Buddha Day/Hana Matsuri (Japan)
2005-04-08 @ 11:54 p.m.

One hour isn't enough time to do English 'S' properly, as Mr Purvis demonstrated today. He read out not a few poems, but there wasn't time to discuss them during the session itself. I'm currently wavering between Hardy's prose and poetry as a text for 'S' Paper. Mr Purvis tells me that Hardy's reputation as a poet is comparatively better than as a novelist, because the controversial nature of his novels attracts a lot of negative criticism. Personally, I like his poetry better, but I haven't read any of his novels other than The Return Of The Native and Under The Greenwood Tree, so I'll suspend judgement until I get through a few more of his major novels. Had a intriguing conversation with Claudia, Grace and Thong, and the basic conclusion we arrived at is that men want to be like Damon, but are fundamentally Clym, and women want to be like Eustacia, but are fundamentally Thomasin. Is classic or exotic beauty to be prized more?

When the History 'S' people were done, we headed off to Junction 8 for dinner. Then followed an utterly pointless discussion on whether to take a taxi or the MRT to get to Fort Canning Park. Honestly, I've heard of thrift, but that was ridiculous. Anyway, Ballet Under The Stars was nice, but it isn't really my kind of thing. Nonetheless, I really liked the three pieces choreographed by Jeffrey Tan in the second segment of the performance. Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings is now my favourite classical piece after Pachelbel's Canon In D. To quote someone writing about the piece, "There's no real complication to the Adagio, no technique or unusual turn of harmony that holds the secret of its success. One cannot even pick one passage over another, any more than you can say one point makes the beauty of an arch. This is a masterpiece." The music by Future Sound Of London was interesting. I've actually considered looking for their albums, but these days I'm cash-strapped, so free stuff appeals to me more. Besides, I no longer think one song justifies a CD purchase. The last dance, Living Greens, was a nice way to end the performance.