It’s summer — jazz up: Two orchestras on stage for CSO + Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Program John Adams The Rock You Stand On [CSO Co-commission] Copland Suite from Appalachian Spring Marsalis Selections from Symphony No. 4 (The Jungle) Ellington C Jam Blues [Jun 4 Encore] Adam’s work is a moderately modern, refreshing opener. Much better than some early-season avant garde stuff that baffled me. Especially, Appalachian Spring sounded great. Alsop brought out a great deal of balletic moves from the music. The orchestra, especially precussions, was very responsive and syncopated. The first half was a smooth, compelling performance. ...

Sprinkles of exquisite insight: The EU Digital Markets Act: A Report from a Panel of Economic Experts (February 9, 2021). Cabral, L., Haucap, J., Parker, G., Petropoulos, G., Valletti, T. and Van Alstyne, M., The EU Digital Markets Act, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021, ISBN 978-92-76-29788-8, doi:10.2760/139337, JRC122910. Introduction … Hence this report is not to be interpreted as a commentary on the economic regulation of digital platforms: such a general theory simply does not exist. Rather, our hope is to present useful economic arguments that can make the DMA stronger when dealing with large and dominant digital platforms. ...

The script writer at Last Week Tonight must spend even more screentime than me on the internet. They found excellent video sources — watch below the following cut from a Netflix documentary of a beautiful lady explaining chocolate industry with a little bit ASMR “The story of chocolate is a little bit like an hourglass…”

I thought I had appendicitis and ended up at UChicago’s emergency room 😔 Note: I’m not a doctor. If you aren’t feeling well do get professional help and I hope you would get well soon :) Funny enough, I had a nearly identical scare during undergrad in Shanghai — same deal, unstoppable stomach pain. So I have an accidental side-by-side comparison to offer. Shanghai: I was ambulanced to Changhai Hospital’s ER on a weekday afternoon. Within a few hours I’d had blood drawn and a CT scan done. My symptoms stabilized, and I was discharged later in the evening. ...

I’m in ER. Ariana’s blog take a break today :) Here’s Scriabin’s Black Mass (Sonata No. 9) for how I’m feeling:

Business insider has a video explaining, and trying to figure out why beef price raise so much. It echos. I feel smoked salmon price raise by about 20% over the last year since I came to Hyde Park :( The monopoly problem feels somewhat like a minimal cut problem in the supply chain network.

This is my boyfriend’s favourite violin concerto played by his favourite violinist. The pinnacle golden standard for this whirlwind force of a concerto! Perfection does not exist in reality but this version to me is near godly perfection! (comment @shijoejoseph2011) Fine…

Un poco di Chopin (Op. 72, No. 15). Clear as crystal, cleanly executed like a ballerina with perfect technique, effortless off-beat rhythm, a bit lonely and melancholy hidden veiled by Tchaikovsky’s parody humor, brought to alive by Richter:

Tonight at the CSO: Brahms’s First Piano Concerto, the Rosenkavalier Suite, and Ravel’s La Valse. Martin Helmchen at the piano; David Afkham on the podium, standing in for Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, sidelined by an injury that “doesn’t yet allow for international travel.” I think CSO’s hall has its quirks: the acoustic quality vary seat by seat. My seat today had a fine view, but the layers came out muddled, and I lost the piano for much of the concerto. Afkham might have balanced it better. ...

The leading single of Ariana Grande’s 8th album comes out today (technically tmrw). It’s pleasantly instrumented and ornamented with luxury, sophisticated harmony. Timed to begin at the bridge — listen if you haven’t before. It’s kind of fancy. The 2nd verse got fancy adlibs. The bridge is surreal until it got break down by the chorus' plain melody, the repetitive "i, i, i...". It's not a bad song even as to AG's standard. I do hope though the upcoming album got more (good) surprises.