This weekend was insane, in more ways than one. Austin has tons of things to do, and it has such an earthy local feel. I love it. We did end up going to that psychic fair, and I had my chakras opened. (That was an experience!) I also went to a gift shop and got souvenirs from my own state... that felt a little strange. I found earrings in the shape of Texas, and I would have bought them had they not been red, white, and blue. But it made me wonder if it was possible to find earrings in the shape of other states, like Louisiana or Idaho... somehow I doubt it. I think Texas is the only state that is weirdly proud of their awesome shape. Kind of a bummer, because I was looking for a necklace to express my Wyoming pride. ....
Anyway, I took a break from writing this blog post to go on a major facebook friend purge. I deleted well over half of my friends, and I have under 200 right now, made up of people that I would actually consider myself close to. It felt really good to look at my friends list and just delete everyone who I am legitimately not friends with... there were a few whose names I didn't even recognize... I mean, I don't think I could ever completely delete my facebook. As much as I hate it sometimes, it is an incredibly powerful tool that allows me to keep in touch with people I care about. But if I'm "friends" with a bunch of people I don't care about, all facebook becomes is a license to stalk, judge, and gossip with absolutely no consequences. Kind of scary. And while I know that much of my stalking is innocent and positive, a big part of me wonders whether it's any of my business that a random acquaintance from high school dumped her boyfriend or transferred to a different school. Facebook allows that kind of stuff to spread really fast, but it's sort of creepy how much people can know about you without ever actually talking to you. I mean, remember when people had to actually call you (or talk to you IN PERSON) to know your business? Facebook is taking over the world!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I've got to practice. But seriously, if anyone reading this finds a pair of Ohio earrings, I will give you $20.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
To Austin
At noon today, I set out for a mystery adventure in Austin with my aunts. While I have a vague idea of what we might do, our actual plans are still unknown. However, it is highly likely that we will at some point encounter a psychic and eat various flavors of cupcakes. More to come...
Before I depart, I have scheduled to go to Brookhaven and actually practice the Lacour on bari sax. I have found that while playing the bari part on alto allows me to be relatively confident with the fingerings, there is nothing else that is remotely similar about playing the two horns. Last rehearsal, I practiced the 3rd movement on alto and was able to play it well past half speed, which was the goal... but as soon as I tried it on bari, everything sort of went to crap. As a rule, I typically don't like to practice a piece on any other horn than the one I am using in rehearsal/performance, but I'm not allowed to take the bari home. So today, I break out of my cycle of laziness to actually go learn my part on bari, like I am supposed to. However, as one of my studio mates pointed out once, the lower the saxophone, the more excruciating the practice session. So we'll see how that goes.
The last few days have been otherwise pretty uneventful... I skyped with Megan, skipped Richardson Community Band to have an existential debate about the existence of God with Laura, and watched a few stupid humor movies. My favorite by far was "You're Welcome, America," which is actually not a movie, but a comedy show written and performed by Will Ferrell on the subject of Bush's presidency. It's a little vulgar, but it was one of the funniest and most genius Will Ferrell performances I have ever seen. To the politically aware and comedically inclined, I highly recommend it.
I've got to finish packing and head off to practice. Then off to Austin for some family mischief...
Before I depart, I have scheduled to go to Brookhaven and actually practice the Lacour on bari sax. I have found that while playing the bari part on alto allows me to be relatively confident with the fingerings, there is nothing else that is remotely similar about playing the two horns. Last rehearsal, I practiced the 3rd movement on alto and was able to play it well past half speed, which was the goal... but as soon as I tried it on bari, everything sort of went to crap. As a rule, I typically don't like to practice a piece on any other horn than the one I am using in rehearsal/performance, but I'm not allowed to take the bari home. So today, I break out of my cycle of laziness to actually go learn my part on bari, like I am supposed to. However, as one of my studio mates pointed out once, the lower the saxophone, the more excruciating the practice session. So we'll see how that goes.
