Friday, 15 July 2011

Object: Teacup

Why I think teacups are good:

- They make tea look even more delicious
- They are stylish
- They can only be used by women, unless a male wants to look extremely femine.
- They make you look and feel 'posh'
- The designs on them can be lovely
- Perfect for tea parties
- Appeared in Alice in Wonderland
- I own several antique teacups
- Being so tiny, theres space in your cuboards for more.
- The holding out of your ''pinkie' only works with a teacup. Fact.



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Facts about teacups:


It is typically made of a ceramic material.
It is usually part of a set, composed of a cup and a matching saucer.
The first small cups specifically made for drinking the new beverage tea seen in Europe were exported from the Japanese portof Imari.
- There are countless designs of teacups
The two most common varieties of tea cups are the footed and the flat. Footed cups have a small pedestal-like bottom and are typically paired with saucers. Footed tea cups fit their saucers snugly. Flat tea cups have a flat bottoms.
- The most common material teacups are made from is porcelain or ceramics
- Tea cups can be used in fortune telling, by reading tea leafs
- Tea cup is a type of pig
- Tea cups came to England through imports from China
- The very first tea cups were handless and were called tea bowls
The Royal Doulton and Limoges make collectable tea services
- Many royals have appeared on collectable tea-ware
- There is even a renowned phrase ad occasion for the use of a teacup : Tea time
- Teacup chihuahua is a breed of dog, so tiny it fits into a teacup. Adorable.




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Words relating to teacups:


- China
- Porcelain
- Bone
- Handles
- Tea
- Tea-time
- Royal 
- Doulton
- Pig
- Dog
- Saucer
- Tea leaves
- Fortune telling
- Posh
- High class






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Opinions about teacups:


Lady Gaga: 
"I used to have tea at home with my mother everyday, you see. She hasn't got a name but she quite famous now,so I made her stay in today. I take her everywhere because she makes me feel at home. I also have a habit of drinking out of china because it makes me feel grounded. I don't think its a good life style to always be drinking out of paper, its very wasteful."


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Images of teacups:


Tea? In glass? In the shape of a teacup? 


Perfection.


Some crafty work.


I want to own you. 


Heart shapes teacups, cups of love.


Everyones remembers riding these beauties.


Royal memorabilia.


The most famous tea party.


A pig which fits in a cup. Yes please.


and a dog. Well I never.


This tea cup malarky is getting infectious. Jewellers are on board now.


Gaga for tea.


The renowned 'pinkie' being achieved.


An english tea. Cream, jam, scones and tea. Utter perfection.

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Object: Piano

Reasons I think Pianos are good:

- They make beautiful Music
- Hundreds of notes can be made from the keys
- They come a variety of forms
- I can play one
- Many famous people play them
- You can make a living from playing one
- They are used in all genres of music
- Composers love them
- They look stunning
- Black and white are my favourite colours :)
- They scream elegance
- You can lie on one and suddenly look sexy
- You can find them in pubs
- Its a skill to be able to play one

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Opinions of pianos


- Yahoo Question:
How many hours of piano lessons does one need to become a reasonable player?


Answers:
"no access to a piano between lessons." means lessons are all but useless.

The question contains the wrong formula for progress.

Here it is.
1) If a beginner, a minimum of one half-hour lesson once a week.
2) As required for any class, at least the same amount of time spent during the lesson, daily, covering the material (practicing): even better, at least twice the time of a lesson, daily, practicing.
3) The regular schedule of practice plus the quality of concentration applied while practicing.

Taking lessons without being able to practice between lessons, and no instrument to practice on? = Useless expense and futile attempt.

Don't even think of it until you have access to a piano on a daily basis. There are many with your 'complication' who manage to arrange the free use of a piano on a regular basis through a religious or educational institution. Where there is a need, a way can usually be found.

Again, do not waste your time or money on lessons until you can beforehand be certain you have access to an instrument upon which you can practice regularly.
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Facts about pianos

The Piano was invented in 1698 by an Italian, Bartolomeo Cristofori.
There are over 12,000 parts in a piano, 10,000 which are moving.
There is approximately 18 tons of pressure being exerted by the stretched steel piano strings. In a concert grand, it is close to 30 tons of pressure. The average string having about 160 pounds of tension. There are 230 strings inside a typical piano.
The action of a grand is superior in many ways to a vertical piano, one being that any key can be repeated (reset) faster than any vertical upright (regardless of the name given by manufacturers i.e.: upright grand, studio grand, inverted grand, etc.).
- Most pianos have two to three pedals. 
A new piano should be tuned four times the first year, with the change of seasons, and at least twice a year after that. 
The name piano is an abbreviation of Cristofori's original name for the instrument: piano et forte or soft and loud. 
The term "Tickle the Ivorys" refers to playing the ivory keys of the piano, however, ivory has not been used to make piano keys since about the 1950's (they are plastic, sometimes referred to as "Ivorine").
During the past 100 years there have been approximately 5000 Brandsof pianos placed on the market. Most are still on display in homes or elsewhere. 
The worlds largest piano is a Challen Concert Grand. This piano is 11 feet long, has a total string tension of over 30 tons and weighs more than a ton !! 
The first note (on a standard 88 note keyboard) is A . 
The last note of the keyboard is C. 

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Words relating to piano

- Keys
- Notes
- Ivories
- Music
- Composers
- Pedals
- Tuning
- Concerts
- String
- Soft
- Grand
- Loud
- Pressure

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Images of a piano

Broken Piano Keys

Grand piano

Acoustic wooden Piano

I want these.

Pianos can be seen in paintings


Electronic piano known as a keyboard

' Big'

'That was a very big piano' - The queen

Elton john, the queen on the piano.