kornacki: If you’re looking for the inside analysis and information on the scandals plaguing the governor of New Jersey, this is the show to watch.

This Week with George Stephanopolis: The guests on “This Week” are Russian President Vladimir Putin; and  House Homeland Security Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)>.

The powerhouse roundtable debates all the week’s politics, with political odd couple James Carville and Mary Matalin; Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan; New Yorker editor David Remnick; and television and radio host Tavis Smiley.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr. Schieffer’s guests are Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO); former National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; and former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell.

Joining him for a panel discussion are Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post; Christi Parsons of the Los Angeles Times; and David Sanger of the New York Times.

Meet the Press with David Gregory: Guests in this Sunday’s MTP are former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Robert Gates; Congressional Intelligence Committee Chairs Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohania; New Jersey State Assembly Transportation Committee chairman John Wisniewski (D) and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani.

The roundtable guests are former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; NBC political analyst and former Obama adviser David Axelrod; The Washington Post‘s Nia-Malika Henderson and NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Ms. Crowley’s guests are House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers (R-MI); and Senator Angus King (I-ME).

Her panel guests are CNN Commentator Donna Brazile; Republican Pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson; and Time‘s Michael Crowley.

Syria crisis: US hails opposition move to attend peace talks

 19 January 2014 Last updated at 04:41 GMT



US Secretary of State John Kerry has welcomed a decision by Syria’s main political opposition group to attend next week’s peace talks in Switzerland.

His praise for the Syrian National Coalition’s “courageous” move was echoed by the UK and France.

The aim of the talks, to be held in Montreux, is to start the process of setting up a transitional government to end the war in Syria.

The three-year conflict has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.

An estimated two million people have fled the country and some 6.5 million have been internally displaced.

MSNBC”S “Up” host Steve Kornacki and his guests share what they have learned this week.