Monday was fairly uneventful. The long evening of in-person and Zoom lessons made up for it. The weather, cold and grey, had some beautiful moments at sunrise and sunset with a few brilliant moments in between.

Tonight, I shall be at The Schuster Center for the Straight, No Chaser concert. They are so entertaining from start to finish and never fail to impress. I have followed them for many years and my London-based son has become one of their fans, too. I am looking forward to this concert.

On this date in history: (2012) Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in a series of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, had its world premiere in New Zealand. (1989) Queen Latifah released her debut album, All Hail the Queen, and its success helped redefine the traditionally male genre of rap. (1962) American comedian and actor Jon Stewart, who hosted (1999–2015) the satiric television news program The Daily Show, was born. (1961) Gridiron football player Ernie Davis of Syracuse University became the first African American to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy. (1943) The Tehrān Conference, attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, at which Stalin pressed for an invasion of France, opened this day in 1943. (1919) Lady Astor became the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons. (1820) German philosopher Friedrich Engels, coauthor with Karl Marx of The Communist Manifesto (1848), was born. (1757) English engraver, artist, poet, and visionary William Blake, whose notable works included the poetry collections Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794), was born. (1720) Female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny went on trial and were subsequently convicted and sentenced to death; their executions were postponed because both were pregnant, and Bonny was eventually freed, though Read died in prison. (1562) famed English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway.

Make it a great day!