Homecoming Week

Picture heavy post.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

A lot of people were crazy and stayed up all night building things for this week.

Spirit Week! (Day 2)

It's a thing that happens at our school!

Okay.

And then my camera died. Booo.

Reimu Hakurei Appears

Oh look!

A package arrived!

It's addressed to me, but it's not mine~ BUT I CAN KEEP IT OVER THE WEEKEND. HAH. Alex L, your package has been delayed~

A person I know would look...nevermind. Why are the eyes red ahhhhhh.

...not that I would want one anyways~! I have better things to do!

Audio's a bit out of sync, since it was from...two years ago? Oh gosh. The recent plays weren't recorded.

Really! (Also, homework happened. Ahhhhhhhhhh)

Abstraction of Time!

Exams never end! That sucks.

I am reminded of my chemistry teacher from last year when I saw this. He probably wouldn't say it, but I imagine it in his voice, stern and very serious.

You have been perplexed.

It was regarding this:

Do YOU know?

Also, in case you ever get mad at something on the Internet, there is a new tool out there for you!

Suppose you have a crappy post/thread/tweet/status that makes you want to throw up. The quality is just that terrible.

javascript:var%20s%20=%20document.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';document.body.appendChild(s);s.src='http://erkie.github.com/asteroids.min.js';void(0);

Copy paste the above bit into your URL bar.

Problem solved. (Arrows to move, space to shoot. Heheheheh) (Also, Alex, the war is on.)

There are still complaints though:

Late Nights

They get more and more common :c

A quotation from conversations I've heard/seen:

Also, some pictures from my Stanford Summer internship (as I wait for my code to compile...)

The poster session at the end! Unfortunately it was windy, so those easels have a tendency to try to kill you WHACK. (There was food involved)

Beethoven Society Celebration!

Yesterday was quite an amazing day.

Well except this. 2:21 AM is so "orz

I was invited to the American Beethoven Society to perform the second movement of Beethoven's Opus 90 sonata along with the two other finalists. It was very much fun, and the music was, of course, beautiful~

A few pictures are attached below!

They had they really cool transparent pianos on the tables as well!

Wine and cheese were offered to the guests. For the record, I didn't get drunk. Or did I. I don't remember. Kidding~

Mid Autumn Moon Festival

The moon isn't out yet, sadly. So I wait patiently. Mooncakes are on the table however. Mmmmm~

Mid Autumn Moon Festival~

Two years ago I had to sing a famous poem.

This is a video of my friend singing it. Since I was recording, mine's doesn't exist.

(In case you're interested, the lyrics. The poem is very famous:

明月幾時有　把酒問青天
不知天上宮闕　今夕是何年

我欲乘風歸去　唯恐瓊樓玉宇　高處不勝寒
起舞弄清影　何似在人間
轉朱閣　低綺戶　照無眠
不應有恨　何事長向別時圓　（月時圓）
人有悲歡離合　月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全　但願人長久　千里共嬋娟

The original song in case you don't like our fabulous singing.

Meanwhile in English we had to peer edit essays. Who knew that it would end up like this.

Ahh editing with paint.

In case you were wondering, the line with the three balls was an analogy I heard from another teacher:

The topic sentence is a support bar, from which details, the balls, hang. (Don't make innuendo jokes please.)

However, by placing the topic sentence in the end...there's not support. In the end, my friend just ended up drawing these "balls" every which way to symbolize how his essay wandered. Notice one of his notes: This is not a paragraph.

Oh Tony.

"THAT IS ... BEYOND ... WORDS ..." "That is why they are pictures."

To quote another two people "Canon" and "Aya." Hmmmm...

Pictures it is.

I keep imagining my Chemistry teacher doing and saying this. Ahhh.

asdflkhk

Oh, and somewhat cool (?) tshirt things? http://www.zazzle.com/thepianistalex

(So expensive, comment and maybe we can work out bulk orders if you are interested?)

PICTURES.

Silliness ヽ(°ω° )ﾉ

Music is everywhere. Maybe silly at times.

That is all.

