Dominic Lucien Luk
Born 13 March 1983
In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Loves watching FRIENDS, Oprah, One Tree Hill
Believes in Jesus, the Saviour of the World!
Favorite color is dark blue and red
Reads self-help books
Likes going to the cinema a lot
Is very patient, running out of it slowly
Thanks God for pandan and kaya
LIkes being alone, but likes to be with friends too
Likes all music except techno and anything loud
Is a singing and choir trainer, likes acting
Likes the smell of vanilla and coffee (and Famous Amos!)
Thinks being sarcastic solves tension, for a while at least
Carpe Diem! Carpe diem
quam minimum credula postero
car-pé di-em : n.. To seize the day. [Latin: carpe, seize + diem, day.]
Monday, February 26, 2007
An Inconvenient Truth
The Academy Awards was today, early this morning here in Malaysia. And to my surprise, the one show that I thought no one cared about, got two Awards.
Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' grabbed two Awards: Best Music (Song) - which by the way is a nice song and you should listen to it, get the soundtrack ;-) and it won Best Documentary Feature. Al Gore was the first politician to receive an Academy Award, and I applaude his efforts. He's also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year for his efforts to fight Global Warming.
If you haven't watched An Inconvenient Truth then try find a way to watch it. It'll be shown around the country for free in many places so grab the chance to see how our earth has changed over the centuries, and it really has changed. I watched the documentary already, and it left me speechless for a while. The pictures Al Gore showed really left an impact and demonstrated the severity of the situation now.
Congrats to Al Gore!
So, recycle.. reuse.. cut down electricty.. walk or cycle for short distances (it's healthier).. stop burning stuff unnecessarily.. well we all get the idea, just never practice it.
I actually have just opened another blog, also called Carpe Diem. But instead, it is like a reflection of this blog here. You will notice the contrast - it is white, and the layout is totally the mirror image of this one - to symbolise it being a blog of reflections.
This blog will remain as a blog to record my day to day life, light-hearted stuff that don't really matter yet matter a lot. Will use this blog here to write down stuff I do, stuff I did, and the usual boring stuff. The REFLECTION BLOG is more for the serious thoughts and reflections, mostly linked to stuff on this blog but with an extension of even deeper views and thoughts about certain topics that I come across in my life here. It is new, so there are not many posts yet, but like this blog, it will slowly grow. It will be a more serious blog. But this blog, as I said, shall remain, and after every blog entry here, I will put a link to my other blog as well to remind everyone about it. The blog's address is www.cinimod.blogdrive.com and cinimod is my name backwards, also a 'reflection' ;-)
Monday, I had to go to college at 9am for rehearsal for our concert on Tuesday afternoon. I was in the Brahms Vocal Quartet. Singing at around 9 in the morning, urgh!
Then, still on Monday, at Pedagogy class, we had to find 'rubbish' and convert them into our own instruments. Then we were put into a group of 4 to 5 each, and with each of us having our own instruments, we were to compose our own little song with only the instruments in our hands. I thought, easy. But no, it wasn't. And after all that, our teacher, Ms Mona, explained the science behind our little 'project' in class. No, it wasn't so much about how we could ocnvert rubbish into musical tools. No, it wasn't to test our creativity. And no, it wasn't to compete and see who could compose the best song. It was to show us all about group dynamics, and how there are always those who dominate, those who follow, those who talk more, talk less, move more, move less, submit, lead etc. She showed us how she was observing each group. How some groups had a few dominating people, but the less dominating one would eventually submit. Some groups had no one dominating, and thus there was team work most of the time. Well, that was the whole idea. And we applied it to how it would be when teaching kids. Yeah, not much difference between a bunch of college students and little kids learning music. We are all the same :-)
Monday still, we had Theory and Transcription from 5pm to 8pm. Sigh... I don't really like the Theory classes in this school. It is boring, and kind of shallow. But I will live with it. Maybe it's because I have studied theory very intensively in UCSI so I feel like I am not learning much. Transcription was OK. We were given a flute melody to listen, and we had to write it down (dictation), then after we could get the melody, we had to write another melody for a second flute part to accompany this melody. So I had this idea to invert the melody, no retrograde it, or something like that. So the main melody was from bar 1 to 8. The second flute part, I made it start from the melody of bar 8 backwards to 1. It sounded great haha.
After class ended, I went home, did some work for Analysis class on Wednesday, watched TV, then fell asleep.
Tuesday morning, had Aural class at 9am. It was a fun class (for once) because I got all thh answers correct haha!
Then at 1pm we had our Lunchtime Concert, where the Vocal Quartet was last on the programme to perform. We had a great response from the audience. I enjoyed it.
So after that, there was no more classes for me. Hmmm, I can't remember what I did for the rest of the day!
Wed, I woke up early, 8.30am class - Analysis. And if you are one minute late for this class, you're considered absent! So I usually wake up really early to make sure I am always on time, This week we studied Hadyn's sonata in C major. We went through almost every detail, its motifs, modulations, patterns, harmonic rhythms, counterpoint, subject groups, exposition, recap, development etc. I enjoyed this week's class. But oh, have a big assignment to pass up next week for Analysis.
