Dvorak's music

This is a very rare item in the classical shelf. Dvorak is best known for his Symphonies, Cello work and also the various pieces about his homeland.

However, aside from his last 3 symphonies, his best work I enjoyed most is his symphonic poems as well as the Hussite Overture.

I have never had the experience of listening to this piece, A Hero's Song, in a live concert. I really hope to try that some day. It is a piece of music that I instantly fell in love with.

The Hussite Overture is another remarkable piece that deserves more attention.

Andrea Bocelli

He proably has one of best voices in the world.

I was first introduced to this great singer sometimes around 1997 /1998. At that time I have befriended Mr Clement Lee, a then PhD student in the CS&E department in CUHK. I used to visit his office quite often when I was free or when I have some questions to ask. He had a collection of CDs on his desk and he allowed to pick some CDs to listen to when I was working in lab.

One day he gave me a CD and told me this CD was pretty awesome. That CD was Bocelli's album "Romanza". The main attraction of this CD is the song that gave Bocelli the international attention, a duet with Sarah Brightman called "Time to say goodbye". This song was an instant hit in Europe back then and a super star was born.

The media said his voice is like the voice from heaven that can cleanse every men's soul. I am not sure if a man's voice could have this power. For me, I think his voice is unique in a way that it is powerful, yet gentle; it is strong, yet its touches are soft; and it is larger than life, yet it can penatrate your heart.

So far I have collected only his pop albums.
"Romanza" is a classic because of the timeless song, "Time to say goodbye" and also its original version "Con Te Partiro". The duet "Vivo Per Lei" is nice too.

"Sogno" is probably the least favourite of all his four pop albums that I have collected. Well the album contains a duet between Bocelli and Celine Dion, "The Prayer". But I just don't like it very much.

"Cieli Di Toscana" is my favourite so far. In "Someone like you", Bocelli performed the song completely in English. The Italian version of this song is not available in the Asian version of the album. But I managed to get it ... illegally. :P
"If it's the only thing I ever do
Then I know it's true that I should love someone like you
Someone who believes in me
make my voice to sing with a heart so free
As sure as I can be
For me if one dream can come true
Then I will love someone like you"

The latest album "Amore" feature collaboration with different artists, from Kenny G, Stevie Wonder to Christina Aguilera. The real jem of the album is the last song, "Because we believe". Bocelli has performed this song in the closing ceremony of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Game. The lyrics of the song contain both English and Italian. Currently I am still looking for the translation of the Italian lyrics.
"Once in every life
There comes a time
We walk out all alone
And into the light
The moment won't last but then,
We remember it again
When we close our eyes

Like stars across the sky
E per avvincere
Tu dovrai vincere
We were born to shine
All of us here because we believe"

Willie's "So Cliché" Q&A #2

I am on a row! Let's see the second question.

In fact, this one is not always directed to me in the form of a question. Sometimes it is more like a remark, comment or observation made by my peers. This remark (ok let's just settle for a moniker here) somehow reflects the change of culture and behavior in our society (wow...).

Here it goes.

Q2: How come I always see you reading/holding/with a book?
(Variations:
Q2a: Oh you like to read so much!
Q2b: Oh you are reading again!
Q2c: Geez.. You even bring a book to lunch?
Q2d: Are you going to the library?
)
A2: When does READING become an obscure kind of activity?

The followings are the most common followup questions if the conversation continues. Here we go.

Q2-1: How much time does it take to finish this book?
A2-1: I don't think I have any prescient ability.

Q2-2: How much time do you finish a book on the average?
Q2-2a: How many books can you read per month?
A2-2: If every book is of the same length (and assume that other properties are negligible) then I can tell you.

Q2-3: This book is so thick, don't you find it heavy?
A2-3: It is not so heavy enough that I can't carry it around.

Q2-3: What is this book you are reading?
A2-3: (...mumbling the book's name, author and a general description)
Q2-3-1a: Is it good?
A2-3-1: I will tell you when I am done with it.
Q2-3-1b: What is it about?
A2-3-1b: Are you sure you want me to tell you the whole story right now?

Afterwords:
It is weird that people treat you as some outer space creature when you are reading. Really, when does READING become an obscure acitivty?

In a society where listening to iPod and playing handheld video game devices are becoming the norm, maybe it does.

