lilbear’s lair

Blogger night at San Francisco Symphony

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 17:10:06 -0700

On Wednesday night, July 18th the San Francisco Symphony invited a group of bloggers to attend a very special performance of their "Summer in the City" series. Kevin Smokler was responsible for organizing the event, and I applaud the Symphony for finding new ways to reach out to audiences that may not be aware of what the symphony does, and having the savvy to connect with online communities.

As I see it, there are so many overlaps between audiences- people who are very active online and actively utilize social networking sites, often are also people who listen to and purchase copious amounts of music including live music shows ( South By Southwest is a perfect example of where those worlds physically intersect).

I've always been a lover of classical music; I grew up surrounded by it, raised by parents who frequently took me to opera, symphony, and ballet performances and were always listening to it at home. As a musician throughout my schooling and then as a singer, I've always had an ingrained passion for all forms of music and a heightened appreciation for live performance. For me, going to the symphony or the opera is as natural and as enjoyable as going to see my favorite bands play live. I know this isn't always the case for many of my peers, so during the performance, I kept thinking to myself, "what could I say to the live music lovers, the people with hundreds of gigabytes of music on their computers- how could I convince those who think of classical music as too stodgy, too uptight, too staid or boring for their tastes, that symphony performances are actually a peak experience for music lovers of any stripe?" During the Q&A afterwards, someone asked a question to this effect and James Gaffigan answered that ..."it's about getting people here, it's beautiful music; people are intimidated, they think they have to wear a tuxedo, or are afraid to do the wrong thing at the wrong time, and that's just silly, it's simply not true. There are plenty of young people here. Come once- you'll be addicted!"

For me, the answer came over and over again, throughout each and every flawless rendition of some timeless, dramatic pieces. During Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet," as I heard the refrain so familiar to everyone as the soundtrack of countless cheesy romance movies, I nevertheless was compelled by the fresh, emotive version the symphony played that night. Just as in live rock music, each performance of a symphonic piece is different, changed by the musicians, the conductor, the acoustics and a myriad of other factors. One of the exciting things about going to the symphony is this opportunity to hear a new rendition, a fresh interpretation of a well-known piece or a piece that you particularly love.

The highlight for me was the performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Opus 30. The pianist - 23 year old Gabriela Martinez, is a Venezuelan virtuoso. I think one of the bloggers said it best during the Q&A afterwards, that this was "the most caring Rach 3 I have ever heard." It was riveting to witness the interplay between James Gaffigan (conductor), she and the symphony; each had so much passion and emotion literally pouring into their music that it was visible on all of their faces and in their interactions with each other during the piece. I felt even more grateful to be in our prime third row seats at this point, able to see up close each and every expression and movement Gabriela made. It seemed as though she was channeling some divine or inspired energy; she moved her whole body into her playing and just completely blew me away with her dexterity, endurance and virtuosity. She said it only took her 2 months to learn it completely by heart; I couldn't believe she had memorized such a complex piece. I was moved to tears a number of times over the course of the evening, especially during the piano concerto. The whole performance just sucked me in and took me along with it so powerfully that I couldn't help but be so moved!
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We are so fortunate to live in San Francisco, and have so many incredible, world class performing arts at our fingertips. The San Francisco Symphony is, in my own humble opinion, one of the best you will ever see anywhere; I've seen symphonies perform from all over the world, and the truth is that I still feel the same way. I sometimes forget that we have this treasure right in our backyard, but this evening re-inspired me to keep going more regularly and bring more symphony virgins along with me.

Post-performance Q&A

Welcome Bloggers!

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world peace

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:15:07 -0800

world peace, originally uploaded by evilsigntist.

When we talk about changing the world, we often forget that our own worlds are comprised of the people we interact with on a daily basis- remember the ripple effect, and strive to make as many of those interactions positive as you can.

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Javier Vallhonrat

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:10:29 -0800

JV-Sogno_Romantico_09

Thanks Jake for the heads up to an amazing Spanish photographer, Javier Vallhonrat. I have a soft spot in my heart for anything Spanish; I'm not surprised at all by how much his aesthetic speaks to me.

