Independent Study Grant May 30, 2007

I’ve been researching about Khoomi and came across something brilliant(well, Khoomi itself is brilliant)
Khoomi is a kind of overtone singing for those of you who are not familiar with the term…Overtone singing aka harmonic singing, means singing in multiple notes at a time. I’ve been listening to it over and over and yet I’m still not 100% convinced that it’s coming from a human being.

I never knew that such a thing actually existed. I’d read about it in a book and I thought it was fictitious since the book was a fiction. I just heard a few audioclips of it in its various forms and althought it’s not what I had expected, it’s an astonishing sound that leaves me quivering in a certain unknown excitement.

Before I turn 28, I’m planning on going to Mongolia for a while to learn khoomi and horse riding (Mongolians are like gods on horses(to me) haha) while doing some sort of voluntary works..Anyways, so in the process of searching for more audioclips, I came across this amazing website which mentions an independent study grant program that sposors graduating seniors(uh, me?) who wants to travel abroad(uh, me?) to research(uh, me?) any topics of their choice(hello!?) the only problem: my school is not a participating school. ugh.

so I’m wondering, does anyone have any info on independent study grant programs? I want to do some sort of photojournalism(speaking of which, um, pics, where are thou?) but studying world music is also interesting. Hopefully I’ll run into great music in the streets of India…

oh and since God loves me and all, I’m almost certain that I’m going on Inca Trail 8/16-24. Hello, two months-long diet of ramen.

I love him May 23, 2007

How to Kill Yourself May 23, 2007

 a rough translation *upto the top right hand corner of the 2ndpicture:

what you need is a roll of duct tape.
first, you tape up all the gap space between the windows and the door.
Then inside the room, you cry as much as you feel sadness.
The room will start to get filled up with your tears,
and eventually you’ll drown in the tears & die.

“It’s impossible to cry that much even if you are really sad.”

“That’s because you are not sad enough to die.”

From Chun Kye Young’s DVD.

HAHAHA

apartment wanted! May 21, 2007

I’m going back to NY the first week of July and looking for an apartment until the end of December, & here are the specifics…

-own bedroom in one of these locations:
East Village, Lower East Side, Gramercy, Chinatown***, Chelsea (and here goes “yeah right” list)-Soho, West Village, Greenwich, Union Square ….basically “downtown”(below 25th street)

-The ideal monthly rent will be around $600-650…but I can pay up to $700 a month.

-It doesn’t matter how small the room is…my last room was 6′ by 7.

-should be ok with occassional guest stay-overs….

-no extreme noise when um, studying, respect privacy….you know, the usual.

…that’s about it.I’m flexible towards everything else so just hit me up if you have something.

I’m unemployed in ny but have enough money to pay for the living (including the monthly bills and everything)for the stay in NY with that rent budget.

I won’t have much stuff, obviously since it will be a short stay.

I respect other people’s privacy as well as their guests as long as they show the same respect in reciprocity.

and YES I REALIZE THIS IS A REALLY BORING POST.

yayaya May 21, 2007

I don’t even bother sorting through the pics anymore…

 but here’s an update on my most deliciously exciting life:

I’ve been burying myself under the abundance of new(great) music to listen to,

as well as the works of Ai Yazawa (I highly recommend Paradise Kiss-English translation usually butchers the original context but I’m almost certain that illustrations alone will satisfy you) -love love love it,

and paying the price(literally) of being the citizen of the most hated country in the world.

-Usually the tourist visa for the US citizens is the most expensive one for many countries….and India….(sigh) visa costs 115,000 won!! Not only am I getting charged more by the Indian government, but also for applying in Korea! they have additional fees  for non-Korean citizens (15,000 won) and more additional fees on top of that JUST for the U.S. passport holders.  (On the U.S. India embassy site, it says it costs $60 for US citizens and $40 for non-US citizens…..so yea I’m paying almost double the price) what can I say, I feel the love. Btw, I’m only visiting for 15 days and I suspect that the cost of visa will far exceed the cost of stay there. geesh.

 At least my passport is getting filled up with monchromous boring entry stamps. weee.

 Oh and btw, 3 of my photos(the previously posted ones) were displayed at the Musee de l’Elysee in Swiss a few weeks ago: (yes I’m a complete sucker for any form of merit)

 

I was so happy to receive the news especially since I’ve been dying to have my photos in exhibition(first time for photography!)..why is it that I haven’t been able to make it to the actual exhibitions in the past 5 yrs?…Hopefully one day I will see my works on display in person, speaking of which, I’m looking to have a travel photography exhibition when I get back to NY in July (wistful thinking? ) so send me love so I can feel motivated enough to go through all the pics…I’m probably going to concentrate on shooting portraits when I go to India.  and god, I can’t wait ’til I get back into venues to blind poor manorexic bands to death.

life can be better if it’s hooked on to an amp…but I’ll settle for the simple life in Kapadokiya accompanied by the daily walking with a tortoise and a (short-haired)cat.

xXpowdaaa