Revision as of 00:04, 10 August 2016

People I admire

These at the top are people with a twist, a particular peculiarity of their own, that makes them stand apart in the crowd of genius. May be not at the lead, may be not on the top, but somewhere here on the side, where they seem to look at the rest of them.

Below are those that would have been among them if not for some fleetingly accidental reason that make the connection less personal. It carries on like this in various steps.

Scientists I admire

Obviously there are scores of them, including Newton and Einstein, and, of course, Feynman (I knew all his stories before even getting to the University). The great romance of my youth was Hawking's popular writings. In fact, virtually every dead scientist is a hero to all practitioners of science.

The truly great scientists for me, however, are not those in the limelight, those that have been successful and became iconic of Science. My two heroes are, on the opposite, people who remained largely in the shadows of their breakthrough.

My favourites pieces of classical music

This is a list of my favourite songs (more titles are to be found in my long list of favourites). They are not really supposed to be listened together. Also, without any discussion as for the choice, they might appear an odd selection, although most are widely recognized as among the finest masterpieces ever conceived by man. I kept as a rule never to repeat the author, a rule that I broke with Bach, thinly on account that his authorship of the first piece is disputed.

1. Toccata E Fuga, Bach

2. Première gymnopédie, Satie

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Theme, Brion

4. Duo des fleurs, (from Lakmé), Delibes

5. Les oiseaux dans la charmille, (from Les contes d’Hoffmann) Offenbach

   (no excerpt yet but see here)

6. Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen, (from Matthäuspassion), Bach

7. Cha cha, (from West Side Story), Bernstein

8. La danse macabre, Saint Saens

   (no excerpt yet but see here)

9. Totus Floreo, (from Carmina Burana), Orff

10. Mad Rush, Philip Glass (read more)

My favourites pieces of popular music

Here I again I make a point not to repeat the author. The list is not converged (more titles are to be found in my long list of favourites).

1. Il neige sur Liège, Brel

   (see also here)

2. Room for the Life, Kate Bush

   (see also see here)

3. Chan Chan, Buena Vista Social Club

4. Cálice, Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil

   (see also here or here)

5. I Go to Sleep, The Pretenders

   (no excerpt yet but see here)

6. Les Ailes d'un Ange, Robert Charlebois

   (no excerpt yet but see here)

7. Les Neiges du Kilimanjaro, Pascal Danel

   (no excerpt yet but see here)

8. Initiales BB ^(*), Serge Gainsbourg

   (no excerpt yet but see here, here or here)

9. Jusqu'à Demain Peut-Être, Michel Fugain

   (no excerpt yet but see here)

10. Ma Vie, Alain Barrière

    (no excerpt yet but see here)

My favourite novels

1. Il deserto dei Tartari, Dino Buzzati.
2. Quatrevingt-treize, Victor Hugo.
3. La Charette bleue, René Barjavel.
4. Nineteen Eighty-Four, Georges Orwell.
5. Das Parfum, Patrick Süskind.
6. O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo, José Saramago.
7. Basura, Héctor Abad Faciolince.
8. Uranus, Marcel Aymé.
9. Le Grand Meaulnes, Alain-Fournier.
10. Мёртвые ду́ши, Го́голь (Dead souls, Gogol).

My favourite Movies