I know I do.

In fact, I use flat bags all the time throughout the year.

No, I’m not kidding.

To me, flat bags are not only functional, they are essentials that are never going to be out of style.

My latest addition of flat bags is the one shown in the above picture from Roots.

I really love the quality and craftsmanship of my Roots’ Venetian Village flat bag!

Because 100% genuine leather is used, this bag is very durable.

From what I’ve experienced with my other Roots’ leather bags, the leather from Roots will often become softer with age.

This Venetian Village bag has five exterior pockets that are perfect for storing cell phone, ipod and many other daily essentials such as bus pass, sun glasses and keys.

The main compartment is lined and has a zipper closure.

The straps are adjustable and they sit comfortably on my shoulder.

The dimensions are roughly about 11″ (L) x 12″ (H).

To find out more on the beautiful collection of leather bags from Roots, go to www.roots.com.

Music by Rodion Shchedrin, it was first performed in Moscow in 1959.

In 1961, “The Little Humpbacked Horse” was filmed and was subsequently released commercially in the 1980’s in the format of VHS tapes.

Currently, two companies, VAI and Kultur, release the same title in DVD format.

In terms of content, they are exactly the same.

The DVDs are also supposed to be of comparable video quality, since the same master tapes have been used in the productions.

Cast:
Queen Maiden: Maya Plisetskaya
Ivan: Vladimir Vasiliev
King: Alexander Radunsky
The Little Humpbacked Horse: Annya Scherbinina

Synopsis:

The Little Humpbacked Horse is a colorful and comical tale.

This story is about a Russian boy named Ivan who lives on a farm with his father and two older brothers.

These two older  brothers believe Ivan is simple-minded and therefore never want to include Ivan in anything that they do.

Because there are crops being destroyed on the farm in the nighttime, the father asks the two older brothers to go out after dark and watch the field for him.  Instead of staying awake, the brothers fall asleep and take no notice of what happens in the field.

When Ivan goes to the field to look for his brothers, he sees an enchanted white horse leaping across the field.  He grabs the tail of the horse and refuses to let the enchanted creature go.  The horse begs Ivan to set her free.

In return, the magical creature grants Ivan with the gift of three horses.

Two of them are beautiful steeds and the third one is a little humpbacked horse.

The enchanted horse tells Ivan that he can sell the beautiful steeds if he prefers but advises him to keep the little humpbacked horse at his side always as the humpbacked horse will remain to be his most loyal friend forever.

After the enchanted horse is gone, a firebird appears in the sky and drops a feather.

The little humpbacked horse warns Ivan not to pick up the feather as the feather could bring bad luck.  Unfortunately, Ivan doesn’t listen and rushes off chasing the feather.

Meanwhile, the two brothers wake up.  Upon noticing the beautiful steeds, they decide to steal and sell the creatures in a market outside the palace of the king.

Upset by the disappearance of the steeds and his brothers, Ivan set off with the little humpbacked horse on a journey to find the brothers.

When he locates the brothers, the brothers are just about selling the steeds to the King.  Because nobody but Ivan can tame the steeds, the King demotes the existing chief of the royal stables and makes Ivan the new chief.

The former chief is angry about the demotion and he vows to take revenge.  When he notices the firebird feather that Ivan possesses, he decides to take the feather and report to the King of Ivan’s possession.

The King is fascinated by the feather.

As the feather reminds the King of a painting of firebirds that he owns,  he decides to touch the painting with the firebird feather.  All of a sudden, all the creatures in the painting, including a beautiful woman (the Queen Maiden), come to life.  Although the creatures are only alive for a very brief moment, the King is struck by the beauty of the Queen Maiden.

Seeing this as an opportunity to seek revenge, the former chief suggests the King to order Ivan to look for the Queen Maiden.

With the help of the little humpbacked horse, Ivan locates the Queen Maiden and manages to kidnap her back to the palace.