The after that we had Performance Workshop until 12pm. This week, we had to come out one by one to the front, walk, bow, then walk off again. And we were criticised and/or complimented on our bowing by our teacher and classmates. Some had to do it over and over again, some just twice. Well, we must learn how to bow properly to be a good performer, and it isn't as easy as it seems.
Then we had Fusion Orchestra, and like I said, this time I am playing the piano. Well, it's actually 4 of us at one piano, we just play with one hand and have different melodies. Ah, whatever, not interesting to explain here.
The Wed night was CG night (Cell Group) and it was Social CG this week. So we went to Esplanade Glutton's Bay to eat dinner and chat for a few hours with about 10 of us there that night. Then after dinner we went to this cafe for dessert. On the way, Hendry and I were in deep conversation about life. He's an interesting guy to talk to for sure. Well, in the cafe, we talked about lots of stuff, and then it was 11.30pm by the time I walked to the bus stop to head home.
Thurs morn, 9am, History class. This week it was all about weird music notations of the 20th century. You have no idea how many ways you can use to write a song, apart from the conventional ways that you see musicians read scores. Yes, there are many ways, and even one of these music scores could make the song sound different every single time you play it. Well, won't bore anyone with this here.
After History, was voice class with Ralph. It was a good class, and went through some of the songs for my recital in April.
The whole of Thurs I stayed at home. I wanted to go out to the City, but I was lazy. I stayed home, watching TV, reading, online, DVD-ing, playing computer games, until 3am.
And Fri, well, here I am now, blogging. I plan to go out later, not sure for what, just plan to get out of the house for fun.
Tomorrow, Sat morning, have extra voice class, then in the afternoon will be at Prayer Meeting.
I have lots of homework to do over the weekend too.
The most pressed number button on a calculator is the four key.
I got this info from a website. Number 4, can you imagine in the first place someone (or sometwo or three) actually tried to figure out which number is most pressed?
But anyhow... the number 4 is most pressed? Wow. FOUR is a bad number for the Chinese isn't it? It sort of represents death. Some buildings will not have the 4th floor, just like some don't have the 13th floor.
Superstitions.... we're surrounded by them, especially in this part of the world... Can't get married on this day because the 'book; says it isn't a good day,..need a red umbrella for wedding...don't simply open up your umbrella indoors...black cats crossing your paths...walking under a ladder...palm reading...whistling at night... etc...
Sigh... It's time we started to think:
WHY IS THE NUMBER FOUR MOST PRESSED ON THE CALCULATOR?????
Classes have been on for the past few weeks already... A brand new semester, means brand new challenges, obviously...
Challenges??
Yes, challenges.
Like ????
Like....
Let's see....
I have to prepare for my diploma graduation recital which will be in April this year... preparing 10 songs in total, about 30 minutes of singing.
For analysis class, we are doing heavier pieces, sonatas by Haydn and Scarlatti. Don't know anything about this? Good for you. 8.30 in the morning is not a good time to be analysing music. But I am starting to like this subject more. We learn about the motifs in music, the modulations, the texture, the different movements etc...
Pedagogy is getting deeper.. into the psychology of a child student. The parts of the brain that do different stuff etc etc etc... Helpful for teachers I guess, to know that the something cortex and the something nerves connectes to the something fibres that reacts to music. Oh something like that!
History is the same... studying modernism and serialism and other -isms.
Theory is boring as usual.
Transcription is OK. OK only.
Performance workshop is fine, just singing two songs, one by Brahms, one by Schumann.
Fusion Orchestra, I am playing the piano this time round, thanks goodnesses.
Music culture is interesting..... hard to explain here. No need to explain, no one reads this blog anyway :-)
Sorry, haven't been blogging much lately... t's been the holiday season. SO holiday means enjoy life and don't go online.
Anyway, my last post was about Planet Shakers Conference in KL. I attended it together with some friends, from far and near....
It was a great 3 days.... The music was excellent, the preaching was insightful, the epxerience was definitely a life changing one. I was amazed at how much God can do with so many people in 3 days.. well, not that amazed, He's done far greater things before.
The overall teaching of the conference from what I managed to get was, to PICK up our CROSS.
Hence, the song we kept singing over and over again, "PICK IT UP!"
I was blind now I see love has got a hold of me Now I sing ’cause I am free
So I’m, laying down my life And I’m, taking up my Cross.
I’m taking up my Cross, laying down my life, all for the glory of Your name. Living my whole life, all for you Jesus, I’m taking up my cross everyday.
We are often called by God to do great things in our life. Some things are even greater than we imagined for ourselves. The thing is, we give ourselves excuse after excuse, and every good reason to put it on hold. I suppose the conference was a wake up call for many - when God calls, we respond, NOW!
It was a great time, jumping, shouting, laughing, clapping, sitting, eating, eating again, and all with good company.
Let's continue shaking the planet with God's music.
Planet Shakers Conference starts this week, Wed - Fri. Will you be there? Hope to see you :)
I will be joined by Christine from Sabah and her friendly gang from Germany too.
If you haven't registered, there's still time. www.planetshakers.com.my or do drop by the night concerts, 8pm, free and open to public. It'll be a great experience.
It'll be held at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.
