Today's weather is magical. First it was forecasted as very warm, in the 20s(C), but it was cloudy in the morning and was cold. After lunch it started raining, then very heavy rain, then stopped for a while, then rained a little, and then, when you don't expect to see any sunset, there is a smidgeon of red sunlight going out of the clouds (when I was in Georgetown). But then, when I got off the metro in crystal city, I saw this beautiful layers of clouds with hints of rich colors, red, yellow, orange, so beautiful. I first took out my ipod but then I had a better idea: the roof! Here is what I got on my digital camera. Should have taken out the big and more professional camera! Sky watching is one of my favoria
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Recently I have come to consider the amazing fact of the taste of my shift in music. I have gone a long way since I was in high school, started to addict to Mendelssohn's violin concerto in e minor and Beethoven piano sonatas by Kempff(of course before that there was Chinese traditional music carried down by my father). I then favored the Romanticism over everything else, immersed in Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Schubert, etc., for a long time. Then maybe Bach came along with Mozart, which I was ok with in general but adored some of their works.
Then I moved to the US and suddenly the world music started to take over classical for the most part--some of my favorite include the Indian classical Hindustani music, Indonesian gamelan music, the Irish gigs and reels, and the Brazilian Bossa Nova. Many of those music I also had an opportunity to play. Then I spent some time in China and was really into French Jazz and Chanson. Popular music, I was never preoccupied with them, but liked some pieces here and there over the years, such as MJ, Jay Chou, Taylor Swift, Such Great Heights, and some others. What amazes my is that now I am in a place that I have so much variety to select from in all these, but I keep coming back to one composer--J.S.Bach. There is no doubt that Western art music is still the most close to my heart, but it seems a little puzzling that I keep coming back to Bach: with all other varieties just with in that tradition, why Bach? I am not sure. Maybe it has to do with my taste--favoring pure instrumental music over vocal music, and intellectually, Bach's polyphony can never fail to keep my brain activity at a rather satisfying and exciting level musically/sonically/auditorily, maybe just for the mere reason that there is always a lot of structures going on in any moment with his keyboard polyphonic music. The other reason may be that although often perceived as having little variation of rhythm and meter, Bach's keyboard music actually is very catchy and very motivating in terms of moving my body. Some one might mistaken me while I engage with Bach for some rock song. There is no surprise there actually since a lot of his style did come from dance music at that time. Finally, Glenn Gould's re-creation really made it more intriguing. So, in any case, salute to J.S. Bach, and his brilliant keyboard music: English Suites, French Suite, Partitas, Toccatas, Prelude and Fugue, Inventions, Goldberg Variations, Harpsichord Concertos, Italian concertos, the art of fugue, etc. And thank you to Glenn Gould, whom I have listened to for over a decade and still excites me over anything else. This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. A supposed-to-be tragic event triggers a series of complications which makes this movie a mix of being a comedy and a tragedy. The setting in Hawaii, its beautiful and unique landscapes, and its slide-guitar soft music brings another layer of fresh air. It is a movie that can make you laugh pretty frequently and can make you cry pretty movingly. The filming is also very aesthetically pleasing. I love this film, absolutely. It tells a simple rule: life in this world is never as simple as black and white. There is no clear distinctions drawn between right and wrong, love and hate, etc, just as in academia a lot of times. In the end, though, no matter what, when a life ends, it just doesn't matter, except for dropping a few sincere tears for your loved ones.
I have too little time to write a blog after I moved to DC recently. But I do want to record a number of new experiences here, however concise:
1. Megabus is bad! After they made us wait, made us miss the bus, they wouldn't even reply my complaining email. I hate them. 2. NBA game is exciting-DC WIZARDS vs CHICAGO BULLS. It's really a miniature of American culture and life. 3. Chomsky is a incredible thinker. To be able to analyze syntax the way he does is beyond anyone's imagination. 4. 田牧米is really the best rice I've ever had. 5.DC's weather rocks! 6. Arlington-at least Crystal City, is the best community I have ever lived in. 7. Doing phonetic analysis with Praat is nice. So many levels in this software. 8. Syntax still gets me going. It is very intriguing. 9. I continue to balance perspectives from humanities and sciences. 10.Play more music is always good for me. |
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