Saturday, September 29, 2007

New England trip


So this is the first proper post in a very long time...let's start with where I left. I mentioned that I went to New England for a one week-plus vacation. In terms of sceneries and novelty, the New England experience paled in comparison to most of my other trips (well this is not surprising since this is already my fourth year in US..I need to venture out this country now!!!). Company was excellent though, and such made the holiday enjoyable.

We visited a total of 4 states, namely Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. We landed in Boston, a typical USA city with supposedly rich history and culture. It didn't appear so, possibly attributable to the length of time we stayed there. We managed to set foot in Harvard though, the Michigan of the east (lol). Aside from that, among the highlights in Boston were the Duck tour (in an amphibious vehicle) and dinners in Penang.

After Boston, we went to the Acadia National Park. As the introduction video put it so well, the park does not serve to impress people with its views; there's no place for superlatives in the area. It offers space for contemplation and solitude though, and such reward is attainable only if honest effort is paid. (reads there's nothing really special here) Somehow the Acadia National Park reminds me of the Jeju Island in Korea, as it too boasts different sorts of coastline features and views.

In New Hampshire, we stopped by the White Mountain National Forest area, and we did some sightseeing in Rhode Island. Due to time restriction, we could only choose one between the Nantucket Island and the Martha vineyard in Massachusetts. We opted Martha vineyard, and in my opinion the island was very Mackinaw-islandish. Well, we got some sun and fun there. For the first time in my life too, I've seen real whales and sharks during the whale-watching trip.

Perhaps the most awaited moment of the trip (at least for me) was the lobster dinner. To get a local Maine experience, we went to Lobster Pot own by David's parents. We had the very satisfying New England Clam Chowder there, and almost everyone of us got ourselves a huge lobster on a bed of mussels and clams. It all tasted good, but as the consumption increased almost infinitely, my utility approached zero. Thanks to David here for being such a good host during our time in Maine.

Well that's all I can pull off at this kind of hour. Attached are some pictures:


Quincy Market in Boston


One of the lighthouses


Beach in Acadia National Park


Highest point in Acadia National Park (Cadillac Mountain)


Group photo in Lobster Pot (David's parents' restuarant)


Check out the lobster...


White Mountain National Forest


Whale Watching trip


Humpback whale

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Mozart Effect

Quoted directly from Wikipedia:

"The Mozart Effect refers to disputed scientific studies that test a theory suggesting that classical music increases brain activity more positively than other kinds of music, and that listening to certain kinds of complex music may induce a short-lived (fifteen minute) improvement in the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as "spatio-temporal reasoning". Two pieces of Mozart's music; Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K. 448) and Piano Concerto no. 23 (K. 488), were found to have this effect, giving it its name. Later research also suggested that K. 448 can reduce the number of seizures in people with epilepsy."

Here's the Sonata for Two Pianos in D major 1st Movement: