khempejjer's Xanga

I'm Back

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:01:34 GMT

Hello, there!

Quite some time has passed since my previous blog entry...almost 4 months, it was. I've been busy trying to pass my literature & culture tests lately... In vain, so far.

By the way, here's my new drumset. It's nice, innit'?

Just an Essay

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:07:57 GMT

The Future of Jazz Music in Hungary and Abroad

Within the frameworks of this essay, I will examine this subject from the perspectives of the men in the street and of professional musicians, giving my own views on the status of jazz music today in Hungary compared to the rest of the world.

As a matter of fact, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who love jazz, and those who do not. As for the ones who find pleasure in listening to this intricately-composed sort of music, they are diverse themselves, ranging from fans to addicts. But what about the other side that turns away from it? It is my firm belief that they do so because they are not aware of what they refuse. They do not know that, for instance, pop and rock music evolved, either directly or indirectly, from jazz. Some of the songs that they croon day by day were jazz standards in the days of long-ago. Apart from this, there is no point in blaming them, since it is their private matter.

Nowadays, music is more available to us than ever before, hence so is jazz, even in Hungary. It is a pity that its tradition is, alas, rather poor. It is a fact that our country is full of great and world-famous musicians, although the majority of people do not know it. Let me demonstrate this with the help of a couple of examples.

In 2006, one of the best fusion-jazz bands in Hungary, Kaltenecker Trio, played in Kaposvár. Since that is my homeplace, and they are my favourite group, I was not going to give it a miss. The concert attracted around 50 people, which is, to tell the truth, quite a shame. A few months later, they played in Pécs, where they played to a full house. In Budapest, even more people are interested in them. So can we say that the bigger the city, the bigger the audience? Yes, but only in Hungary. However, we still cannot talk about tens of thousands of people. It is sad that numerous so-called ”top performers” in pop music, often with playback concerts, attract that many people and thus get along with a lot of money. I am not saying that they do not deserve it, but their musical knowledge is nothing compared to jazz instrumentalists’.

In contrast to pop artists, jazz musicians do not play for money. They do so just for fun. Therefore they cannot make a living by their passion. This is the main reason why, to my mind, they go to another countries where this kind of music is much more popular and appreciated, such as Germany, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, or even to the USA to become famous there, where this particular genre comes from. At this point, a question inevitably arises: Why is this so?

As for the US, the answer is rather obvious: jazz originates from New Orleans.

However, in spite of the aforementioned fact, by the beginning of the 1970s, radio stations gradually stopped playing jazz, musicians got the boot from their record labels, and so did the music publishers by their executives. From that point, they had to stand on their own feet and start everything almost from scratch. By the eighties, they succeeded, and this genre was revived again. It started to spread, ”infecting” almost every part of the world, much to the delight of many people.

Nowadays, there are numerous brilliant jazz artists and bands all over the world, and

festivals are perfect events where these musicians can meet one another, learn from other artists, or even play together. Not only is it a great opportunity for musicians, but also for those who just go there to abandon themselves to the pure enjoyment of music.

Regardless of where they come from, they have a common ground: music. Music breaks down the language barriers, although it is a language itself, too. It is such a language that everyone understands. It makes people come together, get to know and have mutual respect of each other’s cultures.

In these days, this sort of music attracts an entirely different audience than it used to a century ago. Since its revival, it has undergone a lot of changes. It emerged with other genres, creating various styles, including bebop, classical jazz, fusion jazz, acid jazz, smooth jazz, nu jazz, authentic jazz, jazz-funk, jazz-rock, and the list could go on. It has changed so much, actually, that if, say, a jazz musician from the 1920s listened to some contemporary jazz, he probably would not even recognise it.

All in all, jazz is on its way to conquer the world, and even Hungarian artists of the kind are very optimistic about the future of this peculiar style of improvisative music.

The First and the Last Idiom Wizard

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 18:22:46 GMT

Joe gave me a call the other day. He said he had a good idea on how to learn several new words every day without much effort. His idea was this: put 5-6 words into your calendar every day, and when you have some free time, have a look at them again. I gave it a try. It worked. It still does. And it's very efficient. Recently I bought an idioms dictionary, and within a couple of days, would you believe it, I learnt the following expressions:

