Song of the day: Ciel, che feci – Guiseppe Verdi

Posted on 20 July, 2013 by Mayitzin

Two weeks ago I was in one of the best concerts ever in my life. I got my ticket since early February and it was one of the last ones. That event is one of the most famous in Munich. It is part of a complete weekend with classical music.

It’s called “Klassik am Odeonsplatz”” that literally means “Classic at Odeonsplatz”, which is a square in downtown Munich surrounded by beautiful architecture and a nice atmosphere. It takes place every summer and the most remarkable artists of classical music perform in an Open-Air concert.

This year was awesome not only because Yannick Nézet-Séguin was directing the orchestra and Thomas Hampson was the leading Baritone, but also because my favorite tenor Rolando Villazon gave one of the most powerful and amazing performances I’ve heard from him. And yeah, I was there.

The final duet with Hampson and Villazon singing Verdi’s “Dio, che nell’alma infondere” was stunning. But, for me, what really got the night was the final solo performance of Villazón, when he stood in front and sung “Ciel, che feci” from Verdi’s Oberto. And it’s obvious that he was going to sing Verdi, as nowadays he’s promoting his latests work, which goes around him.

Huh! I have goosebumps just remembering. Amazing, that’s the word to describe his interpretation. After that I just stood up and burst into applause with all my energy. But stop reading about it. Watch his great performance in the following video from 13:38.

Bravo!

Naquito Abroad: The Oktoberfest Challenge

Posted on 28 March, 2013 by Mayitzin

Finally my first video of “Naquito Abroad” is out. And after days of editing, I finally got some material out. The language of that series of videos is most of the time Spanish. But, as in my other videos, you can find the subtitles in English. Actually, a big portion of the video is also in English (when I was rambling in the tents of Oktoberfest).

This is the product of a day in the biggest Beer festival in the world. I show you here the history and organization of the Oktoberfest, so you can have a look into the event as everyone else.

For a deeper and more detailed information of it, you can read it (although in Spanish) in my other post “Bienvenido al Oktoberfest“.

So, come this year, but in the meantime, Proooooost!

My first day in Computer Vision

Posted on 24 April, 2012 by Mayitzin

A new semester in the Uni has begun and in this second week I am already feeling the first pressured tasks. No probs, this time planning and hard work will be a constant besides a good health caring and exercise. Perhaps less ~~Internet~~ Facebook is what I need.

This semester I will struggle a bit with two very interesting courses: 3D Computer Vision and Image Understanding in English and German, respectively. Before I had “Machine Learning Method for Computer Vision Applications” in the same responsible chair but it was so few application and had other courses to attend that required more attention, so I couldn’t experience more in it. That’s gonna change in this semester.

Both courses are held by two very experienced professors. 3D CV is taught by Nassir Navab, whose experience in research is impressive, winning international awards and being a top recognized researcher in the world. He is going to be my lecturer in this Semester. He already began giving some introductory class showing the great advantages of 3D Computer Vision and, most of all, its applications. I was hypnotized, it was great and that’s why now I’m willing to share everything I learn and find in Internet about this matter. It’s really cool and exciting for me.

The second lecturer is Carsten Steger, who’s in charge of the class “Bildverstehen” (Image Understanding) that, as you may suppose, is in German. He is another experienced guy but his field is not in the Universities, it is the industry. He gives solution to real-life problems and that experience is shared in his class. My first impression of him is really good, he’s an open guy with a relaxed style and a very good idea of what he is talking about, besides he can truly explain himself.

Both good professors, both great courses, and an excellent semester to start experimenting with the sources of the student life. From now on you will probably see more often some posts related to Computer Vision, my new bitch (and vice versa).

But we will start with Computer Vision Online, the largest website about CV out there, I think. They offer the newest stuff about CV and its applications, besides some other curiosities and interesting sources, where you can find books, software and even you might find a suitable job for you if you are really into Computer Vision. There are tons of positions in many Universities and Labs. I recommend you to check it out!

And finally I share this video from the chair of Computer Aided Medical Procedures & Augmented Reality (CAMPAR) in the TUM, where the researchers just adapted a Kinect sensor and started to track a guy’s body to virtually visualize it as in a magic mirror. Watch it!

¡Ahí se ven!