Chen Weilian in Taiwan:
A couple of days ago, one of the TFC members, curious, sent me two Youtube videos on Chen Weilian, Overall Champion of Project Superstar Season One, who was visiting Taiwan's variety show programmes. As those of you who know about such programmes, they can be seriously difficult to go onto and even excel in because they are considered litmus tests as to whether a celebrity can be accepted into the Taiwanese music industry and by the Taiwanese music-listening market.
After watching the two videos, I have to concur with Curious - Weilian did very well in the programme and I believe his gigs on the variety show will secure a decent amount of publicity for this latest album "i Weilian". Jia you~~
Two Beautiful Songs:
Besides the two YouTube videos, I have also included the soundtracks and songs lyrics of the two songs so for the singing enthusiasts who are keen to learn more, they are some sort of a reference. Have fun learning and singing! XD
苏永康 - Sorry
Sorry... I am really sorry.
我又一次把你气哭在陌生街头
爱你... 我当然爱你
自从第一眼到现在甚至没人敢预测的将来
请你相信不是我不愿意改变我自已
而是一再努力又一再放弃那个软弱的自已
其实我恨透了我自已没有认输的勇气
让你受尽了不安和委屈
你是我这一生这一生最最最害怕去伤害到的人
也是我这一生这一生唯一能让我安定下来的人
虽然我并没有并没有并没有一身温驯的灵魂
但是我很愿意很愿意做那个永远照顾你的人
我的爱人请听
我有颗不善言语的心
只能够看着你远去的背影
陈伟联-火柴天堂
走在寒冷下雪的夜空 卖着火柴温饱我的梦
一步步冰冻 一步步寂寞 人情寒冷冰冻我的手
一包火柴燃烧我的心 寒冷夜里挡不住前行
风刺我的脸 雪割我的口 拖着脚步还能走多久
有谁来买我的火柴 有谁将一根根希望全部点燃
有谁来买我的孤单 有谁来实现我想家的呼唤
每次点燃火柴微微光芒 看到希望看到梦想 看见天上的妈妈说话
她说你要勇敢你要坚强 不要害怕不要慌张让你从此不必再流浪
每次点燃火柴微微光芒 看到希望看到梦想 看见天上的妈妈的说话
她说你要勇敢你要坚强 不要害怕不要慌张让你从此不必再流浪
妈妈牵着你的手回家 睡在温暖花开的天堂
走在寒冷下雪的夜空 卖着火柴温饱我的梦
一步步冰冻 一步步寂寞 人情寒冷冰冻我的手
一包火柴燃烧我的心 寒冷夜里挡不住前行
风刺我的脸 雪割我的口 拖着脚步还能走多久
有谁来买我的火柴 有谁将一根根希望全部点燃
有谁来买我的孤单 有谁来实现我想家的呼唤
每次点燃火柴微微光芒 看到希望看到梦想 看见天上的妈妈说话
她说你要勇敢你要坚强 不要害怕不要慌张让你从此不必再流浪
每次点燃火柴微微光芒 看到希望看到梦想 看见天上的妈妈的说话
她说你要勇敢你要坚强 不要害怕不要慌张让你从此不必再流浪
妈妈牵着你的手回家 睡在温暖花开的天堂
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Watching VCD with Dad and Being Onstage Once Again
Well, I did quite a lot of things yesterday and some of them are pretty rare and unusual for me.
