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More on Raw

Now, as I was saying, there is a lot of talk about raw chocolate in the raw food world. And I was speculating as to the reason for that. Which is, I have decided, that (a) people aren't that keen on going raw and seek to replace the missing non-healthy food that they claim to have removed from their diet, and (b) that it can be hard to get enough calories on the raw plan so if you can get an extra 500 from somewhere then it makes it easier. Plus if extra calories are coming from a fat-rich source then it gives a full feeling to the eater.

So that's what i think about it, and what's led me to think that is that after my test of raw chocolate, I don't really want to have any more. There is a lot of fat in it (even if some is fat of coconut origin, which, I have heard, is not the same as normal fat, i.e. not bad fat) and I don't feel as good after eating it as I do from nice things like fruit and so on. Also - it is a bit psychoactive. Yes, it has something in it that scientists call theobromine, a word that translates to "food of the gods" ["Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant, found in chocolate, as well as in a number of other foods, including the leaves of the tea plant, and the kola or cola nut. It is in the methylxanthine class of chemical compounds, which also includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine"].

Chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes in its early history in Central and South America, during which time it appeared as a bitter drink that sometimes had chilli added. Nearly all religious ceremony is about connecting the living with the non-living in some way, and sometimes that is achieved through dangerous means. But is chocolate dangerous? Well if you have ever been savaged by a dangerous easter bunny then you will know the answer is yes. Plus, we can look up something known as theobromine poisoning, which tells us that, yes, you can die from eating chocolate, if you eat enough of it. The same as coffee, which is poisonous if you ingest enough of it. But strangely popular given that, no?

Anyway, what made me think it wasn't so useful was it gives you strange dreams, so don't have it close to sleeping, unless you are researching the history of Mayan religion.

I think "raw food desserts" are just a way of escaping from something intended to be a healthy diet. Remember when members of most of the world's major religions tried to escape the rules of their own religions? Yes, they said rabbits jump so they are technically birds so they can be eaten at certain times. Well, there are plenty of cases like that.

It just shows you that people like to claim one thing even when their heart is not in it. But they could say "I follow an all-raw diet but I think I will probably eat chocolate and a big pizza every three hours or so", there's nothing wrong with that, especially if it's true. But that's not the way they want to play it.

Meanwhile the weather remains cold here - except for patches of blazing sun which transform all English shops into fiery furnaces and sweat-drenched heat traps as soon as the temperature rises above 15°C. There is still a big problem with flights, which are not allowed to fly (transforming them from flights into...something that does not fly - rabbits maybe? Depending on your religion) because of an Icelandic volcano which has erupted and caused ash to start regular flights instead. And the big problem with that is that we can't get our interesting fruit from Thailand and around there.

Never mind durian, there were no coconuts or anything in Chinatown today! And watermeon in the local shop has suddenly quadrupled in price as the sun has come out. It woudl still be 100% enjoyable, but I am just 75% less likely to buy it...and in fact I DIDN'T.

Raw Fun!

Where to find young coconuts in London? Also known as green coconuts?

You go to the New Loon Moon Supermarket in Gerrard Street, Chinatown! Today they cost £1.50 each. Much better than ordering through the internet for £4 each.

In fact they may well also have them on the other side of the street, at Loon Fung. Today was my first visit to Loon Moon actually.

Now the reason I have had trouble finding these young coconuts is - although they are also called "green", they are not green! In fact they are the colour of many other more normal things such as a piece of wood, soap, or daikon, so I wouldn't be surprised to find I have been seeing them for years and not knowing what they are.

I found this about Loon Moon:

You can find trays of rambutan, mangosteens, mangoes and langsat. It's also an opportunity for you to come up close with a whole jackfruit and the infamous durian. It's the green spiky football sized fruit that is the notorious taste test as to whether you've truly embraced south east Asian food! You can buy the edible part in trays inside the supermarket - the soft flesh surrounding the inedible seeds smells strong and aromatic and tastes like custard but much sweeter and stronger. A tip for shoppers is that you can find trays of durian in the chilled cabinets at the back of the shop as well as by the tills.

