Literature
My favorite literary field is Prose, more specifically, Romance,
Novel and Comedy. Poetry never attracted me and therefore, I know
only the little bits I can remember from my school days.
Language has never been a favorite course for me, although I have
to admit that during college it was not my weakest point. In high
school, it was the course I fought the hardest to avoid. I
constantly found myself counting the minutes until the end of the
class and almost always missed the homework assignments. Sometimes
I would try to do them quickly, during class while the teacher was
calling the class (by number) to hand the papers (since I was number
41 I had some time). The luckiest shot was when the teacher asked
for a composition using metaphors. Without really knowing what I was
doing I just started to write about my dog and using words such as
“like” and “as”. I nailed a perfect 10… Unfortunately, I got 5 (the
lowest possible grade) on the last assignment, therefore my average
was only 7.5 and the minimum passing grade was 7.51
L Part of the curriculum
consisted in reading books. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking
forward to it, so it is no wonder I only remember the name “Platero
y Yo” by Juan Ramon Jimenez. Surprisingly enough, I did read on my
own and enjoyed doing it. It was until after we fled the Nicaraguan
civil war that I started reading often. Although I never quite
enjoyed reading as part of a class, it was no longer a dreaded task.
During my late high school and college I read from the classics
(Homer’s Odyssey) to the so called “avant-garde” works of Gabriel
Garcia Marquez (100 años de Soledad), Juan Rufo (Pedro Paramo),
Mario Vargas Llosa (La Guerra del Fin del Mundo), Ernesto Sabato (El
Tunel). However the best book I was assigned for reading, and one of
the few I have re-read lots of time thereafter is Miguel de
Cervantes Saavedra’s “El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha”.
We were assigned the unabridged, illustrated and fully annotated
version (parts 1 & 2), complete with original introduction and
forewords.
On my own, I picked the topics of Adventure, Science fiction,
Military history and Comedy. Among the many books I had read are:
Emilio Salgari’s Sandokan: The Tigers of Mompracem and The King of
The Sea, Jules Verne’s Captain Grant’s Children, Dick Sand – A
Captain at 15, The Lighthouse at the End of The World, Five Week in
a Balloon, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes [Study in
scarlet, The sign of 4, The redhead league]
Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth
to the Moon & Around the Moon
A Complete History of The Second World War (I don’t’ remember the
author’s name), John Keegan’s The First World War, many World War II
books from the publisher house Editorial San Martin’s Historia del
Siglo de La Violencia, Normandy (I don’t remember the author’s name)
Giovanni
Guareschi's Don Camilo (Mundo Pequeño y La Vuelta de Don Camilo)
At present time, I spend most of my reading time with educational
books on the subjects the attract me the most such as rendering,
photography (shooting and post processing), financial topics such as
money management, trading and investing, architecture and lighting
(necessary to fully produce life-like renderings).
I am not a member of any literary or book club and probably won’t
want to be (because then, reading will be once again a chore like it
was back in my formal education days).
Music
Psychologists argue that our early childhood events deeply
influence our latter development. I would certainly be curious to
know why it is so and then, analyze my own life from that
perspective; because my adult interests seem to be the exception to
the rule.
For someone whose musical collection’s extents is limited only by
the amount of available financial resources, I am a rare specimen.
Aside from the usual children’s songs and melodies, I don’t
remember being a music enthusiast in my early childhood and I
certainly wasn’t one during my late childhood and early teens. I
wasn’t in the children’s choir, or played an instrument (I did had a
little toy piano though). During high school, I wasn’t part of the
band but, thanks to a buddy I developed an interest in playing the
trumpet (that’s how I came to like Herb Alpert).
It was until after we fled Nicaragua that I developed interest in
music and stereo equipment. I heard almost all kind of music genres
(from TexMex to Disco to Classical) and finally came to settle on
classical. Many teenagers adopt the most outrageous kind of music
out of rebellion. I don’t know exactly what was my case –may be I
rebelled against rebellion- but I liked classical music the moment I
heard it on radio broadcast.