Good Gym Session:
I was in the gym yesterday late morning, to work out all the excess junk food that I have stuffed myself over the weekend because I was too busy to have proper meals in between lessons. I suppose I'll just have to endure another couple of weeks before all those lessons ease off so I can eventually sit down for decent weekend meals. Gym was, in short, good and smooth, which means I managed to complete the intended routine without breaking or spraining anything. =P
Watching VCD with Dad:
My dad, a retiree, is usually busy with his share of household chores, strumming his guitar in his room, or visiting the community centre. But today, I managed to catch him in a vcd mood because I bought the vcd for Blood Diamond, which is actually an action-documentary movie about conflict diamonds. My dad, like me, is a junkie for action movies and he loves things associated with gemstones so he grabbed a chair to my room and both of us watched the first half of the movie, exchanging comments about the plot line of the movie as we went along. We intend to catch the second portion later in the morning. Family time can be fun too. =)
Good Lesson With A Student:
I had an afternoon lesson with a Primary 4 student and I was pretty happy with the progress that he has made with his English Comprehension. The kid is quite intelligent though careless but at least he is grasping what I was trying to teach and managed to absorb well enough. He is lucky to have a very caring mother who would get whatever he needs and never hesitated to enquire about how her son is coping with the lessons. Lucky chap. My mom, during my time in school at that age, was much more at peace with my progress. Her philosophy with my studies - If cannot study then quit school and work lor. -___-"
Onstage For Performances Once Again:
It's been so long since I was onstage doing live performing and singing again. Last night was two rounds of unexpected stage performances in front of a crowd of 20+ strangers. I was meeting a friend at MusicDreamer Live! Cafe to check out what its Audience Night was all about and I had originally intended to sit it out the whole night since I have heard from the singers there that their Audience Nights are usually very interesting. It turned out I could not escape performing either because the musicians onstage insisted a performance from every single table. My friend adamantly refused to sing onstage, citing that she is too shy to sing in front of so many strangers. Caught totally unprepared to sing, I managed to squeeze out two songs <彩虹天堂> By 刘耕宏 <寂寞的季节> By 陶哲 after much brainstorming. All the other members of the audience who went onstage to sing, seemed to be so experienced with the Audience Night, preparing their own song lyrics sheets and looking much more composed than poor Sean who was completely taken aback by their better-than-expected singing. Some of them really sang very well indeed.
My first song was, in my opinion, extremely embarassing because somewhere between a full stomach of chicken chop, a shivering voicebox (I forgot to bring my jacket) and the awkwardness of having to perform in front of a newly-met friend at the very first meeting, I managed to sing off key not just once, but at least four times through the song. After my first performance ended, I was prepared for the tomatoes to be thrown but thankfully, the keyboard musician, 坚立, who was helping me with the music accompaniment, smoothed out my frayed performance by saying that it was actually a very difficult song to perform. The audience was merciful and generous enough to award some applause at least. Nice people there last night.
My second song, accompanied by guitarist, 思悯, in my opinion, sounded better, because I deliberately picked something easier since I had done a terrible one earlier on. I could not really see the expressions of the audience downstage because I had to keep my eye on the lyrics of the song (I had not sung this song for two months) but I suppose the relatively more enthusiastic applause means I did okay for the second one.
I would like to make use of this opportunity to thank 坚立and 思悯 for their wonderful music accompaniment for both of my performances and also all those who managed to stay and listen to poor Sean croaking away last night. Last night, I had seriously underestimated the standards of singing on Audience Night at MusicDreamer Live! Cafe and if I am ever to find time to turn up for another one, I promise to make up to the people there with better performances. =D
Good Gym Session:
I was in the gym yesterday late morning, to work out all the excess junk food that I have stuffed myself over the weekend because I was too busy to have proper meals in between lessons. I suppose I'll just have to endure another couple of weeks before all those lessons ease off so I can eventually sit down for decent weekend meals. Gym was, in short, good and smooth, which means I managed to complete the intended routine without breaking or spraining anything. =P
Watching VCD with Dad:
My dad, a retiree, is usually busy with his share of household chores, strumming his guitar in his room, or visiting the community centre. But today, I managed to catch him in a vcd mood because I bought the vcd for Blood Diamond, which is actually an action-documentary movie about conflict diamonds. My dad, like me, is a junkie for action movies and he loves things associated with gemstones so he grabbed a chair to my room and both of us watched the first half of the movie, exchanging comments about the plot line of the movie as we went along. We intend to catch the second portion later in the morning. Family time can be fun too. =)
Good Lesson With A Student:
I had an afternoon lesson with a Primary 4 student and I was pretty happy with the progress that he has made with his English Comprehension. The kid is quite intelligent though careless but at least he is grasping what I was trying to teach and managed to absorb well enough. He is lucky to have a very caring mother who would get whatever he needs and never hesitated to enquire about how her son is coping with the lessons. Lucky chap. My mom, during my time in school at that age, was much more at peace with my progress. Her philosophy with my studies - If cannot study then quit school and work lor. -___-"
Onstage For Performances Once Again:
It's been so long since I was onstage doing live performing and singing again. Last night was two rounds of unexpected stage performances in front of a crowd of 20+ strangers. I was meeting a friend at MusicDreamer Live! Cafe to check out what its Audience Night was all about and I had originally intended to sit it out the whole night since I have heard from the singers there that their Audience Nights are usually very interesting. It turned out I could not escape performing either because the musicians onstage insisted a performance from every single table. My friend adamantly refused to sing onstage, citing that she is too shy to sing in front of so many strangers. Caught totally unprepared to sing, I managed to squeeze out two songs <彩虹天堂> By 刘耕宏 <寂寞的季节> By 陶哲 after much brainstorming. All the other members of the audience who went onstage to sing, seemed to be so experienced with the Audience Night, preparing their own song lyrics sheets and looking much more composed than poor Sean who was completely taken aback by their better-than-expected singing. Some of them really sang very well indeed.
