john!

2008-04-30T16:49:00.000+08:00

I've moved to godmademusic.wordpress.com - relink!

2008-03-27T16:10:00.001+08:00

Here are 2 more poem's I've just written. The serpent in my bed and The real Boo. Enjoy! 2 more to go!

The Serpent in My Bed

I was about to sleep

I picked my way across the room,

Turned on the lights,

Then

I stepped on a

Warm,

Smooth,

Pulsing,

Breathing,

Object.

Jem?

What does a snake feel like?

Sort of rough,

Cold,

Dusty,

Why?

I think there’s one under the bed.

Can you come look?

Are you bein’ funny?

He opened the door.

You’d better get on the bed.

He poked under the bed with the broom he retrieved.

Poke.

Grunt.

Grunt?

Do snakes grunt?

It ain’t a snake,

It’s somebody.

Something was emerging.

Slowly,

we felt the tension rising -

Then we saw it.

Dill.

I was speechless.

The Real Boo

He had been leaning against the wall

He didn’t seem very tall at all

His arms were folded ‘cross his chest

His hands were sickly white, no less

His khaki pants were stained with sand

His denim shirt was torn and rent

His cheeks were thin to hollowness

His eyes so grey, so colourless

But inside him was a different story,

He wasn’t really all that gloomy

His lips parted into a timid smile

I returned that gesture, sweet and mild

2008-03-26T21:38:00.000+08:00

My second poem: Mrs Dubose

Mrs Dubose

Many people underestimate the

Real powers of the human mind

Shown in this seemingly fragile soul,

Dying, yet alive, it is an

Understatement, actually, to say she is

Brave,

Overcoming morphine addiction, she is

Strong as a bull

Even in her last days

2008-03-26T20:40:00.004+08:00

Here is my feeble attempt at writing a poem for Lit. If you've read To Kill A Mockingbird, you'll probably understand this better. Comment if you read it!

Flick.

Jem once told me

Of a guy named Boo

Who lived next door

And was a horrible brute

He described him as someone

Six-and-a-half feet tall,

Who dined on creatures

Furry and small

His hands were blood-stained

And a long jagged scar

Ran across his face,

Like lightning from afar

What teeth he had

Were yellow and rotten

He was locked up

And thoroughly forgotten

And Dill my friend said

“Let’s make him come out –

His countenance alone

Is a downright insult!”

Jem, after much chiding

Accepted Dill’s dare

To touch the Radley’s wall

Then get out of there

He gave it a shot,

Pride taking hold

But inside he knew

He wasn’t that bold

His eyes darted about

In fear and apprehension

Tension built up,

So did beads of perspiration.

He went for the plunge,

Running with all his might,

His arms wildly flailing,

Oh! What a sight!

Unsure of the consequence

Hoping God would intervene

He returned to the gate,

Anything but serene

He headed back home

To the porch familiar,

Dill and I right behind him,

Feeling quite queer

Panting and out of breath

We turned back to look

The droopy, sick house

Looking as it should

But as we stared down the street

We saw a shutter move,

Flick.

And the house was still.

2008-03-16T17:28:00.004+08:00

Here's something I composed. The music too, but I can't find a way to put it here. Anyway, it's sort of related to Good Friday. Try to reflect (:

Do You Love Him?

Jesus humbly left his glory

In his home up above

To live a life perfectly

For his creatures, out of love

On the cross He shed his blood for you

Then he conquered death and sin

Do you love Him?

As he lived His life for you

The Lord looks out for the sparrow

And he watches you and me

He loves the world without question

With a love so deep and free

On the cross He shed his blood for you

Then he conquered death and sin

Do you love Him?

As he gave His life for you

He beat the foe in all fairness

Sin and death hit by the blow

Satan’s defence overpowered

By God’s strength and might unknown

On the cross He shed his blood for you

Then he conquered death and sin

Do you love Him?

As he rose again for you

2008-02-25T21:44:00.002+08:00

Haha thank God! He's been revealing things to me. Bit by bit.

I'm slowly being able to say no to certain pertinent sins i have. I learn from his word and from good guidance i receive from sunday school and my parents.

Now I've to start conquering the ploughing-through-the-bible-and-enjoying-it part. I'm reading Luke now. He's an observant doctor. Not that i'm going to go into medical, but he is pretty learned and has nice views about certain things. Hopefully i'll enjoy it more.

It's ccts again. Maths was just over. Science on wednesday and history the day after. God will help me!

He will, he always provides! Trust in the lord and lean not on your own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. How true - experience God. Acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. Don't need to be worried this way.

All the best for your remaining CCTs. And goodnight!

Intellegent Design vs Evolution

2008-02-16T22:13:00.002+08:00

Intelligent Design vs Evolution

I've just been to a video screening at my church. It was extremely edifying. It really made me think. You see, I've heard everywhere how God was great. How he was so overwhelmingly powerful. How created everything. But what we can see is only so much. In this video, computer animations show the process of stringing amino acids to form proteins using DNA. That alone was enough to convince someone to take up Bio. Ok, ok, I know that's besides the point, but truly it was amazing and overwhelming. To think people actually BELIEVED that such an amazing operation done on a regular basis which is so tiny, yet so significant, happened PURELY BY CHANCE? Do you really think so?

I sincerely feel that even if we look at this only through logic and science, we can still prove the theory of evolution to be utterly false and prove the truth of intelligent design, that is, the existence and ultimate might of God.

The most convincing argument here was the fact that even if it was really true that chemicals formed cells, cells formed simple plants and animals, which in turned formed more complex beings like us, WHERE DID THE FIRST CHEMICALS OR LIVING BEINGS COME FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE? In Darwin's Origin of Species, he not once mentioned how the simplest organism in the whole evolution chain came about. He never once said from whence it was formed. No, he has absolutely NO IDEA where that came from. And still people can put their lives into proving something of which has no foundation? Like sinking sand compared to hard, solid rock? How on earth could someone even belief such an unfounded claim?

Think hard about this. Your life is at stake. You have one life to live, and then comes the judgement. You have sinned and come short of the glory of God. His standard is unreachable. You will have to pay for even one sin in your life. Do you want to live in utter torment in hell where weeping and gnashing of teeth resound off the impregnable walls? A place where the worst torture of all time will be meted out brutally as the punishment for our sins? God has given us one way out. The one and only one route where we can escape this punishment and be given life everlasting. We will live in a place paved with streets of gold, jewels adorning vast architecture, never to succumb to wear and tear. There will be no more mourning, no more sorrow, no more testings and trials, no more sin, and best of all, no more evil in our lives. We will never again encounter problems and we will sing and worship the God almighty who has done so much for us, we will never be able to repay that debt.

The questions now stands: Are you willing to accept this wonderful gift? This one way of escape? The one thing that seperates you from eternity in hell? And you haven't even heard the best part. God has paid the FULL PRICE. It's the best all expenses paid trip you will ever have the chance to experience. This salvation work is complete and all you need to do is sign on the bottom line. I quote Spurgeon - "If the garment of salvation required even one stitch from me, I am lost". Yes, you will be lost unless you are willing to accept this gift of God to mankind. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and YOU WILL BE SAVED. It is a promise to you from God. And he sure does keep his promises.

If you believe right now, it will be the best decision you will and ever will make in your life. If you don't please give it extra thought. I trust God will work in you according to his will.

In all hope and sincerity,
john

Satire

2008-01-22T21:08:00.000+08:00

Oh Satire!

I was tasked in school to select a poet to work on. We were supposed to study his life. So, anyway, I remembered one of my favourite poems. A perfect satire. On humans and how they treat ducks. And the British's excessive use of the word "jolly". A real laugh i tell you!

I Saw A Jolly Hunter

I saw a jolly hunter,
With his jolly gun
Walking in the country
In the jolly sun.

