She had two choices – drop her luggage off at the hotel after landing at the airport or head straight to the exhibition after landing. Either way, she decided she’ll make her choice after the plane lands, as she sat at the departure lounge of AirAsia Indonesia. It was a full flight she mused to herself, staring at the steady stream of passengers making their way into the lounge. The lounge was already teeming with travelers. At the row of seats next to the departure door were three friends all lost in their own world. One whiled the time away playing his PSP; another fiddled with his iPod while the only woman in the group just sat quietly on her chair. In front of her were a mother and daughter, passports in hand, quietly waiting for boarding to commence. Beside her were another group of women chatting away.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted the lady who sat next to her outside the departure lounge. She recognized the shawl, skinny jeans and black flats. She – lady in skinny jeans – was also flying off to Singapore. She learnt about that tidbit after accidentally glancing at her boarding slip. They had the same boarding gate, D4. She – lady in skinny jeans – was oblivious to the world, busily typing on her sleek Blackberry, with her legs tucked underneath her.

Her thoughts shifted to the announcements overhead.

“Calling all passengers of AirAsia Indonesia heading to Ho Chi Minh City – please proceed to the lounge on your left. The lounge on your right is for the passengers of flight QZ7790 heading for Singapore. Thank you for your attention,” boomed the ground crew’s voice.

“To all passengers of AirAsia Indonesia heading for Ho Chi Ming City – please approach the counter for your free snacks. Thank you for your attention,” she broadcast through the air.

“To all passengers of AirAsia Indonesia QZ7790 – your aircraft has just landed and we’ll need 10 minutes to get everything prepared for your flight. Thank you for waiting.”

She had never flown AirAsia before but, despite the horror stories heard from friends, couldn’t pass up on the promo airfare for a weekend sojourn to the red dot. She wasn’t about to complain about the delay although she wanted to. After all, flying budget has its “perks”.

And yet another announcement: “To all passengers of AirAsia Indonesia QZ7790 – your flight is ready for boarding. We are now boarding passengers seated from rows 1 to 5. Kindly proceed to the departure gate at the end of the lounge.”

And she remembered why her friends wouldn’t fly AirAsia. The cabin crew stationed at the gate hardly looked at the boarding pass as she slipped through. The queue was virtually non-existent, it was simply pro forma. A throng of people circled the glass door and, in baby steps, maneuvered their way through the glass door, pass the cabin crew and down the tunnel to the plane.

However, AirAsia has certainly taken off, she mused, as she perused the in-flight catalogue of souvenirs – from shirts to Swiss adaptors – and the a la carte meals. The face of the budget airline’s CEO flashed through her mind suddenly. Tony Fernandez was not your archetypal stiff, staid and somber CEO running a major company. He was so casual in his attire of jeans, long-sleeved shirt and a red cap touting the AirAsia brand while his counterparts were garbed in the traditional corporate attire for the annual aviation conference when she first – and last – saw him. She gathered her wits, walked towards him, introduced herself (she was working as an editor for a travel magazine back then) and they exchanged cards.

Skeptics were just waiting their turn to have a go at the music man –turned – maverick airline CEO at one of the conference rooms of the then Swissotel The Stamford Hotel (now known as Fairmont Singapore). However, Tony was far from nonplussed at the jibes hurled his way. In fact, he humbly admitted that his credentials – he was formerly with Sony – did not state anything remotely connected to the aviation industry yet he pushed through with his plans of running his own airline. His wife was slightly cynical about the whole venture but backed him up nonetheless. Tony, undoubtedly, was facing difficulties in getting landing rights in Singapore at that time, which he took in stride, openly announcing that he wished Singapore would reconsider his nth application for landing rights. That was several years ago and AirAsia is regularly berthing its fleet of aircraft at Singapore Changi Airport.

Before she knew it, in less than two hours, she was landing at Singapore Changi, and that’s when she felt the coldness in the air, the queasy feeling in the tummy and the heaviness in spirit. But she brushed them aside and hurried to the taxi stand. She barely had enough time to hail a cab and hightail it to Artesan Gallery on Bukit Timah Road. Crossing her fingers, she hoped traffic would be smooth and the driver the silent type. She was certainly not in the mood for idle chatter. Her luck hadn’t run out that evening and she managed to make it to the gallery for her sister’s first solo exhibition in Singapore. There were a few guests left but at least she made it.

