Stella Castellucci

In the book "Diving Deep for Sea Shells," which was co-written with Edgar Amaya, Stella Castellucci tells the story of her remarkable life in music. 

Published for the first time a year ago through Balboa Press, the second edition –which includes a new cover photo by Phil Fewsmith,– has now come via LitFire.

Born in Los Angeles in 1930 to musician father Louis Castellucci, Stella would go on to continue and further his legacy. She joined Peggy Lee's touring jazz group in 1953. They would form a close friendship that would endure past Peggy's life. Stella witnessed and took part in a very creative time for Peggy Lee in the 1950s. They would closely collaborate on the 1958 Decca release Sea Shells. Stella would also appear on the following Peggy Lee albums:

• Songs in an Intimate Style (Decca, 1954)
• Black Coffee (Decca, 1956)
• Dream Street (Decca, 1957)
• The Man I Love (Capitol, 1957)
• Jump for Joy (Capitol, 1958)
• Pretty Eyes (Capitol, 1960)
• Christmas Carousel (Capitol, 1960)

Chelsea Wolfe

Chelsea Wolfe is an American singer-songwriter from Sacramento, California. Born November 14th, 1983, she started her career in 2006 and has just released her fifth album Abyss on August 7th, 2015.

Her unique style is a beautiful combination of folk, rock and electronic music bath in a gothic/doom atmosphere. Besides singing, Chelsea Wolfe also plays guitar and piano.

In 2006, after composing an album titled Mistake In Parting, she decided not to release it and took a break from writing music for several years. She started performing live in 2009. A year later, she published her first album: The Grime and the Glow.

Her second album, Apokalypsis (stylized as Ἀποκάλυψις), came out in 2011 and it gained her an underground following. She started touring extensively in North America and Europe, even though she initially suffered from extreme stage fright. In those days, she would cover her face with a veil.

These first two albums sound close to indie/alternative rock and feature prominent bass lines, dark tones, and gritty, electronically layered vocals. My favorite track, which happens to be in both albums –albeit in two different versions,– is "Demons."

In 2012, she released her third album Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs. This one features a more folk-oriented sound, as opposed to her earlier work. Her voice sounds cleaner as well. It contains the song that is probably my favorite by her: "Flatlands."

More Personal Curiosities

1. In 1991, I got my first video game console: a Sega Game Gear. Indeed, I was a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan!
2. At that time, there was a TV show that had me hooked: "El Rescate Del Talismán." It was an adaptation from the British TV show "Knightmare." 
3. Also, back then, my favorite cartoons were "Star Street: The Adventures of the Star Kids."
4. I can type 300-400 words per minute.
5. I wear glasses to correct near-sightedness and astigmatism. I do not like contact lenses at all.
6. I am allergic to house dust mite.
7. In 1993, I watched and fell in love with Agnieszka Holland's "The Secret Garden."
8. Not long after, I watched my first not-for-kids movie: "The Piano."
9. At age 11, I created my first mixtape. 
10. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall.

READ: Personal Curiosities

Read this post in Catalan.

Star of David

Known in Hebrew as a Magen David (Shield of David), the six-pointed Star of David is composed of two triangles superimposed on each other, forming the shape of a hexagram. It is the symbol most commonly associated with Judaism today, even though it is actually a relatively new Jewish symbol.

READ: Menorah

It is supposed to represent the shape of King David's shield (or perhaps the emblem on it), but there is really no support for that claim in any early rabbinic literature. Indeed, some historians trace it to Jewish communities in the Middle Ages, but these claims are neither fully substantiated nor widely accepted.

In the 17th century, it became a popular practice to put the Star of David on the outside of synagogues, in order to identify them as Jewish houses of worship. Around this time, the star also became part of synagogue architecture in Europe, in the Middle East and North Africa.

After the Dreyfus Affair in the 19th century, the star was adopted by the Zionist movement at its 1897 Congress; this gave the symbol more international prominence. In the 20th century, the star became even more evocative of Judaism when it was used by the Nazis to mark Jews for persecution. And after the Holocaust, the same star became part of the flag of the nascent State of Israel.

Ireland

Fifteen years ago, I was living in Ireland. There, I was attending summer school in Cork. The time I spent there, I lived in a village named Carrigaline. I also had the chance to visit several lovely places such as Cobh, Killarney, Youghal, Bunratty, Kinsale, and Blarney.

The Republic of Ireland is a state that occupies five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The remaining area is a part of the United Kingdom, whose name is Northern Ireland. The island is located in north-western Europe in the North Atlantic. It is separated from the island of Great Britain by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and Saint George's Channel.

The island has an area of 32,595 square miles (84,421 square kilometers) and is mostly made of low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain. It has lush vegetation due to its oceanic climate, which means there is rain all year round. Temperatures are usually cool and without any extremes.

It is believed that the island was first inhabited after 8000 BCE (Before the Common -or Christian- Era). Ireland's essence as a Celtic nation started between the years 600 and 150 BCE. Its population began being Christianized from the 5th century onward. Until the Norman invasion in the 12th century, the island had been a patchwork of local tribal kingdoms.

Following that Norman conquest, England claimed sovereignty over the island, even though it was not incorporated until the 16th century. The Irish famine of the mid-19th century saw the population of the island drop by one third through starvation and emigration.

Ireland declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1919. The Irish Free State was created in 1922 and was officially declared a republic in 1949. It joined the United Nations in 1955 and the European Union in 1973.

As of 2015, its population is 4,892,305 inhabitants. In addition, there are 1,850,393 people living in Northern Ireland.

Katie Jane Garside

Katie Jane Garside is a British singer-songwriter and artist. She was born July 8th, 1968 and lived on a yacht around the world with her family until she was 17. She started her career in 1989 when she joined indie/punk band Daisy Chainsaw. She quit the band in 1993, one year after releasing the album Eleventeen. The band would continue with a new vocalist and publish a new album until they split in 1995.

After some years out of the public eye, she re-emerged in 1999. She formed a new rock/metal band, QueenAdreena, with which she toured and released several albums until their disbandment in 2010:

• Taxidermy (2000)
• Drink Me (2002)
• The Butcher and the Butterfly (2005)
• Djin (2008)