Just returned from dinner, and a free performance by the New York Philharmonic near the apartment!!! =D Free stuff is so awesome I swear. Haha...
バレエが久しぶりです~♪
It's been a long time since my last ballet performance [viewing it that is] and truth be told, I was pretty excited.^_^ When was the last time I had seen people dance...? Honestly, I can't remember. =( That's how long ago it was. Horrors.
So... my brother and I went to the ballet for a matinee performance of Don Quixote by the American Ballet Theatre. Truth be told, I wasn't blown away by the performance but it had a beautiful set and very nice costuming. =X The front focused way too much on storyline, leaving all the actual dancing [as opposed to prancing around stage swinging their skirts] for the end when there was this sudden overkill of solos during the last act. X__X And the principal dancer took an entire act to warm up. Hmm. Thankfully she was pretty good in the end so I wasn't completely underwhelmed ^_^"
I'm looking forward to seeing the New York City Ballet and Balanchine's last ballerina's final performance. =D
実は、クラシックも久しぶりで~す。
After dinner, we were walking home and suddenly heard strains of classical music coming from the direction of the park next to the cathedral! So we popped over to take a look and guess what, a free concert at the cathedral by the New York Philharmonic! =) Well, the cathedral was at maximum capacity so we settled outside, listening to the music being piped out to us via speakers in the gardens. ^_^" Amidst groups of other people, who brought chairs or blankets to laze on the grass and appreciate some music as the day turned to night.
To further culture myself, I've been watching あんどーなつ! It's a dorama about a girl who ends up working in a wagashi shop and loving it, learning more about Japan's culture on the way~ But at the same time, I've been unculturing myself by watching 月の恋人 which has the annoying presence of a certain Chinese actress..-_-" Still, both are equally interesting but truth be told, I'm liking 素直になれなくて the most this season!!! ^_^ It's honestly the best dorama I've seen this season and I think the Ueno Juri + Eita pairing is the best!~ ✩
Another day, another performance.. This time by Umich's very own Michigan Pops Orchestra, the only student-run, student-led orchestra in Umich! ^_^ Today they presented us with their last performance for this school year and the theme was "Victors & Villains".
Playlist:
"Superman March" from Superman J. Williams
"A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd S. Sondheim
Themes from 007 - A Medley for Orchestra Arr. C. Custer
"Intermezzo" from Cavalleria Rusticana featured in The Godfather, Part 3 P. Mascagni
Night On Bald Mountain M. Mussorgsky
Voodoo Violin Concerto D. B. Roumain
=Extra Item: Violin solo by Daniel Bernard Roumain=
*Intermission*
Music from Spider-Man D. Elfman, Arr. J. Wasson
Video Games Live Suite Including music from: Halo, Bounty Hunter, and Kingdom Hearts Arr. R. Ford
"Battle of the Heroes" from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith J. WIlliams
Hercules Suite including: The Gospel Truth, Zero to Hero, A Star is Born, Go the Distance Music: A. Menken Lyrics: D. Zippel Arr. B. Healey
"Defying Gravity" from Wicked S. Schwartz Orch. W. D. Brohn
It was overall an extremely enjoyable performance.=) I particularly liked Intermezzo [because I'm biased toward it in the first place], A Little Priest [I want to watch Sweeney Todd!!!], Themes from 007, Night On Bald Mountain, Video Games Live Suite and Defying Gravity [I REALLY want to watch Wicked!!!]. ^_^ I felt the Intermezzo performance could have been stronger, but it wasn't too bad. I REALLY liked the Video Games Live Suite though!!! ^_^ And I seriously feel like playing Kingdom Hearts! Where o where has my PS 2 gone! Haha.=P
Anyway, last Friday was our last Japanese Conversation Table. ;_; SO SAD OMG!!! I was very crushed when I found out.
No more hanging out on Friday afternoons in Greene Lounge singing away in Japanese [and eliciting stares from passers-by] and then chatting about the song afterward in Japanese, no more hanging out randomly with my Japanese classmates to squeal over the song [whether good or bad..], no more Satoo Sensei and his random comments about the song... I really love RC Japanese, so far, it's the only class here that I've more than 100% enjoyed and loved. And I've made so many friends, my Japanese classmates, the teaching assistants and volunteers. I'm so sad that LSA doesn't have the same system for Lunch Tables and Conversation Tables. (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) WEEPS!
Thankfully, we sang this super uplifting song by SMAP:
SMAP - 世界に一つだけの花 [sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana]
It's got a wonderful message within the song that we talked about together on Friday afternoon [I got "chided" for thinking too deeply about the song.O__o Oops.] but I don't really have time to discuss it right now.^_^"
Alright, back to work. (T_T) Sociology is SO HARD! With such difficult assignments, does she really need to give exams too?
门徒 (The Protege) + Strains of Majesty + Tonari no Totoro
Hello
Today I watched 门徒. =D It stars Andy Lau, Daniel Wu (!!!), Louis Koo, Anita Yuen and this other girl I don't recognise.^_^" I rather liked the show actually, though it was pretty depressing and realistic.
