Opera Overload ...

Yesterday I got an invitation in the mail to purchase tickers to an opera performance in Summer of 2010. That was not a typo.

The LA Opera is producing Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, better know as the "The Ring." This cycle is a collection of four operas, done in four nights, with a total play time of 15 hours.

A couple of the operas in the cycle will be performed this season, but the entire cycle will not happen until two years from now. Tickers are very expensive, starting at $100 for obstructed seats to seats costing thousands of dollars. Clearly I cannot afford this now, but hopefully in two years I will be.

Opera...

I got more than my fair share of culture this weekend by seeing two operas back to back. Reviews of both below.

Il Trittico

Friday night, after a long day of work. This opera was written by Puccini as a series of three, one-act operas. The first one, Il Tabarro, is a story of a woman in having an affair and her husband eventually finding out and killing her lover. This was a beautiful opera, showing a forceful display of the anguish and hatred that comes with infidelity. Second was Sour Angelica, a story about a nun in a convent lamenting over the loss of her child (taken away at birth) to hide the illegitimacy and scandal. Her sister visits her to tell her that her child died and she commits suicide. This second act was boring, but the ending was amazing. The nun begs the Virgin Mary for forgiveness (mortal sin of suicide) and both the Virgin (who comes flying from above) and her son appear as she dies. The last act, was by far the most enjoyable. Gianni Schicchi is the story of rich uncle who leaves nothing to his family in his will, so the family decides to impersonate the dead man and dictate a new will to a notary. The man hired to impersonate the uncle ended up leaving a large bulk of the estate to himself, but the family can do nothing to stop for fear of being found out that they committed fraud. In the end he gets stabbed. Comedy, good stuff.

The last one was my favorite, but over all all three were great. The production was almost four hours and we did not get out until midnight. There is nothing more fun like riding the LA subway after midnight in a suit.

The Fly

Saturday afternoon, after volunteering in the worker's right clinic that morning. I mentioned the origins of this opera in a prior posting. This opera was OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. This was a modern english opera, and I was not impressed. First there was too much male frontal nudity, second too much vernacular inserted into the signing. At one point the female lead talked about a person throwing up in her car. There were very sexy parts, but even so, meh. I don't think that I will go to a modern opera any time soon.

After the Opera we ended up having dinner at Ciudad, they messed up our orders, but gave us free dessert. Not sure if I would go back, it was expensive and I did not leave satisfied. Mediocre opera and bad dinner, I think I disappointed my date.

Next up, I really want to see Carmen or Madame Butterfly again, they are playing soon.

West Beach Music Festival ...

This weekend I drove to Santa Barbara to see the West Beach Music and Art Festival with Becky.

Becky has recently moved-in to her new place to start grad school at UCSB. The plan was for to be there Sunday (9/14) at 10am, that meant that I needed to leave Pasadena around 8am. Unfortunately... actually no, I take that back... awesomely it was Ruben's birthday the night before and we all went out to celebrate. The night's festivities did not allow to return until 4am. This made me wake up late, but I was able to leave at 9am, and got there at 10:40, which is pretty good time.

After parking (and walking the wrong way), I finally was able to find Becky's place. She lives in a brand new graduate student housing. She shares a suite with 3 other grad student, but has her own room. The place was nice, but it had the annoying smell of new and construction.

We left for the concert and got there before noonish via bus so as to avoid the parking mess. It did not occur to me until this point that the "West Beach" music festival was actually on the beach and I was inappropriately dressed for the occasion. Still, I had a great time. We listened to a few band but the two that really caught my attention was Hoots and Hellmouth and Jim Bianco. Hoots caught my attention because they did not have a drummer but were still able to rock out. Jim caught my attention because he was just awesome. We also saw Braddigan and Pete Francis from Dispatch, but I have heard their stuff already. They were both good for relaxing and taking a nap. One of the best things that I like from this festival is that I was able to lie down in the sand and just take a nap while a only a few feet away from the stage (yes, I can sleep with loud music around me). This allowed me to recover from the previous night and just enjoy myself in general. I had such a good time! One of the coolest moments as seeing a sailboat moving behind the stage, that didn't seem right.

The main event for the night was George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic. The show was sweet. George is old, but he still got the funk (see video below). The smell of marijuana came and left throughout the night and gave me a headache. By the end of the night too many drunk people were bumping into me. Still, great ending to a music festival.

We caught 9:30pm bus back to UCSB and then drove around for food. We found this tasty mexican deli which had huge quesadillas (at over $8, they better be huge). They were so big that although we each got one, we were only able to each eat half. By the time we finished dinner it was late, too late for me to drive home so I just crashed at Becky's place. I missed my bed, her bed was too hard.

I woke up the next morning at 8am, ate breakfast, forgot my other half of the quesadilla (doh!), and left for school. I drove directly to school and then didn't get home until around 4pm.

This was so much fun. All my pictures are HERE, and some selected ones (and video) below. Enjoy.

Sexy Song...

Nothing of substance today. Too busy with finals, but I wanted to share this Pedro the Lion song I am feeling right now. I love the fact that it mixes adultery and religion in a blissful hypocritical union. Lyrics below, song on YouTube here.