The last few days have been otherwise pretty uneventful... I skyped with Megan, skipped Richardson Community Band to have an existential debate about the existence of God with Laura, and watched a few stupid humor movies. My favorite by far was "You're Welcome, America," which is actually not a movie, but a comedy show written and performed by Will Ferrell on the subject of Bush's presidency. It's a little vulgar, but it was one of the funniest and most genius Will Ferrell performances I have ever seen. To the politically aware and comedically inclined, I highly recommend it.
I've got to finish packing and head off to practice. Then off to Austin for some family mischief...
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Dad's Day
Today was fun- played some golf, sequence, and risk, followed by watching Resident Evil 3. I cantored at Mass today too, and I just got so into it... We sang a sort of swingy-laid back version of How Great Thou Art, and it sounded awesome! Man, it is so fun to jam with those guys.
Also, I actually got a lot of practice in this weekend. Friday was my first official lesson of the summer, and I felt, for the first time in a long while, a really strong desire to improve. I don't know what it is about Roy in particular, but every time I go in for a lesson with him, I leave wanting to practice right away. It's definitely something about his personality that challenges and dares me to impress him, and I've realized that I, as a student, respond really well to that teaching style. I sort of worried, throughout the year, that maybe I was having motivation problems because I just wasn't passionate enough about saxophone. I spent the whole year dragging my feet to the practice room, struggling constantly to stay motivated... And now, it's just so affirming to be inspired again!
Looking back, I can't even believe the path I've gone through as a musician. It has taken me years to realize how to listen to myself and how to think about music. I find that my whole frame of mind with regard to performing has changed dramatically. With all of that growth and now, a new teacher that really fits my needs as a student... I am set up for success.
God has really blessed me. All this thinking just makes me so grateful for the meaningful experiences I've had with music, and I don't mind attributing them to God. I've got a number of emotional and intellectual inhibitors to my faith, but music is the one way He can get through to me every time.
Also, I actually got a lot of practice in this weekend. Friday was my first official lesson of the summer, and I felt, for the first time in a long while, a really strong desire to improve. I don't know what it is about Roy in particular, but every time I go in for a lesson with him, I leave wanting to practice right away. It's definitely something about his personality that challenges and dares me to impress him, and I've realized that I, as a student, respond really well to that teaching style. I sort of worried, throughout the year, that maybe I was having motivation problems because I just wasn't passionate enough about saxophone. I spent the whole year dragging my feet to the practice room, struggling constantly to stay motivated... And now, it's just so affirming to be inspired again!
Looking back, I can't even believe the path I've gone through as a musician. It has taken me years to realize how to listen to myself and how to think about music. I find that my whole frame of mind with regard to performing has changed dramatically. With all of that growth and now, a new teacher that really fits my needs as a student... I am set up for success.
God has really blessed me. All this thinking just makes me so grateful for the meaningful experiences I've had with music, and I don't mind attributing them to God. I've got a number of emotional and intellectual inhibitors to my faith, but music is the one way He can get through to me every time.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Productivity
Right now it's 5:20pm, and I haven't done any practicing today, nor have I begun working on the medical payments my mom wants me to take care of. I have spent the majority of my day napping, eating, reading, and wasting time--all things that I thoroughly enjoy.
But amidst this enjoyment is a muffled sense of guilt... I hear that voice inside my head (my voice, of course) reminding me that I should be practicing, or earning money, or selling stuff. I had such high ambitions for this summer! And here it's already mid-June and I haven't accomplished anything on the saxophone... except for some sparse work on a few etudes and a review of scale patterns.
Once I start lessons this summer, I anticipate my lazy days coming to an end. Roy always has a way of bringing me back down to earth, whether I like it or not.
At any rate, I tell myself that my lowered ability to function is due partially to the problems I've been having with my back. Things were going fine most of the school year because I was biking and being active, but when I came home, I did a bunch of nothing and then a bunch of traveling, which hurt it a lot. Right now, I'm taking a bunch of Aleve and doing physical therapy, but I still can't sit down for more than half an hour without a lot of pain. Tomorrow, I start having actual physical therapy sessions with Alan, and I'm hoping that he'll get me feeling a lot better. I don't remember what it feels like to not have back pain, and my fear is that it will never really go away. In some ways, I've learned to deal with it, but every once in a while, I get really frustrated and scared, because I know I'm going to have to battle this my whole life.