Photo found here

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"Waking Life" on Existentialism

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:21:51 -0800

Existentialism - Waking Life excerpt

"It is always our decision, who we are"

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Orchids

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:51:27 -0800

Orchids, originally uploaded by lil'bear.

Georgia O'Keefe was onto something.

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Warp Speed Peso: The Angel of Love

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:25:26 -0800

Warp Speed Peso: The Angel of Love, originally uploaded by triciawang 王圣㨗.

Something to lighten up your Monday- or at least make you spit coffee all over your keyboard. Peso and Lucy, two dogs Tricia lives with are the funniest doggy duo ever. Most famous for a very private video moment, (removed from YouTube for a Terms of Use violation- if that gives you any idea), Peso also provides endless hours of amusement with his tiny ferocity in pictures.

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Grit and Glory.

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:54:03 -0800

Grit and Glory., originally uploaded by Paint with light.

No matter how many times I drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, I never fail to be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude and imposing beauty of the the bridge itself and of the unique vistas I see before and after crossing. Every time I approach San Francisco, driving across either the Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate I feel the same sense of magical excitement and possibility in seeing the cityscape at a distance. I always knew I would live here; I am so thankful every day that I can live in a city so full of dramatic gorgeousness.

(This photo was taken by 'Paint with light;' one of my favorite photographers on flickr: see link above. His shots often manage to capture the elusive spirit of a place that is so hard to describe with words)

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California Dreamin'

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:59:10 -0800

America

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my family's emigration to the United States from South Africa. Apartheid ended in 1991; when we left in 1987 the violence, repression, police brutality, censorship, torture and oppression by a government under intense international scrutiny was ratcheting up, and my parents decided there was no way they could continue to raise their children amidst the fear and injustice of a regime they could not support. The choice was extremely difficult; our families had lived in Johannesburg since my great grandparents had fled the pogroms in Eastern Europe, and we had grown deep roots. All our loved ones lived in a closely knit community. Both of my parents had to choose to leave behind their parents, brothers, sisters and cousins and friends they had known since birth and raised their own children with. They were leaving behind a lifestyle of material comfort, kinship, and community for the complete unknown and the economic challenge of starting over with nothing. Many of their friends tried to talk them out of it, and thought they were crazy to leave, but their conviction was strong.

As a child my experience of apartheid was limited; I was only 7 when we left, so my memories of growing up there are scattered, fuzzy, and almost certainly have been changed by the passage of time and acquired knowledge. There were only hints here and there that something wasn't quite right; to my young mind, the fact that everyone we knew had black servants was as normal as the fact that we had tea every day at 4 p.m.

It was only as I grew older and my parents discussed apartheid (and why they left) more in depth that the pieces came together and I realized the full magnitude of the injustice and oppression we had left behind. Though I was too young then for them to detail the atrocities of the South African government, what they did instead was to speak in raptured tones about the promise and freedom we would find in America. Every time I hear "America" by Neil Diamond, it brings me back to that time of innocent wonder and excitement at the privilege of living in a land so full of beauty and endless opportunity. I now realize what difficulty my parents faced in explaining to pampered, privileged children that there was a life somehow better than the charmed (though cursed) lives we were leading in South Africa. I think they have always appealed to our sense of justice, and compassion for fellow human beings in that their conviction in leaving has always been tied to their staunch sense of social justice; even when I was a kid it was clear to me that South Africa was failing at treating all its citizens equally and that our leaving was a clear choice on the part of my parents to protect us and to provide us with the opportunity to be raised without the oppression of a police state, where racism was literally codified and enforced by the government and taught in school.

It is no small coincidence that all of us work in public service now. Teaching in inner-city public schools, educating and mentoring low-income minority adult students, volunteering for a Crisis line, grief counseling, activism for Darfur, running diversity training programs in schools and responding to discrimination complaints, mentoring young student leaders, civil rights activism, legal advocating and activism, juvenile corrections, and renewable resource engineering- it wasn't until I really thought about all that each of us care about and put it together in this way that it hit me. I'm overcome when I look at this list and can see just how much all of us have internalized the hope and the promise of a better future that my parents sacrificed so much to give to us.

