Sanity Sunday: Four by Glass Duo

by Nomad

For this Sunday's sanity break, I have chosen the husband-wife pair from Poland, Arkadiusz and Anna Szafraniec. This pair of unique musicians go by the name GlassDuo. They create hypnotically beautiful music using only their fingers and an elaborate arrangement of sparkling wine glasses.
Their bio states:

Some time ago, being charmed with the sound of musical glasses, they abandoned their places in the symphony orchestra in Gdansk and started to realize their own idea of performing.
Today they play the glass harp in duo and with other musicians as well. They've successfully performed with string quartets and various chamber ensembles.
GlassDuo have worked together with the majority of Polish orchestras including The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Sinfonia Varsovia as well as with orchestras from outside Poland.

Their latest album, Glassified, is available on Itunes.

Uber and the Strange Case of the Russian Passenger

 by Nomad

Most of us, whether we have used the smartphone app or not, have heard of Uber.  However, there's a dark side of Uber that you might not know about.

Uber and the New Business Model

Launched in 2012, Uber provides an alternative to the traditional Yellow taxi and was hailed as the beginning of a more free-form type of business model.
In case you don't know, Uber is a kind of unique car-for-hire service with smartphone tech as its dispatch and fee manager. Drivers do not possess special licenses and use their personal vehicles at a discounted rate. Riders do not even need to pay in cash or tip the Uber driver.

Despite having its share of some serious birthing pangs, Uber has become a major success. Today Uber is in 377 major cities around the world. World travelers can expect to find Uber rides in more major cities.

The techie podcast, Reply All, recently investigated a baffling hitch related to Uber.  One of its customers was notified that he was being billed for Uber trips he had never made. More than once, Alex Blumberg's bank account was slapped with illegitimate service charges.
Somewhere, somehow, a Russian in Moscow was proving that there really is such a thing as a "free ride." Literally.

The Wealthy Russians Who Call the United Kingdom Home

by Nomad

In a time when war-torn refugees coming to Europe and the UK are looked upon with skepticism, fear, and dread, there's been very little discussion of the economic migration of the wealthy class from Russia.

The Good Life and the Illusion of Safety

It's not what you'd call new news. In 2012, CNBC reported

Wealthy Russians are moving to London is such large numbers that local commentators have coined the term “Londongrad.” Roman Abramovich, the Russian multi-billionaire who owns the Chelsea Football Club is the highest-profile rich Russian in Britain, but he is only one of ten Russian billionaires living there, while an estimated 1,000 Russian millionaires now call London home.

The reasons for this exodus, according to attorneys and real-estate agents in London who deal with the Russian rich, is the attraction of the stability and the refined culture of London life.

But something else: the relative safety of not being poached by the mob or arrested by the police. As Reuters reported that same year.

Leaked secret diplomatic cables from the U.S. embassy in Moscow once described Russia as a "virtual mafia state", and London has long been the chosen destination for Russians seeking refuge from trouble at home.

Sanity Sunday- Four by Tom Rosenthal

by Nomad

Thirty-year-old British singer and composer Tom Rosenthal's self-description is plain and simple.

I live in London, have 2 young daughters, and I write songs. I've released 3 albums to date, and the 4th is coming in Spring 2017. Aside from the main albums, I've released a trilogy of EP's and one underrated Christmas single.

The first three videos I have chosen, for your listening pleasure,  provide us with a little poetry, haunting music backed by expansive, lush landscapes.

The Story of the Secret Violinist of Mosul

by Nomad

In the song, "American Pie" we hear the phrase "the day the music died" but few could ever imagine a time or place when making music would become a capital crime.
Journalist Josie Ensor, writing for The Telegraph, recently introduced us to a young man named Ameen, the secret violinist of Mosul.

A Reign of Terror

On 10 June 2014,  jihadists of ISIS marched into the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. For this fighters, the city was conquered lands and its inhabitants were a subjugated population. And as crusaders of their strict interpretation of Islam, one of their first tasks was to implement Sharia law upon the residents of the city. Among many other prohibitions, there were bans on all things Western. This included a ban on Western sins like cigarettes and alcohol. There were also strict rules on dancing and music.
The punishment for violators? Death.

For 26-year-old Ameen Mokdad, it really was "the day the music died." Music was more than a pastime for Mokdad. Since childhood, it had always been a means of self-expression.
Now all that had changed.