While those of you state-side have to wait for vernal equinox, we here in Ukraine get Spring started today, the first of the month.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Poetry
Read this and then vote in the poll to the left!
You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard
But you don't understand
Just what you'll say
When you get home
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You raise up your head
And you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says"It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone?"
You hand in your ticket
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel
To be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible"
As he hands you a bone
You have many contacts
Among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To just give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan"
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"
Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin' around
You should be made
To wear earphones.
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
-Bob Dylan, Ballad of a Thin Man.
I bought a Best of Bob Dylan CD at wal-mart with Noah about ten years ago... right before going on a large trip (I think it was to Cape Cod) and I just popped it back into my CD player again today.
You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard
But you don't understand
Just what you'll say
When you get home
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You raise up your head
And you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says"It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone?"
You hand in your ticket
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel
To be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible"
As he hands you a bone
You have many contacts
Among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To just give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan"
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"
Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin' around
You should be made
To wear earphones.
Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
-Bob Dylan, Ballad of a Thin Man.
I bought a Best of Bob Dylan CD at wal-mart with Noah about ten years ago... right before going on a large trip (I think it was to Cape Cod) and I just popped it back into my CD player again today.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
The Radio
It's been a while since I've listened to the radio. I learned to hate it in the states. I hated listening to 10 songs I didn't want to hear to get to one that I didn't really mind... it was never really worth it. I think Thomas Prettyman was one of the few kids around my age (he was older than me then, but now that we're "grown up", we're "the same age") that had as many CD's as I did... Even before becoming part of the typical BMG music club.
But it wasn't just music... it was the spoken word, too. You would get a Rush Limbaugh or other talk show host that was entertaining... but you had to listen when they were on (except for Adventures in Odyssey... we had the whole set on tape), otherwise you missed it. But no longer...
I have finally discovered the world of podcasting (I know, I know... they've been around for quite a while, but I'm just starting to get into it). Any topic you can imagine... Cooking, learning languages, music, cigars, Lost, movie reviews, politics... etc. etc. etc. It is all there. And you can listen to whatever... WHENEVER you want to. But the best thing is that you don't have to listen to anything you DON'T want to. It's great. AND they're free.
My current favorite is NPR's Jazz Profiles. Information and interviews about jazz personalities, diluted by clips of music that further emphasize the points being made. It comes out every Wednesday and the last two were Nat King Cole: The Piano Player and Nat King Cole: The Singer. It's cool to hear the voices of so many famous jazz players being interviewed and hear what they say about eachother.
It's also nice to have something that you don't have to look at, like books or TV/DVDs. You can actually get other things done when your eyes aren't glued to something.
Now if I only had an iPod, I could listen to them on the go!
But it wasn't just music... it was the spoken word, too. You would get a Rush Limbaugh or other talk show host that was entertaining... but you had to listen when they were on (except for Adventures in Odyssey... we had the whole set on tape), otherwise you missed it. But no longer...
I have finally discovered the world of podcasting (I know, I know... they've been around for quite a while, but I'm just starting to get into it). Any topic you can imagine... Cooking, learning languages, music, cigars, Lost, movie reviews, politics... etc. etc. etc. It is all there. And you can listen to whatever... WHENEVER you want to. But the best thing is that you don't have to listen to anything you DON'T want to. It's great. AND they're free.
My current favorite is NPR's Jazz Profiles. Information and interviews about jazz personalities, diluted by clips of music that further emphasize the points being made. It comes out every Wednesday and the last two were Nat King Cole: The Piano Player and Nat King Cole: The Singer. It's cool to hear the voices of so many famous jazz players being interviewed and hear what they say about eachother.
It's also nice to have something that you don't have to look at, like books or TV/DVDs. You can actually get other things done when your eyes aren't glued to something.
Now if I only had an iPod, I could listen to them on the go!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Not much better...
So... we're not doing THAT much better at blogging. But I've always been good at making excuses. So I figure if I can combine that passion with blogging, I've got a shot at least getting a few posts up regularly.
So, what ELSE have we been busy with besides school? Well Dasha is at work (writing away) from 10 until 7.
I'm doing what musicians do, I guess. Here's what the last few days looked like, not counting school.
Monday: Four hour rehearsal at Philharmonic . And two private hour-and-a-half lessons. (In between those two was a cup of coffee with mom, the empy-nester.)
Tuesday: Four hours at the Philharmonic and then a rehearsal with the "next big pop star of Ukraine" (I'm the drummer... and Dima (some of you may know Dima from tours) is the percussionist.)
