World's Longest Concert

World's longest concert sounds second chord
Last Update: Thursday, January 5, 2006. 9:07pm



A new chord has sounded in the world's slowest and longest concert, which will take 639 years to perform.

An abandoned church in eastern Germany is the venue for the 639-year-long performance of a piece of music by American experimental composer John Cage.

The performance of "organ2/ASLSP" (or "As SLow aS Possible") began in the Buchardi church in Halberstadt on September 5, 2001, and is scheduled to last until 2639.

The first year-and-a-half of the performance was total silence, with the first chord, G-sharp, B and G-sharp, not sounding until February 2, 2003.

Two additional Es, an octave apart, were sounded in July 2004 and are scheduled to be released later this year on May 5.

Today, the first chord has progressed to a second, comprising A, C and F-sharp, and is to be held down over the next few years by weights on an organ being built especially for the project.

New pipes are being added to the organ in time for when new notes are scheduled to sound.

Cage originally conceived the piece in 1985 as a 20-minute work for piano, subsequently transcribing it for organ in 1987.

But organisers of the John Cage Organ Project decided to take the composer at his word and stretch out the performance for 639 years, using Cage's transcription for organ.

The enormous running time was chosen to commemorate the creation of Halberstadt's historic Blockwerk organ in 1361, 639 years before the current project started.

The organ, built by Nikolaus Faber for Halberstadt's cathedral, was the first ever to be used for liturgical purposes, ringing in a new era in which the organ has played a central role in church music ever since.

Cage was a pupil of one of the 20th century's most influential composers, Arnold Schoenberg.

Cage's avant-garde oeuvre includes works such as the notorious "4'33", a piece for orchestra comprising four minutes and 33 seconds of total silence, all meticulously notated.

The organisers of the John Cage Organ Project say the record-breaking performance in Halberstadt also has a philosophical background, to "rediscover calm and slowness in today's fast-changing world".

Cage died in New York in 1992.

- AFP

Thought of the Day

It's said men have only two states of being: hungry or horny. That being the case, if you see me without an erection, make me a sandwich.

Pervert by Name: Pervert by Nature

It's official: I'm back on the prowl for a partner. I thought I'd put this little notice here in my blog rather than on my profile because, well, the person I'm looking for has to be interested in me and be willing to read. A lot. I like to write more than anything, and my favorite subject is me.

That might sound a bit stuck-up, I agree, but the person I'm looking for will laugh and understand entirely what I mean. I have a sense of humor, but not everybody thinks I'm funny. Ho-hum. Such is life.

I should probably say at the outset that I have Aspergers or, as some people say, Ass-burgers. What does this mean? Well, first of all it isn't a sexual ailment nor is it transmitted sexually or otherwise. It means, if I can believe the quacks who talk about it, that I have difficulty relating to people emotionally. I don't like to be hugged, for example. If you do that, I'll probably tell you to stop squeezing me. I don't like to be squeezed. That's what it feels like to me when I'm hugged.

If you have a baby or a cute puppy or cat, don't try thrusting it into my arms to hold and go gah-gah over. Sure, you may think these things are cute but to me, they're not. They're not ugly or repulsive or anything and I have an affinity for all kinds of animals (except fish), but if I want to demonstrate any show of affection, it needs to be on my own terms.

I'm not especially tolerant of crowds either. Sure, I've learned all the social skills necessary to interact with people in a crowd but ultimately, doing so either exhausts me or bores me. Sometimes both. I've been known to disappear from parties, even in my own home, without saying goodbye to people. Many people think I'm rude for doing so but if you take the time to get to know me, you'll understand. Incidentally, if people leave my party without saying goodbye to me, I don't usually think much of it.

People sometimes don't think I listen when they speak but believe me, I hear and comprehend everything. It's like a curse. I can be listening and taking notice of everything else going on in the world around and composing music or doing some other kind of mental gymnastics in my head at the same time. I can also meet people once and remember their names years later.

Need sympathy for some upset? Ask somebody else. It's not that I have no empathy - in fact, the reverse is often true. It often overwhelms me, and I don't like to be overwelmed emotionally. On the other hand, if you accidentally cut yourself, I'll be the first to provide practical assistance with a bandage or whatever.

I have an enormous capacity for knowledge and very wide ranging interests. The person I'm looking for will need to be similarly brainy. If this intimidates you, we're not a match. If it causes you any indignation or if you think you're smarter than me and try to challenge my intellect, you'll lose. Seriously. Maybe you really are smarter but if that were the case, you'd understand why such a game is dangerous and ultimately futile for you.

What else? Well, if this all sounds bad, there is a good side to Aspergers. I am a gifted composer and musician and delight in showing off my talents. I enjoy a great variety of musical styles too. If you don't like lots of different music, I won't be attracted to you in the least.

I'm not religious or even spiritual in any way, though I'm well read on the subjects and don't mind discussions. I'm not mystical either, though I do enjoy reading all the good things astrologers say about sagittarians. The bad things, while usually true, are ignored. Such is my nature. If you're an aquarian, stop reading now and just write to me! Gemini is supposed to be my second-most ideal partner, but I've never met one I liked. Not that I've met many, and I'm open to be proved wrong. Taurus is by far the least compatible for me - and I've met a lot of taureans. Virgo is supposed to be "good" for me - whatever that means.