When the King sees the Queen Maiden, he asks her to marry him.  Knowing that she cannot refuse and say no to the King, the Queen Maiden tells the King that she’ll only marry him if he can find her the one and only precious ring that has been kept at the bottom of the sea.

The King again orders Ivan to do what seems to be the impossible.

With the help of the little humpbacked horse, Ivan goes underwater and seeks assistance from the water sprites and fishes.  A rockfish finds the ring at the bottom of the sea and brings it to Ivan.

Ivan returns to the palace with the precious ring.

Since the Queen Maiden is now in love with Ivan, she knows she must come up with a plan to change her fate.  She tells the King that if he really wants to marry her, he’ll have to immerse himself in a bath of boiled water to restore his youth.   Foreseeing the danger of the boiling temperature, the King once again orders Ivan to immerse himself in the boiled water.  Because of the magic that the little humpbacked horse performs, Ivan is not only protected but also undergoes a transformation that makes him appear younger and more good-looking.

Unaware of the magic being performed by the little humpbacked horse, the King thinks Ivan’s transformation is solely due to the magic of the bath of boiled water.  He ends up throwing himself into the searing water and boils himself to death.

Because the King never comes out of the boiled water, the Queen Maiden is set free.

Ivan ends up in marriage with the Queen Maiden and both the couple and the little humpbacked horse live happily ever after.

Other Information:

The length of the video is about 84 minutes.

Due to the age of the film, there are some video imperfections but the overall picture quality is acceptable.

Comments:

Because I adore the legendary Maya Plisetskaya, I purchased the DVD when it was first released.

Maya Plisetskaya was in her mid-thirties when she danced in this production.  Her jumps and turns were strong and she made all the difficult ballet movements look simple and easy.

Vladmir Vasiliev was only in his early twenties when this production was filmed.  He infused his Russian folk dance with so much energy that it’s a pure joy to watch him perform.

The dances in the underwater scene, in my opinion, are beautiful.  The costumes are traditional yet pretty.

Related Links:

• YouTube - Plisetskaya Vasiliev Little Humpbacked Horse (vaimusic.com).
• YouTube - The Little Humpbacked Horse.

As I’m waiting to receive a copy of the most recent release of Don Quijote from the National Ballet of Cuba, I decide to re-familiarize myself by watching an older production of ballet performance of Don Quixote.

The DVD that I have is a 1978 production by the Bolshoi Ballet.  (Audio: Mono, Picture Quality: OK)

It’s a ballet in four Acts:

Choreographer: Alexander Gorsky, after Marius Petipa

Cast:
Kitri/Dulcinea: Nadezhda Pavlova
Basil: Vyacheslav Gordeev
Don Quixote: Vladimir Levachov
Sancho Panza: Vasiliy Vorokhobko

Background History:

Don Quixote is a ballet first performed in Moscow in 1869, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Ludwig Minkus. It’s the first ballet Minkus composed for Petipa.

Synopsis:

Don Quixote is an old man who is always fascinated by stories in the medieval times.  Because he’s so taken with stories of medieval knights, he begins to believe he is a real knight himself.  In search of exciting adventures, he travels around with his servant, Sancho Panza.

In one of his adventures, Don Quixote arrives in a market square where people are dancing and having a great time.

Kitri, a daughter of an innkeeper, is in love with Basil, a barber in the market square.  However, her father has other plan in mind and has offered her hand in marriage to a rich and pretentious man named Gamache.

When Don Quixote meeets Kitri, he believes she is his beloved Dulcinea, a beautiful princess in his fantasy, and therefore supposes his duty to protect Kitri from any forms of harm and mistreatment.

Meanwhile, Basil comes up with an idea to marry Kitri.  Pretending he is devastated by the upcoming marriage of Kitri and Gamache, he stuns everyone in the market square and stabs himself with a knife.  Because he appears dying, he manages to trick Kitri’s father into granting him the permission to marry his beloved.

