March 29, 2012

Jukka-Pekka Saraste as conductor
Pekka Kuusisto as violin solo
accompanied with Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Siebelius. Tapiola, Op. 112
Prokofiev. Violin Concerto No.1 in D Major, Op. 19
Brahms. Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90

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Johannes Brahms's 3rd symphony is consisted of the basic thematic structure of the notes F-A(flat)-F, the first letters of "frei aber froh", in English "Free, but Happy".  It was in response to the personal motto of Joseph Joachim, a close friend of Brahms, "Frei aber einsam"- "Free, but Lonely".

To be free but happy- the concert was thoroughly electrifying

Brutalistic Architectures.

Béton brut: Architectural concrete left unfinished or roughly-finished after pouring and left exposed visually. It flourished as a part of the brutalist architecture of the 60s and 70s and influenced to create structural expressionism as steel structures became more advanced and practical. 

Boston City Hall, Massachusetts

(December 2011)

Typified by pure geometrical forms clad with sleek curtain- an articulated structure that expressed the internal functions of the buildings in rugged, cantilevered concrete forms. Hovering over the broad brick plaza, the City Hall was designed to create an open and accessible place for the city's government. The architects sought to create a bold statement of modern civic democracy- which was, at that time, in desperate need of reinvention, investment, and vision. (Wikipedia)

J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington D.C.

(December 2011)

University of Toronto - Robarts Library, Ontario

(March 2012)

Its towering main structure rests on an equilateral triangular footprint and features extensive use of triangular geometric patterns throughout. The elevation is mostly concrete, albeit differing in textures and directionality: smooth concrete lines the facade in a horizontal manner, the rough concrete lining vertically. The steel-framed windows are situated onto the bays protruding from the facade, which remind one of the towers overhanging in medieval castle architecture. (Wikipedia)

Some of the Ottawa's well known brutalistic architectures include: the National Defence Building (November, 2010), uOttawa - Morrisset Library, Ottawa Public Library Main Branch (Metcalfe Street), Lester B. Pearson Building (Sussex Drive), the National Art Centre, and Ottawa Courthouse (December, 2010).

          

March 25, 2012

    

Sunday afternoon. Baseball. People. Girls. Boys. Music. Warm Breeze. Running. Laughter.

I can't describe the feeling in words but can only recall the mental pictures. 

March 24, 2012.

Thesis Statement) The York-Spadina Subway Extension is anticipated to increase public transit accessibility in the Northern Toronto, also known as York region. The transportational nexus between the downtown core and the emerging region will simultaneously promote all three branches of urban sustainability: reducing environmental impacts by minimizing automobile dependency and fuel consumption, enriching social- energy benefits of creating a ‘mobility hub’ of intensive concentration of employment, living, shopping, and enjoyment around a major station, which will ultimately leads to less energy consumption per capita, and increasing ridership leading to further economic investment in the mass-transit system to create a ‘Transit City’.

I've literally spent the whole Saturday working on this GGRA03 (Cities and Environments) paper, regarding the major urban projects in Toronto of my choice. I've perhaps read more than 10 academic journals in the morning (trust me, they are not easy!) and spent hours on making connection between the researched materials and my thesis. Good thing is that I have quiet amount of interest on urban issues and I don't really feel repulsive by the social science way of approaching a subject. 

Retrospective.

Finding an image from archive is one thing and Finding the exact same spot is another thing.

It takes quiet amount of time to create this particular kind of image, but the process itself is exciting enough.

Being able to identify surrounding objects and recognize visual perspective- 

these are some of the unique skills that I have and I take great pleasure practicing them.

So, I am thinking of doing a personal project to create such kind of images

of Seoul, during my stay there this summer, and Toronto, for the upcoming fall.

It's going to be a good excuse to visit archives and explore around the cities (:

By the way, I've been working as an associate photo editor for 

the bi-weekly student campus publication called 'the Underground'

I hardly believe that any student spends good efforts to read it through,

but seeing my photos in published paper is quiet worth it.

Clair de Lune.

Comfortably Numb.

