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Uplifting Thoughts for the Isolated and Depressed in Times of Plague

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Maybe, this following story is also a bit uplifting because the song about Vincent van Gogh remembered me of another story which was reported in almost all TV news in most neighbouring countries of France when the last person died in 1997 (!) who really met Vincent van Gogh in lifetime in Arles, France in 1888 (!!!).
At that time, Vincent van Gogh was already mentally ill and this person, Jeanne Calment, only remembered to have been selling pencils to him as a young 13 years old girl in the painting shop of her father and remembering van Gogh as a "disappointing appearance", "reeking of alcohol" and "always in a bad mood".

But now:
If you do not know the name "Jeanne Calment", maybe you should take a seat (- FAST! - NOW! -) before I tell you how old she "most probably" became:

122 years and 164 days!

Her age is still disputed by "unbelievers" but I - and ca. 95 % of the French population - believe it was her correct age because of her detailed memories she told in several TV shows and because of an almost tragi-comical circumstance:
A French lawyer and notary public was crazy about the beautiful apartment and its views across the city she lived in. So, he made a contract with her when she was already 90 years old, paying her 2.500 Francs every month until she died, if only the property of the apartment then changes to him and his family.
He died before her and the contract was so perfect that even his family had to pay this money till the end of her life. The money's sum exceeded by far the value of her apartment.
Together with her own pension, she had no financial problems till the end of her own life and lived without any concerns about money 32 years more after the contract was made. Jeanne Calment herself commented laconically: "In life, one sometimes makes bad deals ... "
Maybe, the lesson of this story is that no one should ever make a deal by speculating or gambling with the end of the life of human beings.

Her story in English in Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org

Jeanne Calment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

WOW!
 
In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, a 74(!!!!!) year-old Leontyne Price came out of retirement to perform at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. It is a poor capture of the TV broadcast with mediocre sound. However, give it a listen as she sings acapella (!!!!!) Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." Stay tuned the whole way to hear her miraculously hit and hold the final B flat!
 
This has probably already been posted (because, apart from it being a stunning aria, it was used in The Sureshank Redemption to excellent effect). But I think it bears repeating if it has. Mozart: "Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto"; Edith Mathis and Gundula Janowitz (I could just as easily have posted the version with Cecilia Bartoli and Renee Fleming - both are utterly sublime)

 
The German weekly "Der Spiegel" yesterday had a nice and uplifting story about Gustaf Håkansson, who won exactly 70 years ago the hardest bicycle race of Sweden and it is really impossible to believe if you do not know the facts.

In any case, there even was published a children's book in the USA which was based on his true story:

Ashampoo_Snap_2021.07.12_06h39m54s_003_.jpg

It was this man and he was excluded from the normal participation of this race of 1.000 miles (!) because of his age:

Ashampoo_Snap_2021.07.12_06h41m58s_005_.jpg The age was limited up to 40 years and he was already 66, but he was "biking" all his life and he nevertheless took part in the race in his special way.

After he "retired" from his work, he just wanted to take part and in order to arouse more interest he let grew this beard which made him look older.

No one understood what he was doing there and after the first day of the race, he was 30 km behind all the other "bikers".

But because he was excluded from taking part like the other athletes, he did not have to obey the laws of this race for rest and sleep. He said he is not tired and he usually slept only a few hours in the nordic summer with daylight for almost 23 hours. So he drove his bycicle also at "night" ... and in the end of the race, he was one complete day faster than all the other bikers in this race.

Although he could not really be seen as winner because of the law, he was received as the "winner of hearts" even by the King of Sweden:

Ashampoo_Snap_2021.07.12_06h41m25s_004_.jpg

His story in English:

Gustaf Håkansson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

His story in German:

www.spiegel.de

Alter Schwede! Der 66-Jährige, der auf sein Rostrad stieg und gewann

Pole Position trotz Plattfuß: Gustaf Håkansson wurde 1951 nicht zum 1000-Meilen-Radrennen durch Schweden zugelassen. Mit einer List nahm der 66-Jährige trotzdem teil – und ließ der Konkurrenz keine Chance.
www.spiegel.de www.spiegel.de

Photos from this story:

www.spiegel.de

Alter Schwede! Der 66-Jährige, der auf sein Rostrad stieg und gewann

Pole Position trotz Plattfuß: Gustaf Håkansson wurde 1951 nicht zum 1000-Meilen-Radrennen durch Schweden zugelassen. Mit einer List nahm der 66-Jährige trotzdem teil – und ließ der Konkurrenz keine Chance.
www.spiegel.de www.spiegel.de
 
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Another piece from Salomé (1923) There seems to be discord and disfunction in Herod's happy family. Look closely and see how well 43-year-old Alla Nazimova, portrays a teen-aged, pouting Salomé.