Rapture

This is how we multiply

Pity that its not my wife

The friction of skin

The trembling sigh

This is how the bodies move

With everything that we could lose

Pushing us deeper still

The sheets and the sweat

The seed and the spill

The bitter pill yet undiscovered

Gideon is in the drawer

Clothes scattered on the floor

Shes arching her back

She screams for more

Oh my sweet rapture

I hear Jesus calling me home

Finally the chance to breath

Reaching for the fallen sheets

Collapsing in a glowing heap

We've gone too far

We've done too much

We have to quit it

Just one more kiss

Just one more touch

Please 10 more minutes

This feels so good. . .

Just barely moving. . .

The tension building. . .

Our bodies working. . .

To Reach their goal. . .

Oh my sweet rapture

I hear Jesus and the angels singing

Hallelujah

Calling me to enter the promise land.

Lyrics: Death Cab for Cutie - I will Possess Your Heart

This is their first single of their new album coming out next month. I am totally feeling this song right now.

----

How I wish you could see the potential,
the potential of you and me
It's like a book elegantly bound,
but in a language that you can't read

You gotta spend some time love, you gotta spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love, I will possess your heart (2x)

There are days when outside your window,
I see my reflection as I slowly pass
And I long for this mirrored perspective,
when we'll be lovers, lovers at last

You gotta spend some time love, you gotta spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love, I will possess your heart(2x)

I will possess your heart (2x)

You reject my advances and desperate pleas
I won't let you, let me down so easily, so easily

You gotta spend some time love, you gotta spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love, I will possess your heart (3x)

I will possess your heart (3x)

Speechwriters LLC Write Back ...

Today was a long day with many errands all over the place, but coming home I found an email from Dave from the Speechwriters LLC.

Last month Becky and I went to see Dave from the Speechwriters at the Hotel Cafe. There he performed a brand new song (rap?) called "Sexual Professional" which the entire audience loved. When I got back home I emailed the band via the online comment form. I asked if there were any plays to release lyrics or recordings of the song. Dave finally got back to me and said he is working on a video for the song, and that this should be released on iTunes sometime this summer.

Hearing back from semi-famous people makes me happy. =)

EFF is Awesome ...

One more before I go to sleep.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a great a organization. When I am a rich lawyer I will donate a lot of money to them. This is a group of lawyers who oppose major companies (sometimes even the government) in cases dealing with personal rights and technology.

In the past the have fought against printer manufacturers abusing the DMCA to force consumers to purchase ink cartridges only from them, and sued various corporations for helping the NSA conduct warrantless surveillance.

Most recently they are trying to preserve right of "First Sale." This right is what allows us to do whatever we want with the things we purchase, regardless of the copyright protecting the item. For example, I can burn a copyrighted book, or sell it to somebody else, or just throw it away as long as I buy it first. The copyright owner is only able to limit the "first sale" of the work.

In this case, a record company is trying to stop sales of "Promotional Only" CD's on eBay. The record company argues that CDs that are mailed for promotional purposes are only licensed to the recipients, and therefore copyright holders never convey ownership rights of the CD to the recipient. This means that record companies can limit any subsequent sales, the first sale doctrine does not apply. On the other hand, the EFF argues that the record companies send these CDs as unsolicited gifts via mail (there is a lot of case law about this), and therefore the recipient is the legal owner of the CD and able to sell it if he wants. The EFF further describes a slippery slope where books and CDs, books and DVDs would not be subject to fair use after a copyright owner slaps a sticker with a user license.

As ArsTechnica points out the court filing is a good read if only for the fact that it starts with a Harry Potter quote.

EFF via ArsTechnica

Gangta Lifestyle ...

Wow, I'm quiet for a few days then posting just start flowing from me.

Reuters is reporting that "mogul 50 Cent, Universal Music Group and several of its record labels were sued on Wednesday for promoting a "gangsta lifestyle" by a 14-year-old boy who says friends of the rapper assaulted him."

"The members of G-Unit [excuse me, G-G-G-Unit!] , including defendants Yayo and 50 Cent, encouraged, sanctioned, approved and condoned its members threatening violence, and or engaging in violent acts in furtherance of its business," the lawsuit said.

The attack on Rosemond was intended to "promote and maintain Yayo and 50 Cent's 'gangsta' image," which was "promoted, marketed and advertised" by record labels.

Yeah, ok. Much of this lawsuit should be dismissed. This seems like a simple assault and battery case. Like any other civil suit, prove that the defendants hurt you and calculate damages (hospital bills, lost wages etc.). Greedy lawyers might even try to old intentional infliction of emotional distress. Yet, this wasn't enough for this lawyer. He also wanted to sue the record labels to get more money. I am assuming he is claiming some sort of unjust enrichment claim, which is pretty bogus. The enrichment (sales of more gangsta records) was not done to the detriment of the plaintiff. I don't think nation wide sales are going to be affected just because your favorite rapper (or rap crew) beat up a 14-year old. They also better not be trying an accomplice or conspirator theory. I am pretty sure that the record companies did not enter an agreement to beat up the kid. These companies have lawyers who make sure nothing the executives do can be construed as promoting specific acts of violence. Glorifying violence in general should not be the basis of a lawsuit. Violence in movies and music does not beget violence, stupid people with pre-existing violent tendencies who watch TV and listen to music beget violence. Don't blame the media, blame stupid people.

