The Parkhouse Award Final Concert

It's an honour for being invited to listen to the final concert from The Parkhouse Award at Wigmore Hall, London yesterday. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend, an Italy pianist: Mariangela Vacatello.

Beautiful performances

The whole concert was given by three groups of musicians. Paul Monkemeyer (Viola) and Nicholas Rimmer (Piano), Rautio Piano Trio, and Giovanni Gnocchi (Cello) and Mariangella Vacatello (Piano).

I intentionally chose the seat more close to the back but in the middle of the whole Wigmore Hall, as normally I would prefer to sit where I can watch the pianist's miraculous playing.

The sound is absolutely beautiful I must admit, and guess that only classical music can reach such glorious and brilliant sound atmosphere.

When closing your eyes, probably you would even enjoy more to identify which sound is coming from the piano, or the viola, or the cello, or the violin.

And you will just imagine what these little notes are murmuring? What fairytale they're trying to tell to their dear audiences.

It's good fun to practise your ears and trace all the different levels and types of sound, especially listening chamber music concert.

Rautio Piano Trio

I enjoyed all three performances. However, personally I really like the second one, the three perfomers are collabarating extremely well.

I particularly enjoy the melody of their chosen piece. Trio No 3 in C minor, from Johannes Brahms.

The Rautio Piano Trio formed in 2004, and has now drew together three outstanding young musicians from Russia, Britian, and Israel.

Three musicians are the prize-winning graduates from RAM, RCM, and RNCM.

Mariangela and her cellist Giovanni Gnocchi

Italian people's enthusiastic and passionate personality even more explosed when making music. The two distinguished music figures dedicated to audience very different and exotic music.

You can easily felt the passion and enthusiasm from their performances, they're playing with pure heart. And this is what I really like from Mariangela and Giovanni.

I just guess musicians from Mediterranean region tend to express themselves more freely and exaggeratedly. Though some of them I have heard still like the English ones, a bit more conservative.

But particular culture does strongly fertilise its music or other types of art.

Mariangela and Giovanni won the public prize and the two German Musicians, the first perfomance won The Parkhouse Award.

Mistresses

A modern drama series is broadcasting on BBC One currently called Mistresses, which describes four British women's romance conflicts, how they deal with their family life and sex relationships.

Morality doubt

After seeing some of the episodes, I got very confused how on earth these protagonist treat their sex relationships so playful!

When a couple tie a knot, from that point of time, they were tied to be faithful and loyal to each other, and no one has the right to blame as marriage is your own choice. If you want to play the game, you must comply the rule.

I think this is universally accepted morality as well.

I was very much doubt western value on this point, after talking with a former BBC journalist about how I feel, she was laughing at me (in a friendly way), and suggested me just taking it as a drama that is unreal. However, I believe drama, all sorts of art coming from real life.

You never imagine that romance drama will be directed and acted in this way in China. I don't know exactly how about other Asian countries.

But like South Korea, a traditionally man-dominant society, I believe they will be concerned when commissioning such type of series.

From Mistresses to the 13-year-old dad

Another reason makes me confused and worrying is the recent blow of the 13-year-old lad becoming dad, which makes Britain feeling like a fool indeed.

Press and different sorts of media all discuss it and many people condemn it, saying it's the most outrageous, appalling thing in the world they have ever seen.

But don't these Brit ever wonder how these drama will affect people, especially these young teens? They're in a period of growing up and lack of mature judgement.

And if they see these drama (intentionally or whatever), they will just imitate what they see from the screen!

Democratic society

From another point of view, people may say that we are in a democratic society, people are allowed to see different things and express different views.

It's good to show us different approaches of life, then we're going to make up our own mind!

Fashion in London

London, the world's most vibrant metropolis, has always been a popular place for fashion. When walking on the street, you could easily find out stylish Londoners "showing off" their prevailing brands and stunning hairstyle.

Posting some photos above display what strike Londoners attention this year:

Trip to Tate Modern

March, a raining Tuesday, I spent a whole afternoon at Tate Modern to analyse the post-world war painting from The UBS Art Collection combining with the significant Tate works.

My task is to find out who the artist is? What kind of technique she/he applied , what kind of texture he/she used to accomplish the work, and what kind of atmosphere the work creates?

Jane Seymour

A magnificent work I have noticed from an Indian artist Raqib Shaw.

Jane Seymour, a painting depicts the third wife of Henry VIII, what really makes this work interesting is to combine the animal head with human body, which beautifully and delicately brushed by bright colours, such as dark red, yellow,.

The picture is quite scary, because of the animal head, more specifically, it's a fish head with very terrific teeth.

