DIANE'S CORNER ..
Celebrate World Opera Day
Dust off your windpipes, take a deep breath and get ready to belt out your appreciation for World Opera Day! Operas have been captivating audiences since the sixteenth century, and this highly revered art form continues to gain new enthusiasts, complete with its own special day…
A crash course in opera
While many of us would recognize an opera if we heard one, we may not be as familiar with the definitions and distinctions surrounding this complex musical genre. In short, an opera is a piece of performance art that combines music with text to create a dramatic enactment of a story, complete with acting, scenery, costumes and dance. The term opera is in fact the Italian for “work”, and the text is called the libretto, meaning “small book”. There are a whole range of types, from opera seria (noble and serious) and opera buffa (comedic) to operetta (light opera) and semi-opera (combining spoken dialogue with masque-like sections).
Generally speaking, operas consist of two kinds of music: recitatives and arias. Recitatives closely resemble speech and are there to help move the plot along, whereas arias are elaborate and often long songs for individual characters, allowing them to express their thoughts and emotions to the audience. This is one of opera’s defining characteristics compared with most musicals; whereas the more modern genre tends to intersperse its hits with spoken dialogue, operas are pretty much entirely sung, even if this means the recitative passages aren’t always especially tuneful!
History of Opera Day
Opera developed as part of the classical music tradition in the West, first springing up in Italy and quickly spreading across Europe, including France, England, Germany and Russia. The first operas aimed to rekindle Ancient Greek drama, especially the role of the chorus, and it wasn’t long before opera became popular entertainment, with the first opera season taking place in Venice in 1637.
This versatile art form has evolved and diverged in numerous ways throughout its history. For much of the 18th century, opera seria, with its elevated style and virtuoso performances, was the prevailing force in Italy. Yet as with all artistic movements, others reacted against this trend – Mozart is well-known for his comic operas such as The Marriage of Figaro, while Verdi is famous for confident, patriotic operas. Wagner meanwhile was one of the most influential opera composers, dissolving the distinct recitatives and arias into “endless melody” and developing the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk (“complete artwork”), a synthesizing of different art forms into one.
Composers in the 20th century continued to push musical boundaries, experimenting with concepts such as atonality and dissonance. And of course the modern era saw the explosion of musical theater, the younger sister of opera. While there are a number of key differences, some musicals closely resemble opera – look no further than Les Misérables for plenty of recitative passages! The genre has also influenced current entertainment, with soap operas revolving around personal dramas in much the same way that opera has always done.
The power of opera singers
Another particularly distinctive aspect of opera is its singing style – opera singers are renowned for their powerful voices, able to belt out melodies to such a volume that they fill a whole opera house without a microphone!
Famous performers include Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Andrea Bocelli and Jenny Lind (also known as the ‘Swedish Nightingale’ and familiar to modern-day audiences thanks to The Greatest Showman). Singers are categorized according to their range: male singers with the lowest voices are known as basses while female singers with the highest voices are called sopranos. In fact, the term prima donna (literally “first woman”) stems from opera, originally meaning the leading female singer but nowadays usually meaning someone who’s a bit of a diva!
Of course, what we all really want to know is whether opera singers can truly shatter glass – and it turns out they can! By singing at the same resonance of very fine glass, opera singers are able to reach a volume at which the vibrations generated cause the glass to break. The trick takes volumes of over 100 decibels (normal speech being around 50) and requires years of training, so probably not one to try at home – plus spare your neighbors!
Leaf insect (Phyllium)
Tina Kraus, a freelance illustrator and paper artist from Münster, specializes in lifelike, detailed paper sculptures of animals or plants made from artist crepe paper. Paper is so diverse and changeable and available almost everywhere. As an illustrator, she also works in various fields. Children's book, editorial, seamless pattern, non-fiction, gift books.
Joke of the Day
A doctor has come to see one of his patients in a hospital. The patient has had major surgery to both of his hands.
"Doctor," says the man excitedly and dramatically holds up his heavily bandaged hands. "Will I be able to play the piano when these bandages come off?"
"I don't see why not," replies the doctor.
