Latest Message By Teresa to her supporters

For those who wishes to know the recent messages left by Teresa, below is a copy of the post by Teresa on Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:59 pm at TFC Yahoo! Group:

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Hello Everyone,I am Teresa here..... It had been a long long time since I last left a message here for you all. Sorry^^"

First of all I would like to say a thank you to Wen Long for your generous gift. As we have to move in a group, and due to the security, i was not able to say thank you and to show you my appreciation.

CSS2 has now started, wish that you all would render the same support to them like you had towards me for the past year, thank you very much.

As you all must be aware that this is the examination period, like everyone else with no exception, I am going through the examination period as well. There after, I would be going back to Taiwan to visit my friends and relatives there... It had been 3 years since I last went back to my birth place. After which I would be back here in Singapore, and towards to end of June, I would be involved in a NEA concert. Do not know whether is it open to public. There after in July, I would have 1 to 2 shows with MOE in celebration of SYF. Thomas or myself will keep you posted on the upcoming events.

In the meantime, for students, please work hard and wish that all of you all would pass your mid-year exam with flying colours. All working adults, wishing you all a very good and prosperous second half year of 2007.

Till then, do keep in touch.

With Love,Teresa Tseng
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Honestly speaking, given the massive (but generally quiet) supporter strength of Teresa in her fanclubs and forums (approximately around 2000 minus the spammers), I do sometimes wish that Teresa can post to her supporters more often because it will definitely develop closer ties with her supporters but it's still comforting to know that she is doing what she can to post messages since she is trying very hard to juggle her midyear examinations alongside with all the official MediaCorp events that she is performing at.

On the topic of her upcoming performances at the NEA concert in June and SYF concert in July, I am personally very happy for her because it shows the kind and level of attention Teresa is getting from even the civil service ministries which must have appreciated her singing abilities as well as her healthy Campus Superstar image enough to invite her to perform for such events. As far as I know, these are major indicators that Teresa is gaining a firm and respectable foothold in the singing and performance scene in Singapore's calendar of events. It, of course, speaks volumes of how successful her Campus Superstar mini-career is.

I was observing Teresa during the Bishan Junction 8 event last Saturday and I was very comforted to see how attentive Teresa is during the event. While waiting for the cue to go onstage to pass the CSS banner to the new CSS 2 Top 20 contestants, she chosed to stand because the seat offered to her had an airconditioner vent behind which was blowing her hair out of place - Teresa respected the stage and did not want to stand onstage with any less-than-presentable appearance. Teresa also waited patiently and attentively for the cue, responding and readied herself in seconds when the cue was given. Both small actions demonstrated her professionalism and responsibliity in giving her best whenever the stage calls for her presence.

In 2006, after much deliberation and thought, I chosed Teresa as my favourite Campus Superstar and has since never hesitated to stand behind her for many reasons. The abovementioned two are just two of them.

To the CSS 2 contestants reading this, learn humbly and you will go far. Remember what Teresa had said to the twenty of you - 放轻松，多学，多看，多听，会辛苦一点的。The journey will be long, work hard, learn humbly and you will go far.

(Image source: blanketma, 28 Apr 2007, idollic.com/teresa)

(Message source: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/teresafc/)

Afterthoughts & Commentary on CSS 2 Bishan Junction 8 Event 28 Apr 2007

Okay, I have almost forgotten all the song titles sung by the performing Superstars today becasue I was more focused on their singing and performances rather than the song titles. I will be counting on those who remembered to fill in the blanks in this area. I was also paying attention on how the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants were behaving in their first public appearance as a group, noting their management and response to the screams and fanfare.

I will only do a brief commentary on the various performing Superstars because my main focus was still on Teresa (to be fair to her and all her faithful supporters) but there are still certain noteworthy points that I wish to address to the Superstars themselves (hopefully this blog post can reach their computers during their leisure time). Here we go:

Renfred - I am seeing improvements in your dancing and that is a good sign since your forte isn't exactly singing. Commit yourself to dancing properly and you will reserve for yourself as one of the few Superstars that can genuinely give a proper dance performance onstage. Your singing of the was not really up to my personal standards (since I can sing that song too) because you were not buffing the song up properly and hence it sounded thin and a little lacklustre on my ears. Work on your breathing techniques because I noted a few sections in which you barely managed to catch your breath on time.

