Sunday, November 11, 2007
A new era in PCLL
...and I'm glad I am one of the few who represent it, at least in the photo.
I really like this photo, really, really like it!
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I really like this photo, really, really like it!
Labels: PCLL
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Passed PCLL!
Monday, June 11, 2007
The Fun Group?!
This is odd. SCMP had a profile about the mock trial for PCLL last Saturday, and Group 10 was coined the "Fun Group." But why Fun? Why not the "Profound, Sophisticated, Thoughtful, Intelligent Group?" Had me wondering....
Life's a trial for young lawyers
Nick Gentle
Updated on Jun 10, 2007
Someone once said the only reason young lawyers hang around the courts is because they have nothing else to do, and they may have a point.
That person may have been surprised, then, to discover that the 330 or so aspiring lawyers wandering about the halls of the High Court yesterday actually had something to do.
They were taking part in the mock trial - or, more specifically, trials - of a man charged with serving an alcoholic drink to someone who was already intoxicated, a completely fictitious offence (in Hong Kong at least) designed to test the advocacy skills of the soon-to-be graduating students.
The trials were organised by Vandana Rajwani, a teaching consultant and barrister, as the final test for those studying the postgraduate certificate of laws (PCLL) at the University of Hong Kong.
Ms Rajwani likened organising the event to a military operation, co-ordinating the students, a host of volunteers and the various barristers and members of the judiciary who trained them.
"The Law Society has said they want everyone [undertaking the PCLL] to do this," Ms Rajwani said.
The students had rotated through the various roles of lawyer, counsel, judge and clerk.
As the students gathered after the conclusion of their trials, the members of Group 10 - they called themselves the "Fun Group" - seemed very happy with how their hearing had panned out.
The students said they had not been phased by the court setting, as they had already had a few oral exams in courtrooms.
Leo Hoye, from the HKU geography faculty, played the part of the accused barman and also was a witness for both the defence and prosecution.
"I thought the quality of the students was very high, not just because of their English but their technique and their knowledge was excellent," he said.
Copyright © 2007 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All right reserved
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Life's a trial for young lawyers
Nick Gentle
Updated on Jun 10, 2007
Someone once said the only reason young lawyers hang around the courts is because they have nothing else to do, and they may have a point.
That person may have been surprised, then, to discover that the 330 or so aspiring lawyers wandering about the halls of the High Court yesterday actually had something to do.
They were taking part in the mock trial - or, more specifically, trials - of a man charged with serving an alcoholic drink to someone who was already intoxicated, a completely fictitious offence (in Hong Kong at least) designed to test the advocacy skills of the soon-to-be graduating students.
The trials were organised by Vandana Rajwani, a teaching consultant and barrister, as the final test for those studying the postgraduate certificate of laws (PCLL) at the University of Hong Kong.
Ms Rajwani likened organising the event to a military operation, co-ordinating the students, a host of volunteers and the various barristers and members of the judiciary who trained them.
"The Law Society has said they want everyone [undertaking the PCLL] to do this," Ms Rajwani said.
The students had rotated through the various roles of lawyer, counsel, judge and clerk.
As the students gathered after the conclusion of their trials, the members of Group 10 - they called themselves the "Fun Group" - seemed very happy with how their hearing had panned out.
The students said they had not been phased by the court setting, as they had already had a few oral exams in courtrooms.
Leo Hoye, from the HKU geography faculty, played the part of the accused barman and also was a witness for both the defence and prosecution.
"I thought the quality of the students was very high, not just because of their English but their technique and their knowledge was excellent," he said.
Copyright © 2007 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All right reserved
Labels: Fun group, Group 10, HKU, PCLL, SCMP
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Friday, April 27, 2007
Should've changed that stupid lock!
What ingenious lyrics from the disco anthem, "I Will Survive." So many little things in life add up to quite a significant amount.
Went to see Harlem Yu's concert at the Coliseum. Kinda hard to believe this is his first concert at the Coliseum after 20 years in the music business. His voice always catches my attention, and he's a terrific live performer. Great vocal skills yet charismatic entertainer. I have never seen a crowd so appreciative of an artist at the Coliseum before (given HK people's cold reception of musicians), but this crowd demanded 2 encores (the second one was unexpected, even by Harlem himself, for his ran out of songs), and I've seen quite a lot of shows...that's saying a lot about Harlem's ability to woo the audience. I must say this was one of the best shows I've seen lately, on par with Chucho Valdes' thunderous performance at the Cultural Center.
