Hello Mr. Bean! Yes, I observed it too. I have an online friend from Singapore, and she's just thirteen years old. I was shocked at how her parents were so strict regarding her education! Her parents actually spanked her and harshly reprimanded her for getting a 10 out of 15 in a quiz! The girl sounded very traumatized. And when she gets home from school, she goes straight to studying, no tv, no computer, no playtime, nothing! It would seem that Asians take education very seriously. I guess in a way, we're better off here in the Philippines. Our finals are this week so you could imagine how I'm up to my ears in schoolwork. I can't wait for a vacation. Even though I enjoy doing what I do, I do need a break every now and then. I just need to get through the week and I'm home free! Did you send the book by cargo? 'Cause if you did, I'm pretty sure it'll take a while. No problem though. How have you been? You don't seem to be in the forums that much. Looking forward to vacation time, Princess
Hi Princess, I hope everything is going well with the studying. From what I read on the forums, it seems that students these days have far too much work to do and I don't know how or why this has come about. I don't think that it was the same in the past and from what I read in the newspapers, there doesn't seem to be any end to it with more examinations being taken than ever before. Personally, I don't think it is right to subject people to that kind of pressure. Here in the UK, there used to be a lot of criticism of the Japanese for forcing their children to take extra tuition and leaving them little time for relaxation, but it is happening here too. A friend of mine telephoned recently to say that her daughter, who is aged 10, has just been given a place at one of the top girls schools in London. I am pretty sure that she would not have got there had she not had extra tuition over and above her normal school hours, because over here the competition for good schools is so fierce. I guess I will give a bit more time for the book to reach you as it may be that the area of the Philppines is so big with so many islands that it might take longer there than elsewhere for deliveries to reach there destination. Occasionaly I get things sent to me from New York and it takes about 7-8 days for a package to arrive. I used to get things from Shanghai and it usually took about 2 weeks but, as I have said, the Philippines may have unusual delivery problems. Don't work too hard, Brian
Hello Mr. Bean! Things have been awfully hectic for me this week, what with the upcoming exams next week. I have papers to pass, projects to make, and deadlines to beat. In fact, I'll be pulling an all-nighter tonight on a critique paper. I don't mind really. It's part of being a student. It's quite thrilling actually. Although, I am looking forward to summer break. I mean, I really do need a vacation, a time to unwind, relax, and just kick back and do whatever. This summer though, I'll try doing something productive like getting busy with the arts, as I've told you before. I sort of expected the delay with the book, considering the distance of our locations. Actually, I was thinking of receiving it in two months! But then again, I'm not very familiar with the postal service. Stay safe, Princess
Hi Princess, You are obviously into abstract painting but I haven't seen the pictures you have mentioned because my interest and, therefore, knowledge of abstract artists is limited. I expect there are more than a few Rothko's adorning the walls of apartments in Manhatten but, personally, I would rather have the money. It is good to note that you also like some more traditional forms of painting such as Monet and Seurat etc. For quite a while I had the l'Ile de la Grande Jatte as the wallpaper on my computer as I like it very much.The more you look at the painting, the more there is to see; it is amazingly detailed and I don't know how Seurat managed to paint such a varied scene using using dots instead of layers of paint. If you manage to paint anything in the same style, perhaps you will let me know how it is done. I think you are going to need a lot of different brushes. It is now almost a month since I sent you the book and if you don't receive it during the week, I shall begin making enquiries at the post office. Keep well, Brian
Hello Mr. Bean! I must admit I'm not much of a fan of Rothko, but I think his works are good options when one is thinking of painting the walls of an apartment in New York. His paintings tend to be a bit bland and uninteresting. But do see his Orange Black Composition #3; it's very nice. I'm fascinated with abstract art because it's meaning can change from one person to another. Take for instance Wassily Kandinsky's Transverse Line. To me it could mean the contrasts of western and eastern cultures. To others it may look like the advancement of science and technology. (But I'm no art critic or expert so I may be blabbing gibberish right now.) The point here is, in abstract art, there are endless possibilities. Artists can also express themselves more freely because they don't have to worry about nitty-gritty stuff like form, balance, or what have you. All they have to do is feel and the rest is history. I like Wassily Kandinsky's Improvisation 28 especially. I adore impressionist and expressionist art. Monet, Munch, and Van Gogh are my favorites. I particularly like it when the use pointillism. I'm sure you're familiar with Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Actually, I'm thinking of making something using pointillism. Of course, it'll be no where as good as Seurat. LOL! Looks like I'll be very preoccupied this summer break! Love lots, Princess
Hi Princess, I am glad to see that you are thinking of taking up the flute as it is good to learn any musical instrument and once you have learned the system of musical notation, you will be able to move onto others later on. The flute has been around a lot longer than either the violin or the piano and is an essential part of the modern day symphony orchestra where its melodic and clourful effects form a major part of most orchestral works. I hope you enjoy your painting although I must say that I am not in tune with abstract art. I mean what is the point of Mark Rothko for example? I really don't know what anyone sees in his work. How can a black square on a red square be of any interest, and yet painting squares and rectangles in various colours ( usually dull ) seems to have been his main preoccupation. In fact I find that many, if not all, abstract painters have little to say to me at all. There is a picture immediately above this desk of a naked woman lying langorously on a bed while a man watches her from an open window that looks out onto some Parisian buildings at dawn. Anybody seeing the picture knows exactly what it is saying. It was painted by the French artist Henri Gervex in 1878 and depicts a scene from a well known poem of the day by Alfred de Musset. I like it very much and wouldn't change it for a reproduction of anything by Rothko, Pollock or any other abstract painter. Thank you for clearing up the mystery of Spanish surnames in the Philppines. I always thought that the indigenous population had retained their original family names and it wasn't until I saw yours that I realised that I might have been wrong.