The ballet concludes with a happy ending where Kitri and Basil celebrate their wedding with Don Quixote, Sancho Panza and the villagers.

Other Information:

Nadezhda Pavlova was born in 1956.  At the time of this production, she was 22 years old.  She was married to Vyacheslav Gordeev in 1975.

Comments:

This Bolshoi version is by far (from the few performances that I’ve seen) the one that has the most number of lifts being carried out by Basil.

What I also like about this DVD is its bonus section.  It has scenes (black and white) from Plisetskaya’s Don Quixote in the 1960s.

Related Links:

• YouTube - Nadezhda Pavlova Kitri/Dulcinea Variations Don Quixote 1978
• YouTube - Nadezhda Pavlova Vyacheslav Gordeyev Don Quixote Pas de Deux
• YouTube - Nadezhda Pavlova dances Don Quixote (vaimusic.com)

The Florestan Trio was formed in 1995.

This chamber group includes pianist Susan Tomes, violinist Anthony Marwood and cellist Richard Lester.

Recorded in Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom in December 2000, this CD Schubert Piano Trio in B flat major was first released in November 2001.

The total playing time of this CD is about 59 minutes.

It features Schubert’s

1. all four movements of Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major D898
2. Notturno in E flat major D897
3. Piano trio movement in B flat major D28

While I really love the delightful tune of the piano trio in B flat major, I must say I’d personally opt for the slightly more energetic piece of Piano Trio in E flat major if I must pick only one favorite among Schubert’s work.

Recorded in December 2001 and released in July 2002, the total playing time of this CD is about 58 minutes.

Since the original fourth movement was considered to be too lengthy, Schubert had to made two cuts, totalling 98 bars, before people would accept to perform this piece, Piano Trio in E flat major, in concerts.

In this CD, The Florestan Trio provided both the revised as well as the original versions of this fourth movement for our listening pleasure.

If you’d like to sample the recordings of The Florestan Trio, please visit the web site of Hyperion Records.

Other Related Link:

• Virtual Sheet Music - F.Schubert: Trio No.2 Op.100 for violin, cello & piano.

As I was trying to preset a few radio stations on my machine, I tuned into a classical music radio station just when they were broadcasting the fourth movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major by The Gryphon Trio.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Gryphon Trio, The Gryphon Trio is a Canadian chamber group that includes violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, pianist Jamie Parker and cellist Roman Borys. [As I've enjoyed the performance of the Canadian Parkers on Mozart: Concertos - 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos, I have since learned to pay closer attention to the news and directions of some of the prominent Canadian musicians and this group, The Gryphon Trio, is among one of them.]

This fourth movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major is roughly about 9-10 minutes long.

While the expression was certainly delightful, this piano trio was composed at the time when Schubert was suffering terribly from his ill health in 1827.

To sample this exuberant piece, please go to Schubert: Complete Piano Trios.

Why?

Because I’ve often found his music far too complex.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I notice a music piece that is trying to tell me a lot of “overwhelming stuff”, I’d mentally make an excuse and switch off the CD player.

From the pure standpoint as an audience, I’ve often felt drown by the messages being conveyed from Shostakovich. Due to my own incomprehension about the political climate and tension of the Soviet Union in the early half of the 20th century, I have to admit it has taken me quite a long time before I’m able to sit down patiently enough to open my ears and listen to an entire CD of Shostakovich.

So, what makes me feel comfortable enough now to write a post on Shostakovich’s Opus 87: 24 Preludes and Fugues?

From quite a while back, I was given a CD set of Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by the performer Tatiana Nikolayeva.

While I was very thankful for the set, I cringed because of the name Shostakovich.

Due to my biased attitude, I was never relaxed enough to appreciate any of the preludes and fugues.

Because of my usual reflex of agitation, I found myself judging and criticizing Nikolayeva’s interpretations with phrases like “oh, this is really slow…”, or “watch out now, the notes are going to clash right here, any time now…yuck!”.

