F for Friday, F for friendship, F for falalalala..

we're saying goodbye to the first half of 2013 in 2 days' time! O_O

i wonder if i'd ever stop having that deer in headlights expression every time i think about time passing us by like the White Rabbit rushing for his appointment (did he make it? was it with the Mad Hatter? how did the story go again??) i probably would, about the same time i'd stop grimacing when people confuses 'you're' with 'you'. which is like never. i'm so predictable.

anyways, here's to happy thoughts and a serendipitous weekend ahead! mine will be a busy one (sis is coming back! ^_^); busy is not a bad thing, but it's just that i was looking forward to catching up on my sleep. because i'm too old to get myself into sleep debts. i'm thirty friggin' five this year. srsly, when did i get so.. old? blah blah blah. will i be pretty? will i be rich? here's what she said to me: que sera sera, whatever!

okay, i need to go now. this queen of procrastination needs her butt kicked. i love me but sometimes i can be too much, you know? SOMEONE KICK ME IN MY DERRIERE.

oh, oh, before that! i would like to dedicate this song from David's latest album, in a collaboration with Crowd Lu (i used to laugh at his name)(i still snicker - sorry!), called 逗陣兄弟 Brothers, to my galfwens (i already made the dedication on FB, but would like to immortalize it here in my blog) so, roll call: J, D, S, C, A (sorry but I don't usually like to name names here)(but why?)(mm haven't gotten that figured out)(...) anyways, i wuv you gals. your friendship means the world to me, and i thank God for blessing me so richly. muaks muaks all around.




sorry okay, no translation this time. cos it's Friday lah. ;)

the sun and the moon :: part 2

this song belongs to the past, one that was turbulent;
innocence lost;
my awakening.
i could have assured you, it'll be all right.



the sun and the moon

wasted time
I cannot say that I was ready for this
but when worlds collide, and all that I have is all that I want
the words seem to flow and the thoughts they keep running
and all that I have is yours, all that I am is yours

painted skies
I've seen so many that cannot compare to your ocean eyes
the pictures you took that cover your room
and it was just like the sun but more like the moon
a light that can reach it all
so now I'm branded for taking the fall

so when you say forever,
can't you see, you've already captured me?''


:: part 1

the sun and the moon :: part 1

I've been playing 心中的日月 Shangri-La on a loop in my car for about a week now; the song doesn't get old! Definitely a worthy entry for my Top 20.. ;)

This song is found in Leehom's 2004 album of the same name where he incorporated the music of the Chinese ethnic minorities and therefore began the first chapter of "chinked-out", a term he coined together to represent the ties between Chinese and Western music. He experimented with the tribal sounds of Taiwan, Tibet, and Mongolia, traveling the area carrying 15 kg of equipment while fighting bouts of altitude and food sickness. [via] He made this short documentary of his journey which he took with his brother Leekai (I think it was just the two of them):



#5 心中的日月 Shangri-la

你是我心中的日月光芒
you are the radiance of the sun and the moon of my heart

手中握著格桑花呀　美的讓我忘了摘下
妳的真　帶著香　妳的香　會說話
妳的話　好像只　對我說
holding a stalk of azalea of in my hands
its beauty let me forget about plucking
your genuineness carries a fragrance
a fragrance that speaks
your words seem to be only spoken to me

我的專長叫做流浪　妳註定要為我綻放(zhanfang)
我的心　尋找家　我的家　沒有花
我的花卻在這山谷等著我
my specialty is in being a nomad
you are destined to blossom for me
my heart is looking for a home, my home has no flower
for it is waiting for me in the ravine

若一開始　沒有上帝　暗中偷偷的慫恿(songyong)
我們怎知選擇相逢　喔～
if from the start God did not secretly make this happen
how could we know to choose to meet?

你是心中的日月　落在這裡　旅程的前後多餘　只為遇到妳
多麼想幻化成為妳腳下的泥　yeah　此刻的無人山谷　彷彿聽見說愛妳
you're the sun and moon of my heart, it's written right here
on this journey, everything before and after is immaterial, what mattered was that I met you
how i wish to be transformed into the clay underneath your feet, yeah
at this moment in the ravine where there is no one around
I seem to hear myself say that I love you

你是我心中的日月光芒
you are the radiance of the sun and the moon of my heart

我的漂泊不懂泥巴　妳的美麗不堪動盪 (dongdang)
妳單純　我迷惘　妳戀家　我流浪　山谷中　這一切　帶不走
in my drifting I'm not afraid of mud
your beauty bears no turmoil
you're pure, I'm lost
you're homely, I'm a nomad
I can't bring everything away from the valley

妳愛抬頭(taitou)擁抱陽光　喔～我得眺望下個前往
我走開　妳留下　我回憶　妳昇華　至少我們會仰望(yangwang)同一片天空
you love lifting your head to embrace the sunlight
from my vantage point, I understood where I should go next
I left, you stayed, I reminisce, you ascend splendidly
at least we would be looking at the same sky

