Tak syok kah? Hisap tektek lah!!!

Itu anjing ah, memang sudah tua tau?

OK lah, takpe! Kalau tak recognise kontribusi saya terhadap sekolah, biarlah saye tidur di bilik kelas lah... Saye tak penting ape! Sudah main konsert sebanyak bintang-bintang di langit pun tak dibagi satu anugerah pun, mengapa nak main?? Hanya nak menafikan kerajinan saya saje!

Konsert-konsert tak pay punya tau? Saya pun main!! Hisap tektek lah babi!!! Kalau tak main, recital saye lebih banyak masa untuk praktis! Hisap tektek lah!!!!!!

Sudah tua nak buat ape? Balik rumah tidur lah! Bodoh punya anjing tua! Pukimak punya orang.

U geram saye takpe, tapi kalau macam ini ah, ertinya "mixing business with personal grudge", tak baik tau? Nanti masuk neraka bila mati oh~~

Hati-hatilah anjing, jangan-jangan nanti dibakar api ok?

Jibai betul...

莫名其妙

今天有人講冰冰貓出水痘!! 而且已經傳遍學校了!! 哈哈!!
莫名其妙...
今天去學校練四季沙拉就已經問我冰冰是不是生水痘了. 我就說:"沒有啊, 挪, 她這不是來了嗎?"過後麥可也打電話來問學校的"妓女"中提琴有沒有在locker裡. 莫名其妙, 我就說我不知道啦...
後來練完了Paul Chihara11點多的時候, 老師來了一封冰冰貓看得莫名其妙的e-mail. 老師說他遺憾聽到關於冰冰的事情, 問我Chihara怎麼辦.後來冰冰貓救回信說她非常健康, 不知道老師從哪裡聽到的. 結果老師回信說:"是老狗說的."
哇哈哈哈哈哈哈哈!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
看來老狗是時候回家享清福了... ... ...

Papa and Mama

So they're here --- at last --- after so much persuation!!

They seem very excited, out of my expectation though... They didn't really wanna come so much before...

Papa has been smiling since he got here --- a rare opportunity to see that. He kept taking pictures everywhere, the BONUS he wants HIMSELF in the pictures! That's a miracle!

I'm really happy they're here to look at my life. They should feel happy to be here too, after all, how many times in your life do you have a chance to go half a globe from home to visit a place?

Oscars???

So there was this nominee who stepped on the tail of one of the jury right?

And take note that the stepping would not happen if it wasn't thanks to the ass behind who ratted this nominee.

So once this juror got stepped on his tail, he pointed at the nominee and accuse him as the Devil himself.

Great.

So now this juror persuaded the whole jury not to give this nominee even ONE award, so to let out his anger, punish the nominee, take revenge --- or whatever, you name it.

It's really interesting to see those people who only look at the surface of what had happened, and simply accuse the first person they saw as the criminal. They don't care who was behind it, and how would they even KNOW about this stepping-tail issue if it wasn't that one sneaky rat behind who secretly spread the "gospel" of his/hers. Talking about moral decay and back-stabbing, ha!

Is this about the Oscar® Award Ceremony? No, not at all.

Those who are involved and read this, THINK with your brains before you act! Who is the ultimate evil? Why don't you go find out who that is, and give him/her the same treatment as the nominee mentioned? And for that sneaky rat, if you dare, go ahead and forward this to whoever you like!

p/s: Those who think I stink, please, you don't have to pretend to be nice to me. You don't even have to talk to me if you don't feel like it, you know? That will make you sick one day if you keep forcing yourself to smile whenever you see me. Please, you don't have to. I don't need that hypocrisy! Just carry on with your preferred life, and I carry on mine, and that's fair enough!

The Return of Perfect 5th

I've been hating my fingered perfect 5th for a while.

Somehow I just couldn't get it in tune even if I tuned my A and E strings to ULTRA PERFECT 5TH!

At first I thought I suck big time because I didn't practice all that much (that's too kind, I almost never had time to practice actually) these days. But when I was dead sure I got the right positions (hey, the fingerboard ain't that big ok?) and I still couldn't get it right, I knew something was wrong ---- maybe the weather (it turned warm radically these days), my violin or my string.

It's like, when I place my first finger on two strings, the E is already lower. If I squeezed another finger under my first finger, then it will sound perfect 5th.

Most peculiar.

So I called up Martin at 11 something last night --- he was half asleep (sorry man, didn't know you're such an early sleeper!) --- to ask about this, he told me it's gotta be the string. He suggested me to try to change one of them.

