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Pip Wilson

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Today is

I was forced to be industrious: whoever is equally industrious will get equally far in life.
Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer, born on March 21, 1685 (OS)

Bach should not be called 'Bach' [Brook], but 'Meer' [Sea].
Ludwig van Beethoven; on Johann Sebastian Bach

Now there is finally something from which one can learn something.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; upon hearing a Bach motet

What do I have to say about Bach's life work? Listen to it, play it, love it, adore it – and shut up!
Albert Einstein; in response to a survey by the German magazine Illustrierten Wochenschrift (Illustrated Weekly), 1928

When the angels play for God they play Bach: to each other, they play Mozart.
Isaiah Berlin; on Johann Sebastian Bach

Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life.
Jean Paul, German poet and humorist, born on March 21, 1763

A man never describes his own character so clearly as when he describes another.
Jean Paul

Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good; try to use ordinary situations.
Jean Paul

Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in life.
Jean Paul; attributed

Entre los Individuos, como entre Las Naciones, El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.
[Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.]
Benito Juárez, President of Mexico, born on March 21, 1806; his statement which is inscribed as a Motto on the State Flag of Oaxaca, of which he was Governor from 1847 - '53

The government of the republic will fulfill its duty to defend its independence, to repel foreign aggression, and accept the struggle to which it has been provoked, counting on the unanimous spirit of the Mexicans and on the fact that sooner or later the cause of rights and justice will triumph.
Benito Juárez; proclamation to the Mexican people, shortly before the Battle of Puebla of May 5, 1862 (which is commemorated by the 'Cinco de Mayo' celebrations)

Democracy is the destiny of humanity; freedom its indestructible arm.
Benito Juárez; as quoted by US President John F Kennedy in a speech (June 29, 1962)

Life, wherever it reveals itself; truth, no matter how bitter; bold, sincere speech with people–these are my leaven, these are what I want, this is where I am afraid of missing the mark.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Russian composer, born on March 21, 1839; from a letter to Vladimir Stasov

My music must be an artistic reproduction of human speech in all its finest shades. That is, the sounds of human speech, as the external manifestations of thought and feeling must, without exaggeration or violence, become true, accurate music.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky; letter to Lyudmila Shestakova, July 30, 1868; Jay Leyda and Sergei Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader, 1947, p. 113

In poetry there are two giants, rough Homer and fine Shakespeare. In music likewise we have two giant, Beethoven, the thinker, and the superthinker Berlioz.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky; letter to Vladimir Stassov, October 18, 1872; Oskar von Riesemann (trans. Paul England) Moussorgsky, 1929, p. 107

They were very defective, teeming with clumsy, disconnected harmonies, shocking part-writing, amazingly illogical modulations or intolerably long stretches without ever a modulation, and bad scoring ... what is needed is an edition for practical and artistic purposes, suitable for performances and for those who wish to admire Mussorgsky's genius, not to study his idiosyncrasies and sins against art.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, on Mussorgsky's manuscripts

As a musical translator of words and all that can be expressed in words, of psychological states, and even physical movement, he is unsurpassed; as an absolute musician he was hopelessly limited, with remarkably little ability to construct pure music or even a purely musical texture.
Gerald Abraham, musicologist, an authority on Mussorgsky

You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (Nirmala Srivastava), founder of Sahaja Yoga, born on March 21, 1923

Self-realization is the first encounter with reality.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi; attrib.

Divinity is not a fashion. It is the way of life. It is the need of your being. You have to become that.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi; attrib.

Freedom is when you really get your own powers which are within you. In your central nervous system and in your conscious mind, you must feel the existence of the Spirit.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi; attrib.

