Though I am neither for Erap or any political side, these news doesn't make me happy at all. What about the others, does that leave president Arroyo excluded from prosecution with her election scam? What about the Marcos family and their hidden wealth, they must have hidden it so well that until now the PCGG wasn't able to extract anything from them? I want to believe that this is merely a political decision, a strategy to elude the truth and eliminate enemies. When are we going to learn fom our mistakes when we keep on doing the same idiocy over and over again?
For all the victims of the plane crash in Phuket, Thailand, my sincere condolence to your friends and families.
Lesson learned:
Many Westerners love to go for some great ride of adventure to Asia. The thrill of meeting the unknown is truly an unforgetable experience for a young traveller. Still that doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negligent and irresponsible. Know the place where you are going and which time of the year is safe there for travelling. You don't want to be thwarted with a deranged typhoon in the middle of the sea or in the air with a plane.
Do not assume that everything is fine all the time considering you are in a third world country. Asking won't hurt a bit if that means saving your life and your family. Ask experienced travellers, even better the locals because they know better than you do.
Lesson learned:
Many Westerners love to go for some great ride of adventure to Asia. The thrill of meeting the unknown is truly an unforgetable experience for a young traveller. Still that doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negligent and irresponsible. Know the place where you are going and which time of the year is safe there for travelling. You don't want to be thwarted with a deranged typhoon in the middle of the sea or in the air with a plane.
Do not assume that everything is fine all the time considering you are in a third world country. Asking won't hurt a bit if that means saving your life and your family. Ask experienced travellers, even better the locals because they know better than you do.
How many of you are familiar with the music composer Vangelis? I am betting that 80% of you doesn't know him either. But if I mention "Chariots of Fire", I am sure you'd be reminded of his great accomplishment. These soundtrack was written and recorded for the 1981 film of the same title. This composition had actually become a major international chart hit. It had won number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 1982 and #12 in the UK Singles Chart, in addition to winning the Academy award winning score for the same movie title.
This other composition of Vangelis, "1492: Conquest of Paradise" was made to score a film about Christopher Columbus, 500th anniversary commemoration of his voyage to the New World. The film didn't really make it big in the tills but was still nominated as "Best Original Score - Motion Picture" at the 1993 Golden Globe awards.
For me, with or without nomination, the music was exceptional. You get to listen to the music and you get dillusional and highly spirited. Listening to it, not just the opening song but the whole soundtrack, gives you some mystical excitement and a connection to the unknown. This music is suitably grand in scale and I recommend you listen to it. PLEEASE!
Vanglis: 1492 - Conquest of Paradise
Vangelis -Chariots of Fire
This other composition of Vangelis, "1492: Conquest of Paradise" was made to score a film about Christopher Columbus, 500th anniversary commemoration of his voyage to the New World. The film didn't really make it big in the tills but was still nominated as "Best Original Score - Motion Picture" at the 1993 Golden Globe awards.
For me, with or without nomination, the music was exceptional. You get to listen to the music and you get dillusional and highly spirited. Listening to it, not just the opening song but the whole soundtrack, gives you some mystical excitement and a connection to the unknown. This music is suitably grand in scale and I recommend you listen to it. PLEEASE!
Vanglis: 1492 - Conquest of Paradise
Vangelis -Chariots of Fire
It's been quite a while since I've listened to classical music but now that I have time my preference is always Tchaikovsky's work. There are other immortal classics like the compositions of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms and Vivaldi but my favorite is Tchaikovsky's masterpieces.
If there is some genius with violin compositions, on top of my list is Tchaikovsky. My great appreciation for this magical instrument, the violin, came when my husband introduced me to gypsy music. And now that my son is learning how to play this instrument, the appreciation heightened to some great aspiration. Perhaps to see my son play with an orchestra or even Tchaikovsky's compositions would be a dream come true.
I know that not everyone likes classical music. We must not be secluded to the notion that this music is some kind of sleep-inducing therapy. If there are, then Tchaikovsky's work is not one of them. You have to listen to his music in order to believe what I am saying. I have posted his violin concerto, movement 1, 2 & 3 in this blog but please take time to listen to his masterpiece. Maybe then it will change your misconceptions…maybe then you like classical music and you will tell me that Tchaikovsky is a REAL genius! Happy listening!
Jascha Heifetz plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto: 1st mov.
David Oistrakh plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (2nd Mov.)
David Oistrakh plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (3rd Mov.)
In an attempt to discern more about the man behind such wonderful workmanship, I am compelled to make a small research about him. And these are the things I learned:
1. Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on April 25, 1840 in a small town of Udmurtia in Russia.