The textures artist applied are quite complicated, it seems having different layers on one painting, he also used fake jewel to decorate Jane's dress.

Busy life

The second painting I have looked carefully is from a French artist, named Jean Dubuffet, the whole painting applied oil on Canvas.

It's really a mess work from far away, but when you see closely, you will find out lots of going on in this work, it describes people's busy life, such as the metropolis London.

Rising sun, commuters rush to work, traffic on the highway, taxi, tubes, bikes all different kinds of transportation you can imagine.

I was wondering how the artist can keep the main characters clear on one hand, and mess around others on the other hand, however in the meantime, the whole piece of work remains as an integrated painting.

White Spring

A work from a Germany artist Ernst Wilhelm Nay - White Spring, it's quite abstract and very arty.

The paint applied oil and used white, yellow, green and black colours, there're many whirlpools in the paint, quite romantic indeed.

More photos from Toy Exhibition

World toys exhibition attracts mordern Londoners

Ancient toys from all around the world exhibite at London's Pollock's toy museum, which attract many young londoners' attention.

The museum displays hundreds of dolls with delicate laces, hilarious looking, and various postures. Their texture and dresses are very stylish, though most of them look quite old.

Apart from dolls, the ancient theatre models, animated toys, strange shaped animals are also kept visitor's eyeballs.

Animated toys

One toy displayed in the exhibition can be considered as the first original animated toy to date.

The toy is made of two layers, the inside layer is composed of different pictures, and the outside layer is a round rollying device, when a person rotates it, people can see through the holes on the outside device to the pictures on the inside layer.

The music boxes are also exhibited in the store, there's a ranging of different tones, even there's some from China.

Chinese film makers wow the BBC

Wenlan Peng's fascinating talk won audiences' enthusiastic applause and the most genuine appreciation.

The indepent television producer, who has also worked with BBC World Service as a documentary consultant from '06 to '07, gave her speech based on the experience that she trained the Chinese film makers to explore social issues in west part of China.

School on the Cliff

The documentary, highly praised by Ms peng, has also won the couple (illustrated in the film) a big fame, they became one of the best personalities out of 100 in China last year.

School on the Cliff has explored the education situation in one of the villages of Yi minority in Sichuan province, western China.

Mr. xxx and his wife have been teaching in the school for nearly 20 years.

Before he came here as a volunteer, the school had been closed for more than 10 years, which means every single child in this village had stopped compulsory education for such a long period.

Against all the odds, including his wife's complaint from the very start, seperation with his own sons and families, severe conditions of his home on the cliff.

He determined to continue his teaching at the school, and he is more than clear that if he gives up, children here will lose their only chance to receive proper education.

It is hard to imagine that due to the school's difficult location, instead of the proper road to reach it, every child has to climb the dangerous ladder which connects the top and bottom of the cliff.

The film beat other 19 contestants from the project, which has also been broadcasted in BBC World Service.

Self-cencorship

China media, including television, radio and the press are still under rigid state control and continues to be used as a propaganda tool. It only allows to project the positive, bright and inspring view of life.

Documentaries, which are the films supposed to explore social issues or provide critical point of view on society, are not permitted to talk openly about negative things under government control.

According to Ms Peng, the more government wants to hide it, the more problems cannot be solved. If let us just honestly face them, probably things will be going better.

The Meridian Society

Ms Peng also introduced audiences the charity - The Meridian Society she has run.

The charity aims to promote Chinese culture and increase the Sino-British understanding through range of events organised, including the coverage of social issues on Chinese television.

Arts - is all about breaking the rules

Chris commented on my first project on Digital Imaging, which we're learning to use Illustrator creating different shapes, effects and familiar with various tools from the programme. His main idea is to be an artist, I need to be brave to break the rules.

David'sviewmagazine

I remembered David once mentioned "breaking rules" concept in his website. And also from Apple's profiling on him, he's a person breaking all the rules around journalism, technology and motion pictures.

And of course, I found most of his works are quite engaging and more than interesting. But still it's hard for me to get the deep understanding behind his approach of making stories.

Emma's class

From this term I changed web design module into Emma's painting and drawing class due to time clash. From the first time I met her, I just felt she is definitely an energetic person, and full of fire, creative fire in her heart.

On that day, I'm working on the Sun poster in front of the computer, and she came, had a look of my work, then suggested me to use some materials, maybe textures, collages, to make the work more fascinating.

She introduced us many ways, such as spilling the coloured sand on the plastic glue on the white paper, making stencil and colour it with brush, and then see if I can develop with computer software programmes.

Metro transferred into art

Recently I read an interesting report from Metro, a group of artists from London East End using Metro front page to create several art works.

