Monday, March 26, 2012
Colouring
This week I've been thinking about colouring.
Colouring is an activity most children do from an early age when you take a drawing with the outline image in printed usually in black and colour in between the lines.
Colouring can be helpful in improving your hand to eye co-ordination as you learn to colour in tiny areas neatly.
It's also quite useful in encouraging you to exercise your own imagination, by choosing what areas to colour in whatever colour you prefer although for some subjects you may prefer to follow the examples such as drawings of Marvel Comic heroes and the like.
It came to me a few days back in part through an ongoing conversation and also while listening to a podcast, that I did very little colouring when I was younger and by the time I'd reached nine it was deemed to be 'childish' although I did draw in colour trees and houses around the age of thirteen cause that was called 'drawing' which was said to be 'okay' for me to do.
Colouring is in my opinion one of the easiest ways of getting into a younger headspace especially if you live away from any local littles community because you can do it pretty much anywhere making very little demands on apartment space.
You'll need a supply of coloured pencils such as by Staedtler, an eraser to remove mistakes, and colouring books that you'll find most newsstores stock so you can get out of your chair and go buy it in person as after all it is for you!.
I tend to keep mine by the computer as a stress relief tool when the interwebs go wonky but generally after changing to my littles clothes, I either lay on my front on the floor or across my footie duvet festooned bed with the book and pencil case out in front of me.
You could if you wished, sat at a desk to do this too as if you were in a play group or school setting.
I find it very relaxing just lying there colouring completely free from any grown up stuff that may be about affecting my head.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Reflections on Queen's Silver Jubilee, 1977
The Year 1977 was an important one for a host of reasons one being I’d become a teen albeit at teen who was younger in is years by at least three years developmentally, feeling more out of touch with my own class mates.
It also was the year of the Queens Silver Jubilee where lots of events were held and that also included a presentation at my School of a special Commemorative Mug which was made in our district famed for ceramics in the UK.
They looked as younger boys not at school did back then before the “Active Wear” take over of the 80’s and still wore sandals.
It was an unforgettable time
It also was the year of the Queens Silver Jubilee where lots of events were held and that also included a presentation at my School of a special Commemorative Mug which was made in our district famed for ceramics in the UK.
They looked as younger boys not at school did back then before the “Active Wear” take over of the 80’s and still wore sandals.
It was an unforgettable time
Labels:
1977,
boyhood,
queen elizabeth II,
queen's silver jubilee
Monday, March 12, 2012
Birthday edition Part 2 (Presents)
Today I am writing the continuation entry to last weeks where I explore some of things I had for my birthday.
I had a number of classical music cds this birthday which ties very well into the LB birthday theme as it always was big part of my boyhood so I'll take this entry to talk about them.
I had a number of classical music cds this birthday which ties very well into the LB birthday theme as it always was big part of my boyhood so I'll take this entry to talk about them.
It's a very long time ago actually it would of been in my late teens actually that I first heard anything by Bruckner as his music wasn't what I'd call programmed at school in the way that say Dvorak was.
I bought a few lps on the old Vox/Turnabout label that Decca distributed at the time but when in the late 80's I was moving after a period mixing tape with lps to cd exclusively this discs left my house.
I had been on the look out for an affordable set of his symphonies for some time and following some discussion on a forum, I thought I'd look this set up.
Although recorded in the early days of stereo Eugen Jochum's spirited performance spread on nine discs each holding one symphony unlike some others such as Wands 70's set holds up well and comes in space saving box with the discs in card sleeves.
"Bernstein conducts Bernstein" Somy/Bmg 7 cd set.
Back in 1991 Sony compiled a nine cd set of all of Leonard Bernstein's works that he recorded himself which would of set you back about GBP £90 or more new.
In 2011 as part of their Masters series of box sets by Sony Music, this set was rejigged to fit on 7 discs sans notes for a very low price.
Included in it were his recordings of Candide, symphonic Dances from "West Side Story", symphonic Suite from "On The Waterfront" movie score, fancy Free, a selection from on the town, Prelude, Fudge & Riffs and heaps more.
I had the old 1986 CBS Masterwork cd with a number of these recordings on and this sounds much improved with respect to frequency range and smoothness .
It's the kind of set you dip into at will.
Delius: Violin Sonatas 1 through 3
Tasmin Little & Piers Lane
Sony 'Essential Masterworks"
This was a disc I had been interested in that originally came out at full price in 1997 having had a soft spot for English music from the early part of the twentieth century.
Vaughan Williams is an English composer I've been aware of having heard performances but hadn't collected recordings by and I got a set of his Symphonies a few months back.
Being rather impressed by them I decided to get used two discs of his orchestral works to complement it.
The Wasps is a highly effective soundscape of that insect! It really buzzes in the overture!!!
The Lark Ascending
Five Variants of Dives & Lazarus
The Wasps-Aristophanic suite
London Philharmonic Orchestra cond Vernon Handley
CD EMX 9508 Issued in 1985 and one of the very first in Emi Eminence series to be issued on cd in 1987
Partita for Double String orchestra
Concerto for Oboe and Strings
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
Fantasia on Greensleeves
Royal Liverpool Phiharmonic Orchestra cond Vernon Handley with Jonathan Small on Oboe
CD EMX 2197
1991 recording on Emi Eminence
Sibelius was a very famous Finnish composer who sadly also had a drinks problem whose works I first encountered in the late 1980's buying on impulse a 4 cd set of his symphonies after playing to death a cd of his Tone poems such as Finlandia.
