It is with great pride and relief to say that Nabi seems to really be a fighter. He's finally eating normally (though he has nearly 4 pounds or so to go until he gets back to his original weight). The dialysis treatment is working like a charm, as if the water was the fountain of youth or something. Apparently the incessant nausea and vomiting was caused by the kidney problems he has. With the dialysis, that nausea as since seemed to lessen, and hopefully in the future, just cease entirely.
I'm exhausted today because I went to one of the days of the 2-day Ajarn Chai Sirusute Muay Thai seminar. Let me say that while he's not a young man, he still moves like one, and is an incredibly effective, if somewhat brutal, teacher. It's like he's Guro Dan Inosanto's dark-half, the one who will say direct stuff, and is not afraid to tell it like he thinks it is. If he feels that you kick and punch like a diseased old woman, he'll tell you so. He certainly made a rather cruel example of one of the seminar attendees, somebody who was obviously more a wrestler than a striker, and was clearly out of his element. In the end, Ajarn Chai complimented him for making the effort and undergoing such stress. I learned a lot about proper muay thai form and technique, and I wish my schedule allowed me to go to both days instead of just one. Like any old man, he tends to get a bit sidetracked into telling random storys, though he does eventually wander back on point. The stories he tells offer great insight into history, technique, and personalities in Muay Thai.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Nabi update
Nabi seems to have more strength now... not enough to really run around, but he's hanging in there. The injections seems to be helping a bit. Hopefully with a little more strength, his appetite will be sparked.
Monday, May 15, 2006
A Very Difficult Time
Sorry for the absolute lack of updates... been busy doing the usual training and music thing. But it's lately been more than that...
Nabi, our beloved orange cat, has steadily been losing a lot of weight and energy. When we took him to the vet, it's been determined his kidneys were having difficulty functioning. Blood tests are still being done, so it might reveal more. The vet has given us some subcutaneous fluid injections that we are to do daily... in essence, it's like giving a cat dialysis.
Upon arriving back at our house after a 3 night stay at the vet's, Nabi has very little energy, and very laboured breathing. We're hoping he will pull through, but it's very touch-and-go. His time on our mortal plane might very widely, measuring in days, months, or years.
I have no religion. I cannot pray. I only have hope and tears. But those of you that do, that've been keeping watch on the blogs, please keep Nabi in your thoughts and prayers.
Nabi, our beloved orange cat, has steadily been losing a lot of weight and energy. When we took him to the vet, it's been determined his kidneys were having difficulty functioning. Blood tests are still being done, so it might reveal more. The vet has given us some subcutaneous fluid injections that we are to do daily... in essence, it's like giving a cat dialysis.
Upon arriving back at our house after a 3 night stay at the vet's, Nabi has very little energy, and very laboured breathing. We're hoping he will pull through, but it's very touch-and-go. His time on our mortal plane might very widely, measuring in days, months, or years.
I have no religion. I cannot pray. I only have hope and tears. But those of you that do, that've been keeping watch on the blogs, please keep Nabi in your thoughts and prayers.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Update 11: Plane Crash Kills 5 Ind. Music Students - Forbes.com
Update 11: Plane Crash Kills 5 Ind. Music Students - Forbes.com
This is very tragic. I briefly met one of the crash victims, Roger Samels, two years ago when he sang with my friend Ulises Solano in a small opera production called "Antigone" here in NYC. Even though I met him only for one or two days, I remember him having a beautiful deep singing voice and a humorous personality. My deepest condolences go out to all the families of the victims of this tragedy.
This is very tragic. I briefly met one of the crash victims, Roger Samels, two years ago when he sang with my friend Ulises Solano in a small opera production called "Antigone" here in NYC. Even though I met him only for one or two days, I remember him having a beautiful deep singing voice and a humorous personality. My deepest condolences go out to all the families of the victims of this tragedy.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Cool Silly Web Page of the Day
Online Conversion - Morse Code Conversion
- .... .. ... .. ... --..-- .-.. .. -.- . --..-- - .... . -.-. --- --- .-.. . ... - .--. .- --. . . ...- . .-. --- .-. -. --- - .-.-.-
- .... .. ... .. ... --..-- .-.. .. -.- . --..-- - .... . -.-. --- --- .-.. . ... - .--. .- --. . . ...- . .-. --- .-. -. --- - .-.-.-
Friday, March 17, 2006
Back to the beginnings...
