| News, news, news |
[Jul. 14th, 2008|02:54 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | working | ] |
| [ | music |
| | John Adams - Nixon in China, Act I | ] |
(...news, news, news, has a, has a, has a kind of mystery.)
So for those of you who don't face-stalk me quite enough to have found out already, I am leaving London and moving to Toronto. I have landed a position with St. John's Music, representing the company in a sales/liaison/delivery capacity to the high school music programs in York Region. I will be starting around the end of July.
With any luck, that means I have effectively less than two weeks left in London. These weeks will be spent mostly finding a place in Toronto and packing up my place here. I would like to see as many of my London friends as possible before leaving, but I won't have the time to hound you all like I usually can afford to do, so please take it upon yourselves, if you would like to visit, to call me or message me and set something up. Other than my visits to Toronto, I will be spending most of my time at home. The last day I plan to be in London, other than a few more trips back to pick up the rest of my stuff and clean the place out, is July 25th.
Wish me luck in surviving the next two weeks, or for that matter the next two months.
UPDATE: I have found an apartment. Although I haven't officially signed the lease yet, the application is in and it's pretty well as good as mine. Check my facebook profile for the address. |
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| Sauble Beach, Pt I |
[Jul. 1st, 2008|01:55 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Vaughan Williams Symphony No 2 (BBC/Davis) | ] |
100 WORDS - 27 June, 2008
I’ve discovered that I really like watching water. I posted much earlier about enjoying watching flames. I think there is something about these indescribable and unpredictable elements of nature that transcends rational thought and mesmerizes even the most analytical of minds. I don’t even like swimming (I do not and, for all intents and purposes, can not swim), but I do like being on the beach, if it’s not in the sweltering heat, and just walking along the water. I am perfectly content with a cool breeze blowing in off the lake, just watching the waves crash against the shore. (100)
100 WORDS - 28 June, 2008
Also, I was reminded that I actually really like some dogs. All three dogs up at the cottage this weekend were really awesome: Eddie, a small little Yorkie with a couple of neat tricks and some very eccentric habits, looks like an old man but acts like a small child; and my new acquaintances Gus and Cassie, also terriers (but hybrids I think). They are an inseparable pair and remarkably complementary: Gus actually behaves like an old man, huffing at unsettling situations or disturbers of the peace, and Cassie is his rock, stoic but yet adorably affectionate. They’re fun dogs. (200)
That's all for now because I'm tired... more to come. |
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| Satyagraha |
[Jun. 26th, 2008|12:35 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Glass - Satyagraha, Act II (NYC Opera/Keene) | ] |
I'm sorry, I know I'm really bad at keeping this up. Here's four days worth, but I think it's pretty good.
100 WORDS - 23-26 June, 2008
I am currently working my way through a recording of Philip Glass’s opera Satyagraha, about the origins (in South Africa) of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence movement. This work is unique in many ways, the most obvious of which are that is a minimalist work, and that it is set entirely to Sanskrit text. The scenario unfolds essentially as a series of vignettes that are represented by verses from the Bhagvad-Gita, a major Hindu scripture. Having observed Glass’ method of text-setting in the first act and a bit, I am going out on a limb and making a judgment: this isn’t opera. (100)
That’s generalizing a bit. What I mean more specifically is that, for a large part of the work, the text-setting is unintelligible, which to me decreases the work’s value as an operatic work. In particular, the text seems to be set without much regard to the nuances of the Sanskrit language. That is, some syllables are repeated (seemingly for the sake of the music) including, sometimes, a set of syllables that aren’t complete words. Moreover, the setting does not respect the natural emphasis of the words. The combination of these two factors make the Sanskrit text practically unintelligible at times. (200)
This draws back to my argument that something that is unintelligible as a particular medium does not have value as that medium. For instance, to draw on a famous example, the work 4’33” by John Cage, to me, is unintelligible as music, and thus has no value as music. That doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t have value as something else (in this case, perhaps “performance art”?). I also believe that the ultimate purpose of music is its performance and the resulting connection between performers and audience. Then, perhaps, works that have no value as music shouldn’t be performed as such. (300)