In a way, I felt totally ashamed of my intolerance towards the music of Shostakovich.

To amend my silly and immature behavior, I decided to research, read and learn a bit more about the Russian history as well as the life of Shostakovich.

On one fine morning in April 2008, I was looking up some pianists’ information when I came across the name of David Jalbert. Haven’t heard of him before, I was surprised when I actually stopped what I was doing and listened attentively to a sample clip of Prelude No.13 of Opus 87 by Jalbert.

Since I fully enjoyed the interpretation, I decided to purchase the two-CD set on Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op87.

Unlike Nikolayeva’s, I do not seem to feel agitated or repelled by Jalbert’s interpretation.

Rather, Jalbert’s interpretations seem to give me some implications as to how much the music of J.S. Bach must have been influencing and inspiring Shostakovich when he worked on and composed this cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues in the 1950s.

If you’re like me who have had some reservations on the music of Shostakovich, I strongly recommend you go ahead and check out the mp3 samples of Jalbert’s interpretation on Amazon now.

I hope you’ll enjoy the samples as much as I did.

Have a happy listening!

So, it’s a relief for me to hear from Angela Hewitt that it isn’t quite necessary to disconnect all the notes in an abrupt manner in order to phrase the singing melody of the Bach pieces.

What I truly enjoy about this DVD set Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano is that Angel Hewitt uses various examples to introduce the music of Bach to her audience.

There are altogether two discs in this DVD set:

• DVD One covers a two-hour lecture.
• DVD Two is a recital that includes
  • Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV828 (33 minutes 7 seconds),
  • Italian Concerto in F major, BWV971 (13 minutes 38 seconds) and
  • Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV903 (13 minutes and 2 seconds).

Without getting into too many technical details in her lecture, Hewitt manages to capture the essentials (such as learning a fugue, pedalling, interpreting rhythmic alterations and adding ornaments) while taking her time to invite her audience to appreciate the music of Bach. As an educator, Hewitt also advises how important it is to learn each piece by heart as well as not to overlook the basics such as denoting the appropriate fingering on the music scores and taking the time to warm up before playing each piece at its suggested pace.

If you would like to gain insights onto appreciating the music of J. S. Bach, this DVD set Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano would be a very good complement to your library. I believe this DVD set would also be a wonderful gift for those who are currently learning to play the music of Bach.

To learn more on this product, please visit the Hyperion Records web site.

Has the Law of Attraction brought me prosperity?

Sure, it has!

In fact, it has not only brought me what I desired, but also helped me to let go of the hectic lifestyle that I used to have.

If you’d like to gain more clarity on incorporating the Law of Attraction in your daily routine, you may want to check out The Science of Getting Rich Network.

To me, the information on the web site is priceless. Not only will you receive a free copy of the famous book The Science of Getting Rich, you’ll also gain access to many extremely valuable gifts and bonuses.

Below is a summary of the crucial notes that I have personally gathered as I read and reviewed the book The Science of Getting Rich:

