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Sergey Rachmaninov Rachmaninoff was born in 1873 in Semyonovo, near Novgorod, in north-western Russia. His parents were both amateur pianists. He began studying piano at an early age and in 1885 entered the Moscow Conservatory. There his piano teachers included the stringent disciplinarian Nikolay Zverov and Rachmaninoff's cousin Aleksandr Siloti, who gave him the heritage of his own teacher, Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt. There also, Rachmaninoff studied with three eminent Russian composers: Anton Arensky, Sergey Taneyev, and his most important musical mentor, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor (1892), for piano and orchestra, and his...

Freeper Brytani joins Honest Conservative on Freedom Radio tonight at 8 pm est to discuss the Freeper Tea Party in DC in September. Join in on the discussion at 646 478 5613 and bring your ideas. Bring your friends as well. Oh, how we freepers love to chat, but now its time to show up folks. Now its time to put out. Put your body where your mouth is. Call in at 646 478 5613 and support Brytani's devastatingly hard work and support Freedom while you do it.

I've never done an AAR so forgive me if it isn't quite up to snuff. I attended the Washington DC Tea Party with about 2000 of my closest friends. Things got rolling around 9:30am with some music by some band I never heard of - "Pokerface". Sorry I'm not so much up on pop culture. The location was the Upper Senate park. We were right in the shadow of the capitol building. Awesome location. Anyway, there were lots of speakers. One of the first was one of the organizers, Lisa. Single mom, small business owner. Great perspective on how government...

In the days after Michael Jackson’s death, many music industry analysts speculated that AEG Live, the promoter of Mr. Jackson’s planned concert engagement in London, stood to lose a fortune: It had invested $25 million to $30 million in the shows and would be responsible for up to $85 million in ticket refunds, and the company said that some of its insurance coverage would depend on the cause of Mr. Jackson’s death. But Randy Phillips, the chief executive of AEG Live, said that because of its rights to film and audio of the concert rehearsals — and its expectation that...

form intended to be disrespectful to Michael Jackson or his family. His death is tragic and sad, much like the life he led. He has had a tremendous and lasting impact on the music industry, but, as usual, the media has embarrassed themselves with the amount of coverage they have given this story. The frenzy will only escalate once the actual funeral services are held at The Staples Center on Tuesday. According to the Associated Press: “More than 1.6 million fans registered for tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service over the two-day registration period that ended Saturday.

2009 marks the end of an era in which the United States of America led the world in prosperity, power, individual liberty and freedom. The US Constitution no longer stands as the cornerstone of freedom. The average American is no longer well suited for self-governance. The federal government no longer serves at the pleasure of the people and the states and the future of the greatest nation ever known to mankind, is beyond bleak.

Today, ordinary Texans brought Governor Rick Perry’s road privatization, toll road, and Trans Texas Corridor agenda to a screeching halt. The Legislature adjourned without re-authorizing private toll road contracts called Comprehensive Development Agreements (or CDAs). The grassroots scored another victory by KILLING the revolving fund in HB 1, preventing the $2 billion in bonds from being spent to build toll roads, convert freeways to toll roads, or subsidize private toll deals, as well as protecting public employee pension funds from risky toll roads schemes that are failing all over the world. “It is a hard-fought victory for the grassroots. We...

Yesterday, on July 4th, we celebrated our 233rd Independence Day as a nation. This is the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, but the process of separation from British began years earlier with the Boston Massacre in 1770, where five colonists died. The unease continued in 1773, when the colonists organized the Boston Tea Party to protest a tea tax. The Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 officially began the American Revolution. On June 7, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted for a resolution stating “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free...

> Now that he's home in Fort Worth he said his boxers will be displayed in the 1st Infantry Division museum at Fort Riley, Kansas. >

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the Obama administration would not stand in Israel's way should the latter chooses to take military action to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat. Israel has the right to determine its own course of action with regard to the Iranian nuclear threat regardless of what the Obama administration chooses to do, Biden told ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos. When asked whether the Obama administration would restrain Israeli military action against Iran, Biden responded: "Israel can determine for itself - it's a sovereign nation - what's in their interest and what they decide to do...