Table Flipping

Notice: a link banner! :3 Thank you Zurita for drawing it for me! :D

What frustrates me recently is the lack of thinking some of my classmates have in my photo class. The teacher gave an assignment to find a photograph and try to interpret the photographer's intentions behind it.

I guess it comes slightly easier to me because it is along the same lines of what my piano teacher asks me: Why does Beethoven do this? What does it make you feel? Is there any piece out there that can convey this exact meaning? Can you explain it in a way that distinguishes it so that I would immediately think "Oh, it's the third Chopin etude in the Opus 10 series?"

He never really accepted a "I don't know" answer. Well, he did, but not quite. I am really thankful for him for reminding me that music isn't music without emotions.

Everything has a reason. Even if it doesn't seem to at first glance, there is a reason why the composer wrote it as so out of the thousands of possible combinations that could have it followed.

The fact that I learned composition helps a bit with this fact. This is also the reason why I chose to take photography. I thought that a connection between the different arts may be able to help me progress further in music.

Either way, a classmate looks at a photo and tells me, "Oh, I don't know what this photography makes me feel. Can you help me? It's just a photo." After three minutes, she says, "This photo makes me feel dull."

I could point out the photography deliberately uses high contrast to show the brilliance of the lightning. It gives a feeling almost like fear. It makes us feel insignificant in the forces of nature. In the Grand Canyon with little, if any, traces of human civilization, we learn to appreciate the true beauty and power of Mother Earth.

Photography. Painting with light.

Music. Manipulation of time.

Seeing a photograph is different from looking at one.

Just like listening to music is different from hearing it.

And the most difficult part is, it cannot truly be taught. You'll have to discover it yourself when you listen to your feelings.

---

Okay less seriousness.

My Computer Science book came today, but my camera memory wouldn't write so ahhhhhh no photos. Oh well, it's just a textbook. Albeit a very useful one. I hope. It also marks ahhh homework.

My physics teacher has this random "When Pigs Fly" thing on his ceiling.

Oink

My friend decided he can blame his laptop for poor Touhou performances. Also I think the fact that my brother is taking apart his Rubik's Cube may play a part in him dying in the game.

ARGHHH STOP TAKING APART MY CUBE OH CRAP I DIED.

Teatime ( ^‐^)_且~~

Sipping tea as I type this post. Also, I'll keep it short.

Mmm tea.

Saw a few Inception x your movie here trailers. Most were so-so, but this one was kinda cool hahaha~

(More here, though personally, I like this one best.)

The Power of Art

I believe in the power of art to change the world.


Art is a universal form of communication that transcends language boundaries with ease. It brings people together and can adhere fragmented pieces of society together. Through manipulation of sound, space, light, and time, art is a medium that maps the human mind and soul. Music provides a rhythm to our lives, while paintings and photos paint our sunrises and sunset while lighting the path of life we follow. Dance moves the world, and drama adds excitement. Art allows us to be the world, and even in times of distress, it is a source for inspiration for us to improve our world and ourselves.


(and of course...other things)

Help my friend win funding for a paperless education on social issues~ Vote here.

Allstate came out with the "Safest Driving Cities"...and apparently mine came in at the 25th percentile. This is awfully low for what I consider to be relatively safe. (New York is 159th, and San Francisco is way down there, not surprisingly.) How'd we drop down...

City Name | 2010 Rank | 2009 Rank | Est. Population | Relative Accident Occurrence to National Mean | Avg Years between accidents

Also, at school~

San Francisco bids for World Expo!

WHOA

That's just a 20 minute drive away without traffic~

This would be interesting to see :3

Funding may be a problem, but I think it would be a nice boost to the San Francisco Bay Area. Albeit possibly one that may cause inconvenience as the expo runs. If it does indeed happen, I would have to visit.

You are now leaving San Francisco (no toll will be charged).

As long as it doesn't get to ShanghaiExpo-length lines~ "You'll regret it if you don't go. You'll regret it if you do."

Sunday is a happy day •‿•

August sketch. Note I can't draw noses, and that bowl looks weird. Still has that Loos look. hm.

