peterman
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Post by peterman on Oct 14, 2024 20:24:27 GMT
Peter, thanks for the lovely music.
Not knowing the Flower Duet, nor Anna Netrebko & Elīna Garanča, it was not only enchanting, but educational. Being able to understand the French made it even more rewarding.
Peace, Jeff
Sorry you missed out on Anna Netrebko, but it's never too late. The story of her discovery by Valery Gergiev is the stuff of legends. The maestro recognized Anna at an audition as a janitor at the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg, mentoring her into an international sensation. It's a real life "My Fair Lady" story.
Here is a clip of Anna singing the famous Brindisi (Libiamo ne' lieti calici) from La Traviata with Rolando Villazon, with whom she would collaborate many times over the years. It was twenty years ago and she was a goddess. Wouldn't you want to be one of her admirers in the chorus right next to her?
Here is another performance one will not easily forget. Anna Netrebko sings "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" with Rolando Villazon and Placido Domingo at the Waldbühne in Berlin in 2006. I have a Blu-ray of the concert for you if you remember to remind me. Wait for the end when Anna overcomes the two tenors with her voice (and after Domingo flirts with her throughout the song).
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Post by jeff on Oct 15, 2024 8:10:07 GMT
Very uplifting and inspiring, Peter. Shared with Evelyne and sent the second link to Thomas Wilkinson, who speaks German.
Thanks, Jeff
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peterman
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Post by peterman on Oct 19, 2024 6:56:10 GMT
One more post on music and I'll move on to another topic, how Amarynth Flower, someone I've only heard of recently through China Writers Group, happens to have a mysterious presence on the original Planet of Perpetual Peace in the trilogy, and influences Earth's civilizations, including China's, in particular China. Many of the first book's puzzles point to her. She is named in the second book but only hinted at in the first. It's an amazing coincidence unless Amarynth made up this name with the same idea. Perhaps Amarynth can explain why she uses this name; what is the meaning and significance? I'll explain the mystery in the next post. There is no such thing as a coincidence.
Back to music.
When someone says "Chinese pianist," what enters your mind? Would it be Lang Lang or Li Yundi? Maybe even Fou Ts'ong or Liu Shikun? Book 1 mentions a Chinese pianist who is absolutely amazing. After hearing this pianist perform almost twenty years ago, I banished the others from my ears lest they contaminate my enjoyment of her virtuoso. Since then, she has taken on every challenge spurned by the less intrepid and conquered them all. She has performed superhuman feats none of her peers dares to attempt. Last year, she performed in what is now known as the Rachmaninoff Marathon, an exploit even the maestro himself would hesitate to undertake, playing five Rachmaninoff works for three and a half hours by instinct, during which someone in the audience had a heart attack, and causing the conductor to fall on his knees before her at its conclusion. The Chinese pianist's name is Yuja Wang (or Wang Yujia) and she is only thirty-seven, with a lifetime in front of her to scale new heights and breach new frontiers. Early this year, she was voted one of fifty best classical pianists on record by Gramophone, the only Chinese pianist on the list. She won her first Grammy this year for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. She did not show up probably because of her busy schedule, playing two hundred days in a year to packed concert halls all over the world. Hopefully, they'll arrange for her to perform next time, and she'll dazzle the world beyond the classical music circles.
In the following passage from the chapter titled "The Pianist from Gamma Crucis," the protagonist, Victoria, arrives in China and meets up with Charlie Tiger Chan and his younger sister Viola in a cafe at Tianzifang, a touristy area converted from a traditional neighbourhood in Shanghai's French Concession of old. Charlie and Viola are children of a mysterious clan with a three-thousand year unbroken lineage. They have been tasked to take Victoria safely to a secret location, where she will take a dangerous journey to the past. The excerpt begins when they're at the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, waiting to board the plane.