I think most people would agree that the purpose of opera is to combine a number of art forms in order to communicate a message or story. Losing any of the art forms (e.g. music, text, scenario) would significantly decrease its value as opera or make it another medium altogether. Losing the music, for instance, makes it essentially a play. In this sense, I think when a text is unintelligible or, as sometimes in Satyagraha, about the sounds more than the meaning of individual words, the work becomes more of an elaborately staged piece of programmatic orchestral music…with voices. (400) |
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| Life 1, Me 0 |
[Jun. 21st, 2008|09:59 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | defeated | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Joe Hisaishi - Spirited Away OST | ] |
100 WORDS - 21-22 June, 2008
I feel like this is punishment for my impatience. Having already suffered a fractured right baby toe in April, I bruised my right heel last weekend through simple overuse and a pair of uncomfortable sandals. I stayed off my feet for a couple of days but by Tuesday I was itching to get out and do things again. I didn’t push myself so hard as to make it worse, but I probably impeded the healing process a little bit. By yesterday it had stopped bothering me enough that I ventured a little frisbee in the park near my building. While playing, I tweaked something in my right arm from throwing, but ignored it until I actually couldn’t throw properly anymore. It was sore for the rest of the day, but nothing I didn’t think would heal overnight. This morning, I went to play a little catch on the diamond, and found that before long, my arm was sore again. Trying to work it off, I continued playing. I failed to catch a short hop properly, and the ball bounced off of my glove and under my foot; I slipped on it and pulled a muscle and once again cannot walk. (200) |
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| Communication |
[Jun. 21st, 2008|11:39 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Kodaly - Hary Janos Suite (Baltimore/Commissiona, and UWOSO) | ] |
100 WORDS - 20 June, 2008
I think what I have discovered is that I am more or less incapable of expressing my thoughts in any less than complete and coherent sentences. Someone pointed out to me after my last post that my intended “stream of consciousness” basically came out as a cogent argument with fully-formed sentences, just missing some punctuation and capitalization; upon reflection I have to agree. This finding, however, doesn’t contradict my statement, also in the last post, that we form thoughts as wordless, shapeless entities; rather, it reinforces the idea that communication is the process that assigns language and structure to ideas. (100) |
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| Stream of Consciousness, Take 2 |
[Jun. 19th, 2008|01:09 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Grieg - Holberg Suite, Op. 40 (Ivan Davis, piano) | ] |
100 WORDS - 17-19 June, 2008
ok, i’m trying this again because it turns out 100 words isn’t quite enough to make a solid dent into the impressions of someone’s thought pattern which turns out to be a lot more complex than words the final product who knew? oh well i think that thought patterns are pretty fascinating especially consider what a tuip of the iceberg is what actually comes out of our mouths or fingers, i mean there’s just so much brewing beneath the surface that we never let out, and consider furthermore how much is brewing beneath the surface of our consciousness that even we are not aware of, it really scares you to think what kind of thoughts could be lurking just beyond the edge of our grasp, not only inaccessible to all out there but also inaccessible to our very sphere of knowledge. i had a discussion the other day of whether language was innate or not, or rather whether language was an intsrisic form of idea, and i argued that ideas were formed and then put into words, tat we were fully capable of forming ideas without words, or without lanague, and i was argued against. but i really do believe that abstract ideas, these thoughts flitting around our conscious and subconscious minds, are what our thought patterns are made of – we are cognizant of only a part of it, and only a part of that gets put into language, and only a part of that actually gets thrown out into the public for others to interpret and react to. i think that if we were less judicious about what we spewed out to others it would be quite an entertaining but perhaps overwhelming world in which to live, and the whole idea of tact would go by the wayside. but (300) |
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| Stream of Consciousness? |
[Jun. 17th, 2008|12:45 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  irritated | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Nielsen Symphony No. 1, Mvmt IV (performer unknown) | ] |
100 WORDS - 16 June, 2008
stream of consciousness i’m not really sure how this is supposed to work, i think you’re just supposed to keep typing whatever comes into your mind before your mind can think about what it’s typing i’m trying not to use any punctuation either, nor really loo up at the screen to see what i’m typing, i guess i’ll correct my mistakes later, or maybe i won’t, maybe i’ll just leave them in there to keep this as raw as possible, maybe i should look at the word count to see how i’m doing, or maybe i’ll just cut it off (100) |
