Art

if you dont listen to classical music, start!

If you have not heard this stunning peice of music i recomend that you go buy a CD right now:

iv just completed the prelude from my first collection of peices called “fairy suite” check it out on my M page:

http://myimn.com/profile/bemtevi

so yesterday i had my african drumming recital. it was a great experience and as anyone who was there will tell u it changed everybodies “life forever”… haha, well thats what every student said at least. on another more important note, the question of the day:

How do you overcome writers (or whatever it is that you do) block?

“Il pleure dans mon coeur comme il pleure sur la ville”

-Paul Verlaine

does any one have any favorite lines or poems theyd like to share?

All Faith is false, all Faith is true:

Truth is the shattered mirror strown

In myriad bits; while each believes

His little bit the whole to own.

-Haji Abdu El-Yezdi (Richard Burton)

i have added 4 new CDs to my collection:

Livro by Caetano Veloso

The soundtrack to the Sound of Music

Sean Kingston

Collected by Massive Attack

The term Candomblé is a combination of two words from the Central African Kikongo language: Ka and ndonbé, together meaning “custom of the black people.” The drums play an essential and dominant role in Candomblé ceremonies. The master drummer plays the rum, which improvises intricate variations. The rumpi and lé play relatively unchanging patterns as they repeat one steady rhythm. The master drummer or alabê (Yoruba alá agbè) always has overall control of the ceremony, so it is important that drummers never go into a trance.”

-Gerard Taylor (Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace)

I highly recomend this book to anyone who finds african culture interesting.

heres a quick deviation from volume 1 of capoeira to a short storie from volume 2.

“…the argument over the blow, said to be illegal, angered people who’d bet against Mestre Bimba. One of them, Mr. Lúcio de Tal, nicknamed Barra Preta, was so furious about the “injustice” (and the money he’d lost) that he organized an ambush at Engenho  Velho by the Ladeira da Vila América. Mestre Bimba was returningfrom a liason with a local beauty late one dark night in the area of the Ciriaco Candomblé house when he was attacked by seven me, including Mr. Lúcio (carrying a gun, and no less than six police officers armed with sabers. He dumped Lúcio into a garbage container after disarming him, and knocked all the soldiers senseless. According to Angelo Decâni, Mestre Bimba cooly collected the various weapons and hopped on his streetcar, without dropping the straw hat he’d had under his arm.”

-Gerard Taylor (Capoeira: The jogo de angola from luanda to cyberspace Vol. 2)

Translating the heading: “The ship turned over, in the depths of the sea there is treasure.”

This traditional folkloric capoeira song is an apt metaphorical lyric to represent Kongolese religious ideas that have been described by T.J. Desch Obi. He explains that the counter-clockwise roda, or elola, was essential to central African cosmology, which “linked human combat to the interplay of spiritual forces from across the kalunga, or the threshold between the lands of the living and the dead.”

Kalunga in Central Africa, in N’Bunda language, meant the sea. The word also means rivers and the kingdom of the ancestors. In Kongolese cosmology, the counter-clockwise circle represents a solar cycle. If a cross were drawn within the circle, the horizontal east-to-west line is the kalunga. The kalunga divides the material world from the spirit world or afterlife. East represented birth, north was the peak of strength, west was death at the intersection with the kalunga line, and regeneration came at the southern extreme of the cross.”

-Gerard Taylor (Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace)

more will come tomorrow on this theory

well it apears my praying mantis left me an egg sac! im excited. i know this isnt the best photo, but itll have to do.

heres a video from about two days ago of me playing keys with a band at my streets block party.

Find more videos like this on M

heres some of the capoeira from brasil day:

here is some of the pagode (paw-gO-djee) from yesterday, the capoeria is coming up tomorrow i think.

today i hung out at brasil day. this cultural festival was held at the la brea tar pits from 12-6, sorry i hadnt informed you earlier, i have been kinda consumed with school, i have two tests on monday and a bunch of preformance peices coming up, yikes! anyways… brazil day was awesome! there was pagode, a style of street samba that developed in rio de janeiro, there was forró, a style of dance and music that derrived from baião, and capoeira, the famous brazilian martial art. i also picked up one of these:

  a tamborim.

they are really fun to play. expect videos today or tomorrow of some of the cool preformances at brasil day.