Reuters via ATL

Lyrics: Campus - Vampire Weekend

I wake up
My shoulder's cold
I've got to leave here
Before I go
I pull my shirt on
Walk out the door
Drag my feet along the floor
I pull my shirt on
Walk out the door
Drag my feet along the floor

Then I see you
You're walking cross the campus
Cruel professor
Studying romances
How am I supposed to pretend
I never want to see you again?
How am I supposed to pretend
I never want to see you again?

SOURCE

Never Mind ....

It seems that the LA Times got scammed by some guy in prison.

Last week I posted about an alleged conspiracy to shoot and kill Tupac Shakur. The Smoking Gun recently released a story that describes how some white guy behind bars was able to fabricate the entire conspiracy described in the LA Times article by forging internal FBI documents. He made up the entire story and tried to make himself look important by casting himself as a lead player in the entire ordeal.

So, never mind about that conspiracy I posted about earlier. I guess this reflects my own bias. I have always believed that P. Diddy had something to do with Tupac's death, and I was ready to believe this hoax. I should always try to maintain a critical mind about everything I read, even if from reliable sources. This will also teach me not to rely on opinions created when I was 12.

Techdirt used this opportunity to comment on previous criticism mainstream journalism had against online journalism. Print media has previously claimed that online publishers are suckered too easily into fake stories and that the public should therefore only trust traditional media. Whoops.

The LA Times has also posted a retraction and apology.

The Smoking Gun via Techdirt

Tupac Conspiracy ...

I love Tupac. I have every single one of his songs on my computer. I think I play at least one of his songs every single day. I feel like rap/hip-hop took a dive after the 90's. I like true rap because it's a form of poetry. In fact, Tupac has a poetry book, you should read it.

"The Rose That Grew From Concrete" (Tupac Shakur)

Anyways, new article from the LA times describes how in 1994, Tupac Shakur was ambushed, beaten and shot at the Quad Recording Studios in New York. He insisted that friends of Sean 'Diddy' Combs were behind it. New information supports him.

This was the first shot in the East Coast/ West Coast rap rivalry. An interesting read. I guess I won't be buying any P-Diddy brand things anytime soon.

LINK: LA TIMES

Pi Day ...

Yesterday was Pi Day and I did my best to make sure everyone knew of this wonderful holiday. I of course had pie and shared it with friends. Like a true nerd I even did some soldering yesterday. If there was any doubt at work that I was geek, it was removed yesterday.

After work I went out with co-workers to have a couple of drinks. It was great to see people outside of the office and in a more social setting.

Later that night I made a brief stop by an AACTS meeting, a young catholic group at St. Phillips. I was going to meet an old friend from undergrad there. Sadly, I arrived so late that I got to play one round of Pictionary and then it was time to go. I was supposed to go to mass today, but something came up. I will try to make it next time.

On my walk back to my apartment I saw this ...

My powers of deduction (and a nearby brochure) told me that this was part of the Art Night in Pasadena. Basically, 13 free art exhibits were staged around the city. The picture above was at PCC, it was a floating memorial of 4,000 origami boats created in collaboration with local high school students and community members. I sat there for a while, just admiring all the lights. Pasadena set up a free shuttle service between all of the sites. The events ran until 10pm, so I only had a chance to catch a shuttle to one more location, The Shumei Arts Council.

The council building had a beautiful lecture hall where they were having a watercolor exhibition. The watercolor paintings consisted of flowers with a Japanese poems, my favorite one is below. With the translation quoted below.

At the time I thought life was the most important, it was the most painful to live. On the day when I found there was something more important than life, it became joyful for me to live.

At this point I apologize for the poor quality of pictures. Since this was an unexpected outing I had to rely on my camera phone for pictures and video.

The last thing I saw was a Japanese Taiko drum performance. I took a short video below.

This performance was amazing! The poor sound quality does it no justice. The last performance was called "Rai" which is the Japanese word for thunder. Because of the small auditorium and huge drums it really did feel like thunder.

I caught a shuttle back, only to realize that it was not going to PCC. The driver (after much protest) was kind enough to drop me off at a nearby corner. I ended the night by grabbing some chili cheese fries from Tommy's and watching Felicity. This of course was after finishing some homework for my Saturday morning class (which is cancelled for the next three Saturdays!).

The rest of the pictures from the night were added to the end of my camera phone set HERE.

Overall it was a wonderful night. Now I need to clean for my weekend guest, more on that later.

Killers-Move Away

[Can't sleep, so here are some lyrics to what I am listening to]

Don't worry bout what might have been

Just tell your woman that you're sorry

And you jumped out of your skin

Listen closely to your motto

Don't worry bout what might have been

Tell the jury that you're sorry

And just jump out of your skin

I wanna jump out of my skin

I wanna jump out of my skin

And watch the clouds

-Killers, Move Away