Exciting news – Mnase village medical dispensary now has Solar panels. This will make a huge difference to care being given at night. Up to now they have used lamps that caused black smoke to fill the building, causing problems for patients, nurses and doctors.
At the beginning of August we had a wonderful trip to the Czech Republic – so check out the group Čechomor who have become famous by blending rock with Moravian traditional music.
Whilst recording a sound sculpture in Amarillo, Texas (using the new Zoom H6) – a very quiet and delicate sound, a computer opened up with it’s own unique melody, something we hadn’t expected!
Singers and Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Every day, they face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they'll never work again. Every day, they have to ignore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life - the car, the family, the house, the nest egg. Why? Because musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives to a moment - to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience's soul. Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life's nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another's heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes.
I always enjoy my annual bash at the Amarillo Polk Street Block Party. Downtown Amarillo becomes a feast of food, colour and sound as 4 stages of music help entertain the crowds. This was my 4th year to facilitate their drum circle. We always have a blast and this year it was as popular as ever – people queuing up to get a chance to play. Read More
Great day hanging out with Jonathan Walker – his first time busking in Chichester. He heads up an online community to encourage street musicians. He writes “ASAP exists to celebrate public spaces as places of community, interaction and enjoyment. Whether you are a street artist and performer yourself, or you share our vision of public spaces being places of animation and community, we welcome your involvement. You can join here.”
At an open mic night we heard some wonderful Czech folk songs – the 3 singers are –
- Romana Kročilová
- Elenora Fikesová
- Monika Součková
For translation Read More
Found this quote in one of my old National Geographic’s – “Look, I was born in Austro-Hungary,” said a man in his 80’s. “I grew up in Czechoslovakia, suffered from Germans, spent 40 years in a colony of Russia – without leaving Prague! Now we’re Czechs again, like we’ve been for a thousand years. What’s so bad about that?” (Sept 1993 Nat Geog). Just about sums up their history – this has all added to the most unique architecture and design.
During our trip to the Czech Republic we came across these street musicians busking in Prague. A unique blend of Czech folk music using bagpipes.
“We have always had a strong tradition of music” declares Charles University musicologist Jarmila Gabrielová. “I found it is a rare Czech who doesn’t play some instrument – or at the very least sing”. Read More
CCAMS students have written eight more books, they are just waiting for illustrations to be completed. A new children’s book entitled Remember, has recently been mass produced and distributed to local stores! This is a caterpillar-to-butterfly story with a creative twist. Another book is ready for publication called A Hole of His Own. It is a story for younger children about the love of two big sisters for their little brother. Blackie’s Boy, is almost ready to print. It is the story of a dog’s sacrificial love for his boy.
They have submitted copies of their first three published books to Room-to-Read to obtain government approval for distribution to libraries all across Cambodia.
We often use maps of the world to encourage people to discuss perspective – all maps are saying something but often it is not what we think they are saying. You have to know what the cartographer is trying to depict to really understand the map. Also as time moves on we learn more and can ask questions behind why we might have done things a certain way in the past eg for political reasons. Here’s a fun clip from a TV episode that looks at this conundrum.
Interestingly whilst on a recent flight I read about “trap streets” – apparently cartographers for centuries have misnamed streets or made up new ones for the sole purpose of catching those who copied or reprinted maps as their own. The London A-Z was reported to have more than 100 trap streets by the mid 2000’s. This you will be pleased to know is now a dying art!