This is what we want!!

If I had known that, I would have looked more closely as well!

Unfortunately due to recent flight restrictions no food from Thailand could arrive so there was a lot missing. Next time! (shall I go again now?)

In other news, I eventually found a bar of raw chocolate. It is made by the Conscious Chocolate Company and is good, and expensive. If you buy more than 30 bars you get a discount...

It's raw which apparently means it's good for you, unlike the cooked kind. As it is very rich it seems that it goes a long way which probably makes up for the price.

I definitely recommend it, though will not be having it every day I think.

I don't know why raw food exponents are always (mainly?) going on about chocolate. Maybe they are still thinking in the way of the cooked diet. Or maybe it really is extra good for you?

Anyway, with a reasonably-priced watermelon as well, we have several of the ingredients for some raw fun!

It's not "raw" though, it's just not cooked. It's like saying "organic" - it's not anything strange, it's just food grown in a natural way (different from the other food). Organic means growing, you see.

Well that's all for today. We still have durian to look forward to!

Bed Harp

Apparently the song is called "Waiting for the Sunrise"!

An Increase

My left hand is suddenly bigger than my right! It now stretches an 11th (C to F)...this wasn't true the last time I checked! It's true, though, that I've been working mainly on left hand for the last six or seven months. I must think about what I have done exactly.

Hitting the Target

This is an interesting film in which Tim Ferriss attempts to learn the Japanese hands-free, horse-riding, turnip-headed-arrow-firing discipline called Yabusame (流鏑馬). The only catch is that he wants to do it in five days.

The reason I have posted it is that I have found there are a lot of similarities between disciplines like this and the way I think about piano playing. Particularly comparing it to the archers' art of kyūdō (弓道 to you), although I do not know much about it I always thought that in both cases someone is trying to hit a target. So much is happening when you are aiming to hit the target that the only thing that matters is what you do to hit it. It doesn't matter what is happening around you, all you have to do is what you have always practised to do. It is simple - but it is not simple if you make it complicated.

Every time the audience is rustling or you know you are going to make a mistake, you are in the same position. You have practised, now do. Each attempt is the same. Same target, same arrow, no matter what the circumstances. Everything is calm inside and you already know the result.

Don't you think it's the same for any target you're aiming to reach?

I think that's why they say it's not important about hitting the target itself. It's inside, the battle. If you have not conquered the negative part that used to be within you, you have already missed. Then when there is no negative left, when there is only you (or us), you are free.

Aim strong my warriors!!

A Few Piano Practice Tips

Having been asked for some tips, I thought it would be worth publicising them a bit. I have more!

1. There is only one most difficult part in a piece. In that one part, not everything is difficult. Not every note, not every chord. So you find the bit that is the most difficult, then understand why it is hard, and fix it. You have to understand what is hard before you can solve the problem. Then don't stop until you have fixed it = until you can play it ten times in a row with no mistakes!

2. Do you believe you can do it? ~Oh I will try my best but I am not really talented~~ OR say *I can do it*. Tough advice is: If you can't do it, don't do it! AND If you don't believe you can, then you probably won't (except by accident). BUT if you believe you can then it is possible and if you believe it perfectly then it becomes reality.

3. I think Heinrich Neuhaus wrote in his book that Richter was playing in a lesson and one difficult bit sounded really good, and the reason was he'd practised that bit for three hours! So that's what I meant, that people only can't play things because they stop learning it before it is good enough. It's not that they can't do it, but they just stop before they have finished!

(Which one is more scary, that you aren't good enough to succeed, or that you really could succeed but it's your choice??!)

OK!!!!!

Also practice tips are: if it is fast, learn it a bit faster. If you can do something more difficult, then you can do the thing at its normal difficulty level. And ten times in a row without mistakes - that's a good test!

Also if you repeat the notes - not dah, dah, but dadah, dadah, or dadadadah, dadadadah (I hope you can understand that!) then it gets better and you get more relaxed and the tone is better. Do it for every note in a chord and every voice in the counterpoint then it will all be better!

WELL. Those were some tips anyway!