buckwheat 365

yoga, health and the community

2012-08-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a project now to study yoga and its relationship to singers and stagecraft. there's some good info out there about yoga for singers, for performers and such.

I'm taking it a step further

Using the latest educational methodologies of yoga for the performing artist I'll observe the effects of consistent yoga on my own development and interview other actors, singers, dancers and the like--- in RUSSIA-- about their practice of yoga. I'm interested to see how it affects concentration, memorization, ease of movement and overall mind-body awareness, as well as other mental health concerns. And I'm also interested in getting that conversation going within communities.

I want to know how yoga can be utilized to inspire youth to focus their attention on service to humanity, and how it can improve quality of life across a broad spectrum.

Just to clarify, by the way, I'm not some numi-numi guy who thinks that yoga is going to solve all the worlds problems. I will however to my best to share the best information about the mental health and physical benefits of consistent yoga practice, why it works, and how you can cater the practice of yoga to your own needs.

Fundraising starts soon...

Ciao
James

Visa Office

2012-05-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Depending on your dormitory and the staff that operates it, your tour of the dorm might trump all other experiences for comic effect, but a fat, blonde, chainsmoking retired civil engineer showing you the kitchen, wash room, shower and bathrooms, explaining the rules, where to smoke, where not to smoke (while smoking in said off-limits locations), etc etc....

Visiting the visa office for the first time is at least as ridiculous.

They give you just enough information to complete various tasks, like an easter egg hunt; one or two at a time, go here, go there, pay for this. Go to this office, come back. Go here, pay this. Come back. Literally all of these tasks can be performed in a quarter mile radius from one another in a single trip. Yet you are given them piecemeal, over the course of at least an hour. Because the different offices don't coordinate a "welcome package" with a checklist and a map. You just wing it. Even people well versed in Russian have had no luck getting it all done in one go. You're destined visit the same bank 2 or 3 times in a single day, and they never take your black matte photos you took at CVS the night before you left for Russia because the foreign office's website told you to.

I've tried since the very first days of my life in Russia to remember how many times I went to the bank that day, how long I sat in the office waiting for them to print out paperwork and stamp documents. But even on the very following day my mind was foggy and fails me. I'm not sure anybody remembers...

opera exam

2012-05-10T10:21:00.001-07:00

Less than one month till my opera class exam (June 5th)

Our scene is the finale from Francesco Cilea's opera "Adriana Lecouvreur." Beautiful vocal music. Long scene too... (counting Adriana's aria, which is relatively short, the whole scene might get up to 20 minutes... I'll double check)

Time to go over the staging so I don't trip over myself tomorrow ;)

"vikings and sweet dreams" or "3 am"

2012-05-09T16:21:00.001-07:00

me: ...i should be sleeping lol

Samantha: me too

im really need to slleeeeeppp

i really have no business being up

Samantha: i have a story to tell

me: i'm just playing one of those flash adverts that has the crossbow and you have to shoot vikings and apples land on the floor where the vikings were

Samantha: but im too tired to tell it

me: but if you don't shoot the apples, it resets

Samantha: ill tell u tomorrow

me: i just keep doing that over and over again

without shooting the apples

Samantha: lmao!

Secret Peace: Getting better, one step at a time

2012-05-09T04:42:00.001-07:00

Jesse Richards shares insights into work ethic and how it improves society as a whole. Interestingly, the examples he shows are people improving themselves while sharing that experience with others via the internet. While many decry social networking as an evil disease, here we see one way in which it's a means for people to share their experiences and, in the process, learn from them. Mutual interest.

"Anything Natalie learns - which pen works best, how to compose a page, how to schedule her day - she passes along and other people can pick up. And of course, bad information gets shared as well, but the cream eventually always rises to the top."

Secret Peace: Getting better, one step at a time: Take a look at this great ad from Image Comics, one in a series featuring quotes from their creators. This one shows writer/artist Natalie N...

Voices of Baha!!!

2012-05-09T03:12:00.000-07:00

2012-13 will be a great year. lots of goals and fingers crossed for them all to come to fruition.

