Notes to self: We live in the time, when we have access to almost all music produced by humanity available at the tip of our fingers. Whether it’s on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Music - we have access to the greatest concerts and studio recordings. Why we do not perceive it as luxury and do not take advantage of it as much as we should?
I first heard Iskandar Widjaja on a cold and windy fall evening in New York’s Bohemian Hall. He played the violin with so much exposed, vulnerable and almost shameless passion that one rarely gets to see such performance in proper and conservative classical music halls. He performed a song of his own composition ‘Spirited Away’ as a preview. Ever since I heard it, I was craving to hear it again. This week the song was finally released on Spotify and YouTube. It is amazing that music can do this to our consciousness.
This week while concert halls around New York city are canceling concerts until April, I had a chance to hear Brahm’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor. Unusually large, complicated and very unfamiliar, the piece has its own wikipedia page . I recommend listening to it on a rainy spring night with a glass of wine: YouTube
I do not remember when I got my first tamagotchi, but I remember everyone in my class, school and immediate surrounding of friends had one. Some had two or more. Some sewed or knitted custom tailored clothing for this fascinating piece of plastic. When our pet died, we were as said as if a similar event would have happened to a real one.
Last week I saw my friend pulled out pocket pikachu and I was immediately overflown with nostalgia. Like it was an old rotary phone or a typewriter out of his pocket. My friend had explained the fascination with electronic objects encapsulated in physical and separate hardware. Of course, on my return home I immediately ordered one from eBay.
I am sitting at home, currently being a caretaker to my new tamagotchi (that I have called Oscar, after Oscar Wilde). Tamagotchis are digital creatures from a planet far, far away (Planet Tamagotchi). Taking care of a Tamagotchi is simple—you feed it, bathe it, and play with it—but Tamagotchis are demanding by nature. They beep and bloop at all hours of the day, requiring near-constant attention. So far my Tabagochi is never happy and always hungry.
The plastic device runs on AAA batteries. It doesn’t need Wi-Fi to work. It has a screen, but you can’t touch it. The routine is very familiar and uneventful. The beeping is distracting and slightly annoying. Yet, I can not stop not feeding and showering it.
The Tamagochi of my friend