“Legendary Tech Inventor Kamen Warns on "Cultural ... - CBS News” plus 3 more

Legendary Tech Inventor Kamen Warns on "Cultural ... - CBS News
Concert stretches boundaries of multi-cultural arts - Dayton Daily News
Krakow: Poland's Historic and Cultural Gem - Wichita Eagle
Love of poetry is ‘cultural thing’ - Daily Iberian

Legendary Tech Inventor Kamen Warns on "Cultural ... - CBS News

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 12:33 PM PDT

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Concert stretches boundaries of multi-cultural arts - Dayton Daily News

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 01:59 PM PDT

By Khalid Moss, Staff Writer Updated 5:06 PM Friday, April 30, 2010

The Dayton Interfaith Trialogue will present a diverse menu of music and spoken word at its third annual Interfaith Concert on Sunday, May 2.

"The purpose of the concert is to extend the purpose of the Interfaith Trialogue itself," said member Harold Fox. "The program will feature artists from the three Abrahamic faiths as well as Indian dancers and Hindu and Sikh instrumentalists."

Performers include Mujtaba Kahn reading the Qur'an in Arabic translated by his son Hamza; tenor Alan S. Halpern singing Jewish sacred songs; Madhumitha Ravikumar, Sushhimitha Ravikumar and Simer Jeet playing Hindu instrumental pieces; soprano Donna Reece singing Christian hymns; and others.

"The Trialogue committee launched an informal search to recruit artists for the concert," Fox said. "We talked to people in different fields to see who could do what. The concert is a way to keep the bridges of communication open among the three Abrahamic faiths in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks."

Also appearing on the program are the Dayton Sacred Harp Singers. They are practitioners of shape-note singing. Shape-note singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the South but eventually migrated to all regions of the United States. Sacred Harp member John Mayer said the group, formed in the year 2000, is a diverse lot.

"Our membership is wide open," he said. "We are everything from German Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Episcopalians and Southern Baptists."

"Although we sing religious music, anything that might divide us we leave at the door. We don't get hung up on isms and schisms and such. We just love to sing," he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2167 or kmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Krakow: Poland's Historic and Cultural Gem - Wichita Eagle

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 01:30 PM PDT

Krakow is the Boston of Poland — a charming and vital city buzzing with history, college students, and tourists. Though not the capital, Krakow is the cultural and intellectual center of the country — and easily Poland's best destination.

At the center of the Old Town is the Main Market Square, one of Europe's most gasp-worthy public spaces, and a great place to enjoy a drink. Knowing this is one of Europe's least expensive countries, I choose the fanciest cafe on the square and order without considering price. Sinking deep into my chair, I ponder the scene. The square is vast and grand, but still retains a folksy intimacy. It bustles with fragrant flower stalls, horse carriages carting tourists, and loitering teenagers. A folk band — swaggering in their colorful peasant costumes — gives me a private little concert. Feeling flush, I tip them royally. Perhaps too royally (a big tip gets you "The Star-Spangled Banner").

Back in the 13th century, vendors came to this square to sell their wares. The Cloth Hall is where cloth-sellers had their market stalls. Today it's a one-stop shopping arcade for souvenirs, including traditional embroidery, woodcarvings, and jewelry (especially amber). On the upper level of the Cloth Hall, the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art (which should reopen this year after a lengthy renovation) displays great paintings by native artists.

Facing the square, the imposing St. Mary's Church — with its distinctive twin towers — has long been an icon of the city. Each midday crowds gather inside for a medieval moment as a nun swings open the church's much-adored altarpiece. In the late 1400s, Veit Stoss carved this exquisite Gothic polyptych — an altarpiece with pivoting panels. One of the most impressive medieval woodcarvings in existence, it depicts the death of the Virgin with emotion rare in Gothic art.

The Main Market Square may be the heart of Krakow, but Wawel Hill is in the hearts of the Polish people. The most visited sight in Poland, this is considered sacred ground, a symbol of Polish royalty and independence. Though a castle has stood here since the 11th century, the highlight is Wawel Cathedral, which houses the tombs of the country's greatest rulers and historic figures. It's the Westminster Abbey of Poland.

These days, 75 percent of Poland's people are practicing Catholics. But back in the 1930s, a quarter of Krakow's population was Jewish. The Kazimierz neighborhood, named for the 14th-century king who welcomed the Jews when other nations were deporting them, was once a thriving Jewish community. While few Jews still live here, the spirit of their tradition survives. Perhaps the best way to enjoy that is at a klezmer dinner concert, with traditional cuisine accompanied by Jewish music from 19th-century Poland.

Like so many other Jewish communities in Europe, Kazimierz was decimated during the Holocaust. The fragile remains of the community, historic exhibits, and synagogues provide a meditative look at how the town was walled in and its residents eventually shipped off to concentration camps. In the old Jewish cemeteries, fragments of headstones — broken under Nazi tank treads — now make up moving mosaic walls and Holocaust monuments. Across the river from Kazimierz, the former Jewish ghetto is where Oskar Schindler saved the lives of many of his Jewish workers. His factory is now a museum (due to open this year) that tells the heroic owner's story.

For a look at untouristy Krakow, a walk or bike ride around Planty Park is a treat. Centuries ago, Krakovians built a wall to protect their city. By the 19th century, it was no longer necessary, so locals tore down most of it, filled in the moat, and planted trees. Today, this delightful and people-friendly green belt stretches two and a half miles around the perimeter of Krakow's Old Town.

For a grittier experience, travel 20 minutes outside the city to the remarkable Wieliczka Salt Mine, a vast, thousand-foot-deep complex with nine levels and over 100 miles of tunnels. For centuries, generations of Wieliczka miners spent their daylight hours underground, rarely seeing the sun. Some of these proud miners carved sculptures out of the salt. You'll see legendary figures from the days of King Kazimierz, the famous astronomer Copernicus, and even the region's favorite son, Pope John Paul II. The mine's enormous underground church, carved in the early 20th century, is still used for Mass. Everything, from the altar to the grand chandelier, is hewn from this underworld of salt.

Whether burrowing through Krakow's countryside or skimming the city's sights, this is a place that fascinates and inspires me. Of all of the Eastern European cities boasting to be "the next Prague," Krakow is for real.

Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. E-mail him at rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, Wash. 98020.