All the objects on the pictures are put together with these front pages.

Breaking the rules, anything after special treatment can be art.

13 and other thoughts

The following description is the plot of the four Film Awards Nominee 13 (Academy/Bafta/Golden Globe (best actress)/Golden Globe(best supporting-actress)

"Brace yourself" (Rolling Stone) for a raw, revealling insight into urban adolescence that's is so intense and realistic, "it's impossible to turn away" (Interview Managzine)

Anxiously trying to fit into the peer-pressre cooker environment of junior high, thirteen-year-old Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) goes to shocking lengths in order to befriend Evie (Co-writer, Nikki Read), the most popular girl in school. Now hte two are inseparable and incorrigible - leaving Tracy's desparate mother (Academy Award Winner Holly Hunter) powerless to rescue her from a whirlwind of drugs, sex and crime.



What is more?

Recently, Jade Goody's dying affair is continuously becoming the first lead on the newspaper. There's one point I found strange, the mum of two keeps saying that she wants her boys to study at private school until 16.

Indeed I heard some local teens saying that the private schools are full of materials girls and violent boys. And according to her, these private school kids' behaviour just like the film 13 portraits.

Bearing the doubt in mind, I talked with one local elder named Brigitte from West London. The lady told me that she quite understands Jade Goody's idea.

"There're some private school do get kids achieving better results than government ones. Though some of the governmental schools are also good." Brigitte said.

Speaking about how the private schools functions, she mentions that the private ones employ more teacher, so they spend more time with individual student.

The schools possesses better facilities and provide more chances for kids to broaden their vision.

Other attractions are some of the private schools are focusing on cultivating pupils to enter elite universities such as Cambridge and Oxford.

These tutors just simply understand Cambridge and Oxford mentality, and how the process will be end up with.

Miracle - the youngest British dad

Since middle of Feburary, UK national newspapers such as the Sun, the Daily Mirror are full of reports on the 13-year-old lad Alfie Patten makes a 15-year-old schoolgirl pregnant.

Miracle - Britain's youngest dad

It was commented by many Sun readers saying that it's the most outrageous, appalling, disgusting and sickest thing they have ever seen.

How can it complies to the law that allows a boy in such a young age to father a baby girl. some readers doubted.

When I first saw the news, I was totally shocked that how can a boy in his age conceive a child? It must be joking!

Sadly, more episodes going on, the 13-year-old dad even bravely decides to take DNA test to prove he's the father of the babygirl and protects his girlfriend's reputation.

Since there are other three local lads claiming to be the father of the child!!

Sex education

Sex education is now reset on the top of agenda and discussing extensively on the board. Conservative leader David Cameron said that it's very very worrying.

And today you got children having children, but frankly parental is something that they shouldn't think about it. That is wrong and we've got to put it right.

According to BBC News, teenage pregnancy under 16, Uk is ranked on the top among European countries and just behind US.

Germany and France are ranked as fifth and tenth of teenage pregnancy respectively.

Government is now making sex and relationship education as compulsory in primary school. one parent said that after all the kids are going to have sex, in this circumstance, it's better to teach them how to have sex safely, make them understand how big the issue is to be pregnant.

Compared with my culture

In western countries, people are not shy of talking about sex, they've got relationship in a young age. But in my country, things are very different, young teens are still prohibited to fall in a serious relationship in the mainstream.

In a way, it controls child pregnancy and I rarely hear that a kid conceive a baby.

It's a one of the good things from Asian country.

Lark Rise to Candleford

The 7th episode of Lark Rise to Candleford Series II is the most interesting one among all the episodes I have seen.

Man's pride, hardship of bread-winner, young girl's first love. This 19th century novel covers common people's life stories which reflect that particular period's British society.

"If I have one more day, I could make you love me."

On the screen, Laura told fisher, a craftsman building clock, with all her heart and soul:" If I could have one more day with you, I could make you love me." I believe audience will be affected by such a strong affection from such a beautiful young lady.

From Fisher's eyes, it's obviously he is falling in love with such a sweet girl, in fact the sweetest girl in Candleford.

But how long his love could last? Is he ready to lay all his life aside and stay in this small town and leave his freedom and rest of his life behind, only for Laura?

Robert, Laura's father asks Fisher:" What do you mean by loving her?" "I don't want to leave her." Fisher answered.

"You don't want to leave doesn't mean You want to stay, lad. Love her? Can you afford to offer her a family? A home? And having children around? Do you know your heart? If not, break her heart now." Robert said grimly.

Fisher at last left Candleford after finishing his mission. There're many loves in this world can't be growing up and they just don't have such a fortune. Time, places, maturity and all sorts of elements matter. And no one is able to control as no one is to blame.

