Happy Birthday, Mozart...

Yes, it's Mozart's 250th birthday!! I just LOVE his music. Not that I ever did it justice while playing it *g*, but it's amazing to listen to and there's something for every mood. Must really dig out the Amadeus soundtrack.

My link of the day over at my writing blog will take you to Stephanie Cowell's site for her wonderful, wonderful book Marrying Mozart. I read it a couple of years ago for review and just fell in love with it. Even better, I got to meet her last year at the HNS conference in SLC.

Here are some more Mozart links :-)

CBC Radio Two's Mozart 250

Internet Public Library - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart at Carolina Classical Connection

Bio of Mozart at The Classical Music Archives

Enjoy!!

Teresa

Some links...

At last, I'm updating this page :-) Thanks to Rene and Mel for posting over the last few months while I was distracted *g*.

Are you a fan of the art of the 18th century? If you are, visit this site:
ART HISTORY RESOURCES: Part 11 18th-Century Art

Is the history of the British Isles more your thing? For a brief outline of the Georgian period, stop by the BBC History site:
British Timeline - Georgians

What about the City of Lights - want to know more about Paris in the Early Modern period, then consult this bibliography:
The Early Modern City (1500-1800): France

If gardens are your thing, learn about 18th Century French Gardens

For those of you more interested in American Architecture of the 18th century, you'll find lots of links through the Digital Archive of American Architecture

Ok - I'm off to make a latte now. Enjoy the links :-) And I promise to pop in here more often, with more interesting observations and links about this fascinating time period.

Teresa

Y2K? Piece of Cake

Back in 1999, I remember my company had whole IT teams devoted to solving the Y2K issue.  Boy, what a cake walk compared to switching calendars.  I wonder at how modern business would deal with the sudden loss of eleven days.

The switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar has always confused me.  Calendars through the Ages explains the why’s of the change and the origins of the two calendars.   The site also has the text for the British Calendar Act of 1751.   Wikpedia has a good and thorough explanation although I admit it confused me.  I’m not much of one for astronomical terms.  I slept through astronomy in college.    What I did like about this site was its discussion about how Britain and American usage differs.    If you have a strong desire to convert the dates, I found a calculator created by the U.S. Naval Observatory.  

Notes For British Calendar Act of 1751 For The Year 1752 goes into a more scholarly discussion about how the Act was put into play and gives an explanation about the text itself.  The Gregorian Calendar—History is a bit more lighthearted and has simpler way of explaining the situation.   April Fool's Day began to be recognized in 1752 because of the calendar change, so I suppose the inventors of the whoopee cushion and plastic spilled drinks should be grateful for the calendar change.

What problems this must have caused in Britain and the colonies is discussed briefly at this genealogy site.   Always in the mood for a riot, the change in the calendar riled the mobs of London.  And who the heck wants to be eleven days older?  Hence people changed their birth dates and started using the new style to rectify the difference.