It was four months ago when she packed her bags to start anew, to collect her shattered soul in the suburbs of Bekasi. Now she was back in the red dot flummoxed by the sea of emotions – anger, sadness, desperation, hope, betrayal, pining away for a lost love – rushing towards her. There has to be an end to this endless wave of misery she thought to herself, as she waited for the taxi attendant to hail her a cab.

“Welcome to Singapore. Berth number 3 ma’am,” cut through the air. She mumbled a thank you and rolled her bag to the boot of the waiting cab.

 Traffic was smooth. She glanced at her watch – she still had more than 30 minutes before the Nessun Dorma: New Works by Lyra Garcellano closed at 10.

 Her thoughts continued to meander: will the ghosts of the past let her be or will none let her sleep tonight in the red dot?

And this is how it is done. All comments saying that Paul Potts’ version is better than this, shalt be instantly deleted.

The expression at the finale “Vincero!” is worth a million words. This is probably the most emotional performace I’ve ever seen. This is why he is The Pavarotti.

Picture this, you’re sitting on the edge of your bed late at night. You take off your shoes but you just can’t seem to get your socks off. Perhaps it’s too dark. Perhaps you’re too drunk. Perhaps you’re not wearing socks. Perhaps they’re too tight and small. Perhaps they have one of those heavy duty elastics in the top that cut off your blood circulation and leave marks on your legs for hours. It could be anything really, my mind reels with the possible reasons. You clearly need to have your socks blown off. I have the solution. Listen to Antony sing opera classic Nessun Dorma here. Socks off, problem solved. Fin.

“Güzel bir kahve içtiğinizde de, etkileyici bir müzik dinlediğinizde de gözlerinizi kapama eğiliminde olduğunuzu fark ettiniz mi hiç? Bu küçük zevkin her bir anının tadını olabildiğince çıkarmak için…” diyor Lavazza. Ve gelenekselleşmiş takvim projesinin yanına bu kez de müzikal bir proje ekliyor. Bunun için kendi deyimleriyle en sofistike seslerden Antony Hegarty’yi (Antony and the Johnsons) seçiyor.

Antony Hegarty, kahve firması için; bir Puccini klasiği ‘Nessun Dorma’yı yeniden yorumluyor. Üstelik kendi tercihiyle İtalyanca olarak… Roma Senfoni Orkestrası eşliğinde Antony Hegarty’den ‘Nessun Dorma’yı dinlemek isteyenler burayı tıklasın.

Francesca Lavazza’nın müzik ve kahve ile ilgili söylediklerini de buraya not edelim: “Müzik ve kahve birbiriyle bağlantılı temalardır. En az 6 bin şarkının başlığında bile kahve kelimesinin kullanılıyor olması bunun için yeterli ispattır. Sherly Crow ve Bob Dylan gibi büyük sanatçılar bir fincan kahveye teşekkür etmekle ilgili şarkılar yazmışlardır.” 

Fotoğrafçı Miles Aldridge’in objektifinden Lavazza takviminin karelerini görmek isteyenler yazının devamını tıklayabilirler. Ama açıkçası çekimlerin beni çok da etkilediğini söyleyemem. İşin müzik kısmı çok daha başarılı olmuş…

Soprano, Lise Lindstrom

The old proverbial concept of “being in the right place at the right time” is still working wonders for singers.  On October 28th, the Met’s resident soprano, Maria Guleghina unexpectedly cancelled due to illness, leaving B-Cast soprano Lise Lindstrom to make her debut several days earlier. In this interesting turn of events, Lindstrom solidified her place at the Met and likely caused some uneasiness for Guleghina’s future performances.

Lindstrom’s voice is a sharp, crystalline laser at the top, evoking memories of Nilsson, even if her middle and lower voice leave something to be desired.  She was accurate in Puccinian aesthetics if not a little stilted in her Italian pronunciation.  Some reviewers seem to be more concerned about the size of Lindstrom’s voice, but I say, size doesn’t really matter…it’s whether or not you can evoke something that slaps the audience emotionally in the face.  While the role of Turandot seems to me to be the wrong direction for Guleghina to take at this point in her career, she is going to have to pull out all of the stops in order to compete with Lindstrom’s new found adoring public.

Also giving an acceptable performance was Russian soprano, Marina Poplovskaya, as Liù.  The voice has a lovely, warm tone to it and pronounced beauty, however, Poplovskaya didn’t use her innately beautiful voice to its potential.  Although the audience responded graciously to her singing, Liù’s arias, which are authentic examples of Puccini’s “povera faccia melody” were lacking in emotional depth.