But there's always true answers for things, if there is not, just keep asking your heart.

"Tools are gone and how am I going to restore my faith?"

Tobert Timmins' tools were sold by some village folks, though his family in such a grave circumstance, he is still setting his pride as the first priority - refuse other people's assistance, since from his eyes, their help is just charity for him and his family.

Man's pride,a big issue embedded for centuries in human beings' mind, no place matter in this case, indeed everywhere is the same from my eyes.

Emma (Robert's wife) cried out: "How dare you ask me to choose between my children and your pride. How dare you put me in this difficult situation. The children need to eat, Rober, they need food."

It's always hard to guess what prize the proud man's expecting people around to pay him back, and in fact it's very brutal even just thinking about it.

What is art?!?

Looked at these vague and blurring pictures, what you get out of it at the end, I was wondering. I prefer something that makes sense, and something that makes me understand the meaning behind the object, and not simple meaning, but profound ones.

What does it mean?

A lady showed us her tarot cards today in the class, the three pictures are laden with very blurrin colour, and the objects created in the cards have very peculiar shapes, not human beings, not animals, I really don't know what she wants to express.

Not only her work like this, I have once joined illustration class, another lady used wather-colour (I think) to create eight pictures illustrates one human mood to the other (for example: laugh to cry).

I can't remember what the changing mood exactly, but what she has done is just like brushing colour on the paper, some of the colours are mixed ones, so it reflects a bit differently.

Hell!! What she's trying to say?

Alright, ladies and gentleman. This is art, this is creative stuff, and the more vague, the more abstract, the more dodging and nobody understands, then probably the more arty!!

By now, I do miss my journalism, journalism is so much precise, profound, so much makes sense, and you can just feel the power and strength.

Politics and religion are too dangerous

A lady said to me look, your works related with politics and religion things, they're too dangerous.

Indeed I'm so much wish that I'm an excellent debater, then I could express myself more promptly and properly.

It's ture, my works are about politics, are about these hot issues, and it's my interest.

These things are real and they're just sticking around you that happening in our brutal world.

Also I do believe art comes from life, the more experiences you have, the more you have great ideas.

What's the point you just paint your colour there, stick your collage there, but without profound ideas that strike people's attention?

Artists, of course should be good at painting, drawing, and colour composition. But you should also understand history and have great life experiences, which do make your work profound.

Art, the same as Music

Now I find that music and art do have similarities. Here I'm particularly talking about classical music.

Being a brilliant classical musician not only requires techniques, which probably the most foundation of performing a music piece.

I once heard Maria Blanco, an amazing pianist from Malta, said to me after listening a recital from an old Russian pianist.

"he is not only playing the notes, he's basically playing his life."

Great music comes from life. All sorts of art come from life!

NHS sacked the nurse after offering to pray

A Christian nurse got sacked from NHS after she asked her patient would you like me to pray for you? The news made headline throughout all sorts of UK press.

Is it made too big?

I got shocked after seeing the news, first of all, it's allegedly that the baptist nurse just asked the patient if the patient would like her to offer pray. Seems the patient got over nurved and afterwards reported the case to the health trust.

Indeed if the nurse just asked and not forced the patient to accept, I don't see any wrongdoing. Anyone has the right to ask things and of course you can accpet or not.

Scientific mind

After talking with some journalists about the incident, they say most of the Brit don't like talking religion and belief in public, it's a private issue and just keep your own.

It's obviously they don't want people to think that they're superstitious, being scientific is always a good honour.

Though I felt the thing was exploded too much, perhaps as a patient herself, she just can't stop worring and who dares to risk precious thing such as life?

Love for peace

Mother Teresa is the original idea of this tarot card, previously I was thinking to draw an old lady as mother.

However during drawing process, I found that why should I draw an old lady? If an young lady owes the same heart laden with kindness, mercy and generosity, should it be an more graceful picture?

Mother teresa

Probably my only connection with mother Teresa was the whole summer I spent in Kolkata, 2005. A difficult city with lots of poors.

Though Kolkata is the capital of West Begal, it's surprisingly underdeveloped compared with Delhi, Mumbai these big cities from my personal opinion.

And heard many stories about mother Teresa and her charity, which lead her fame to grow internationally as an humanitarian. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India's highest civil honour.

Picasso dove

The way of drawing dove suggested by Chris, though I know that I haven't captured enough of its appearance, and in fact I drawed it directly in photoshop, indeed the better way I felt perhaps drawing it in Illustrator would be better, and then import into photoshop.

I like the way Pablo Picasso did for the dove, very simple sketches, but very much like the alive ones.

