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People know Sir Anthony Hopkins best for his film performances, and for good reason. With two Oscars and multiple other awards, the 88-year-old Welsh actor has earned his accolades for his work on screen. But Hopkins’ first artistic love was not acting—it was music. And that first love received a moving moment of recognition in 2011, when the Johann Strauss Orchestra premiered a waltz Hopkins composed in 1964 at age 26. “I have been writing music and composing for many years, but I never did anything with it,” Hopkins told The Independent in late 2012. “I’d wanted to be a musician when I was younger, but I wasn’t a good student as a kid, so I just dabbled around and wrote this piece, ‘And the Waltz Goes On,’ in 1964.” Years later, Hopkins and his wife were watching a concert by Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu on TV. Hopkins mentioned that he’d love to have his waltz played in Vienna. “Some time later, I got a call from André and he said, ‘I got your waltz,'” said Hopkins. “I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘I’ve just performed it with my orchestra in rehearsal.’ I didn’t know it, but my wife had sent him the score.” Rieu was surprised to receive Hopkins’ composition. A violin lying atop sheet music. Photo credit: Canva “A lot of people send me their waltzes – every week, in fact,” Rieu told The Independent. “But when I got a call from my office early last year, I was surprised when they said Sir Anthony Hopkins was sending me one, as I didn’t know he had a musical side. But I figured a man like him wouldn’t send me a bad waltz. I can imagine it must have been a struggle for him thinking, ‘Shall I give it to the world?'” Hopkins and Rieu had never met, but Hopkins flew to Rieu’s studio in Maastricht, Netherlands, in April 2011 to hear the piece rehearsed live. “Everyone was so excited–and nervous,” said Rieu. “But he was so gentle and kind; he embraced everyone and gave them all autographs, too. After we played it to him live, he was like, ‘I love it, I love it, and I have tears in my eyes!'” Naturally, anyone would be moved to hear a composition they wrote nearly 50 years earlier performed by top-tier musicians. After all, just a few years before, Hopkins told Gramophone magazine, “Music was my first desire, my first wish.” A musician playing the cello. Photo credit: Canva Vienna has been home to many famous composers, including Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, and the Strauss family. So the fact that Rieu premiered Hopkins’ piece there made the moment especially meaningful. What a gift it must have been to hear his waltz performed live in one of the world’s most iconic venues by the largest private orchestra in the world, led by one of its most renowned conductors. “Playing his waltz for the first time in one of the most beautiful halls in Vienna was like a dream for both of us,” Rieu said. Rieu toured with the piece, which is how we have this full performance of Hopkins’ waltz from André Rieu – Under the Stars: Live in Maastricht 5: Hopkins has made a name for himself far more successfully as an actor than as a musician, but people loved his waltz nonetheless. Some commenters on the video also noted how sad it would have been if the composition had remained unplayed: “There’s drama, passion, love and anger, sadness and boldness, a perfect waltz. And imagine, if Lady Hopkins never convinced Sir Hopkins to release this, we wouldn’t have this amazing masterpiece. Utmost respect for the two of them.” “Never asked anyone to play it, and yet it’s absolutely hauntingly beautiful. How much magnificent art is out there that never sees the light of day?” “This guy didn’t produce this waltz earlier in his life because he was afraid that nobody would like it. And you hear how beautiful this waltz is. Imagine how many artists have been too afraid to share their work. Imagine the wonderful pieces of music we could have if we would just lighten up a bit.” It’s a good reminder for all of us to share the talents we have. The post Anthony Hopkins composed a waltz at age 26. It took nearly 50 years for him to hear it played. appeared first on Upworthy.

Humanity is delightfully diverse, yet we’re also wonderfully the same. For all our differences, many of our fundamental needs, desires, and impulses are universal. One of those impulses? Kissing our own knees, apparently. A six-second TikTok video shared by a young woman in the Philippines demonstrating the phenomenon went wildly viral, racking up more than 18 million views and 2.7 million likes. @rastagee_ #tiktokph #tiktokphilippines #foryou #fyp #foryoupage ♬ sonido original – Vibes by Ley Rasta G. simply sits on a chair with one foot up on the seat. She suddenly looks down, notices her knee, then gently kisses it. People all around the world said, “Wait, I’m not the only one who does this?” Who knew kissing your own knee was such a universal impulse? Comment after comment revealed that people do this but had no idea others did, too: “So I’m not a weirdo?” “I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE.” “TikTok slowly make me realize I’m not the only weird one. We ALL weird. ” “HAHAHAHA why you exposing us.” “I knew before you did it.” “I’m never alone in my weird experiences. ” “Not a single unique experience .” “More proof that nothing I do is unique and I’m not weird. Thank you. ” “So in conclusion we’re all the same just in different fonts.” “Kissing knees is universal.” “I’m cracking up omg we are all connected.” Indeed, others have publicly shared the impulse as well: @stevens_demons Why does kissing your knee feel so right #kneekissing #intrusivethoughts ♬ original sound – Gracemurrphy Why, though? What is it about having our knee in our face that makes us want to kiss it? People weighed in on that, too: “I have a theory: I think it’s because we don’t see him often so as soon as we see him, we kiss him to show our affection.” “I don’t see her often, might as well.” “‘Oh haven‘t seen you in a while. '” “Its like a long distance relationship.” “A lil kiss for encouragement, cause they don’t work very well but they’re doing their best ” “I mean they help you walk ,so a little thank you.” “I feel so maternal about my knees.” “It’s like kissing your baby’s head.” @itsabbywenzel why is it every time i sit like this i want to kiss my knee??? ♬ original sound – user Many people said they do the same thing with their shoulders: “I do this to my shoulders too ” “I’m like that with my bare shoulder hahah – feels comfortable.” “I do this . Like I love seeing my shoulder all shiny and smooth. Deserves a kiss fr.” @thandie.lelimo …If its out it deserves it #kisses #selflove ♬ sonido original – Vibes by Ley Theories about why we kiss our own knees (and shoulders) Of course, not everyone does this. But apparently, a whole lot of us do. And the reason why isn’t entirely clear. There are no studies on the subject, and there don’t appear to be masses of people asking their therapists about this habit. It’s just something we do, and people pointed to several potential reasons why: The roundness of our knee looks like a baby’s head. Shoulders do, too—kind of. Perhaps seeing it so close to our face evokes the same urge we get to kiss babies on the top of the head. It could simply be a biological urge being triggered. Baby heads are irresistibly kissable. Photo credit: Canva It’s a self-soothing behavior. When we were little, our moms, dads, or other caregivers may have kissed our boo-boos, and kids get a lot of boo-boos on their knees. So some of us may automatically associate gentle kisses on the knee with comfort. It’s a way to show our bodies love and gratitude. A lot of the sentiment in the comments is that we don’t really see our knees very often, which is true. So when one is close to our face, we may be reminded of what they do for us. Ask someone with knee problems how important our knees are. It’s a good reminder to give them a little thank-you for their hard work. We’re weird, but no weirder than anyone else. Maybe we’re all just quirky little humans who do random things for no good reason whatsoever. But at least now we know we’re not alone on that front. The post A woman in the Philippines filmed herself kissing her knee. The reaction was universal. appeared first on Upworthy.

