Things I Fail to Understand

This list, of course, is obviously much, much longer than what I can write in any one single blog post. Let's edit the title ... how about "Things I Fail to Understand on This Particular Thursday Night." 

1. Why is there home construction in the middle of winter, all winter long?

2. Why do they start working at 6:30 in the morning?

3. Why are they even building at all, when the recession has not only slowed the housing market down to a veritable crawl, it's a veritable crawl backwards? 

4. There's this meme (meme? I think that's the word I want) circulating around Facebook, "25 Random Things About Me," or whatever each person who posts it chooses to name it. I occasionally take the time to read the ones my friends post.* **  So, I read two within a week of each other, in which both people, who have achieved/are very close to achieving their terminal degrees in music, write things like, "Practicing is a chore," or "I feel no joy in what I do," or "Composing is a process that makes me miserable," or "I've been waiting eight years to enjoy my degree program and I'm still waiting." Yes, this I totally fail to understand. Here's my thought on this: YOU DON'T LIKE IT? DON'T DO IT. It's hard enough to make a decent living being a musician if you absolutely love it. 

*And I've been tagged in a bunch of these lists, so now I feel sort of obligated to write one myself. Been too busy lately. Maybe someday. 

** "Friends" = "Facebook Friends" which opens up a whole other related category of things I don't understand, to be discussed in #5.

5. Facebook. Love it. Hate it. It sucks time away like no other. I do think it's nice to stay connected to friends, and for whatever reason, it holds more sway for me than email. Maybe it's just that you are connected to everyone's daily pulse. But anyway, that's not what I don't understand. What I fail to understand is this: someone, let's call her Mel, recently requested to be my friend. Mel evidently went to undergrad with me. I have only the vaguest of vague notions of who she actually is, probably I read her name in the alumni update or something. I have zero -- let me reiterate this, ZE-RO -- recollection of Mel from undergrad. And no, it's not because of any substances I ingested. This is a person I've simply never spoken to in my life. She didn't live in my hallway, she didn't have the same major as me, we didn't have any classes together. And more than a decade after graduation, when internet social networking becomes über-popular, she decides to be my "friend." Ok, fine. You're entitled to do that. But I am equally entited to reject your request. And thus I rejected the friend invite. Call me old-fashioned, but the people who are my friends on Facebook are people who I've actually spoken to. If only a couple of times, but still, I have spoken with them. I can recognize them on the street and say hi to them. A week later, she requested my friendship again. Why do you think I'm going to change my mind if you ask a second time? In that time, the amount of her Facebook friends more than doubled, from 200 to over 500. This makes me especially want to reject any friendship overtures, since I've now become part of the ooh-look-at-me-I'm-as-popular-as-I-was-in-fucking-high-school reason for joining Facebook. Anyway, I haven't actually clicked the "ignore" button on my home page. But I am ignoring it, by which I mean I am not going to confirm a non-existent friendship. 

6. Why does the ScrabbleBeta* application in Facebook** flip-flop the points from the penultimate and ultimate moves of a game, thereby rendering the players' scores inaccurate, and in some cases, changing the outcome of the game? And why does ScrabbleBeta, hereafter known as SuckFest, sometimes lose actual plays already made, like, three or four of them? SuckFest, get your act together. 

*Scrabulous was so much better. ScrabbleBeta does not even hold a candle to it. 

** Promise, this is the last Facebook rant. 

7. Why are people who joined and then subsequently left Facebook* showing up for a week in my search bar when they no longer belong to Facebook?  

*Okay, I lied. This is the last Facebook rant. 

8. What in the world possessed Karlheinz Stockhausen, God rest his soul, to compose a string quartet that is to be played in helicopters?

Probably the answer to that is that he was kooky, but don't quote me on that. 

9. Why did I come home and start researching my next music history presentation on Ligeti's Atmospheres when I could have had a beer and read something for pleasure?

10. Why are all of the relevant journal articles about Ligeti's Atmospheres written in German? Well ... I guess I can plow my way through one or two of them, but it won't be pretty. At least it won't be in Danish. Speaking of Danish articles, the nice thing about this Kreuzspiel analysis is that you don't really have to read the language to see the coolness of the matrices. [Kreuzspiel translates as Cross-play, and you can see the crosses evident in the diamond matrices, which show how Stockhausen serialized and transformed the rhythms of the tumbas and the tom-toms.]

11. Why am I still awake when I could have gone to sleep "early" after my imaginary beer? I think I'll go to sleep now, although it is no longer early by any stretch of the imagination. 

