the laptop failed catastrophically yesterday, but super luckily i managed a complete back-up… took nearly 18 hours painstakingly slow cleaning + backing.. and I so sleepy last thursday and thought “nah, let’s continued tomorrow..”, good thing i didn’t because it has not turned on since! A little note as well to those who *love* the 1-touch back-up thingy specific to whichever operating system you’re using: it only works if your back-up laptop is of the same system! In fact a friend was laughing at me for (1) reformating half of the external hard-drive to FAT and (2) patientlly backing up folders by folders into it in addition to the 1-touch thingy.. in fact she laughed so hard i myself got confused as to why i bothered doing it.. until yesterday when all was lost and i super stoked to realize the ubuntu/window-xp 2007 back-up laptop can read FAT, yay!!! Yes dear readers, always partition 1/2 of your hard-drive to FAT, the universal format readable by ALL things. Anyhow, long story short, i’ll be on this ubuntu thingy for a short while.. and re-learning how to even do the simple thing like listening to a youtube video! So, here’s music to start the adventurous weekend while i enjoying some fresh papaya for breakfast and wrestling proposal deadlines with 2007 technology, this thing probably weights 5kg!
Edit: i did succeed turning on that Paris 2000 L’italiana in Algeri!! replacing photo now with somethin gmuch more appropriate 😉 
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(the music is very nice if you do click on it.. i finally figured out how to play video.. though that new/old VK’s L’Italiana in Algeri from Paris 2000 on VK’s fb site is refusing to play so far..)
music to start weekend
44 responses to “music to start weekend”
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Good luck with the tech-wrestling!
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man, the back-up laptop just died without any warning.. and now 3 hours later, we (with help from couple friends in the office) managed to dig out the ubuntu harddrive + plug in to an abandoned desktop, miraculously works right out of the box. more incentives for you to always install ubuntu on your hard-drive :-).
phew. so now managed to savage work from the past 2 days.. time to copy everything to more secured place…
(and investigave if this scavenged desktop can play youtube 🙂 )-
Yay for surplus hardware and office friends at tech schools 🙂
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and now attempting to resurrect my 2003 laptop.. apparently at this time wireless was a “new” thing..
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should’ve asked you to try and resurrect my old laptop as well 😉 I used to have a very nice Sesto screensaver on that (lots of time spent screen-shooting that I can’t be arsed to do again).
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here it is!!!!! i soooo happy!! (after nearly 6 years of being dormant! and 12 hours vicious fighting! First, the laptop started, but crashed in xp mode, then started in linux but nothing worked as all these were installed back in 2004… Then i remembered why it was shelled: cdrom failed, keyboard failed, monitor failed, usb broken.. but persistence paid off, i soo in love with this little guy and square (non-working) monitor, 1/2 of the thesis time, now on lovely light xubuntu ❤ )
(oh, now it's sort of working, but refused to accept any external monitor more fancy than 1280×900 resolution 😀 , that'll be tonight's project, as i've been camping in office due to no computer at home!) -
you win the nerd award of 2003 😉
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we can try on my next visit, my subtle way to infiltrate windows users with alternatives 😉 my younger sister ended up liking it
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hey, I’m game if it’s easy to use and safe.
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easy is relative 😉 , just have to get used to, but surely safe as nobody cares to hack into little unix box
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and you feel good typing “powerdown” and the computer shuts down! instead of pushing the power button 😀
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for people who love typing instead of pushing buttons! it sounds like something you’d say to your dog: steady, powerdown 😉
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here s more incentive for you to consider linux: i “extinguished” a lion in my deam with a return to execute the command line “rm lion” !! 😉
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😀 magic!
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first i “created” a theme park with lions and monkeys by executing a program i wrote.. all was in harmony until a lion escaped and ventured curiously torward me the programmer.. as lion coming closer and closer, locating the “r”, “m” on the tiny keyboard became increasingly difficult.. and as command “rm lion” was done being typed, lion is now circling the laptop preventing the hitting of the “return” button!!! i even contemplated if while being mauled i could still execute the command.. but in split second it was striked! and lion vaporized!
(woke up quite stressed and sweaty, vivre command line! 😀 ) -
you should write down your dreams. Next time equip the gorgon shield before programming wild beasts 😉
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I think I live-ripped Bryn Terfel’s Proms Walkuere on a thinkpad of that vintage, fighting malware all the way. Good times!
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that particular series t42 was extremely durable. a set of us friends got them within 2003-2004 and they r all still alive… mostly the keyboard died and soon too low memories to deal w internet browsers as well as unsafe security within window xp after the switched to vista.. i really love the screen resolution, that was also the last generation b4 they forever swapped to crappy wide-sceen format.
at the time a couple of us were also running dual boots w linux, and this was the stage when there was suddenly a boom in laptop types that linux was not coping with well. i remember each “linux installation party” involved several geeks sitting on floor debugging, and 60% difficulty was to get the monitor to work.. and the wireless (new technology at the time) only worked 5% of the time after each time fiddling with some module load/unload for nearly an hour. finally we also gave up on the thinkpad mouse stick.. and mounting the usb maus was quite an achievement 😀
that’s one big, shiny pole… someone actually recorded 2hrs from a pocket? some people have high tolerance for discomfort! and welcome to 2007 😉
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i figured out how to print screen! how’s this to contrast with sesto!
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haha, who the hell is the chap next to her? He looks like she molested him in some way.
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ps- somewhat unrelated, u aware of full capuleti w jdd from zurich last month? it s now on yt, a friend just sent me link, so i temporary abandon vk to check out romeo..
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haha, I am there too! I saw stray’s post and snapped the video! LOVE the production idea (finally a decent Capuleti!), the singing – you know what I’m going to say. Also Tebaldo is a bit meh.