"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." Revelations 6:13
 
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I can't listen to this piece without smiling! There is just something so sweet and charming about it.

Gounod: Faust / Act 2 - Waltz; Wiener Philharmoniker, Kempe


(It also brings back a Monty Python sketch.)
 
In 1958, Paul Anka wrote, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," one of the great break-up songs of all time. It was recorded by Buddy Holly and was released and became a hit after his tragic death, It has been covered many times. Here are the Seekers from Down Under with their version.
Sorry that youtube will not show here
Right-click on: Copy the video URL, start YouTube, and use the search function to find and display the video.

The song speaks upliftingly to anyone who's felt deserted either by an unfaithful lover or friend. It feels good to me now.
"And you don't matter anymore." Yeah!
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
In 1958, Paul Anka wrote, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," one of the great break-up songs of all time. It was recorded by Buddy Holly and was released and became a hit after his tragic death, It has been covered many times. Here are the Seekers from Down Under with their version.
Sorry that youtube will not show here
Right-click on: Copy the video URL, start YouTube, and use the search function to find and display the video.

The song speaks upliftingly to anyone who's felt deserted either by an unfaithful lover or friend. It feels good to me now.
"And you don't matter anymore." Yeah!
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Now, hoping this works. Buddy Holly the original performer, Paul Anka the writer, and Linda Ronstadt perform. I had such an incredible crush on Linda back in the 70s - she was only slightly older than me, drop-dead gorgeous, and had, IMHO, the best pop singing voice ever for a woman.
 
Migoz2 said:
Willie Nelson: "There are two kinds of men. Those who are in love with Emmylou Harris, and those who haven't met her."

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I must confess with great shame that I had little acquaintance with the Divine, Miss Harris before I saw The Last Waltz, where she totally enchanted me with her country pipes on Evangeline:

Not good video quality, but three towering geniuses of music. Sheryl Crow, Leven Helm, and Emmylou with another performance of Evangeline.

Emmylou is the perfect demonstration of how gray hair on some women is transcendently beautiful!
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
Now, hoping this works. Buddy Holly the original performer, Paul Anka the writer, and Linda Ronstadt perform. I had such an incredible crush on Linda back in the 70s - she was only slightly older than me, drop-dead gorgeous, and had, IMHO, the best pop singing voice ever for a woman.
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Oh yes the Seekers with the great singer Judith Durham. And in 1997 she was so much younger. Me too? Don't remember anymore, maybe I get old.
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
Now, hoping this works. Buddy Holly the original performer, Paul Anka the writer, and Linda Ronstadt perform. I had such an incredible crush on Linda back in the 70s - she was only slightly older than me, drop-dead gorgeous, and had, IMHO, the best pop singing voice ever for a woman.
Click to expand...
Do you think Linda was better than Karen Carpenter? (They certainly were both better than Governor Jerry Brown voice-wise.)
 
Mhm, sorry for interfering but from a (or my) German point of view, Karen Carpenter and Linda Ronstadt were famous even in Germany because of some special songs and I remember a German radio presenter who said once that both were singing special songs and when he heard the songs, he said he simply could not imagine anyone else ever to sing this or that song better than Linda or Karen.
For example, he said that no one in his opinion ever had this special "Wehmut" (= "wistfulness of something what happened in the past") in her voice like Linda Ronstadt when she was singing "Blue Bayou":


And Karen Carpenter simply sang songs which really produced goosebumps on my skin, especially when she went lower with her voice, but at the moment, I just do not remember any more which song that was.
(I should take my night-work-"Alzheimer" more serious in the future, I think. :eek: )
 

And again a performance by the Psycho Choir of the University of Jena. The picture from the auditorium of the Jena University by Ferdinand Hodler can be seen in the background. which shows the entry of 90% of Jena students into the Lützowsche Freicors. They all wanted to fight Napoleon. The uniforms of the Freicorps later became the German national colors, black uniforms, red piping and golden buttons - black, red, gold. Incidentally, the Freiccorps existed for a very long time, they even took part in the famous battle in Waterloo.

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