Category Archives: Featured
Opera Interludes
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st April 2020My subject is the instrumental music that occurs during a scene or between two. Excluded are overtures, preludes, and ballet music. Sometimes the distinction between an interlude or intermezzo and a prelude can be precious, but if the music below is called an interlude, an intermezzo, or in one case a meditation I accepted it…
› Read the full entry
Church Scenes
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th April 2020I recently wrote about the last few minutes of the first act of Tosca, which is set in a church – Sant’Andrea della Valle. There are other operas which have scenes in a church or houses of worship, five are presented below. Giacomo Meyerbeer was a German composer who tried to follow the style of…
› Read the full entry
Haydn Piano Trios
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th April 2020No great composer wrote as much music as did Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). The quality of his music is as great as its amount. So vast is his output that it’s hard to count all his compositions. He is famed as the father of both the string quartet and the symphony. He wrote 68 of the…
› Read the full entry
The Lack of Effect of Influenza Vaccination on the Elderly
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 4th March 2020The Annals of Internal Medicine recently published online a study of the effectiveness of influenza vaccination on the likelihood of subjects 65 and older being hospitalized or dying. The study’s objective was: “To determine the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine in reducing hospitalizations and mortality among elderly persons by using an observational research design that…
› Read the full entry
World War 2 Photos
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th June 2019The photos below were found in a box after my mother died. They detail part of her brother Nat’s service in the US Army during World War 2. I know nothing more than what was written on the back of some of these pictures. They were about 60 years old by the time I saw…
› Read the full entry
Dr. Donald W. Seldin, ‘intellectual father’ of UT Southwestern, dies at 97
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th April 2018Dr Seldin died April 25, 2018 at the age of 97. I was one of thousands of physicians whose life and career was shaped by this great man. The article below is the tribute to him that was published by Southwestern Medical Center, the institution that he devoted his life to and which was shaped…
› Read the full entry
The Genetically Modified Organism in Your House
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th April 2016Vermont in a spasm of enlightenment has mandated that all genetically modified foods sold in the Green Mountain State be so labeled. According to numerous polls 90% of the population of the USA thinks this a good idea. This is the same concerned and informed group that by an 80% margin supports labeling food that…
› Read the full entry
Verdi Chords
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th December 2015One of the most distinctive characteristics of Giuseppe Verdi’s operas is his use of chords to resolve or punctuate the moments of greatest emotional and dramatic tension as his story reaches a crisis point. This simple device would seem within the grasp of almost any composer, but Verdi’s use of it is unique. Below are five…
› Read the full entry
A Serious Bird
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th September 2013BOISE, Idaho — Albertson’s LLC said Monday that it has agreed to acquire The United Family, a privately owned chain of 50 supermarkets based in Lubbock, Texas, operating under three banners. Supermarket News Sept 9, 2013 This is really very simple, but I’ll do my best to make it complex. Groucho is a Yellow-Naped Amazon…
› Read the full entry
Second Law of Thermodynamics Held Unconstitutional
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 4th July 2011A deeply divided Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, held the Second Law of Thermodynamics to be unconstitutional. In a decision released Monday the 4th of July, the first time the court has ever met on the nation’s birthday, the court ruled that the law violated the due process section of the 5th amendment. The case (ACLU v. Cal…
› Read the full entry