All roads might lead to Rome, but what about avenues? Boulevards? Drives? Do all these words essentially mean the same thing? And while we’re on the subject, why do we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway? Why is English so complicated?! In a decidedly uncomplicated two-minute-long Instagram video, a man named Karim, who frequently posts “fun fact” content, explains, “I know we tend to use roads, streets, boulevard, avenue, all of these things kind of interchangeably, but there are some differences between these things.” Breaking it down Mercifully, he breaks down those differences so we don’t have to. View this post on Instagram A “road” is a broad, generic term for any pathway that connects two points, found in both rural and suburban areas. Roads are designed to move traffic between locations. Meanwhile, “streets” are found exclusively in towns or cities and feature buildings and/or sidewalks on both sides. They often accommodate both vehicle traffic and pedestrian activity. In other words, “roads” connect any two places, while “streets” are part of a city’s infrastructure. For example, you might take a road to travel between cities but drive down a street to find a shop. Moving on, Karim explained that “avenues” are wider than streets and are typically separated by a median. They often feature trees and landscaping on either side, in addition to buildings. According to Southern Living, avenues also run perpendicular to streets. “Boulevards” are even wider than avenues and also feature a median, along with more extensive landscaping and formal lighting. While both avenues and boulevards are designed for heavy traffic flow, boulevards often feel more park-like or grand in scale. A tree-lined road. Photo credit: Canva Unlike a street, which is grid-like and structured for city life, a “drive” is shaped by the natural topography—such as hills or lakes—and is more commonly found in scenic or residential areas. Speaking of residential areas… A “lane” is typically a narrow road that acts as a small residential street, generally lacking shoulders or a median. A “way,” on the other hand, is usually a small side street or a path that connects other streets within neighborhoods. Both “courts” and “places” refer to roads that lead to a dead end. However, a court typically ends in a round cul-de-sac, whereas a place is straight. A cul-de-sac. Photo credit: Canva Karim admitted that there were still other terms he could have covered—such as terraces, parkways, and groves—but he did a great job explaining the basics. And for anyone curious: “terraces” refer to streets situated on elevated ground or along the top of a slope, “parkways” involve multiple lanes and are designed for passenger vehicles and some heavy trucks, and “groves” appear to be courts surrounded by trees. Viewers react If you were surprised by just how unexpectedly engrossing all this was, you’re not alone. Here are some of the comments on his video: “I never knew!!!” “Showing this to my students! Interesting and educational! Keep them coming!” “Fascinating. I thought they just chose what sounded nice!” “I wonder how many folks in charge of naming roads these days follow these guidelines.” And that is certainly something worth noting. Part of our collective confusion almost certainly comes from the fact that many of these terms are used interchangeably—as many viewers have apparently experienced firsthand: “My residential street, officially, according to the postal service, is a Boulevard, but in reality is not. We don’t like to call it one. When there’s a parked car, you can barely pass if there’s an oncoming car. Definitely not what you described, which I what I think of when the word boulevard is supposed to used.” “In my town there’s a blvd that is actually only a cut-through road that at one point was [an unnamed] gravel road. Not much of a boulevard ” Okay, so maybe a little too much poetic license is taken (especially with “boulevard”), but at least we all know something we likely didn’t know before! The post Man clearly explains the difference between a road, street, avenue, and more in just 2 minutes appeared first on Upworthy.

"More surface and pop". The post “More surface and pop and bubble-gummy”: Michael Stipe on why Madonna was the opposite of REM first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

No empire lasts forever. Throughout history, powerful nations have risen to cultural, economic, and military prominence—only to fall from grace due to mismanagement, corruption, war, and poor decision-making. The following list explores 15 countries that once commanded the world’s attention but eventually declined, leaving behind valuable lessons in the complexities of leadership, governance, and the ... The post 15 Once-Great Nations That Ran Themselves Into The Ground appeared first on History Collection.

GOP Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom are set to face off against each other in the Mississippi Senate race in November.