In the jolly meadow
Sat a jolly hare.
Saw the jolly hunter.
Took jolly care.

Hunter jolly eager -
Sight of jolly prey.
Forgot gun pointing
Wrong jolly way.

Jolly hunter jolly head
Over heels gone.
Jolly old safety-catch
Not jolly on.

Bang went the jolly gun.
Hunter jolly dead.
Jolly hare got clean away.
Jolly good, I said.

R.I.J.P.

Charles Causley

Jolly good, huh!
I had a real jolly time reading this.
Oh yeah, and a jolly piano lesson.
Now I have to make the decision whether or not to enter the jolly Young Pianist competition and miss church camp, or jolly go for church camp and miss the jolly competition (which Mr Loh said I had a good chance winning something.) I also am jolly going for the ASEAN Chopin Competition which will be late jolly november.

Oh well, God will decide for me! His decision will be right always!

I'd better jolly go to sleep soon..

Good(jolly)night!

P.S. Marc got into ACSIPO. He's real jolly. Except Tingyu didnt get in. Too bad..

Russian Rondezvous!

2008-01-18T22:52:00.000+08:00

Hehe I've just come back from the SSO concert featuring a pure Russian programme. Very interesting, I must say.

First up was the Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol. For a rarely performed piece, it is highly entertaining. The composer's exploitation of each instrument's strengths was evident in the five distinct sections in the work. Pounding rhythms, exuberant solos, drum rolls, brass fanfares, a flamenco dance and a little bit of Spanish flare was exhibited in this wondrous composition - something not to be missed. Of course Lan Shui was extremely enthusiastic as usual, it's a good thing (:

Next came the highlight: the Rachmaninov Concerto No. 1 - played by Simon Trpcesky. (He has a nice website at www.simontrpcesky.com) Anyway, it was a real eye-opener (also because enzhao and I wanted to dose off after they took so long for the piano to be moved in and all.) But, truly, it was a wonderful experience looking at that virtuoso with his beautiful fingers, dancing, trashing about. The bombastic sections were exhibited with exuberance, and the tiny, lyrical sections were emotionally charged. The whole package was so brilliant, so sublime! And totally russian. The 1st movement started with that well known F# brass fanfare. Then came the huge mountains of chords by the piano. Little commentaries followed by the piano, sometimes leading, sometimes echoing the orchestra. I loved the soulful melodies best. Especially the one near the start where the pianist has to pick out notes as the melody and accompany himself with the little waves of running water. All of it was really fluid, seamless, and beautiful. It was also definitely tiring. We saw Trpcesky wiping his persperation after the first movement. Huge work, that was. After that, he obliged with a small, simple encore - Tchaik's Autumn. Nice melodic work there!

After the intermission (where enzhao and I started giving songs to "represent" people), we heard Stravinsky's Petrushka. Oh, that dark, dark tale of 3 puppets, of which one is killed and comes back to haunt the show. How morbid. Didn't like it much. It was interesting, though, as Stravinsky played around with leitmotifs.

We were dead tired. And hungry. We got buns from breadtalk. I got one milo from Coffee and Toast. He got 8 slices of toast. Plus his buns. And his Milo. Mad guy, he is. We took the MRT at around 10.30. I got home at 10.45. He got home at 11+ i think. Haha.

Sarah Chang's next! Sibelius Violin Concerto - many RISE people are attending it. That'll be fun!

Tata for now (:

Yes I know it's been long since I last blogged. Ok very very long.

2007-12-14T16:58:00.000+08:00

Hello Everyone! Here are some photos from my trip to UK and Paris!
(haha looks so optimistic.)

A bridge outside Warwick Castle.

John Wesley's prayer room. He prayed here before he woke up everyday. I wish I was like him!

From on top of the cathedral. (with the famous monsters)

Notre Dame Detailing..

A road leading into the mist. I took this while on a high-speed train. (I really don't know how I did that.)

Natural History Museum!

From inside the Louvre!

---------------------------------

Blogger is so irritating, the pictures load so slow. I may post more another time. When I try it takes minutes for a single photo. Oh well..

Anyway after that trip, we had an interesting batam one-day trip with auntie susan and all.. we learnt some things about forbearance. Definitely. And more about fellow people. Fellow Christians. As well as about fellowship.

And there was more. The CSS Camp - as some people term it, was extremely fruitful (extremely on the first day (or should I say night) when we stayed up - no sleep whatsoever - to fellowship, good, sound fellowship on topics such as assurance of salvation..). Yes, I learnt more in one night than I probably have in one day (: Thank God for that!

After that, we were back to school after christmas and all. Oh yeah Enzhao and I had a great time chionging our chinese books. Of which enzhao hasn't finished one.. (work harder!)
Yes. I've had a pretty interesting time in school. The latest heart attack being 7pm just now when I thought I lost my watch. (Okay this might sound dumb.)

Basically I was playing my cello after school during the long break (around 3hrs and 45mins) and I took out my watch and left it on the chair. I didn't remember what I did to it. But i thought i left it in my bag. So I went for rehearsal and only after it I remembered that my watch wasn;t on my hand. So laggy huh. So i searched my bag and I couldn't find it. Thing is I was in 3 classrooms before I left for CCA because the cleaning lady was chasing me out of every classroom I entered. For cleaning purposes. Except she wasnt so polite. Anyway, after rehearsal Enzhao was so kind to come with me to look for the missing watch. After many minutes of tiring searching, we found nothing. So I went back. Totally demoralised. Until I searched my bag again. I said a little prayer on the way back which turned out to make a whole world of difference. I prayed that I would find it before I reached home. Well, God's answer was "yes" because I found it in my bag. The only person who could have orchestrated all that was God himself. Really. Everything just fell into place to tell me one thing: He has one huge plan for you, and all you need to do is trust in Him and Him alone!

Right. So that was my interesting experience today. As with other days.

School is alright I guess. Sec2 still feels small, yet alittle bit older. Haha. Rather hard to describe. It's more fun I suppose, compared to sec1. It's in the exploring stage now, instead of the previously foundational stage.

Oh yeah, enzhao had an interesting assesment with Mr Sze. First time he actually asked if someone wanted to pass or fail! Skilled right!

Geography was fun today! We saw how different people eat in different places consume food. Which is interesting. Americans eat lots of carbs and drink alot of beverages. Germans eat alot of meat and drink alot of wine and beer. Japanese use alot of condiments (Sauces!). And so on..

Haha. I hope that's enough to pacify you readers for now. Till next time!

john

Compositions

2007-11-20T18:15:00.000+08:00

Hey guys!

I'm going to talk about my compositions.

So far, there have been a few:

1. 4 Minors for String Orchestra
This set of pieces are based on the idea of minors, so the first one is in e minor, the second in g minor, and so on. I've finished the first two, but the com crashed so it's sort of gone... except that I have a hardcopy (thank God!) So anyway I might go an notate it onto soft copy once again(: This idea just popped into my mind during the EOYs, if you are interested in knowing when. This is my first composition on Finale Notepad (the best composition freeware on the planet, i think).

The first one in e minor is march-like, well sort of. And it is pretty accented. The second, in g minor, is sad, slow, draggy, and sarabande-ish. I like (:

2. A Light Suite for 4 winds and 4 strings
I've started on the allegro first movement, which has lots of echoing from the two sections. It is based on a fast, happy and lively theme in G major. I'm thinking how to continue it, haha!

3. A Perculiar Octet
Yes, that's its name. The orchestration? Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Bassoon, Bb Trumpet, Horn in F, Violin, Cello. I initially wanted to include harp (sorry laura) but I decided that it was too much of a hassle. It's a little baroque-sounding, maybe I should add in contemporary elements to reverse the effect. I'm at bar 10. Just finished the 1st phrase. It will very probably be in sonata form, which means the second theme should appear soon.

