Archive for the ‘Bad Habits’ Category

Stay focused, stay alert and stay alive
The Oxford County OPP will be working to help ensure that motorists and outdoor enthusiasts have a safe and enjoyable long weekend.[...]
Read more on Woodstock Sentinel-Review

Northbrook Park District
The annual National Night Out program from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday welcomes families in Northbrook to the Meadowhill Aquatic Center. The Northbrook Park District and Northbrook Police Department are hosting the crime/drug prevention event to strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community relationships. The free event includes use of the pool, along with DJ entertainment, free hot dogs and …
Read more on Northbrook Star

Volcanoes shortstop remains confident, despite poor hitting
KEIZER — In the midst of a recent 2-for-27 slump that saw his batting average dip to .180, Salem-Keizer shortstop Carter Jurica could have gone into a funk.
Read more on Salem Statesman Journal

Check Out The New Single Off Da Genesis Saga Vol.1—-Fresh Out The Gate….Prod By: Empire Beats Mixed By: Ar(reservoir dogs prod)..Filmed By: Truth Of Truth Dvd Magazine….Bad Habit Ent. Will be featured on the upcoming dvd for truth check em out……WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BADHABITENTONTHERISE

For more music visit my official website WWW.SOULMUSIQ.COM
Video Rating: 5 / 5

After a sleepless night, we discovered what was keeping the cats on edge. The past couple of nights we’ve had evictions all night long for cats gone wild. We didn’t know it was really bad girl Zuli stirring the other cats up until she clawed a human foot by mistake. Otherwise, her plan of world / bed domination would still be working.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Promoting Good Vocal Model Awareness in Karaoke Singers

Promoting Good Vocal Model Awareness in Karaoke Singers

Cathryn Robson BA (Hons) Music, CT ABRSM

www.singshop.co.uk – Online Singing Evaluations and Lessons

During a recent conference I attended singing teachers discussed the concept of curriculum and arrived at a rather succinct description, that of it simply being a ‘From-To’. It was further qualified that this ‘From-To’ would inevitably vary with each student, depending on their particular aims.

Working in a tourist area where karaoke bars, venues and competitions proliferate, singers for whom karaoke is the sole vocal activity form a good 30 per cent of my studentship. The challenges karaoke singers present to a voice teacher are consistent; infrequent exposure to good vocal models, lack of imperative to memorise lyrics and weak internalisation of pulse and rhythm. While all of these musical criteria are important to address, this essay will reflect on some current curriculum tools for developing good vocal model awareness in karaoke students. The question ‘what is a good vocal model?’ is begged. Cultural context defines such an ambiguity and within Western popular music this could be anything between an effective to virtuosic voice. This essay should go some way to answering my own question.

Recent research shows that karaoke, second only to singing along with the radio, is the most popular vocal activity for adults who had a negative experience of singing during school years. Many of these belated singers are ‘…more likely to believe someone else’s judgement about their voice than their own’1. Whether or not this is due to lack of self-confidence, lack of musical experience or both the poor vocal models on the karaoke circuit cannot do much to improve discrimination. Curiously, the original singers who are good vocal role models can be forgotten, with karaoke singers self-referencing and comparing their own performances to other local karaoke singers. My own students reflect a pattern that is typical; several are naturally gifted while the remainder are challenged by pitching difficulties, poor support/breathing habits and/or a harsh tone.

Developing a student’s confidence in their own ability to discriminate is vital. In making curriculum decisions Keith Swanwick remarks that ‘…the only good reasons for choosing anything is that it has musical potential.’ 2 While the material karaoke singers bring to lessons invariably has musical potential I consider working with backing tracks anathema to the development of it. They are excellent practice tools but they go some way to annihilating what innate musicianship a singer may possess. In respect to vocal models they prevent a singer from truly experiencing their voice as an instrument but merely as another layer in the backing track. A recent student concert yielded some interesting responses; karaoke singers were critical of the live professional accompaniment and the lack of sound system believing that these elements had hindered their own performances. On the other hand, one student told me that, having had the opportunity to perform with an accompanist she now finds backing tracks intolerable. Both responses oblige me to consider how I can further encourage these singers to value their voices as independent instruments.

Aiming for this, in lessons I steer the student away from backing track dependency, using chord sheets to accompany them. While this may seem commonplace, with karaoke singers it isn’t, playbacks being preferred. Chord accompaniment exposes bad vocal habits. Ironically, my own deficient keyboard skills go some way to aiding the students. My keyboard accompaniment is sparse and as the singer does not have the support of the vocal line in the music it means that they have to rely heavily on their ‘thinking voice’. It is remarkable how dramatically breath control and pitching improves because of this. Getting a student to sing songs in both the ‘thinking’ and ‘singing’ voices proves to be a very useful exercise. Scales and arpeggios can be practised in the same way, helping to build accurate internal pitch. As there is no imperative for these students to learn to read music they are relying totally on aural skills to acquire repertoire. The popular tradition is aural and the learning style follows suite.

