Music as Language

...Music as a form of expression without words...as a way to reach and communicate with others without being bound to, restricted or limited by language...

Music has the ability to encompass such a range of human emotions and experiences, with or without lyrics.  It has so much power to influence the way we feel and the things we remember.  It can be enjoyed whether you speak the language of the piece or not (if lyrics are involved).  It's amazing how much power sound has.  We connect through sound. In a way, good writing is not unlike music.  There is flow, pacing, silence, rhythm and so much more to consider.  

I'm not being exceptionally eloquent tonight.  It's late and it's a Monday, but  I wanted to share some of the sounds I've been listening to today:

I recently discovered Yoko K. via Jetwit.  She creates absolutely amazing compositions that somehow take me back in time in my own life to different parts of it.  The music she makes is organic electronica.  She has a great talk and live performance of her work at TEDxPotomac called "Elixir of Harmony."  I think I'm going to present this talk in my O.C. class if I can. 

One of my FB friends posted a link to Ryuichi Sakamoto today.  If you don't know who he is, you can find his bio on wiki.  I think he's best known in the West for his film scores for well known Hollywood films, though musicians have sampled or been influenced by his work.  He is particularly interested in Okinawan music, by the way, and was heavily influenced by classical music.  His interest in cultural/ethnic expressions in music and ethnomusicology adds so much to his work.  

My friend Izumi's band/art collective, "Divine Slime"...

I need to listen to more Okinawan music though.  It's so different from mainland Japanese music and its influences on Japanese musicians have been well noted.  I'll try to post links from Okinawan music as an ongoing project.  In the meantime, Ryukyu Underground is an Okinawan based group (composed of two musicians who moved to Okinawa from England and America, respectively) whose work has been influenced by music from the Ryukyu islands.  Here are two different tracks of theirs. Umaku Kamade and Koza Riot. 

Enjoy.  

To Tokyo or Not

Should I move to Tokyo in September or should I stay in Naha?

A new life...

in Tokyo?

Or another year in Naha?

I have to figure these things out...


I am not doing what I originally intended when I came to Japan and I am not exactly content with my job (though I think a large number of ALTs are not for various reasons).  Outside of work, I feel like I am not invigorated or connected to the city I live in.  And I guess because of this, I try to be as creative as I can in my classroom.  My job...it's not a bad job, it's just that it's not a job that allows someone to do their own thing.  I know that a number of teachers in the USA now feel the same way thanks to No Child Left Behind.  Everything is corporate now, and not in a good way...  In Japan, education works in a similar fashion.  Teachers do not have ability to design their own curriculum for the most part.  They must follow a teaching plan so the students can pass those damn tests.

I have tried this year to bring creative projects and ideas into the classroom since the teachers I work with didn't want to have anything to do with planning the lessons, but I have noticed that the more I bring my own ideas into it, the less receptive they are and the less I do anything creative, the easier the class is to manage.  So if I just do exactly what the text book tells me to do then all is well.  Lamentable.

I assume the ALT before me did the same crap and spruced it up with a few games, some interactive projects as rewards...etc.  And the ALT before that probably as well...

I've been thinking about teaching Drama and ESL at a school in Tokyo.  It's much closer to what I really want to do here.  That being said, I have made the decision to take the path of least resistance this year and to just go wherever life takes me, instead of struggling to stay afloat in a dreamworld that may no longer be possible and stewing in my own sense of failure.  Going with the flow and not resisting change...

My Life in Okinawa

I have been writing about architecture, or rather, I am currently in the midst of an article about Okinawan architecture and its affects on cultural identity, or on personal identity or something....  Somehow I went from writing about a walk through Naha to some sort of academic analysis of something related to the typhoon-strength utilitarian shelters that are the mainstay of architectural dwellings in post WWII Okinawa.  All I really wanted to talk about was the flow of the city and how I usually want to dance through streets, but how I rarely want to do that in Naha.  I blame these buildings.  Because I really think I might want to do that if all of Okinawa had the traditional houses as they do on Taketomi.  Or maybe not...I don't know.

Enter the Dragon

新年明けましておめでとうございます! 今年もよろしくお願いします. 
Welcome the dragon year!

It's 2012 now and things have been up and down for me already, so I suppose the world energy has shifted a bit.  I've already considered quitting my job and opening up a gluten-free bakery and had a dream on the 1st that I should move to Tokyo and write books.  What dreams, ね?  夢ですよ。。。