Historical
1896–1926: Claude Monet and the Water Lilies
There is perhaps no image more associated with the Impressionism Art Movement than that of Claude Monet’s water lilies. Comprising a series of roughly 250 oil paintings created between 1896 and his death in 1926, these beautiful, bright works were a triumph amidst personal lose and health issues. Monet’s second wife, Alice Hoschedé, died in 1911. His oldest son died in 1914 from tuberculosis. His younger son Michel was deployed to the front to serve in the French Army during World War I. Monet even developed cataracts which would eventually require two surgeries to remove them so that he might continue his painting.
By Charles Beuck5 years ago in FYI
Flour Sacks: a Message for Today
Ninety-year-old George Reier is ready. Always. His car is gassed up, his frig full, and his garden weeds pulled. As a farm boy in Cranberry Prairie, Ohio, he learned to take care of things. Later, in the Marines, George was in charge of supplies. I was not surprised this week that when I mentioned flour sacks to George, he ferreted out one from the bottom of his cedar chest in five minutes flat. Pristine and clean as the day it was made, the red, white, and blue ribbon pattern reflect Depression aesthetics. The bright cotton bag also reflects Depression ingenuity and a partnership between industry and a suffering people.
By Diane Helentjaris5 years ago in FYI
Flowers — the Artist’s Favorite Muse
Scientists are just now cottoning onto what the Hippies understood a half-century ago: flowers have power. Florists have been thrilled to tout Rutgers University’s research findings. Jeannette Haviland-Jones, psychology professor, working with her genetics professor husband, Terry R. McGuire, was amazed. Flowers garnered an immediate positive effect on happiness in one hundred percent of her study subjects. They also had a long-term positive effect on mood and promoted increased social contact. Dutch researchers found flowers promoted positive feelings about others. Research has repeatedly documented direct, healthful effects on cognition, heart rate, blood pressure and healing.
By Diane Helentjaris5 years ago in FYI
The Girl Power Behind Antique Embroidered Samplers
Girl power! What can giggle-box girls do? Turns out, a lot. Growing up in Ohio, at four, I embroidered. My mother taught me. I outline stitched orange poppies with black French-knot anthers atop stamens. At around the same age, up north in Detroit, Carol Huber also learned to embroider. A favorite treat for Carol was a trip to Kresge’s topped off with the reward of an embroidery kit. Once home, she’d embroider the blue lines of the pattern stamped on the heavy fabric. I grew up to use my needle skills as a physician. Carol grew up to own, with her husband Stephen Huber, The Huber Gallery in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. The preeminent antique shop is dedicated to samplers and other school girl embroideries. The Hubers are sought-after by museums, collectors, auction houses, and historical associations for their expertise. I recently enjoyed speaking with Carol.
By Diane Helentjaris5 years ago in FYI
First Person To Walk On The Moon Neil Arm Armstrong
One of the reasons I wanted to study Hansen's compelling biography was approaching the 50th anniversary of the mission - one of the reasons I wanted to read about Hansen's compelling history of one of America's greatest achievements in the 20th century, the first arrival of the month on July 20, 1969. in the moon and in the back, and it gives a very in-depth look at the person in charge of the project, Neil A. Armstrong.
By Radha Karki5 years ago in FYI
Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Rum
The Beheaded Pirate About 1680 a man named Edward Treacher was born in Bristol, England and later would become known as Captain Blackbeard. He was tall and had broad-shouldered. His face was covered by a long, black beard and he had long dark hair. Blackbeard was an impressive sight with a wide-brimmed hat upon his head, long boots, and across his body slings full of pistols. To make himself look angry and dangerous he would attach lit fuses to his hair and as the sparks started to burn smoke was all around. What made Blackbeard stand out from other pirates was that he could read and write.
By Rasma Raisters5 years ago in FYI
What's Love Got to Do With It? Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII
She was arguably the luckiest of Henry VIII’s six wives. Had she been less agreeable she could have found herself facing the executioner’s block, but instead she led a happy life of luxury and privilege. When she died on July 16, 1557, it was as the late King Henry’s “beloved sister” and one of the highest-ranking and most beloved ladies in England.
By Kathy Copeland Padden5 years ago in FYI
First Persons To Conquer Mt.Everest - Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa
Ang Rita Sherpa, the first to climb Mount Everest ten times, has died after a long illness, her family has declared, a great loss to the mountainous community of Nepal. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 - 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist.
By saurab sharma5 years ago in FYI
Vietnam War- Causes, Impact, Summary
Vietnam was the longest war in American history and the most unpopular American war of the 20th century. It has resulted in the deaths of more than 60,000 Americans and the deaths of an estimated two million Vietnamese. In any case, the Vietnam War was, frankly, a war of words.
By saurab sharma5 years ago in FYI
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, statesman, and philanthropist Sir Nelson Mandela
His lifelong friend and colleague Oliver Tambo became the national chairman of the organization. Mandela was elected president of the party in 1991 at the ANC's first congress in South Africa since the party's closure in 1960 and his lifelong friend Oliver Tambo became the party's national chairman. He served from 1998 to 1999 as Secretary-General of the United Nations and from 1994 to 1999 was President of South Africa.
By saurab sharma5 years ago in FYI
