Month: July 2020

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Bliss Alumni help ESTEEM at Don Heights

Carolyn Henry and Joe Jessop have been contributing their experience from Bliss i-Band to help Shirley with a senior's music group.

Thanks to the help from these two Bliss alumni, we have had 'fun' music sessions on Saturday afternoons. I called the group ESTEEM - Enabling Seniors To Enjoy Ensemble Music. We met weekly in Don Heights Unitarian Congregation’s premises. 

ESTEEM in Don Mills began in 2018, with Joe and Carolyn demonstrating for  the seniors in the group, how they played music using 'garage band' on an i-Pad. The seniors used Orff instruments the first year. In our second year some of them began using i-Pads. The exception was Eric. The bass xylophone was always “his” instrument! 

We have lost Mary and Eric, Joe has moved to Orillia, and Covid-19 has made it impossible for us to continue our sessions. However, we have many happy memories! This video is dedicated to those who made ESTEEM at Don Heights so memorable!

Click on the 'play button' below to start the video. Listen to the music for the first minute, and watch for the musicians to appear!

I hope you enjoy sharing our happy times!

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Sharing a favourite recording

As we have been exploring the best way to make digital performances of the Bliss i-Band, we made a series of 3 recordings. First Aaron played the piece; then I added my part; then Sam and Julie added their part. I love watching this version - with both Aaron and myself receding into the background, and viewers really able to see and hear Sam's enjoyment. Her singing is very special! Sweet Caroline is a favourite piece for her. I hope Sam will share the reason with us, some day!

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Help with interjection – “I feel outraged!”

Now that we have a way to add Comments or make contributions to Blissful Thoughts, I would like to ask for ideas regarding a particular symbol. This time the interjection symbol needs to represent the phrase, "I feel outraged!"

(If you would like to review how to make an Entry, type contribute in the Search Box that appears on each Entry site)

This is what the Search Box looks like (example only, not active here)

Several “interjections have been demonstrated in a previous Entry.

(To review previous interjections, type interjection in the Search Box that appears on each Entry site.)

I invite thoughts regarding the two following suggestions for “I feel outraged!”.

interjection +anger (feeling + opposition) + intensity

interjection + feeling + explosion

If you don’t like either of the above suggestions, please share your idea for this interjection.

Here is some help in thinking about the meaning:

rage

noun

violent, uncontrollable anger."her face was distorted with rage"

verb

feel or express violent uncontrollable anger."he raged at the futility of it all"

outrage 

verb

arouse fierce anger, shock, or indignation in (someone).

"he was outraged at this attempt to take his victory away from him”

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Bliss Interjections



HAVING FUN WITH INTERJECTIONS!

Let’s explore using the Blissymbol for “interjection”!

An interjection is a short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence.

It is easy to remember the Bliss elements in “interjection”
feeling + mouth “feeling expressed by the mouth”



We have had this symbol element for a long time!

We used it in “Wow” and “Yuk” in the seventies, when we first began using Blissymbols.

'Blissful Thoughts' gives us the opportunity to have some fun, thinking of ways to express interjections in Bliss. 

I am going to suggest ways to represent some interjections we use in English, and offer a personal interjection that I use frequently!

I invite those interested in Bliss to comment on my suggestions and also to offer their ideas for representing their personal Bliss interjections. 

Oh  - used to express a range of emotions including surprise, anger, disappointment, or joy, or when reacting to something that has just been said.

Bliss elements   interjection + feeling + intensity

uh-uh - used to express a negative response to a question or remark

Bliss elements   interjection + opposition

"I can't agree!"

uh-huh - used to express assent or as a noncommittal response to a question or remark

Bliss elements   interjection + agreement

"I can go along with that!"

whatever - used to show disinterest or disbelief in answer to a statement

Bliss elements   interjection + disinterest

"If you say so!"

aha -used to express insight, satisfaction, triumph, or surprise.

Bliss elements   interjection + insight

"I get it!"

“Nuts!” or “Oh, Nuts” -  My personal interjection when I accidentally do something, unintended,  that irritates me. Don’t ask me why!

Bliss elements   interjection + seed + tree + plural

"How stupid of me!”

NOTE

The above symbols are examples of ways to use “interjection” for personal use in conversation. These interjections will NOT be found in the BCI Authorized Vocabulary (AV). They are offered as a strategy for personal use only. 

I look forward to your thoughts on the interjections above and I hope you will share your favourite interjections with us.

Shirley

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How you can contribute Blissful Thoughts!

If you write in English print, add a Comment in the box below every Blog entry. Your entry will appear soon after, in Blissful Thoughts. The box immediately blow this line is an example of what the comment box looks like. This box is not active. Go to an Entry if you have a comment to make in response to that Entry.

If you write in Bliss, send your Bliss message, with English glosses, as a pdf file to shirley@blissymbolics.org. It will be placed on page 2 of the Blog entry.

If you would like your English message to be translated into Bliss, send it to shirley@blissymbolics.org. It will be placed on page 2 of the Blog entry.

If you have a picture to share, send it as a jpg file to shirley@blissymbolics.org. It will be placed on page 2 of the Blog entry.

CHOOSE ONE OR MORE BLISSYMBOLS 

AS A TITLE FOR YOUR ENTRY

LET’S USE OUR SYMBOLS!

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Swedish, Hebrew and English Accommodating!

Example of accommodating now and in the seventies!

We all know how important it is to have an international standard for the use of Blissymbolics. BCI maintains an Authorized Vocabulary for this very reason.

However we also know that ‘living communication’ requires some accommodation from time to time, to meet the needs of users. A practical example of this took place many years ago when those whose native language was Hebrew needed to view their Blissymbols from right to left instead of from left to right as we do with English words. Judy Seligman-Wine and her colleagues did the extensive work to make this happen when Judy moved from Canada to Israel in the seventies.

We have an example of collaboration and accommodation on Canada Day, 2020. We provided a Blissymbol for “social distancing” for those who speak Hebrew. A “Blissful way” for Canada to collaborate internationally to celebrate our special day!

Here is how it happened:

Back in April, Wern Palmus in Sweden collected the Blissymbols that could be useful during Covid19. They appear in the first entry in Blissful Thoughts (April 24, 2020)

On July 1, 2020, Judy Wine wrote and asked if we had a Blissymbol for “social distancing”.

I wrote back and shared Wern’s work. Judy reminded me that she needed the elements reversed.

With the help of Bliss Online, I was able to send Judy the symbol in its Hebrew form.

So we now have........

In Sweden 

social distansering

In Israel 

ריחוק חברתי

In Canada

Physical distancing

Now, it’s up to us all to KEEP DOING IT!

Shirley

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Happy Canada Day!

A Canada Day greeting from Elaine and Shirley

We wish you a very happy Canada Day!

From Elaine and Shirley

Sorry about the lighting!

This is us on our zoom call on June 30. -

with our covid-19 NON haircuts!

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