For me, the success of the night was resident tenor, Marcello Giordani, who sang with true Italianante impetus and remained true to Puccini’s aesthetic.  His understanding of the “punto di linea” was evident in every nuance.  Although his voice often displays its most beautiful colore bruciato in the higher tessitura, Mr. Giordani was expressive and authentic in his approach.  The Nessun Dorma, which is the key portal to Puccini’s grandeur, was sung eloquently, passionately, and with an exquisite penultimate note, held as Puccini intended it.  Many tenors extend the note when, in fact, Puccini shunned any lengthening of these notes at the end of the aria. Had he wanted to write a long note, he would have. This shows that Mr. Giordani is more devoted to accuracy than he is centered on showing off his abilities. Bravo Marcello!!!

All in all, this performance of Turandot was much more successful than opening night’s “Tosca.”  What was more interesting was Peter Gelb’s interview during the intermission in which he suggested that they were “simply trying to give the audience something they could relate to.”  I’m all for anachronistic presentation, but bringing the past into the present doesn’t always mean that the audience wants something different, or that they can’t relate to something from the past.  After all, if opera isn’t a historical art, then what is it?  The very vocal audience at the Met, with someone even yelling out “Viva Puccini” after Giordani’s Nessun Dorma, are telling directors and producers exactly what they want.  VIVA IL POPOLO!!!!

The movement of the world can be quite unforeseen. It is a random resource that we might as well enjoy.

I choose to enjoy by writing about it. And this is what therubikpen is all about.

As an introduction to my own world, I present you my 26th of October inspirational resource.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOfC9LfR3PI&feature=related

I recently discovered that Antony Hegarty, of Antony and the Johnsons, reinterpreted the much beloved Italian aria Nessun Dorma with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra which you can listen to or download here. His interpretation being absolutely beautiful on recording, I was hoping to find a video of him performing it live on youtube. But rather than finding Antony, I found Greg Pritchard and afterwards had the same thought as 1branman1986 on the comments page – “he must have dropped his testicles at some point on the way to the stage.”

The contrast between his rockstar fashion and his vocal sensibilities is interesting but just makes you tilt your head and go, “hmm… that doesn’t seem right.” I guess that’s the beauty of it. I hope he finds a productive and artistic way in using his voice rather than just be a freak show to make a career, never the less, this performance was pretty fun to watch and to listen to.

Another great collaboration between a brand and a great artist: the Italian coffee Lavazza and Antony & Johnsons have come together for the new Lavazza campaign where Antony sings “Nessun Dorma” of Puccini.

Listen here .

In the Lavazza website you can also see the making of the 2010 Lavazza Calendar  by renown photographer Miles Aldridge.

Sitting in an empty concert hall, I remember leaning over the polished banister, enthralled by the enormous sound escaping the quaking lips on a bearded chin.  I had the opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal of Puccini’s opera, Turandot, with my fifth grade class, and the memory of hearing “Nessun Dorma” for the first time has remained one of my fondest musical recollections.  The celebrated aria gives me goose bumps each time I hear it – each time my junior year English teacher’s cell phone went off with the sound of Luciano Pavarotti’s resounding “Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!”

Luciano Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma

I get the same feeling each time my Grandmother plays her favorite recording of Paul Potts’s reverberating performance of the aria at our family’s holiday celebrations.  Potts became famous after his performance of “Nessun Dorma” on the popular TV series Britain’s Got Talent.  The aria’s presence is not that of an unapproachable operatic intellect, but that of a pop song.

Paul Potts – Nessun Dorma

The popularity of the aria, despite its operatic status, is astounding when one considers the cultural pedestal upon which opera is often placed.  As a genre, opera is intimidating to much of the American public.  This fact has a great deal to do with the foreign languages, such as Italian and German, in which many famous operas are written; Puccini’s Turandot among them, which is written in Italian.  To many of today’s music listeners, opera is fundamentally nothing more than classical music – alone, often considered an intimidating European art form – paired with incomprehensible singing and fantastical theatrical sets.  How can the average person discourse on such a topic?  It is, after all, considered “art;” not understood by the masses, but by those who have had the necessary training and who can recognize the genius of the music.  Such individuals are permitted to attend performances in great concert halls with polished banisters; only individuals such as these are expected to be enthralled by the enormous sounds and trembling vibratos that escape the lips of highly trained opera singers.  What one often forgets is the history of the pre-canonized opera.

