Articles tagged with: music
TaipeiEYE – Picking Up the Jade Bracelet
The man at center stage was wearing a very colorful and elaborate costume. He stood there for a moment and then slowly raised one leg and pointed his foot at the audience like it was a kind of weapon. On his foot was a shoe with a three- or four-inch-thick white wooden platform. He grabbed his foot with one hand, twisted it to the side …
Night at the Opera – Bluebeard’s Castle
The opera Bluebeard’s Castle by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok was performed at the National Theater in Taipei on Friday night. I had never been to the National Theater and, on impulse, I picked up a ticket for NT$800. My seat was off to the left in the balcony on the second floor. My experiences at Zhongshan Hall and the National Concert Hall led me to believe …
Ultimate Beethoven & School Contests
I went to two school events this week for my company (an ESL publishing firm in Taipei, Taiwan). I was sent there to serve as a special judge for school English contests. The first was a drama contest at a junior high school here in Taipei. If I had written about it directly afterward, I’d probably have been inspired to write like a madman. These …
Handel’s Oratorio “Jephtha” at Zhongshan Hall
I tend to do a lot of things on impulse these days, and my impulse last night was to attend a performance at Zhongshan Hall. The performance was of Jephtha, an oratorio by Handel, and it was one of the more extraordinary evenings I’ve had in a long time.
Zhongshan Hall is one of the grand performance venues in Taipei. It was built between 1932 and …
Radio Paradise Internet Music Station
One of the things I like is a website called Radio Paradise. It’s an Internet radio station with a difference. It’s low-key and advertisement free. Only occasionally do the people running the radio show come on and say anything. Even then, they just tell you that you’re listening to Radio Paradise and they tell you what songs you just heard and what song is coming …
Kenting 003 – Whale Sharks and Manta Rays
Sunday December 5, 2010
9:00 a.m. Formost Hotel Lobby – Kenting, Taiwan
My big plan for Saturday was to visit the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, henceforth known as the “Aquarium”, and it was an extraordinary experience – far better than I had expected.
I didn’t know much about the Aquarium, but it was one of the main reasons I decided to come to Kenting this …
Palawan Bike Trip 008
Monday, March 17
I thought I might be on the road by this time, but I’m still in Port Barton. I’m going to spend at least another day here before moving on. There seemed no compelling reason to move, and it’s a pleasant, quiet place. I wanted to have a day for just reading and doing nothing.
That’s not to say that the days till now have …
024 – Asa Belobelo – Eat Fish
Zebachew invited me to go with him to an azmari beat or traditional Ethiopian music house. I knew even before I came to Ethiopia that one night would find me at an azmari beat. It’s one of those traditional things that is mentioned in every book. For that reason I wasn’t exactly excited about it. I suspected that it might be at one extreme a …