VI - IV - I - V :II

Now for your listening pleasure, Take on Me shows up again. Along with 30+ other songs. 

I have to think more about this ... does it demonstrate 

1) genius? 

2) the ignorance of the music-listening public? 

3) that humans as listeners are easily satisfied with this simple chord progression? 

4) that there is something innately beautiful and logical in its make-up (perhaps due to the overtone series), analogous to the golden section, which is why we are so attracted to it? 

I need more than 30 seconds to think about this, but that may come at a later time, since I have to run off and play the pianer for $$$ right now. 

Proof

I haven't read this yet, but I'm putting it here so I don't forget that I want to read it. (The once faithful steel trap has been eroding lately ...) Don't have time to read it now! Must continue the new semester's discipline* and begin practicing! On to the scale marathon, Liszt, and Prokofiev! 

*I've gotten up before 8 a.m. and done yoga for two consecutive days now! Yes, you should be proud of me. 

Insomniac grumblings from the bed (which is in a different room than the piano)

IS PU-ERH REALLY CAFFEINE FREE?

I have my doubts. This evening one of my little piano students, Daniel, from the Suzuki music school where I teach*, had his book 1 play-through party. Congratulations, Daniel! He did a great job, as I knew he would. Afterwards, his family had a dinner with lots of their friends over, as many people often do for play-through parties. After the beer, food, wine, and dessert, there was tea. It was very good tea, as Daniel's family is Chinese, they served Pu-erh from China. They assured me it was caffeine free. 4 cups and several hours later, I'm not so sure it was ...

*I have a lot of good students at this school. I had a lot of good students at the other school where I taught, but there were a fair share of, uh, mediocre and less-than-highly enthusiastic students there too. The ones that think that when I wave my magic wand that they'll instantly be able to play Linus and Lucy, or Für Elise, or whatever is the rage of the day. Anyway, I am quite pleased with my students at my current school. Now if only I didn't teach in the basement ...

FILE UNDER "AWWWWW FOR CUTE"

After Daniel played, the family's friend Audrey asked me if I would play something. Uh .... ok. Let's see, I have the Prokofiev 3rd concerto memorized* and some brand-spankin'-new Liszt. As in I just finished memorizing it about two days ago. Since it wasn't a very intimidating crowd, I played it. [It = Sonetto del Petrarca, 47 from Deuxieme Annees de Pelerinage, forgive the lack of accents.] It went ok for the first time out, now I know what I have to work on. ** When I finished, Daniel handed me a card that said (this is his seven-year old spelling): "Your a super star." 

*On an upright and with no second piano, I'm not sure anyone would want to hear it (ok, really I wouldn't want to play it). 

**Since I'm playing it in about three weeks for the Franz Liszt festival our university is holding. Alan Walker is going to be here!  Yes, this Alan Walker. He is going to be here! And I am playing in a festival that he will be part of! And I'll get to meet him! So! Cool! 

I KNOW, I KNOW, I'M AN IRRESPONSIBLE BLOGGER or CAN A BLOG CAUSE AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS? 

You would probably be shocked to know that EVERY DAY I think about coming here and writing. I do. I think, "I should take a little jaunt over to blogger and write something interesting, or at the very least, show these three or eight or nineteen interesting links that I have recently come across." Obviously this does not happen. I think, in part, this is because I feel sort of identity-less here. In some ways, that's good, I mean, I like the level or non-level of anonymity I can choose and thus create. What I mean about my particular space being identity-less is that most blogs or online diaries or what have you seem to have some sort of purpose. You know, this person's blog is about ... (stealing my friends' topics as examples) wine. This person's blog is about photography. This person's blog is about new music. Sometimes you get someone like Mimi Smartypants* whose blog isn't about anything specific per se, but it's an interesting and humorous online diary that is worth reading. I have been wrestling (have I really been wrestling with this? ok, perhaps I'm getting too dramatic because it is in fact so late and I do in fact have too much caffeine rushing through the bloodstream) with the purpose, or more precisely, lack thereof, for this cyberspace entity. I think it's because whatever product that I put out there and ends up here, I want it to be articulate and interesting, and whatever shoddy showing I've done recently fails to accomplish even that. So. Here's to a new year** and a new resolution. 

*Yes, I know I've linked to her before. Her comic genius has made me laugh aloud several times. This is why she gets the multiple links, even though she trashed blogs that start with "Random thoughts ..." I defend my title. They're random entries that generally have no particular threads linking them. Also, I still consider myself a neophyte to some of the more, um, I don't know how to say this ... the internet phenomena that used to be real geeky and somewhere around five years ago turned normal/cool, so it's not like I'm even aware of these other blogs that evidently share my name. (Am I always this late jumping on the band wagon? Maybe I'm so late it's not so common anymore.) Also I'm not creative enough to come up with a different title for my sporadic entries. So there. The end. 