The jokes of David Letterman and the article in Vanity Fair perhaps were the straw that broke the camels back but it is the total lack of fairness the media showed that is a scathing indictment against them. If the country had a media czar it would seem appropriate that at this point he or she would be offering a public apology to Palin and that very humbly. Perhaps the czar could hang his head in shame as the proxy for the entire band of media thugs who reveled in the indignities. We have a media that thinks the story...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 4 -- Although the U.S. government knew for months that Honduras was on the brink of political chaos, officials say they underestimated how fearful the Honduran elite and the military were of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and his ally President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Rumors were buzzing in the capital that the fight between Zelaya and his conservative opponents had reached the boiling point, but diplomatic officials said the Obama administration and its embassy were surprised when Honduran soldiers burst into the presidential palace last Sunday and removed Zelaya from power... The overthrow, and the new Honduran...

LAWRENCEVILLE - Betty Macaluso doesn't need an alarm clock; she has cats. The Lawrenceville woman is awakened each morning by Tom 2, a wide-eyed orange and white cat, who gently paws at her arm about 6 a.m. wanting his breakfast. If Tom 2 happens to sleep through his job or gets distracted, Tiger, a heavier gray and black tabby, steps in. Since Macaluso can't hear the ringing of an alarm clock - she has been deaf all her life - her cats serve as her ears. She adopted Tom 2 and Tiger, both now about a year old, from PetSmart...

A slew of research shows that America is losing the conservative Christian youth in massive droves. These studies show a generation being increasingly won over to a socialistic/secular-humanistic worldview in spite of the American church increasing their apologetic courses, children's programs, youth rallies and books and sermon series on child training. What is happening? Could it be that we are doing something wrong? I would make the case that we are blatantly sinning in sending our kids to places that are, in fact, causing them to fall away. Let me lay out the case in three simple points. ( SNIP)...

With Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed budget stalemated in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, 600 unhappy taxpayers rallied in Chambersburg’s center square Saturday to declare their independence from looming tax increases. Likening their protest to that of a group of Boston patriots in 1776, Franklin County, Pa., joined in the nationwide TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party movement against taxation and government spending.

When I asked our resident Patriotic Singer Songwritter Lisa Mei Norton to write a song about the "despicable eight" Republican Congressmen who voted with the Democrats to pass Cap and Trade……I never actually thought she would do it….but she did - CAP AND TRADE BLUES PLAY OR DOWNLOAD -

Thirty thousand scientists and NASA say Global warming is a farce! So, why are we not drilling for our own oil here in the USA? Why are we shutting down the coal mining, putting people out of jobs? Who wants to drive one of those little cars around all the BIG trucks on the roads? Not me. It won’t happen...been there, done that, and lived to tell about it. Americans are being scammed!

The interim government in Honduras says it will block any attempt by ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return. Mr Zelaya, who was removed by troops a week ago, has promised to fly home to the Central American nation later on Sunday. But Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez said that any plane carrying Mr Zelaya would not be allowed to land. The stand-off comes a day after the top regional body, the OAS, suspended Honduras over the crisis. Supporters of the ousted leader were said to be gathering in the capital, Tegucigalpa, in order to meet him at the airport. The BBC's...

Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world. This report is concerned with only one of the many causes and dimensions of the problem, but it is the one that undergirds American prosperity, security, and civility. We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide...

Post publisher apologizes for paid dinner plan Washington Post publisher apologizes for plan to hold paid dinners with officials, journalists On Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:59 am EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists. A flier surfaced last week promoting a plan to charge $25,000 to sponsor one of a series of dinner parties that would include off-the-record conversations with Post journalists and access to Washington insiders. The series was canceled Thursday.