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| It's all relative... or is it? |
[Jun. 15th, 2008|07:43 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | lethargic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 2 (BBC/Sir Andrew Davis) | ] |
100 WORDS - 14 June, 2008
Vaughan Williams/ A Sea Symphony/ bodies of water/ Loch Ness/ dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Comics/ Calvin and Hobbes/ stuffed animals/ pyjamas/ flannel/ Al Borland/ Jonathan Taylor Thomas/ James Earl Jones/ Anakin Skywalker/ lightsaber/ epee/ individual sports/ tennis/ French Open/ french fries/ freedom/ Independence Day/ Childhood’s End/ 2001/ millenium/ scholarship/ research/ authenticity/ performance practice/ ornaments/ Christmas/ family/ aunts and uncles/ Uncle Sam/ Colonel Sanders/ chicken/ egg/ breakfast/ morning/ dawn/ Iris/ tulip/ flower/ spring/ rain/ showers/ bathtubs/ Three Men in a Tub/ candlestick maker/ candles/ tealights/ tea/ Earl Grey/ Duke of Earl/ Nylons/ pantyhose/ garden hose/ gardens/ parks/ Hyde Park/ London/ England/ Vaughan Williams (100)
100 WORDS - 15 June, 2008
Vaughan Williams/ Woodbridge/ the Pope/ the Crusades/ Harrison Ford/ George Clooney/ Wile E. Coyote/ Piper Perabo/ the Brothers Grimm/ Sybil Trelawney/ Apollo/ Dedalus/ bullfighting/ Gibraltar/ the Argonath/ Niagara Falls/ the 49th parallel/ Buster Bluth/ Captain James Hook/ Toys “R” Us/ Mousetrap/ wine tasting/ Marsala/ inconceivable/ buttercups/ oleo/ chameleon/ Magic Eye/ VFD/ pin-up calendars/ planetary orbit/ LaGrange point/ Gustav Mahler/ Easter/ Stonehenge/ The Simpsons/ The Blue Raja/ Magnum/ Wayne Gretzky/ Chevy Silverado/ rhymes with “orange”/ slam poetry/ dactylic hexameter/ epic simile/ Beowulf/ werewolves/ tidal locking/ the Key Club/ philanthropy/ the Good Samaritan law/ fictional settings/ Gilmore Girls/ Captain Kirk/ Vaughan Williams (100) |
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| Stranger than Fiction, Part 2 |
[Jun. 13th, 2008|11:17 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Markham | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Mendelssohn - Midsummer Night's Dream Overture (UWO Symphony Orchestra) | ] |
100 WORDS - 12 June, 2008
It is probably impossible for you to understand how he felt upon seeing the crowd around the fire of people whom, for most of his life, he could never have imagined to exist. The thought occurred to him that these must be supernatural beings of significant power. He talked with them for hours, all the while the momentousness of the discovery slowly dawning on him. His paradigm of the universe had changed from the relatively small space in which he had lived his life. And when he noticed the passageway behind the fire, he felt it about to change again. (100)
100 WORDS - 13 June, 2008
They warned him that it would be too much for his mind to comprehend, but he insisted they show him. Already they had revealed the secret of the sacred shadows, but they were reluctant to go further. He didn’t let up, and eventually they resignedly let him pass. Oh, the smells and sounds coming from the other side of the passageway! He started to walk faster, and he thought that the people had added more fuel to the fire, but no—the light was coming from ahead. But how was that possible? He walked out of the cave, and was blinded. (200) |
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| Stranger than Fiction |
[Jun. 11th, 2008|03:39 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | contemplative | ] |
100 WORDS - 10 June, 2008
He opened his eyes and blinked. It was dark. That was no surprise. It had been dark every day as long as he could remember. He looked into the familiar dim flickers on the wall. They made no more sense than they ever did. Why his people put so much stock in their unintelligible dance he couldn’t fathom. Today, though, he sensed, would be different. He had had his suspicions for almost a year, small and easily dismissed at first, but then growing, becoming a seed of rebellion in his mind. If he was right, his life would change forever. (100)
100 WORDS - 11 June, 2008
One grip after another, he climbed, keeping an eye on the sleeping community below. The wall was made to discourage climbers but the task was not impossible. As he ascended, his limbs grew sore, out of practice from countless years of limited use, but his resolve only strengthened. There must be something else to this world, he repeated to himself, his body struggling to keep pace with his ambition. And then he was there. He pulled himself up and looked straight into the faces of the strangers crowded around the fire, itself a new and impressive sight. They’d been waiting. (200) |
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| Never have I ever... |
[Jun. 10th, 2008|03:06 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | cheerful | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Jacob de Haan - Ross Roy | ] |
100 WORDS - 9 June, 2008.
Exactly half of the following statements are true:
Never have I ever attended a Toronto Maple Leafs game.