I'm too lazy to work on any others at the moment, will (hopefully) finish these first. For any other information about my compositions, you can email me (at my yahoo account), or im me (at my hotmail account). Bye for now!

What's happening (or happened)

2007-11-06T15:58:00.000+08:00

MesmeRISE

A few things:
I was emcee with theo. Yes i know it's corny - blame theo, he wrote the script (:

3 items I played in -

1. Mozart Clarinet Quintet
Went quite well I must say. Theo was pretty good, Ryan was just blending in, Haotian with his immense skill failed to impress, and Zenn was pretty scared, so he blundered. Oh well, whatever it is it was actually nice. So there.

2. Bruch Kol Nidrei (Brook Cold Knee-Dry)
As Mr Sze said: "Adriel, that was just ownage lah"
That explains it. Oh yes he got some pretty flowers too.

3. Mozart Piano Trio
The one where the piano has crappy running notes (which i got 90% correct but I rushed some), the viola has the big c minor solo, and the clarinet just sounds cool. This sounded very good (from the audience).

Conducting

I got my baton, which is long, and made out of wood. (ok duh)
We got to "skip" playing during rehearsal because we were supposed to observe the full score and the orchestra from the front. Anyway, it's a fun experience. You should try it!

I'm sick

Yes I'm sick. Down with a bad cough which led to a horrible sorethroat. Had to go to the doctor (for the 3rd time in 3 weeks) just now, then I took a very unnecessary X-ray. Don't worry I'm fine.

Oh well, I'd better run. Bye!

New blog name... And more!

2007-10-26T21:40:00.000+08:00

Yes you might have noticed the new name.

Anyway that's sort of besides the point.

My family has returned! Man I have really been taking them for granted. What a relief they arrived safely, thank God!

Reached home late after chamber rehearsal.

Mr Sze taught Benlee, Theo, and me (along with Jonshin) conducting basics. For now. He's supposed to teach us more. Was pretty fun. We conducted like the first 3 pages of Yiyang (and Matthew's) Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto. Along with Yeojie, Lihkhuang, Enzhao, Samuel Lim (ok that was unneeded) and the like (which means about another 20 people. Including bases).

So, we're supposed to get batons. I'm probably going out with Theo (no, not on a date) to a music store for fun. (and to buy some interesting stuff too, one of which would probably be a baton - a cheap 11dollar one)

Yes. And, chamber ended at 5.56 today. Late. Supposed to be 5.15. And I had to play the Mozart Trio with Shangxuan and Zenn for Mr Sze during lunchtime. He bought us lunch.

So, after that, I went to get new spectacles. No, I am not wearing them yet as they haven't been made. But yes I got them (at Shaw Centre). It's nice. Won't tell you how it looks, find out for yourself!

Then I reached home at 7.30. And showered and had dinner.

Oh yes, I did not tell you all about the RIMEP concert. Oh well, was pretty nice, considering 3 people played Beethoven (including me) and one piano string snapped (yes it was Bartok's Allegro Barbaro that did the trick, and of course Shawn Neo's brilliant arm and finger strength).

Theophilus started with Bach, which was described as having "not enough showmanship". But who cares, I liked it (:
Then I played Beethoven Sonata in E minor. (Yes I wore a purple and black on white chequed shirt with a black tie.) That was followed by Joseph Tan's short Debbusy piece.

Some other items included JonShin's showstopper (bravo!), Shawn's stringbreaker (must have been the iron you have been pumping), and Thomas Ang's lark piece thing by Balakirev. Oh, and the worst mistake in history - ABBA's "Thank You for the Music" sang by the worst choir on earth (which happens to be the RIMEP students' combined choir).

Haha. And congrats to Theo for winning the "Best MEP Student" Award. Or something like that.

Anyway, that's about what happened to me recently.

Any other stuff that I come across will stand a chance to be published here on Philosophical Problematic Me.

Oh: Publicity -

MesmeRISE Chamber Concert.$10 a ticket.Alliance Francaise AGF Theatre(Near Newton MRT).1Nov(Thursday).7.30pm.Be there for the best evening of your life. Maybe.

See y'all!

Chamber Rehearsals

2007-10-16T15:52:00.000+08:00

Haha today was sort of fun. Ok maybe not.

9 am - I woke up. Had breakfast. And did all the usual morning things.

9.50 am - I walked to the Newton MRT station. Shangxuan wanted to meet me there, then i was supposed to bring him to my house to practice our chamber item. (which happened to be one of mozart's trios). Yes if you're alert you will realise that a trio has 3 people. But there are only two of us. That's because Zenn supposed to play with us but can't make it.

10 am (exactly) - A message arrived (from shangxuan). "Hey dude, crap.. Sorry I drifted back to sleep and just woke up ><><" I ended up buying a can of "whatever" while waiting.

about 40 minutes later...

10.40 am - Shangxuan arrived!

10.50 am - We reached my house.

10.55 am - We started practicing abit, Shangxuan had some of his rhythm corrected.

11.50 am - Shangxuan left.

12 nn - I ate lunch at my grandparents' place downstairs.

12.15 pm - I headed to Adriel's place by taxi. TAXI. I told the taxi driver: 16 Stevens Close. He went to 16 Stevens Rd. I said "Uncle, Stevens CLOSE" He said "Aiyoh ni shuo hua na me xiao sheng ah". He went to Stevens Drive. He said "oh shi stevens close ah". I shut up.

12.35 pm - I reached Adriel's house. He wasn't in. His maid brought me in and said Adriel wasn't in. She offered me a drink but I declined.

1 pm - Adriel reached his home. We started practicing.

1. 30 pm - Adriel's teacher Nella Hunkins arrived. She was a huge blonde hunk of a lady. And first thing she commented was "you know i got these furry in-soles, like I'm stepping on an animal, some of them deserve it"

There was this long, tiring, yet interesting lesson.

3.30 pm - She finished.

3.31 pm - Adriel called a cab for her.

3.40 pm - The cab came.

3.41 pm - She left.

3.45 pm - I took a cab back home after thanking Adriel. And he knew the way.

3.50 pm - I reached home.

Now that was my day so far.

Hah.

After the End Of Year Examinations

2007-10-15T18:45:00.001+08:00

Hi all!
I feel pretty dead now, after being sick (cough and sore-throat), and scraping my knee (whilst playing soccer on gravel).
Anyway, I will, at the end of this post, list down the concerts and events that are upcoming for me, at least till the end of this year.

On to what is happening in the near near near future.
Tonight (ok sort of), my mom, aunt, and brother are flying off (on a plane, that is) to Paris and probably either Florence or Venice to 1. WATCH THE RUGBY WORLD CUP (and hopefully bring back the official rugby ball), 2. Have fun, and a break while they are at it, and lastly, 3. Shop!
So, I will be left with my dad at home. If you're asking why I'm not going, it's because 1. I have school, and 2. I don't have much time. (considering the amount of concerts coming).
Then, my dad is flying off (yes on a plane again) to sydney for work.
->which means I am left alone.

alone.

alone.

ok. So, enough of the drama. Meanwhile, I will be living at my grandmother's house (which happens to be exactly 9 floors below my own house) so I will be fine thank you.

Now, on to what is going to be happening to me in the next few months.

Concerts
25 October
RIMEP High Scorers' Concert
I'm playing Beethoven's Sonata in E Minor, Op. 29(I think).

1 November
RISE Chamber Concert
I'm playing 3 confirmed items and 1 tentative one - 1. Mozart Clarinet Quintet (Zenn, Theo, Ryan, Haotian and me) 2. Mozart Piano Trio (Zenn, Shangxuan and me) 3. Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei (I'm accompanying Adriel) 4. Elegy for Violin and Cello by Nigel Woods (Theo and me)

25 November
RISE and RV Combined Concert
We're doing works like For the Beauty of the Earth by John Rutter, Nella Fantasia (otherwise known as Gabriel's Oboe from the movie "The Mission") by Ennio Morricone, amongst other nice stuff.