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (1979)

There is no pain you are receding

A distant ship's smoke on the horizon

You are only coming through in waves

Your lips move

But I can't hear what you're saying

When I was a child

I caught a fleeting glimpse

Out of the corner of my eye

I turned to look but it was gone

I cannot put my finger on it now

The child is grown

The dream is gone

I... Have become comfortably numb

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Around the end of 2011, my dad sent me some albums of Pink Floyd. I had previously heard about the band but did not know much about it, other than a couple of reviews that I've read that talked about how the band became the symbol of progressive rock and sold one of the best selling album of the history, 'The Dark Side of the Moon'.

Songs from the Pink Floyd, in my opinion, are quiet hard to listen for the first time; Some of them are sophisticated instrumentals and some of them are quiet psychedelic, neither of which are common experiment in the main stream music anymore. But as I listened to their songs over times, I've started to understand the ideas beneath the poetic lyrics, in harmony with the sound of the music.

For aside, this specific song was featured on the movie called 'The Departed', directed by Martin Scorsese. It's a crime thriller from 2006 but it's something that I would highly recommend people to watch. It features great actors such as Matt Damon (Main reason I watched the movie!), Leo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg. Beyond the amazing actings from the cast, the screenplay is also well laid out and interesting enough to be soaked in (If you are also into films based on Boston, Massachusetts and Irish culture of the New England region, this is a must-see). This song fits quiet well on the scene of the movie and creates the right ambience on the context, emotional vulnerability.

Like I already mentioned the song in the previous post called Sunset in the Capital,

This is a good song- I love the atmosphere, figurative language, and the repeating guitar chords.

"Why you will fail to have a great career."

TEDx University of Waterloo
Larry Smith, Professor of economics

This speech touched on a similar topic that I've been questioning for several months: "What happened to all the possible careers that I was interested in since childhood?" "Why is there only a few career choices left because of my major?"

Ever since I began my studies in the university, I've came to a realization that the range of possible career options, after the graduation, are quiet smaller than I previously thought. At the same time, I have also lost the confidence that I'll be able to become whoever I want to be- as long as I want to be. Not only this sudden realization made me desperate to search for the right interest, but also made me question whether I am studying the things that I am passionate of.

I don't know. I've been stressing myself with these questions for so long I cannot recall. However, the exploration for the answer hasn't always been so great- and according to this video, it's not going to be easy in the future either. But one thing is clear that- I want to have a great career, regardless of what/where it is. I want to have a life with a work that drives me to get up in the morning.

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My mom always told me that her career ended early because of my birth- and this fact always made me irritated. However, this video gave a good, possible explanation for my mom's state of mind behind that particular statement.

After my graduation last summer, she returned to South Korea. Then earlier this year, she texted me so that she could tell me about a good news: her new job with a consumer rights NGO; a job that I believe fits her character, interest, and B.A. in Sociology.

There was certainly a big gap in her career because of me, at least according to her. During the blank period between her old job and new job, I have come from a kindergartener to a university student. I can't thank her enough for all the care and protection she has given me. But her return to the work force -taking an initiative after the long absence- is something I would salute her for.

Toronto Marlies.

Hamilton Bulldogs (1) - AT - Toronto Marlies (2)

Marlies is the AHL affilate of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, 

as Bulldogs is affilate of the Montreal Canadians.

(In terms of Baseball, AHL is equivalent of Triple-A Minor league)

Scoring Summary:

1st Period: 1. HAM - Frederic St-Denis (4) - 12:13 (PP)

2nd Period: No Scoring

3rd period: 2. TOR - Kelsey Wilson (5) - 9:04

Overtime: 3. TOR - Mike Zigomanis (19) - 2:39

There is nothing sweeter than winning the loosing game- during the over time!

Leafs TV On Demand: Highlights of the Game.

Zamboni Crossing.

Ricoh Coliseum Arena, Exhibition Place

Get Cracking.

Nutrition Facts

 Per 1 large omega-3 egg (53g)

Calories 70

Saturated Fat 1.5g 3%

Omega-6 0.7g

Omega-3 0.4g

Cholestrol 195mg

Sodium 85 mg 3%

Protein 6g

Vitamin A  10%

Calcium  2%

Iron  6%

Vitamin E  50%

Thiamine  2%

Riboflavin  15%

Niacin  8%

Vitamin B6  2%

Folate  15%

Vitamin B12  50%

Pantothenate  20%

Phosphorus  6%

Magnesium  2%

Zinc  6%

All these nutrients in that one small egg! This is almost good as a multivitamin.