**It's still a new year, right? It's January. Also it's Chinese New Year next weekend. 

HOW I'VE BEEN SPENDING THE END OF A VERY NICE BREAK

This has been a great break. I'd classify it as the most restful vacation I've had for two years. Here's what I've been doing:

Yoga, occasionally.

Practicing, 3-5 hours a day.

Little organizing projects around my house (I would have liked to accomplish more in this arena, but sleeping in on many occasions took care of that).

Eating out (Fair Grounds coffee house, Bluebird Diner, Devotay, Oyama Sushi). 

Making my first ever meal in my crockpot. 

Borrowing DVDs from the public library and watching them on my MacBook.

Here's what I've watched, roughly in chronological order:

There Will Be Blood

The Book of Life

Maxed Out

The Manchurian Candidate

Confetti

Zoo

The Yes Men

Kilowatt Ours

Curse of the Golden Flower

The End of Suburbia

Everything is Illuminated

I think I will spare you my opinions and commentary this time around, but I will say this: The Yes Men made me laugh out loud. Zoo made me cringe. 

AND THUS ENDETH THE FIRST BLOG ENTRY OF 2009

I hope it was as good for you as it was for me. 

GOOD NEWS POSTSCRIPT

For quite some time, I've been a little ... hmm, not sure "worried" is the right word ... how about preoccupied with the notion that my hearing has suffered some sort of a loss. Mostly because if I'm in a loud place and I'm trying to hold a conversation, it's all but impossible for me to discern what the other person is saying to me. Thursday I got my hearing tested (yup! I braved the -55 windchill for the sake of my hearing. I am a true musician) and I am happy to report that my hearing falls within the normal range. Although my right ear hears better than my left ear -- at some frequencies, by as much as 20 or 30 decibels (I guess this is kind of weird). I did notice during the testing that I am definitely right-ear dominant -- to listen to sounds in speakers, I leaned in with my right ear. Here's why I have a hard time in a loud place: the normal range for people is to be able to hear -2 to -5 decibels below the "noise", and I hear -1.6 decibels below the noise. Interesting. Whew, glad I'm not going deaf. 

You know you like it when I'm flirting with you, or, I'm gunna beat your ass with my pipe wrench

What do these two titles have in common? This video, a literal translation of A-ha's video for their (only) hit (that I know of), "Take On Me." A song I've always rather liked, by the way. When I lived in Indiana, there was a Ska band that did a cover of it. They were called the Skalcoholics. Get it? I'd go hear them play just to hear that cover. Fun times. (Hearing that band, not living in Indiana.) 

I know, I know, two posts in one day, after you spent weeks of wondering if I'm still alive or not. Wanted to share that funny video with you before I forget. Also I'm winding down from doing my homework, which was reading 14 chapters of post-tonal theory. YEP. And I even finished it before 11 p.m. Who knows what other surprises I have in store? 

And now I feel itchy

This is a useful and gross website, especially if you are traveling.

And yes, now my scalp, back, upper chest, and feet itch.

Something weird: when I opened up the blogger page today, all of the non-Ann scripts were in Spanish. That's never happened before.

I have been having the strangest dreams the last two nights. Yesterday I woke up super tired and felt like I was processing the dream the whole day through, which sort of interfered with interactions with real live people. Most of the day was spent driving 300 miles, though. Luckily I drove yesterday, since today it's snowing!

Best dessert of the week: amaretti (don't know if I spelled that correctly) cookies at Coca and Mark's on Thanksgiving; Coca's parents brought them from a, to quote Catherine, "fabulous Italian bakery." YUMMY.  

Your opinion needed:  do you use this kind of quotation mark: '   

or this one: "

?  

Apologies to my loyal readers ...

... all three of you, for not fulfilling my duties as a responsible blogger. This has been a very hellish semester. To spare you the gory details, suffice it to say that the Cloud Of Doom has descended upon the University of Iowa, specifically the School of Music. This is in addition to me foolishly thinking I could be Wonder Woman and tackling TOO MANY PROJECTS this fall. Looking on the bright side, the only place to go is up! Anyway, I do often fondly think of blogging and sharing funny, witty, interesting anecdotes from the life of Ann with you, and then instead I play Scramble on Facebook, or fall asleep twitching from stress. Well, it's Thanksgiving break, I've cleaned my house, I've done my laundry, I have a pile o' stuff ready to be packed in the morning for a trip to the great white north. Thus tonight's options: 1) blogging, and 2) watching Simpsons episodes (if consciousness permits when the blogging has finished) from the Conan O'Brien years. (Ok, how many ideas can I fit into one paragraph?)