Travels
26 November - 14 December (I think)
I'm going to Paris and London! Will be lots of fun with my new camera (ok, not exactly mine).

That's all the information I have at present, so ta-ta!

John

Music - to pursue or not to pursue

2007-09-04T15:11:00.000+08:00

Well, i have been considering the topic of music studies, so to all of you out there who do have a great interest in music, or performance arts as a whole, you might just want to keep your ears where they are right now.

Right. Musicians are perceived to have a tough life. This is the view of most people, who don't know much about music, of course. However, in truth, they are always practicing for a reason. Putting in 100% and getting back 2% of what they put in, or putting in 200% and still getting back only that pathetic 2%. You think it is easy? Well, no. So, to consider this issue:

Why do people still actually study music (possibly after knowing this fact)?

1. The first and simplest option is that they do not know that fact. They do not know how or why people study, they just do it because they think it is easy, or it is "cool". Of course once they do know and understand the tribulations of a musician they can either drop music, or be brave and trudge on.

2. Option 2 is one i would not recommend. This is the option where the person wants fame, power, money, or all of these three things. I can tell you that if this is your motive, you either will drop music, or carry on and detest the rest of your life.

3. This is the option and category where most great musicians fall in. This is the one where they actually do music for the love of it. It is a passion that burns inside them that cannot be quenched, till they find music, and cleave to it forever, till they leave the earth. Now this is the category which will be the sole important factor in decided the route for the rest of your life.

These factors will determine whether you are ready for the task, whether you are up to the standard of a musician. It is a most trying job, but yet the most fulfilling.

Most importantly, you should trust in God, trusting that He will take care of your every need, and your every decision.

May God be with you always.

Most Sincerely,

John
*Why I feel I'm becoming a Theophilus*

Carmen!

2007-08-16T18:20:00.001+08:00

I have fallen in love with this opera!

I went to Ike's performance that day, and that got me started on Bizet's Carmen once again. I listened to it for a while some time ago then i sort of forgot about it.. TILL NOW!

You should try listening to it. It's hot, spicy, spanish, wild, yet controlled with anticipation at times.
(I'm listening to it right now.)

Give it a go people! Get your spanish dose today!

listen up people!

2007-08-15T18:37:00.002+08:00

Here is one good verse i found, and it is extremely useful to people like us who are really busy and don't have much time for God (not everyone, of course, but some people) :

Deut 4:29
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and all thy soul.

I can tell you that many people have been looking for the "LORD thy God" mentioned here but can't find him. BUT WHY? They must seek him WITH ALL THY HEART AND ALL THY SOUL.

Are you one of these people?

If you are I hope this will wake you up - use all your heart and soul to seek Him and Him alone.

Amen.

did you know?

2007-08-10T10:51:00.001+08:00

ever knew rembrandt actually drew homer simpson?

beautiful, eh?

a thought.

2007-08-09T11:12:00.000+08:00

my dad was talking to me about random things, and we ended up talking about this:

humans are living advertisements, because of what they wear.

this statement is really true, come to think about it. whatever brand you wear, it's a living advertisement, telling the world "hey, this brand is good!" or "buy me, i come with status and wealth." and so on.

there.

oh, and how did this come about?
we were talking about watching and epl match in london.

go figure.

*happy national day singapore*

finally back with lots of stuff to say

2007-07-19T21:10:00.000+08:00

hey all!

i've not have that much time to post after so long because of tests and stuff. and of course the ny trip which i didnt get to post about. sry for hibernating.

anyway, the trip was really good.
and new york is really fun and interestingly different.
i learnt alot, and also learn to cherish some of the stuff i have here.

some of the interesting things there:

1. food.
firstly, they're huge.
secondly, they're slightly more expensive than here (except for macs..)
thirdly, they're 75% fries. lots and lots of it.

2. buildings.
they usually involve huge revolving doors. (which rise guys purposely get ppl stuck in or trip them). they're bigger and more luxurious and ornamented than here i think. some of the famous ones i visited are: trump tower, rockefeller centre, i saw the white house from afar (from the gate).. ok i give up naming their names.

3. monuments.
stuff like the dc memorial..

4. museums.
national history museum (dinasaurs!), museum of modern art (MoMA) and so on.

5. hotel(s)
even st sheraton the room was well, small. really small. that one small room for 4 people plus 2 flight cello cases and 2 normal cello cases. and 2 violins. etc.

6. themed centres.
i saw the MnMs World, Nikeworld, and Macs (which isnt a themed centre but it's iconic anyway)

ok i've run out of brainsteam.
pictures might come later plus additional thoughts and facts and feelings and documentaries.

that's it for now.

sry and thanks for reading!

30 Funniest Jerry Seinfeld Quotes

2007-06-10T18:12:00.000+08:00

I was the best man at the wedding. If I'm the best man, why is she marrying him?

It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.

What is a date really, but a job interview that lasts all night? The only difference is that in not many job interviews is there a chance you’ll wind up naked.

You know you're getting old when you get that one candle on the cake. It's like, "See if you can blow this out."

Men want the same thing from their underwear that they want from women: a little bit of support, and a little bit of freedom.

Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them's making a poop, the other one's carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge.

Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem.Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.

That's the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me

There's very little advice in men's magazines, because men don't think there's a lot they don't know. Women do. Women want to learn. Men think, "I know what I'm doing, just show me somebody naked."

According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason

The Swiss have an interesting army. Five hundred years without a war. Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there. Corkscrews. Bottle openers. "Come on, buddy, let's go. You get past me, the guy in back of me, he's got a spoon. Back off. I've got the toe clippers right here."

Why do people give each other flowers? To celebrate various important occasions, they're killing living creatures? Why restrict it to plants? "Sweetheart, let's make up. Have this deceased squirrel."

Why do they call it a "building"? It looks like they're finished. Why isn't it a "built"?

People who read the tabloids deserve to be lied to

Seems to me the basic conflict between men and women, sexually, is that men are like firemen. To men, sex is an emergency, and no matter what we're doing we can be ready in two minutes. Women, on the other hand, are like fire. They're very exciting, but the conditions have to be exactly right for it to occur.

The big advantage of a book is it's very easy to rewind. Close it and you're right back at the beginning.

I have a friend who’s collecting unemployment insurance. This guy has never worked so hard in his life as he has to keep this thing going. He’s down there every week, waiting on the lines and getting interviewed and making up all these lies about looking for jobs. If they had any idea of the effort and energy that he is expending to avoid work, I’m sure they’d give him a raise.

To me, a lawyer is basically the person that knows the rules of the country. We're all throwing the dice, playing the game, moving our pieces around the board, but if there is a problem the lawyer is the only person who has read the inside of the top of the box.

Men don't care what's on TV. They only care what else is on TV.

The idea behind the tuxedo is the woman's point of view that men are all the same; so we might as well dress them that way. That's why a wedding is like the joining together of a beautiful, glowing bride and some guy. The tuxedo is a wedding safety device, created by women because they know that men are undependable. So in case the groom chickens out, everybody just takes one step over, and she marries the next guy.

My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty, and that's the law.

I will never understand why they cook on TV. I can't smell it. Can't eat it. Can't taste it. The end of the show they hold it up to the camera, "Well, here it is. You can't have any. Thanks for watching. Goodbye."

Somebody just gave me a shower radio. Thanks a lot. Do you really want music in the shower? I guess there's no better place to dance than a slick surface next to a glass door.

See, the thing of it is, there's a lot of ugly people out there walking around but they don't know they're ugly because nobody actually tells them.

What would the world be like if people said whatever they were thinking, all the time, whenever it came to them? How long would a blind date last? About 13 seconds, I think. "Oh, sorry, your rear end is too big." "That's ok, your breath stinks anyway. See you later."