置身在　傳說中　人間天堂
妳是我　心中的　日月光芒
帶領我　找到妳　的芬芳　放不下
living on in a legend, heaven among mankind
you are the radiance of the sun and the moon of my heart
bringing me to your fragrance
I couldn't let go


動蕩/动荡 dòngdàng - unrest (social or political) / turmoil / upheaval / commotion



心中的日月

作詞：陳宇佐
作曲：王力宏
編曲：王力宏

你是我心中的日月光芒

手中握著格桑花呀　美的讓我忘了摘下
妳的真　帶著香　妳的香　會說話
妳的話　好像只　對我說

我的專長叫做流浪　妳註定要為我綻放
我的心　尋找家　我的家　沒有花
我的花卻在這山谷等著我

＃若一開始　沒有上帝　暗中偷偷的慫恿
我們怎知選擇相逢　喔～

你是心中的日月　落在這裡　旅程的前後多餘　只為遇到妳
多麼想幻化成為妳腳下的泥　yeah　此刻的無人山谷　彷彿聽見說愛妳

你是我心中的日月光芒

我的漂泊不懂泥巴　妳的美麗不堪動盪
妳單純　我迷惘　妳戀家　我流浪
山谷中　這一切　帶不走

妳愛抬頭擁抱陽光　喔～我得眺望下個前往
我走開　妳留下　我回憶　妳昇華
至少我們會仰望同一片天空

Repeat ＃

你是心中的日月　落在這裡　旅程的前後多餘　只為遇到妳
多麼想幻化成為妳腳下的泥　yeah　那天的無人山谷(那一天)　彷彿聽見說愛妳

置身在　傳說中　人間天堂
妳是我　心中的　日月光芒
帶領我　找到妳　的芬芳　放不下

你是心中的日月　落在這裡
旅程的前後多餘　只為遇到妳
多麼想幻化成為妳腳下的泥
那天的無人山谷　彷彿聽見說愛妳　那天聽見說愛妳

fading west.

From the shore, the ocean is forever; it's a beautiful, dangerous place. The music is tied to the sea, born from the struggle, looking for hope, because hope belongs in the dark places.

...

I want our songs to be the songs that open the doors of the soul, to look at a story bigger than ourselves.

:: Jon Foreman

WongFu X Leehom

D and I plan to watch this video many more times over so that we could reenact the skit some day. I'm going for Ted's part. Ted's hilarious! We haven't decided who would be Leehom yet. Or Phil, or Wes. I loved watching every moment of Leehom in this! (why yes, my middle name is Obvious. and also Procrastination :-\) I hope this is the start of more such collaborations.. Thanks, guys! ^_^

Some random observations:

• I wonder why they called LH "Greg" instead of "Alex". Everyone else was using their real names, and since they were parodying Leehom as a version of himself, "Alex" would have been better (LH's rarely-used official English name is Alexander). Maybe Greg is his baptism name or something, like Alexander Gregory Wang Lee Hom. :P
• They took off their shoes in the house (3:47). How Asian is that! :)
• What's up with Leehom's fringe? I thought it was a wee bit distracting. :P
• What's up with the poodle (2:30)? I wonder if it came with the house (which btw is rented via airbnb - LH has said that since he was in LA for a good six weeks to film his movie with Michael Mann, it made more economical sense to rent a house than a 5-star hotel room. So thoughtful right?) 
• Loved the bloopers at the end, esp where LH unconsciously picked the poodle up. 
• Ted's lines + delivery were hilarious too! Can't wait for the Behind the Scenes! ^_^
• I wish there was a flashback to how they had parted ways since they  implied that the breakup hadn't happen too smoothly. That would have made this awesome-r.
• D and I thought that "THEY CAN HOVER!" (5:10) was the best line in the vid! 

Btw I'm back from Singapore! Alas, it was too short a trip. Enjoyed every moment of it, even when I had to be offline the whole time (was too busy to be online :P)

spirit me away.

I have been away from home the past three weekends out of four, and this weekend the ratio will be four out of five. the first was a pound-loading foodie trip to Ipoh during that one week with the Friday off; next was spending the weekend of the King's birthday in Bukit Gambang for my church camp; and when I got back I left for Kuching for a week's worth of work. was home for Father's Day this past week, and this Thursday... I'm off to SINGAPORE! ^_^ I love being away, could you tell? Maybe it's because I don't get to travel often... unlike a certain Mr Wang here who's lamenting about his nomadic living situation:

17-June | Weibo 

我这次住了加州三个星期。 难得这么长时间在一个地方。下个礼拜终于要回亚洲继续住旅馆的日子了。 从19岁出唱片之后搬家成了习惯，但还是会舍不得。 你们有搬家过的经验和同感吗？ 请分享…

I’ve been in California for 3 weeks now. It's rare for me to be staying in one place for such a long time. Next week I’ll be back in Asia resuming my hotel-living days. I've gotten used to moving like this since I debuted at 19, but there's always the lingering reluctance. Have you had the experience of moving or do you feel what I do? Please share… 

I'd say the rate at which he travels would be unsettling for me. Might be fun the first few years, but to be at it for 17 years and counting is no mean feat. But it doesn't look like it's time for him to slow down yet. And as for me, I dream every day that I would be some other place. I would love to travel the world, first second or third class!