I decided to get the 1993 world premier recording of the entire music from the score set to Shakespeare's play
The Tempest
Lahti Symphony Orchestra cond Osmo Vanska
Bis CD581
Some of us had our minds blown on American music by people like Copland, Bernstein, Gershwin, Ives, Piston and another called Hanson being programmed at school.
I got this one used from a vendor in the same town I work in:
Hanson conducts Hanson
Symphonies 1 & 3; Song of Domocracy
Hanson Eastman-Rochester orchestra
Mercury 432 008-2
plus
Symphony no3, Elegy & Lament for Beuwulf
Mercury 434 302-2
Finally I got two Stravinsky cds:
Symphony no1, Symphony in C
Ode
Symphony in Three Movements
Symphonies of Wind Instruments *
The Fairy's Kiss (ballet) **
Scottish National Orchestra cond Sir Alexander Gibson * SNO with Neeme Jarvi
** Nash Ensemble cond Sir Simon Rattle
Chandros CHAN 241-8
Note: 2 cd twofer re-issue of previous full price discs with stunning recording and playing.
Stravinsky:
Concerto in E Flat "Dumbarton Oakes"
Concerto in D from String
Danses concertantes
Cantata on Old English texts
English chamber Orchestra cond Sir Colin Davis
London Enterprise 425 622-2
These will complement nicely my collection of his ballet scores covering his later more neo classical compositions.
Back in 1991 Sony compiled a nine cd set of all of Leonard Bernstein's works that he recorded himself which would of set you back about GBP £90 or more new.
In 2011 as part of their Masters series of box sets by Sony Music, this set was rejigged to fit on 7 discs sans notes for a very low price.
Included in it were his recordings of Candide, symphonic Dances from "West Side Story", symphonic Suite from "On The Waterfront" movie score, fancy Free, a selection from on the town, Prelude, Fudge & Riffs and heaps more.
I had the old 1986 CBS Masterwork cd with a number of these recordings on and this sounds much improved with respect to frequency range and smoothness .
It's the kind of set you dip into at will.
Delius: Violin Sonatas 1 through 3
Tasmin Little & Piers Lane
Sony 'Essential Masterworks"
This was a disc I had been interested in that originally came out at full price in 1997 having had a soft spot for English music from the early part of the twentieth century.
Vaughan Williams is an English composer I've been aware of having heard performances but hadn't collected recordings by and I got a set of his Symphonies a few months back.
Being rather impressed by them I decided to get used two discs of his orchestral works to complement it.
The Wasps is a highly effective soundscape of that insect! It really buzzes in the overture!!!
The Lark Ascending
Five Variants of Dives & Lazarus
The Wasps-Aristophanic suite
London Philharmonic Orchestra cond Vernon Handley
CD EMX 9508 Issued in 1985 and one of the very first in Emi Eminence series to be issued on cd in 1987
Partita for Double String orchestra
Concerto for Oboe and Strings
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
Fantasia on Greensleeves
Royal Liverpool Phiharmonic Orchestra cond Vernon Handley with Jonathan Small on Oboe
CD EMX 2197
1991 recording on Emi Eminence
Sibelius was a very famous Finnish composer who sadly also had a drinks problem whose works I first encountered in the late 1980's buying on impulse a 4 cd set of his symphonies after playing to death a cd of his Tone poems such as Finlandia.
I decided to get the 1993 world premier recording of the entire music from the score set to Shakespeare's play
The Tempest
Lahti Symphony Orchestra cond Osmo Vanska
Bis CD581
Some of us had our minds blown on American music by people like Copland, Bernstein, Gershwin, Ives, Piston and another called Hanson being programmed at school.
I got this one used from a vendor in the same town I work in:
Hanson conducts Hanson
Symphonies 1 & 3; Song of Domocracy
Hanson Eastman-Rochester orchestra
Mercury 432 008-2
plus
Symphony no3, Elegy & Lament for Beuwulf
Mercury 434 302-2
Finally I got two Stravinsky cds:
Symphony no1, Symphony in C
Ode
Symphony in Three Movements
Symphonies of Wind Instruments *
The Fairy's Kiss (ballet) **
Scottish National Orchestra cond Sir Alexander Gibson * SNO with Neeme Jarvi
** Nash Ensemble cond Sir Simon Rattle
Chandros CHAN 241-8
Note: 2 cd twofer re-issue of previous full price discs with stunning recording and playing.
Stravinsky:
Concerto in E Flat "Dumbarton Oakes"
Concerto in D from String
Danses concertantes
Cantata on Old English texts
English chamber Orchestra cond Sir Colin Davis
London Enterprise 425 622-2
These will complement nicely my collection of his ballet scores covering his later more neo classical compositions.
Labels:
bernstein,
bruckner,
classical music,
music,
sibelius,
stravinsky,
vaughan williams
Monday, March 5, 2012
Birthday edition
We're approaching my birthday although in truth I never really get any older being still a little boy.
There's nowt better than kicking a ball about with me mates and that feeling's as true now as it ever was.
I had a new fluffy goose filled pillow and a footie duvet and pillow cover to further transform my sleeping experience because I find it so much more relaxing in a little boy headspace surround by plushies, teddy bears and football posters whenever I sleep or need to rest during the day in school uniform being poorly.
There's nowt better than kicking a ball about with me mates and that feeling's as true now as it ever was.
I had a new fluffy goose filled pillow and a footie duvet and pillow cover to further transform my sleeping experience because I find it so much more relaxing in a little boy headspace surround by plushies, teddy bears and football posters whenever I sleep or need to rest during the day in school uniform being poorly.
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