Bem-te-vi

here are two videos of tupac songs i really admire:

Bem-te-vi

i miss atabaques

today was my beautiful girlfriends, natalie clark, birthday, or rather yesterday was. i love her so much, thank you so much god for putting her in my life. here is one of the vids i took of her party:

today im going to post 5 of my favorite engrish photos (expect plenty more). for those of you not familiar with the concept of engrish check out engrish.com. hope you enjoy!

be sure to click the thumbnail and read them.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In a famous article in 1995, Watanabe, Sakamoto and Wakita described an experiment which showed that pigeons can be trained to discriminate between paintings by Picasso and Monet.
The birds were first trained on a limited set of paintings: when the shown painting was a Picasso, the pigeon was able to obtain food by repeated pecking; when it was a Monet, pecking had no effect. After a while, the pigeons would only peck when shown Picasso paintings. They were then able to generalize, and correctly discriminate between paintings of the two painters not previously shown, and even between cubist and impressionist paintings (cubism and impressionism being the two stylistic schools Picasso and Monet belong to). When the Monet paintings were shown upside down, the pigeons were not able to properly categorize anymore; showing the cubist works upside down did not have such an effect.
In 1995, the authors won the humorous Ig Nobel Prize in psychology for this work.
In a later paper, Watanabe showed that if pigeons and human college students undergo the same training, their performance in distinguishing between Van Gogh and Chagall paintings is comparable.
Similar experiments had shown earlier that pigeons can be trained to distinguish between photos showing human beings and those that do not, and between photos showing trees and those that do not, among many other examples.
In all these cases, discrimination is quite easy for humans, even though the classes are so complex that no simple distinguishing algorithm or rule can be specified. It has therefore been argued that pigeons are able to form “concepts” or “categories” similar to humans, but that interpretation is controversial. Nevertheless, the experiments remain important and often cited examples in cognitive science.

so now with my juries finished (i think i did well :D) i have only one last performance, tonight 7:30-9 at K300 on PCC. I, along with my piano partner Wei, will be performing the ballet from petite suite by debussy on piano. it should be great. i will be video taping it so expect a video soon. well better get to practicing.
Half Moon

Well tomorrow is my piano jury. im pretty nervous, but im sure ill do fine.
i watched a movie today. “City of god” its about a boy who grows up in the slums of rio de janeiro. its an amazing movie, but very difficult to watch. it is most definatly for a mature audience.
i cant wait till im done with school…
Half Moon

so today i had my final performance for my piano performance class. i played “mazurka Op. 17 No. 4″ by F. Chopin. i didnt do as well as i had hoped, but not as bad as it could have been. i think most of my mistakes were caused by the fact the i didnt try out that piano before i played. i had no idea how the keys would feel, how sensitive the pedal was, how the piano and room sounded, etc. some of the comments i got were “the pedal was blurry” and “the left had didnt have enough dynamics” and “tuck in your shirt”. i hope itll be all polished by juries.
i also went to a marimba performance today. i was walking into school when i saw robin, my latin percusion sub. he asked me if i wanted to come so i said sure. well, it was absolutely amazing. i talked to the girl who performed after and she was really cool and nice (not to mention and amazing marimbist). if you are not familiar with this instrument, i advise you to check out her site:
http://www.takadanaoko.com
listen to some of the samples she has there. my next performances are friday and saturday im pretty nervous. wish me luck!
Half Moon

I had a performance tonight for my guitar ensemble class, ill be posting the video soon.
Jouba

ok so im finally going to let you guys in. i have recently finished writing a peice called (joue des rabeaux[game of the fairies]) a kinda rough raft midi of it is on My Myspace go check it out, let me know what you think!
Half Moon

so anyone who has dipped their ears into my itunes and asked me what i like will know that i love this artist Richard bona. (see:http://www.bonatology.com his official website for more info). this video is an example of the magic he makes.

Half Moon

This from a classical guitar concert i went to a while back.

Michael

so my latest interest has become break dancing, or the more correct term breaking or b-boying. heres a basic step learn it so when i come we can break!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?

So, here’s how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool!

Opening Credits:
One Year, Six Months (Yellowcard)

Waking Up:
Soul Mate (Michael Franks [LOL!!!!])