You know what I never get with the limo? The tinted windows. Is that so people don't see you? Yeah, what a better way not to have people notice you than taking a thirty foot Cadillac with a TV antenna and a uniformed driver. How discreet. Nobody cares who's in the limo. You see a limo go by, you know it's either some rich jerk or fifty prom kids with $1.75 each.

You can measure distance by time. "How far away is it?" "Oh about 20 minutes." But it doesn't work the other way. "When do you get off work?" "Around 3 miles."

Are there keys to a plane? Maybe that's what those delays are sometimes, when you're just sitting there at the gate. Maybe the pilot sits up there in the cockpit going, "Oh, I don't believe this. Dammit..I did it again." They tell you it's something mechanical because they don't want to come on the P.A. system, "Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be delayed here on the ground for a while. I uh..Oh, God this is so embarrassing...I, I left the keys to the plane in my apartment. They're in this big ashtray by the front door. I'm sorry, I'll run back and get them."

I once had a leather jacket that got ruined in the rain. Why does moisture ruin leather? Aren't cows outside a lot of the time? When it's raining, do cows go up to the farmhouse, "Let us in! We're all wearing leather! Open the door! We're going to ruin the whole outfit here!"

this post is dedicated to kuangnan

2007-06-07T22:09:00.000+08:00

this is lame, i know.

here comes a post...

2007-05-31T21:29:00.000+08:00

finally got some time to post..
i've been having rehearsals at ri and vjc for the past few days so i've had little time to do anything else.
to show how busy i am, i shall present to you...

A DAY IN MY LIFE! (which happens to be yesterday)

7am
wake up dreamily (half asleep), brush teeth, wash up, have breakfast, lug cello to car, reach RI.

8am
start rehearsal, listen to kevin's rantings forever

11am
go for dental checkup in school, get teeth ripped up (or so it felt), got back for rehearsal.

12nn
finished rehearsal, went to yoshinoya at j8 with adriel and other blokes from RISE. met up with yiyang and got on a taxi with nnnaakug and headed for vjc. by that time i think we were pretty sweaty from all the cello weightlifting. except for nnnaakug, of course, who only carried a pathetic bow case (hopefully with a bow inside).

2pm
reached destination. set up instruments, got pushed around by mr sze (literally) then got jacked by the harpist. again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

had a few breaks here and there.

we (as in yiyang, adriel and i) tried not to offend nnnaakug today in case we hurt his feelings.

5++pm
had dinner break, ate nasi lemak with a fork. thereafter witnessed superhuman strength as some acs guy screwed up the snapple vending machine and got some free snapples.

and yes, we couldnt resist suaning nnnaakug now. we found out he had some sort of longlost kungfu skills that he could summon when provoked, albeit in minute amounts.

6.10pm
started rehearsals again.

9.30++pm
got on the car (bound homeward), fetched adriel and some other guy home.

10+pm
actually got home.

dad wanted to make me play tennis at that ungodly hour with him and my brother.
i did, with a bit of reluctance..

12midnight
finally got to bed and slept like mad.

i think i cant say anything else..
im pretty tired now.

still have holiday homework..
hopefully i have enough time to do it.

i'll try to post in the near (ok, maybe not so near) future.

that's it for now!

finally! goodbye ccts (for now)

2007-05-10T16:42:00.000+08:00

in case you don't know what cct is, it means class common test.

so, finally it's over, no more till next term! yay!

feels good. now i can spend more time doing other stuff!

by the way, i'll take this post to advertise about RenaISsancE - the string concert where all of us pros in rise will perform!

i shall not say anything else about the concert, i think you guys can decide for yourselves if you want to go...
it's for fundraising so pls come!

tickets are $10, the concert is at the ri auditorium above the hall. so come if you can!

you can ask me for them in my chatterbox.

till later, bye!

thought of the day

2007-05-01T19:55:00.000+08:00

hrm...
i was doing my chinese 专题作业 just now, and my dad said "hey, don't you think that 鼻子的鼻 is very ugly?"
then i thought,
and thought..
and thought
and thought.
then i realised...
that he was right!

don't believe me, blow it up.

..and that's my thought of the day!

rostropovich.. the legacy remains.

2007-04-30T17:09:00.000+08:00

i'm quite sure some of you have realised that great cello legend Mstislav Rostropovich has passed away..
many people on this earth mourn his death and his music, as that much music is all he could create in his lifetime.
well, i've chanced upon a interesting article from the new york times weekly review, which i think i should with dear readers of my blog here..

Dear Virtuoso, I Wrote This One Just for You

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Published: April 29, 2007

PEOPLE who pay the least attention to classical music probably know Mozart’s clarinet concerto and quintet, two indelibly beautiful works. But how many remember the name Anton Stadler? He was Mozart’s fellow Freemason in Vienna, a clarinetist for whom the works were written. The history of music is littered with Stadlers, great virtuosos whose artistry inspired the repertory we live with today. An outstanding example of such an artist, Mstislav Rostropovich, died last week.

INSPIRATION Mstislav Rostropovich made sure there were plenty of new pieces for him to play.

Mstislav Rostropovich, 80, Dissident Maestro, Dies (April 28, 2007)

Mr. Rostropovich played a number of extraordinary roles in his life: brilliant cellist, conductor, thorn in the side of the Soviet regime, champion of artistic and political freedom, mentor and humanitarian.

One of his greatest legacies, though, will probably be a prodigious body of cello music composed for him or inspired by him.

He was the recipient of five pieces by Britten; two cello concertos by Shostakovich; and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante. He gave the first performances of works by Penderecki, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski, Schnittke, Messiaen, Bernstein, Auric and Walton and a host of other 20th-century composers.

Ralph Kirshbaum, an American cellist living in London, recalled a car ride with Mr. Rostropovich two years ago. The Russian said he was working on a new Penderecki piece. How many premieres had Mr. Rostropovich given, Mr. Kirshbaum idly asked. “It is No. 224,” Mr. Rostropovich answered — mostly cello works, but also pieces for orchestra, chamber ensemble and voice and piano (he was a capable accompanist).

“He is the supreme example of a practicing musician, an internationally renowned artist, who brings into the world so many new compositions,” said Mr. Kirshbaum, who runs an international cello festival in Manchester, England. The festival begins May 2 and will include a tribute to Mr. Rostropovich.

“He made it his business to know these composers and goad from them these compositions,” Mr. Kirshbaum said. “He would insist, ‘Must write piece for me!’ ”

Visual artists, of course, have always had muses, and the inspiration is obvious: they painted them. Picasso had his lover Dora Maar; Bonnard had his wife Marthe, whom he painted hundreds of times; Rembrandt, a genius of self-portraiture, had himself. Elsewhere in the world of performing arts, the great example of performer inspiration is George Balanchine, who built ballets on a succession of great dancers, some of whom became wives.

In music, the relationship between performer and composer is less intimate but no less powerful, although opera is something of an exception. Composers have long written operatic roles with specific singers — their voices, their looks, their personalities — in mind. Mozart several times added and subtracted arias based on who was singing in a particular production. Composers of that era also tended to write concertos for themselves or their students to play.

In our age, the importance of the performer as muse has grown, for several reasons. Technical advances in instrument-making over the last 100 years have broadened the range of what musicians can play. And musicians have become better. They want more music, and composers are stimulated to write for them. All this music helps keep the classical scene vibrant.

The oboe is a good example. Its modern form dates back only 100 years, meaning the 19th-century Romantics produced few solo works of note for oboe and orchestra. The Strauss concerto, a landmark, came in 1945, and since the 1960s, the Swiss soloist Heinz Holliger has played a major role in raising the oboe’s profile and inspiring myriad works by composers including Berio, Carter, Martin, Henze, Lutoslawski and Stockhausen.