Nathaniel - Good singing and good audience interaction overall. You have a knack for knowing when to interact and gesture to the audience and that is a plus sign. However, your clothes were a little bit too informal for your Project Superstar status so maybe you want to dress up a little more for the next event. One more thing - try not to close your eyes too much when you emote your song because it means less chance for you to electrify the audience with your eyes.

Geraldine - Your singing has improved and you seemed to be working well with your emcee interaction and I was impressed. However, you still lacked the stage presentation skills and most of your chorus seemed to be "riding" on the background music rather than properly projecting your singing voice into the microphone. It's very subtle to most listeners but I can pick it up because I was close enough to the speakers.

Carrie - Your voice is obviously suited to the song that you sang and amongst all the Superstar performers today, I was enjoying your emcee interaction the most because you were quick-witted and expressive. Well done. Your singing was pretty alright for me and there was nothing much to pick on except that you needed to pay a little more attention to your lyrics pronunciation because it sounded much like slurring on a few parts and that lessened the enjoyment value of your performance.

Daren - I like the idea of you coming closer to the stage because it definitely helped people to get a better view of your singing with all those placards and banners in the air. Like Teresa, you gave one of the most stable performances and I was impressed with your singing today. One thing to note is that on two occasions, your "ku qiang" got the better of you and it was distinctly heard breaking out. You, like Nathaniel, close your eyes more frequently than necessary and hoep you can work on that too.

Diya - You looked really kid-like with your attire and on other occasions, it would be inappropriate but for the song you sang today, it was fully suitable. I liked the way you stirred the audience to a high with a good song selection plus the interactive-ness with the audience, especially the CSS 2 Top 20 Contestants (a big plus). The downside, however, was that you were trying too hard to mimick Jay Chou. Avoid that because you should develop your own confidence and style in performing the same song. Trust your stage skills and your ability to connect with people.

Sin Huey - I have always looked up to you as one of Singapore's budding A-list singers but your performance today made three terrible mistakes today and I am going to list them down here. Depending on the sanity of your die-hard supporters, I may or may not be expecting an incredible amount of flak and hate posts either on the MediaCorp forums or on my personal blog page but I supposed I should remind you of the good things you were supposed to do or not do. One - over-emoting to the point of choking on the song. You must learn to either control your emotions when you want to sing a particularly emotionally-attached song or not to choose it at all. The interruptions at your second song were sub-standard and unacceptable to me.

Two - You were over-the-top with your supporters at the event and took much more precious time playing with them when the whole event was not about you but the Campus Superstars themselves. Avoid hogging too much attention at other people's events lest they think you are egoistic or self-centred.

Three - You actually told the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants that you had forgotten about them sitting right in front of you? Even if you had forgotten, you should not spelt it out. If you had seen their disappointed faces, you would be regretting your words today too. Thank goodness it wasn't some international event or concert and you said out aloud that you forgot who the star audience were or even I would have to hide in a hole in embarassment for you.

Sin Huey, if you are reading this, please remember to pay enough attention to the focus audience or stars of the various events instead of overly-immersing yourself in your own performances or you may risk being buried by the stricter event organizers permanently. This is not a threat but a genuine piece of advice for you from me.

Top 20 CSS Contestants - All twenty of you were still very shy and not as expressive. I can easily forgive that part because that was still the first public appearance and most of you were not accustomed to the screams, cheering, clapping, attention, and camera flashes. I see some great smiles paralleling Teresa's and that is a good sign even though most of you are quite clumsy with the emcee interaction portions.

However, I am personally very unhappy with those of you who did not bother clapping after some of the performances were over or were fidgeting in your seats for no apparent reason. If you want people to clap for you when you are onstage, you must not be stingy with your own applause for others, no matter what the quality of the performance was. It is simply a matter of professional courtesy and good behaviour. How can one ever hope to be a Superstar if one does not understand the value of applause or attention and readily expects these from others?