First Day At School:
Pra Iluminar (Leila Pinheiro)

Falling In Love:
Awake (Mungal & Nitin Sahwey[Asian Groove])

Fight Song:
Canto Alla Vita (Josh Groban)

Breaking Up:
Demain (Les Nubians)

Prom:
Pluie D’elle (Gabriel Yacoub)

Life:
Rendez-Vous Paris (Les Nubians)

Mental Breakdown:
Blue Monk (Giovanni Hidalgo)

Driving:
Dennis Steals The Embryo (John Williams [Jurassic Park])

Flashback:
Lá Vem a Baiana (Rosa Passos)

Getting Back Together:
In Love With The 80’s (Pink Tux To The Prom) (Reliant K)

Wedding:
Danse Macabre (Camile Saint-Saens)

Birth of Child:
Windy (Pokemon 2- The Power Within)

Final Battle:
Billy the Kid: 2. Street in a Frontier Town (Aaron Copeland)

Death Scene:
The Brides (Wojciech Kilar [Bram Stoker’s Drakula])

Funeral Song:
Dichotomy (Michel Camilo)

Remembrance Song:
Painless (Mae)

End Credits:
Great Romances Of The 20th Century (Taking Back Sunday)

ok i dont know who the heck is scoring my movie but they suck oh man, im horribly embarrased by some of the music ull see, but otherwise im ok cuz its probably mostly artists you guys dont know if you do this test comment the post link i would enjoy reading it.
Michael

Tomorrow i have to perform a scale.
easy enough right? iv been playing piano for 5 years more or less, iv played a lot of scales.
my teacher didnt specify a scale, she said any scale you want, and rhythm you want as long as it is recognizably a scale.
heres the catch, i have to play it with some sort of emotion that people will get.
now, for a class, for me that is a terifying prospect, i have to give myself emotionally to this class. what if they dont get the emotion i get? do i get an “F”? im simply terrified.

i have chosen a d dorian scale. that will rise in intensity for two octaves at which point the right hand will glisando back down to the lowest D on the piano. im hoping to give the impression of something close to hope. or some emotion like that… whew, breath!
Michael

this morning i had my first latin percussion techniques class. very fun we learned a basic conga rythm and some of the history of afro cuban music. we breached on a few other subjects like middle eastern, african and afro brazilian percusion. it was a good class but my hands hurt. what is your favorite musical tradition?

well yesterday was my first day of college. scary stuff i had to audition to guitar ensemble and piano ensemble. well actually i havent auditioned for piano yet. im planning on playing the minute waltz by chopin. i just made it by a hair into the guitar ensemble class but the teacher recommended as well classical guitar 1. i think ill take that as well. im kinda nervous but otherwise my first two classes were great. cool people my teachers seem knowledgable and nice. and all my classmates seem cool. hows school coming along with u guys?
Michael

ya so its random. but i enjoyed it :D:

http://waazdouuug.free.fr/megaman-rhapsody.swf

and the real original one (in embeded video form):

heres a vid of DoSul playing in FL thought id share it

O meu Deus como é que se vive
neste mundo enganador
Fala muito é falador
Fala pouco ele é manhoso
Come muito ele é guloso
come pouco ele é sovino
Quando briga é desordeiro
Se apanha ele é mofino
Trabalho teve o marimbondo
De fazer casa no capim
Se o vento leva ela
Marimbondo leva afim
Caveira quem te matou
foi a lingua meu senhor
os conselhos que eu lhe dava
você achava ruim
e eu sempre lhe avisava
de inveja matou Caim
Camaradinha, viva meu Deus….
Eh, viva meu Deus camará
Eh viva meu mestre
Eh, viva meu mestre camará…

O my God how to live
In this treacherous world
Talk a lot and you’re bigmouthed
Talk a little and you’re shy
Eat a lot and you’re greedy
Eat a little then you’re stingy
If you fight you’re a troublemaker
If you get beat up you’re weak
The wasp had a lot of work
Building his house in the grass
If the wind takes it away
The wasp is done with
Skull, who killed you?
It was the tongue, sir
The advices I gave you
You thought they were wrong
And I always warned you
That Kain killed out of jealousy
My friend, long live God…
Eh, long live God, camarà
Eh long live my master
Eh, long live my master camarà

Eu não sou daqui
Marinheiro só
Eu não tenho amor
Marinheiro só
Eu sou da Bahia
Marinheiro só
De São Salvador
Marinheiro só