My first song was, in my opinion, extremely embarassing because somewhere between a full stomach of chicken chop, a shivering voicebox (I forgot to bring my jacket) and the awkwardness of having to perform in front of a newly-met friend at the very first meeting, I managed to sing off key not just once, but at least four times through the song. After my first performance ended, I was prepared for the tomatoes to be thrown but thankfully, the keyboard musician, 坚立, who was helping me with the music accompaniment, smoothed out my frayed performance by saying that it was actually a very difficult song to perform. The audience was merciful and generous enough to award some applause at least. Nice people there last night.
My second song, accompanied by guitarist, 思悯, in my opinion, sounded better, because I deliberately picked something easier since I had done a terrible one earlier on. I could not really see the expressions of the audience downstage because I had to keep my eye on the lyrics of the song (I had not sung this song for two months) but I suppose the relatively more enthusiastic applause means I did okay for the second one.
I would like to make use of this opportunity to thank 坚立and 思悯 for their wonderful music accompaniment for both of my performances and also all those who managed to stay and listen to poor Sean croaking away last night. Last night, I had seriously underestimated the standards of singing on Audience Night at MusicDreamer Live! Cafe and if I am ever to find time to turn up for another one, I promise to make up to the people there with better performances. =D
Friday, September 21, 2007
When The Spirit Is Broken, Everything Crumbles
I just received a piece of bad news today. The tuition centre in which I have been teaching for almost three years will probably wrap up in another month's time. My eggs are not in the same basket so my tutoring work is not that affected by its closure but the news is nevertheless still a sad one because I'll be parting with a place in which I have many fond memories of teaching some of the most wonderful students that I have ever had.
The tuition centre is not large and ostentatious but the atmosphere it used to have was truly that of boundless energy of learning. In the past, students would stay back hours way past their tuition timeslots because they loved to study there and access all the tutors there who would try to answer their questions on whatever subjects they took. The pay I got from the center was merely a fraction of what I would charge outside the centre but because of such energy within the centre, I have had no regrets teaching there and in the process meeting some of the most interesting students in my tutoring life thus far. My classes would always be bustling with eager students who would not hesitate to ask questions, conduct active discussions, and do extra work on their own initiatives so I could correct their work and point out their mistakes before they head off to their examinations at the end of the year.
However, things went completely downhill ever since the principal of the tuition centre broke up with his girlfriend who had been his centre assistant since the creation of the centre. I did not know what exactly happened between the two of them, but it seemed to me that ever since that break-up, the entrepreneurial and fighting spirit of the principal was broken and as it waned, so did the energy of the centre itself. Subsequently, the principal stopped advertising about the classes in the centre, fumbled with some investment errors along the way and started absenting himself from the centre's lessons. As the months went by, fewer and fewer new students were enrolled and the tuition centre is now a picture of abandonment and has completely lost its heyday form of energy and spirit de corps.
I suppose I can only bring nothing with me, except the happy memories of those smiling faces of my students who enjoyed my lessons with me for the past three years, when the whole place closes down. Hopefully, with those memories, I can re-create the abundant energy in new classrooms with new students in a new tuition centre in the future. The principal's spirit may be broken but mine is still intact.
What's left are only my thoughts about the entire episode - Maybe everything boils down to one's fighting spirit. If one is unwilling to move forward, then nothing will move that person.
Where's your fighting spirit? Are you prepared to use it everyday of your life?