On a more positive note, Kevin got his license and drove to summer school by himself today!! Kids grow up so fast... :) Also, I got an email today saying the Baylor Wind Ensemble was selected to play at 2012 TMEA! I am so happy for them/us... Man, what a stellar group. I'm listening to our Scenes from the Louvre recording and it's so good! I miss college band!
But amidst this enjoyment is a muffled sense of guilt... I hear that voice inside my head (my voice, of course) reminding me that I should be practicing, or earning money, or selling stuff. I had such high ambitions for this summer! And here it's already mid-June and I haven't accomplished anything on the saxophone... except for some sparse work on a few etudes and a review of scale patterns.
Once I start lessons this summer, I anticipate my lazy days coming to an end. Roy always has a way of bringing me back down to earth, whether I like it or not.
At any rate, I tell myself that my lowered ability to function is due partially to the problems I've been having with my back. Things were going fine most of the school year because I was biking and being active, but when I came home, I did a bunch of nothing and then a bunch of traveling, which hurt it a lot. Right now, I'm taking a bunch of Aleve and doing physical therapy, but I still can't sit down for more than half an hour without a lot of pain. Tomorrow, I start having actual physical therapy sessions with Alan, and I'm hoping that he'll get me feeling a lot better. I don't remember what it feels like to not have back pain, and my fear is that it will never really go away. In some ways, I've learned to deal with it, but every once in a while, I get really frustrated and scared, because I know I'm going to have to battle this my whole life.
On a more positive note, Kevin got his license and drove to summer school by himself today!! Kids grow up so fast... :) Also, I got an email today saying the Baylor Wind Ensemble was selected to play at 2012 TMEA! I am so happy for them/us... Man, what a stellar group. I'm listening to our Scenes from the Louvre recording and it's so good! I miss college band!
Friday, June 10, 2011
On Ayn Rand
I was on Goodreads today, reading some lit reviews of books I've read, and I came across this comment about The Fountainhead:
"Rand was a brilliant writer. I love her usage of metaphors in The Fountainhead. She was also a mere reactionary product of Soviet subjugation and was rather romantic about her reactionary theories. Taken as a novel that offers a few lessons on the pursuit of the ultimate answers, it is brilliant. Taken as a Philosophy of life, governance, and coexistence it is naive, dangerous, and just plain silly." -[goodreads user]
After reading this comment, I immediately agreed, yet I could not help but feel slightly embarrassed. When I read The Fountainhead almost a year ago, I considered it an epic anthem for individualism. I thought Ayn Rand was some brilliant modern philosopher.... and she is brilliant! But like every artist, she was a product of her experiences. She grew up in revolutionary Russia, and her family experienced the horrors of collectivization. Her entire early life was a big punch in the face by communist Russia. Could that have possibly shaped her radical ideology?
I couldn't believe that I had never thought to read about her life... I mean, it only makes sense that her experiences somehow shaped her philosophy. And that is not to say that her work is any less valid or brilliant; it just goes to show that nothing is ever created in a vacuum. It's easy to get caught up in the wonder of well-written books that are hyped up as "classic literature," but the truth is that every one of them was written by an imperfect human, who sees the world through their own eyes, as they live it. Ayn Rand definitely articulated some human truths, but she is just one author in a vast world of other authors and people, all with their own stories to tell. In my opinion, taking any single book as a philosophy of life is foolish and dangerous. But taking it as one individual's perspective of the human experience may shed light on one aspect of our own world, which leads us on the path toward wisdom.
"Rand was a brilliant writer. I love her usage of metaphors in The Fountainhead. She was also a mere reactionary product of Soviet subjugation and was rather romantic about her reactionary theories. Taken as a novel that offers a few lessons on the pursuit of the ultimate answers, it is brilliant. Taken as a Philosophy of life, governance, and coexistence it is naive, dangerous, and just plain silly." -[goodreads user]
After reading this comment, I immediately agreed, yet I could not help but feel slightly embarrassed. When I read The Fountainhead almost a year ago, I considered it an epic anthem for individualism. I thought Ayn Rand was some brilliant modern philosopher.... and she is brilliant! But like every artist, she was a product of her experiences. She grew up in revolutionary Russia, and her family experienced the horrors of collectivization. Her entire early life was a big punch in the face by communist Russia. Could that have possibly shaped her radical ideology?