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i really like jdd’s singing here actually! very touching. giulietta is meh for me.. and i don’t get that guy/girl sneaking around giulietta at all.. (currently at duet romeo tebaldo)
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it’s better than before but still not a Romeo for me. The guy with the beret? Maybe he’s the brother’s ghost or something?
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did you get to the point when he puts on the dress yet?
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he does? nope, I’m only at Eccomi in lieta vesta. Maybe he’s Bellini then 😀
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i made it to tomb already. am super impressed w/ Jdd’s drama + music commitment, quite touching.. (so far.. now to deh tu..)
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I’m impressed with her coming through the window!
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oh ja, that too!! my friend here was impressed!! (i made her listen.. she lasted only until the duet, then i put on the headset)
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but the duet is the best part!
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i thought so too, but she (friend) was yawning!! i’ll have to relisten again.. as it was in low volume off headset..
meanwhile, giulietta has woken up here… -
did you just go from Romeo’s entrance to Quante volte, to duets, to tomb scene?
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😉
no no, i really sat through the whole thing, but the beginning the headset was off as i was introducing my friend to trouser roles.. the achievement of the day was when she could hear the contrast between joyce’s voice and the entire male chorus.. by the duet, i realized she was falling asleep so i put on headset 😀 , now they’re dueting in the tomb, i’m realllly impressed w/ Joyce’s musical phrasing! will have to loop back to beginning to form more opinion w/ Giulietta.. only thing i could say was during the duet i couldn’t tell their voices apart at all, strikingly similar in tone and heft!! -
yes, Giulietta is another dark soprano (make them stop!). I was thoroughly bored with her. This opera is a bitch to cast.
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now looping back to beginning..
Tebaldo’s entrance aria scene looks like right out of the god father! i thought his singing was quite ok. why is he holding that gun that way though, it could go off anytime! -
it’s totally the Godfather, look at Capellio. I’m stuck on Si, fuggire, trying to figure out if JDD is a mezzo or not 😉
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seriously! if you look away and forget for a moment you wouldn’t know who is singing! but this role is pretty high no?
oh, here she comes for her entrance.. -
replying to my own comment… running commetary on romeo’s entrance..
* very nice intro!
* pretty reasonable w/ “give me giulietta and we can all hug”
* “Deh! ti placa..”, very honest, very nice phrasing!
* “Ostinati!” that was right! but then “e tal sarà” got a bit jdd’s girly!
* yes, very determined! except for 2 places that gave her away: “sangue” and phrase just mentioned above!
overall i really like her opening aria take, the orchestra was very nicely supporting + carrying her along, super like! but Loy dressed her superbly!
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continuing with running commentary:
– “Sì, fuggire”! quite nicely done, with GREAT orchestral support! except i don’t get why Romeo’s hand(s) is (are) in the pockets! there has to be a reason! first Romeo jumping OFF the window with 1 hand in pocket! then at the highest moment of convincing she puts *both* hands in pockets again!
– “Deh! t’arrendi a’ preghi miei”, down on her knees, touching both visually and vocally.
– this whole scene is done quite slow, which works well on headset but i can see why my friend fell asleep..
– now merging in voice “se fedele ancor mi sei”
– i quite like her (jdd’s) tone here! nice hits on low notes. she has to work on the stance though, decisively curvy! 😀
– (s)he chased her into the toilet! the mirror has been removed! very lovely and convincing “Ah! se vivo è perché io t’amo…”
– great finale, realllllly like the orchestra!!
– now i get the frightened look on Giulietta’s face as Romeo walked off, it’s her wedding music! very nicely done dramatically.
– ah HA!! ALL those in dresses are MEN! very nicely done! 🙂 , this solves the dilema of needing the female chorus in fancy dresses in Munich!
– am still trying to figure out this extra character walking in the background…
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– wow, goosebump music, “Tace il fragor… silenzio”, all is gone as Giulietta entered alone in wedding dress. Her (Giulietta) singing is very touching here, and this is the first place i quite like the extra character in dress walking past observing her.. giving the impression how unsympathetic everyone is to Giulietta’s desperation.
– the quintet was somewhat of a let down following the very moving moment above, but finale is great! GREAAT orchestra take!
– as i suspected, extra boy is now handing Giulietta the cup of death, though not as effective as.. 😉
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– she brought quite a bag of testosterone for duet with Tebaldo! i quite like her attitude + acting, in combo w/ tebaldo, reducing him almost down to a wimp.
– “Ella è morta” ! so sad the music, one (I) can feel it coming!
– now the female chorus did arrive! just in time romeo pulling out (her) his own gun begging them to end (her) his misery! Again, her acting is really nice here, i very like! staging is very effective! GREAT duet! great orchestral support!
– i love how it moves directly to last scene music too! this extra character is not well done around Romeo, works better w/ Giulietta…
– more goosebumps as the troops entered to find Romeo in desperate state in thetombtoilet
– “Ecco la tomba…” =(( -
this role is very high, yes, but her texture is just not very mezzoish – imo. Maybe I’m wrong but I’ve been trying to understand what my problem with her singing is for years now. I also think she’s darknening a bit here which is not what she normally does. And even with that in mind it’s sort of… maybe she’s sung too many soprano roles recently.
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oh? i like her tone here, it sounds quite jdd to me from my limited experience. normally i’m more taken aback by her attack on some of the words / phrase that disrupts the flow for my brain. but this time around i’m absolutely impressed with her phrasing!!
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I’ll listen to it further tomorrow, must go to sleep now…
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good night! i now proceeding to giulietta.. must say i really like Eri Nakamura singing this role 🙂
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I’m glad your tech adventure worked out! (And: formatting advice noted re: backups.)
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scientist by day, opera fan by nights and weekends.
thadieu's opera rambling outlet 
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