Seeing live shows is indeed an often emotional experience for me. Witnessing certain artists take the stage, own the stage, and living their dreams is more than a spectator sport; you're located in the zone of excitment. Simultaneously, it's a learning experience for me. I always like seeing how artists own the stage. The most exciting performer I've seen is Dr. Lonnie Smith. The way he builds up his solos is amazing, and he goes through certain stages:
1) First stage: warm-up (taking it slow and bit by bit, feeling how the song should proceed, and feeling how the audience wants it [because if the audience isn't receptive, then it's a waste of time altogether])
2) Second stage: build-up (he pushes his emotions a little forward, takes his audience into a deeper emotional level, connects spiritually and intellectually with them, and also shows off his chops a little bit)
3) Third stage: pushing the limit (now his audience is totally comfortable with where he's taking them, then he pushes their limits of acceptance and also challenges them ["basically how far can you go"], and he is at a groovy mode.
4) Fourth stage: explosion (this is the most exciting stage - this is why people buy tickets to see him. This is where he lets all his emotions out. This is not about chops anymore. It's the feeling, the soul, the gut, all flying out. You groove with him b/c you agree with him. Albeit the explosion, Dr. keeps his composure throughout the process.)
5) Fifth stage: cool-down (this is where the emotions and fire die down and he takes you back to normalcy. But it's less abrupt than it is gradual. You just let him cool you down. And after that, you feel good.)
So these days, I have a lot of Dr. Smith's soul in me (and I say that in the humblest way), including my recent show at Grappa's Cellar. I must say in terms of playing the chops and owning the stage, that WAS by far my best performance in HK. I just let it all out this time. And the audience could clearly connect with me. I could see it. I could feel it. It's the best feeling in the world.
Check out Ram's weblog for more details about the night.
It's sad to know my PCLL year in going to end soon. I must say this has been a delightful, joyful (though extremely difficult) year for me. I must say I'm blessed to have such a good group of friends in the program. I haven't met one person I don't like (Ok, maybe one). But overall, this support unit is priceless. I can't get it from anywhere else. I really enjoy the small talks at cafes and fast food places in between classes or after the SGs. Sometimes we talk gibberish, other times we talk about careers, but in any case, the talks have been quite interesting. I'm going to miss this wonderful year when I enter the real world again (for the second time). I treasure all this time from here to finish. Most of all, let's pray that we'll all pass the exam.
I hope I use the five point method by Dr. Smith in other areas of my life. I aim to finish everything in an art form, be it going to the market to buy fish or writing a groundbreaking thesis on neurons. Life is about showing some style.
Well I hope you like mine.
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Went to see Harlem Yu's concert at the Coliseum. Kinda hard to believe this is his first concert at the Coliseum after 20 years in the music business. His voice always catches my attention, and he's a terrific live performer. Great vocal skills yet charismatic entertainer. I have never seen a crowd so appreciative of an artist at the Coliseum before (given HK people's cold reception of musicians), but this crowd demanded 2 encores (the second one was unexpected, even by Harlem himself, for his ran out of songs), and I've seen quite a lot of shows...that's saying a lot about Harlem's ability to woo the audience. I must say this was one of the best shows I've seen lately, on par with Chucho Valdes' thunderous performance at the Cultural Center.
Seeing live shows is indeed an often emotional experience for me. Witnessing certain artists take the stage, own the stage, and living their dreams is more than a spectator sport; you're located in the zone of excitment. Simultaneously, it's a learning experience for me. I always like seeing how artists own the stage. The most exciting performer I've seen is Dr. Lonnie Smith. The way he builds up his solos is amazing, and he goes through certain stages:
1) First stage: warm-up (taking it slow and bit by bit, feeling how the song should proceed, and feeling how the audience wants it [because if the audience isn't receptive, then it's a waste of time altogether])
2) Second stage: build-up (he pushes his emotions a little forward, takes his audience into a deeper emotional level, connects spiritually and intellectually with them, and also shows off his chops a little bit)
3) Third stage: pushing the limit (now his audience is totally comfortable with where he's taking them, then he pushes their limits of acceptance and also challenges them ["basically how far can you go"], and he is at a groovy mode.
4) Fourth stage: explosion (this is the most exciting stage - this is why people buy tickets to see him. This is where he lets all his emotions out. This is not about chops anymore. It's the feeling, the soul, the gut, all flying out. You groove with him b/c you agree with him. Albeit the explosion, Dr. keeps his composure throughout the process.)
