Johann Sebastian Bach, who was inspired to be a composer, was taught to play violin by his father. When Bach was only ten years old, his parents died and he was left an orphan, but his older brother Christoph took him in. Christoph told Johann not to trespass into his music library, but Johann disobeyed and not only read Christoph’s music, but copied it as well in the middle of the night.  Later on, when he was eighteen years old, he was given a job to play music. Since the music he played was too complicated, he was considered a troublemaker.  Bach was a Christian and played at a church. Bach was married and his first wife died. Because she died, he married again and had more children. In total he had twenty children, but only ten survived to adulthood.any became musicians and composers. When Johann Sebastian Bach died, his music became famous.  Musicologists and mathematicians use computers to understand his work.  Bach, who was one of the world’s greatest geniuses, frequently played amazing music that is still listened to today. Bach was a wonderful composer.   

      One minute Digory and his strange group had jumped into a pool from The Wood Between The Worlds; the next they were in a dark world surrounded by nothing, but still standing on solid ground. Even though everyone was within inches of each other, the darkness did not permit them to see their neighbors’ faces. Suddenly, a low voice, singing a sweet melody, rose just above a whisper, then a little louder, then even louder until the voice seemed to roar.

      “Who is singing?” asked Digory. No one had time to answer, though, for at that moment a multitude of other voices joined the First Voice in song. Then, out of nowhere a small star appeared above. Then another, until millions of bright shining dots filled the sky. Digory then knew that the stars were the ones singing with the First Voice, and that the First Voice was the stars’ adept creator.         

Illustration by Anthony Andress

      The Second Continental Congress wrote and adopted the Declaration of Independence. They discussed and debated what to do. Finally, they agreed on five men—Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston—to write the paper. They elected Thomas Jefferson, the most adept writer of the five, to pen the first draft. He speedily completed the almost perfect draft in just seventeen days. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the final Declaration of Independence. It stated that a government should give its people certain rights and protect those rights, or the people can get rid of the leader, which is still how our government runs today. It also called King George a tyrant, and confronted his animosity. Everyone in the Congress then signed it, including John Hancock. He wrote his signature in a large, flourishing style, because he wanted King George to be able to read it without his spectacles. All the members who signed knew they could be arrested and hanged for treason, but they stood up for what they believed in, persevering all the way. Copies of the Declaration were sent all over the colonies. This profession of freedom was the main catalyst for the Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress is responsible for the Declaration of Independence having been written. The Declaration of Independence is an amazing inspiration of freedom and people's rights.

Reprinted from the 2016 Magnum Opus Magazine

      Apparently, not all dogs are equally fit, according to the studies of the companies Whistle and Tagg. Whistle makes a useful device that monitors the activities of dogs. The device counts the minutes of activity, such as running, playing, and walking. Tagg uses a device that has an accelerometer and a GPS tracking device. Whistle’s study has shown the strongest dogs are in Portland, Oregon, followed by New York, Boston, Sacramento, and San Francisco. The least active dogs were found in Houston, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. Surprisingly, according to Whistle the fattest cats and dogs are in D.C.; however, since their device cannot measure weight, this presumption might not be true. These cities with less active dogs are also where  it is warmer, so perhaps it might be different in cooler seasons. Interestingly, the city with more active people has the least fit animals;i.e., D.C. is the city with the healthiest humans, but is one of the cities in the least active dogs category).  During Tagg’s study they studied 17,500 dogs, which consisted of 150 dogs per breed, to see which breed was the fattest and fittest. Tagg found that the Brittany was the fittest, and the Shih Tzu was the laziest. According to Whistle and Tagg, not all dogs are as fit as others.

Reprinted from the 2015 Magnum Opus Magazine