Up in the air - uncertain, not yet decided
My band are hoping to take a holiday next month, but our plans are still up in the air.
Walk down the aisle - get married
I will be the last one to walk down the aisle, you bet.
Come alive - become interesting or exciting
The city of Kaposvár comes alive after ten o'clock in the evening.
All along - from the beginning
Colombo knew who the murderer was all along, but he pretended he didn't.
The apple of sb's eye - a person, usually a child, who sb loves very much
I think I'm the apple of my grandma's eye - she was the one who bought me that wonderful trumpet.
Out of the ark - extremely old or old-fashioned
Joe, you'd better give that typewriter to somebody - it's straight out of the ark.
Cost/pay an arm and leg - cost/pay a lot of money
I'd like to buy a drum kit, but I'm afraid it's going to cost me an arm and leg.
Armed to the teeth - carrying a lot of weapons or a lot of things needed for a particular purpose
Fortunately, Joe is always armed to the teeth with a lot of helpful books on writing.
Up in arms - very angry and protesting very strongly
University students are up in arms over increased fares.
Be sb's for the asking - be obtained simply by asking
If you want any of my books, it's yours for the asking
Go astray - become lost/go in the wrong direction
Fortunately, the gunman's shots went astray so that nobody got hurt.
Have sth on good authority - be able to believe sth because you trust the person who gave you the information
I have it on good authority that your wife is cheating on you.
Go AWOL - go missing without permission or explanation
Our guitarist went AWOL in the middle of the tour - we had to call it off, eventually.
In the back of beyond - a lonely place that is a long way from any town
My favourite village, Iregszemcse, is in the back of beyond.
Get off my back - stop annoying me
Hey, I've done the hoovering, so why don't you just get off my back?
Put one's back into sth - work very hard at sth
I really should put my back into exercises in order to pass the proficiency exam.
(Not) your bag - sth that you are (not) interested in
Literature really isn't my bag - I nearly failed that subject last semester.
Be badly off for sg - not have enough of sth
My mother studied music at college, so I'm not badly off for books.
The bane of sb's life - a person or thing that makes sb's life unpleasant or unhappy
That goddamn car is always breaking down. It's the bane of my life.
Spot on - exactly right description or estimation
Your description was spot on, Mrs. Eastaff. We caught the burglar.
Bang goes sth - sth is suddenly gone, lost etc
A friend of mine had a car accident and suffered severe injuries, and bang went his chances of going to university.
Go off with a bang - (e.g.: an event) very successful
Our last concert went off with a bang - more than 400 people were present.
A baptism of fire - an unpleasant or frightening first experience of sth
My first day in job was a real baptism of fire because I had to shoulder too much responsibility which I couldn't deal with.
Bare bones (of sth) - the main or basic facts of a matter
I had so little time that I could only tell him the bare bones of the story.
Bare your soul to sb - tell sb your deepest feelings
What's the matter? Come on, you can bare your soul to me.

I'm alive

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:20:56 GMT

You've probably noticed that I've been sort of inactive lately. These weeks were quite busy, that's why I didn't have enough time to continue writing my blog.

But don't worry, from now on, I'll put my back into vocab wizards, WoW pages and stuff like that.

Cheers!

Vocab Wizard #1

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:14:35 GMT

These words were unknown to me from the book "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.

elaborate - very complicated and detailed
reluctant - hesitating before doing something because you do not want to do it or you are not sure if it is the right thing to do
scoff at sy - to talk about sb/sth in a way that makes it clear that you think they are stupid or ridiculous
twig - a small very thin branch that grows out of a larger branch on a bush or tree
yammer - to talk loudly
talcum powder - a fine soft powder, usually with a pleasant smell, that you put on your skin to make it feel smooth and dry
vial - a small glass container for medicine or perfume
stoop - to bend your body forwards and downwards
splotch - a large mark or spot of ink or paint etc.
dejected - to be disappointed
to squint the eyes - to look at sth with your eyes partly shut
cesspool - a covered hole or container in the ground for collecting waste from a building, especially from the toilets
anguish - severe pain, mental suffering or unhappiness

Peter's watch is elaborately designed.
The criminal was reluctant to admit the homicide.
Joe scoffed at me because of my behaviour.
The yard was full of twigs after the storm.
Give it to me - he yammered.
I had to put some talc on my wound in order to avoid infection.
An al-Quaida group managed to throw a vial of anthrax into the chamber.
Chris stooped down to pick up the pen.
There was a splotch of oil on the road.
I was dejected when our team lost the game.
The light was so bright that I had to squint my eyes.
A 7-year-old kid fell into a cesspool while playing with a dog.
The police could hear the anguished scream of the wounded burglar.

Wow! Ain't it EZ? #4 [It's time/it's high time]

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:24:22 GMT

When writing, in order to make our compositions well worded, we have to bear a few things in mind.
Perhaps the most important one is to avoid the repetition of words, phrases, or even sentences. We can do so by rephrasing them.

Sometimes we have to be careful, though, as this act may result in grammatical changes as well.
Let me demonstrate it with the help of some useful examples:

It's time for us to begin a new life. = It's time we began a new life.

It's time for me to post the letter. = It's high time I posted the letter.

It's time for you to marry Sue. = It's high time you married Sue.

It's time for us to sit down to dinner. = It's time we sat down to dinner.

Note: In the right hand sentences, the verbs are in the past tense.

So, ain't it EZ?

Wow! Ain't it EZ? #3 [As if/as though]

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:05:01 GMT

It looks + as if/as though + going to/will + present /present perfect/simple past (Úgy néz ki, hogy...)

It looks as if it's going to rain. (there are dark clouds in the sky)
It looks as he is going to be sick. (he's as white as a ghost)
It looks as if the car has hit a tree. (the car is smashed)
It looks as if the mirror has been smashed. (it's broken into pieces)

It looks as if/as though + past perfect (Úgy néz ki, mintha...)