At the time of such famous composers as Mozart and Wagner, opera was the music of the masses.  Although opera was originally confined to the royal courts of Europe, it soon became the “pop” music of the Baroque era (the late sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century) and beyond.  Opera singers became celebrities and many operatic performances were salted with a flavor of spectacle to entertain common European audience members.  Although Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot was not performed until 1926, it was still considered popular music by musicologists of the time.  In fact, Puccini’s style was often dismissed by musicologists as shallow because of its emphasis on melody for popular appeal.  My Grandmother herself, when playing her recording of “Nessun Dorma,” once told me that although Puccini’s operatic compositions were not considered “mature” – or elitist – operas, she could not help going weak at the knees when listening to Paul Potts.  And indeed, behind the intimidating Italian jargon lie the breathtaking words of a common young man in love:

No one shall sleep!…
No one shall sleep!
Even you, o Princess,
In your cold room,
Watch the stars,
That tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me,
My name no one shall know.
No!…No!…
On your mouth I will speak it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!…
No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.
Vanish, o night!
Set, stars! Set, stars!
At dawn, I will conquer! I will conquer! I will conquer!

Lauren Corallo

The Rockport Legion Band will be appearing at the annual Rockport Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 2:00 P.M. The band will be playing inside –in the Sanctuary of the Congregational Church in Rockport.

The program will be selected from the following:

New Colonial March

The Music Man

Pennsylvania Polka

A Santa Cecilia

Joshua

The Stripper

Gollmar Brother’s Triumphal

Nessun Dorma

Distant Greeting

Addah Polka (trumpet feature)

Watermelon Club Rag

Our Flirtations

42nd Street

The Muppet Show Theme

God Bless America

Copies of the band’s recent CD will be available for sale.

Echt groot nieuws brengen met deze filmpjes is niet de bedoeling. De meeste zullen deze filmpjes kennen. Toch zet ik even enkele talenten op een rijtje. Elk van hun hebben een uniek verhaal waarom ze met muziek zijn begonnen. Meestal zie je ook (zoals bij Paul Potts en Susan Boyle) dat deze zangers specifieke ervaringen achter de rug hebben. De emotionele ervaringen die ze meedragen zijn duidelijk voelbaar op de manier waarop ze zingen, in hun teksten en songkeuzes. Luister maar!

Paul Potts – Nessun Dorma
Susan Boyle – Les Miserable
Susan Boyle – Wild Horses !

Van samenzang gesproken; Lind, Holm, Fuentes en Kurt Nilsen kunnen er wat van. In vele tijdschriften werd deze versie van Hallelujah omschreven als beste ooit! (Kurt Nilsen werd dan ook World Idol)
Lind, Holm, Fuentes, Nilsen – Hallelujah
Kurt Nilsen – I Live

Niet te vergeten: Dirk De Smet – Another Day die in België X-Factor won! Ik ben zelf naar enkele liveshow’s van hem gaan kijken. Waar ik enorm respect voor heb bij Dirk is dat hij zijn eigen blijft en nuchter blijft tijdens de overrompelende media tijdens X-Factor. Ik had verschillende kilometers moeten rijden om tot bij zijn liveshow te geraken en kreeg dan ook een dankwoordje van Dirk zelf. (lang met hem gepraat over songkeuzes en soorten muziek)De pers, fotografen,.. moesten wachten want hij kwam eerst met zijn grote fans en familie een babbeltje slaan.
www.dirkdesmet.be

Lacrima – Nessun Dorma (Pad Mix)
…………What Trance Can Do……..

¡Que nadie duerma! ¡Que nadie duerma! Esto que podría parecer el eslogan de una fiesta non-stop es Nessun Dorma, una de las arias de Tourandot más famosas de la ópera. La han cantado miles de veces, en películas, anuncios, programas de televisión… Pero cada vez que la escuchas es como la primera. Es la historia de una princesa malvada que juega con sus pretendientes, hasta que es uno de ellos (el que canta la canción) quien le pone a la princesa en un aprieto.

Hoy que está el día llovioso y tontorrón… me apetece poner a la princesa contra las cuerdas y cantarle:

¡Disípate, oh noche!

¡Tramontad, estrellas! ¡Tramontad, estrellas!

¡Al alba venceré!

¡Venceré! ¡Venceré!