So the only possibility left is my E string because my A string was only 2 weeks old. I had been using the E for a month or so if I'm not mistaken. All I know was it got a bit rusty in the first position (I've got the strangest sweat ever I tell ya).

So finally I changed my string tonight, and guess what? MY DAMN PERFECT 5TH CAME BACK!!!

But then of course, I have to fix my wrong finger positions that is a bad habit caused by the stupid old E string that lost its tension! Kind of a trouble too!

Over and out. Sleepy.

Nihm

Perhaps I should listen to the album more before I write this, but I'm too excited!

I was looking at some CDs the other day in Tower, after a very exciting gig. I got more than I expected from the person who hired me, so I decided to be a little bad boy for a day ---- to buy myself some CDs.

Damn are they expensive! But later on I decided to buy Erik Friedlander's Prowl. I've seen him playing live --- amazing. So I decided to buy it cuz it's on sale, 14.99 instead of the usual 16.99. *BAM!! "Sold for 14.99! Thank you sir..." (why am I doing this Phantom thingy?)

Then I thought of Okkyung Lee's Nihm, so I went on to find her name. I found the album, I really want to buy it, because I could never forget "A Windy Day" by her. It's simply amazing!

But I stopped and called Ken who's at home in LA, I told him to browse the Tzadik website for me before I make up my mind to buy it. He told me the price is much cheaper, so I went home to buy it online.

So at last I got the CD "Nihm" today.

I can't tell you how great the feeling was. Maybe simply because I'm an Asian. I can totally tell what she must be feeling when she created all these wonderful music. From "A Windy Day" to "Home" to "Sky" and so on...

I was touched in the soul...

Thanks Okkyung, for the great music you made!

Four Seasonssssssssssssss..............

Mike gave me a shocking e-mail the other day saying that he can't do the Four Seasons for my concert.

I was like, "Shit! What am I gonna do?"

I tried to ask for help from DJ but he couldn't do it either. So how? DJR was panicked too, cuz he was the one who helped me recruiting those people.

But finally I found that my paranoia is a waste of energy.

We had a pretty good first rehearsal last night, despite the fact that Carlene our cellist couldn't make it, David's not back in town yet to play the harpsichord. But they will be here soon, so why worry?

So we have HP on first, Ina on second, Sara on viola and Marty on bass, and I was the solo violinist cum conductor. It was a fun experience. Although we couldn't run 2 seasons as planned, we managed to rehearse and polish the Spring in a detailed way that we could never do if we have a bigger ensemble. So in a way, I was glad that we have a small group.

Members of the band are very motivated too! We immediately scheduled two other rehearsals after realizing we couldn't accomplish our schedule for the day.

Being a "conductor" while playing the violin is not easy, it's different from leading a string quartet or a violin section. I guess I learned something from yesterday's rehearsal, was cool!

Spring Break... how grand is that?

My first day of spring break was a day without HP at home.

I spent my daytime at school, printing the part scores for the Four Seasons band.

Then I got home, tired, switched on the TV, and fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, it was about 8.30pm. I finished up Da Vinci Code in break-neck speed while the TV was still on, the National Geographic was showing the "Science in the Bible" series, discussing the role of John the Baptist towards Jesus Christ --- was he a mentor or simply a person who welcomed the arrival of Christ. Since the publication of Da Vinci Code, NatGeo Channel has been showing shows like this all along. How was Christ crucified? Who was Mary M --- prophet or prostitute? Now even better, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot ---- was he really a traitor or was he a hero? You tell me, I dunno. Then again, who really knows?

Then at about 11pm or so, I started to practice 'til one-ish. Go ahead, shout "YOU FUCKIN' CRAZY?!".

Then I took out my remaining sesame chicken that I brought back from New Wok's Kitchen, doing my "dinner" ritual, with Decalogue Two playing in my DVD player. Didn't finish Decalogue as I finished my sesame chicken. I went on to bed with Yumemakura Baku's "Shamon Kukai" in hand, read his preface, read the prologue, and passed out.

That was about 3am.

閒談水樂

媽媽說外婆並不識字,可是說的哲理卻比讀死書的讀書人更有深意. 她常告訴媽媽:"欺山莫欺水".

這句話簡單直接有道理.

水平時看似柔軟無形, 可是用處很大, 威力更大.

外婆, 不欺水, 嬉水總可以吧?

這裡說的是譚盾的<<水樂>>.