The tuition centre is not large and ostentatious but the atmosphere it used to have was truly that of boundless energy of learning. In the past, students would stay back hours way past their tuition timeslots because they loved to study there and access all the tutors there who would try to answer their questions on whatever subjects they took. The pay I got from the center was merely a fraction of what I would charge outside the centre but because of such energy within the centre, I have had no regrets teaching there and in the process meeting some of the most interesting students in my tutoring life thus far. My classes would always be bustling with eager students who would not hesitate to ask questions, conduct active discussions, and do extra work on their own initiatives so I could correct their work and point out their mistakes before they head off to their examinations at the end of the year.
However, things went completely downhill ever since the principal of the tuition centre broke up with his girlfriend who had been his centre assistant since the creation of the centre. I did not know what exactly happened between the two of them, but it seemed to me that ever since that break-up, the entrepreneurial and fighting spirit of the principal was broken and as it waned, so did the energy of the centre itself. Subsequently, the principal stopped advertising about the classes in the centre, fumbled with some investment errors along the way and started absenting himself from the centre's lessons. As the months went by, fewer and fewer new students were enrolled and the tuition centre is now a picture of abandonment and has completely lost its heyday form of energy and spirit de corps.
I suppose I can only bring nothing with me, except the happy memories of those smiling faces of my students who enjoyed my lessons with me for the past three years, when the whole place closes down. Hopefully, with those memories, I can re-create the abundant energy in new classrooms with new students in a new tuition centre in the future. The principal's spirit may be broken but mine is still intact.
What's left are only my thoughts about the entire episode - Maybe everything boils down to one's fighting spirit. If one is unwilling to move forward, then nothing will move that person.
Where's your fighting spirit? Are you prepared to use it everyday of your life?
Monday, September 17, 2007
Song Recommendation - 苏丽珍 By 方大同
The time has come for my monthly song recommendation and I am introducing a catchy and light-hearted song from Khalil Fang. Most of us would have heard of his song 爱爱爱 already but I felt that this song is also another gem because its lyrics are very interesting and the tune of the song was also playful and different for a change.
The second Youtube was a home webcam performance by one of the PSS 2 contestants, Kewei with her keyboard specialist, Yingying. I have gotten Kewei's permission (thank you, Kewei) to put her performance here because I wanted to show the singing enthusiasts viewing my blog that even if one does not have the same kind of groove and feel as the original singer, careful improvisation can still make a song enjoyable to perform and listen to. =)
As for my personal contribution to the song recommendation here. I will try my best to mark out the portions within the lyrics below in an attempt to help all those who wants to learn how to sing this song. If the original Youtube video is too muffled, you can either click on the title of the song below or choose song number 43 on my blog's main playlist to listen to the clearer version. Hope everyone can have fun! =)
Legend:
(B) = Normal Breath
(QB) = Quick Breath
~~ = Stretchnote
Lyrics = Falsetto
方大同 - 苏丽珍
作曲 : 方大同
填词 : 周耀辉
(B)如果没有如果 (B)错过才知错过
(B)连旗袍都会为你复活还有什么叫你一直沉默
拉(QB)拉拖拖难道就是生活
(B)一句话一点墨 两个人快乐有几多
(B)你在写一部写不完的小说~~ (B)还是怕一切都会告一段落 Oh Yeah
(苏丽珍) (B)你叫我明白花样的幽默
(B)有情有义有时却有年华的寂寞
(B)对所爱的人不说却对自己太噜唆
(想啊想) (B)这是对还是错 到最后总是想得太多
(B)如果没有如果 (B)错过才知错过
(B)连背影都会为你婆娑还有什么跟你永远擦过
拉(QB)拉拖拖难道就是生活
(B)一个上一个落 两个人美丽有几多
(B)你在爬一道爬不完的斜坡~~ (B)还是想一切不如重头来过 Oh yeah yeah~~
(苏丽珍) (B)你叫我明白花样的幽默
(B)有情有义有时却有年华的寂寞
(B)对所爱的人不说却对自己太噜唆
(想啊想) (B)这是对还是错 到最后总是想得太多
(B)两个人能够开花就应该结果 (B)能把握也就不该摔破 Oh~~~
(B)一辈子最怕闯过一种祸 是不是~~蹉~跎~~~Oh wooh~~
(B)有情有义有时却有年华的寂寞
(B)对所爱的人不说却对自己太噜唆
(B)这是对还是错 Yeah
(到最后.......是不是我想得太多)
The "Poisoned" Changed Man and The Age of The Mercenary Students
The "Poisoned" Changed Man:
I was happily surfing and reading blogs on last Saturday afternoon, preparing to take my afternoon nap when The Changed Man sms-ed me:
"I need to go to the Accident & Emergency Department. I think my arm was infected by a wound and it's swelling right now. My hand is feeling numb already."