"That's great!" says the man. "Because I wasn't able to play it before."
Axolotl
Word of the Day
glossophobia
Microphone-Shy Birds
Richard O. Smith; The Man with His Head in the Clouds; Signal Books; 2015.
Emerald Cicada (Zammara smaragdina)
Idiom of the Day
What does 'As good as new' mean?
If something has been used but is still in extremely good condition, it is as good as new.
If something has been used but is still in extremely good condition, it is as good as new.
Monochrome Mantis religiosa
This Day in History
1936 - The first National Football League draft was held. Jay Berwanger was the first to be selected. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles.
1952 - Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne. Her father, George VI, had died on February 6.
1965 - The Supremes' "Stop in the Name Of Love" was released.
thanks, Kay
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, February 8
There is nothing modest about your ambitions, although you are generally patient enough to pursue your long-term goals. You also have the drive and spirit to achieve success. You are a responsible and respectable person who believes in being fair to all. You are confident and frank, but also friendly and tactful. Work is extremely important to you, and you have little patience for those who don't do their fair share. You possess much stamina. Others can truly count on you! Famous people born today:
Butterflies drink turtle tears. More often than not, butterflies do not get enough sodium from their regular foods. This leaves them looking elsewhere to supplement their salt intake. This leads them to turtles and their tears.
Beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)
Pictures of the Day
The Peafowl are most notable for the male's extravagant tail, a result of sexual selection, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen. In user-friendly English, however, peacock is used to mean any peafowl. Many of the brilliant colors of the peacock plumage are due to an optical interference phenomenon called Bragg reflection.
Peacock is the national bird of India and is featured in coins and currencies of the country.
CHINA
Spoonwing (Nemopteridae)
thanks, Charlotte
knit
thanks, Leah
knit
knit
knit
Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria)
Large Emerald Moth (Geometra papilionaria)
thanks, Helen
crochet
thanks, Charlotte
crochet
Crested Gecko with Moth
Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules)
Ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
CROCKPOT RECIPE
Hellebores and peony
VEGAN/ VEGETARIAN RECIPE
Both vegetarian and vegan diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.
Orchid Mantis
SWEETS
The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dog Papertoy
ADULT COLORING .. Valentine's Day
CRAFTS .. Valentine's Day
PUZZLE
New Year's Dragon
WORD SEARCH
| aglow alone catch center commodity convert crime cycle | dance duet equipment event fight flippant friends happy | joint measure month native ocean paper pastor pine | place poultry puppies radiant sill slid speak steak | thread toil turbulent vision waxy weal widen |
New Year's Dragon
SUDOKU .. medium
solution:
New Year's Dragon
I Dare You To Prank Call Another Person.
QUOTE
Horses
CLEVER
4. When a pattern has several color changes a short distance apart, you can carry the color you’re not using across the previous row and crochet over it, then start using it again when you reach the next area where it belongs.
5. How to make a center pull ball, with pictures and instructions. This is a great crochet tip for beginners!
6. To mark your rows, stick a bobby pin, safety pin, or paper clip through them, and close or twist.
7. …or stitch a contrasting colored piece of yarn into the valley of the first stitch. You can just pull it out later when you’re done.
8. Store your hooks in a pencil box, a jewelry box or traveling toothbrush holder, or hang them on a thin piece of wood (for smaller hooks, you can staple fishing line to the wood and hook them on it). You can also repurpose many used food and snack containers for this.
9. Map out your pattern in Excel. This is a great crochet tip for techies! Print your pattern off so you can mark off your rows as you go. This helps you remember where you were when you get interrupted. You can also make the pattern print larger for less eyestrain. And you can color-code the cells by filling each of them in with a color. Don’t have Excel? Google Sheets is 100% free.
10. …or put your pattern down in a plastic sheet protector and use a dry erase marker to mark off rows on the plastic. Use a binder clip to make sure the pattern is secure enough not to move a row up or down from your marks.
11. …or if your printer does copies, just copy the pattern and mark off rows right on the copy.