It was as though the world had turned upside down.
You look as if you hadn't eaten for days.
He speaks as if he had been threatened.
It seems as if the mirror had been smashed. (note the difference: it is not, but there's a funny jig on it which makes it look smashed)

So, ain't it EZ?

Wow! Ain't it EZ? #2 [Regular and Irregular Plurals of Nouns]

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:44:50 GMT

When dealing with plural constructions, in certain cases, we have to pay extra attention to the appropriate usage of them.
Regular plurals - a piece of cake. Irregular ones - a bit more difficult.
Check the following tables.

Regular
Singular	Plural
quiver	quivers
numbat	numbats
yoke	yokes
janitor	janitors
tweezer	tweezers

Nouns that end with -f or -fe
Singular	Plural
wolf	wolves
loaf	loaves
half	halves
leaf	leaves
knife	knives
life	lives
wife	wives

Nouns that end with -o
Singular	Plural
potato	potatoes
tomato	tomatoes
volcano	volcanoes

Nouns that end with -us
Singular	Plural
terminus	termini
hyppopotamus	hyppopotami
nucleus	nuclei
syllabus	syllabi
cactus	cacti
focus	foci

Nouns that end with -is
Singular	Plural
basis	bases
thesis	theses
analysis	analyses
crisis	crises

Nouns that end with -um
Singular	Plural
curriculum	curricula
medium	media
datum	data

Nouns that end with -on
Singular	Plural
criterion	criteria
phenomenon	phenomena

Nouns that don't change

advice

furniture

nonsense

equipment

gossip

permission

homework

fun

information

work

damage

news

sheep

deer

Nouns that end with -y
Singular	Plural
activity	activities
university	universities
BUT!
beauty	beaux

Other
Singular	Plural
man	men
goose	geese
tooth	teeth
louse	lice
mouse	mice
ox	oxen
person	people

So, ain't it EZ?

Wow! Ain't it EZ? #1 [ + to-infinitive or + -ing-form? ]

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 09:19:52 GMT

I have always had difficulties figuring out whether to use the +to-infinitive or the +-ing-form after some verbs.

+ to-infinitive	+ -ing-form
Agree, appear, arrange, ask, attemt, beg, can't afford, can't wait, choose, claim, decide, demand, desire, expect, fail, guarantee, happen, help, hope, manage, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, prove, refuse, seem, tend, threaten, turn out, undertake, want, wish	Admit, avoid, can't face, can't help, can't resist, can't stand, carry on, consider, delay, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, excuse, fancy, finish, give up, imagine, involve, justify, keep, mention, mind, postpone, practise, put off, resent, risk, save, suggest, tolerate

+ to-infinitive:

Peter agreed to let me go early.
Sarah appears to be a perfectly normal person.
I can't afford to buy this T-shirt.
I can't wait to see those photos.
We chose to go by train.
I don't claim to be an expert.
Eventually, we decided to take the test.
I demand to see the manager.
Fewer people desire to live in the south of the country.
I expect to be paid promptly for the work.
Richard failed to pay taxes yesteryear.
We guarantee to deliver our goods within a week.
You don't happen to know her name, do you?
Vicky helped me to choose a present.
We hope to set off around two.
Luckily I managed to find my way.
She will probably offer to repair the walkman for you.
We plan to arrive some time after three.
I had to prepare to leave.
He pretended not to notice.
Mike promised to change the light bulbs.
Our forecast proved to be correct.
Geoff refused to undergo the surgery.
Jan seems to be tired.
I tend to forget my telephone number.
The hijackers threatened to kill one passanger every hour.
Our idea turned out to be a success.
Joey undertook to finish the job by Friday.
I want to break free.
I don't wish to be rude.

+ -ing-form:

She admitted having driven too fast.
You should avoid mentioning his divorce.
Yesterday I couldn't face doing any housework.
I can't help falling in love with you.
It was so beautiful that I couldn't resist buying it.
I can't stand learning that much in the afternoon.
Matthew carried on studying at the university.
We're considering buying a new car.
Joe delayed telling Susan the news.
He denies attempting to murder his wife.
Ann detests listening to pop music.
Andrew dislikes being away from his family.
I really enjoy being here.
Excuse my interrupting you.
Do you fancy going out for a meal?
I've finished doing my homework.
I've given up trying to convince him.
I can't imagine being so greedy.
The test will involve answering the questions discussed earlier on.
How can they justify paying such huge salaries?
Keep stirring the mixture until it boils.
You mentioned moving abroad, didn't you?
I don't mind doing the washing up.
It was an unpopular decision to postpone building that skyscraper.
Practice reversing the car into the garage.
Eli keeps putting off going to the dentist.
He bitterly resents being treated like a child.
He's grown a beard to save shaving.
Someone suggested having a party.
I can't tolerate being called a liar.

So, ain't it EZ?

IWD

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 06:52:33 GMT

Happy women's day!