VII. Causar ruidos o sonidos que molesten, perjudiquen o afecten la tranquilidad de la ciudadanía, tales como los producidos por estereos, radios, radio grabadoras, instrumentos musicales o aparatos de sonido que excedan el nivel de 68 dB (decibeles) de las 6:00 a las 22:00 horas y de 65 dB (decibeles) de las 22:00 a las 6:00 horas del día siguiente.

Reglamento de Policia y Buen Gobierno del municipio de Monterrey

Una infracción contra el ambiente y el equilibrio ecológico.

Es lo que estoy sufriendo yo ahorita y el resto de los vecinos por culpa del vecino que a la 1:30 am decide ponerse oir su música a todo vuelo.

WTF!?

Para poder comparar. Estoy oyendo la música de Yuri (geezzz) que tiene mi vecino a todo volumen,  adentro de mi casa,  a pesar de estar con todas las ventanas cerradas y un abanico encendido.

Voz cuchicheada: 30 dB

Voz normal: 40-60 dB

Voz alzada :75 dB

Voz gritada :90 dB

Un avión despegando 200 dBs

Una aspiradora 67 dBs

¿Llamarle a la policía y que lo venga a callar? ¿Y si este guey resulta matón de gatos y les avienta carne envenenada a mis felinos? Luego tendría yo que ir a lastimarlo de fea manera, porque una simple multa de 3 mil pesos no cubre el amor de mis gatos.

1:40 am ¿Ya mero le dara sueño? ¿Estará borracho? ¿Me vengare cantándole a capella “Nessun Dorma” (Que nadie duerma)?

Sustainche very much enjoys being a student ! He likes to search, to read, to review, to think, to compare, to observe, to survey and map, to analyse, to conclude, to draw and to write … in fact what every other student in the world should like as well.

Of course, studying is not depended on any particular place; Sustainche studies everywhere and at anytime. However, Sustainche knows that there are very special places where he enjoys his studies most, and one of these places is Bologna. Bologna University was founded 1088 and is the oldest University in Europe. What a cultural richness, beauty and inspiration Sustainche found in Bologna ! This is indeed a place TO BE and The Sustains™ fully share Sustainche’s love for Bologna.

Recently Sustainche stumbled upon something that is called ‘Bologna process’. The purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. Sustainche agrees that such an effort can facilitate free movement of students from one University to another. However, and although Sustainche is only a Polar Bear and in the meantime knows Bologna University from inside, he is not sure whether the Bologna credit system is trying to make something equal that in fact can never be equal at all.

Sustainche might be a bit old fashioned. For Sustainche a University is a place where he can enjoy academic research (or let’s better say ‘search’), exchange of new ideas among students and find the best Professors of their science to learn more than he knows already. Yet, he enjoys studying with The Sustains™. In this respect, studying for Sustainche is something individual and he can only imagine that he couldn’t study in the same manner when he would join … let’s say … a University in Germany. Hmmm … probably a German University would not even allow a small Polar Bear like him to enter the building …

For Sustainche the word Professor is something very precious. Referring to the Latin meaning a professor for him is a person who professes to be an expert in an art or science, confesses his/her scientific results in public and is a teacher of highest rank. Interesting enough in Macedonia each and every teacher – also in Primary Schools – is allowed to call him-/herself Professor. Consequently, it is very difficult not to find a Professor among the 2.2 Million citizens; everybody is a Professor. Being in such a countrywide Professor movie – of course – all pupils somehow need to become Professors or – if this is not feasible – Directors in an ‘institutija’. What is most important is an academic career. Sustainche wonders how it is possible that nearly every kindergarten pupil finally passes what is called ‘matura’, which is the entrance document to arrive at a University. The American style matura prom night is an outstanding social event with doctor hats, speeches, eating, drinking, and dancing in extremely nice evening dresses. Parents pay a fortune for this event. 

Even more interesting is the fact that the vast majority of pupils whom become students during their University time also finalize their studies. Sustainche has heard rumours that this is not necessarily due to their excellent knowledge, but rather due to some moneyski that parents pay to some ‘professors’ to ‘help’ their kids pass some exams. Sustainche was also surprised when he became aware that for example students of Economy until the final examination only need to read and memorize a few books. Sustainche enjoys reading scientific articles – in fact everything that falls in front of his small feet, but most important he very much appreciates practical field work and projects. 