My reaction was: =="?!?
Within the next thirty minutes, I was onboard The Changed Man's sedan car (He insisted on driving to the A&E himself despite my dissuasion) towards NUS A&E Department. His wrist was visibly swollen with a wound (received somewhere during his reservist training in the middle of some jungle) with pus and there was still ugly and poisonous-looking swelling along the entire arm, seemingly following a vein towards his chest. It's definitely some sort of infection and poisoning. I suppose if the bacteria in that swollen vein reached The Changed Man's heart, it's game-over for him.
Inside NUS A&E, the senior physician on duty said it was some insect bug, plus scratching, leading to baterial infection. He gave the Changed Man some powerful and sleep-inducing antibiotics to counteract the unknown bacteria. Three hours later, The Changed Man was on his way home and sleeping under the effects of the medicine.
Talk about the dangers in the jungle and some crazed poisonous insects unheard of in the civilizied world. Note to self: Stay alert and don't play play in the jungle.
The Age of The Mercenary Students:
I always thought mercenaries belong to the messy battlefields but it seems that the mercenary spirit has infused itself into the minds of students these days. I was tutoring one of my students (whom I shall only henceforth name as The Mercenary Captain because he always wants to be some Captain of some plane) and he was blatantly asking me if I could reward him if he scored 90 marks in English Language in the final year examination.
Being aware of the philosophy behind the conventional rewards and punishments system, I said "Of course". I was thinking a reward will be a nice motivation for the hardworking student if he/she can really do well in the examinations. I continued to tell him that rewards only go so far because one has to work for one's future and not merely for the rewards in the immediate future.
His answer was "I only work for rewards....Why should I worry about my future because my parents will provide me with anything I ask for?"
What a fine mercenary captain he will make! But no way will I ever go onboard his plane any day lest he says something like, "Give me XXX or I'll crash the plane and you'll never get to see your families again."
No reward will be given to The Mercenary Captain, even if he scores 101 marks...
I was happily surfing and reading blogs on last Saturday afternoon, preparing to take my afternoon nap when The Changed Man sms-ed me:
"I need to go to the Accident & Emergency Department. I think my arm was infected by a wound and it's swelling right now. My hand is feeling numb already."
My reaction was: =="?!?
Within the next thirty minutes, I was onboard The Changed Man's sedan car (He insisted on driving to the A&E himself despite my dissuasion) towards NUS A&E Department. His wrist was visibly swollen with a wound (received somewhere during his reservist training in the middle of some jungle) with pus and there was still ugly and poisonous-looking swelling along the entire arm, seemingly following a vein towards his chest. It's definitely some sort of infection and poisoning. I suppose if the bacteria in that swollen vein reached The Changed Man's heart, it's game-over for him.
Inside NUS A&E, the senior physician on duty said it was some insect bug, plus scratching, leading to baterial infection. He gave the Changed Man some powerful and sleep-inducing antibiotics to counteract the unknown bacteria. Three hours later, The Changed Man was on his way home and sleeping under the effects of the medicine.
Talk about the dangers in the jungle and some crazed poisonous insects unheard of in the civilizied world. Note to self: Stay alert and don't play play in the jungle.
The Age of The Mercenary Students:
I always thought mercenaries belong to the messy battlefields but it seems that the mercenary spirit has infused itself into the minds of students these days. I was tutoring one of my students (whom I shall only henceforth name as The Mercenary Captain because he always wants to be some Captain of some plane) and he was blatantly asking me if I could reward him if he scored 90 marks in English Language in the final year examination.
Being aware of the philosophy behind the conventional rewards and punishments system, I said "Of course". I was thinking a reward will be a nice motivation for the hardworking student if he/she can really do well in the examinations. I continued to tell him that rewards only go so far because one has to work for one's future and not merely for the rewards in the immediate future.
His answer was "I only work for rewards....Why should I worry about my future because my parents will provide me with anything I ask for?"