Wednesday: Almost five hours at the Opera House (with the Philharmonic orchestra and some of Ukraine's most famous opera stars) and then a 2.5 hour concert that evening called "To Ukraine, I Shall Return" where ukrainian opera and ballet stars, who are good enough to perform around the world, come back for a concert that they all sing at. (In between the rehearsal and concert I had another nice cup of coffee with Mammy Empty-Nester)
So that is some of what keeps us busy. Today is a little slower with only one rehearsal (actually there are two: Philharmonic and pop star, but the times conflict so had to find someone to fill in for one of them) but tomorrow picks up again with four hours at the Philharmonic in the morning, followed by a private lesson with the Dutch Ambassador's son, and then a concert at the Philharmonic in the evening.
Good excuses for not posting?
So, what ELSE have we been busy with besides school? Well Dasha is at work (writing away) from 10 until 7.
I'm doing what musicians do, I guess. Here's what the last few days looked like, not counting school.
Monday: Four hour rehearsal at Philharmonic . And two private hour-and-a-half lessons. (In between those two was a cup of coffee with mom, the empy-nester.)
Tuesday: Four hours at the Philharmonic and then a rehearsal with the "next big pop star of Ukraine" (I'm the drummer... and Dima (some of you may know Dima from tours) is the percussionist.)
Wednesday: Almost five hours at the Opera House (with the Philharmonic orchestra and some of Ukraine's most famous opera stars) and then a 2.5 hour concert that evening called "To Ukraine, I Shall Return" where ukrainian opera and ballet stars, who are good enough to perform around the world, come back for a concert that they all sing at. (In between the rehearsal and concert I had another nice cup of coffee with Mammy Empty-Nester)
So that is some of what keeps us busy. Today is a little slower with only one rehearsal (actually there are two: Philharmonic and pop star, but the times conflict so had to find someone to fill in for one of them) but tomorrow picks up again with four hours at the Philharmonic in the morning, followed by a private lesson with the Dutch Ambassador's son, and then a concert at the Philharmonic in the evening.
Good excuses for not posting?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Why so long?
It's been a while... but Dasha and I have good excuses. We're on the homestretch at school... I'm in year five and in the masters program and working on 60 or more pages (in Russian) about the history of the marching drummer.
Dasha is in YEAR SIX (good grief) and is about to become a 'specialist' (somewhere between a bachelor's and a master's) and is writing a large written work as well.
So... we'll try to be better about the blogging. We'll see how it goes.
Dasha is in YEAR SIX (good grief) and is about to become a 'specialist' (somewhere between a bachelor's and a master's) and is writing a large written work as well.
So... we'll try to be better about the blogging. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Christmas Music Awards: Part Deux
This award is for Best Non-Traditional Christmas Track:
If you need a break from the traditional Christmas style, then James Brown's Funky Christmas is for you. But this award goes to one track that stands out from all the rest:
"Santa Clause, Go Straight To The Ghetto"
Find it, buy it, download it. It puts smiles on faces. Just look at this album cover! ------>
Following in a close second is Louis Armstrong's:
'Zat You Santa Clause?
From the album "Verve Presents: Very Best of Christmas Jazz".
This is another great album. Not just a good Christmas album... but really a good jazz album. But be warned: Some may find a few songs on here a little too jazzy and not 'Christmasy' enough.
Don't miss part one below... and feel free to add your own award winners in the comments section!
If you need a break from the traditional Christmas style, then James Brown's Funky Christmas is for you. But this award goes to one track that stands out from all the rest:"Santa Clause, Go Straight To The Ghetto"
Find it, buy it, download it. It puts smiles on faces. Just look at this album cover! ------>
Following in a close second is Louis Armstrong's:
'Zat You Santa Clause?
From the album "Verve Presents: Very Best of Christmas Jazz".
This is another great album. Not just a good Christmas album... but really a good jazz album. But be warned: Some may find a few songs on here a little too jazzy and not 'Christmasy' enough.
Don't miss part one below... and feel free to add your own award winners in the comments section!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Christmas Music Awards
Here is some of the best, little-known christmas music out there:
Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite:
Perfect Christmas music for when you're tired of hearing 50 million versions of the same carols. One of my very favorite albums to listen to and one of the few I can listen to from beginning to end... over and over. It is now only available with two other Ellington suites (the "Peer Gynt Suite" and "Suite Thursday") that aren't Christmas music... but the Nutcracker Suite alone is worth the $9.98 that amazon.com is selling it for.
