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Narration_Arts
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Talking Shop I.2, p.2
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Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative
and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence
moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that
would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream
of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have
come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Gothe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do or Dream
You can Begin it.
Boldness has
Genius,
Power and
Magic in it.
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From the Scottish Himalayan Expedition, W.H. Murray
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YOUR VOCAL HEALTH:
You can Lead a "Hoarse" to Water...
Clearing your throat, coughing up phlegm, hocking a loogie, by any other
name it would still gross you out. But all joking and euphemisms aside, thick phlegm coating the vocal chords can be a big
problem for voice artists. A good vocal warm up is essential to clearing the
goop. But if you’ve tried that, plus drinking lots of water, limiting caffeine and alcohol intake and using cough drops
containing menthol, eucalyptus or slippery elm it may be time to get more serious. Let’s start with understanding the
cycle.
Allergies or a structural narrowing in the sinuses or nostrils can cause
runny or stuffy sinuses. If it backs up, collecting in pockets and thickening
in the sinuses, there goes your clear sound and resonance. It can also become infected and cause more systemic problems.
If you’ve got post-nasal drip, whatever is “up there” drips
continually over the vocal chords, through the throat and into the lungs and/or stomach. (Are you having fun yet?...) The drip irritates the chords, collects in the lungs (while we sleep), and creates
the need to cough it up, especially difficult when the phlegm is thick. The more you cough to get it up, the more you do damage
to the chords. As if that weren’t enough, post-nasal drip has been implicated
in chronic reflux disease, with the nose and stomach making each other worse.
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Before you
give it all up and move to Tibet,
let’s look at what you can do. Stop it at the source: check with your ENT to see if you can
find something to alleviate your sinus problems during peak months. There are, of course, Allegra and Claritin for allergies
and many people swear by them to dry there runny noses. If you want to avoid the overall systemic drying effect of pills, ask your doctor about something
that is localized like Rhinocort nasal spray (effective, but contains a steroid),
or NasalChrom spray.
For thick phlegm, you’ll need to thin it so you don’t have
to work so hard to get it out. For mucus thinners, ask your doctor about Mucinex
tablets, or Alcolol (that’s --lol, not --hol) which, diluted, can be gargled or added in small amounts
to a nasal douche. Both are over-the-counter.
There are even more natural sinus remedies such as nasal douching with
sterile water, sea salt and baking soda. One can use a common Neti pot found in health food stores (I just sniff it up from
a cotton ball), or try SinuCleanse pre-mixed packets with dispenser from the local pharmacy. The vapors from a few drops of
menthol and eucalyptus oils in hot (not boiling) water can be inhaled for a few minutes to loosen phlegm and open up
sinus passages as well.
Don’t get discouraged, there
are lots of possibilities, but always ask your doctor before trying anything.
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