The Messiah and the Christmas Spirit

It has finally snowed in Toronto. And though understated, my bedroom view of rolling hills of decrepit foliage is revived by an unadulterated blanket of white. The coffee beans are freshly roasted; green/red/white salads are served. Unfortunately, there are no Christmas trees or presents underneath. But that is a more a function of laziness and senility than a Grinch-like mentality.

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Caprese Salad: balsamic reduction, fior di latte, basil, arugula, tomatos

And nothing says Christmas more than Handel’s Messiah. It is an oratorio that pays tribute to Jesus’ birth (Part I) and death (Part II) and preaches in true Christian fashion (Part III). But a non-Christian can appreciate the message of hope and despair, the incredibly dumb yet uplifting libretto that repeats phrases (or words) like scripture and the long-held melismas by out-of-breath singers. It is a grandiose and mesmerizing experience. I have seen it every year since grade 7, except the last.

After missing it in 2011 (for sad and lonely reasons) I redoubled my efforts to see it in 2012. We went to a small-scale rendition dubbed “the Dublin Messiah,” an attempt to recreate the first showing in baroque Dublin. This was before the modern day 40-person orchestras and 100-person choirs were invented. In 1700 England, percussion was but a street show. The Dublin Messiah gave some parts back to their intended singers but the most noticeable alterations were “Rejoice Greatly” in 12/8 time and “How beautiful are the feet” as a duetto. I find that the 12/8 time gives this happy song a quicker pace and an almost playful quality. But the “B” in the tenary form is noticeably worse. There was also no standing during Hallelujah because the King wasn’t there in Dublin.

Another surprise was the uncanny appearance of a mezzo-soprano I had seen before (though I did not know where at the time). She was easily the best soloist of the four and carried herself with a majestic virtuosity that comes only with performing this part so many times. A search back home showed that she was the mezzo-soprano at Kingston Messiah in 2010, indeed the last time I saw this piece. To be remembered across a two-year gap says something of her talent. And she was almost as captivating when she silently sat with a knowing smile, clearly in love with the music and her co-performers.

The smaller chamber choir and chamber orchestra worked. It placed greater emphasis on each of the individual performers, like the three-to-four singers in the four choir parts. And where talent lacked, it was apparently. The lead trumpeter could not play the valve-less Baroque instrument and was able to singlehandedly ruin The Trumpet Shall Sound, one of the triumphs of the oratorio.

Christmas is coming. And one of our co-patrons at the theatre whispered of another Christmas day miracle: Les Misérables. Well this should be a fun and musical holidays indeed.

Unreasonable Expectations

The excitement of the summer has more or less subsided. They say “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” This seems accurate. When I think of my accomplishments in first year commerce, they seem to far outweigh the accomplishments in my second year. What I forget was how much more challenging first year was for me, adjusting to the new environment. Second year was indeed less successful but perhaps I had a better time. As for the present, there comes a point where the status quo is taken for granted. This is wrong in principle but perhaps required as a motivating force going forward. And finally, the future is the cornerstone of this equation. The unpredictability of the future is the key to aberrations in happiness. Where your actual experiences do not meet your expectations, it is hard to be happy. It is when actual inflation is less than expected inflation that wages rise faster than revenues, creating unemployment. The key is then to manage expectations. But expectations are hard to manage. It is evolutionary to be optimistic (http://www.economist.com/node/21554506). 

A little bit of hope makes you go a little further in achieving your goals. Unfortunately, that sets your future expectations higher than reasonable expectations, which seems to be the underlying message of the quotation. There are many good reasons to be optimistic though. There has never been a better time in history to be alive. This applies to people in (almost) any geography and social economic status. The modern economy, as much as it has been slandered, has lifted almost a billion people out of poverty in the last century. The Rawls criterion that inequality must make the worst person better off has then been satisfied. My friends and I are turning 20 this year which begins the happiest decade in a human's life (it peaks at 26, I believe). So I guess I should be optimistic (but not too much).

Last week(s) in pictures:

I cooked dinner at my place in Richmond Hill. I made chicken and risotto. My mother made the fried rice (it was untouched - the reason I learnt to cook).

One (half chicken $30 - great value)

Food IQ

Bar Centrale

Supporting our consumers portfolio

Beretta farms Striploin.

Chicken and Veges

Back to Kingston

Mustard crusted rack of lamb

Home

Steak and portabello

Financiers' banquet

Everyone once in a while, I show gratitude to my financiers up north by cooking a proper meal. Barretta farm's steak, cooked to different degrees of doness, finished by rubbing with garlic, rosemary and butter. Sliced and drizzled with its own sauces. There's a asparagus risotto with pesto and zucchini. Portabella mushrooms with red peppers.

Seared Tuna and Avocado

This is as asian as it gets. Sesame crusted (rare) tuna with a dab of avocado on top

Think my cups are too small for the leaf to get bigger.

Chicken with Red Peppers

It's been a long while since I've cooked a university-style 15 minute meal with minimum cleaning. For first time chefs, this really is as non-fussy as it gets. Drop the peppers and the chicken in olive oil (one pan is fine!) and coat with as many spices as you have. Garlic and lemon are as always, good but not necessary. Cook until the the pink in the chicken disappears.

Summer Barbecue

I've cooked for a lot of people in my life. The only effective way of serving hoards is the barbecue. The salad to start was just a simple mixed greens (add arugula) with a balsamic vinaigrette. I quickly grilled some swordfish and steak because my guests were pestering me for protein. But the real star is the vegetable sandwich. It has all the non-leafy veges you really need in this world (zucchini, mushroom and peppers). What makes it pop is the mozzarella, pesto and yogurt. The chicken, apparently, was quite juicy too, albeit from Costco.