It's our duty to see that our children grow as great people. Greater than us. They have to look after the world.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi; from the book Education Enlightened

I don't believe Bond is superman, a cardboard cut out or two-dimensional. He's got to be a human being. He’s got to be identifiable, and that’s what I'm trying to be … It's not a spoof, it's not light, it's not jokey.
Timothy Peter Dalton, Welsh-born English actor, born on March 21, 1946; on his version of James Bond

If you behave like a regular guy, you get treated like a regular guy. You can't cut yourself off from the world. You ultimately would go crazy, wouldn't you?
Timothy Peter Dalton; on fame

You can't relate to a superhero, to a superman, but you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs but only after a struggle.
Timothy Peter Dalton; attrib.

March 21 is the 80^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81^st in leap years), with 285 days remaining.
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Mid-Lent Sunday and the origins of Mothers' Day (2004)

A note on the dating of items in the Almanac

In Britain, the fourth Sunday of Lent (Mid-Lent) was known as Mothering Sunday. Originally, it was a time for visiting one's 'mother church' – the church in the town where one hailed from, and people would travel back home to attend – but gradually came to be a day for honouring one's mother and giving her gifts. Thus, it is the progenitor of today's Mothers' Day ...

Read more at the Mid-Lent page at the Scriptorium

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Aries  Taurus  Gemini  Cancer  Leo  Virgo  Libra  Scorpius  Ophiuchus  Sagittarius  Capricornus  Aquarius  Pisces Sun enters Aries, 1st sign of the zodiac (Mar 21 - Apr 19) Aries (Latin for Ram) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It lies between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. When including fainter stars, visible to the naked eye, the area resembles the head of a ram, having a general herbivore head shape and a spiral horn. In Greek mythology, this is believed to represent the ram which carried Athamas's son Phrixus and daughter Helle to Colchis to escape their stepmother Ino. Helle fell off into the sea which later became the Hellespont. On reaching safety, Phrixis sacrificed the ram and hung its fleece in the Grove of Ares, where it turned to gold and later became the quest of Jason and the Argonauts. It appears that Babylonians, Greeks, Persians and Egyptians all agreed on the name of the Ram for this constellation. The main area of the sky constituting the sign of Aries, containing part of Pisces, the Pleiades, and the constellation of Andromeda, may be the origin of the myth of the girdle of Hippolyte, which forms part of The Twelve Labours of Hercules. The astrological sign Aries (March 21 - April 19) is associated with the constellation. In some cosmologies, Aries is associated with the classical element Fire, and thus called a fire sign (with Sagittarius and Leo). Its polar opposite is Libra. The Western astrological sign Aries of the tropical zodiac differs from the astronomical constellation and the Hindu astrological sign of the sidereal zodiac (April 19 - May 13). See Aries (astrology) "The 13 Constellations of the Zodiac "The Zodiac is the ring of constellations that the Sun seems to pass through each year as the Earth orbits around it. Contrary to popular belief, there are actually 13 zodiacal constellations, if you pay attention to the way astronomers define them. In addition to Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, and Sagittarius, "the Sun also passes through Ophiuchus. "Try getting some astrologer to explain THAT one to you... "While you're at it, ask them to explain why all the 'Signs of the Zodiac' are off by about one month. (Hint: astrology was invented more than 2000 years ago and the precession of the Earth's pole has caused changes in the positions of the stars since then)."   Source Astrology    The Real Constellations of the Zodiac    Astrology: Pro    Astrology: Con Akitu Festival, Sumeria (c. Mar 20 - 31) Festival of Hilaria, in honour of the Mother of Gods, ancient Rome (Mar 15 - 27) Quinquatria, Festival of Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, ancient Rome (Mar 19 - 23) Third day, the Birthday of Minerva. Today was the sixth day of a nine-day fast for the Romans, leading up to the Day of Blood. Festival of Demeter, goddess of harvest, ancient Greece Associated with the Roman goddess Ceres, she was the daughter of Cronos and Rhea, and therefore the sister of Zeus. Her priestesses were addressed with the title Melissa. Traditional date of Vernal Equinox, used for reckoning Easter. The equinox usually occurs on March 20 (qv). Norouz: Iranian New Year's Day: (also celebrated in many other countries of Asia) Iranian calendar celebrated on the Vernal Equinox (qv) Last day of Naw-Rúz (Norouz), New Year of the Bahá'í Calendar (Bahá'í Faith) End of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast, Bahá'í Faith. Neopagan festival of Ostara (see March 20) Tea and Tephi holy day Irish tradition: holy city of Tara was founded by the Milesian princesses Tea and Tephi on this day. Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, p. 53 Former feast day of St Benedict of Nursia (now at July 11)    More "The cuckoo is considered in the south of France to arrive on St. Benedict's day (March 21), and there is a saying 'that he ought to be heard on that festival; and that if he has not begun his song by the 25th (the Feast of the Annunciation of the B. V. M.) he must either be killed or frozen'. The latter half of this is current [1886] in Normandy; while the Breton peasants make the last three days of March the date of his arrival; and in Franche Comté he is expected on April 1st." Charles Swainson, The Folk Lore And Provincial Names Of British Birds, 1886, p. 112 More cuckoo lore    And more Feast day of St Benedicta Cambiagio Frassinello Feast day of St Enda (Enna), abbot in Ireland Feast day of St Nicholas of Flue Feast day of St Serapion the Scholastic, Bishop in Egypt Feast day of St Serapion (called the Sidonite) Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints   Back Badge Day, Gloucestershire Regiment, British Army The men of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment wear a badge on the back as well as the front of their caps. On March 21, 1801, the Battle of Alexandria was fought. The men were ordered to stand with their backs to the charging French cavalry, until they were almost on top of them. Then the British soldiers turned and fired, and the French retreated in confusion. The custom of wearing the badge on the back of the hat continues to this day. "The story goes that, many years later, a commanding officer of the 28th on a brigade parade was irritated to hear other commanding officers giving orders to their regiments with special titles. He proceeded to give this unexpected word of command: 'Neither Kings nor Queens, Nor Royal Marines, But 28th, Old Braggs Brass before and brass behind, Never feared a foe of any kind. Shoulder arms!'"   Source       International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN) On March 21, 1960 (see below), police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the day in 1966, the General Assembly of the United Nations called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination (resolution 2142 (XXI); [PDF file]). Crosspoint Anti-Racism – a big site with 2,000+ links Facing Race: Multiracial young people describe how it feels to be mixed race in an all-or-nothing culture The Multiracial Activist (TMA) is a libertarian-oriented activist journal covering social and civil liberties issues of interest to to individuals who perceive themselves to be "biracial" or "multiracial", "interracial" couples/families and "transracial" adoptees. TMA advocates abolishing all forms of government imposed "racial" classification. The Multiracial Activist MAVIN Foundation    More    And more, for kids Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling Against Racism and Racial Discrimination (UN) (March 21 - 28) United Nations events calendar   International Flower Day Bring bouquets of spring flowers into your home, business, school, or other places you frequent. Source: Daily Miscellany Memory Day Source: Daily Miscellany National Teenagers Day, USA To improve relationships between teenagers and adults. Source: Daily Miscellany Human Rights Day, South Africa Chunfen, China Vernal Equinox Day (public holiday), Japan Independence Day, Namibia Benito Juárez Day, a Fiestas Patrias in Mexico World Day Of Sleep, World Health Organization World Poetry Day, UNESCO Declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements". UNESCO World Poetry Directory World Down Syndrome Day Mothers' Day, Lebanon       1685 (OS) Johann Sebastian Bach (d. 1750), prolific German composer and organist who wrote sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments "Bach's output embraces practically every musical genre of his time except for the dramatic ones of opera and oratorio (his three 'oratorios' being oratorios only in a special sense). He opened up new dimensions in virtually every department of creative work to which he turned, in format, musical quality and technical demands. As was normal at the time, his creative production was mostly bound up with the extemal factors of his places of work and his employers, but the density and complexity of his music are such that analysts and commentators have uncovered in it layers of religious and numerological significance rarely to be found in the music of other composers."   