*****
Victoria switched her attention to the airport media. A young Chinese girl was playing Sergei Prokofiev's Toccata on the television screens. This dainty Chinese virtuoso attacked the piano with authority and audacity as if trying to pulverize the keys with her lightning fast fingers. "It's the amazing Yuja Wang," Victoria exclaimed. "You know Yuja!" Viola enthused. "She's my hero." "She's a living legend," Victoria said. "I remember her stirring up quite a ruckus playing Rachmaninoff in a controversial outfit some years ago. Wow! Look at her fingers go. That is sick!" "Yuja has been living on her own outside of China since she was fourteen," Charlie interjected. "As you say, the prodigal genius doesn't let anyone tell her what to wear for her performances. She sometimes slips into short skirts with no back and hyper-high heels. I'm not complaining, but I'll have to admit I get distracted because, excuse me, I have testosterone coursing through my veins these days." "You're being inappropriate," Viola protested. "However, I must also admit Yuja Wang is truly awesome," Charlie continued, ignoring Viola's complaint. "A few years ago, I was in the Big Apple on a school trip and ended up at Carnegie Hall for Yuja Wang's Hammerklavier Sonata recital. Talk about sick. I witnessed a young Chinese girl perform the most difficult and demented Beethoven composition before the world's harshest and cruellest critics. It would scare the Bejesus out of the most accomplished piano virtuousos. Well, Yuja Wang slayed it. Several music critics wrote of having fallen in love with her during the recital, with one declaring he had never been so humbled. Yuja Wang is a god, I tell you." "But it's nothing compared with her Rachmaninoff Marathon," Viola said, "when she played five Rachmaninoff compositions in a concert lasting three and a half hours, interrupted for half an hour because someone in the audience suffered a heart attack. The conductor fell on his knees in adulation after the superhuman feat. Yuja Wang is not human." When the video showed a close-up of Yuja Wang's face, Victoria noticed something suggesting this Chinese pianist's background probably mirrored her own--not of this earth. *****
On collecting the award, conductor Teddy Abrams said, ”A huge congratulations to the incredible Yuja Wang, who’s soloed on this extraordinary album. Yuja is one of the most talented musicians on the face of the earth right now.” If you didn't know about her, now you do.
Yuja Wang Plays Prokofiev's Toccata in D Minor, Op 11
(notice her signature bow)
Yuja Wang's little orange dress at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011  The critics who spewed rubbish on Yuja Wang's costumes received such a backlash they never dared to open their mouths again. Meanwhile, Yuja continues to wear whatever the hell she feels comfortable in.
Yuja Wang plays Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat major, Op 106 Hammerklavier at Carnegie Hall
My comment: I love her version's speed and delicate dynamics, after all, it's a woman playing Beethoven (at his most demented) and her first foray into performing Beethoven in public. Once she was asked in an interview what she wanted to do most; she answered to die playing Hammerklavier. Luckily, she survived. For a more manly and muscular performance, I prefer Daniel Barenboim's version.
Yuja Wang's Rachmaninoff Marathon
Quote: "She's a legend already at age thirty-five." If you want further proof she is the real deal, find a clip of Lang Lang playing Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca" or "Turkish March," and listen to Yuja's version. She is bewitching and has mesmerized me. I don't even want to listen to any other pianist any more.
Yuja Wang plays the Rondo alla Turca
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Post by Admin on Oct 19, 2024 16:46:21 GMT
Right! I'm stunned. What a pianist! How wonderful, deft and a master. I can just sit back and marvel - How does she do that!
Thank-you Peter. Yuja Wang with breakfast is a feast. I forgot to take a bite. Blown Away.
My name? Well, it is now a real name. It has to do with the one time that I met an angel. OK don't laugh, no substances were involved, just deep spiritual seeking. An angel was probably the most comfortable concept that I could deal with. It was huge! Filled my room - color like I have never seen before. It was a trip.
I was wide awake and received some instruction. In this instruction set I was told to go and get a pencil and paper - I said I have my laptop, but no, it had to be a pencil and paper, and so, I was instructed to write down this name. Yes, it has significance - pencil, I could rub out this gift if I messed with it.
The amaranth plant is one of the most wonderful food plants on our planet - and I am a foodie who believes that we can nourish one another with the presentation of food. Healthy and real and no pesticides and herbicides and clones and so on. The plant simply grows as a weed mostly. The roots are edible, the leaves and the flowers and the seeds. Its a full monty, a pseudocereal and does not have health problems that other cereals may have. You can feed the world!
So, that is how that story started as an encouragement of the beginnings of years-long studies in naturopathy. See, we traveled a whole lot and I would get physically sick of eating in hotels and restaurants and then I figured out that if I made friends, people would soon invite me home, and the more questions I asked about traditional foods and specifically methodology of preparation (we've lost the skills of how to prepare), the more they would take me to the grannies to go and learn some real secrets. So, I gathered across these years a cornucopia of granny lore, delicious tidbits and a major skillset of historically authentic food preparation processes. It's a long story, and the name has to do with giving - authentic and deeply nourishing gifts. It probably came my way in the form that I could digest it.