July -
Russian Opera Workshop in Philly (Russian Romances Concert, Tchaikovsky's opera "Queen of Spades")
FREE concerts throughout the second half of July, come listen!
Autumn -
Official auditions are later this month, but at the Academic Theater of the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory with full orchestra I'll sing at least two roles. In autumn I plan Almeric, from the opera Iolanta, and Triquet from Eugene Onegin (possibly followed up by Lensky, in the spring).

Not willing to make any predictions for spring... but Lensky is on my radar. I've got more plans but am keeping them secret for right now. Between autumn and spring I'll be singing TONS of romances and chamber songs in concert, so there'll be good video to share with everyone. I've got a great teacher for Chamber Singing with great taste, so I know you'll all enjoy the programs we put together.

Ohhh but how I'm dreaming of singing with the Voices of Baha again..

It's a choir that tours (usually yearly) to different parts of the world. The last time I sang with them was at Carnegie Hall in 2002, before that in Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, France, & Germany (in that order... I think) for the 2001 tour, and we also did a concert on the National Mall in Washington DC. Although I can't remember what year that was.

European tour 2001 was the only time I went on full tour with the choir and I'm thirsting to do it again.

That's why I'm excited because the choir is scheduling another tour in Europe for the summer of 2013, one year from now, and I wanna be there.
Concerts in London, Paris, Stuttgart, Vienna and Budapest!!

And since I live in Russia, it would be so much cheaper/easier to make the hop to Europe in June after I finish exams. Who knew dreams could be economical?

So I'm fundraising early. Please help me get to Europe next summer!!

Click the "Donate" button...
...and like a tiny cup of hot chocolate to a homelessman in mid-winter, you'll be warming my heart!

Victory Day (Europe)!

2012-05-08T14:18:00.002-07:00

May 9th in Russia.

Today we hit the streets and basically pats ourselves on the back for defeating Nazi Germany.

During Hitler's seige of Leningrad (now Saint-Petersburg) an average 20,000 people died during the winter months. The overall figures vary but Russia's population dropped by about 30million, give or take, during WWII. some figures are slightly higher (up to 40) some slightly lower (down to 20).

The level of pain and suffering that has been felt in Russia since the revolution in 1918 is all-consuming and the citizens who endured the blockade of Leningrad deserve serious praise.

С ДНЁМ ПОБЕДЫ!
(Happy Victory Day!)

2012-05-08T13:37:00.001-07:00

sore throats suck

its not all bad though. people leave you alone with you're sick ;)

had cherry ice cream followed a few minutes later by a whole leaf of Bok Choy on which i spread eggplant puree. tasty.

here's hoping exams go well..

back to piter for a second go

2010-09-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

man... back in piterburg (saint-petersburg, the one in russia) for another year. there are actually no words to describe, despite my jetlag resulting in a temporarily frustrating inability to sleep through an entire night i am thrilled to be back. my russian was piss poor yesterday though. but we're passed embarassment already. there's something liberating about saying the wrong thing for half a day and then thinking "i forgot a crucial grammarpoint somewhere in there... oh yes, haha" and just being glad that most of your friends understand you DESPITE your linguistic handicap.

ok, so, things that made my life a million times better in less than 24 hours...

pirogi -- you haven't had pirog until you've had freshly baked pirog with tvorog (cottage cheese) and it's still warm... scrumptious. texture like cheescake....soft warm cheesecake on a type of pastry bread. and that was my "holy crap i'm hungry but in a hurry on my way from the bank to the visa office" pitstop with cappuccino snack. there is NOTHING in the world i love more than pirog when i'm hungry at 1pm in the afternoon

walking down the street. they finished renovating a gorgeous building on the canal griboedova and disassembled the scaffolding yesterday. my walk from the metro just improved tenfold. photos to come.

taking the bus sitting next to my concert master Valentina (from saint-pete) and my neighbor Enkhbat (mongolia)

seeing everybody from random friends, to the doctor to the adminstrators in the dormitory, to the cashier at teh 24-hour store...

chatting with my taxi driver from the airport

hot not-fully-brewed-because-i'm-in-a-rush-tea in the cafeteria at school

back to bed.... for an hour... another day awaits

new and way not improved

2010-08-14T10:16:00.001-07:00

decided to make a blog today... however a greater desire to purchase a pair of five fingers shoes outweighs this decision. this'll wait.