2. He was the son of a mining engineer in the government mines and the second of his three wives, Alexandra, a Russian woman of French ancestry.
3. Musically inclined and intelligent, Pyotr began piano lessons at age five with a local woman, Mariya Palchikova, and within three years could read music as well as his teacher.
4. Despite Tchaikovsky's homosexuality, he got married to Antonina Miliukova, who persistently wrote her passionate letters. But two weeks after the wedding the composer supposedly attempted suicide by putting himself into the freezing Moscow River. Once recovered from the effects of that, he fled to St Petersburg his mind verging on a nervous breakdown. He never returned to his wife after that but did send her a regular allowance through the years. Though they never again lived with each other, they remained legally married until his death.
5. Tchaikovsky wrote several works well known among the general classical public—Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture and Marche Slave.
6. Tchaikovsky is well known also for his ballets, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
7. He also completed ten operas, although one of these is mostly lost and another exists in two significantly different versions. In the West his most famous operas are Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades.
8. Tchaikovsky demonstrated the Romantic ideals of color, emotional expressiveness, and dramatic intensity. He fused many elements of his style into a single symphonic experience — his love of dance and folk music, his feelings of the Russian countryside and people, and his sense of Fate.
9. Tchaikovsky was also typically Romantic in his choice of subject matter in his operas and symphonic poems. He leaned toward doomed lovers and heroines — Romeo and Juliet, Francesca and Paolo (Francesca da Rimini), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), even the title character from his abandoned opera Undina.
10. He died of cholera on Nov. 6, 1893 at the age of 53.
If there is some genius with violin compositions, on top of my list is Tchaikovsky. My great appreciation for this magical instrument, the violin, came when my husband introduced me to gypsy music. And now that my son is learning how to play this instrument, the appreciation heightened to some great aspiration. Perhaps to see my son play with an orchestra or even Tchaikovsky's compositions would be a dream come true.
I know that not everyone likes classical music. We must not be secluded to the notion that this music is some kind of sleep-inducing therapy. If there are, then Tchaikovsky's work is not one of them. You have to listen to his music in order to believe what I am saying. I have posted his violin concerto, movement 1, 2 & 3 in this blog but please take time to listen to his masterpiece. Maybe then it will change your misconceptions…maybe then you like classical music and you will tell me that Tchaikovsky is a REAL genius! Happy listening!
Jascha Heifetz plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto: 1st mov.
David Oistrakh plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (2nd Mov.)
David Oistrakh plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (3rd Mov.)
In an attempt to discern more about the man behind such wonderful workmanship, I am compelled to make a small research about him. And these are the things I learned:
1. Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on April 25, 1840 in a small town of Udmurtia in Russia.
2. He was the son of a mining engineer in the government mines and the second of his three wives, Alexandra, a Russian woman of French ancestry.
3. Musically inclined and intelligent, Pyotr began piano lessons at age five with a local woman, Mariya Palchikova, and within three years could read music as well as his teacher.
4. Despite Tchaikovsky's homosexuality, he got married to Antonina Miliukova, who persistently wrote her passionate letters. But two weeks after the wedding the composer supposedly attempted suicide by putting himself into the freezing Moscow River. Once recovered from the effects of that, he fled to St Petersburg his mind verging on a nervous breakdown. He never returned to his wife after that but did send her a regular allowance through the years. Though they never again lived with each other, they remained legally married until his death.
5. Tchaikovsky wrote several works well known among the general classical public—Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture and Marche Slave.
6. Tchaikovsky is well known also for his ballets, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
7. He also completed ten operas, although one of these is mostly lost and another exists in two significantly different versions. In the West his most famous operas are Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades.
8. Tchaikovsky demonstrated the Romantic ideals of color, emotional expressiveness, and dramatic intensity. He fused many elements of his style into a single symphonic experience — his love of dance and folk music, his feelings of the Russian countryside and people, and his sense of Fate.
9. Tchaikovsky was also typically Romantic in his choice of subject matter in his operas and symphonic poems. He leaned toward doomed lovers and heroines — Romeo and Juliet, Francesca and Paolo (Francesca da Rimini), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), even the title character from his abandoned opera Undina.
10. He died of cholera on Nov. 6, 1893 at the age of 53.
Starting this week, I would be posting relevant videos and articles on world news about health, technology, politics and entertainment. Knowledge is power, so just by reading these valuable news and informations we keep ourselves updated on what is happening around us.
You could post comments on them so you could relay your messages to all our readers. Enjoy viewing and reading.
E.B.
You could post comments on them so you could relay your messages to all our readers. Enjoy viewing and reading.
E.B.