Paul Harris, in his book ‘Improve Your Teaching!’ remarks that ‘…one of the great things about the art of musical performance is that anyone …… can give a masterful performance.’3 This remark certainly held true for the student concert, with me having to privately acknowledge that one of the most moving performances came from a singer with poor pitch. However, this is unusual and publicly I am required to advocate good pitch awareness! Improvisation warm-ups are also proving an effective means of developing this in karaoke students. The student

Check out these 20 bad habits images:

Because Stolen Biscuits Don’t Count…


Image by ~evelet~
Well that’s my theory anyway. If I steal someone else’s biscuit, pie, great slugs of wine, I am not actually eating it.

I need to stop doing this…confront the delusional thinking. Is not the first step admitting I have a problem? So this is me admitting all the sneaked booze and bad food.

Confrontation for TOTW, and 52 Weeks of Feeling Fit.

: )

Naughty Betty had two bad habits one real hot and the other real holy, Ash Wednesday 2008 by Donald Roller Wilson


Image by Wonderlane
Artist

donald roller wilson

title

inez martinez and naughty betty…Ash wednesday…Mid morning near the very center of brenda’S nut farm…Approximately six weeks prior to easter…

With inez ( A nervous, little illegal mexican girl who appeared one night under brenda’S front porch at the nut farm )…( Who had become employed – sorting and grading nuts for a while, now )…Looking up, and very concerned with the precarious length of betty’S ashes…Along with a possible over-heating of betty’S left breast…(Having become quite amorous of betty) …Fearing the ashes could fall…

And simultaneously concerned with the fact of the date…And with the possibility of an associated recurrence following that date which had scared the shit out of her the year before…

When…( Who had become her half-brother)…Jimmy…Had dressed in a long white robe wearing a make-shift crown of prickly red raspberry vines, and jumped from behind a large rock which had partially concealed the opening of a nut farm cave, and yelled boo…

It had been naughty betty who set the big scare up, and that’S who inez was with at the moment…

And inez was beginning to smell a huge rat…

Medium

oil on canvas

size

20” H. X 20” W. (Unframed canvas size)
24” H. X 24” W. (Framed size”

Frame is museum quality, considered an extension of the art, and has been designed by the artist specifically for the painting. Frame is hand carved from solid bass wood, is water gilded with 23 kt. Gold over a red clay bole. Panels are finished with an asphaltum wash which has been crackled. A circular liner designed for the frame features a narrative of carved wood letters, and is also finished with the crackled asphaltum wash. Letters of liner read exactly as follows:

Naughty betty had two bad habits; one real hot and the other real holy!

Signed

(Left edge, circle)
Donald roller wilson 2008/04

collection

private collection

sneaky


Image by ktematic
a chunk of relief from jerash in the wall of a 10th-century castle in adjun, 20 km away. apparently this bad habit runs deep in jordanian history.

Melissa Ferrick sings “Bad Habit” at Folks Festival, Lyons, Colorado, Aug. 17, 2009

Melissa Ferrick sings “Bad Habit” at The Independent in San Francisco, CA, on 11.19.08.

Slimming- Exploring the options

Why do people want to lose weight? The answer to this is complex and can involve a wide variety of factors. While some people recognize the damage they are doing to their body by carrying more weight than it was designed to carry, others may decide to lose weight for purely aesthetic reasons.

The only sensible reason to lose weight is because you are overweight and therefore putting your body, particularly your heart, at risk. Exercise becomes difficult and minor illnesses affect you as a result. The fact is, if you are overweight, you are unhealthy.

So, what is overweight? Although there are weight charts which give a general idea of what weight you should be for your height, important to weigh yourself at the same time each day and under the same conditions. For women, it is essential to realize that your weight can fluctuate alarmingly during the menstrual cycle. You should keep a chart of your weight patterns and a diary of the food you eat in order to understand how various foods affect your body.

Each individual is different and these charts can only provide a general guide. One way to determine whether you are overweight is by the ‘pinch test’. Pinch your flesh just above the waistline and if you have two inches or more, you are overweight. Or, just simply stand in front of a mirror, naked, and turn sideways – you will soon notice if you have too many bulges.

Successful weight loss

Before starting any weight loss program successfully, you need to assess your eating and drinking habits. There may be medical problems such as hypothyroidism or poly cystic ovaries syndrome involved. Your first step is to consult your doctor to rule out any medical reasons for your weight problem. Also, if you drink alcohol on a regular basis, it is time to cut back. If medical problems are ruled out, then start a food diary of everything you eat and drink each day. Do this for at least one week and then assess what you need to abstain from or cut back on. Often, you can replace these ‘bad’ foods with low fat alternatives.

