The Prince's Tale

A stunning animation


The Prince's Tale - Animation by *RandomMumble on deviantART

Einstein's Dreams

There is a place where time stands still. Raindrops hang motionless in air. Pendulums of clocks float mid-swing... As a traveler approaches this place from any direction, he moves more and more slowly...

Einstein's Dreams
by Alan Lightman

"The novel fictionalizes Albert Einstein as a young scientist who is troubled by dreams as he works on his theory of relativity in 1905. The book consists of 30 chapters, each exploring one dream about time that Einstein had during this period. The framework of the book consists of a prelude, three interludes, and an epilogue. Einstein's friend, Michele Besso, appears in these sections. Each dream involves a conception of time. Some scenarios may involve exaggerations of true phenomena related to relativity, and some may be entirely fantastical. The book demonstrates the relationship each human being has to time, and thus spiritually affirms Einstein's theory of relativity."

Personally, I absolutely adored this book. The 30 stories are all very short, about three pages each, and very easy to read. The stories generally start of introducing the type of 'time', and then a few short clips from a few individual's lives to illustrate it. It usually end with a broader statement which would lead to questions, different views about that specific type of time.

The stories described in the book are all simple, clear, and straight forward, such that a grade schooler would be able to read and understand (though, some materials in there is probably not suited for audiences of a younger age). What is magical about them though, is that such simple stories, can bring on so much thought. It really makes you ponder about the concepts of time, humanity, our values, our stories, our lives. It is generally the last paragraph, which sums up the story, and brings on these questions. There is truly a lot to be gained from this book, if one looked deep enough.

Also, I loved Lightman's writing style. He makes everything just so poetic, and often, the style and structure reflects the type of 'time' which the story describes.

Here's a little excerpt:

... Thus, on any day, at any hour of any day, a line of ten thousand stretches radially outward from the center of Rome, a line of pilgrims waiting to bow to the Great Clock. They stand quietly, reading prayer books, holding their children. They stand quietly, but secretly they seethe with their anger. For they must watch measured that which should not be meaasured. They must watch the precise passage of minutes and decades. They have been trapped by their own inventiveness and audacity. And they must pay with their lives.

For more, click on the title of the book, that link contains the first three chapters of the book.

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Carnival of Venice

To be honest, I don't know anything about this song; have not studied it in any sense, etc. But, it is one of those tunes that everyone just knows.
Carnival of Venice
On youtube, there are many, many, many different version of it. The one that it is apparently originally made for, is for the solo trumpet.

Solo trumpet - Maurice André
(his version is quite stunning, but, a little hard to recognize due to the virtuostic components. Should start getting familiar at around 1:23)


Flute version - Viviana Guzman


Tuba version! He looks like he's having a LOT of fun play it =)

Visual Orgasms

*NWS*

THE WALTZ from Chad Michael Ward on Vimeo.



Subliminal from Damir Doma on Vimeo.

Of Journals

So, it's the holidays, and I've been bored. So last night/this morning, I found these two blogs/online journals that I kept, from grade 8 to the beginning of grade 10. Most of the entries were from grade 8, and a few scattered across grades 9-10. Reading them, certainly brought back a lot of memories.

One thing that I, looking back at them, realized now, was that I was SUCH an egotistic bitch back then... <.<. Honestly, some of the things I wrote back then, well, for 1 i typed lik this n wut not. -___-. Also, the ego behind some of it, and the certainty about certain topics to which I thought I understood and defended, which I now know to be seriously wrong. It's kind of embarrassing actually, to read through them. And I think, in my own way, yup, I was a bitch. I remember some people making that comment, but I also remember myself not believing them. The ego and attitude behind some entries were just... I'm glad I (really hopefully) grew out of that. Then again... maybe not. But I've certainly 'calmed' down a lot over the years, yay?

One things about those blogs, were that yes, I filled them with quite a few quotes, but they were also a lot personal in nature. I seem to have spent a lot of my time recording down daily happenings, and what not. Which, I think is a good thing, because when I read through them again, it's quite amusing to look back at the events which have occured in those years. That, and I found some pictures which I would have otherwise lost. Also, when reading them, I found many traces of myself in them. (Well, obviously, I wrote them - but a lot of the entries, especially the earlier ones, seems like a whole different person). Some of the traits that I've carried throughout the years, some have been dropped, and some, more refined. But it was really interesting, finding the commonalities / progression between them and throughout the years. But yeah... another 4 years later, I'll be reading this thing, and going like "wtf was I thinking?!" =).

* * *

BD: Walther Nernst, Robert Henri, George Orwell, William Howard Stein
DD: Georg Philipp Telemann, E.T.A Hoffmann, Michael Jackson

Beethoven Sonata no.28, op.101

This sonata was one of my choices for the sonata selection for ARCT. It was pretty much between this one, and the Pathetique. Unfortunately, with my teacher, Pathetique obviously won. And the reason was quite simple - that one, is so much easier.

But I've always liked this sonata. It's not that well known, it's super hard, but I think it's very fun to play with, and it sounds incredibly grand.

That, and kind of typical of Beethoven, it does not follow the typical sonata structure. In this one, The first movement is the relatively 'slow' one. The second movement is atypically fast, with a smoother middle section. Then, there's this tiny, I guess we could call it the 3rd movement, or some inbetween movement thing that leads right into the final, monstrous final movement. Despite it's monstrosity, I love this movement...

There's just so much play around with. (In terms of play, you're still following the music, but the way he wrote it and everything, it's just so interesting/fun to read and play.) That, and the second movement's awesome sounding too. The first one... I'm not a very big fan of that.

Here's a version of it, played by the Maestro Barenboim. It's fantastic. (Split into three parts, because it's too epic for youtube, though not split by movement)







* * *
DD: Alexander the Great

Red Moon

It is just beautiful, things you can observe so late at night.

Right now, sitting outside my window, lies a sliver of the red moon.

It looks something like this:

Photo by Chris Harvey

http://www.flitemedia.com/index.php

Except, my moon, is a waxings one (the one show in this image is waning), and it is larger, yellower/whiter along the outer edge, and its craters are much more visible. It is much better to be looking at it, photographs does it no justice.

It is visions like this, that are the driving forces behind artistic creation, behind inspirations, the romanticism in ourselves.

And I just love how, if someone in my general geographical area looks up in the right direction, they will see the exact same thing, and perhaps ponder the exact same thoughts.

So pretty...... But alas, like all beauty, it will not last. It will return again, perhaps in the same setting, perhaps in a different one. But for now, it is fading.

Back in December, was the first time I saw this red moon in a long while. It was in the early hours of the morning, not quite dawn yet. The moon was full that day, and in the exact same location, I sat there, watching as the red disk slowly sank to the ground, disappearing into the horizon.

It was quite amazing. Because in the summer, I always watch the sun set, just a little west of where that moon was. They sank, the exact same way, the moon being slightly larger, and the setting of it signalled the beginning of light, instead of the end.

So this is where philosophies and ancient tales, stories passed down through generations came from...

Helsinki Flute Quartet

Just.. wow, sheer brilliance.

The Infinite Canon - J. Pachelbel


Air from Suite 3 - J.S. Bach


Alla Hornpipe - G.F. Handel


Must resist urge to go practice flute now (it's 12am, cannot play in fear of disturbing neighbours and family) >.<

And today's dates: death of Julius Caesar, H.P. Lovecraft, International Day Against Police Brutality, and Zeitgeist Day.