When it comes to music, I have the following classification:
Music I pay to hear/own
Music I can listen to, but won’t pay for
Neutral music: Don’t care for it, but don’t mind hearing it
Music I would rather avoid
Music I can’t stand for a second
One of the pieces that got me hooked into classical music was
Beethoven’s Leonora III Overture along with his 5th
Symphony. It was only natural that the first LP I bought was
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony which also included two
Overtures: Egmont & Coriolano. At the time I had already forgotten
the Overture’s name which I heard on the broadcast but the number 5
was easier to retain. I got it while accompanying a friend to a
local music store. I had no intention of buying anything but while I
waited for my friend (and since I didn’t care for his musical
selections), I browsed the classical section and the album’s cover
graphics with the name Beethoven in it caught my attention. Although
neither of the Overtures was the one I heard on the radio, Egmont’s
Overture made a strong impression with its strong introduction
followed by a rather melancholic melody which leads to the main
theme, a dynamic piece conveying clearly struggle followed by a
short crescendo which ends in a forceful and triumphal notes. After
hearing it for the first time I knew that was the kind of music I
was going to buy.
Lack of German and Italian language knowledge, along with inability
to watch the performers prevented me from developing a taste for
Opera; contenting myself to hear some of the most famous Opera’s
Overtures such as The Barber of Sevilla, The Marriage of Figaro,
Poet & Peasant, William Tell, Light Cavalry and The Bat (Die
Fledermaus)
During my last year in
high school a friend of mine got me interested in playing the
trumpet. He had a thing for forming his own group and I got
involved. We did some informal performances but nothing lasting
resulted. However, I came to like the easy listening music of Herb
Alpert.
Richard Clayderman came
into my life as a result of my ex fiance. She went out, Richard
stayed in.
My interest in Manheim
Steamroller was the result of another friend who lent me a Fresh
Aire CD. I accepted it because he told me the melodies resembled
classical music. For the most part, his assessment was true and now
I have almost all their CDs.
The first Yanni music I
ever heard was his album Yanni Live At The Acropolis; another
friend's loan. We were working on an architectural design together
and he brought it with the purpose of sharing it. The next day I
went out and got my own and have been collecting them ever since.
Finally, Enya's addition
to my limited list of contemporary selections was the result of a
trip to visit yet another friend.
Even though I started to build my
collection of CDs since 1990, I still was listening to radio
broadcast of light instrumental music and I happened to stumble into
a charming piece written for piano and band. Unfortunately, I didn't
got the name and in trying to get it I bought more Richard
Clayderman I ever intended to own. The irony is that by the time I
stumbled into it again (this time as the result of a friend playing
a CD while working together), I found out it in a Raul DI Blasio CD.
The name of the melody: Piano by Bebu Silvetti.
Another wild chase happened as a
result of the movie Amadeus, which featured an All-Mozart musical
score. During the scene in which he and his family departed on a
concerto tour at one his protector palaces, the musical score was a
concerto for piano and orchestra. I fell in love with the piece but
never got the name. It was not until I had bought over 10 concertos
that I nailed it.
My interest in high fidelity stereo equipment followed my starting
of my musical collection. However, unlike my computer chronology
which is rather extensive, my stereo system’s listing is quite
short: Just Two! The first model, which was my high school
graduation’s gift from my parents, consisted of a cool-looking
silver turntable equipped with a stroboscopic light and
corresponding markings on the rotary disk plate (for rotational
speed fine tuning), and a separate Amplifier/Tuner/Tape module which
had recording/play meter and recording level control, Bass and
Treble adjust knobs and Normal/Chrome/Metallic Tape selector with
Dolby B noise reduction system. For the road, I used my parent’s
portable boom box until I could afford a Walkman. In 1990 I added a
5-disc CD unit which I connected to the Aux port. I also got a
portable CD player (Discman) with the car adapter and platform. At
this point I stopped buying records and started to build my CD
library. In 1991 I got an amplifier with surround sound and a 7-band
equalizer. I latter completed it with a dual tape deck
recorder/player. At the time I was living in a house which, by its
construction and as well as by its surroundings, allowed me to
listen at concert hall volume levels. When I moved to California the
environment changed and as a result I no longer have a home system;
relying on computer speakers, headphones and my car stereo for
musical enjoyment.