So, if you've read this far and your eyes haven't rolled completely out of your head, message me.

Oh, and I should probably state, for the record, that my preference is for a woman in her thirties. Slightly over or under is OK, but my favorite boots are 25 years old, and I'm not wanting a partner who isn't as old as my boots. My preference is also for somebody at least remotely attractive. What does this mean? Well, put it this way. I'm 6' (182cm) tall and weigh 210lb (95kg). If you're heavier than me, particularly if you're taller (and especially if you're shorter), I'm not interested. Oh, and if you're shorter than 5' tall and/or weigh less than a bag of sugar, I'm not interested. So, I don't expect you to be a glamorous supermodel - just a person who looks after themself a bit. Incidentally, I'm a bum man and don't have any particular preference in the boob department.

Location? I suppose somebody local would be preferable but then, when I complete my PhD I intend to work overseas - most likely in the US. If you're an Australian, you'll need to be similarly mobile. If you're in the US or Canada, you'll need to be patient. If you're in the UK, the jury is out. Are the Poms in the UK any different to those in Australia? If not, we're not a match. If you're in Europe, hmm. I'd really like to learn to speak German if only so I could sound more domly when I give orders. Russian? Write to me. I'm currently trying to learn to speak it. If you're in China, "ni ho!" If you're in Antarctica, you're probably a crazy scientist and thus, interesting.

So, I suppose that's about it for now. Still reading? Bravo! I applaud your sense of humor and mental fortitude! Message me :-)

Mr P

How I Broke The Internet

It seems every time I have anything to do with Yahoo, I end up swearing and cursing its very existence. A friend recently invited me to join her Yahoo 360 list of friends, which I did, but in the process I was tempted to create my own Yahoo 360 page. In fiddling around with things I started another blog over there - essentially to duplicate posts made here. That seemed easy enough but then I noticed I could syndicate my posts directly using an RSS feed.

I'm not going to try and explain how RSS works but the acronym RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. Let me just say, it's not quite so simple. I created an account at FeedBurner and pointed it at my blog here. Then I subscribed my Yahoo 360 feed to the link at FeedBurner and a quick test post here confirmed things appeared to be working as they should. However, when I wrote a new post the following day, something weird happened. Well, several weird things, actually.

The new post I created failed to show up on the main page of my blog here and there was no sign of it in my Yahoo 360 page either. It did, however, appear at the FeedBurner site and the link back to the orignal post confirmed the post did exist somewhere here -- just not on the front page. Gah! I created a second post to test things again: same result. Then, when I tried to delete the first test post, and all the prompts suggested the deletion was successful despite the fact the post remained large as life on the main page of my blog. Fuck.

Anyway, after clearing my Internet cache, the recalcitrant posts disappeared from my blog but the pages still exist in cyberspace!

Dr Mister Pervert

As readers of this blog may remember I decided to go to university last year and get a "real degree" as my Associate Diploma in Music (Jazz) just wasn't cutting it for me in getting a regular job. At the time I applied I had resigned myself to spending three years, starting from scratch to get a Bachelor's Degree in Music. At the time of my interview I was asked "Why haven't you applied to do a Post-Graduate course?" I had no idea at the time I could be eligible for entry but, after taking the advice of the interviewers, applied and was accepted into a Post-Grad Certificate.

There was a small downside to this: if I'd gone into an undergraduate course I could have deferred payment of fees. As it was, there was no such deferrment plan available in Post-Grad courses however, each level of Post-Grad (Certificate, Diploma and Masters) was only six months long and so I figured I could be out of there with a Masters by Coursework in Music in 18 months, all for the princely sum of $18,000AU, give or take a few dollars.

I finished last year with a Post-Grad Diploma in hand, and a grade point average of 6.5 (out of 7). I had a very supportive music faculty friend who encouraged me to apply for a Masters by Research degree and, to cut a long story short, was accepted into that at the beginning of this year. While I knew this would now take a further two years study, where I could have gotten a Masters by Coursework in six months, there wasn't a fee involved and thus I managed to save myself around six grand.

Anyway, the aforementioned faculty friend (who was also my research supervisor by this time) transferred in July to a kick-ass job as Professor and Chair of Music at another University. He encouraged me to apply to transfer my studies to follow him, which I did, but he also said my work was of a PhD standard and that I should apply for the higher degree. This I also did and lo! if I wasn't accepted.

Now, the rules at this other university say they expect PhD students to complete their research not less than two years and not more than four. As it is, I am already advanced enough in my research to aim to complete in two years but, get this! They also are giving me six months credit for work already done at the Masters level. What this means is I have a good shot at completing my PhD by the end of next year. In short, I started at the beginning of last year with virtually no academic history behind me at all and will have, in three years, gone from scratch to a PhD.

So, yeah! Not bad going, even if I do say so myself.

Oh, and it also now looks very promising that I'll get my academic career started as early as next year. Not that I believe in palm reading, but I had my palms read when I was sixteen or so. I was told all those years ago I'd have two large financial peaks in my life: the first in my early thirties and a second and larger one in the years following my forty-fifth birthday. The first prediction came true and I'll be turning 45 at the end of this year. Maybe there really is something in that palm reading hocus-pocus?