“All of us guys with big jobs are always looking for new pieces to play,” said Eugene Izotov, principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. “When a composer, no matter whether famous or not, sends me something, I’m very excited about it.”

New musical markets have arisen as the newer members of the modern symphony orchestra have come into their own. The trombone has a huge new body of recent solo literature. Much of it came about because of the Swedish trombone virtuoso Christian Lindberg, who counts at least 82 works written for him. Oystein Baadsvik of Norway, a tuba soloist, has given the premieres of some 40 works.

Even percussionists have a library of solo literature, born almost exclusively in the last 75 years. This month, the combined percussion ensembles of the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music performed a pillar of the repertory, an entire symphony of percussion by Charles Wuorinen.

Playing an instrument brilliantly is not the only quality that leads to new works. Often, the performer is a composer too, like Mr. Holliger and Mr. Lindberg. Energy, a persuasive personality and plenty of commitment are also necessary, and Mr. Rostropovich excelled in these areas (and even composed a bit too).

Once, in the middle of a punishing schedule of concerts and travel, he appeared at a rehearsal with the English Chamber Orchestra to perform a new work at the Aldeburgh Festival, with Britten conducting, Mr. Kirshbaum said, recounting a story told by a member of the orchestra. He had not completely polished the piece, and Britten took offense. Mr. Rostropovich spent the night practicing. The next day, he played it perfectly. From memory.

Another insight into his dedication to new works came from Patricia O’Kelly, the longtime spokeswoman for the National Symphony Orchestra, which Mr. Rostropovich led as music director from 1977 to 1994. In an interview once, he wondered with mock anger why no cellist had ever asked Mozart, “Write for me cello concerto!” in Ms. O’Kelly’s paraphrase.

It was an accusation he never wanted made about him.

hope you've been inspired by that!

"it's all for the best"

2007-04-29T16:13:00.000+08:00

i've read a short story which taught me a really important lesson. it goes like this:

there was a faithful minister called reverend bernard gilpin.
he lived in the time of queen mary, in england. as many of you might know, queen mary persecuted the christians at that time.
well, reverend gilpin was sent to london to be put to death. by god's providence, he happened to break his leg. he had to get medical treatment and he could not continue his journey to london.
soon after, while he was still in the hospital, queen mary died. her sister elizabeth, who was a protestant, became queen.
immediately, all persecution was stopped and reverend gilpin was saved!
how marvelous is god's power!

this story alone shows that god has everything planned. he knows what is going to happen to you tomorrow, next week, and so on. he even knows what you are thinking, and he knows what you are going to get for your next cct.

so trust in him, that whatever happens to you,
"it's all for the best!"

provision!!

2007-04-26T19:59:00.000+08:00

anybody who went to ri this morning in a vehicle of sorts would have realised that there was mass confusion.
and if you didnt know, it was because the traffic lights stopped working.

no one knows why they went on strike (or got struck [no pun intended] by lightning or whatever), but i know that God saved me [can't think of a better word..].
i was almost late for school, but because of his divine intervention, i wasnt.

in the morning, my mum said,"better hurry up, got rain, we have to go earlier."
that was the first thing that led me to being on time.
then, there was smooth traffic all the way to my brother's school (acsj) and to ri. until that mega-junction of course.
i can seriously testify of God's goodness in helping me all the way. this is one good reminder of his grace..

i know that this small encounter might not mean much to you, but think about it.. there are many times he helped me and i didnt realise it. TAs, CCTs, piano exams, and many other stuff like that.. God was there all the time, i just didnt realise it.

here's hoping all of you will one day experience his blessings,

john

new blogskin..

2007-04-26T16:57:00.000+08:00

hi all!
the blogskin's been changed, dunno if you guys like it, but i do!!
simpler. thats nice
and i like red.. (: and black and white and dark purple for that matter...

plus,
you might want to know that the whole of ri is having one day off (mon) because of our great results in our competitions!! (hope you're jealous by now..) thanks, headmaster!
and in case you didn't realise, tuesday's a public holiday - labour day!! (if you weren't jealous just now, now you are..) [hehe]

till next time,
john

syf - what you've been waiting for

2007-04-20T15:34:00.000+08:00

rehearsals after rehearsals, the day arrived...we RISEeans got to school at 6, bonded as one, ready to face our adversaries.. SYF2007!!!!!!!!!

meeting the likes of nanyang girls high, st nicks, acsi, and john yu, we marched on to the fore, and got our
GOLD WITH HONOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!! we're on cloud 9!!!! thanks mr sze, miss shen, and mr ong. future endeavours will be coming up, such as the carnegie performance, so we're buckled up and ready to go!! right, adriel??
celebrations will come, (so is johnshin's dunking). GO, MATTHEW.

the day was not without it's (kinda) strange happenings. zhaokai (or should i say zhaokar)'s clothes went missing and yunfei and johnyu got jacked by mr sze. serves them right! (sorry) that's it for now, till next syf!

just kidding.

rise07 - syf.. coming up!!

2007-04-17T19:44:00.000+08:00

woah, syf is this friday, and after much hard work (for most members of the ensemble), we're hoping to retain that covetous "gold with honours" title..
good thing we have the sze to help us.. :] (hint, hint)
biggest rival this year: acsi. heard many rumours about them, most of them arent that good. that's good for us :) ! and the best part is they're going right before us. and we're gonna freak them out just before they enter, then beat them flat!! people like nic hsien, adi, kuangnan, etc, willl see to that..
just some thoughts for the different sections..
1. 1stviolins - can be smoother in terms of movement, and lumpy - don't overdo it..
2. 2ndviolins - watch mr sze more carefully and play according to his strokes. that chubby sec 1 (sry forgot your name suddenly), same advice as lumpy..
3. violas - can be more together, and jon koh and wang xiang can wait till after syf to trash things out??
4. cellos - MATTHEW.....
5. basses - don't play so loud, be more sensitive.
that's it for now, syf results will come..
till then, :)

oliver... dear dear oliver!

2007-04-06T14:33:00.000+08:00

serves you right fagin, ended up getting hanged!!
"oliver twist" (the play) was soooo good! i loved it to the bone! the actors could sing so well.. arh!

jubilee hall was brilliant too!

guess what happened to me!
right at the beginning, an actor drones on and on about that man fagin, then she comes to sit next to you (i sat in front, 1st row), asks you if you want the show to start, and then you nod your head in reply like a puppy? and everybody laughed. how cool was that? not to say terrifying!

well, what i basically want to say is - that show was a great experience.

the gallows and he coffin/door hung about, conveying the message of death throughout the story, through the eyes of fagin. how great a reminder of the hanging looms of death!

the story was so well crafted, the actors really got into their roles, their expression, body language and such all worked together to create a show not to be missed! i don't know how long the show will be in singapore, but i suggest you check it out.

go to sistic: oliver twist - jubilee hall [raffles hotel]
the actors are from london.

track and field finals.. bayley imba!