My first iPod was a monochrome, non video 40GB model, followed a
couple of years latter by a color, 80GB video model. The reason for
the change: I filled the 40GB unit!
Contrasting with my recorded collection, my live-concert experience
is quite short. Several factors have contributed to that: Lack of
opportunities, lack of resources (do I go to a live concert and
experience a one-time moment, or do I buy a recording and enjoy a
lifetime of moments?), lack of suitable companions, and last but not
quite least, dislike of crowds (fighting for a parking spot, non
reserved seats, etc.) However, I must admit that I not only don’t
regret having attended performances in the past but I enjoyed them
and looked forward to them.
Cinema
Unlike Literature and Music, I did have a passion for movies since
I have a conscious memory. It was something I enjoyed with abandon
and therefore, I disregarded all obstacles to my attendance.
During my
childhood all selections were done by my parents of course. From
Walt Disney's classics such as Cinderella to Benji, my parents made
sure I experience countless hours of entertainment. As I was saying
goodbye to my childhood, other genres were added such as science
fiction (Star Wars), drama (The Towering Inferno) and action
(Midway). I considered myself a "mature" moviegoer when my Dad took
me to see Jaws (leaving my younger brother at home because of the
shocking scenes).
Latter in my
teenager years, when I could go by myself, I started to expand my
lists of genres to include all kind of comedies (The Pink Panther
series, all the movies with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer), more
action (The James Bond series), Horror (Alien) and war drama (A
Bridge too Far). At that time, my favorite cinema activity was to
attend matinees with double features. My passion was so intense that
I put up with large and aggressive crowds, and some times even
hunger (having to forgo the "required" popcorn and soda due to the
movie already starting or fear of losing my seat.)
Not always I
would go alone though, some times I would go with my family or
friends.
Without my
conscious knowledge, movie going changed from an end in itself to
become a means to a date. Movie selection was not entirely out of my
hands but nevertheless, I started to watch movies I would not have
chosen, if given the chance.
When my most
significant relationship ended, I seldom went to the cinemas again.
My passion for movies was still there, but my heart was no longer in
the movie theaters. The home video phenomenon was in full swing and
its advantages made me rethink my willingness to battle the
obstacles I always encountered (to which I now added parking). I now
enjoyed first-rate seating, low priced snacks in abundance, restroom
breaks without missing action, etc. The only drawbacks were the
small TV screen and cropped format (also called pan-and-scan.) I
owned a few titles but most of my watching came from rentals.
I owned both
types of home video recorders: Betamax and latter, VHS. Soon after I
got my surround sound stereo system I added a Laser Disc. This
changed my whole approach to private movie watching. First of all, I
started owning titles instead of renting and I adopted the
widescreen format as the format of choice. Owning titles work for me
because I tend to watch my movies over and over again. I had seen
Star Wars at its debut in theaters a few times, in countless
matinees, on Beta, on TV Broadcast, on Laser Disk and finally on
DVD. All in all, I had seen it over a hundred times and still see
myself watching it more in the future. Not even Netflix is price
competitive for my typical movie.
As I write
this on April 2008, I own over 200 motion picture DVDs and counting.
I have no plans to re-purchase the titles on Blue-Ray -when I decide
to jump on the bandwagon- save for a very, very select ones...
Curiously enough, I never bought any
TV better than a 14" Sony Trinitron. Not even when I had the
terrific sound system. Starting with my 17" NEC, my computer
monitors have been much better than my TVs. I currently watch my
letter-boxed movies in my 22" widescreen flat panel and any
full-frame film or TV show-on-DVD on my 20" 4:3 flat panel. |