What a fine mercenary captain he will make! But no way will I ever go onboard his plane any day lest he says something like, "Give me XXX or I'll crash the plane and you'll never get to see your families again."
No reward will be given to The Mercenary Captain, even if he scores 101 marks...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
有看头 - 爱琴海的超级高手归位
没有信用的人，如何挑大梁呢？嗨~~明明说好星期四晚上打电话通知我星期五晚上的课用不用上。结果等到星期五下午都没音讯。小事都搞不定，还想当名医生？
不管了，去爱琴海听歌。反正昨天星期五晚上也没其它我喜欢的活动。其实前几天在网上认识了个网友，SC，并知道她也想结伴去听歌，可是刚认识她不久，贸然邀出来，可能还有不便之处，所以昨晚听歌还是单枪匹马，希望她能明白。
还没吃晚餐，便点了鱼和薯条的西餐，味道还算不错。肚子是填饱了，可是听觉却在开始时，没被照顾到。
凭良心说，第一档的歌手的前几首歌 《难以抗拒你容颜》，《寂寞公路》，《逆光》都唱得不好。没有作足入歌准备，曲调平淡乏味，糟蹋了好歌。写了张字条给歌手，叫他们多留意并加油，情况才开始好转。不愧是民歌餐厅的歌手，一点便通，接下来的歌曲处理得比较好，还算过关。
喜出望外，第二档的强档歌手竟然出现了多月不见的歌手及乐手，威震。他可算是爱琴海的超级高手，是多位歌手乐手的起萌导师。原来几个月前威震跌伤了脚，都在家静养。如此强大的阵容，若不点歌就太可惜了。我一口气点了四首难度高的歌曲，而很庆幸的，《普通朋友》和《背叛》被选中。
虽然选唱《普通朋友》的乐手，坚立，对此歌的音符变换不熟悉，不过勇气可嘉，大家都不计较。选唱《背叛》的歌手，明源，歌声很好，只不过把歌唱得太用力，层次感表达得不够美。不过，还是很欣赏他敬业的精神，给于热烈的掌声。威震出神入化的歌唱技巧，加上伊玲稳扎稳打的实力， 合唱的一首《天下有情人》可谓一绝，是听觉一大享受，让在场的听众深感震撼，都报以雷动的掌声。
爱琴海的超级高手归位，势必有更精彩的演出，更有看头。我得想办法多抽空去听歌呀！
不管了，去爱琴海听歌。反正昨天星期五晚上也没其它我喜欢的活动。其实前几天在网上认识了个网友，SC，并知道她也想结伴去听歌，可是刚认识她不久，贸然邀出来，可能还有不便之处，所以昨晚听歌还是单枪匹马，希望她能明白。
还没吃晚餐，便点了鱼和薯条的西餐，味道还算不错。肚子是填饱了，可是听觉却在开始时，没被照顾到。
凭良心说，第一档的歌手的前几首歌 《难以抗拒你容颜》，《寂寞公路》，《逆光》都唱得不好。没有作足入歌准备，曲调平淡乏味，糟蹋了好歌。写了张字条给歌手，叫他们多留意并加油，情况才开始好转。不愧是民歌餐厅的歌手，一点便通，接下来的歌曲处理得比较好，还算过关。
喜出望外，第二档的强档歌手竟然出现了多月不见的歌手及乐手，威震。他可算是爱琴海的超级高手，是多位歌手乐手的起萌导师。原来几个月前威震跌伤了脚，都在家静养。如此强大的阵容，若不点歌就太可惜了。我一口气点了四首难度高的歌曲，而很庆幸的，《普通朋友》和《背叛》被选中。
虽然选唱《普通朋友》的乐手，坚立，对此歌的音符变换不熟悉，不过勇气可嘉，大家都不计较。选唱《背叛》的歌手，明源，歌声很好，只不过把歌唱得太用力，层次感表达得不够美。不过，还是很欣赏他敬业的精神，给于热烈的掌声。威震出神入化的歌唱技巧，加上伊玲稳扎稳打的实力， 合唱的一首《天下有情人》可谓一绝，是听觉一大享受，让在场的听众深感震撼，都报以雷动的掌声。
爱琴海的超级高手归位，势必有更精彩的演出，更有看头。我得想办法多抽空去听歌呀！
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Earthquake Tremors 13 September 2007 8.15am GMT+8hrs
I was happily playing Titan Quest on my desktop computer this morning whilst waiting for the gym to open when I suddenly felt a slow but steady rocking of my chair. For a brief moment, I thought it was my Elementalist sorceress who had cast one too many volcanic orbs into the throngs of monsters in the game. I paused the game for a minute to check if I was hallucinating but the rocking motion continued - Earthquake tremors. =="
I have heard from yesterday's news that poor Indonesia is hit by another powerful earthquake and I sort of expected afterquake tremors for these couple of days. I just did not think it will be reaching my place anytime soon as it is usually not the earthquake tremor-prone areas in Singapore. Looks like I am wrong this time. The earthquakes are getting more and more powerful as time goes by.
