a day in the life of piano monkey

another end of the year is approaching, like a slow moving train across the midwest field of states- constant, graceful yet often amazingly noisy and upon close examination.  three more days, then it'll be another decade over, of twenty-first century. it seems not long ago that everyone was worried about y2k- which turned out to be a silly worry after all.  i wonder how many things we worry/fuss about share that nature of y2k- not really real, however becomes real due to the amount of attention we decided to give to the issue.  and with the imposed finality of the calendar turning, it is difficult to not to become part of the 'reflection and resolution' crowd.  what is it that urges us to make such commitment to make huge changes? i suppose different things to different people, but all i can say is that the gyms across the world are always much busier during january than april. i hear from one of my newly made acquaintance (it is a funny world of mine, often i...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgsgDp0o7pM&fmt=18 ...tonight, in quiet city, soaked with a little rain, like the nightingale blood on your card, i feel a little thrust of fine needle a little deeper in my heart. thank the lord that it's strong and well thanks to everyone, especially you, you have loved me with no conditions, you have let me be who i am and who i need to be, and you still do love me, miraculously and i am here, i see the blood of my heart and i see your blood. nightingale, soothing a tired, red-eyed monkey, taking my small tail over worn eyes of the day, bringing in hypnos while keeping his dark mother nyx at bay, carefully removing just a little more of my thorns, which you took and took in with you, with the bits that you like of me, with other bits that you may still have to find from me, and dropped the crimson dot on tabula rasa with multitude of your feelings- of sorry, comfort, love, humanism and unspeakable tenderness. the tenderness ...

it's been over a week since my last post and ive been itching to write as there have been even more events and people that came and weaved through my life. however, it's already 9pm and i am now finally off the schedule, with a lesson pending tomorrow and i would really like to play half-decent, meaning.. back to work bench. pianist jean saulnier from montreal is here and he's been a very demanding coach really. i cant complain about the amount of energy and attention he spends on each one of us, but seriously, after three hours of it, i say my brain is pretty busted. ouch. this wk, my old friends from the utoronto days, the silver birch quartet was here for a short residency and it's been real nice to see them once again. it's funny how much have happened in last five years, at same time, some of our personal characteristics have not changed.. at all! ha ha. i suppose that shows for personal integrity! there was also a short excursion to a natural hot springs in ...

sometimes i think what i say is brilliant (smarty pantsy brilliant that is). and sometime it totally blow chunks. it blows chunks so bad that it puts the yard shredders to shame. it's like: oops, shit, did i just really say that? hmm. i would like to take that back please. ah.. alas, it's turned into feed for mockery did it? fine, feed me to the wolves! i can take it! go ahead! you cold cold world! then someone goes: dude, chill out. that shit's funny. and i go sit my ass down and that's that. i wonder why i am speaking in such a tone today. hmm. perhaps it is the cheeeeenok (well really spelled chinook)- it's warm enough, my nonexistent balls are dropping (ahh warmth) and now im talking like a true trashy teenage man. soon enough i be looking for the invisible stack of porn as well. oh my gawd. really. monkey, stop. but then it's kinda hilarious. may be i will let it go for now. till it gets really unruly. like.. if i start to have body odour or something, ha h...

from the many passing news and notices of the world, i have found a very particular report intriguing and significant. about death of certain individuals who i have never met or seen. someone who is rather far, but somehow ended up being not too far from monkey in the grand sense of the world- esp. when you take the consideration of how many people are actually living and breathing in this world: According to the International Programs Center, U.S. Census Bureau, the total population of the World, projected to 07/15/09 at 05:11 GMT (EST+5) is 6,771,165,967. so then why does this particular death, which really should as significant as any other generic birth strike such a note? well. because it was a choice. and because it was not just a death, but of two persons. sir ted downes, a british conductor at age of 85 took hand of his wife, joan downes at age of 74 with terminal illness, and went into the land of the truly unknown at the iconic swiss euthanasia clinic, dignitas. with over hal...

        every year, my neighbourhood turns into a gigantic party area for the toronto pride festival. on way back home from meeting my friend cheryll all the way up north, i ran into the pride crowd. young, old. plain, dressed-up. repressed, extrovert. hetero, homo, trans, bi. supporters, onlookers. it used to run for a week, monday to sunday- this year is the first year i noticed that they have started to cover wknd to wknd (hence, 10 days). and though it gets somewhat rowdy (what would you expect in party for over a million people?), i think it is incredible that it really is one of the best festivals in canada (and in the world- and i have been the berlin love parade and san fran and nyc pride as well), not to mention more than 150 year-round and +1200 additional volunteers for the peak days (last three: fri-sunday). brought up in somewhat kosher asian culture, the issue of homosexuality has been one of the neglected one in my household. well, also probably becaus...