What The Digital Camera Taught Me

What The Digital Camera Taught Me

I went to Rancamaya in the country and took a shot with my digital camera of a magnificent forest on a hill with giant trees grand with age from a distance. Back home I “played” it back and tried the many picture positions possible and what I found besides the original picture was beyond my imagination. I found beautiful weeds, (like reed) with plumes, “alang-alang” we call it, just so close before me, so artistically framed.



The digital camera taught me to see beauty what I didn’t see before. And it’s just but one and I think there are a many more in the same picture. I haven’t time to explore them all as I have almost 50 now.

August 2010

What A Joy Is Learning 5

What A Joy Is Learning 5
(shooting)

I recently started to learn to handle a digital pocket camera, perhaps the most simple one. But I was amazed. How wonderful it was. I could take beautiful country pictures on my way on my bike and take it home, play it back without going to the foto studio to make the foto’s, up to almost 1.500 shots. The pictures could be enlarged, moved, up and down, left and right. It could present if calculated, each one about a thousand possible picture positions, show it on TV or computer, print, send somebody by e mail, save it in internet and it can even do video recording.

Oh, what a joy and I’m just starting to learn it as I think of shooting weeds, lovely weeds I call it, having no name, almost unnoticed, unknown, forgotten, except as harmful weed to be extinguished, cleared out. I have no intention, pretension to be scientific, that is for those that are clever. Of shooting caterpillars, butterflies, dragonflies, lizards, chameleons, insects, birds, … a lovely girl. Besides, shooting works of art and have my own art gallery in my computer or camera.

I imagine that there will come a time when we’ll have an all surround-video camera, recording pictures covering the entire surroundings including sounds, scent, it’s coolness, the air. We then are as though back again on the same space, same spot while sitting in the room. How wonderful to see it live around us, only we can’t touch them. But that is for our grand-grand-grand-, … children to enjoy.

August 2010

What A Joy Is Learning 4

What A Joy Is Learning 4
(harmony)

When one day I stop exercising, conducting my choir I will turn to learn harmony again. Lest I should forget them, these are my notes when I can turn to in the future.

“Never take too many preoccupations at the same time if you ever want to accomplish, enjoy anything” so I remind myself. I will have my own system. Gladly, heartily would I forget all the rules, laws on harmony, of voices going parallel, intervals, chord progressions.

This is for me to remember, but you can skip, forget all this:

I just build my basic major chords consisting the notes (c, e, g,), minor chords (c, es, g) and two indifferent chords, the diminished (c, es, fis, a) and the augmented chord (c, e, gis).

New beautiful chords could be created out of a combination of those chords: C with Em, or with Am, or Gm.

There’re beautiful progressions: Cm – Esm or C – As, slowly step by step downward progressions: Cm - Bm - Besm.

Imagine, there are 12 different keys in a scale and on each key again a scale could be constructed.

This is an example: (You Tube: chewginhoa, Study In Harmony)
Am: la si do Dm: – la si la Fism: –fi sil la Bm: – fi sil fi Esm: –ri fa fi Asm: – ri fa ri Cm: - do re ri fm: – do re do [sol Am].

It takes a long time, so tediously to write it down and I likely would forget what I just played before but at that time the modern organ could record and write the music score for me.

Then will I create my own etudes, studies of harmonious chord progressions, then improvise and so learn to compose.

August 2010

Were I President

Were I President

It’s August 17, our national holiday. How sad to see school children, boys and girls go to school, workers, government officials go to their office in compulsary duty to celebrate, remember our independence day every year. Were I president I would give the people an extra holiday the next day as compensation. How happy we would be.

August 2010

What A Bravado

What A Bravado

And there was a shout, a command, so brave when there was no foe, when escorting a prisoner.

August 2010

Defile Man?

Defile Man?

You can never defile man except yourself.
Defile someone and you defile yourself.

August 2010

Pak Arif Musing On The Loss Of Virility

Pak Arif Musing On The Loss Of Virility

If a man loses his virility, even in old age he would feel it, regard it as a calamity, a tremendous, irreparable loss as a loss of his eyes, his hearing, his feet, a heart failure, a stroke, …

And I thought of unmarried couples who were blamed, scorned, feeling so wretched because of their ardor of making love. Instead they should be proud of. And of Winarsih who committed suicide, ashamed to carry, bear an illegal child rather then of being grateful that there’s a man who visited, desired her and gave her his child. And of Clinton’s and Monica’s illicit making love with a possible impeachment of the president. And of the rapist in The Filippines who was sentenced to death. Was he a criminal or a victim of an excess of virility? Was she a victim or a blessed, an honored virgin as she was irresistible in a moment that she was free, alone, outside her social “cage” that should keep her protected? Oh, so prudish, just for such “petty” sins against – God? – the rules, authorities.

Blessed are those that marry, that make love before marriage or without marriage, even the rapist as we consider, compare to the immeasurable loss of one’s virility, never, ever could make love again. They should be congratulated, instead of be blamed, sentenced.

August 2010

Lest I Should Pay More Than Is Necessary

Lest I Should Pay More Than Is Necessary

“Here is the money.”
“Thank you.”
“Make sure it is correct, lest I should pay you more than is necessary“

August 2010

What A Joy Is Learning 3

What A Joy Is Learning 3
(Conducting)

I’ve read a book, been instructed on how to conduct correctly and it was just as boring, dreary, as cold as beating time with the hands going up, down, left, right and you could do it with your eyes shut.

I have observed many really good conductors conducting. Each one doing it in a very different way. I don’t, couldn’t see them conducting like what I’ve read, learned, been instructed before.

I learned by observing Mr. Soplanit, a choir conductor who even wasn’t a conductor who had his church choir sing, so moved me while he almost didn’t conducted with his hands.

I learned to start without counting first but immediately as we draw our breath to start singing as was taught by Dr. Kelly during his public lecture on singing. I ‘m very grateful as I now can start anywhere during our singing without having to beat time.

I never saw a really good soloist, pianist, violinist, conductor with a panface without expression, sitting or standing rigidly erect, except he/she is still a student or a poor artist.

Should I conduct the way it should according to the rules it would deaden my feeling for music, kill beautiful music. It’s the music prompted me involuntarily. My hands, feet, moving, dancing, inviting, my eyes conjuring my choir. What a joy is conducting without having - a baton - to beat time, to observe the rules.

August 2010

Use It Or Lose It

Use It Or Lose It

Very nice, well said. Sure, so it is with our body and brains. More often we use them, the better they function.

August 2010