Learning to re-educate your palate is not so easy despite the preachings of many that it is the only way to achieve permanent weight loss. This is because the brain controls our eating and drinking patterns, telling us when to eat, when to stop and so forth. For this reason, you need to assess whether you prefer to eat three calorie controlled meals per day or whether you would prefer a diet that includes small snacks throughout the day. It is only by knowing your own eating habits that you can choose a diet that will result in long term weight loss. Whatever you decide, always seek medical advice first.

Before choosing a diet, it is necessary to consider the huge variety of diets available. Although some diets promise drastic weight loss, we should remember that two to three pounds per week is considered to be a safe weight loss. Without a regular, balanced diet, your body will lack essential minerals and vitamins and will therefore fail to function efficiently.

In general, it is accepted that diets based on counting calories or carbohydrates or those that concentrate on fat control are the most successful. When counting carbohydrates, it is essential to remember that the body needs at least 50 grams of carbohydrates each day for proper brain function. Any low carbohydrate diet that allocates less than that is dangerous.

Calorie control

We hear all about calories and how we need to count our calories but what exactly is a calorie? It is basically a unit of heat or energy. All food and drink contains these units of energy and, if your intake of calories is the same as your output, you will remain at a normal weight. However, if your intake becomes more than your output, the body will store the excess as fat. A continued diet of high calories will lead to obesity. It is therefore essential to reduce this intake to reduce this storage of fat. Normally, a safe weight loss is achieved by following a diet of around 900 and 1200 calories per day, depending on whether you lead a sedentary or an active lifestyle.

Fat control

To practice fat control, it is necessary to eliminate the visible fats such as butter, margarine, oils, and the visible fat on meat. There are sufficient hidden fats in meat, fish, and dairy products to provide the necessary fats for the body. There are also many low fat products on the market and these are a sensible substitute. Diets that work on fat control are normally very successful.

Carbohydrate control

There are two main groups of carbohydrates and these are sugar and starch. Sugar includes all sweetened foods such as sweets, desserts, cakes, and biscuits. Starches include bread, potatoes, grains, cereals, beans, and lentils.

Usually, low carbohydrate diets are based on an accurate balance of foods and therefore do not allow for deviations.

Yazawa Ai’s extremely popular manga comes to life in Nana, the exciting new film starring popular singer Nakashima Mika and Miyazaki Aoi! Released in 2005 Nana tells the story of two twenty-year-old women with the same name, but drastically different personalities. First up, there’s Osaki Nana (Nakashima Mika), a calm, cool, and collected punk rock singer who struts into Tokyo’s underground punk scene looking to hit the big time. While Nana’s got some ex-boyfriend issues that she’s eager to put behind her, she won’t allow that personal drama to interfere with her big dream. In fact, Nana’s not going to stop until she’s conquered Japan as the nation’s top rock star! The other “Nana” of the title is Komatsu Nana (TV actress Miyazaki Aoi), who is alternatively called Hachi. Cute and cheerful, Hachi led a somewhat sheltered life and has a bad habit of falling in love too quickly. She had some relationship problems in the past, but when she falls for her high school pal Junko, she decides to follow him to Tokyo when he gets admitted to an art design school. By moving to the big city, she hopes to find love and happiness in this new locale.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Radiohead “The National Anthem” 5/5/2008 Cruzan Ampitheater W Palm Beach FL USA

Attraction and Sexual Body Language – Pick up (pua) Seduction Secrets
Hot Topic, Never goes out of style. Dating +Sexual Attraction via Body Language: PDF book with over 250 image examples. 50% Commiss, Quality Writing and professional Photographs set this ebook apart. Pua Niche. Free Videos, Great Endorsements, Bonuses.
Attraction and Sexual Body Language – Pick up (pua) Seduction Secrets

Body Language Training Manual
Humans (like many animals) conform to a certain code of movements that are consistent with there current frame of mind. Bodyspy teaches the reader about body language and how to use it to their advantage in all kinds of situations.
Body Language Training Manual

Cure your eczema forever, naturally E – book
This is an Eguide designed to give people a step by step breakdown in healing eczema, or Atopic Dermatitis (skin disorder). This is a skin condition that affects up to 20% of the planet! Not only that, it tends to be predominately in Affluent nations.
Cure your eczema forever, naturally E – book

Instant Dog Training Videos
World-renowned dog trainer releases amazing new instant-access videos that end your dogs bad behavior in just minutes!
Instant Dog Training Videos