That is all for my afterthoughts and commentary on the abovementioned event. Hope it was a good and entertaining read to all you readers out there.

Report on Teresa’s Peformance on 28 Apr @ CSS 2 Top 20 Handing Over Ceremony

As a supporter of Teresa, I am obviously giving Teresa the privilege of her performance report first before I start commenting on the other celebrities and the CSS 2 who appeared today at the Bishan Junction 8 handing over concert and ceremony. Well, you can read the performance report I gave her before I start on the other celebrities.

Teresa appeared in a white short-sleeved top, blue jeans and black high heels. She appeared comfortably casual but elegant and I have always liked that kind of plain fashion, which looks great on her especially for this event since the whole event venue was quite hot and stuffy. Teresa then proceeded to sing an F.I.R song 把爱放开http://www.haoting.com/htmusic/98705ht.htm and gave a very good and stable performance onstage. Although Teresa did not deliberately try to stir the audience to a high, her excellent singing skills shone out without a doubt and the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants were enthusiastically clapping in appreciation immediately after her performance.

My personal grading for our dear Teresa for her performance (solo song only) is as follows:

1.0) Singing Capability (Subtotal: 21.5 out of 25 marks)

1.1) Lyrics accuracy (4.5 out 5 marks) - includes lyrics memorization
Reason: I could hear the entire song that Teresa sang but there was a problem with the stereo sound system at the event venue – it was too loud and was painful to my very sensitive ears, so it somewhat affected the overall enjoyment of the performance. But Teresa’s pronunciation of the lyrics was still clear amidst the blasting music and I was impressed with that.

1.2) Tempo accuracy (4.5 out 5 marks) - includes synchronization to the tempo of song
Reason: F.I.R is one of Teresa’s favourite bands and I believe she had put in a lot of preparation so as to sing her favourite singer’s songs properly. Straining my ears for any flaws in Teresa’s grasp of the song’s tempo, I found none.

1.3) Breath control (4.0 out 5 marks) - includes breathing techniques and song pausesReason: I believe Teresa knows the requirements of her chosen song and was doing well to hit the requirements in the breathing section but because she looked as if she needed to “look up” (one of the singing techniques) to clear her airway for a segment of the endnotes, I deducted some marks because it did not look very good from the audience angle.

1.4) Voice clarity (4.0 out 5 marks) - includes pronunciation of lyrics and notes
Reason: Voice clarity was actually good even though the stereo system was wrecking havoc on my ears. I believed Teresa had read my previous report and made sure that this time round, she projected her voice as clear as she could. I deducted some marks because her humming during two sections of the song was not really audible enough though.

1.5) Singing techniques (4.5 out 5 marks) - includes voicing platforms and bass use, rapping, etcReason: Teresa had the proper singing techniques for this song and I am like running out of things to teach the girl (haha) because she picks techniques up really fast and uses them wisely. Way to go, Teresa!

2. 0) Song Delivery (Subtotal: 14.5 out of 20 marks)

2.1) Facial expression of performer (3.0 out 5 marks)
Reason: It could be that the chosen song was a hard-rock ballad so Teresa was not smiling as often as I would like her to, but I calculated that it would not hurt the song much if she had smiled more at the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants. An average mark was awarded for this segment of TEV. You have a great smile, so you ought to smile more, Teresa.

2.2) Body language of performer (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: After so many performances onstage, Teresa had gathered enough experience to know when to gesticulate and when not to. I find little fault with how she presents the song onstage today when it comes to the body language section although it could be a little bit more forceful to suit the song genre.

2.3) Emotion management of performer (4.0 out of 5 marks)Reason: Emotion management of the song was done quite to the job and I still don’t have no complaints with how well Teresa sank into the song’s mood.

2.4) Creativity of song deliverance (3.5 out 5 marks)
Reason: I was hoping for a more forceful overall portray of the song just like how she sang Ci Niao by F.I.R but she was a little more reserved and hence only an average mark was awarded to her for not being brave enough to attempt to impress the song harder on the audience who were already fidgety due to the humid weather under the tent.