2007-04-03T19:51:00.000+08:00

bayley track and field champs 3 times in a row!! well done!! wheeeeeeeeeee!
quite exciting races just now. fun to see how buckley's so happy when they got third!! :)
too bad for moor and hullett though. (haha enzhao i can see you fuming..)
going to see oliver twist, hope i'll have fun!
good job chitun.. (must commend)
ran well for morrison..
can't beat us bayleyans.. haha X)

2007-03-31T18:27:00.000+08:00

erm..
hi everyone again.
sorry its been so long since i last posted. syf coming so im extremely busy.
anyway, this short 5 min post is for me to show you my newest creation with photoshop.. it's the best computer drawing programme ever!
so pls enjoy, hope you like it. you wanna noe what's been happening to me, but ive got no time. but you can see the picture and interpret it as you like. ^^
forgive me if everything i just wrote is complete junk.
-_-"

2007-01-26T20:40:00.000+08:00

ok. ok.
i know everyone as been thinking why ive been leaving this blog alone for sooooo.. long. sorry.
just that ive been busy with school and stuff.
i'l explain abt that later.

so. school.
ri is totally cool.
i mean, everything is so fun, everyone is so enthusiastic about what they're doing, and everyone enjoys what they are doing. and i really respect everyone because of that. especially the seniors. and, the homework is humongous, and standard of lessons and all are very high, but i mean, can you expect less?
well, the school is more than what i thought it would be. it isnt a mere structure of brick and stone, it is a whole body, a spirit, a legacy which has lasted and will last for generations to come. and im proud to be part of it. however small the part is.
ok.
enough about studies. about friends? well, ive met chitun-like people, worse-than-gerald-like people, ryan-like-people, cool non-chitun like people, people who are totally overworked all the time and so on and so forth, as mr pang says.
now about cca. ok, so i got into string ensemble before even filling in my cca options, and i was asked to start that audition day, of course i was not free, so i went the next week. and now i just finished yet another tiring 3-hr practice. i tell you one funny incident just know. see, the ensemble has 4 johns. me, another lee, one john yu, and a john shin. im sitting next to shin. and yu is behind me. so the conductor, mr sze, was like "john yu! you're not looking at me!" so, i was so scared! why was he scolding me? i was practically staring at him. then. he said "john, im scolding the guy behind you, dont worry, im not scolding you." i was like woosh! i felt better instantly. you know how i feel. yup. by the way, the layout of the ensemble is like this:

basically, im the circled one. yup.
and im super glad coz im going to new york to perform at carnegie hall with the ensemble!!!!!!! and that is a big thing for all of us at ri.

more about ri another time, im tired now. wrap up. ok, so goodnight, and i'll write another tim, hopefully soon.

2007-01-01T14:05:00.000+08:00

to be cont'd...

fireworks at disneyland... 9 pm. simply spactacular.

parrrot at zoo, he posed for me... so sweet.
at the aviary
i forgot what these are called, but they looked good, haha.
from left - chun yi, li yi, marc, me, emerald, jun de, jun yi.
dolphins, showing off their stuff.
these are actually fish.
black seahorses, nice...

2007-01-01T14:02:00.000+08:00

WOOTS! CT'S GOING TO 1Q AND IM GOING TO 1P!!!!!! YAY! AT LEAST I WONT SEE HIM TOO OFTEN, HOPEFULLY. YEAH.

2007-01-01T13:23:00.000+08:00

hi everyone,
sorry it's been so long since i last posted. basically i was banned then i went to hongkong, then now, im here wishing everyone a great new year ahead!
anyways...
about the hongkong trip. so. it was a short 4+ days thing, with the whole of my father's family going, because it's my cousin's wedding. and that's - generation 1:gongong generation 2:da gu, 3 gu, 5 gu, 5 gu zhang, 6 gu, my dad, my mum generation 3:chun yi, emerald, li yi, jun yi, jun de, marc, me. there. 2 gu's in honkong itself, with 2 gu zhang, oldest sister (i forgot the name, sorry...) older brother (ming jie), younger brother(ming da (now married)). 4 gu's in new zealand.
so, we did some shopping, (i got 2 yamamoto long-sleeved shirts, only s$28 for both! and also a black esprit one which im sharing with my dad)... haha. theme parks, im quite the daredevil and rideaholic, so i love all the stuff like that. (my cousin emerald is my gd biddy and goes with me to all the rides, jun yi and jun de were all very scared so only the tamer rides they took. li yi was scared but she dared to take the rides, then she loved them) - disneyland. *good ride(s): space mountain. not as good as the one in jap. but gd enough, went 4 times with emerald and li yi and marc and jun de and so on. basically generation 2 wasnt so game. haha. *bad rides: everything else, i suppose the jungle river cruise was not bad, but yeah, the rest was horrible. and the queing time made it worse. anyways, if you want to go to hongkong, try the ocean park, it's better. so now, ocean park. *good rides: 1. the abyss. for all the daredevils on earth. super high freefall which makes you lift in your seats. you go up there like maybe 30m in the air. then you wait for 10 seconds (i counted) then they drop you freefall and you bounce up again and fall again this continues 3 times, then you land. i tell you, it was so fun, only marcm emerald and i went. super gd. 2. mine train. very fun rollercoaster, some freefalls and very fast, so you really feel the drop, good stuff. *bad rides: the dragon was a waste. looks scary but feels like you're on a lousy kiddish ride. you sit on the train then you go round loops and stuff. looks like yiou're gpoing very fast, but actually very slow. want a scary time? don't take this. but this ride is gd if you want to feel safe.hehe. the eagle is another one which wasnt so good. and the raging river is the best thing if you wanna get wet. the freefall into the water is quite fun i suppose. tip: crouch down. it was 4 seater, but my carriage only 3 of us. emerald in front, im next, then jun de at back. so we slid down the freefall ramp and emerald crouched down, i crouched down, jun de forgot. he was damp, we were not. that's about it for the rides.
now about the airplane trips. i was usually ok on airplanes, but this time i was a wreck. vomited once on the way there, 4 times on the way back. so tired and sick. plus i was sick before the trip, with sliught fever and food poisoning. "stupid turkey!" yeah. on the way back i watched this movie called "for horowitz". brilliant show. cant tell you much or it'll spoil the show. catch it on cathay pacific. next time. yeah.
ok tired now. happy new year once again, off to school in 2 days, im cossing my fingers now, coz im checking the ri website for the clas arrangements, hops that i wont be in ct's class. be back in a moment.

2006-12-20T19:27:00.000+08:00

hi again...
went to east coast today, cycling. "i tell you - it was a terrible waste of time..." not coz cycling isnt fun or anything, but coz i had to keep changing my bike. must have changed bikes at least twice, the rental kiosk gave me 2 lousy bikes, both of which werent working well... sian. haiz, next time im not returning to that kiosk again... by the way it's a newer kiosk... had lunch at bk *yay!* havent been there for so long... felt good to be there again. anyway, yeah, not very eventful...
the good news today: I GOT A NEW CELLO!!!!!! as an advanced birthday present, yay!!!!!! it's my teacher's old one, very nice sound!!!! thanks mum and dad!!!!!! im glad... very! good nows no. 2: i got eagles award again! 120 more dollars to save or spend, yay! that's it.
yup, so.... i'll post tomorrow, hopefully, yeah, bye...

2006-12-19T22:13:00.000+08:00

my dad took leave today, so we went out...
it was like this.
8:00 woke up, was about to go to snow city, my mum had vouchers, then, my dad was like enjoying his breakfast slowly, so we would be too late if we had gone.
9:00 so, we decided to go in the afternoon, went bowling instead.
9:30 reached superbowl at marina, very dilapidated, old building. not very nice-looking, but then again, why don't you just enjoy your bowling, ya? anyway, played 3 games, won the first one, by chance, with 103? the second one i forgot my position, but i got an 82, not great, then the last one i got a 87 i think, ok overall, good fun... ^^
11:30 left the alley.
12:00 with my friends from church with my sunday school teacher, nice guy. he treated us, and some of the boys took advantage of him, hrm... gd food anyways.
1:30 got home, then left for snow city, my brother was so tired... so we reached snow city...
2:30 went over to science centre, we have membership, saw some balloon show at the maxwell auditorium, not great, very kiddish.
3:45 entered the snow chamber after choosing my shoe size and jacket - both of which didnt ft very well. at first i felt fine, then i got colder and colder, then my fingers started to freeze up, they're real sensitive, then i was gonna just die in the cold. very bad. -10 what you think? and i was wearing jeans with a t-shirt and a lousy ill fitting jacket, its velcro not working, very horrible, so i went out with my dad to get warmer for awhile. oh yeah, the snowtubing is horrible, going down was good then, you realize your shoes are filled with ice, not snow, there's no snow there anyway, just lousy ice. and your legs are unbearably cold. of course it's also my fault for not dressing adequately, so i suppose i can blame anything -_-". enough about that.
5:00 went for ice-cream (what did you just say?!), well yes, ice-cream, and fries and hot milo. at least that helped.

that's it. for today that is.

sleeping soon...

