08 - 08 - 08.....

A very rare and , hopefully, auspicious date.....auspicious, according to the Oxford English dictionary = of good omen, favourable, prosperous - and so let it be... and that it bodes well for some kind of unification and betterment of world order..... "hope springs eternal in the savage breast" as the saying goes. With the staggeringly stupendous and sensational opening ceremony of the 29th. Olympic Games in Beijing, pheeew, it really took one's breath away at times, and occasionally drew a tear - the little boy who survived the Sechuan earthquake disaster, after encouraging his schoolmates to survive when they were buried under their school building until they were rescued; such spontaneous courage. How tiny he looked alongside the Chinese champion basket ball player - 6 foot 7 inches tall.....Observing the proliferation of spectacular firework displays throughout the event, some of the overshadowing 'smog' cloud around the city might be explained - they must surely have rehearsed them beforehand... Yes, yes, it's my whimsy Simsy sense of the ridiculous rearing it's lovely head as usual, to make light of what may be a true factor - are you following me so far.... jolly clever if you are ...tee hehe..!
It would take several days to write about the unbelievable imagination which inspired such a diverse exhibition of Chinese traditions, and their are fifty six Chinese ethnic groups, all of which were represented. Not surprising then that they were inventing world changing scientific systems, making exquisite clothes, developing artistic creativity and life enhancing pursuits, (plus some unmentionable tortures) when we were running about in animal skins, painted blue with woad - dyestuff extracted from a plant of the cabbage family...
Naturally, my favourite episode was the Chinese Opera - I use that technique, having learned it in Taiwan. It's invaluable for demonstrating 'incisive ping' in very high voices particularly, but also works for any range, even basses ..! Come along and try it sometime, it increases the intensity of sound dramatically without any effort, however unbelievable that may seem, as long as you are connected breathing wise........yes, it always comes back to that, so don't lose it in the first place pleeeease... and, k..p b.......g...