At KLCC and beneath the stars

After Dr Bruce Little's seminar on apologetics and postmodernity yesterday, I went to KLCC and decided to take advantage of the time there by spending the evening with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).

In the programme notes on Rachmaninov's First Symphony, it was written that the bad response to the work on its premiere over a century ago, was probably due to the fact that Rachmaninov was ahead of his time. In the late 1800s, Russia expected sweeping melodies in the style of Tchaikovsky, while Rachmaninov employed a relatively simple approach, weaving his music around a single theme rather like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Indeed, in the 20th Century, such methods were no longer considered inappropriate, as exhibited by composers like Shostakovich and Stravinsky, not to mention the minimalists. It struck me that people who try to emerge always encounter opposition by those rooted in the old ways.

"No one who has tasted old wine likes the new, for they say the old is better" - Jesus of Nazareth.

Difficult it is to blaze a trail where no man has trod, and such adventurers always draw rude stares and comments from all manner of observers. But it doesn't stop them, it seems. We remember these people who bridged the gap between their respective 'old and new' worlds, who bore the scorn of the conservative traditionalists, and ever encouraged fellow daring trailblazers.


When I walked over to the Mandarin Oriental for awhile before the performance, I saw this family of three; the father was carrying their baby, while the mother struggled to life the stroller up the few steps at the side of the building. I could have stopped to help, but the inertia of busyness got the better of me, and I hurried on.

I told myself immediately as soon as I passed them, and I keep telling myself even until now, that it will never happen again. I don't want to let the needs of others slip by me, into the realm of superficiality. Not now, not ever.


The night was once again rather rewarding, though I still need to get to know the telescope better. Dad and I tried fixing it up to view Saturn, but it didn't work, probably due to the miniscule size (as seen from Earth) and great distance of the planet, or the fact that we don't really know how to operate the scope either.

Yet all nights are not without consolation; this time, facing South, I saw the stars Pi Puppis and Zeta Puppis (otherwise known as Naos) of the constellation Puppis, which is supposed to resemble the stern of a boat.