drawing by marguerita Signum Temporis
Gaffe-prone Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has done it again - leaving the Queen distinctly unamused at the official G20 photocall.And he nearly took US President Barack Obama down with him.TV footage shows the traditionally family photo with Her Majesty and the world's leaders at Buckingham Palace including Mr Berlusconi and Mr Obama.
At the end of the event the Italian prime minister can be heard shouting: 'Mr Obama!'
Mr Obama can be heard replying: 'Mr Berlusconi!' - in a softer voice.
But the damage has already been done.
The Queen, on hearing Mr Berlusconi's strident tones, turned - seemingly to Mr Obama - and exclaimed about Mr Berlusconi:
'What is it? Why does he have to shout!'
She is not renowned for public displays of affection. Which made the Queen's decision to put a friendly arm around Michelle Obama's waist at a Buckingham Palace G20 reception - prompting the U.S. President's wife to return the gesture - so utterly astonishing.
Finding herself next to Mrs Obama, the Queen remarked on their height difference. As she did so, her hand edged towards the small of Mrs Obama's back. Mrs Obama responded - and even rubbed the Queen's shoulder - before both women moved gently apart after about ten seconds.
The sight of the Queen publicly hugging another woman astonished other guests. An onlooker said: 'It was a pretty simultaneous gesture. We couldn't believe what we were seeing.'
Within minutes the footage was posted on Italy's YouTube site as well as that of national newspapers including La Repubblica and
E la regina rimprovera Silvio «Perché deve urlare così?» - Corriere della SeraIt now appears, however, that it may have been the Queen who made the initial move. In any case, it was the first time that anyone can remember in her long public life that she has put her arm around another woman.
'Why does he have to shout?': Berlusconi annoys the Queen at G20 photoshoot - and nearly takes Obama down with him | Mail Online
Note:The origin of the term "G-string" is obscure.
Since the 19th century the term geestring referred to the string which held the loincloth of American Indians [1]and later referred to the narrow loincloth itself. William Safire in his Ode on a G-String quoted the usage of the word "G-string" for loincloth by Harper's Magazine 15 years after Beadle's and suggested that the magazine confused the word with the musical term G-string (i.e., the string for the G note). Safire also mentions the opinion of linguist Robert Hendrickson that G (or gee) stands for groin, which was a taboo word at these times. [2]
n music, the term note has two primary meanings: 1) a sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound; and 2) a pitched sound itself. Notes are the "atoms" of much Western music: discretizations of musical phenomena that facilitate performance, comprehension, and analysis (Nattiez 1990, p.81n9).
The term "note" can be used in both generic and specific senses: one might say either "the piece Happy Birthday to You begins with two notes having the same pitch," or "the piece begins with two repetitions of the same note." In the former case, one uses "note" to refer to a specific musical event; in the latter, one uses the term to refer to a class of events sharing the same pitch.
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