12. To convert grams into ounces or vice versa, just use a search engine like Google. Type in a phrase like this: “convert 10 grams to ounces.” The search engine will give you the answer.
13. To figure out how much yarn/thread you’ll need for a project, see how many rows you can get out of one skein/ball, then figure out how many rows your project needs. Divide the project’s number of rows by the number of rows the skein gave you, and you know how many skeins/balls you need to buy.
14. A simple way to make a pom pom: wind the yarn around piece of cardboard about 40-50 times, depending how full you want it to be. The cardboard should be about 3-4″ wide. Slide the wound yard off and tie a piece of yarn around the center of it. Cut both looped ends of the yarn. Holding it by the string of yarn you tied it off with, shake the pom pom out and use scissors to trim it until it’s round.
15. Pom poms are a great way to use up the ends of a ball of yarn after your project’s done. Make pom poms and keep them on hand to use as gift wrap bows.
16. …or use your scraps to make granny squares as soon as you finish a project.
17. …or make bracelets from the scraps. Also great as gift items.
18. …or stuff pillows with your scraps. Probably the easiest of all crochet tips!
19. To avoid buying colors of yarn you won’t be able to finish using, use a white washable yarn for everything and dye it.
20. To fasten off your project, use a yarn needle instead of a hook to weave the ends back through. This secures them better and reduces the chances of raveling.
21. How to make a slip knot – instructions and pictures. This is great for beginners, even kids.
22. How to make a foundation chain – instructions and pictures.
23. Instructables shows you how to crochet a Granny Square. This is a great basic skill to have in your repertoire, because Granny Squares are so versatile.
24. To make your hooks easier to handle, use Fimo or Sculpey modeling clay. Mold them around the handle, impress your grip on them so it’s customized for your fingers, then bake them according to instructions.
25. …or use a foam hair curler. Bore the hook through the middle of it carefully (so you don’t make the hole too big) until the curler is right where you grip it. Makes a cushy grip that’s good for keeping hands from aching.
26. …or use an Ace bandage. Fasten one end of it to the hook with glue (you can learn how to make glue for yourself) or tape, then wrap it around as many times as you like. Wrap it tightly enough that it won’t slide around, but loose enough to make the bandage squishy in your grip.
28. If you can’t stand to be without your crocheting, keep a project in a travel bag that’s ready to grab and go at all times.
29. To hide stitches: take the end of the stitch and crochet it into the other stitches a couple of times.
30. If your stitch has several loops, pull them up very loosely so drawing through them will be easier.
31. When your yarn doesn’t want to go through the eye of a needle, dip the end of the yarn in clear nail polish and twist it tight while it’s drying.
32. Ironing isn’t always great for crocheted projects. Instead, mix equal amounts of water and starch, spray the project with it liberally, and leave it to dry on a flat surface.
33. Sheet protectors are a great way to store patterns in a three-ring notebook.
34. When you get interrupted suddenly, just make the loop on your current stitch really big. That way, if it gets jostled (or played with by pets or kids), the stitch won’t be lost.
35. To save web patterns to your computer, use the built in “print to PDF option” in Mac and Windows 10 to save the web page as PDF.
36. For projects using homespun yarn, metal hooks are better than plastic.
37. Keep an index card with you that lists all the types of hooks and yarns you currently have. That way when you shop, you won’t buy stuff you already have.
38. The zipper bags that sheets and bedding come in are great for storing yarns and unfinished projects. so are backpacks.
39. Foldable sewing scissors are great for snipping ends, and they won’t snag anything in your bag.
The “don’t” Crochet Tips
Of course, sometimes knowing what not to do is just as important as what to do.
40. If you’ve heard that it’s a great idea to put yarn and thread clippings into a mesh bag and hang it from a tree for birds to use as nesting material, it’s not! Birds have much more sensitive respiratory systems than most other animals, and tiny fibers can be inhaled and cause damage – which could even be fatal. Do not leave yarn or thread where birds can get hold of it. [Thanks to reader Janie for pointing this out!]
41. Don’t let your crochet work give you repetitive motion stress. Here are some tips for preventing it.
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