Today, I am reminded of my responsibility to do my part to ensure that this country lives up to its promise- the promise that motivated my parents to leave behind generations of friends and family, wealth, comfort and security to come here with nothing and start over. No matter how cynical, disaffected, jaded, or hopeless we feel upon surveying the national political landscape it is important to remember that we still live in one of the most hopeful countries in the world; the opportunity we have here to literally create the life of our choosing is unparalleled anywhere else and it is that I urge you to consider when you begin to feel despondent. I think it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that this continues to be the case- social services, public welfare, public education, civil rights- all of these exist only because people like you and me continue to believe in their utility and potential. The rising tide will not lift all boats- as you forge ahead in a culture that highly values individualism and achievement, I urge you to remember that all of our achievement and success depends on the enforcement of the democratic ideals that founded this country. It is up to all of us to remain informed and active citizens and participate! It is the only way for democracy to truly work. This is what it means to me to be an American. My parents had to struggle for our citizenship so to me, patriotism is honoring their struggle by ensuring that this country retains the promise it held for them.

America

Written by: Neil Diamond

Far
Weve been travelling far
Without a home
But not without a star

Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream

On the boats and on the planes
Theyre coming to america
Never looking back again
Theyre coming to america

Home, dont it seem so far away
Oh, were travelling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm

Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and well say grace
Freedoms light burning warm
Freedoms light burning warm

Everywhere around the world
Theyre coming to america
Every time that flags unfurled
Theyre coming to america

Got a dream to take them there
Theyre coming to america
Got a dream theyve come to share
Theyre coming to america

Theyre coming to america
Theyre coming to america
Theyre coming to america
Theyre coming to america
Today, today, today, today, today

My country tis of thee
(today)
Sweet land of liberty
(today)
Of thee I sing
(today)
Of thee I sing
(today)

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Come on, get happy!

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:22:22 -0800

Today I happened upon Kathy Sierra's cogent, well-written article about the effects of anger and negativity on your brain as well as on the brains of others. For someone who has always been incredibly sensitive, phenomenons like "emotional contagion" and "mirror neurons" have played a significant role in my life; I just haven't always been able to describe or label what I was experiencing. We all use different terms to describe how we feel when we encounter an extremely negative person - "emotional vampire," "energy vampire," "downer," etc., but the gist is the same: we feel depleted after an interaction with someone like this. Similarly, there are those who are able to cheer you up, reinvigorate, or inspire you simply with their presence. I used to be so sensitive to others emotions (particularly those in pain/distress) that I would end up utterly depleted, burned out, and exhausted after letting myself get 'sucked in' by other's negativity. It took a lot of introspection, research, and work on myself to become centered enough to be able to control this and choose when and with whom I would engage. This entire article is worth reading for the framework she places around thinking about happiness (sic):

If you were around one or more people with a potentially harmful contagious disease, you would probably take steps to protect yourself in some way. And if you were the contagious one, you'd likely take steps to protect others until you were sure the chance of infecting someone else was gone.

But while we all have a lot of respect for physical biological contagions, we do NOT have much respect for physical emotional contagions. (I said "physical", because science has known for quite some time that "emotions" are not simply a fuzzy-feeling concept, but represent physical changes in the brain.)

From a paper on Memetics and Social Contagion,

"...social scientific research has largely confirmed the thesis that affect, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour can indeed spread through populations as if they were somehow infectious. Simple exposure sometimes appears to be a sufficient condition for social transmission to occur. This is the social contagion thesis; that sociocultural phenomena can spread through, and leap between, populations more like outbreaks of measels or chicken pox than through a process of rational choice."

Find the rest of the article here

So the choice is yours...what will you spread?

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The way to my heart

nobody@vox.com(lilbear) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:59:35 -0800

Cheese platter, originally uploaded by lil'bear.

There are few things that make me happier than an aesthetically pleasing, perfectly paired plate of delicious food. Samovar tea lounge does not mess around- they use only the highest quality, finest ingredients in absolutely everything they put on your table. The teas are all hand-picked, small batches from independent farmers who lovingly grow, pick, and dry every leaf. For a tea junkie like me, this is the ultimate tea experience; akin to wine-tasting in napa for vinophiles.

Check it out: creamy blue cheese, wild honeycombed honey, a ripened, juicy orange, grapes, slightly crisp pears, and unintrusive crispy whole wheat crackers. Party in my mouth!

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