When Sustainche saw this type of Economy students in a local Bank, he wasn’t sure whether this kind of profession really needs scientists. It could be good enough to tell these people how to fill in some specific templates. Reading, writing and calculating is what they anyway should have learnt when they received their doctor hat with matura … . Never mind, if these people like to waste their time and moneyski, and finally earn Euro 100 per month in a Bank this is ok for Sustainche. However, what is not ok for Sustainche is if students receive some academic degree that they in fact bought. Professors who support and benefit from such a fraud are simply criminals and need to be sending to jail. 

Sustainche also doesn’t like this Anglo-Saxon Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (BSc.) movie that with the newly introduced Bologna process is now floating around Europe. For Sustainche these degrees can only be the first step towards a Diploma or Master of Science (M.Sc.) but can never stand alone. This is only something to satisfy the Matrix dream world and to show some piece of paper that in no way qualifies anybody for anything, neither for a professional job, nor for being recognized as a ‘light scientist’. Not to be misunderstood: Sustainche by no means is against equal opportunities and rights. He is indeed in favour ! However, by nature not everybody is equal what he can finally achieve. Some people are simply better in working with their hands, rather than with their brain. This is nothing to underestimate and judge. Yet, Universities are meant to educate students to become scientists. This is their original purpose. Therefore, Sustainche is always surprised seeing more and more new private ‘Universities’ and ‘Faculties’ growing like mushrooms in Skopje. But this is another story …

Let’s enjoy listening to Andrea Bocelli – Nessun Dorma … how nice …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGKQ8YASCY

i haven’t written in this blog in forever. like, lost but not forgotten. I think about it all the time but i’m so lazy, and also, and probably more importantly, i never do anything so like, whats the point? Anyway though, i got back from Milwaukee like, last week and it was a blast. as usual. I stopped in Winona for 2 days, and i got to see my friend Nick P, who i haven’t seen since like, January I think, since him and Hannah moved to New Mexico, so that was awesome. Then i came home for 1 night and spent the 4th of july in brainerd.

there’s no words to express how much i love the city of milwaukee, wi. it seems like everyone I know from minnesota hates it, but just today at the place where i volunteer, this girl and her mom had also just gotten back from MKE, they were looking at Marquette and she loved it. I said, “good for you, go there.” I hope she does, it’s so fun there. we ate at a restaurant called Nessun Dorma for Trina’s bday while i was there, it was like, random, last minute decision and it was SO GOOD. if you read this, and are going to milwaukee soon (both of which are unlikely) eat there.

Today at Kids Club i made a pair of play-doh glasses for mariah and laniya, mariah colored a picture of a wedding (the priest was cat with a guitar and sunglasses), now I am about to research a couple more lesson plans to send to my boss at the Y, taking a nap, and then meeting w/ Mary and Lee George in woodbury to talk about college bound. check ya never.

Things that are out of control right now:
1. the media – don’t get me wrong, i loved michael jackson as much as the next person… but like, is it too much to ask to hear some real news? what about that serial killer in South Carolina?
2. That serial killer in south carolina.
3. my mosquito bites.
4. how much i miss milwaukee.

I aquí ve la quarta entrega, tot començant l’estiu!

1. Nessun Dorma, de Giacomo Puccini – Genial, colpidora, potent, i molt commovedora. És la cançó més famosa del l’òpera Turandot.

2. Soft Shock, de Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Un descobriment molt interessant. El bassline de la tornada és absolutament irresistible, i sol ja val la cançó.

3. Off the Wall, de Michael Jackson – Lleugera, molt enganxosa, molt bona a banda de les típiques del cantant. Una altra obra mestra del rei del pop.

4. Waiting for a Girl Like You, de Foreigner - Tranquil·la, romàntica, i amb un toc fluïd que la fa ser una cançó molt agradable d’escoltar. Molt dels vuitanta.

5. Treat me Right, de Pat Benatar – Enèrgica, potent i frenètica. La tornada és molt bona i, en general, encaixa en l’estil de la cantant.

Segundo o Globo Online, pesquisadores da Universidade de Pávia, na Itália, afirmam que o tipo certo de música pode desacelerar o coração e abaixar a pressão sanguínea:

Músicas vibrantes como Nessun Dorma, de Puccini, que é cheia de crescendos e diminuendos, são melhores para ajudar na reabilitação em casos de derrames, de acordo com os estudiosos.

