*UPDATE*
Hello friends,
It is a very sad day in the YouTube community as fellow mother, homemaker, and YouTuber, Andrea Mills, has passed away. If you have ever been touched by Andrea's videos and her commitment to her family, please consider donating to the family's Go Fund Me. Any amount helps. She has left 9 precious children behind. Thank you for your consideration...
Welcome to The Chic Assignment check-in for August. I have really enjoyed hearing from you this month! Today's video is nice and long and takes its time as we delve into the various assignments.
Chic Assignment no. 1 Scott Joplin
Here are some interesting facts on Scott Joplin from Kid's Music Corner
He was the greatest composer of ‘ragtime’. In fact he is often called the ‘King of Ragtime’. (Ragtime is a mixture of Black American folk music and classical music. It is not quite jazz, but is certainly where a lot of the ideas for jazz came from.)
He made ragtime very popular. This made people ready to hear and write the jazz that came afterwards. It also set the scene for American popular music over the last century. Put simply, Scott Joplin has had a very big influence on jazz and popular music over the last 100 years.
Like classical music, Scott Joplin’s rags are written down exactly. They are pieces to be played as written on the piano. This is quite different from jazz, where it is normal for the musicians to make up some of the music as they play.
He became famous with his piece ‘Maple Leaf Rag’. This piece appeared in 1899. It sold over 75,000 copies in the first six months! The piece was named after the Maple Leaf Club where Scott Joplin used to play the piano.
His father had been a slave.
He was very lucky to learn music. Most Black American children around the time Scott Joplin was born would not have had this chance. His father certainly didn’t want him to learn music. However his mother was keen. And a kind local music teacher taught him for free.
He also composed two operas as well as some other classical music. Scott Joplin tried very hard to make these operas popular, but didn’t succeed. In the end he died very disappointed with the failure of his operas.
After Scott Joplin died, ragtime music was almost forgotten about as jazz became popular.
His music became popular again in the 1970s—especially when ‘The Entertainer’ was used in the 1973 film ‘The Sting’. His music has been popular ever since!
Chic Assignment no. 2 Frederick Childe Hassam
Discovering Childe Hassam has been such a joy for me this month. His paintings really speak to me. Here are some of the ones discussed in today's video:
The Room of Flowers, 1894
Bowl of Goldfish, 1912
Listening to the Orchard Oriole, 1902
The Terre-Cuite Tea Set, 1910
Street Scene, Christmas Morning, 1892
At the Grand Prix in Paris, 1887
The South Ledges, Appledore, 1913
The Avenue in the Rain, 1917
Chic Assignment no. 3 Letter Writing
When I recently uncovered my treasure trove of vintage Victoria Magazines, I also uncovered a box of old letters from my past. Letters from family and friends brought me back in time and it was so amazing to read these letters. I hope that letter-writing makes its way into your regular routine.
Chic Assignment no. 4 Prepare your wardrobe for the upcoming season
This week you will see my recap of the ten-item wardrobe from spring summer 2019. I have had many revelations about my wardrobe. With the ten-item wardrobe, you never stop learning. Truly!
The book I mention in the video is Introverted Mom by Jamie C. Martin
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Comments of the Week
Fuwa W writes, "Hi Jennifer, Thank you so much of your book that I have found in HK library. It had attracted me by the content of your university life in French family. So, I share with my best friend of your book. Do you know what happen? Your book have change my friend s life, especially the ten items warobe! I can t believe it!"
Dear Fuwa, thank you so much for writing to me. It is fun to hear from a reader all the way in Hong Kong. Please tell your friend I said thank you and "hello"!
Thank you for joining me for today. I would love to hear your Chic Assignment updates and all of your ideas on each topic mentioned.
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