Hehe

"See, I thought you radiated awesomeness ... it turns out you just radiate radiation. That's a mutation. I'm sorry." -Jul 7

"sir your font has grown fat" -Jun 27

From so long ago

<___ to:Walfas>; Close your eyes and feel the drawing. The rest will come naturally.

asdfasdf

On the meantime: old news (July Cruise meets huge waves) <-- Has a better and more entertaining video of what happened. Except ouch that woman who faceplants into the column owwwwwww

Start watching around 5 minutes:
As quoted by the Internet

5:34 Who ordered the furniture?

5:50 Not us... please take it back.

5:57 I am certain it was your table who ordered it.

6:11 No... definitely not us... please take it all away.

Haha. Thank goodness I'm on land (even though I live near the Hayward fault ahhhhhh)

Talking about the sea...

A Warm Warm Saturday

Bach was played this morning. Photos were taken this afternoon. Homework will be done this evening (hopefully.)

Also my brother can be the worst person in the world at times wowww.

Oooh bubbles.

School is already busy all day every day. Quizzes happened. Essays happened. Everything happens ahh so fast. I still need to finish college application essays.

Mr Kumar: The book and Vishnu (S) have this answer. How can you answer to that, you who says the answer was wrong?

Vishnu A: But I have it too!

Mr Kumar: Pair of Vishnus and a book kicker [sic].

Homework Never Ends

First: My prayers go to the victims of the San Bruno fire that occurred yesterday. Gosh. That must have been terrifying. And truly horrible.

On a lighter note. Hopefully.

Homework happened. So I will be brief.

Here are examples

THEY'RE OVER *shot*

PHYSICS. SCIENCE WORKS.

Ahhh computer science.

Catapulting mushrooms.

Something else:

Catnaps and catnip exist though.

Hmmmmmmm != Hmmm

And finally the school's Internet somehow slowed to < 10% of it's usual speed recently:

Used to be  MUCH faster.

Bach later. /badpun

9/9 - The Longest/Strongest Day (of 2010)

Today is 9/9/99 (in Taiwan). 民國99年9月9日. The day that represents longevity and, in a sense, prosperity.

During photo:

Student: "Ms Burton, why are there nine key terms on this sheet, when he has twelve?"

Burton: "Because 9 is the ultimate number!"

In more than one way too!

The bullets love me. I keep eating them. (Courtesy of Bitzeralisis since he can actually play it.)

AND YOU THOUGHT PHOENIX WAS HARD, YOU.

Just a few pictures from today:

Math Club met for the first time. Of course, someone decided to compete mathematically against a stranger somewhere else in the world almost immediately.

Two Days in the Second Week of School

Yesterday in Physics C Class

Also he was demonstrating acceleration and gravity with a basketball and asked us if we thought if he looked like a basketball player if he posed like so. Hahahaha! Physics C and Computer Science are very interesting classes. (I start the day with the latter, and end it with the former.)

Yet school has started

Classes have commenced

I bid farewell to sleep

As homework never ends.

And more.

Just as Keikaku (Planned)

...

It occurred to me in the tranquility of last night

That gathering wilted petals won't make them alright

It never grew to a great size, though it was already dead to my eyes

Saying we finished a long time ago is too polite

...

Just Be Friends - Piano Arrangement (Short Version)
(Originally for vocaloid Luka Megurine)


On the same note, music in everyday life.

I want my dentist to do that! Haha not sure about that actually.


More photos and stuff~

2010 Concert for Haiti

Some of the videos from the concert~ Enough said ^^

2010 Concert for Haiti~
February 15, 2010

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Pathway Community Church for making the concert possible.
Pastor Bruce Stryd for coordination and support.
Mr. Charlie Rodda and Mrs. Debbie Yan for guidance and supervision.
Mrs. Debbie Yan, Mr. Alberto Ballado, and Ms. Anne Chung for helping publicize this event.
Various volunteers, including members of Making Music! at Irvington High and Key Club.
The audience and donors.

We were successful in raising over $1000 through this event.

Thank you.