A quick foray into the online news agencies and I found the confirmation about the tremor. ChannelnewsAsia reported another Richter scale 7.7 magnitude around 6.49am this morning, so it's possible that the tremor took around a hour plus to reach the bottom of my feet. I wonder if anyone of you out there felt the tremor this morning?
We are very lucky to be in Singapore because the country is spared from many direct natural disasters but the poor Indonesians, especially those in Sumatra, are not so lucky living near the Pacific Ring of Fire. I hope they are not taking it too badly out there. Looking back, it's so silly doing those arms races and wars between the different countries when Nature has repeatedly reminded mankind that nobody has a larger or more formidable army than she has - all she has to do is to drum her fingers and we have earthquakes and tremors. I cannot imagine what will happen to all of us if she decides to pound her fist instead.
Peace to all those who lost their lives these couple of days to the earthquakes. Gratitude to all those who survived and spared from Nature's finger-drumming.
I have heard from yesterday's news that poor Indonesia is hit by another powerful earthquake and I sort of expected afterquake tremors for these couple of days. I just did not think it will be reaching my place anytime soon as it is usually not the earthquake tremor-prone areas in Singapore. Looks like I am wrong this time. The earthquakes are getting more and more powerful as time goes by.
A quick foray into the online news agencies and I found the confirmation about the tremor. ChannelnewsAsia reported another Richter scale 7.7 magnitude around 6.49am this morning, so it's possible that the tremor took around a hour plus to reach the bottom of my feet. I wonder if anyone of you out there felt the tremor this morning?
We are very lucky to be in Singapore because the country is spared from many direct natural disasters but the poor Indonesians, especially those in Sumatra, are not so lucky living near the Pacific Ring of Fire. I hope they are not taking it too badly out there. Looking back, it's so silly doing those arms races and wars between the different countries when Nature has repeatedly reminded mankind that nobody has a larger or more formidable army than she has - all she has to do is to drum her fingers and we have earthquakes and tremors. I cannot imagine what will happen to all of us if she decides to pound her fist instead.
Peace to all those who lost their lives these couple of days to the earthquakes. Gratitude to all those who survived and spared from Nature's finger-drumming.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
超级星光大道 - 杨宗纬 - 简短介绍
I was discussing with the Holy Bitch a little bit about singing competitions over the MSN these couple of days and she mentioned about this competition 超级星光大道 in Taiwan where there is a very famous contestant，杨宗纬, who managed to become very famous because he sang very well in the competition. Most unfortunately, he quitted the competition due to some scandal about his qualifying information (I think it was age) but he was easily one of the most impressive and memorable contestants.
After careful viewing of some of Yang's classic performances in the competition, I have to admit that he is very good at emoting songs and even successfully made audience and judges shed tears. I have selected some of his performances for constructive exposure and commentary for those who love singing to view, listen and mull over.
What do all of you think of this Yang Zong Wei's singing? Welcoming constructive comments from singing enthusiasts at either the main blog tagboard or on the blog post comment board itself!
After careful viewing of some of Yang's classic performances in the competition, I have to admit that he is very good at emoting songs and even successfully made audience and judges shed tears. I have selected some of his performances for constructive exposure and commentary for those who love singing to view, listen and mull over.