5) Fifth stage: cool-down (this is where the emotions and fire die down and he takes you back to normalcy. But it's less abrupt than it is gradual. You just let him cool you down. And after that, you feel good.)
So these days, I have a lot of Dr. Smith's soul in me (and I say that in the humblest way), including my recent show at Grappa's Cellar. I must say in terms of playing the chops and owning the stage, that WAS by far my best performance in HK. I just let it all out this time. And the audience could clearly connect with me. I could see it. I could feel it. It's the best feeling in the world.
Check out Ram's weblog for more details about the night.
It's sad to know my PCLL year in going to end soon. I must say this has been a delightful, joyful (though extremely difficult) year for me. I must say I'm blessed to have such a good group of friends in the program. I haven't met one person I don't like (Ok, maybe one). But overall, this support unit is priceless. I can't get it from anywhere else. I really enjoy the small talks at cafes and fast food places in between classes or after the SGs. Sometimes we talk gibberish, other times we talk about careers, but in any case, the talks have been quite interesting. I'm going to miss this wonderful year when I enter the real world again (for the second time). I treasure all this time from here to finish. Most of all, let's pray that we'll all pass the exam.
I hope I use the five point method by Dr. Smith in other areas of my life. I aim to finish everything in an art form, be it going to the market to buy fish or writing a groundbreaking thesis on neurons. Life is about showing some style.
Well I hope you like mine.
Labels: Dr. Lonnie Smith, Grappa's, gypsy jazz, Harlem Yu, legitimate soul, live music, PCLL
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Reasons for MIA
Well, apparently I've been struggling with the new Blogger format and they want me to get a Google account. It seems now that Google has signed a contract with Blogger I'm forced to sign in with a new account. Hence the long overdue update of my otherwise uneventful life (compared to a lot of HK people).
Played a wonderful gig with Gigi, Dan, Sylvain, Alex Quirino and DC @ Innonation last Saturday. This was one of my more memorable gigs in recent history because I was playing with a smokin' band and we were doing very sophisticated stuff like "Ugly Papa" by Julia Lee and "Long John Blues" originally sung by Dinah Washington. Most of all, it was great to drag Gigi out of her hotel environment and showcase her vocals skills, as the world needs to hear her. So many of my friends came out ("Thank you!") and they were charmed by Gigi's sultry vocals and stage persona. Some of them told me, "Initially we came to see you, then we saw the singer..." That's what this was all about. Special thanks to Justin @ Innonation (who's getting married in less than 2 weeks) for providing a venue free of charge for me to let my feelings out.
Another piece of good news is that I passed my first semester exams at PCLL. Let me tell you, it wasn't an easy exam to pass. I still remember my whole right hand soaring during the Civil Drafting exam. So I'm relieved that I passed. And I need to be extra careful with the second semester. More time will be allocated from now on to studying.
These days I'm rooting for Dear Daniel who's an underrated stuff animal and who has a pretty generous personality and big heart. I also long for some warm vitasoy milk in bottles. More new entries for Christian music contest organized by ACM. Still crazy after all those years...
Thanks to those who were by my side during the darkest times of my life.
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Played a wonderful gig with Gigi, Dan, Sylvain, Alex Quirino and DC @ Innonation last Saturday. This was one of my more memorable gigs in recent history because I was playing with a smokin' band and we were doing very sophisticated stuff like "Ugly Papa" by Julia Lee and "Long John Blues" originally sung by Dinah Washington. Most of all, it was great to drag Gigi out of her hotel environment and showcase her vocals skills, as the world needs to hear her. So many of my friends came out ("Thank you!") and they were charmed by Gigi's sultry vocals and stage persona. Some of them told me, "Initially we came to see you, then we saw the singer..." That's what this was all about. Special thanks to Justin @ Innonation (who's getting married in less than 2 weeks) for providing a venue free of charge for me to let my feelings out.
Another piece of good news is that I passed my first semester exams at PCLL. Let me tell you, it wasn't an easy exam to pass. I still remember my whole right hand soaring during the Civil Drafting exam. So I'm relieved that I passed. And I need to be extra careful with the second semester. More time will be allocated from now on to studying.
These days I'm rooting for Dear Daniel who's an underrated stuff animal and who has a pretty generous personality and big heart. I also long for some warm vitasoy milk in bottles. More new entries for Christian music contest organized by ACM. Still crazy after all those years...
Thanks to those who were by my side during the darkest times of my life.
Labels: Dear Daniel, exam, jazz, music, PCLL, ugly papa
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