but Aaron has chosen to no longer write in his weblog, and i do respect that decision. his second explanation was more satisfactory than the first one and i admit to browbeating him about his original 'goodbye weblog,' when he finally appeared online at the same time i was on, a couple of nights ago. i also admit i was a bit angry, since i didn't expect an explanation that smacked of BS. i've known Aaron for a long time now, and i know he can be quite perceptive; so it both baffled and annoyed me that he thought he wasn't 'reaching' any of his peers via his weblog writing. after an IM tirade on my part, which i'm sure he found unusual and perhaps disturbing, he re-thought the thing somewhat, and admitted to a more basic reason, which he did write out, and which makes sense to me. having said this, i do hope he will come back and write again in the indefinite future, since i remain convinced that what he has to say and to share is valuable. if he is indeed tired of hearing himself repeat the same things over and over, surely, over time, things will change for him, and he can then write about stuff that's different. i fervently hope so, as it's rare to encounter a voice as genuine and as articulate as Aaron's.

(the picture above was taken when Aaron was visiting me in my office last week. i like it as it shows him playing with his current favorite tool/toy, an amazingly tiny, sophisticated and beautiful Motorola cell phone. it reminded me of one of those communicator devices on Star Trek.)

...choices, part 2

last Sunday, i was witness to a wonderful piano performance by one Damien Dixon. anyone who reads Kass' weblog knows who Damien is, by now, and is familiar with the story of how they met and became friends online, and finally met IRL this summer. so, last Sunday afternoon, i was privileged myself to meet Damien, with whom i had already been chatting and e-mailing, over the last couple of weeks. i would say it was a "command performance," but (a) i'm not a head of state, and (b) Damien was already quite willing to play for an appreciative audience, sans 'command.' ;-) however, it did feel like it, as i had finagled an invite to Kass' home just to meet Damien and hear him play and indeed it was a most thrilling recital, primarily because it was so intimate... the setting was the Nie living room, the afternoon quiet, the hall resonant, the small audience keenly attentive, the pianist astounding.

Damien had told me in an IM convo a few days ago that he had, as a 14 year old prodigy, won a national piano competition. that fact was basically why i had shamelesly urged Kass to invite me over, and make sure Damien was there too. ;-) so, this Sunday happened. details can be found in Kass' and Spark's weblogs as well, but for me, the highlight was definitely Damien's playing of the pieces he performed at that competition. he played a Chopin etude, some Prokofiev, Debussy and Rachmaninoff. each succeeding piece just taking my breath away with its bravura execution. Damien might take exception to this fulgent praise and claim that he was being sloppy, but for me, the overall effect was one of astonishment and, of course, sheer pleasure in someone's musicality and prowess. in my mind, outstanding solo artistic efforts on a musical instrument are like the best athletic performances. both require that 'playing out of one's mind' dynamic, to reach peak moments. but enough gushing. on to my point...

my point being a question about 'choices.' clearly, Damien WAS a prodigy. the pieces he played last Sunday afternoon were not easy. and i know my music. i was following along on Damien's sheet music books, and the music was frightfully hard, and his execution of the pieces breathtaking and beautiful. to be that close to musical genius is a rare treat. so naturally, the first question i asked him after he had played his final piece, a devilishly intricate Scriabin, was... "So, Damien, how come you didn't become a concert pianist instead?" (instead of an electrical engineer; he's working on his Ph.D. at Princeton University, and was here this summer on an internship at Intel in Santa Clara.)

in the calculus of career choices, this one is definitely quite extreme... along the lines of choosing to be either a monk, or a professional wrestler. ::chuckle:: anyway, Damien's reason had to do with discipline or, the lack of it. although i was thinking to myself, well, becoming an electrical engineer must require a lot of discipline as well. but i think i know what he meant, in the sense of the discipline required to learn AND lead the severe, almost ascetic lifestyle of a professional concert pianist. i'm sure Damien can amplify and explain this himself in a weblog... and i'm hoping he's inclined to do so, as this would be a good 'life lesson' to most of the readership of this weblog, who are teens and young adults facing crucial choices of various kinds. [ ball's in yer court, New Jerseyite ;-) or should that be, Tiger? as in Princeton, not Woods, for those of you who don't know school mascots. ::chortle:: ]

{ net.casting }
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