An Oscar Peterson Christmas:
Arguably one of the best things to ever come out of Canada, you just can't beat Oscar Peterson. His version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" may be one of my single favorite christmas tracks ever recorded... and that is just the first song on the album. Recorded 12 years ago at 70-years-old I don't know why this isn't a more popular Christmas album.
P.S. Feel free to add any other albums in the comments section that are worthy of awards.
Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite:
Perfect Christmas music for when you're tired of hearing 50 million versions of the same carols. One of my very favorite albums to listen to and one of the few I can listen to from beginning to end... over and over. It is now only available with two other Ellington suites (the "Peer Gynt Suite" and "Suite Thursday") that aren't Christmas music... but the Nutcracker Suite alone is worth the $9.98 that amazon.com is selling it for.
An Oscar Peterson Christmas:
Arguably one of the best things to ever come out of Canada, you just can't beat Oscar Peterson. His version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" may be one of my single favorite christmas tracks ever recorded... and that is just the first song on the album. Recorded 12 years ago at 70-years-old I don't know why this isn't a more popular Christmas album.
P.S. Feel free to add any other albums in the comments section that are worthy of awards.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie
This is the Warsaw National Philharmonic. We played there the other night. Ukraine's first lady was there as well as "many other famous Polish people." At least that is what we were told. We played Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances (if you haven't heard it, get it.. listen to it).
Warsaw is much cooler than Tokyo. I don't even know why. The hall wasn't as nice as many in Japan, but the city was so much better. Which is surprising. I thought the 'culture shock' of an Asian country would hit me and be something completely new and fascinating. It wasn't.
Maybe it was because they play baseball, have the same electrical outlets as the states, and I watched Monday Night Football twice. Or maybe the Japanese just aren't the bustling, suit-wearing, hi-tech businessmen that we think of them as.
Poland was just a more comfortable culture/environment. Half Eastern European, half Western European.
Warsaw is much cooler than Tokyo. I don't even know why. The hall wasn't as nice as many in Japan, but the city was so much better. Which is surprising. I thought the 'culture shock' of an Asian country would hit me and be something completely new and fascinating. It wasn't.
Maybe it was because they play baseball, have the same electrical outlets as the states, and I watched Monday Night Football twice. Or maybe the Japanese just aren't the bustling, suit-wearing, hi-tech businessmen that we think of them as.
Poland was just a more comfortable culture/environment. Half Eastern European, half Western European.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Home, Sweet Home
Well, I am home. There's nothing like your precious wifey-poo meeting you at the airport and bringing you home to a nice, warm home and a hot bowl of soup. That's tough to beat.
Thank you, dear!
Monday morning we leave for Poland... *sigh* (It's only four days this time)
Thank you, dear!
Monday morning we leave for Poland... *sigh* (It's only four days this time)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
It is well with my soul
So..... Just wanted to let y'all know that Jamie wrote an email from Milan. They had to switch to another plane and spend one night in Italy in order to do it. Pretty cool, huh? I mean, hey, it's Milan...
They were accomodated into a 4* hotel with all meals included. I simply find it amazing. It's like a dream come true or something. For me at least it would be.
Anyhow, they were to leave for Japan the next morning. Haven't heard from him again since then. I'm sure their percussion team is simply enjoying themselves too much... too busy to write their wives. Mmmmhmm... one of them called me the other day to find out whether I knew anything about their arrival. Oh well, boys are boys. My Jamie is a wonderful exception, he is a good boy :)
I'm sure this post was a little too emotional for Jamie and his 'normal' style of writing. But hey, I'm me, just wanted to let you know that everything is well with my hubby. He might have to delete this post when he comes back, cuz it doesn't quite fit his virtual little world :) Oh well, I know his password, why not use it?
Sincerely yours, Jamie's faithful sweet wife ;)
They were accomodated into a 4* hotel with all meals included. I simply find it amazing. It's like a dream come true or something. For me at least it would be.
Anyhow, they were to leave for Japan the next morning. Haven't heard from him again since then. I'm sure their percussion team is simply enjoying themselves too much... too busy to write their wives. Mmmmhmm... one of them called me the other day to find out whether I knew anything about their arrival. Oh well, boys are boys. My Jamie is a wonderful exception, he is a good boy :)
I'm sure this post was a little too emotional for Jamie and his 'normal' style of writing. But hey, I'm me, just wanted to let you know that everything is well with my hubby. He might have to delete this post when he comes back, cuz it doesn't quite fit his virtual little world :) Oh well, I know his password, why not use it?