Melodias com ritmo mais acelerado aumentam os batimentos cardíacos, o ritmo respiratório e a pressão sanguínea. Já a música com ritmo mais lento gera o efeito contrário nos pacientes, segundo os pesquisadores.

A música já é usada em muitos hospitais britânicos por uma terapia barata e fácil de aplicar e também por gerar efeitos físicos perceptíveis no organismo, além de ter um impacto positivo no humor do paciente.

O estudo dos pesquisadores italianos foi publicado na revista especializada Circulation.

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If I were asked quite specifically to describe in detail, music; perhaps Mozart, perhaps Mario Del Monaco firing out Nessun Dorma, perhaps Sinatra singing My Way, to a community of people who had never heard any form of music ever before, I would find it close to impossible. It isn’t something that can be extracted, it isn’t an entity, it has no physical presence. It is simply derived from beauty. When Michaelangelo created the Statue of David, Vasari commented that Michaelangelo’s gift for sculptor came from the sole, that he “carved forms from stone, as if he were pulling figures from water“. The only possible way to describe Michaelangelo’s work, is through wondrous metaphors, as Vasari did to emphasise beauty. There is no logical definition, much as there is no logical definition of the colour yellow. Asked to describe yellow to someone who has never seen yellow, is simply impossible. Similarly, within the realms of Philosophy, it is close to impossible to describe the soul. The distinction of soul from body has no words to describe, because the body and it’s perception of reality, is all we know. We do not know the nature of immortality, because everything we recognise either decays or dies.

I believe in science. I believe organised religion can be a force of dangerous dogma as well as a source of hope. But what both science and religion struggle quite effortlessly with, is the nature of the soul. I find it distinctly ridiculous (and quite coincidentally, Plato-esque) that Religion can take the concept of an unworldly force within each of us, and jump to the conclusion that it must come from a Heavenly World, which therefore proves the existence of God, who then must have created the World and Humanity, whilst listening to prayer and endorsing the Pope as his representative and successor to St Peter, on Earth therefore rendering the entire Bible legitimate. The idea that my body is simply a shell, which is injected with this life force we call a soul by a heavenly force, tends to make me a little uneasy about the nature of religious dogma, as if i’m a slave to the divine force that supposedly created me. Which, I refuse to be. Free Will and Organised Religion are not compatible. As this article from Jewishmag.com shows. They jump to irrational conclusions without question. They suggest that the soul must be intricately linked to the nature of God. And so they appear to be manipulating the idea of a soul, to fit their own system of beliefs. I do not accept that for a second. What makes that Jewish dogmatic principle of the distinction between body and soul, any more realistic than the Buddhist tradition of the reincarnation of the soul in the pursuit of Nirvana?

Nor can I accept Kant’s explanation, that the Soul is a force, striving for perfection, held back by our bodily, materialistic desires. Whilst the idea is certainly logical, Kant goes on to say “The pure practical reason must also postulate the existence of God“, and that is the part I cannot accept. I see a huge hole between the notion of an inner force striving for perfection (which is a perfectly logical argument, given the nature of humanity), and that particular force proving the existance of God. It isn’t quite that simple.

Similarly, I cannot succumb to the scientific notion, that we’re all just a mix of easily explained chemical processes. That such deep emotional sensitivity; dreaming, the tranquil sense of spirituality, friendship, affection, ambition, love, devotion, compassion and every other level of consciousness we experience throughout our short lives, are simply neurotransmitters playing games. It’s difficult for me to accept that everything I am, everything that makes me, me, everything that I try to be and try not to be, my hopes, my thoughts, my memories, my loves, my flaws, are all just chemical reactions. I feel entirely at conflict much of the time, between the materialistic nature of the World, the need for more, the thriving for physical wealth by any means necessary, the ruthless disaster of Capitalism and all it’s hostility toward fellow man; whilst at the same time there is a constant voice in side me, that tells me just how wrong it is to become too involved in selfish pursuits whilst condemning those less fortunate. How wrong it is to cause pain to someone else. I constantly have the quite intense feeling that there is much much more beauty to life rather than just simple existence, rather than the dogmatic notion that we are our job, our house, our car, waking up every morning at the same time for work, a holiday once a year, retirement, death. Whether that voice is the work of God, or of chemical processes, I do not know, nor does a Christian, or a Scientist. What I do know, is how I feel. I do not feel that the essence of me was divinely created, nor do I feel that I’m merely a mixture of chemical processes. Neither can tell me where the feeling of loneliness, hurt, sensitivity, and love are derived. Perhaps it is simply a case of millions upon millions of years of Darwinism both within nature and within society that has shaped the minds of generations who have thus become so convinced that the power of the mind is so great that it must come from a higher power. Perhaps that is true. The simple fact is that on a personal level, I can’t accept that my thoughts and my emotional mind set, is simple science. On a rational level, I can’t accept that it is all the work of a supreme, timeless, God.