3.0) Stage Presentation (Subtotal: 16.5 out of 25 marks)

3.1) Stage posture (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Teresa did not slouch and she had learnt to put her free arm at the respectable position when standing and talking to the mcees. I find nothing to fault her in this segment of the TEV.

3.2) Stage movement (3.5 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Although I think for this particular performance, there was still room for improvement in this section of Total Entertainment Value, Teresa had done a reasonably good job in making full use of the Bishan Junction 8 stage.

3.3) Audience interaction (2.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Teresa did not seem to do particularly well with the audience interaction today because she was not really smiling enough and keeping her gaze on the audience. She was lacking the necessary waves to both the audience and cameras. The worst part was that she was not really interacting with the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants, who were supposedly the “star” audience of the event today. I am a harsh singing critic even though I am a friend of Teresa - failed her for this.

3.4) Camera interaction (3.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: After a number of performances, Teresa finally had a grasp of the positions of cameras and photographs in the crowd and did her best to pose and face them whenever the song allows her to but she still lacked the genuine beaming needed to capture the attention of all the cameramen at the event. Teresa, if you are reading this now, please work on that some more?

3.5) Emcee interaction (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Teresa managed to grasp the quick joke by the two emcees today and I was quite pleased with her emcee interaction with the two witty hosts today. She handled the reference to the other CHIJ KC girl (Seah Hui Xian) diplomatically and I am awarding her higher marks for her good management of her words onstage.

4.0) Stage Attire (Subtotal: 19.5 out of 25 marks)

4.1) Fashion appeal and impression (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Elegant plus gentleness and casual-ness makes up her appearance today and I find no fault in dressing this way. Some find it a bit bland because she has the physical attributes to show off onstage but I suppose today’s star celebrities were supposed to be the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants so I believe dressing down and not overshadowing the star celebrities of the day is a wise and diplomatic choice.

4.2) Suitability for song genre (3.5 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Teresa’s attire was a little dull to portray the hard-rock ballads of F.I.R today and I was thinking that a bit of gypsy-like apparel or accessories would look much more suitable for the song genre and earn more marks in this section of the TEV.

4.3) Suitability for stage movement (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Jeans are easier to move around on that small audition stage and the clothing was much lighter for the temperature at Bishan Junction 8 event venue and hence looked more comfortable for stage movement. Good choice of clothing.

4.4) Suitability for lighting effects (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: There is a lot of reflected white light at Bishan Junction 8 today and given that the backdrop of the stage was greenish and bluish in color tones. Teresa stood reasonably out with the attire of white top and dark blue jeans. Although I preferred stronger colors on Teresa than her white top but I suppose that would mean competing with the CSS 2 Top 20 contestants in terms of attire clashes.

4.5) Suitability for image of performer (4.0 out of 5 marks)
Reason: Teresa currently still portrays the image of the gentle schoolgirl and hence her stage attire suited her image as a Campus Superstar. Of course, Teresa can experiment with other images if she wishes to but I think her current image is more acceptable to the public because there are already many hip-hype Superstars in the current market.

Total Entertainment Value =Singing capability [21.5/25] + Song Delivery [14.5/20] + Stage Presentation [16.5/25] + Stage Attire [19.5/25] = [72/95]

(Image source: lostloveguild, 28 Apr 2007, Picasa Web Albums)

Hilarious Parody of Spiderman One By Jack Black

In lieu of the upcoming and highly-anticipated Spiderman 3 (which I am most certain to be catching), I received a funny parody video from The Changed Man about Spiderman 1 and had a really good laugh over it. I suppose it's nearly the end of the week and a dose of hearty laugh will be nice for everyone who is visiting my humble blog here. Enjoy and spread the humour around. =D


Spider Man Parody - Sarah Michelle Gellar - Jack Black - MTV Mov - Click here for more free videos

(Video source: Mr. D, 24 April 2007, MTV Mob Video)

Song Recommendation: 旋律 By 林宇中

The Changed Man kept singing this song (at least four times) during the KTV session on 22 April 2007 and after listening to the song for a number of times, I have to agree with him that this song is worth a second look.