Sincerely yours, Jamie's faithful sweet wife ;)
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Tomorrow...
Tomorrow is the big day... first international tour with the Philharmonic Orchestra. We're off to Japan... Here's the thing I hate about travelling:
I spent over a year studying Russian because I couldn't stand not understanding what was going on around me (and I'm still learning). But as soon as I get to the airport: "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" I have no idea half of what is going on around me. Japan is worse because you can't even pretend know the 'letters' and try to sound something out... look at this:
Kyiv's subway system took our family less than a month to get used to. There are three lines... the red, the blue, and the green. This is Tokyo:
People think Kyiv is a hustling, bustling metropolis with three million people living here... Tokyo is 12 million in the city limits and countless more and the huge, suburban, surrounding area.
On our way, we get to spend the night in Milan. So we'll see if I end up with a picture like this one before heading off to Japan:
I spent over a year studying Russian because I couldn't stand not understanding what was going on around me (and I'm still learning). But as soon as I get to the airport: "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" I have no idea half of what is going on around me. Japan is worse because you can't even pretend know the 'letters' and try to sound something out... look at this:
Kyiv's subway system took our family less than a month to get used to. There are three lines... the red, the blue, and the green. This is Tokyo:
People think Kyiv is a hustling, bustling metropolis with three million people living here... Tokyo is 12 million in the city limits and countless more and the huge, suburban, surrounding area.On our way, we get to spend the night in Milan. So we'll see if I end up with a picture like this one before heading off to Japan:
Friday, November 02, 2007
The Hardware Store
Building a house takes a TON of trips to the hardware store. After work, everybody would ask me very sarcastically if I was going to 'Epicenter' (the Ukrainian version of Home Depot) and EVERY DAY I would run in to pick something up or order something to be delivered. This is Dima trying out the different banya (sauna) apparel that was on sale.
Dima has been remodeling (or rather, "modeling") an apartment that he and is wife bought about a year ago and just moved in last Sunday.
Dima has been remodeling (or rather, "modeling") an apartment that he and is wife bought about a year ago and just moved in last Sunday.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Finally...
Yesterday I tried running pictures through Picasa... wrote up a long post... and then it didn't upload.
Here is the picture for the day before yesterday:
Our house has the chicken pox. This is what it looked like just after installing insulation and just before putting on the final coat of whatever to make it look purty.
Here is the picture for the day before yesterday:
Our house has the chicken pox. This is what it looked like just after installing insulation and just before putting on the final coat of whatever to make it look purty.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Revival
In an attempt to revive this blog, I am starting a new project. We'll see if I can post a picture every day from our daily activities. The picture may not be posted on the day it was taken... but hopefully it will reflect something that is happenning in our lives.
Picture number one:
Playing the cymbals for four hours every day at work can take its toll. No worker's comp... no band-aid break... no nothing. This is what my finger looked like after I had cleaned it up a bit. I still can't get it all of the cymbal...
Picture number one:
Playing the cymbals for four hours every day at work can take its toll. No worker's comp... no band-aid break... no nothing. This is what my finger looked like after I had cleaned it up a bit. I still can't get it all of the cymbal...
(This post is dedicated to Anna Watcher-of-bloody-disgusting-things Peipon)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Quite a Concert...
"Toshimitsu Tanaka is one of the most prolific composers today in Japan, with a repertoire of over eighty compositions for all media. Notable among these are the tetralogy of Requiems for orchestra - The Grave, Gunzo, PATHOS, and maze - spanning twenty years, from 1972 to 1992, and his diverse percussion music, from the Sadlo Concerto for marimba and orchestra, commissioned by Peter Sadlo of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, to Personna (a competition for roto-toms and marimba players on one side, and, on the other, percussionists in traditional Japanese demonic masks, all playing one large gojinjo daiko Japanese drum."
I played the Ukrainian premiere of 'Personna' tonight. It's very complex and it usually would have taken a month or more for us to put something like it together... I had less than two weeks to learn it and only few days to put it all together with the other people playing... and the composer (who is for Japan what Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov were for the USSR) was in the audience.
I'm pooped...
But it's over... Ukraine has know heard Personna and I can finally get a good night sleep.
I played the Ukrainian premiere of 'Personna' tonight. It's very complex and it usually would have taken a month or more for us to put something like it together... I had less than two weeks to learn it and only few days to put it all together with the other people playing... and the composer (who is for Japan what Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov were for the USSR) was in the audience.
I'm pooped...
But it's over... Ukraine has know heard Personna and I can finally get a good night sleep.
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