TO CONSIDER THE SILVER LINING OF LAST JUNE'S HISTORIC FLOOD

Yeah, it's sucky that it wiped out the Voxman Music Building. There are many reasons why this is so, the two foremost in my mind being 1) no direct access to the Rita Benton Music Library (although I hear this is going to change come spring semester) and 2) the School of Music is in nineteen different locations in Iowa City. That's right, you read it, NINETEEN. They're not even all downtown. But, as we all know, the Voxman Music Building already had a lot of problems to begin with. We may soon hear that we are getting a new music building. Cross Your Fingers! Not that I'll be here to enjoy it, since it'd take 4 or 5 years to build it (although I have been toying with the idea of a graduate degree in music theory ... however, since my most favorite brilliant theory prof took a gig at Eastman, that is looking less and less likely). So anyway, one of the locations is Clinton Street Music. At Clinton Street Music East there are the Wenger Practice Rooms. The small ones with the upright pianos are nothing special. We do have, however, a handful of Virtual Acoustic Environment Practice Rooms (with Steinway grands). See below: 

Apologies for the sorta blurry picture. So, this panel. Doesn't look like much but is kind of amazing in its features. One can record herself practicing, and play it back, and the speakers in the room play it (the room is about 8 x 8, I think). You'll also notice the USB port in the lower right hand corner of the panel. The coolest feature is the actual 'virtual acoustic environment' settings that you will see below the rewind/fast forward buttons. From left to right, top row to bottom row, they are:

Practice Room 

Baroque Room

Medium Recital

Large Recital

Small Auditorium

Medium Auditorium

Large Auditorium

Cathedral

Arena

The Practice Room setting is pretty dead, but after that, they increase in resonance. So you're in this tiny little box, you press the Cathedral button, and ka-pow, sounds like you're in Köln. (Granted, I don't use the fancy features of this rooms often when I rehearse by myself, because with a piano it just sounds like the damper pedal is stuck. But it's still cool.) 

Speaking of practicing, I keep a practice journal. Since beginning my doctorate in piano, I have recorded myself as practicing 2286.5 hours. This does not include lessons, keyboard harmony, choir accompanying, voice lessons accompanying, that damn Puzzle Master opera, or the chamber music festival in Bulgaria last summer. I'm not sure if this is an impressive number or not. I mean, sure, it's big. I also noticed when tallying this that my summer practicing is Pathetic (yes, capital P). Also this semester has been lower overall than previous semesters (part of its suckiness, but I don't feel like going into that now). I read once on an internet discussion board that if you do something for 10,000 hours you become a virtuoso at it. (I admit, I am a virtuoso sleeper.) By my calculations, when I finish my doctorate, that'll be approximately 4000 hours during that degree alone. Hey, maybe by the time I reach 40! That would be sweet, seeing as how my new goal is to learn the Goldberg Variations when I turn 40, a slightly impossible task if one is not a virtuoso. 

I had a party on Saturday night. Well, a 'party' -- a convivial gathering of conversation and great food and drink, which included artichoke dip, pumpernickel bread, pomegranates, Lindt truffles, black bean and banana empanadas, and cardamom coffee cake, as well as wine from Hawaii that is made from grapes grown on the side of a volcano. Hmm, I guess that qualifies as a party, even if it was only 8 people. It was so much fun! I think I've had some fun parties before, but in terms of sheer laughter quotient, this one wins, hands down. These quotes probably won't be as hilarious out of context, in fact, you may not get them at all, but you get to read them anyway:

I know how to cadence, Bitch.  -Allyss

I have a stretchy woman.  -Allyss

That wasn't a crazy homeless man, that was Michael Eckert.  -Art (probably not funny unless you are in the UI SoM)

What do you think, panties or no panties?  -PianoGirlAnn, but I don't know what the hell I was talking about 

If I were a woman, I'd do it right.  -Samantha

LOL  -Art

That means Lots of Love, Asshole.  -Casey

Baboons could play Uno.  -Art

They do, they call it 'Baboono.'  -Samantha

~   ~   ~   ~   ~  ~   ~

Best dessert of the week: the cardamom coffee cake at the party, of course! Thank you to Sam. I just finished it.