I couldn't believe that I had never thought to read about her life... I mean, it only makes sense that her experiences somehow shaped her philosophy. And that is not to say that her work is any less valid or brilliant; it just goes to show that nothing is ever created in a vacuum. It's easy to get caught up in the wonder of well-written books that are hyped up as "classic literature," but the truth is that every one of them was written by an imperfect human, who sees the world through their own eyes, as they live it. Ayn Rand definitely articulated some human truths, but she is just one author in a vast world of other authors and people, all with their own stories to tell. In my opinion, taking any single book as a philosophy of life is foolish and dangerous. But taking it as one individual's perspective of the human experience may shed light on one aspect of our own world, which leads us on the path toward wisdom.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
On Summer Reading
Since I've last posted, I have finished two books and started another. I planned to blog about each of them, but somehow I never got around to opening my laptop.
Malcolm X's autobiography, as told to Alex Haley, was intense-- important, I could tell, though a bit long. I feel that a book that long should have offered more insight into Malcolm X's life, especially since it was actually written by another person. But it was mostly a dry account of events and reactions, which left me much less satisfied than I thought it would. Also, even though he eventually changes his views, I found it almost irritating to read about his devotion to black separatism and the stagnancy of society knowing that society has actually changed a lot... I mean, he rambles on for 100 pages about how the white man is NEVER going to respect black people, and today our country has a black president...
Times have changed. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read.
Next was The Body Project, which admittedly, I just sort of picked up off a Barnes and Noble book shelf and read on a whim. It was interesting, for what it was--a comparison of values and expectations associated with the female body, from 1830s - present. I never knew that pimples used to be a symbol of sexual deviancy or that menstruation used to be blamed for women's supposed incapability of higher education. Some interesting research, but I do wish that the author had taken into account more political and economic changes that impacted her observations... She never even mentions the 19th amendment or Roe v. Wade or the invention of birth control! There is bound to be a better book out there on the subject.
Finally, I am currently reading Wuthering Heights, and I'm about halfway through. Though I want to reserve final judgment until I have finished the book, I don't think it will hold a candle to Jane Eyre. The characters are just not very likeable, and the plot seems like nothing more than a cheap romance novel.
Thus concludes my lit review blog. I will try and remember to keep my netbook handy when I finish my next few books.
Malcolm X's autobiography, as told to Alex Haley, was intense-- important, I could tell, though a bit long. I feel that a book that long should have offered more insight into Malcolm X's life, especially since it was actually written by another person. But it was mostly a dry account of events and reactions, which left me much less satisfied than I thought it would. Also, even though he eventually changes his views, I found it almost irritating to read about his devotion to black separatism and the stagnancy of society knowing that society has actually changed a lot... I mean, he rambles on for 100 pages about how the white man is NEVER going to respect black people, and today our country has a black president...
Times have changed. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read.
Next was The Body Project, which admittedly, I just sort of picked up off a Barnes and Noble book shelf and read on a whim. It was interesting, for what it was--a comparison of values and expectations associated with the female body, from 1830s - present. I never knew that pimples used to be a symbol of sexual deviancy or that menstruation used to be blamed for women's supposed incapability of higher education. Some interesting research, but I do wish that the author had taken into account more political and economic changes that impacted her observations... She never even mentions the 19th amendment or Roe v. Wade or the invention of birth control! There is bound to be a better book out there on the subject.
Finally, I am currently reading Wuthering Heights, and I'm about halfway through. Though I want to reserve final judgment until I have finished the book, I don't think it will hold a candle to Jane Eyre. The characters are just not very likeable, and the plot seems like nothing more than a cheap romance novel.
Thus concludes my lit review blog. I will try and remember to keep my netbook handy when I finish my next few books.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)