1. Be creative. After making your request and expressing your desire to the Universe, you must allow yourself to be creative and not competitive. Because the Universe is always about moving energy in the form of creativity, you’ll be adding resistance and disharmony to the process if you do not align yourself with the same vibration of healthy flow of creative energy.
2. Be thankful. You must always express gratitude for all the blessings that you have and all the blessings that you are receiving. You must express yourself with sincerity to impress the Universe that you have a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.
3. Be one with the Universe. You must constantly open yourself up to connect with the energy of the Universe. You are to unify your mind with the infinite wisdom and intelligence of the Universe to create all that you desire.
4. Have faith to hold a definite mental image of what you desire. You must have a clear and definite mental image of what you desire to have, to do and to become. You must express your gratitude deeply to the Universe and trust that all your desires are to be granted to you.
5. Constant focus. If you desire to be rich, you must spend your leisure hours contemplating your vision. You must frequently contemplate the mental image of what you desire to have, to do and to become.
6. Do not force things to happen. All creations are to be manifested through established channels of natural growth, which implies that your desires are to be fulfilled according to the most appropriate terms of industrial and social order. This also suggests that whatever you desire, its manifestation will always come to you through a proper means of established trade and commerce.
7. Honor the power of giving. In order to welcome and be ready to receive all that you desire, you must act in a way that causes you to grow, evolve, advance and deliver more than what you use to offer at any moment in your life. In other words, you must continue to find ways to give by creating better, more positive and healthy values to benefit other people.
8. Success depends on how much attention you are continuously giving to all that you desire. It’s truly worth repeating here: In order to become prosperous, you must always keep in mind the purpose to get rich through contemplation as well as realization of your own mental image of what you desire to have, to do and to become.
9. Put the law of abundance into operation. How can you continue to impress the Universe with your unwavering attitude and steadiness of faith? You demonstrate your faith by sending out energy that harmoniously matches with the energy of abundance and constant creativity. Instead of dwelling in scarcity thinking, you always take action to suggest an overflow of abundance by offering others with more usefully unique value. If you are to get rich, you must continue to transact by giving out more useful value than the cash value that you are receiving. Through your continuous action to always add more to what you offer when you communicate with others, you demonstrate to the Universe that you have total faith in abundance and that you are fully confident of the definite fulfillment of all that you desire.
10. Be open to receive. With the definiteness of your vision, the fixity of your purpose, the steadiness of your faith and the depth of your gratitude, you are destined to get rich and receive riches in the exact proportion of what you desire to have, to do and to become. So, open yourself up and receive all the goods that are coming your way!

I hope you’ve found my notes useful. To obtain your own PDF copy of the book The Science of Getting Rich, please visit The Science of Getting Rich Network.

Although I seldom wear camisole alone, I love to wear it as a layering piece below sweaters and V-neck tops.

With the current trend of deep V-neck sweaters, I believe it’s essential to have a few good pieces of colored camisoles, especially when you prefer to look classy and sexy in this holiday season.

In order to look your very best, a stretch fit camisole with a good interior shelf bra is an absolute must.

If you’re like me, who loves to enjoy the comfort as well as versatility of a good camisole, you don’t want to miss out on the Guess collection for this season.

Come in four different colors (Emerald Knight, Crown Blue, Wild Raspberry and Steel Grey) if you purchase online and in three different colors (Milk, Black and Steel Grey) if you purchase at a GUESS store, the Alex Racerback cami is no doubt the sexy cami.

This Alex Racerback cami has a unique diamond-shaped pattern that helps to create a slenderized look. When you put it on, the cami stretches to your hip area. Made of 95% nylon and 5% spandex, the material of this cami feels luxuriously soft and it is machine washable.

When I saw this cami last month at a GUESS store, I immediately purchased a few pieces - two in the milk color, one in grey and one in black. Since then, I’ve been wearing and washing them constantly. Instead of laying the camis flat to dry, I line dry them upside down. Although the spaghetti straps are not adjustable, I’m happy to say that the straps of my camis are still being retained as though they were new.

Because I really love how I look in the cami, I just placed a new web order to get the color Wild Raspberry online.

If you have been looking for a good cami, I highly recommend that you give this GUESS Alex Racerback a try.

With the web promotion going on in the colors Emerald Knight, Crown Blue and Wild Raspberry right now, the current price of the GUESS Alex Racerback cami is almost half as much as I’ve paid when I bought them in store last month.

I hope you won’t miss out on such a great buy before the promotion ends! Check out the GUESS Alex Racerback cami today and have fun shopping!

Mom has been busy re-accessorizing for her winter wardrobe when she noticed how worn out her crocheted beanie has become.

I went online and found this really pretty Woodland Soft Peaked Toque at Roots Direct.

I showed mom the picture and she commented on how chic it would look on her head.

I bet she might be purchasing one for herself really soon.

Since the hat looks so cute, do you think I should also get one for myself?