The nature of confusion.

As I was driving to work this morning, I heard that Paul Potts was in Seoul, giving a free concert tonight at the Seoul Plaza. In case you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, Paul Potts was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent several years ago. When I first heard his voice on YouTube, I was blown away by his voice and his humble presence. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that he was in Seoul and giving a free concert. After work, I drove home, dropped off the car, changed and hopped on the subway to City Hall. Unfortunately, a large crowd was already gathered when I got there, 45 minutes before the performance was supposed to begin. Darn! I was hoping that no one had heard of him in Korea.

The grassy space quickly filled and as more and more people arrived, the crowds started sitting down on the stone pavement. I tried to stand on the periphery but it was soon clear to me that if I did not sit as well, I would be shoved over to the side of the road; Koreans are extremely pushy and do not consider it rude to push me aside so that they can sit down, stand where I was just standing or step on my feet to pass me by. Of course, there’s never an apology or even an acknowledgment that they have in any way been inconsiderate. Even after living in Seoul for over three months, I still find this behavior rude, crass and uncivilized. After being shoved aside once again, this time by four pushy ajimas (old married ladies), who opened up newspapers on the ground right where I had, only a second before, been standing, I finally planted my seat on the ground as well, and the others to my left followed my lead and did the same. I guess they also got sick of having everybody push their way into any available space between us and the stage.

The performance was supposed to start at 7:30 but the “Paul Potts” concert had several warm-up acts: Quartet of Korean male singers, a Korean opera singer and a small orchestra of young people. I didn’t recognize them nor get their names but they received a warm welcome from the audience so I guess they must be known nationally or perhaps locally. I tried not to squirm in my small space on the ground but pretty soon my ass was numb and I had to rock back and forth just to get feeling back in my legs. I just kept looking at the big clock over the stage and hoping that Paul Potts would soon take the stage.

Finally after a big introduction by the Emcee, followed by fountains of dry ice on the stage, Paul Potts emerged from the white fog and filled the plaza with his commanding voice. Although it’s been several years since he first captured the hearts of many fans throughout the world, he still exuded the same humble and shy presence he first displayed on Britain’s Got Talent.

He returned to the stage for an encore and closed out with his rendition of Nussen Dorma. If you haven’t heard him yet, here’s a link to his youtube video.

Igår körde ju vi till stan, Adam sov på vägen dit som vi skrev i tidigare inlägg men på vägen hem, då hände det grejer.

Adam satt i baksätet, helt övetygad om att han var på konsert med banden vi hörde i stereon.

Och när han är på konsert så tittar han inte på utan han är med i bandet, just nu som sångare och luftgitarrist.

Han bad oss pausa musiken för att han skulle stämma luftgittaren

Han tackade publiken efter låtens slut

och mycket mer.

Jag spelade in delar av en låt när han körde Nessun Dorma tillsammans med Eric Adams från Manowar, här kommer resultatet.

Andam dizendo por aí que Susan Boyle não deveria ter repetido a música “I Dream a Dream” pois denota que o seu repertório é minúsculo e teria dificuldades em preparar nova canção. Susan quis apenas atender aos seus  fãs que esperavam anciosos pelo momento de vê-la novamente cantando a música que a consagrou tornando-a Superestrela global, com mais de duzentos milhões de acessos na internet em poucos dias…No reality show britânico é bastante comum a repetição da canção que consagrou o candidato. Um exemplo é Paul Potts que reprisou a ária de Giacomo Puccini “Nessun Dorma” na final e foi o grande vencedor do Britain’s Got Talent de 2007. Porque Susan não deveria seguir seu exemplo?

aku sampe melongo liat video2 ini. ini acara Britains Got Talent 2009. juri-jurinya bahkan penontonnya, semua melongo mendengar cowo ini nyanyi. hahaha aneh banget pokoknya.btw lagu yg dinyanyiin termasuk lagu klasik tuh, Nessun Dorma. klik aja deh ^_^ pasti melongo.