Never have I ever been sick from drinking.
Never have I ever been to California.
Never have I ever been walked in on.
Never have I ever broken a bone.
Never have I ever cheated on anyone.
Never have I ever danced on a stage.
Never have I ever had sex outdoors.
Never have I ever ridden on an elephant.
Never have I ever smoked pot.
Never have I ever spent the night on a beach.
Never have I ever worn braces. (100) |
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| Convocation |
[Jun. 9th, 2008|12:42 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | indifferent | ] |
| [ | music |
| | something in my head - possibly Sibelius | ] |
100 WORDS - 8 June, 2008
It feels weird. Well, it felt weird the first time, knowing I was going to do it again in two years. The two years have passed, and now I’m looking back, not only at the first time I walked across that stage, but also of last year, when I saw four other groups do it, including many friends. My parents are halfway across the world, and I’m not willing to make other relatives suffer through the ordeal. So I hazard it alone—well, not alone: I will thankfully be surrounded by my friends who, after all, are quite family enough. (100)
P.S. Why is the "indifferent" face smiling? |
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| Fun with Surveys |
[Jun. 8th, 2008|12:52 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Holsinger - To Tame the Perilous Skies | ] |
The second question in a survey I saw posted by one of my friends struck me as pretty stupid when I read it, and when I shared it with Marla, we spontaneously started coming up with humorous potential responses (not for Ashley specifically, but just in general).
2. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed?
Ashley said: mmm because I like him :)
Survey says...
P: I was under duress.
M: I was toying with him.
P: I was drunk.
...And didn't realize at the time what he actually looked like.
M: I was trying to see how many people I could kiss in one night.
M: I wanted in their pants.
P: I thought he was my boyfriend.
P: I tripped.
M: He was my friend's boyfriend.
...And I was having a fight with my friend.
M: He had chocolate in his teeth and it looked yummy.
P: I didn't realize he'd be a terrible kisser.
M: I felt sorry for him.
P: He looked like [insert favourite celebrity].
M: I thought he'd look better with lipstick.
P: I wanted to see if I could induce a visible erection.
P: I got $5 out of it.
M: His friend was hot.
P: I was manning the kissing booth at the local fair. / It was for charity.
M: I spun the bottle. :(
M: It was your mom.
P: I was trying to make up for accidentally biting down.
P: It was late and I was tired.
M: He was talking too much.
P: The director is a pervert.
M: Because my boyfriend likes lesbian action.
P: I couldn't think of a reason not to. / M: Why not?
P: Everyone else was taken when the clock struck midnight. / Stupid mistletoe.
M: She was my grandmother
P:... And she was on her deathbed.
M: Because he told me he'd turn into a prince. / I thought she'd wake up.
P: I didn't think she'd wake up.
M: I wanted to see if he was as good as his brother.
M: I didn't dodge it fast enough.
P: Nobody told me we were related.
I want a competition! Vote for your top 3! |
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| These feet are made for walking... |
[Jun. 8th, 2008|02:17 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | James Newton Howard - Peter Pan OST | ] |
100 WORDS - 6 June, 2008
I like to think that I take care of myself; I don’t like to think (though it is too true) that I do so because my body isn’t very strong. I’ve always known that I have a weak constitution, and I usually go out of my way to compensate. I almost always wear socks to bed; I will usually wear more clothing than necessary; my toque is more or less permanently affixed to my head between December and March; I don’t eat particularly well all the time but I keep close tabs on what I do. Seems to be working. (100)
There appears to be trouble with the map loading as part of the entry. Link to it here.
100 WORDS - 7 June, 2008
Once in awhile, though, I’m reminded of how weak I can really be. I walked the whole route in the map today, red away from home and blue towards home. If my (somewhat inebriated) calculations are correct, it works out to somewhat over 10 km – maybe closer to 12 km. As someone who is not used to that much strain, my feet are really quite sore now. Is this unusual? Should I be able to walk 10 km in a day without any trouble? It’s not like I even did it all at once. But it’s a lot for me. (200) |
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| Sorry about that... |
[Jun. 6th, 2008|12:54 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | blah | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Mahler Symphony No. 2, Mvmt III (Oslo PO/Jansons) | ] |
Preamble: I decided to write about this largely because it’s controversial and I want to see if anyone is still reading this and paying enough attention to comment. But also because the only other thing I could have written was as much of a downer as yesterday’s post and no one wants to read that crap.