What do all of you think of this Yang Zong Wei's singing? Welcoming constructive comments from singing enthusiasts at either the main blog tagboard or on the blog post comment board itself!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
听歌的乐趣 - 爱琴海
校园Superstars第一和第二届的“工作”忙完后，终于可以抽出时间去听歌了。
发现身边很多朋友只喜欢唱歌，不喜欢听别人唱，可是我觉得听歌别有一番体会，不只能享受听现场歌唱的感觉，体验一首歌在不同歌手中有哪些的发挥空间，也能专心训练一下听歌的敏锐性，一举多得，何乐而不为呢？虽然没人陪听歌，也自得其乐。
昨晚的两档歌手都唱了很多首歌，也尽力为满座的听众呈现了歌龄不一的歌曲。对我而言，我从不真正去刻意分化新歌和旧歌，因为我认为只有动听的好歌和平庸无奇的歌。后者听了一段时日后，很快就会被淡忘，失去了原有的感动和味道。前者曲风独特，歌词有深度，无论经过多久的时间，重唱的感觉可以很快地让人入歌，重拾歌曲中的感动。
点了一首王力宏很早期的一首歌《好想你》，而第一档的歌手，国荣，也欣然接受挑战，临场准备了一番，成功地把歌曲演绎出来。国荣昨晚的搭档，友斌，的歌声也不俗，只不过他不晓得他的声线也蛮适合唱比较精典的歌曲。
第二档是强档歌手，虽然乐手俊欣发高烧不能来，不过代班的伟坚也很不错。歌手忠威，伊玲是昨晚的重头戏，因为两人不但是实力派唱将，也是搞笑能手。互相揶揄戏弄，把听众都逗得哈哈大笑。笑话不断，好歌不停，是我非常喜欢的组合。可惜忠威的感冒还没完全康复，所以一些歌曲的高音拉不上来，不过热情诚恳的演唱，弥补美中不足。也很喜欢伊玲的歌声，虽然昨晚并非她的最佳状态，不过欣赏她对歌唱的认真。每次开唱，一定会用时间陪养感情入歌，所以她的歌声带着诚意，听得出歌内的感动。两个人的合唱歌曲《珊瑚海》配合无间，是昨晚的压轴好歌。
一个忙碌到头昏目眩的星期，在欢笑好歌声中结束，确实舒服多了！=D
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Selection of Songs For Easy Listening 05 September 2007
As all of you know by now, I love music and out of the blue, I decided to create a simple 30-song playlist of what I deemed to be nice songs from my private collection of songs.
I suppose whatever you folks may be doing now, you can simply just click here and let the songs serenade you and accompany you in the activity you are doing now.
Hope you can enjoy the songs that I have randomly selected and of course today as it comes along. =)
I suppose whatever you folks may be doing now, you can simply just click here and let the songs serenade you and accompany you in the activity you are doing now.
Hope you can enjoy the songs that I have randomly selected and of course today as it comes along. =)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Movie Review and Afterthoughts: Ratatouille
I went to watch the highly-anticipated animation movie, Ratatouille, this morning and I find it really entertaining and enjoyable. Definitely deserving a four-star rating if you ask me.
It's not just because the appetizer of the movie was about the uneasy alliance of between a talented rat and an untalented man, but it was also well-seasoned with side-dishes of all sorts, such as carefully-paced action sequences from the rat-infested sewers to the dangerously busy streets of Paris to the exciting and buzzing kitchens of Paris. Garnished with a pinch of romance and adequately spiced up by a plot line of trust, betrayal and power struggle, the movie managed to provide the appealing main course of passion and determination to follow one's dream and being eventually rewarded with the delicious dessert of respect from disbelievers and a sense of fulfilment for oneself. To put it simply - bon appetite.
We have heard about all those motivational talks, tapes, seminars and books about following one's dreams but how many of us have the actual courage to step out of our comfort zones and challenge our perceived situations of reality? Change requires courage, necessitates sacrifice, most likely involves risks, entails the possibilities of dangers and failures but rewards with the unparalleled sense of achievement and self-fulfilment. So when will we ever be ready to change?
How about today? Why? Because...
"A tree as big around as you can reach starts with a small seed; a thousand-mile journey starts with one small step." - Lao Tze
"Life is a building process. Wherever you are, it is the place to start. The effort you expend today does make a difference." - Andrew Matthews
"At the end of every day of our lives, we will be most answerable to one person about how we spend our limited time on this planet: Ourselves." - Sean Ho
(Image source: http://sg.movies.yahoo.com/Ratatouille/movie/13845/photos/?id=4)
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