Chibilicious - Having my own small, cute world is great

I’m excited! *drumroll please*

Olympics 2008 is here!

This major sporting event is also called Games of the XXIX Olympiad and will start today in Beijing, China. It will happen till August 24 followed by the 2008 Summer Paralympics from September 6 to September 17.

The slocal for this event is “One World, One Dream”. The slogan calls upon the whole world to join in the Olympic spirit and build a better future for humanity.

The 2008 Olympic Mascots are the five Fuwa, consisting of five (5) adorbable mascots that incorporate fish, giant panda, fire, Tibetan antelope, and swallow designs. The Fuwa each have as their primary colour, one of the colours of the five Olympic Rings that stand for the five continents. The five Fuwa are named Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. When the first syllable of each of the five names are said together, the result is the phrase which means “Beijing welcomes you”. Absolutely love the gimmick!

Opening ceremonies will start at 8PM CST (UTC+8).

The Philippines will approximately have 15 athletes competing in the said event. The delegation’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony will be boxer Manny Pacquiao, who will not be competing.

Get the feel of the Olympics with this beautiful video. Let us root our athletes and pray for better fellowship among countries all over the world.

A song by Jackie Chan and other China stars for the Olympics is below.

Welcome to Beijing!

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For me, piano music had been one of the most wonderful gift created by geniuses of human race to instinctively bring out the imaginative and romantic side of every breathing individual. The distinctive note on each key, the echoes enunciated in each work against the pedal, the techniques of fingers flying over the grand instrument to produce insights of situations and thoughts is a miracle of music in itself.

Some of the titles I could recommend for you to listen at your spare time are the ff:

• Presto agitato from Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 no. 2 “Moonlight” Sonata
• Allegro con spirito from Mozart’s Sonata in D major for two Pianos K 375a
• Moderato Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2
• Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
• Allegro aperto Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C major

I had my short stint of playing a piano when I was still in elementary. Remembering those days whenever I hear classical piano music, I’m really glad my mother had given me the chance to learn playing the piano. I grew to appreciate the hard work of maestros and the determination of pianinsts. The day to day practice to make fingers nimble, to make the eyes and brain easily decipher the meaning behind each set of notes and rests, the understanding of tempo and terms like “moderato”, “allegro”, “pianissimo” etc. Piano is like a sport. As any learnings, it is a musical sport of class, determination and infinite imagination.

As of the moment, I hardly get to play the piano anymore. I doubt I could even finish a simple piece. That is how long I haven’t played and though I sometimes miss those moments, I know deep within me that piano music will always be a part of me, more so when I get to listen to my Mp3 collections of classical music from maestros like Gershwin, Rachmaninoff and Mozart.

If you are interested to get into the wonderful world of piano music as a player and not as a listener, I could recommend that the first step you do is canvass for a good piano. It doesn’t have to be state of the art if you don’t have the means just yet. You could use used hammond organs too and any other piano brands there are in your area. The next step is to look for a good piano teacher, whom you think you can trust. Music learning is best to learn if you are at ease with your tutor. It is better if your tutor is a seasoned player, who can inspire you to do more than expected. He or she will put it in his or her best interest to provide of suggest good piano sheets or titles for you to practice on and develop your skills.

Sure, maybe the likes of classical music is not part of the popular, modern culture especially to teens. A lot of people would consider them boring, out-of-date, or even down right cheap to their standards. But really, if they are really that boring and cheap, how they come they’re still known and popular to a lot of people, hmmm?

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I have musically inclined friends, who formed bands and jam at their own pace. Some do it for leisure, others for the goal of having an album. I had an officemate, together with his comrades, who got an album deal with a local recording company years ago. I saw their album and I was fascinated seeing someone I know at the cover of a ‘legal’ record label and awed by the fact they composed some of the songs compiled in it.

Due to circumstances though, they had disbanded and continued with their individual lives. My officemate has a kid to raise and his friends have family businesses to take care of. The situation called on for them to prioritize and for their music to take a backseat in their lives. If my memory serves me right, he did mention some disagreements with the record company and it became a factor why they left its premises.

I found it sad they had to let go of a passion they worked so hard to get into. It’s fortunate though that the thing we call internet has provided more means for independent artists to channel their passion into and share it to the world. Video sharing portals, Podcasts, Forums and more has contributed more interaction than anybody could ask for.

Independent bands are gifted with sites that focus primarily on struggling artists, doing the best they can to be heard globally. Unsigned.com provides easy, chic and organized interface for every music lovers and musically inclined independent artists. You could browse through different artists via genre and artists or immediately click on featured artists and top 10 plays found in its homepage.

So plug-in your earphones, turn up the volume and listen to artists, who may one day be international artists, and you could be their online friend before they reach stardom. *winks*

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I swear, Filipinos could be pretty innovative, resourceful and creative in things that they do. I just learned recently that in a prison in Cebu (Visayas region) had garnered populary in youtube.com because of the inmates’ morning excercises turned into MTV like dance maneuvers that obtained a lot of hits online!

Their most popular dance show ‘Thriller’ (by Michael Jackson) is really good! And I don’t know if it is the similar orange colors they wear, their synchronization, or their movements, one thing for sure… you wouldn’t readily remove your eyes on them. ^_^

To see what I mean, you could view the video below:

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