果然天才就是天才, 簡簡單單的四盆水, 他可以想出各種"玩水"的方式, 而且各種不同手勢打下去得到的聲音都在考慮範圍內. 發明新樂器達到自己要的聲音自然更加不在話下.

玩, 也要玩到有格調.

所以他玩起了他的劇場式演奏: 燈光 (全暗, 只有四個水盆裡的亮光), 走台 (四個演奏者拉著特別發明的樂器慢慢從不同角落步上台).

接下來是層出不窮的道具, 三個木碗倒放在水裡, 敲擊出音符與類似木琴的聲音; 把鑼浸到水裡, 扭曲鑼聲的音調; 敲打浸在水桶裡的塑料管, 以放置的深淺打出各種音符... 等等等...

外婆的"欺山莫欺水"道出水的潛力; 而譚盾的<<水樂>>, 則重新定義水的潛力.

More about lesson with Lipsey

"Why does Adams choose 3/4 meter? (Me: Because it's round and every swinging?) Not really. Think about it, it's just the same as why Bach used it. Because 3/4, when you play it in double time, which means in 8th notes, you totally change to a different tempo! You don't need to change tempo markings or the meters! See, now you have '1-2-3, 1-2-3' and then the next thing will be '123456, 123456' then if u want it faster, 16th notes '123456789101112, 123456789101112!' (Me: Ooh~~~)"

Never seen a Malay joke in e-mail before, this is the first one, and is a must-see!!

Keputusan seorang ayah... (The Decision of a Father)

Sang ayah dan ibu sangat marah dan menyesal bila mengetahui anak perempuan mereka hamil."Siapa si bedebah tu," jerit sang ayah, sedang si ibu menangis. "Suruh dia datang sini!"Si anak pun telepon le mamat yang bertanggung jawab. Setengah jam kemudian sebuah kereta Ferrari merah berhenti di depan rumah. Seorang lelaki separuh baya keluar dari kereta, memberi salam lalu masuk kerumah.Lelaki itu berdepan dengan mak dan ayah perempuan yang telah dihamilinya. Dia berkata, "Saya lelaki yang telah menghamili anak anda. Tapi terus terang saya katakan saya tidak dapat menikahi anak anda kerana isteri saya tak membenarkan. Bagaimanapun, saya tetap bertanggung jawab atas perbuatan saya. Sekiranya anak anda melahirkan seorang bayi perempuan saya akan wasiatkan untuknya dua buah supermarket, sebuah rumah banglo dan wang tunai RM5 juta. Sekiranya dia melahirkan ! anak lelaki saya akan wasiatkan untuknya dua buah kilang, dua buah supermarket, dua buah rumah banglo dan wang tunai RM10 juta. Tapi sekiranya anak anda keguguran apakah yang harus saya lakukan?"Sang ayah berfikir. Siibu berhenti menangis. Akhirnya sambil menepuk bahu lelaki itu sang ayah berkata, "Kalau camtu hang cuba le lagi."

Lesson with Lipsey

(After hearing our performance of first movement of John Adams' Road Movies)

"(To David) Do you like this piece? (David: Yes, I like it very much!) But you have to understand what's going on in the rhythm, you have to identify the patterns. I can here from you (pointing at me) a little bit, but not from you (David). (At me again) Although you did some but it's not enough, you can always do much more. I wanna hear the patterns.

Where did you (David) grow up? (Spain) Ah, so it's North African influenced. Just look at Flamenco music, it's very North African influenced. But this piece is not African influenced, it's very Indian. If Steve Reich, yes, he is very African influenced. He does the phasing technique by gradually speeding up one of the two unison lines and creating a new pattern. But for Adams, he uses the rhythmic division technique. Cuz Indian people has no harmony, they play in unison. How to make things interesting? They have to do something with the rhythm! Let's say when they're jamming, one person is playing 15 beats, and the other is playing in 5 beats. When the 5-beats guy finished his 3 time, that where the 15-beats guy run into each other, and they smile at each other like, 'Ah! This is it!'.

This piece is rhythmically dissonant. (I raised my eyebrows --- never heard of such a term) You're (as in David) playing 3 beats in a bar with four 16th notes in a beat, while you (as in me) are playing a three 16th notes group all the time. Now you have to have an idea of section in this music, let's say this section is the 'tonic' of the movement. (A tonic in rhythm?!) You have to play the tonic right, so that when you come back in the recapitulation, people will understand. Right? Just imagine if you play a first theme of a piece out of tune, can people recognize it when you're doing a recap?