There is a more spiritual meaning that you can find out of this description, but the depth of that is mine alone. I can make poison as well with the simplest ingredients lol.
I'll add some music in my evening. At the moment work lies ahead.
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peterman
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Post by peterman on Oct 20, 2024 9:39:28 GMT
Amarynth, no one should laugh at angels. The last time a young woman was visited by an angel, she became the mother of someone who started a religion believed by 2.5 billion people. And the last time a man was visited by an angel, he started a religion believed by two billion. However, you need to learn the name of your angel. If it's Gabriel, start a new religion. If it's not, let me know the name so I can help you exert some influence over himerit (a neologism I invented meaning him, her or it). I have a grimoire with spells to keep the bad ones away. If the angel has no name, you may have been visited by an ancient messenger from before the Babylonian exile. Angels only started to have names fairly late in the game, first in the Book of Daniel, written around 2nd century BCE.
I happen to be an amateur angelologist, and I know a little bit about them. In fact, my trilogy is full of them. For example, I have mentioned the black Cherubim in Dante's Inferno in an earlier post. It fits in nicely with the men in black known as Watchers in my story. Watchers are fallen angels in the Book of Enoch. In my second book Bellatrix, I will explain the origin of the fallen angels' offspring known as Nephilim recorded cryptically in Genesis 6:4 KJV--"The Nephilim (described as giants in Numbers 13:33) were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God (i.e. angels) came in unto (it means exactly what it means) the daughters of men, and they bare children to them; the same were mighty men (translated giant in the Septuagint) which were of old, the men of renown."
On the other hand, beware of Gabriel. According to St. Luke, the angel impregnated Mary on behalf of God. Luke 1:28 KJV--"And he came in unto her (it means exactly what it means), and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord (YHWH) is with thee." People want to explain this away by not addressing the truth. But it is what it is; Gabriel did it to Mary.
In 2017, the first ever interstellar object was detected passing through the solar system (the object may possess propulsion power and artificial gravity and, therefore, could be a spacecraft). It was dubbed Oumuamua, the Hawaiian word meaning approximately "messenger from afar." The Greek word for messenger is angelos, from which arises the word angel. Hence the following passage from Book 1, Unconquered.
Excerpt
***** The shadow of a phantom vehicle sped through the darkness of the night on the Trans-Canada Highway. Up in the heavens, bright Orion caressed the mysterious Monoceros, the Unicorn. A cigar-shaped monolith tumbled and rolled across the field of stars. Earthlings called it Oumuamua, meaning "distant messenger." In ancient texts, "Watcher" meant the same thing. Oumuamua appeared to be a rock from interstellar space but was, in fact, a pollinator. It came from long ago and far away to deposit something on Earth. A small metallic sphere landed on the Trans-Canada Highway, latching onto the Bozeman as it zoomed by. *****
As for the Amaranth flower, it appears first in Book 2 Bellatrix as the goddess worshipped by the inhabitants of the planet Shangria. The name of the goddess is Diamaranth. Di (帝) is explained in the first book Unconquered to mean god in most cultures, including China, first introduced by the Shang. Dia means goddess. Diamaranth means Goddess of Amaranth. The pictogram of Di is likely the flower bud. Since Di became the name of Shang's God and later evolved to mean "emperor," the flower bud di gets a "flower" radical (蒂).
Here is a passage in Book 1 mentioning Amaranth as a hint and a link to the Goddess in Book 2:
Excerpt ***** "Xinfeng enjoyed a marvellous meal of savoury dishes she had not tasted in a year. Having satiated her appetite, she soaked and tenderized herself with a long, hot bath and fell asleep after drinking a cup of amaranth and chamomile tea."
***** Here is where the flower is shown but not named:
Excerpt ***** "As Wenlong tried to make sense of the brave new world he had awakened to, a portal appeared on the wall. Two robed figures glided in, their face hidden in the shadow of a large cowl covering their head. Except for a golden flower emblem on their chest, the robes were of fabric in the blackest black."
***** The mysterious figures are Grigoris, the Slavonic name for Watchers in the Second Book of Enoch.
The flower will eventually end up in China. The word China (probably surprising to a few Chinese) means "flower." The following passage will give you some idea:
Excerpt ***** "I'll admit we don't run into female warriors every day, but Chinese history has a bevy of them, and every one of their stories is as colourful as Mulan's. We can visit some of them later. As for our Disney heroine, she was, as far as we know, a Shang descendant. Mulan's family name, Hua (花), is the Chinese word for 'flower.' The ancestor of the Hua-flower surname is Weizi, the first Duke of the Song state of royal Shang lineage.