I've been playing a bit more piano lately... it's something I haven't done in a long time. The original impetus of it was to better accompany some of my younger flute students so that they get a better sense of rhythm and harmony from the accompaniment.
It's turned into something more.
Mostly, it's a revisitation to my musical roots, to my first instrument. I've been playing some stuff from my very old piano books, now yellowing and fraying at the edges. Memories ebb and flow as oddly familiar tunes emanate from the 25 year old piano in my studio. Yet I'm seeing and hearing the old books in a new light, things I couldn't possibly have perceived when I was very young. It's amazing how fun it is when you can actually read music.
It's a new source of relaxation... it's an option, and it's how it always was meant to be for me.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
YouTube - Super Mario Kill Bill
YouTube - Super Mario Kill Bill
What a way to take something originally deadly serious, and humor it up! :)
What a way to take something originally deadly serious, and humor it up! :)
Friday, March 10, 2006
Chron.com | Great Wall now an NBA institution
Chron.com | Great Wall now an NBA institution
Yao has really been kicking ass lately... it's a joy to see.
Yao has really been kicking ass lately... it's a joy to see.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Retrospection
Hello... just a post to keep readers updated on what's been going on...
Things have been going well for me. I have my health, I have the health of my family and friends, I have my music, and I have my martial arts. What more can a man ask for? Well, a beautiful woman, but that will probably still take a while.
I've been substitute teaching for a flute faculty member who is on sabbatical for the rest of this year, as well as taking on new students, so I've been having greatly expanded teaching duties at COS. The flute studio at COS still needs a lot of work, but I have one or two students I teach there that are finally breaking through and starting to make some very real progress. It hasn't been easy for any of the students, since my style and standards of teaching are so drastically different from that of my predecessor. But I absolutely believe that my approach is the right one, because it's 100% No Bullshit flute playing. Pure technique, with minimal dogma and based purely on ergonomics, physics,science. No gimmicks, no crap. I totally believe that if one follows my assigned progression with diligent practice, they can be competent in 1 year, great in 3 years, and incredible in 5. I'm actually starting to run out of room to put students in my schedule, so I'm going to start to become far more picky in who I'll accept and maintain in my studio, both privately and via COS.
I've lost touch with most of the old gang at the kung fu academy I used to go to. Basically it's just occasional chats with the Master's daughter on MSN, occasional contact with this nice Japanese couple, a few training sessions with another ex-student that decided to follow me to PMAA, and not so infrequent drinking sessions with my friend Ray who went with me to China on a kung fu training vacation. I do miss the training there sometimes, even occasionally pulling out a half-forgotten form now and then. But what I've lost there has been replaced by a far more fulfilling and organized experience at the current academy I train in.
It's been nearly one year since I joined PMAA. Overall, it's been a wonderful time so far. I've learned far more about real combat there in that short amount of time than all of my time spent doing kung fu. That's not to say the kung fu training was completely useless - quite the opposite actually, since it allowed me to have preexisting discipline, flexibility, and fitness to function well in the classes. Remembering pad drills and stick combinations is almost a cinch compared to remembering all those fancy forms. But what separates this school from the other are a couple of things: a central location, proper equipment and safety gear, pressure-tested techniques and concepts, variety of curriculum, and a truly dedicated head instructor and assistant instructors, who are there nearly every day, giving and teaching their all.
It's hard work done by very hard-working people, people with apparently a pretty good history and high sense of morality. Very exciting things are going to be happening at the school soon. It's being relocated and expanding from its current tiny 1100 square feet corner location to an entire 4500 square foot building. Ten years of dedicated teaching and proper school management by Sifu/Guro Nick Sacoulas have resulted in a just reward. The students are all super psyched about the move... if anything, it means more sparring partners to play with (and more room to do it in)! :)
Just a brief plug.... On March 19th, starting at 4pm at the Queensborough Performing Arts Center, COS will be having its annual Concerto Extravaganza concert. Yours truly will be assisting Sara Aomori, a young promising flutist, in playing the Cimarosa Double Flute concerto. For more info about location and tickets, go to www.childrensorch.org
Getting sleepy now. Will write/post more stuff soon.