With that, I leave you with Yuna's latest song, I Wanna Go.. which totally is a loop-worthy song :)

i wanna go wherever, wherever you go, whenever you wanna, i wanna go with you

i wanna go wherever, wherever you go, whenever you wanna, can i go with you?

yippeedooday, DT's in the house!

I was so stoked to find out from David's weibo that he has just dropped his latest album Hello Goodbye three days back! WHEE!! He's been AWOL since his last album Opus 69 in 2008 (which I have not heard until last year, as I have been AWOL from Chinese music since.. 2001? :D)(I'd have to say that Opus was his best album yet and a tough act to follow--and of course, I totally enjoyed it!)..

So I've just downloaded Hello Goodbye 再見你好嗎 from iTunes as I was typing (for some reason, it costs USD9.99 from my iPhone's iTunes, but when I checked online from my laptop, the album costs USD16.99!) Anyway, I've already heard a few songs from his mini concert which was held in conjunction with the album launch, and most of what I heard sounded like old skool David, which isn't a bad thing at all :) There are a few collaborations with other singers, namely Crowd Lu, Tanya Chua and Sharon Kwan (unfortunately, I have very little idea of who they are, and a total blank as to their works)(sorry!)

And the best thing is, he's embarking on a (world?)(somehow that term is used pretty loosely when it comes to concerts) tour -- and I'm hoping very much that he would make it to Malaysia!! It's pretty likely that he would. Problem is, who would go with me to the concert?? :(

Anyway, it's so good to have you back, David. I've really missed you! :) Please stay a while longer this time k?

So sporting a new hairstyle and colour (love the blue!), this is David with the first single from his album, the song 勿忘我 Forget Me Not which grew on me pretty quickly. I think it's the trend these days to throw in a line or two of nostalgic catchy tune/hook in the chorus (like the song Live Your Live by T.I feat. Rihanna which takes from Chicken Little's Numa Numa song or Feel This Moment by Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera which took a leaf from Eiffel 65's Blue (Da Ba Dee))(Leehom has done it with too with 春雨里洗过的太阳 which has a modified line from The Cascades' 1963 song, Rhythm of the Falling Rain). And I think this strategy works, because the familiarity provides instant connection, and you also get something entirely new thrown in. I hope this would be used sparingly though (David also employed this technique in his Taiwanese song 上爱唱的歌 Songs From Yesterday, a poignant song dedicated to his late dad :( I could so feel his pain when he almost broke down before presenting this song at his mini concert! :(

Anyway... so far, I've liked what I've heard so I'm glad I bought the whole album :) His would be the second full-length album I purchased from iTunes -- the first being Khalil Fong's excellent Back to Wonderland, and when Leehom is ready with his new album (he's recording! :), I'm guessing that would be a full album purchase too (although I'm contemplating a physical album.. would love to have something tangible (like his two other albums which I've bought and are now sitting quietly on the shelf haha!)

勿忘我

作词：周启儿
作/编曲：陶喆

谢谢你曾陪我走过的路 今天只剩你一个人走
再好的故事终究(zhongjiu)要结束 我知道 yeah~
在我心中的你永远停在那天 倔强(juejiang)地微笑着的侧脸
忍住眼泪的你说不出的再见 却听见你轻轻地唱着
thank you for accompanying on my journey
today you are left to continue alone
no matter how good a story get it would eventually come to an end
in my heart you are paused at that very day
i could see a stubborn smile from your side profile
holding your tears, you couldn't say goodbye
but i heard you softly singing...

yo de lay lay yo 请不要忘了我
yo de lay lay yo 你不要忘了我 答应我
yo de lay lay yo please forget me not
yo de lay lay yo don't you forget me, promise me you won't

谢谢你从不计较的付出 那是多么单纯的幸福
遗憾的是幸福不能弥补(mibu) 最初的错误 yeah~
在你心中的我你要怎么记住 那些不再纪念的日子
你还是挥挥手(huihuishou)装作毫(zhuangzuohao)不在乎 却低着头轻轻地唱着
thank you for your willing sacrifice, what a pure blessing that was
my only regret is that the blessing cannot offset the mistake I've initially made
how do you want to remember me in your heart
those days that have been forgotten
you're waving and pretending not to care, but you lower your head and softly sing...

