Warm sunshine for a spring boy

It's the end of the nine-day Chinese New Year holiday, as well as the longest-ever five-week winter vacation (students in Taiwan usually have 20 days off for winter break). The new semester will commence tomorrow and it is sunny again after an endless rainy period.

For the first three weeks of the vacation, I had been busy working on the package of course materials for 'Musical Cultures Around the Globe', as mentioned in the previous entry. Then I spent another week before the New Year holiday preparing more supplementary course materials, in addition to the completed powerpoint slides, such as lists of further reading and audio-visual resources, copyright information of all the audio-visual content used in this course pack.

Finally, Fanne and I passed the cold, rain-soaked New Year in Taipei, most of the time at home, as we are expecting our baby on 1st March and advised not to take long-distance trips.

It's been wet throughout the New Year holiday but the sun broke through this morning at last. Although I have no idea if my boy will be a cold weather person, just like his father, I'm sure he would rather arrive on earth on a warm spring day than on a bone-chilling raining day.

My contribution to the Course Database for General Education

I've spent almost forty days since the New Year Day 2010 and now finally completed a package of course materials for my award-winning 'Musical Cultures Around the Globe'. I can now relax and waiting for the baby to come.

After receiving the award, I was soon commissioned by the General Education TW to make a package of course materials, including PowerPoint sides, audio-visual clips, handouts, reading lists and other necessary stuff, for the Course Database for General Education. These materials will be added to the database and soon available for all the university lecturers and professors in Taiwan.

Apart from the introductory chapter, there are 14 units in this course – an opening chapter dealing with general ideas of music in different cultures and the record industry, 12 chapters on specific regions or peoples and a concluding chapter on music and culture exchange among different regions and in the global market.

It's good to be recognised; it's also good to be requested to contribute.

One day, if my son takes a course at university in world music (or musical cultures around the globe, the title I personally prefer to 'world music'), he will probably encounter the slides and reading lists designed by his father.