I am recommending this song on my blog because not only the tune of the music is interestingly light and yet catchy, the note-changing techniques by the singer was pretty impressive for a young and upcoming singer. The lyrics of the song is also not too heavy-going and the song itself is quite short, making it easier to learn than some of the more wordy and complicated songs around at the moment.

Click on here for the music file of 旋律 if you are unable to access the YouTube video below or just want the audio version of the song. The lyrics are, of course, provided below for your reference:

你是眼里的音乐 最动心的歌
你播着 全世界突然亮了

多么实在的感觉 望着你的脸
这一刻 我到了被人遗忘的永远

在陌生的街 天让我们遇见
像迷路的人找到了回家的路线

你的美丽我要珍惜 昨天会忘记
是谁遗失了你 我愿陪着你找回(你)自已

当你姓名化作旋律在我脑海里
我已确定 那个人就是你 窝在我心里最动听的Melody

So I hereby include a nice YouTube MV video of the song. Amidst the rush and hussle of the midweek, I hope you can tune in and enjoy yourselves in my song recommendation for this month.




(Video source: karry1227, 31 Mar 2007, YouTube)

K-boxing Session on 22 April 2007 With The Changed Man

I like to go K-boxing with friends - let the hair down, lounge on the sofa and sing to the hearts' content. However, the activity can be quite expensive because of the headcount charges, drinks and room charges (depending on the packages available).

So I usually opt to go K-boxing on Sunday nights and the most recent one was from 9.15pm (Sunday) to 1.15am (Monday) with the Changed Man and as with all other KTV sessions, we sang till we have no more energy to continue.. =P

It was a non-stop song's galore for the entire four hours and I recalled singing some thirty songs or more for my part during that session, including:

林宇中's 旋律,
张韶涵's 遗失的美好,
梁咏琪's 给自己的情歌,
周杰伦's 菊花台, 千里之外,
张敬轩's 断点,
潘嘉丽's 爱, 无力,
陈伟联's 触摸, 爱·恨·难, 我只是想要,
陶喆's 天天, 流沙, 寂寞的季节
光良's 童话,
王力宏's 一首简单的歌,
张信哲's 爱转动,
林晓培's 心动,
张惠妹's 记得,
动力火车's 外套, 我不知道, 那就这样吧,
庾澄庆's 戒不掉,
范逸臣's 除此之外,
飞儿乐团's 天天夜夜,
Energy's 某年某月某一天
Tank's 专属天使
无印良品(No Stamp)'s 胡思乱想
五月天(Mayday)'s 天使

I could not remember the rest because we were like so high last night, singing till our voices were nearly hoarse and thus going comically off-key (when crooning becomes croaking) for some of the songs. An extract of the dialogue between The Changed Man (CM) and myself (SH):

CM: （飚不到高音）哎呀，唱不到啦。这首歌根本不是人唱的。哈哈~~

SH: 没关系。练歌嘛，一定有时会唱不到，不然就不会三更半夜躲在这里练唱了。哈哈~~

CM: （听到隔壁的人在唱）是不是在“杀鸡”？哈哈~~

SH: （斜耳伶听）哈哈~~有一点啦，不过我听过更严重的。至少人家肯来练嘞~~

SH: 哎哟，没有水了，没有ammo了，喉咙很干嘞~~

CM: Chey, 再叫水咯，反正不用加钱的。

SH: 你想得美耶，我们的配套只是一杯饮料而已。不如拿和完的瓶子去装自来水吧。

CM: 自来水？不行不行~~若他们在水里下，那我们不就回不了家了吗？哈哈~~~

（爆笑过后，还是叫了杯蜜糖冷饮，不然就唱不下了 =P)

Was finally home at around 1.30am this morning. It was a good KTV session. ^_^

Singing Tips For CSS 2 Contestants & Singing Enthusiasts Part Three

Okies...this is the final instalment of the Singing Tips For CSS 2 Contestants & Singing Enthusiasts trilogy. I hope most of you have enjoyed the previous two instalments and have learnt something useful from the analysis. Feel free to comment constructively or tag if you need any further clarifications on any of my points of analysis.