2006-12-18T11:23:00.000+08:00

managed to finish 4 pages of the sonata so far, which is a real accomplishment.
haha
have been asked by my parents to consider if i want a career as a musician, piano or cello, grp or solo, teacher? well, i've been thinking... and thinking... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... and i still don't know.
gimme some suggestions pls?
oh yes. i've been eating alot of japanese and korean food recently. my favourite! so nice. im indulging too much. take yesterday for an example, dinner was at a korean charcoal barbecue restaurant, it was the best ive gone to ever. super authentic, with like a million dishes all spead out od the table. and the barbecue pit, so called, was like built into the table. the waitress just came in with slabs of pork and extralarge siccors and barbecued the pork to perfection, then cut it up. so good. very delicious. it was heavenly. then, there was the drinks. there was this interesting barley tea. but there was no remnants of barley at all. why? coz they actually fried the barley, then boiled it. ended up with a brownish peach colour. very nice sweet aftertaste. good for drinking when your outh is about to burn up. did i mention i hate chilli? nvm. yeah. great meal.
if you wanna know why i was at the restaurant? that's because it was my god-brother's birthday. he's still a toddler, very cool hair, that kid. haha. he's half korean. like his older pri 1 sis. my god-father's korean, my god-mother's singaporean, so... yeah.
you can go there if u want. it's at this place called yess centre, opp. haw par villa. yeah
go try. that's about it for now, off to rest. actually not really, still got my cello to practice. then there's this concert im gonna watch at night. bye for now.

2006-12-14T12:40:00.000+08:00

Bartok: Piano Sonata - zoltan kocsis

he's crazy. and i mean kocsis and bartok. both have accomplished impossible feats. and now I'M supposed to play this piece by next yr end...

slam dunk 80.2

2006-12-13T17:42:00.000+08:00

~2~

slam dunk 80.1

2006-12-12T18:44:00.000+08:00

~1~

RUKAWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-12-12T17:54:00.000+08:00

look at this, from the website "the flying inkpot", made up of critic's comments on not just current issues bt also concerts and competitions.

The Piano Junior Category quarterfinals began at the Alliance Française this morning. There would be 70 young pianists, all aged 12 and below, performing 10 minutes each in this round. I caught 19 of them in the afternoon session. Was there a future Abigail Sin or Clare Yeo among this lot of hopefuls?
The thing about very young musicians is that they range from tiny tots just fresh out of toddler-hood to adolescents. Should they be judged the same way, given a possible gulf in standards? For example, a 7-year old who plays like a 7-year-old is usually more impressive than a 12-year-old who plays like a 12-year-old. What should be the criteria for admission to the semi-finals – sheer potential or the actual performance heard on stage?
At any rate, the performances this afternoon range from the clearly untalented, obviously unprepared and unrepentant to a handful with some potential of better things to come. Let’s throw out the boy who mucked around in Debussy (and was thankfully not allowed to complete the piece) or the girl who turned a Delibes waltz into a goosestep, and what do we have?
Not too much, I’m afraid. Some were well prepared and competent, but inspiration and imagination were in short supply generally. Some standouts:
Rachel Chua (No.39), whose Grieg To the Spring rang as clearly as a bell and coped well in the prestidigitation of Mozart’s Sonata in F major K.332 (3rd movement). Yeo Kang Le (No.26) was probably the littlest participant, but he scored big in confidence in the vertiginous Gigue of Bach’s French Suite No.5 and a diminutive Clementi sonatina. Soh Kuan Wei (No.31) gave assured accounts of Beethoven’s Rondo in C and Tchaikovsky’s April, John Lee (No.34) showed some maturity in the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata Op.14 No.1, and Isaac Yeo (No.36) was a big hitter in a Dussek sonata and Mendelssohn’s Song without Words Op.53 No.3. Also hopeful: Pan Jiahui (No.40). Her Schubert Sonata in E major D.459 (1st movement) had colour, was technically accurate in a Scarlatti sonata but should not have included late Liszt.
So the boys in general fared better than the girls, but that could change tomorrow.

so interesting right? hrm...
this is way too outdated, but posting it wont be too late right? nevermind.

john

2006-12-11T21:43:00.000+08:00

this is for dad :]
just now mum, marc and i went to the national museum. th architecture is awesome, very beautiful place.
1. we saw maria theresia's exhibition, she was a very diplomatic empress of austria, she managed to fight and win countless battles, despite the fact that she was a female. we saw many artefacts during her reign, tyhe one i liked most was a real harpsichord which was made in that time!
2. we went to another exhibition which was about the history of singapore. naturally, people like me would be bored, but no, it was very good. it was an interactive experience like that in the palaces that you and mum had visited, we wore those headphones and pressed the no. that was sown on the floor and heard the commentary on the artefacts or paintings which were there. it was very interestingly done, i could see the hard work put into the exhibition...
3. this was truly fun, we went into the big balloon structures made from thin plastic, called amozozo. (www.architects-of-air.com) is totally handcrafted. the light from outside shines through and the different coloured fabrics let in different coloured light. the dome shaped patterns gave a bouncy feel to it. it was designed to help people relax, i thik it reached its goal because the colours were rather mild, yet vibrant at the same time...
we all wish that you were here to join us.
oh well. haha
see you on friday, have a safe trip back!
john.

2006-12-10T14:27:00.000+08:00

evgeny kissin la campanella

this piece is great, and this is my fav. pianist at present. very good.

2006-12-09T18:27:00.000+08:00

erm... the pianos that i dream of, though these dreams won't come true...

estonia piano - hand-made, nice rounded tone. czech.

august forster - used in the pianist movie, many renowned pianists and composers love the beautiful sound and touch of this piano. hand-made in west germany.

bosendorfer grand - designed by f.a.porsche, it's design and sound are both superior, like that of the mighty steinway.

shigeru kawai - koichi kawai's son improved on his father's grand piano creation and it's beautiful rich sound just makes me drool.

steinway grand - considered the best piano on earth, it's sound is really good. with many professionals surporting it.

2006-12-09T18:18:00.000+08:00

CHOPIN Nocturne in C# minor

this is my fav. song now, it's so awsome!
beautiful tone, very nice touch. i love the sentimal and melancholic feel to it, watch the movie - the pianist, and you'll like the song even more...

2006-12-09T11:01:00.000+08:00

hi again!
was on youtube yesterday till very late. my dad gave me a bang and olufsen headphones!!!!!!!!!! the sound quality is just way too good, works totally well with my ipod, makes it sound heavenly.

so, back to youtube, evgeny kissin is ereally good! i prefer him to yundi li haha. his la campenella is beautiful though many people don't like his interpretation.

saw yundi li play alla turca with guess who? jay chou! he plays real well, made 1 mistake though, wrong chord. haha!

watching the encore asian games telecast of the 3km steeplechase, just watching it makes me feel faint.

hope more of you tag. please. thanks!

2006-12-08T16:06:00.000+08:00

haha finally got the blog up and running
phew!
i just got new spectacles, some japanese brand called rives, very nice!
haha

my brother is watching some funny cartoon about an octopus which plays the piano. how lame can he get! haha.

messaging chris and willa now,
next time.

2006-12-08T14:58:00.000+08:00

firstly i wanna apologize coz i accidentally deleted my previous blog so erm, do me a favour will ya? help me relink, thanks!
sorry.
really sorry.