Happiness is contagious!

Good news, being around happy people is contagious! And misery does not love company and does not spread as easily. It does matter who we spend time with and what kind of mood they are in. Another interesting fact about this is that happiness spread more easily through same-sex as opposed to opposite sexes.
Wonderful to know that we can have an affect on others; so let's try to to keep it positive.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081205.wlhappy05/BNStory/lifeFamily/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail

Neil Diamond

Yup, I was one of many people who was at the Air Canada Centre last night to see Neil Diamond. I had not even known that he was coming but when I was offered 2 free tickets by the Volunteer Department of Toronto General Hospital in recognition of the work that I do helping organize concerts at the hospital for the past three years, I jumped at the chance to get tickets. I was happy to have a chance to see the ACC, the concert was a bonus. I must admit that I did not know what songs he was known for.

On Tuesday, I happened to mention that I was going to the concert to my tennis buddies and one of them had such a twinkle in her eye when I mentioned Neil Diamond that I had to replace my husband with her. Thank goodness, he understood that someone who still has his albums and can sing the songs needed to go to the concert.

I must say that Neil Diamond is a real showman. His show is well done and orchestrated; the members of his group, one of whom has been with him for 38 years, obviously enjoy what they are doing. The audience members were serious fans, when Caroline started, they were on their feet ready to sing and wave their arms in time to the music.

I hope to be as energitic and enthusiastic when I am his age. He loves what he is doing and cares about his audience.

You tube Orchestra

Classical Musicians will finally get their chance to shine and show that although they might not be able to "Dance with the Stars" or show that they can dance, survive in the wild or get along in a large house with many strangers, swap families or have someone redecorate parts of their house: that they can play their instrument.
Video conferencing simultaneously from New York, London and San Francisco, world leaders in classical music and internet technology outlined their plan for a You Tube Orchestra. http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=qwTiF0HMrog The plan is spearheaded by Google product managers Ed Sanders and Time Lee.
"Our idea is a collaborative orchestra," said Sanders from New York. "Musicians will be auditioning online from all over the world through our new site(youtube.com/symphony). The winning players will then gather in New York next April to debut a piece for orchestra at Carnegie Hall. This is a new kind of opportunity for musicians.
The audition process is simple. Players learn an orchestral part, downloading the written music directly from the site. Then the musician records his or her performance, while following along with a video of the conductor (also online). The results are then uploaded directly to YouTube for the panel's consideration.
Renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun wrote YouTube Symphony #1-Eroica for this event. It's a modern take on Beethoven's third symphony.
"This project is a chance to reconnect with what classical really means," said the San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. "It's still much more entrenched in everyday lives then we realize. I saw here in New York, some boy playing stick ball on the sidewalk, and when one fellow got a big hit, he ran off singing "Duh, da duh, da duh duh da da DAH (from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachmusick).
I wonder if the creators of the Internet who were trying to share scientific ideas and research could ever have imagined this kind of exchange?
Should I practise and download a bassoon part?

Please don't touch the art

Many of the 52,000 visitors who visited the Art Gallery of Ontario during its free to the public opening weekend came to check out the building and as an after thought the art. Unfortunately, some of them did not read the "Please do not touch the art" signs because a piece by Yoko Ono needed to be "touched up". The piece-called Forget It. At one point during the weekend, the needle was bent over; it was later replaced. "We actually keep a bag of large embroidery needles," Susan Bloch-Nevitte, the AGO's executive director of public affairs, told the press. Bloch-Nevitte said the AGO is "aggressively" trying to lure new audiences,"and we know that not all of them have a lot of experience with art galleries, and may not be as clear on what the protocols are." She added the gallery may develop a short video that explains the impact of touching the art. "We're not worried about it. We're seeing it as a good challenge."

I have a feeling that conceptual artist, Yoko Ono might delight in the attention that her art is receiving and that members of the public are so interested in the piece. She is the artist who once produced a video of people's backsides! Also did a performance piece which asked people to cut a piece of her clothing while she sat posed. The process was filmed and is sometimes presented as part of her exhibits or retrospectives. Her art does provoke and make one reflect- in the case of the art under discussion- what is it that should be forgotten?

Japanese Senior Citizens turn to crime

History is being made on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan; in 2006 the total arrests of elderly people exceeded arrests of teenagers. The elderly accounted for 880 arrests mostly for shoplifting while teens were arrested 642 times. Crimes among the elderly have continued to surge; for every two teenagers arrested on this island, police arrested three people 65 and older.
The elderly in Japan are committing crimes-nearly all of them non-violent, mostly petty theft-because of loneliness, social isolation and poverty, according to a recent Justice Ministry study.
The trend echoes across Japan, where crimes committed by the elderly are increasing at a far faster pace than the elderly population.
While the 65-and-older population has doubled in the past two decades, crime among the elderly has increased fivefold, according to government statistics released this month. Japan's overall crime rate always low by world standards has fallen for the past five years.
Around the world criminologists have found the propensity to commit crime peaks in the late teens and early 20's and falls off steadily as people age. But Japan, with the world's oldest population and lowest proportion of children is heading into charted territory for criminal behaviour.
A desperate desire for human contact or for novelty in their lives leads many elderly people to shoplift, experts say.
"They want somebody to talk to,"said Hidehiko Yamamura of the National Shoplifting Prevention Organization, a non-profit group in Tokyo. "If they get caught, they talk to the police. They are very easy to catch."
To slow the growth of elder-crime, the Justice Ministry recommends financial and social programme to stabilize the lives of the elderly.
Wonder if Japanese elderly will join the ranks of bingo players and shuffle board enthusiasts?

Christmas Newsletter

It is that time of year again. Time to review the past year and decide what exciting details should be included in the Christmas Newsletter. Yes, I write a newsletter. You would think that people get enough news reading this blog but as hard as it is to believe there are friends who do not read my musings. Those are the people who will read about trips taken, fun activities like regular tennis, music groups that I play with and even some achievements- hope that there have been some and what ever else strikes my fancy. As some readers may have noticed I have varied interests which keep me amused and busy.
I buy some nice Christmas stationary and print the letters on the note paper which makes them special. Because I use the word processor I am able to customize my letters beforeI include them with my cards.
Time to start the cards since I received three yesterday. Wow! I knew that December had arrived. Because I am not in a school this year, I am sure that I will not receive as many cards as I have in the past. There are still many friends who are not in Toronto who I want to touch base with. I even bought extra stamps on my way home from picking up my free tickets for the Neil Diamond show tomorrow night. More about that later. Letter writing is waiting.

Tapestry Line

Over the years, I have been privileged to work with and meet a number of people who have gone on to develop talents and careers, we could no have imagined when we first met. One of those talents people is Line Dufour of Tapestry Line. We first met another lifetime ago when we both worked for Chargex. Yup that was the name at the time, not VISA . This was before we both moved on to post secondary education and found creative endeavours that fed our souls and allowed us to explore many aspects of the arts.

Line became an outstanding fibre artist. Today, I had the privilege of helping at her booth at the One of a Kind Show. I actually sold some things. Friday, when I return to help her again, I will do a much better job of preparing her sales invoices. I have not worked in retail for a long time. I am good on the sales part, just have to brush up on the invoicing. If you have a chance to visit the show, visit booth X5 and have a look at Line's wonderful fibre creations.

In case, you are not sure, that is Line on the left beside Jeanne Beker of Fashion television.

Visit her website www.tapestryline.com and then her blogs. You might even consider taking her weaving classes. She is an outstanding teacher as well as artist.

(If you visit One of a Kind Friday morning, I will be at the booth. Come and say hi. )