Source Bach links   1763 Jean Paul (b. Johann Paul Friedrich Richter; d. November 14, 1825), German poet and humorist best known for his humorous novels and stories 1768 Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier (d. 1830), French mathematician 1806 Benito Juárez (Benito Juarez; Benito Pablo Juárez García; d. July 18, 1872), Zapotec Amerindian who served five terms as President of Mexico and is often regarded as that country's greatest and most beloved leader 1839 Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (d. 1881), Russian composer. One of the Russian composers known as The Five, he was an innovator of Russian music. 1869 Florenz Ziegfeld (d. 1932), theatrical producer 1882 Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson (d. 1971), actor 1895 Zlatko Baloković (d. 1955), Croatian violinist 1901 Karl Arnold (d. 1958), politician 1902 Son House (d. 1988), blues musician 1917 Frank Hardy, Australian left-wing novelist (Power Without Glory) and activist 1921 Arthur Grumiaux (d. 1986), Belgian violinist 1922 Russ Meyer, film director, producer 1923 Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (Nirmala Srivastava) founder of Sahaja Yoga . She has proclaimed that she is the complete incarnation of the deity Adi Shakti, and is worshipped as such. 1927 Hans-Dietrich Genscher, politician 1930 James Coco (d. February 25, 1987), American actor 1936 Mike Westbrook, English composer 1943 Vivian Stanshall (d. March 5, 1995), British musician (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band) 1946 Timothy Dalton, Welsh-born English actor of stage and screen, best known for portraying James Bond, and for his roles in Shakespearean-related films and plays 1958 Gary Oldman, actor 1959 Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese composer 1962 Matthew Broderick, actor (Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Biloxi Blues) "In 1983, the same year as Max Dugan Returns, Broderick had his first big screen success in the light comedy WarGames (1983). Since then he has had his fair share of hits and misses at the cinemas, with some of his better films including Project X (1987) also starring Helen Hunt whom he subsequently dated, Addicted to Love (1997), and Inspector Gadget (1999)."   Source 1962 Rosie O'Donnell, comedienne, actress, talk show host, publisher 1976 Liza Harper, French pornographic actress 1978 Kevin Federline, American dancer 2233 Captain James T Kirk, of the Starship Enterprise. According to the official Star Trek biography, he will be born in a small Iowa, USA  town. Riverside, Iowa, claims to be that town. (According to the sources one consults, Kirk's date of birth is given variously as March 21, March 22, March 26; the year also varies. Perhaps records weren't very well kept in those days.) "Another two centuries will pass before Riverside's claim-to-fame arrives, but that hasn't stopped this town from cashing in now on its future good fortune. "Riverside is where interstate 380 ends and 'the Trek Begins,' or so says a sign as you exit. James T. Kirk, captain of the starship Enterprise, will be born here on March 21, 2233. A concrete blob behind a former barber shop marks the spot for present (and future) fans. Riverside wanted to put up a bronze James T. Kirk bust, but Paramount wanted $40K to license the image. Instead, a scale model of the 'USS Riverside,' which bears a remarkable (but not legally indemnible) resemblance to the USS Enterprise, is docked in the town square."   Source   "STARFLEET HISTORICAL DATABASE FILE: Kirk, James T. Mid-level Biography Brief Mode Played By: William Shatner Final Rank: Captain Full Name: James Tiberius Kirk Date of birth: March 22, 2233 Place of birth: Riverside, Iowa, Earth Education: Starfleet Academy, 2250-2254 Marital status: Single Children: One son, David Marcus (2261-2286) Date of death: 2293/2371 Place of death: Enterprise-B in Nexus/Veridian III Serial number: SC937-0176 CEC Quarters: On original Enterprise, Deck 5; on refit/1701-A, Deck 5/Room 0195" Source Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send a free e-card greeting for today's celebrations to a loved one Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Baha'i New Year [ Mar 21 ]