Hi there Mr. Bean! I've just been to the mall today and I found a children's book on how to play the flute. Like I mentioned earlier, I'd very much like to play an instrument, especially the piano and the violin. But again, the instruments are very expensive and I don't have the time at the moment. So I've been thinking of starting with the flute instead. I've heard that our 12 year old neighbor had been practicing the flute for months now and I'd admit that he's getting pretty good at it. I've only heard him play one piece though. I'd like to try it out myself, maybe during the summer break. Fortunately, flutes are within my price range. I've done a bit of sketching and painting, but they're really mediocre. But I'm quite good with arts and crafts, and I got A's in art class back in high school. Although, most of my 'works' have been abstract, so that may mean another thing entirely if you catch my drift. Once, I made a carton sculpture of what I envisioned to be a cherry blossom tree in bloom, and I got an A for it. The funny thing is though, my teacher thought that my tree was a poodle! LOL! But anyway, it turns out that my uncle has an extra canvas and paint lying around. He said that if I wanted to paint, I could always drop by and we could do it together. (He's no artist, but thought it would be a fun activity.) On names, most Filipinos have Spanish sounding names because when Spain conquered the Philippines, the Spaniards had a hard time keeping track of all the people on the archipelago and the natives' names were hard to pronounce and remember. So the Spanish governor-general took out some kind of directory and had the natives' choose new names from there. That's why when the Americans have Uncle Sam, we have Juan dela Cruz. Love lots, Princess
Hello Princess, If you want to learn to play a musical instrument, you will have to devote a lot of time to it. It is better to start learning as a child because that is when people are most receptive to learning. I have seen children in China as young as six-years-old playing with incredible virtuosity because, not having much else going on in the heads, they are able to focus on the music in a way that adults, with all the cares of the day, find difficult. I started learning the piano about 18 months ago and, although I am not very good at sight reading, I have learned to play a number of pieces from memory; mostly slight pieces by Bach, Haydn,Handel, Borodin etc.The most difficult was 'Sheep May Safely Graze' by Bach as it needed a great deal of practice to get it right but it is a great feeling to hear the tune being played in counterpoint and know that it is yourself that is playing it. I have always been fascinated by piano music and I have read quite a bit about famous pianists but it wasn't until I started to play that I realised that practising for six-eight hours a day, which is what many concert pianists do, isn't as difficult as it seems. Once I sit at the piano, I can easily spend 3 or 4 hours myself and I am virtually a beginner who will never get anywhere near professional standard. My piano teacher is very good and can play anything that is put in front of him but then he started at the age of 16 and has been playing for about 35 years. I think the first time I decided that one day I would learn to play was when I was on holiday in Switzerland at Lugano. I was staying at a large hotel that had a music room and one morning I heard someone playing a waltz by Chopin, so I went into the room and saw a man of about 40 seated at the piano with a group of people standing around listening. When he had finshed, he asked them if they had anything they would like him to play. Someone asked for another piece by Chopin and he played it, then he played something for someone else. I was really impressed that he could apparently play anything from memory and that he was not playing simplified arrangements of the pieces but what I knew to be the complete score as the pieces were familiar to me from recordings. Perhaps he was a professional pianist but I know that I would love to be able to play at that level; of course, I never will. I hope you get your painting materials, have you done any drawing or painting before ? For my part, I wasn't any good at painting in art class at school although I do like art and have number of reproductions on the walls at home. I'm afraid I don't speak Spanish although I noticed that your surname comes from Spain, is that because the Philippines were once colonised by Spain ?
Hello Mr. Bean! Indeed, the technology is staggering! It's amazing how quickly everything progresses. I remember when I was back in grade school where my friends and I would play science fiction and we'd pretend that we can communicate on the phone and we'll see each others faces on the screen. Now, we have web cams and camera phones. Nothing's impossible anymore! Most teenagers nowadays probably even think letters are a myth! LOL! But I, on the other, delight in receiving letters and such. I'm a bit old-fashioned and rather sentimental. I'd love to play an instrument! Especially the piano and the violin. But I don't seem to have the time nor the instruments. Maybe someday when I save up enough money. I'm also asking my friends for an art kit (paints, sketchpads, paintbrushes, etc.) for my eighteenth birthday. I'd like to nourish my artistic side. I'm still waiting for my classmate to download the pictures for me. It is his camera after all. I'll send them to you as soon as I can. Love lots, Princess P.S. You don't happen to speak Spanish, do you?