Plot: The show centers around 阿力 (or Nick, acted by Daniel Wu), 昆哥 (Quin, acted by Andy Lau) and 阿玢 (Fen, acted by that unknown HK actress). Fen is a drug addict, struggling to kick the habit and strive for a better life for her daughter [an adorable little girl] and herself. She's Nick's neighbour and thus forms an uncertain relationship with him as he attempts to help her. Things though, are thwarted by her useless husband (acted by Louis Koo). Quin is a drug dealer who produces heroin for sale on the streets and Nick is an undercover cop who is trying to dig out information on the heroin circuit through Quin. Nick is Quin's protege to take over the business, hence the title of the movie.=)
Setting: Dodgy, dilapidated and seedy lanes and areas throughout Hong Kong, Kowloon and Burma dominate in this movie. The run-down apartment block that Fen and Nick reside in is case-in-point. They do have scenes in Chiang Mai and Burma though, with opium fields and such that are beautiful! =) They filmed the opium fields, and drug processing plants. It was all rather interesting to see how the poppy seeds can transform eventually into that white substance called Heroin, something that's addictive and deadly.
Characters: The roles of Nick and Fen are pretty interesting and the ever so adorable daughter is always a welcome sight amidst the drudgery of their surroundings.=D You do see Daniel Wu throughout the whole show, so that's great eye candy.=D I also felt that he's not a bad actor. [Don't JUDGE me. I didn't even know how he looked like until um. Now.] He does seem rather um. Mature though.^_^" I felt Quin's family was pretty redundant apart from how they made Nick more attached to them thus showing some kind of emotional bond despite knowing his motives behind him pursuing their friendship.
Themes: They do explore the issues of drug use, addiction, honour, betrayal, right and wrong. They also gave some thought to human relationships and such.=) They also show you the consequences of drug abuse, how it can drive someone to desperation and how it can change people's lives.
Story: A rather over-used Hong Kong movie, The Protege doesn't really cover any new ground. Apart from it being about drugs this time, my brother claims The Protege is pretty similar to Infernal Affairs [which I am simply dying to watch]. To be positive though, the plot was quite well-woven without leaving major troubles behind. Still, I would love to see something more from a Hong Kong movie.. Confession of Pain is something different for example. ;) I must admit though, if you like the Hong Kong movie formula, this movie hits all the right spots.=)
Music: Oh I love the music!!! ^_^ This is terrible. I like every OST of every movie I've seen so far. Apart from the very non-descript ones. Haha.=X Or the extremely boring/bad/unnoticeable ones. ^_^" But I liked the music in this very much. I thought they added pathos and a punch to every scene.
Overall impression: I liked it though it didn't have a happy ending. Or rather.. I guess the good guys won but not fully? Nick's empty void in his life was, I suppose, filled by Fen's daughter but will guilt one day overtake him? Still, it was interesting to see the process of making drugs.=) That, plus demand, is probably why drugs are so damn expensive. Anyhow, the movie didn't make a seriously deep impression on me so I guess that while I rather liked it, it wasn't superb.
We went to Strains of Majesty, featuring Nina Kotova, cellist, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at the Esplanade.=) It was conducted by Jahja Ling, a guest conductor who originates from Indonesia but is currently working in San Diego. They performed:
Antonin Dvorak Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 - I felt that while Nina Kotova did sound good overall, she started off pretty shaky and I wasn't terribly impressed by her performance overall. I also wasn't wowed by the whole performance, including the orchestra though I generally like Dvorak pieces. They tend to be dramatic but melodious and nice to listen to.=) It started off on a dramatic note [which is usually a good thing], ending on another dramatic note [they all do] and according to the programme, this piece was influenced by Dvorak's stay in America for 2 years.
intermission
Ludwig Van Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica' - Ooh I really liked this piece! ^_^ It stayed nice and melodious throughout the whole symphony so I didn't get bored. [Usually in the middle, these long pieces tend to get a bit too slow and boring.] I thought the SSO also sounded pretty good playing this piece.^_^ I like Beethoven as well, generally so there wasn't much to complain about. This piece was at first inspired by Napoleon but was rewritten after Napoleon assumed the post of Emperor in France.
I love temperamental musicians. They make such funny stories! Changing an entire work because the inspiree decided to be ambitious? Haha.xD
Anyway, I FAIL at writing things for primary one students to understand.X__x I was trying to help my mom construct "simple" sentences for her to teach this student she's helping but everything I wrote was too "complicated". [Sense the irony here..]
Which led me to ask when I could start reading and everything! =D Haha. Apparently, I could read by the time I was 3 or 4? And that I learnt WORDS before the alphabet!!! So cool. Haha. No wonder I could never figure out what "verbs", "nouns" and such things were last time! =P I never did learn words through all these urmmmm, proper methods.^_^"
Haiyos Kekkaishi is taking SUCH a long time to download.-_____-" I have nothing to watch! NOTHING! (T_T) Time to finally watch my Studio Ghibli collection in its entirety.^_^" I just watched Tonari no Totoro the other day. It was SO CUTE! =D Haha.
Tonari no Totoro is a pretty simple, but fantastical movie that is typical of Studio Ghibli [as I've begun to notice]. I realised that Studio Ghibli creators are really able to see things from a child's perspective because although to me, it seemed quite DUH, I realised that the things the characters get excited about are very relevant to children.=)
The drawing style in 1988 [when Tonari no Totoro was released] is pretty similar to the present-day Studio Ghibli. Of course, the landscapes are much more refined, the colours more vibrant and the detail more in-depth.
It is a pretty short movie [about 1.5 hours] and is easily digestible.=) You get a whole great cast of characters! You've got the kindly father, the sickly mother, the inquisitive younger sister, the responsible elder sister, the friendly grandmother-neighbour, the shy boy-neighbour, the cute chibi Totoros, the fat huggable Totoro and the psychotic CatBus! =D
And the music is nice too.^_^ Joe Hisaishi really works very well with Studio Ghibli.=D
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Tonari no Totoro OST + Love Letter Gackt + Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica' Beethoven] [mood : sleepy] [food : steak sandwich!]
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
