Jazz

101 Must Have Jazz Standards from Various Artists - 101 Must Have Jazz Standards on Myspace.
Here is a must have list of standards, that have become classics!

2013 Auto Show Top Models

Here are some of the hottest cars on the planet, gathered together in one place! If you are anything like us, there is more than one dream car that you would like to take home, from the smorgasbord of automotive delights offered here. Some anything but attainable for the average person, while some are quite affordable. Supercars, muscle cars, electric cars, and hybrid cars of every stripe. Sedans, coupes, economy cars, and sports cars. There is something here for everyone! So peruse and perhaps choose your next car.

Victims of Crime

If you live in any large city in America, the chances are that at some time in your life, you will be the victim of a crime. The statistics are alarming.

The 2014 Golden Globe Nominees

 

       It's that time of year again, the Golden Globe Awards are nearly upon us and can the Oscars be far behind? Okay, so let's not put the cart before the horse. Savor the moment. Alright, ready? Here are the nominees for 2014, in the category of Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave;" "Captain Phillip;" "Gravity;" "Philomena;" and "Rush."
          For Best Actor consideration: Chiwetel Ejiofor, for "12 Years a Slave;" Idris Elba, for "Mandela:Long Walk to Freedom;" Tom Hanks, for "Captain Phillips;" Matthew McConaughey, for "Dallas Buyer's Club;" and Robert Redford, for "All is Lost."
          For Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, for "Blue Jasmine;" Sandra Bullock, for "Gravity;" Judi Dench, for "Philomena;" Emma Thompson, for "Saving Mr. Banks;" and Kate Winslet, for "Labor Day."
And to round out the list, we have a great crew vying for Best director, including: Alfonso Cuaron, for "Gravity;" Paul Greengrass, for "Captain Phillips;" Steve McQueen, for "12 Years A Slave;" Alexander Payne,  for "Nebraska;" and David O. Russell, for "American Hustle."
          For a complete listing of the other categories and the nominees, follow this: link.

Nobel Laureates for 2013

 Dear Readers, we here at the Cosmic Heretic are not elitist snobs or academic misfits out of touch with the common man or the "real" world. But we tend to think that our populace has been dumbed-down, in respect to the obsession with celebrity and gossip-mongering. We should, at the very least, be as concerned and well-informed about those things that influence the quality of life on our planet for all of its inhabitants, i.e., plants, animals, and men. It is from this point of view that we offer this, our latest post, for your enjoyment and enlightenment.
          The oh-so prestigious Nobel Prizes were awarded December 10, 2013. There are six categories of excellence that are highlighted and each category carries a, cash prize of $1.2 million US dollars. In the field of physics, Francois Englert and Peter Higgs shared the honor for their discovery of the predicted subatomic particle (the Higgs-Boson particle) that accounts for how particles acquire mass; the prize for chemistry was awarded to, Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel, for demonstrating that complex chemical reactions can be modeled on computers; the prize for medicine was awarded to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman, and Thomas C. Sudhof for their research that advances our understanding of how lipid vesicles work (vesicles are tiny membrane-enclosed sacs that transport materials within our cells); the literature prize was awarded to Alice Munro, for her mastery of the contemporary short-story; the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in economic sciences was awarded to Eugene F. Lama, Lars Peter Hansen, and Robert J. Shiller, for their empirical analysis of asset prices; and, finally, the much coveted Nobel Peace Prize went to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.
          Hopefully, one day, achievers of this magnitude will be as widely celebrated as actors, athletes, and musicians.

       

Poets Weigh-in on Racism

Many artists believe that the artist has a responsibility to society, to advance the cause of understanding the racial dichotomy that exists in America. Recently, I read an exchange between two poets; one white, one black; one male, one female. The white male poet's name is Tony Hoagland. The black female's name is Claudia Rankine. They challenge, in one way or another, the assertion that we live in a post racial society. They also raise other issues, for instance, sexism. A host of other people, in and out of the arts community, join the debate and offer much food for thought. I think we would all do well, to examine this issue honestly and from all angles. What lessons do we have, yet, to learn from the subject of not just racism, but about "isms," as a whole? The poem that sparked the conversation and the controversy, Is Mr. Hoagland's poem, entitled, "The Change." Which is reminiscent of the saying that "you must be the change, that you hope to see."

Museum Mania

There are a wealth of cultural venues in Chicago. The museums here are legendary and world-class. Visitors to our fair city flock to these sites in droves. But the fact is that many of the residents of Chicago never go to them, or go only as part of class outings in elementary school. I would like to bring these great institutions to the attention of, not only those who are new to the city, but also to the many inhabitants of the city who are under-served, or ill-informed as to the great cultural wealth that exists here. The great diversity, of which I speak, extends from one side of the city to the other; on the south we have, The Museum of Science and Industry as well The Oriental Institute. Traveling north,  we encounter The Field Museum, on LSD (Lake Shore Drive), and moving downtown, there is the storied Art Institute. These are highlighted in our map, for your enlightenment and enjoyment.