But is it right for an all-boys choir and orchaestra to be performing Carmina Burana?

Why the hesitance you may ask. Well read on…

The BBCs h2g2 has a great write up on Carmina Burana, which begins:

It is not often that the little old ladies of the choral society scream since Fate strikes down the strong man, everyone weep with me!, or when they are in a more cheerful mood, My virginity makes me frisky, my simplicity holds me back. Oh, Oh, Oh, I am completely coming to life. All this while the men strain their dinner jackets singing a bawdy drinking song. However, this is Carmina Burana, one of the most popular works for choir and orchestra of the 20th Century.

But Carmina Burana is not all dramatic chanting - there is plenty of lyrical and gentle playing and singing, merry dances and of course the aforementioned drink and sex. The work lasts about an hour in performance and requires baritone, tenor and soprano solo singers as well as a boys’ chorus, an adult chorus and a massive orchestra.

UK residents will be familiar with the opening and closing music of Carmina Burana. The ‘O Fortuna’ chorus with its dramatic chanting against orchestral backing was used for many years in television advertising for a well-known brand of aftershave lotion (Old Spice). And, since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there is more than a hint of the same chorus in the sound track of the film The Fellowship of the Ring, particularly to accompany the Black Riders.

You can read more about Carmina Burana on the BBC website.

About h2g2

h2g2 is an unconventional guide to life, the universe and everything, an encyclopaedic project where entries are written by people from all over the world. h2g2 was launched in April 1999, and the BBC took over the running of the site in February 2001 as part of our drive to develop new and innovative online services.

The Guide is written by visitors to the website and already it has thousands of entries on all sorts of subjects. The result is a living, breathing guide that’s constantly being updated and revised, driven forward by the very people who use it.

But there was something missing in my toolset; a WordPress app. Typepad have long since had one, so it was about time my favourite blog platform upped the ante!

Well, I’m glad to say, as of today an app has finally reached the Apple App Store that allows me to write posts: thank you Automattic.

In fact, just for good measure, this blog post has been written from the app.

The interface is intuitive and easy to use, although it does lack admin features, which for some may be a concern.

I’m sure I’ll get RSI if I continually blog via my iPhone, but for those moments when I’m caught away from a computer and desparately want to offer my 10 pence worth to the blogosphere, it’s a good tool to have.

What we’ve got here is failure to communicate

Following a bizarre conversation at work, that I had with a Polish colleague and in which I completed the following quote based upon a comment he made, I had to find out where the quote came from… It transpires it is from Cool Hand Luke, but has featured in numerous films throughout the years since the original film.

“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.

Some men, you just can’t reach.

So you get what we had here last week — which is the way he wants it.

Well, he gets it.

And I don’t like it anymore than you men.”

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

by Rudyard Kipling

It’s called stopping.

It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…

No, it’s not the seventh instalment, by George Lucas, of the Star Wars series, it’s a collection of striking images, created by Cédric Delsaux, involving characters from the franchise in bleak surroundings.

They include robots C-3PO and R2-D2 checking out a smashed up Citroen, overweight crimelord Jabba the Hutt in a derelict room and bounty hunter Jango Fett holding up a car.

(click on the images for more detail)

Darth Vader is also pictured swinging his red lightsaber against a sinister-looking building while Stormtrooper snipers prowl on the roof.

And fans of X-wing fighters and Imperial Walkers have also been catered for in the stunning images.

The Force was clearly strong with French photographer Cédric Delsaux. He also managed to give his photographs a crisp science fiction feel despite the stark urban backdrops in them.

Firstly, Delsaux captured bleak landscapes in Paris and Lille, and then photographed the models, which were between 20cm and 40cm tall. He then merged the two using a computer.

I decided to mix together the common suburbs and some fantastic characters, which I think has created something poetic.

Adam Lamping, of fans’ website jedinews.co.uk, said: “It’s such an unusual thing to see Star Wars characters from this galaxy far, far away juxtaposed with everyday suburban scenes. The pictures of the Emperor’s Royal Guard are particularly impressive with the red against the dark grey skies. It’s been captured perfectly.”

You can see the entire set on Cédric Delsaux’s website.

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