Confession:
Ok I own a NDS and also an iPod. But I still read. Sometimes I am reading while I am listening to the iPod.

Willie's "So Cliché" Q&A #1

Recently I found that I have been asked some questions over and over by different people. In view of this, I have branded all these questions as a series of cliché and I have been trying to find the ultimate answers to all these of them

After a while of aimless blundering and random searching, I have found the answer to the first question. Here it is:

Q1: Are you planning to have kids?
(Variations:
Q1a: Will you have kids?
Q1b: Do you like kids?
Q1c: How many kids do you want to have?
Q1d: Do you prefer sons or daughters?
Q1e: You should have kids early. When?
.....and the list goes on.......
)

A1: I am just "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly".

Origin of the ultimate answer:
This is one of the songs in Irving Berlin's classic musical "Annie Get Your Gun".

New Life. New Challenge. New Game.

This is the first time I post after my wedding.

Yes I am a married man now. I am living with my wife Sarah in a cozy medium-sized apartment in Ma On Shan. The living room of our apartment has a nice view of the To Lo Harbour as well as CUHK and Science Park. The scenery is nice but it won't last very much longer. The piece of land in front of us has become a construction site. I guess this nice sea view will be completely blocked by the new housing estate at the end of the year.

Basically, for me, life is not much different from my bachelor's years. I have already used to spend much time with Sarah, so the fact that we even need to see each other after work is not much of a difference. Oh and I still go back to my mum's place for dinner :D.

But I do spend less time in front of the computer and also spend less time watching DVD. However, you just can't count these as some MAJOR changes. The new challenge for now is to find a balance between my personal time and "OUR" time. Currently, while I am writing this blog, I am spending my personal time :) as Sarah is sound asleep already.

Recnetly I just discovered Sarah's interest in video gaming. She likes the game Mario Kart DS in the NDS very much. So we have now a game that we can play together, which is great!

It is 3 in the morning....

I haven't been here for.... 3 months.
I have just concluded tonight's work on my course project and still don't feel like sleeping yet.
Still not much progress though I have found a few useful hint and I will verify them later.

Not sure what I want to talk about right now. Had a nice conversation with Ming tonight... on something that I have observed since many years ago.

Recently there are lot of stuff to read, both academic and job-related. Plus my ongoing read of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Reading the last volume now.... The Dark Tower is VERY CLOSE now. I think this is his best work and I may pick up some of his old books later (those that are related to this series).

This natural keyboard i am using is creating a hell lot of noise while typing... sooner or later I am gonna wake my mum up.

I am still trying to squeeze a few hours out of my busy schedule to watch the Z Gundam movie. Thus far this is my favourite Gundam series. Probably because of the sad story line.... hey happy ending may not be a good ending.

December 2005 should be a month to remember. There are many things to do, many people to meet, and one GREAT GREAT thing to prepare.

OK... the left side of my head has just started throbbing... as if my brain is protesting: Hey dude, you better go to sleep or I am gonna blow!

So.. let's obey the little grey matter and sign off now.

Good Night

Why blogging?

Believe it or not. It is related to my job. (It actually rhymes... -_-)

I need some hands-on experiences on Blogging and the activities that are related to it. My job somehow touches the technology behind this whole Blog community and the best way to understand it is to try it myself.

And of coz, it should be fun to blog.

I am not sure what I am going to do here. I am not into this whole "My dear diary..." thing but I do write stuff once in a while. I own a MSN group at http://groups.msn.com/sytong. You may check it out but beware, the articles there are all written in Chinese.

Oh.. and the title of my Blog. Maybe some of you have guessed its origin already. Highlight the area below to see the answer:

The title is a variation of one of Yoda's lines in Star Wars Episode V. Luke commented on Dagobah as "... a slimy mudhole" and then Yoda indignantly responded with "Mudhole? Slimy? My Home, this is".

I don't know how to update my Blog profile photo!

Willie on a boat

This is my first Blog post. I simply want to upload a photo to my profile page but somehow I don't know how I can upload a photo here without publishing it as an article. Eventually my first post here becomes this lousy one which the sole purpose of its existence is to store my profile photo.

I think there should be a better way to do this. If you know, please tell me. Thanks.