Author Archives: Neil Kurtzman
A Clinical Vignette About Medical Journals
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th November 2015A medical journal is supposed to be an unbiased and objective source of the latest and best medical information. Of course, since all journals (for now) are run by human beings the reality and the ideal are widely separated. Even so, you shouldn’t be able to tell the politics of the journal’s editor from its content….
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Another Example of Unanticipated Consequences – New Medical Issues in Germany
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th November 2015The desire to do good is an innate human characteristic. Equally inborn, is the desire not to weigh the consequences of attempts to better the human condition. Common sense is obviously not very common. Germany: Migration Crisis Becomes Public Health Crisis is a detailed description of the medical problems resulting from Germany’s decision to admit…
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Robert Cahen 1928-2015
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th November 2015Robert Cahen the renowned opera photographer passed away on September 30, 2015. His obituary that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle is below. His photographs survive him, many of them can be seen on this site, Just put his name into the search box. The photo above the title is of Cahen and one of…
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Finale 3 – Macbeth Act 1
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th November 2015No composer wrote as many great operatic finales as did Giuseppe Verdi. His Macbeth is a creature of both his early and middle periods. Originally written in 1847 and first presented at Florence’s Teatro della Pergola in March of that year it was was extensively revised in 1865. This revised version was first performed at…
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John Peter Zenger Rots in Hell
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st November 2015The great great great great,etc, grand nephew of Vincenzo Maculani, Vincenzo Maculani XVI, Girolamo Savonarola professor of climate science at George Wallace University appeared before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology yesterday. He explained to the committee why the RICO statutes should be used to prosecute those who argue against the settled science of climate…
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A Note on Pumpkins
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th October 2015The Department of Energy has just issued a pumpkin alert. Before digesting it ask yourself a few questions: Where did the carbon in the pumpkin come from? How will it get into the atmosphere if the discarded pumpkin is buried in a landfill? Doesn’t the Dept of Energy have anything better to do than worry about…
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Finale 2 – Tancredi Act 1
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th October 2015Now for another first act finale by Rossini written at about the same time as the one from L’Italiana. Tancredi was Rossini’s first big success. It was premiered in Venice at La Fenice a few months before L’Italiana. It’s an opera seria, though the finale we’re about to hear could just as well come from…
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Finale 1 – L’Italiana in Algeri Act 1
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th October 2015I decided to post, from time to time, a finale from an Italian opera (all the really good ones are Italian). It can be from either a comic or serious opera. My only criterion is that it be really good. I’ll start with the finale to Act 1 of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri. Rossini was…
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Flaviano Labò
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th October 2015Flaviano Labò (1927-91) made an unheralded debut at The Met on Friday evening November 29, 1957 as Alvaro in Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino. I attended his debut mainly because Zinka Milanov and Leonard Warren were in the cast. Nobody among the standees had any idea who Labò was or how he had found his…
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Substandard Medical Care, Etc
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th October 2015An article in The Guardian says that two-thirds of hospitals in the UK give substandard medical care. Furthermore 75% of hospitals have levels of safety that “are not good enough.” These hospitals are said to be understaffed and underfunded. These problems are expected to worsen as the government phases in cuts to the National Health Service….
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