Things have been going well for me. I have my health, I have the health of my family and friends, I have my music, and I have my martial arts. What more can a man ask for? Well, a beautiful woman, but that will probably still take a while.
I've been substitute teaching for a flute faculty member who is on sabbatical for the rest of this year, as well as taking on new students, so I've been having greatly expanded teaching duties at COS. The flute studio at COS still needs a lot of work, but I have one or two students I teach there that are finally breaking through and starting to make some very real progress. It hasn't been easy for any of the students, since my style and standards of teaching are so drastically different from that of my predecessor. But I absolutely believe that my approach is the right one, because it's 100% No Bullshit flute playing. Pure technique, with minimal dogma and based purely on ergonomics, physics,science. No gimmicks, no crap. I totally believe that if one follows my assigned progression with diligent practice, they can be competent in 1 year, great in 3 years, and incredible in 5. I'm actually starting to run out of room to put students in my schedule, so I'm going to start to become far more picky in who I'll accept and maintain in my studio, both privately and via COS.
I've lost touch with most of the old gang at the kung fu academy I used to go to. Basically it's just occasional chats with the Master's daughter on MSN, occasional contact with this nice Japanese couple, a few training sessions with another ex-student that decided to follow me to PMAA, and not so infrequent drinking sessions with my friend Ray who went with me to China on a kung fu training vacation. I do miss the training there sometimes, even occasionally pulling out a half-forgotten form now and then. But what I've lost there has been replaced by a far more fulfilling and organized experience at the current academy I train in.
It's been nearly one year since I joined PMAA. Overall, it's been a wonderful time so far. I've learned far more about real combat there in that short amount of time than all of my time spent doing kung fu. That's not to say the kung fu training was completely useless - quite the opposite actually, since it allowed me to have preexisting discipline, flexibility, and fitness to function well in the classes. Remembering pad drills and stick combinations is almost a cinch compared to remembering all those fancy forms. But what separates this school from the other are a couple of things: a central location, proper equipment and safety gear, pressure-tested techniques and concepts, variety of curriculum, and a truly dedicated head instructor and assistant instructors, who are there nearly every day, giving and teaching their all.
It's hard work done by very hard-working people, people with apparently a pretty good history and high sense of morality. Very exciting things are going to be happening at the school soon. It's being relocated and expanding from its current tiny 1100 square feet corner location to an entire 4500 square foot building. Ten years of dedicated teaching and proper school management by Sifu/Guro Nick Sacoulas have resulted in a just reward. The students are all super psyched about the move... if anything, it means more sparring partners to play with (and more room to do it in)! :)
Just a brief plug.... On March 19th, starting at 4pm at the Queensborough Performing Arts Center, COS will be having its annual Concerto Extravaganza concert. Yours truly will be assisting Sara Aomori, a young promising flutist, in playing the Cimarosa Double Flute concerto. For more info about location and tickets, go to www.childrensorch.org
Getting sleepy now. Will write/post more stuff soon.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Art of Learning
I always tell my students this. It works in any subject...
"If you don't know something, you should say you simply don't know. That's why you cannot answer my question. Now, the question is, do you want to know? There is no shame in not knowing something, but there is ultimate shame in not having the curiosity to find the answers."
A good teacher may not even know everything at once in his subject matter, but if the teacher has the curiosity to find out, and is able to impart that curiosity to the students as well as point them towards good sources to find the answers on their own, then there is nothing in this universe than cannot become known and understood.
"If you don't know something, you should say you simply don't know. That's why you cannot answer my question. Now, the question is, do you want to know? There is no shame in not knowing something, but there is ultimate shame in not having the curiosity to find the answers."
A good teacher may not even know everything at once in his subject matter, but if the teacher has the curiosity to find out, and is able to impart that curiosity to the students as well as point them towards good sources to find the answers on their own, then there is nothing in this universe than cannot become known and understood.
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