After done the card, I did more drawings in illustrator, feel much more comfortable after practising a bit more.

Moon tarot card (2)

The second tarot card I have created focus on the theme - Moon, theoretically speaking, it's a dark card indicating all the evil things. And my idea is even a bit more crazy - based on the symbol of Nazi.

"Yeah, I know it's a bit crazy"

When first showing my original sketch to Chris, I notices he glanced me strangely, which makes me uncomfortable, "You should go for simple idea, you know." he said. "Yeah, I know it's a bit crazy, but it just comes."

From my eyes Chris is a soft person, probably he doesn't fancy this idea, but anyway I'm stubbon to insist my own idea.

Indeed I'm not sure why I want to base my moon tarot card on the Nazi symbol, probably just because I had saw too much bloody films happening in this period, heard too much sad, devastating and inhuman stories based on this period of history.

When first saw the tarot card brief, the idea just naturally appeared in my mind, nothing can be more darker than Hitler's conspiracy, nothing can be more horrific than the Nazi concentration camp, nothing can be more brutal than the genocide of Jews.

Sophine Scholl

I once saw a film called Sophine Scholl, which depicts how anti-Nazi resistence movement "White Rose" member Sophine, uses her wits in the interrogation in order to protect other members in the movement.

It's a film describing her final day before her death

News writing

You have to learn how the reporters structure their sentences, which words they're choosing, you have to know these certain expressions, learn to write chatting language, like people are talking in the pub.


Damn it

Looked at my news writing scrab book, full of standard news writing languages, professional news story expressions, with all of these stunning, dazzling, and typical english news writing vocabularies.

But I'm just wondering how much I could remember them, and how accurate I could use them. It'a a tough task, and I'm not joking sometimes spending hours and hours for checking these words and expressions and paragraphs.

It was funny that my mind nowadays connects everything with news writing. I once laughed at an e-mail replied from a news editor from Harrow Observer, he is saying in the letter "everyone is returning family home" instead of using "everyone is retruning home."

I just can't stopping laugh of it, Damn it! These professional people.

Cyber revolution in Cuba

For decades, many of us Cubans only read from national press, and only have access to state television, and this made us to believe that the world somehow is unreal, and everything in Cuba is good, and everything abroad is catastrophic.

People and power

Ron E Dee, an editor from BBC London introduced me to his newly edited documentary film named People and Power.

Like hundreds of millions of people in Cuba, blogger Joanne suffered the blocking of the information flow from state media control.

Since 1959, Cuba government carried out the strict censorship on national press, and very few people got chances to access internet, and get to know the other parts of the world.

Along the digital revolution sweeping the whole country, as a citizen journalism pioneer, Joanne blogged her personal life, feelings and sharing her opinions about social issues of Cuba at her family home.

However, sometimes she still needs to go to internet cafe for updating her blog if the government cut off the internet connection.

Joanne's husband, a former journalist was sacked by government due to his controversial article discussing younger generation's dream of pursuing more freedom.

Her husband said that when he was entering journalism industry, he did not understand that he could only practise propaganda instead of real journalism.

In the student petition condemning government abusing their right to access internet, one of the students was allegedly arrested according to western report.



Collaboration

Since 1962, America implemented ecomonic sanctions on Cuba, "...Waken the economic life of Cuba...denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation, and overthrow of government."

The country's situation is in fragile, an artist and cartoonist who previously departed to US illegally (arrested afterwards) was now collaborating with Joanne and her journalist husband, "I illustrate political posters and nothing harmful, we're just joking about social issues, and about the problems in Cuban society."

"And we're telling peopel what's really happening in this country, because media there is controlled by government, and it just says things that benefit government, and they say everything here is ok, is fine. but what's the reality? We're just saying the trueth."

Great expectation for change

"Things growing much better in the recent months," said editor from Convivencia, an online social issues site, "People are expecting the greater changes."

He added that his site articles mainly about telling people about the Declaration of Human Rights, which he believes that the government deliberately prohibits to teach school pupils. Many of the Cubans even do not know the existence of the Declaration.

Joanne's husband also said that they're not in the 80s, or 90s, people can speak out more freely compared with past time.

Shorthand

For being a qualified newspaper reporter in UK, everyone needs to get his/her shorthand done. For newspaper reporter 100 per min and for magazine 80 per min.

Another language

To learn shorthand is definitely not that easy, I used one month and two weeks to complete the Teeline Fast book, but honestly, I can only remember very simple words, and some simple expressions so far.

I clearly know that how much efforts I must put in order to get my shorthand certificate, life is always not that easy if you want to do great things, but never gives up and be a grafter, I'll never regret!