Music
Each Roma settlement developed its own musical style, combining local music with Roma traditions. These styles often sound similar to the music of the surrounding culture. However, most Roma music shares some characteristics, including the timing of the notes and the harmonies.
Centuries ago, a group of people left India. No one really knows why. Over time, they journeyed west to Europe, where most have lived ever since.
These people called themselves the Roma. But Europeans, thinking they came from Egypt, called them "gypsies".
Ann: I guess I don't need a lot of storage space most of the time. But cars also offer more shelter from the rain and other bad weather than scooters do.
Tim: Yeah, it's nice to not have to worry about rain, and air conditioning is a real advantage in the summer. But cars also have some notable disadvantages.
So how do you play a jug, anyway? You just hold the jug close to your mouth and blow air through your lips to make them vibrate. The jug helps to make the sound louder. What about the other homemade instruments? Scrape the washboard with a hard object. Hit the spoons together against your leg or against a cooking pan. Hum into a kazoo made from a comb and wax paper. Early jug band musicians used whatever they had available to make musical instruments. Some of them even make guitars out of cigar boxes.
You really have to hear the sound of a jug band to appreciate this fascinating style of music. Find some video clips online, or if you like, attend a jug band festival. The National Jug Band Jubilee in Louisville, Kentucky, is just one of the festivals devoted to preserving "America's happiest music." Soon you'll be clapping along with all the other fans of this delightful music. Maybe you'll want to make your own instrument and join in the fun.
As they say, a good musician plays the music, not the instrument. Never was the truer than in the case of jug bands. Musicians in a jug band use ordinary, homemade instruments (along with some traditional instruments) to make beautiful music. An old-fashioned washboard becomes a rhythm instrument. A pair of kitchen spoons helps to keep the beat. A washtub with a broomstick handle and a piece of cord becomes a string bass. Of course, a jug band always has an empty jug used as a wind instrument.
Jug bands have long been a part of the world of jazz and blues music. African-American musicians created this style of music around the beginning of the 20 century in Louisville. Later, jug bands became popular in other river town like Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Traditional instruments like the guitar and the violin, or "fiddle", were already popular in southern music. When musicians discovered they could play musical notes with whiskey jugs, the jug band was born.
Out of the darkness
During Cheng's break from performing, her heart was changed. She realized career success could not give her a complete, satisfying life. But she did find something that could - God.
Meanwhile, Cheng pursued a separate career in acting. Her first role is in 1991 TV drama Life of His Own. The next year she acted in her first movie, Best of the Best. Algother, she has appeared in 22 films. She won one Best Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. The Hong Kong Film Critics Society gave her another.
Cheng is also known for setting trends in fashion. She was named one of Hong Kong's Top Ten Fashionable Celebrities. Cheng changes her style with each album she produces. Fan love admiring each look and wondering what she will do next.
Goalball
Crowds watch this sport in complete silence as players try to roll a ball into opposing team's goal. The players all have impaired vision, so they play by listening for bells that are inside the ball. All players are required to wear eyeshades so that those with some vision don't have an advantage.
The 2012 Paralympics includes 20 different sports. Some are slightly modified Olympics sports; others were designed specially for disabled athletes.
Last month, London, England, hosted the Summer Olympics, attracting great athletes from around the world. Now, equally extraordinary athletes are gathering there for the Paralympcs, an international sporting event second only to the Olympics in size.
Since 1960, the Paralymics has given the people with disabilities an opportunity to demonstrate their athletic ability. These games take place in the same year and in the same city as the Olympics.
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