(Lipsey started to show us how to feel the groove of rhythm by singing and clapping and stomping his foot, doing all the rhythms in our parts. Holy cow...)

As you realize, his (me) motif is fairly simple, it's just two 16th notes and a 16th rest and another 16th note. Then it develops into two 16ths followed by one 16th rest. Then all of a sudden, he added more pairs in here, 'da-da-da-dup!', it becomes for in a group! Then 'da-da-da-da-da-da-dup!!', it's six in a group. But they're developed from the same motif.

Now let's do it slow and feel the groove. Let's just pick a few bars and we'll loop it. Where should we start? (I said,"2nd to 4th bar?") Why do you wanna choose that? You think that's a pattern? (I was hesitating, and said, "Err...") Come on this is your recital! (With an evil grin. I was cold sweating... yeah in front of Prof Lipsey, I'll never know enough. Well, good to know what I dunno) OK let's do that!

(As we started looping the 3 bars slowly, he started to act like a drumset player banging different parts of the drumset. Sometimes the snare, then, "CRASH!!" cymbal crash, then high hat. Trying to make us feel the groove...)

As I noticed, you're always waiting a little too long in the 16th rest (at me). Same thing I noticed in Worker's Union (a piece that I play in the contemporary ensemble), you are always following the rhythm, you're not playing it at your own will. You should lead! Both of you should lead! (Same old chamber music saying, but when it comes out from a percussion player's mouth, man, I tell ya, it's a whole different meaning!)

(After the coaching...)

You guys shouldn't set up like this (I always stood beside David). I mean who cares how you look like on the stage when the music sounds like shit right? Face each other! Look at each other and communicate!

Take some time to read the music and look out for the things you should notice, especially you (me), it's your recital! (OK... I know...)

I think we should have a couple more coachings. (Whoa... never expected that! Awesome!)"

Quite a character, Prof Lipsey, but it's this chacracter that makes him a unique coach in my school. He's hardcore alright, but I like it. After all, that's the way our teachers from the Oriental side are, right?

Thanks Albert!

Oh Albert my friend! Thanks for helping me to search for John Adams' articles! Thank you so much!

Minimalism...

I am preparing to write my final paper.

Problem is: Books?

OK, don't get me wrong, I found some books about Minimalist composers from our school library. I found 5 actually. But the writings about John Adams are soooo pathetic!

I need more resources~~~~

I'm just so surprised that the writings and books about Minimalist movement in music (not to mention the composers) are so limited! It is such an important movement since decades ago and is still going strong now!

So far on New York Public Library, I could only find one book published by Phaidon, entitled "Minimalists", with Steve Reich's head on the cover. Not bad, but not enough.

Gosh... why are the topics that I chose are always so hard to gather information? I still remember what I went through went I was writing my bachelor paper about jazz violin and classical violin...

JC!!! I need your Pipe Piper!!!

Mr Corigliano!!!!!!! I truly need your help!!!!!! Could you please bring on your Pipe Piper to help me get rid of my apartment's mices?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Just imagine: I busted 4 mices in 3 days!!!!

See now the mices are getting immuned of the sticky boards I put in my kitchen! I had to go buy POISON!!!!

I don't mean to be saddistic but they pushing me to the edge! I dunno what would I do next! Maybe burn the whole heater room down!!!

Please JC!! Save me from this!!!

Miss Saigon..........NO MORE!

Champagne!!

Wine!!

Chips!!

WHATEVER YOU CAN THINK OF, BRING IT ON!!!

I WANNA PARTY!!!

For Miss Saigon has ended its last show on Saturday, April Fool's Day!!!

Yes, finished indeed, but I can't say the tunes have left my head. I still hear "You are sunlight..." and "Make me Yankee..." then "Girls~~ I got girls~~!" and then "But man, will always be man, you changed the regime, your mind's still the same"......

Oh God, when is this gonna end!!!???

Frank said this is a kind of schizophrenia, I would have to agree with him.

But thanks Jeff, for handling the check right after the show! I love your efficiency and your understanding of our nightmares. (hehe...)

Also many thanks for Marsha for fetching me and HP every day to the show, I dunno how we could make it without your help! (And of course, thanks for letting me fill your car with my weird music and bringing us to the Chip Shop)

Finally, many many thanks to Geoffrey my brotha for hooking me up with this gig and inviting me to the Chip Shop to celebrate! You the man!!!

p/s: I can't imagine how much will I miss the bikini girls on stage for the rest of the month! Pui-Shan, you're a wonderful singer, 加油!! And Yanni, I really hope to see you in action (literally) again!!!