Mulan's family name, Hua-flower, is related to another Hua (華), meaning 'elegance,' which originated from the pictogram of the flower bush and was the original word for 'flower.' Hua-elegance later evolved to denote China. Therefore, a Chinese person is literally a 'flower person' and figuratively an 'elegant person.' Some Chinese may not even know of this interpretation of Hua-China. The ancestor of the Hua-China family name is also Weizi of royal Shang lineage."
***** Since this will lead to the solving of a puzzle at the end of Book 1 relating to a Chinese company with a flower logo, I will not spoil the fun for whoever is interested in reading the story.
The Goddess of Amaranth is worshipped by the inhabitants of Shangria, the Planet of Perpetual Peace, because Amaranth is the "everlasting, ever-blooming, unfading, immortal" flower. Amaranth Flower is a good name. Amarynth is, of course, a variation of Amaranth.
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Post by jeff on Oct 20, 2024 10:11:19 GMT
Amarynth,
Thanks for the botany lesson. I just knew the name amaranth as a flower. I had no idea it produces nutritious food.
We are saying goodbye to wonderful French cuisine and diving into Chinese starting this week. We arrive to China on 23 October.
Bon appetit!
Jeff
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Post by jeff on Oct 20, 2024 10:13:22 GMT
Peter,
Never knew about Yuja Wang, nor did I ever consider toccatas could be played on a piano. I always associated them with the organ.
Thanks for expanding my musical boundaries.
Jeff
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peterman
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Post by peterman on Oct 27, 2024 17:48:37 GMT
Amarynth,
I will share my experience of angels or heaven similar to yours. I was born Roman Catholic and brought up in a Catholic school, but I no longer believe in the Almighty because I don't need to, and I don't think the Almighty, if it exists, cares. My experience was also real, and I witnessed many angels. It inspires a passage in Book 2, Bellatrix, which devotes multiple chapters telling the background story of the one-eyed man, who would eventually arrive on Earth to intervene in its history, manifesting as the "Stone man with one eye" to overturn the Mongolian Yuan dynasty (a historical event recorded in the Annals of Yuan and described in Book 1, Unconquered). Now you know the origin of my moniker.
My Quora post on the vision of Heaven: www.quora.com/Have-you-ever-dreamed-about-heaven-What-is-it-like/answer/Peter-Man-18
The following passage is from Book 2 Bellatrix in a chapter titled The Vision. It describes the aftermath of an indiscriminate bombing of a slum in which a young boy, Kiku, resides. He wakes up to learn his whole family has been slaughtered and he is terribly maimed. Shortly after, he goes into shock.
Excerpt *****
Kiku floated through the window into the open air, rising past skyscrapers, airships and hovercrafts while the whimsical notes of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade swirled in his head. He ascended toward the lavender-hued sky, arriving at a majestic massif of cumulus clouds. Nestling within this cottony kingdom was a crystal castle. Kiku marvelled at the wondrous sight as he crossed the golden threshold into the abode of the gods.
Translucent jade tiles graced the aisle, extending the length of the nave. On either side, emerald swards delighted the eyes with white, pink and yellow asphodels, their coat of crystalline dew shimmering as the stars of the Milky Way. The intoxicating fragrance of the sublime blossoms strengthened Kiku's spirit, helping him realize he was whole again. For a moment, a nameless bliss descended upon Kiku; it was an ecstasy he had never experienced before and one he would never experience again.
Regaining his senses, the boy spotted a row of fairy-like girls in flowing white robes, radiating a soft golden aura. They were welcoming guests with beamish smiles. Livening the tapestried and shield-covered walls of the castle were stained glass windows depicting heroic epics and legendary tales of yore. A wide circle formed the apse at the far end of the great hall. At its centre, beneath the soaring dome, rose two intertwining trees with shining trunks, their outstretched branches laden with golden fruits forming a lush green canopy. Encircling the periphery of the circular apse were eleven megaliths. A sighting stone occupied the twelfth space facing the entrance. Beneath the twin trees, a choir sang "Holy Holy Holy." Behind them, a stained glass window in the shape of the Diamaranth half-rosette admitted a shaft of light.
An angelic nymph resembling Serah greeted Kiku, tweeting with a child's twee voice, "Pax Tibi--peace be with you. Please follow me." She led Kiku to a counter on the right side of the hall. A young lady in white approached and chirped,"Welcome back, Your Mightiness the Maimed King. The Royal Suite, room eleven on the eleventh floor, is ready. May I have my lord's card?"
