"Beauty will save the world."

from mind your maker, quoting Vladimir Soloviev's The Heart of Reality:

“Dostoevsky not only preached, but, to a certain degree also demonstrated in his own activity this reunification of concerns common to humanity–at least of the highest among these concerns–in one Christian idea. Being a religious person, he was at the same time a free thinker and a powerful artist. These three aspects , these three higher concerns were not differentiated in him and did not exclude one another, but entered indivisibly into all his activity. In his convictions he never separated truth from good and beauty; in his artistic creativity he never placed beauty apart from the good and the true. And he was right, because these three live only in their unity. The good, taken separately from truth and beauty, is only an indistinct feeling, a powerless upwelling; truth taken abstractly is an empty word; and beauty without truth and the good is an idol. ..."

via House of Eratosthenese:

The Scale of the Universe

Miracle

via Mr Vanderleun

Spring will come...

Ashikaga flower park, Japan

Misty

Julie London:

Johnny Mathis:

Ella Fitzgerald:

Brahms, Piano concerto No. 2

Ballerina

The videos of the French-born Adeline Pastor need no commentary.

As a young ballerina at age 10:

At age 13:

And now as an adult, in Essen, Germany:

Intelligent Design

I link quite a lot to Mr Vanderleun's American Digest, and with good reason.

He is an accomplished writer of prose and poetry, and has wide-ranging interests.


This a a "must-read" post about Intelligent Design.
Beautiful.

Via KaCHING, Mr Vanderleun's collection:

Few butterflies have a wingspan this big. The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth’s night sky are often named for flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though — shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. This dramatically detailed close-up of the dying star’s nebula was recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope soon after it was upgraded in 2009. Cutting across a bright cavity of ionized gas, the dust torus surrounding the central star is near the center of this view, almost edge-on to the line-of-sight. Molecular hydrogen has been detected in the hot star’s dusty cosmic shroud. NGC 6302 lies about 4,000 light-years away in the arachnologically correct constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius).

That's what it looked like 4,000 years ago. I wonder what it looks like today.

Stunning

from iOwnTheWorld

Illumination

...of the calligraphic kind.

This is astounding. Donald Jackson and team completes a 12 year project of a seven volume illuminated Bible.

Go here to page through some selected books. Some of the artwork is very iconographic in nature.

These are just some of the reproductions available.

Jonas Kaufmann, part 2

No commentary needed.

Ralph Vaughn Williams

The original tune:

The master's exquisite "Fantasy."

Something Wonderful

Via American Digest, Mr Vanderleun says:
When it comes to song and Pavarotti, everyone else in the world can just sit down.

YES.

My Pavarotti post here.

Just for the wonder of it all

Another photo of the Milky Way...

...and a short article about mapping it.

Don't miss American Digest's post about it, too: Amazing Grace. Go, now. You won't regret it.

Safe holiday weekend to all.

Orion's Sword

This is a shot from the Hubble; it is so beautiful, it takes my breath away.

Read more about it here (also more photos)

Artists: Fitz Hugh Lane

When I lived in the Boston area, I loved going to the MFA and stand in front of the Lane pieces. The way he made light on the canvases took my breath away. These reproductions do not do the work justice.

Boston Harbor

Owl's Head, Penobscot Bay

Lane was born in Gloucester. I used to go to the shore at Gloucester on Sunday afternoons, and sit on the stone wall, watching the boats, the people, the water, the gulls. It was very pleasant and restorative.

Tucker and Merrill

Two of the best singers ever to come out of the USA.

Jonas Kaufmann

Now for something a little more enjoyable.

Jonas Kaufman, tenor. Amazing, gorgeous color to the voice. Wonderful technique. Doesn't hurt that he's good looking, too. And, no, I do not think he's a baritone, or singing with a manufactured dark tone. This is the real deal, and he's wonderful.

Walkuere: Winterstuerme

Martha:  Ach, so fromm

The next is from the FIFA World Player Gala December 2006, with a bit of sports commentator speaking over the beginning. Annoying, but worth getting through to the good stuff.

Die Zauberfloete: Dies Bildnis

And it's a GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!

Der Rosenkavalier: Italian tenor

Love how he teases/honors Pavarotti at the end with the big "handkerchief". He resembles Hugh Jackman here, don't you agree, ladies?

Song to the Moon

Just lovely...