First final, Fall 2008

I just got back from the Geography 5 final, which took about 20 minutes to complete. I was halfway to Haines Hall when I realized I had turned in my exam to the form 2 spot when I had form 1. So I went back to Dodd and told the professor.

He leaned over to me and said quietly: "I gotta tell you - the exams are exactly the same. You're golden. Have a great break."

The Vandal Strikes Back

Monday morning the vandal struck again - this time on the front of the Physics & Astronomy building. Unfortunately by the time we got out of History of Rock the graffiti had been hosed off so I was unable to photograph it (It's interesting how much longer chalk stays on Humanities than on the PAB - but I digress). Instead my vivid description will suffice: orange chalk, written vigorously but legibly, the following: Gravity cannot be held accountable for two people falling in love! Naturally I assumed it was some crestfallen soul struggling to cope with an abrupt and traumatic breakup, sparked by the sudden discovery of the infidelity of his former lover. But then I realized it was on the Physics and Astronomy building - so it must have just been some guy who was mad at gravity.

In the dining halls there are always three kinds of pizza: pepperoni, cheese, and funky. I always like to eat funky pizza to escape the monotony of my existence. While usually a common flavor like Alfredo, spinach, chorizo, or the lovely margherita pizza - the funky has on occassion assumed more adventurous flavors such as Caesar salad and PB&J. Wednesday in Covel was a pizza whose most spectacular component was its name - Egyptian Pizza. Think to yourself for a moment what ingredients Egyptian pizza should have - I guess at first you have to somehow convince yourself that pizza can in any way be Egyptian - but at least make an effort.

If you guessed anything Egyptian, you are wrong - it had peppers and onions. Maybe those are sort of Egyptian, maybe. But I was completely unprepared for the final ingredient:

Hot dogs. Take a good look at that picture. One good look. Now take a look at Egypt:

I think a strong argument can be made that hot dogs are probably the least Egyptian thing on this Earth.

Such a striking juxtaposition.

Humanities

Outside of Humanities A51 - where our Math 33B lecture is held - some letters have been missing for as long as we can remember. But today there was a slight change, a desperate appeal for justice scribbled in chalk, boldly exposing the edifice for the confinement it imposes:

Winter weather

After what seemed like an eternity of relentlessly hot weather in September and October we have finally been granted some relief. I am glad that temperatures have finally dropped enough to warrant pants.

Last Saturday there was a beautiful moment: A brief cloudburst around 3 PM - while I just happened to be listening to Jonathan Newman's As the scent of spring rain...

Today was an eerily clear day for Los Angeles: Walking down the hill from Hedrick we had a clear view of downtown LA. I didn't know that ever happened.

Orchestra, Fall 2008

Each Wednesday night reminds me that playing in an orchestra is some kind of enigmatic healing ritual. Nothing consoles you about your terrible week and that ugly red 66 on your Math 33B midterm quite like pulling out a cello and playing some 20th century classical music. I am rejuvenated - orchestra is the only addiction of mine more powerful than sugar. It's a bit worrisome how much I enjoy it - I hope there are opportunities to continue it after college.

This quarter's program for UCLA Symphony includes the following:

Brahms - Academic Festival Overture
This summer was continuous hoping to play the overture to Candide, so seeing this on our program in September was a little disappointing. I have never been very fond of Brahms, but after five weeks I will admit reluctantly that this does have its moments. I try to think on the positive side: at least he doesn't screw over the trombones here like he does in his symphonies. At least it's not the overture to Don Giovanni. At least the original is better than that awful transcription for band...

Liszt - Piano Concerto no. 2
This is the kind of piece that I would have enjoyed a lot more about 3 years ago, when I lived on the seeping romanticism of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. But as soon as I heard the soloist I fell in love with it again. The soloist is fantastic and I like his interpretation more than Richter's. I find it amusing that I will have now performed three concerti with UCLA Symphony and all of them are for different keyboard - first an organ concerto by Rheinberger, then a harpsichord concerto by Poulenc, and now this. Our part is refreshingly involved accompaniment, unlike certain concerti I have played over the past few years (Saent-Saëns' first violin concerto comes to mind.)

Delius - Walk to Paradise Garden from Village Romeo and Juliet
The opera that this is from is pretty screwed up - it's like Romeo and Juliet, except instead of Romeo and Juliet it's Sali and Vrenchen, which are probably two of the least romantic sounding names imaginable. Fortunately that is quite the opposite of this interlude, which is strikingly gorgeous - Delius is like the English version of Ravel. The climax is one of those tutti string passages, where the celli play in the high tenor clef range, and we melt the audience. So pretty.

Prokofiev - Suite from Lt. Kijé
I have also never liked Prokofiev much. But maybe I just wasn't listening to the right pieces. This music is from the score to the 1927 Russian film, Lieutenant Kijé, and it's quite nice. Prokofiev orchestrates just how I love - like Poulenc, lightly and sparsely - everything shimmers. It's unique, and it's colorful - a string bass solo that isn't Mahler, a tenor sax that isn't Gershwin, and jingle bells!. The first movement even has some major sevenths. It's like this music was written for me.

All romantic and modern - I wonder how we get away with this.

An experiment in time manipulation, part 1

Daylight savings time fun.

An experiment in time manipulation, part 2

This post was made 35 minutes after the previous one!