--
100 WORDS - 5 June, 2008
I think the phrases “thank you” and “sorry” have lost their meaning through wanton overuse. I don’t like to offend people, so I will sometimes compromise my principles. But I try not to say “thank you” unless I feel someone has gone out of their way to do something for me (holding a door without pausing is just common courtesy; the bus driver is just doing his job); and “sorry” unless I feel I actually did something wrong (accidental bumps in crowded areas are inevitable). In particular, I think “thank you” is perpetuating courtesy’s uncommon status. It should be common. (100)
--
Thoughts? Also, isn’t it weird how “unavoidable” where I wrote “inevitable” would mean something completely different? |
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| Nostalgia |
[Jun. 5th, 2008|01:10 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  melancholy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Brahms - Symphony No. 3, Mvmt I (London Classical Players/Norrington) | ] |
100 WORDS - 4 June, 2008
I don’t know what I was expecting to happen. I opened the document knowing full well what I was going to see. My eyes skimmed down the page, reading some parts quickly through, some more carefully… lingering on some more than was probably prudent. Some words brought a fleeting joy to my heart, some a chuckle to my mouth, some figurative tears to my eyes. And some, too, pangs to an ineffable part of me. I certainly wasn’t expecting to get through it and be happier. Why would I bother, then? I’m just another idiot, just a sucker for nostalgia. (100) |
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| A Valid Conceit? |
[Jun. 4th, 2008|01:21 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Bloch Concerto Grosso No. 1 (Eastman-Rochester/Hanson) | ] |
100 WORDS - 3 June, 2008
So I've posted videos on Youtube from the April concert of the string orchestra I ran this past year. It was a group of some music majors and a lot of non-music majors who missed playing their instruments. Being an extracurricular activity, everything else took priority, and as a result, it wasn’t the most polished concert ever. But it was really good for what it was. Is it conceited of me, then, to be offended when some random guy posts a comment that reads only “BAD!”? It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t “bad” given the circumstances. I removed the comment. (100) |
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| 100 words revisited |
[Jun. 3rd, 2008|12:55 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Dvorak Serenade for Strings (Cappella Istropolitana) | ] |
100 WORDS - 1 June 2008
Well, I’ve been meaning to start writing these again for some time now. Originally when I went on hiatus at the end of February, I had lofty ambitions of starting it up again in April. Of course, with all the end-of-year stuff (end-of-degree stuff!) going on, that simply didn’t happen. The first few days of May, too, I spent in St. Catharines and away from internet access. So as May drew to a close, I thought I would begin again on the first of June. Clearly, I forgot. I was also supposed to pay rent yesterday, and didn’t until today. (100)
100 WORDS - 2 June 2008
My memory continues to deteriorate, and it worries me more by the day. Not only have I been forgetting the more trivial stuff, but lately I think some of my friendships have suffered a little due to my regular failed attempts to remember what is going on in those people’s lives. One friend in particular whom I don’t see as much anymore has fallen victim to my memory gaffes a lot recently. I’m not sure what I can do about this, or whether there is even anything to be done. I doubt if even something like Supermemo would help me. (200)
P.S. Woo Pittsburgh! |
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| A recess |
[Mar. 2nd, 2008|06:30 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | productive | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Beethoven 3, 1st movement (in my head) | ] |
Yeah, I’m out. I lasted 28 days, more or less – that is, I posted 28 times during the month of February (not counting the leap day, of course), but I don’t think I can keep it up, at least not for March. Bravo to Katy, who’s still going, and Marla, who’s still perfect, if you blur the definition of “midnight” a little. It was good to be able to write again but I don’t think it would be a good idea to try and pit “100 words” against school stuff for the next little while. See you in April, maybe. (100) |
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| Program Notes |
[Feb. 29th, 2008|12:16 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | London | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Glass - Metamorphosis Four (van Veen) | ] |
I really enjoy writing program notes. I’ve never really thought about why, but I was sitting on the can a few minutes ago thinking about what to write today and as usual I thought back to what I had done today. In terms of productivity, my main work was on the notes for the Messiaen-Stravinsky concert upcoming (March 13th – be there). I think the reason that I enjoy it so much is because it is my way of providing for an audience that which, as an audience member, I would appreciate myself: a greater understanding of the music that’s being performed. (100)
P.S. Is it program notes or programme notes? |
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