(I find this pretty amazing- I've never paid much attention to foods before I started to cook for myself)

Dr. David Suzuki

the 36th Annual Watts Lecture, University of Toronto Scarborough

When I was taking a course called the 'Civics and Career' back in grade 10, I had to pick a Canadian role model and do a short powerpoint presentation. From the list of names of great Canadians, I choose Dr. David Suzuki over the others. It's hard to recall why I came to that decision; but perhaps because he and I share same ethnic background, or because he was one of the only few public figures who was not an athlete nor politician. One thing I can definitely still remember about him, is that his public perception, both as a scientist and environmentalist, left me a strong image on my head. 

Luckily, Dr. David Suzuki came to visit my campus and I had an opportunity to go sit on his special lecture last night. The lecture did not have a specific topic, but the two main focuses were on the issues of lack of public interests on environmental issues and the unsustainable development of the current generation. He began talking in a quiet casual manner- about what he does these days and left this unforgettable punch line: "Now that I don't think about sex all the time, I am now smarter and more focused than I was ever before". As the lecture went deep into the session, despite the weight of the issues, he explained various concepts and his ideas in quiet thoroughly manner; Some of the ideas were on the Shift from the 'ecology' based agricultural society to 'economy' based industrial society, New geological period of 'anthropocene'- where humans became the major influence on the geology of earth, difference between unavoidable forces of nature such as gravity and fabricated forces such currency, boders, and markets. 

One of the important ideas of the lecture came out when he talked about 'why the young generation must take a great amount of interest on the environmental issue and the related initiatives'. He believes that the current society lacks the idea of 'sustainability' and doesn't consider the environment issue as a high priority which it suppose to be. This is partially due to the flaw of democracy that encourages political leaders to take short term development initiatives, that benefit themselves within their political term, and prevents them from taking a long-term sustainable growth initiative. Therefore it's important for the current, young generation to realize that the political leaders of today don't have the best interest on the benefit for the future, the time period beyond their elected term. The same idea also applies to the private industries that are driven by quarterly profits.  That's why Dr. Suzuki urges that It's up to the young people, including myself, to take the initiative to change the paradigm of exploiting the future's prosperity. 

I see David Suzuki in the same manner as I see Carl Sagan, who was a science communicator with great interests on astrophysics and produced the award winning television series in the 1980s. One can agree or disagree with his ideas, but he is certainly a great science broadcaster with much passion on the nature- that's what got me interested in his CBC documentary series, the Nature of Things. To the public, He will be remembered as an environmental icon and a figure once voted as the 5th greatest Canadian. For me, he would be remembered as a great speaker with inspirational mind and will-do attitude.

p.s.) His daughter, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who also became an environmental activist attended the Rio De Geniro Earth Summit in the 1992 and gave a speech to the assembly at the age of 12. The viral video is called 'The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes'. In recent years, it's been easier for young people to taking initiatives through all the social media and social networks, but it wouldn't be the same back in 1992.  

Weekend in Guelph.

Every single time I go to the Toronto Bus Terminal near Dundas square, I eat a subway sandwich in the Atrium on Bay. Every single time!

Spending a weekend with my aunt's family in Guelph is always relaxing break away from the campus. Having a home-cooked meal, getting on a family van, playing with cousins, sitting beside the fireplace; these small aspects of home and family remind me of what my life used to be only about a year ago. Although I'm not really used to some of the sub-urban lifestyle, such as large home and close-knit neighbourhoods, I'm learning them as well from time to time.

Over the weekend, I was able to taste some imported brews (which doesn't happen often!) such as Żywiec and Martens Pilsener and skate on the ice-rink built within a shopping mall in Cambridge, ON.

Income Tax and Benefit.

I guess I am really an independent individual now; I've filed the Income Tax and Benefit for the first time!

(...with a little help from the campus student union tax services)

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Luckily for a student, the federal and provincial governments add up the tuitions, education and textbook amounts and give us back as the federal/provincial tax credit that can be used after the graduation. Although I cannot apply for the GST/HST credit program because I am not 19 year old yet.

p.s.) It's quiet horrifying to see again how much I am spending on the tutitions- with $0 income

Thanks mom and dad (: Nothing would've been possible without you guys.