Marinheiro, marinheiro,
Marinheiro só
Quem te ensinou a nadar
Marinheiro só
Foi o tombo do navio
Marinheiro só
Ou foi o balanço do mar
Marinheiro só

La vem, la vem,
Marinheiro só
Como ele vem façeiro
Marinheiro só
Como todo de branco
Marinheiro só
Com seu bonezinho
Marinheiro só

I am not from here
Lonely sailor
I don’t have a lover
Lonely sailor
I am from Bahia
Lonely sailor
I am from São Salvador
Lonely sailor

Sailor, sailor
Lonely sailor
Who taught you how to swim?
Lonely sailor
Was it the tumbling of the ship?
Lonely sailor
Or was it the rolling of the sea
Lonely sailor

There he comes, there he comes
Lonely sailor
How he comes so pleasant
Lonely sailor
All in white
Lonely sailor
With his little hat
Lonely sailor

One Love

Half Moon

its finally here, the video a few of my friends asked for… now for the first time in theaters everywhere!… i mean youtube!:

(heres the link just in case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVdC7Mkjag )

Half Moon

Tonight im going to see the lake house with some friends (natalie (my girlfriend), katelyn, and maybe some other people) has anyone seen it? what did you think?

i bought a book yesterday about northern shaolin sword and it recently struck up some questions on the exsistence and nature of chi.

Chi according to google:
The vital force believed in Taoism and other Chinese thought to be inherent in all things. The unimpeded circulation of chi and a balance of its negative and positive forms in the body are held to be essential to good health in traditional Chinese medicine.

in my searches on web forums and martial arts books iv been exposed to many differing oppinions. this article might interest anyone who thinks chi is interesting:

http://www.yiquan.org.uk/art-zz.html

what do you think?

Half Moon

“L’Amour est un oiseau rebelle”

Half Moon

To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,
To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,
To honor his own word as if his god’s,
To lead sweet lives in purest chastity,
To love one maiden only […]
And worship her by years of noble deeds….

– credo of the Knights of the Round Table
Half Moon

for everybody:
What actor(actress) would play you in a movie? and why? and what would the movie be called?

For those who know me:
What actor would play me in a movie? and why? and what would the movie be called?(go easy with the jokes :D)

Half Moon

i accidentally typed bcc.com when i was trying to get to the website for the BBC and i found this really cool website, a bunch of different pix of galaxies (its different everytime u type the link). appearantly my cousin got some freaky eyes though, so… just be on the look out for some creepy cats eyes. but check it out its really cool.
www.bcc.com
Half Moon

Bought 4 CDs today, they are:
1) Classic Queen (a compilation)
2) Dead Can Dance- into the labyrinth
3) John Williams- Star Wars episode V
4) John Williams- Jurasic Park

Half Moon

“I have know the silence of the stars and of the sea,
And the silence of the city when it pauses,
And the silence of and man and a maid,
And the silence for which music alone finds the word,
And the silence of the woods before the winds of spring begin,
And the silence of the sick
When their eyes roam about the room.
And I ask: For the depths
Of what use is language?
A beast of the field moans a few times
When death takes its young:
And we are voiceluss in the presence of realities–
We cannot speak.”

thats verse one. any reactions?
Half Moon

well today i only have about 3 hours to do my lesson that takes about 6-7 hours. (i dont know y im blogging :D). and on top of that, im leaving for florida today to play a gig with dosul. its pouring here in cali. what r ur thoughts on rain?
Half moon

check out this band my sister showed me.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=47515461
rette mich is gorgeous, and schrei is a cool song.
Half Moon

“Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone’s here
Everyone’s here
Everybody’s watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
Tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before”
-Switchfoot

Half Moon

Half Moon

well if u wanna see some photos go here:
http://www.xanga.com/overlordsupreams
i just need to stop being lazy and put pix on flickr then ill be posting them here.
Half Moon

tell me if this works:
http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?PhotoAlbumId=182631710
those r france pix.
Half Moon

a thought i had from watching narnia for the second time (with french subtitles). when the kids all go
to narnia together and meet the beavers, mrs. beaver says “i never thought id live to see the day!” and isnt that the case for most christians (and probably jews before christ), we dont think well see the day, but we really have to be like the beavers, living with hope and believe that actually, its happening right now. god is working his will in the world this very moment.
Half Moon