记得那时候 牵着你的手 什么都没说 多笨拙(benzhuo) yeah~
如果还能够 只想对你说 永远记得我 记得我 I say yeah~
remember that time, holding your hand, no words were said, how awkward
if i still could, i only want to say to you, remember me always, remember me,
and I say...

brendan.

Remember how I thought I was like an idiot in front of this man? (Not that man, the one all the way down at the end - you can't miss the photo I took with him =) I still cringe a little inside when I think of all the other things I could have said to him, but didn't. Ah well. But one thing I did good was to tell him about D who lives in LA and how she's a huge fan of his too and how she was determined that she would make it for one of his gigs.

And... so she did. Yay!

I'm sewing together pieces of our conversation to let her tell her story. I would have pasted the conversation here, but you don't need to read my gushy gibberish.

Minnie Driver was supposed to perform at 10:30. We got there at 8:40 and the 8pm Black Lillies were finishing up. We stood to the side since there were only 4 tables and they were all taken. And suddenly Brendan walked by us. I turned to my friend and say "omg, that was Brendan." But he had already walked by.

So the 9:30 performer Shane Alexander came on and I tried to stand closer since more people were milling in. The spot I had was great to watch the singer but you couldn't see the drummer. Luckily when Shane was done (he was excellent by the way), I was able to maneuver to a good spot right behind the tables and I motioned for my friend to come too. The people at this club were awesome. A good variety. Some older. Some in the 20's. some dressed in t shirt and shorts and others like they were going to a club. Everyone was nice. No pushing. No shoving. Ok, I digress.

Anyways, now Brendan comes through the crowd lugging his cymbals and drum set and starts setting up. This was a small venue so the bands set up their own equipment and do sound checks and they take 30 minutes. He was up there by himself for like 15 minutes before the rest of the band came on. I took pictures but they are all of BB with his head turned down.

I literally watched him set up and warmed up for 30 minutes. It was awesome! Then Minnie comes on and she was hilarious and great. BB was amazing and I had the perfect spot to watch him the entire performance. It was really amazing watching him perform so close up. He is so amazing. I sent you a portion I recorded, when Minnie was introducing her band.

Ok, then Minnie's show was over and there was one last 11:30 performer, Naomi Greenwald. Minnie left and Brendan started to disassemble his set. I thought "it's now or never" so when he came off stage with his arms full of stuff I basically run up to him and say "Brendan! Hi! My name is Dora and you met my friend in Malaysia..."

And he was smiling and said "Dora, yes I remember!"

(Note: This was where practically I imploded in the conversation and went OMGGGGGGGG ARGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!)

He either did remember or he is the sweetest man EVER.

I told him how happy I was to finally got to see his show and that I thought he's great, and he said thank you. I asked if I could have a picture with him but I see he had all his stuff. He says "of course, let me get my stuff off the stage first and I'll come look for you." And he puts his hand on my back. Swooning.

He is stopped by his friends and some guy as he made his way back. So I motioned my friend to come. So Brendan came out and went back on stage to get the remaining of his things. He sees me and grabs my hand and says "I'll be back." Swoon some more.

He's stopped by a couple more people on his way to the performer's room. Poor guy was still with bags in his arms but he was so gracious. So my friend and I stand there as nearly 1/2 the crowd have left after Minnie's performance and Naomi's band were setting up. As I decide that we should use auto and wondering if BB would come back he jumped behind me and said "Okay, picture time."

I asked him how long he'll be in the U.S. and he said "few more weeks and then I'm going to Taiwan for J.J Lin concert."

I introduced him to my friend who takes the picture. After the picture he looked like he was looking for one one so I asked him if he was heading out or staying. He says 'I'm trying to find my friend. She's here somewhere but it's so hard to find people when you come off stage. I'm going to stick around because these are all my friends playing."

So I told him AGAIN how awesome he was and how great Minnie Driver was and he thanked me for coming out to see them. My friend and I decided to stay and listen to Naomi because her songs on the website sounded cool (and she is cool and very rocker). I am also happy we stayed because the place was getting rots empty and I would have felt bad for Naomi. As I waved good bye to Brendan and he says "I'll see you because I'm sticking around."

After Naomi's awesome performance it was 12:40 and as we were leaving the venue Brendan is leaning against the wall outside talking to a girl (this must be the friend). He called out to us "Bye! It was nice meeting you!" My friend and I said "Bye! Nice meeting you." I was so happy I did not trip down the steps to the parking garage.

So, Brendan Buckley, if you are self-googling ('sokay, we all do that :D), I hope you find this, because we really appreciate what an awesome person you are -- thanks for being such a trooper! :D And some day when I visit D in LA, we would love to catch one of your gigs and then sit down for a cup of coffee with you! :D Ah, the dreams.