Kiku was flummoxed and befuddled. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head with a bewuthered expression.
"I'm sorry, my lord. We need to have the card. Your Mightiness has accumulated an inexhaustible amount of credits, but we need to run the card through our SHITE clearing system."
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Kiku.
"If so, we have no choice but to send Your Mightiness back. Please remember to bring the card next time."
The young woman pulled a lever, opening a trapdoor beneath Kiku. Peering down, the boy realized he was standing on nothing but thin air. Even in a vision, one must abide by some laws. Kiku instantly fell back to earth.
*****
Although my vision did not persuade me to believe in man-made cockamamie tales designed to stultify, I do have a god, but one unmoved by our prayers or sacrificial offerings and could care less if we live or die. The god is described in Book 2 Bellatrix. I will share the passage in the next post.
Beautiful, evocative, dreamy, heavenly Scheherazade
Russian composed music conducted by Russian master
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peterman
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Post by peterman on Nov 19, 2024 3:50:14 GMT
In the second book, Bellatrix, Victoria confronts an alien hellbent on destroying the human race. In the chapter titled Project Gomoira (mimicking Gomorrah), Victoria has one chance to convince the alien some humans are virtuous and Earth should be spared. However, as Abraham was unsuccessful in finding ten righteous men in Sodom and Gomorrah, the alien refuted every one of Victoria's arguments. The following excerpt revolves around the topic of human religion.
Excerpt ***** (Alien): "... From my study of human religion, I find most of them induce people to believe in some cockamamie human concoction, and people do so because of their ignorance and fear of the unknown. None of these commonplace human religions can compare with the incomparable Amazonian religion, based on the one true God of creation, the God with No Name."
(Victoria): "But all religions say the same of their god or gods."
(Alien): "Not all religions ask the pertinent scientific questions we ask of our God. Our society does not brook superstition. Indeed, religion, for us, is a branch of science. We know our God, insomuch we know we don't know. Our God is the Creator and the Destroyer. Our God is infinite in the past and in the future. Our God has no beginning and no end. Our God is the beginning and the end. Our God is infinitely large and infinitesimally small. Our God is everywhere and nowhere. Our God is the reason for the phenomenon of existence. Our God is existence. Yet our God does not discriminate and never intervenes. We enjoy free rein to act as we wish and suffer the consequences. We do not pray to our God, and our God does not heed our prayers. Our God has uncountable forms; our God has no form. Our God is the only self-emergent existence. Our God is omnipotent, ubiquitous and relentless. No mere mortal can understand or describe our God--I'm doing a poor job of it. Our God has countless names; our God has no name.
"Our God is life itself and has always lived among humans, and yet none of your great religious thinkers, philosophers and scientists has ever asked the question of the one true God's omnipresence. They are preoccupied with creating false gods and peddling blind faith to the public. Religions created by humans have caused terrible bloodshed and horrific suffering with little redeeming value. This degenerate species does not deserve a seat in the congregation of higher beings. Humans must go." ***** End of Excerpt So, what is the name of God?
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Post by jeff on Nov 19, 2024 12:08:39 GMT
Pure Buddhism has no gods. All the gods added around it predate Buddha or are apotheosized historical heroes (generals, leaders, local benefactors, etc.).
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peterman
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Post by peterman on Nov 20, 2024 10:16:00 GMT
Victoria asked Madonna Lilith, the Amazonian queen, what she thought of pure Buddhism; could the alien queen from Betelgeuse find virtue in this atheistic creed?
Madonna Lilith: "What is pure Buddhism? Do you mean Hinayana? Buddhism did not burst out of a rock. It is a reform offshoot of Hinduism, incorporating many core Hinduism beliefs such as reincarnation, Samsara, Karma and Dharma. These are axioms entirely created by human superstition and cannot be proved one way or another. Didn't I tell you our society does not brook superstition? What is the eternal truth for enlightenment, and why achieve Nirvana? So we don't have to reincarnate? It forces me to believe in something neither based on logic nor supported by empirical phenomena.
"People waste their lives talking about a human--and Gautama insisted he was human--who knew neither Pythagoras' Theorem nor Newton's law of gravity and didn't leave anything in writing. Yet they choose to believe this human discovered the eternal truth. I have learned humans will believe what they want to believe, but as long as they neglect the omnipresence of the God With No Name, they must be destroyed."
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