With that aside, let's get to the final remaining four points of analysis then.

评判说：“你的气不够…”

气不够的话，除了多加练气，还要学会如何在唱歌时分配气。有些人认为在歌曲之间的隙缝多呼吸便可，但是这会影响到歌曲的流畅，而且若换气的技巧，或时间不当，反而会弄巧反拙。练歌时听清楚歌手是在哪些时候呼吸，喘气，休息。停顿时间的长短当然决定是否是一口气，半口气，丹田气，胸肺气，等等。若有舞蹈佩合歌唱，那够气就更是重要了，因为能不能有时间回气，还得看编舞的程序。

评判说：“你换气的方法错了…”

换气也是每个想成功的歌手都得下点功夫练习的环节。换气换得对，快或慢的歌曲都听起来通畅流利，感觉舒服。换气不当，歌曲就听起来前后不接，节节巴巴，直接影响歌曲的完整性和美感。上文所提到的一口气，半口气，丹田气，胸肺气，等等，就得细心练习换得及时，换得自然。吴佳明老师说得一点也没错，要照镜子，多看看自己在唱歌时，看不看得出换气时的尴尬或甚至是换气的破绽。

评判说：“你唱歌时不够集中…”

评判通常从歌手中的眼神飘乎不定可以明显地看得出来。唱歌时要专心，当然不是到自我陶醉的地步，但稍微陶醉的当儿，要保持对观众的眼神交流，对观众的互动。 对镜头的微笑。很多人上了台，脑子里都塞满了歌词啊，台步啊，舞步啊，等等，担心一旦分心就阵脚大乱，唱歌时自然就不能集中。没有太复杂的窍门， 就送八个字吧：充份准备，尽情享受。

评判说：“你唱不出歌曲的感觉…”

歌曲是要用心去领会，用情感去舒发，用歌声去感动。听起来很复杂，但已经是用最简短的方式来型容何谓唱歌了。丛然有完美的歌唱技巧，清晰的咬字，也无法取代歌曲能否感动听众。评判们都在强调，若要带出歌曲的韵味，要经过一定的生活历练。可是我想终不能因为为了唱情歌，而故意去谈恋爱来体会歌曲的意境，所以能做的应该是多听歌曲中的歌词，曲风，感动，多注意生活中的点滴吧。

及然这段三部曲已圆满完成，我选了两位非常出色的歌手的音乐录像，作为庆功曲。稍微年轻的朋友们可能不太熟悉这两位资深歌手，但喜欢听歌唱歌的朋友们应该了解得到，好歌不限年龄，时代，语言。希望能大家能这两位前辈柔和的歌声中，静静地享受她们的音乐吧。

在英语乐坛中，Sarah McLachlan 应该是属于超级的歌手，何以见得？她不只有副好嗓子，还懂得运用很多不易学得的技巧在歌曲中，充份得发挥歌曲，博得听众全场起立拍掌叫好。想信若要再次出现此等厉害的歌手，得等上数十，甚至百年了。



而在华语乐坛中，能拥有超凡歌艺的也只有区区几人，这当然包括了我极为欣赏的林忆莲，因为她的歌声很有韵味，唱歌时很有画面感，听得非常舒服。以下虽然只是个平庸无奇的KTV MV, 可是依然听得出她登峰造极的歌声。



来临星期六碧山第八站的户外演出，希望能看到小歌手们享受唱歌，玩得开心！

(Video source: linhvu3010, 27 Jul 2006, YouTube)
(Video source: usharimau, 11 Aug 2006, YouTube)

21 April 2007 End of the Day Post

Shooter, The Movie:

I watched Shooter earlier this week and I must say that the movie exceeded what I had initially expected - a mere gun-trotting and shooting fest. The movie revolved around an elite Marine sniper who was betrayed by politicians who collaborated with his military superiors and resulted in the death of his partner. He was betrayed a second time when he was tricked into planning for a counter-assassination mission for the US President and was framed for killing some archbishop.

He had to shake off the pursuit of the Presidential bodyguards and find out who framed him and seek justice. The movie spoke darkly of how powerful politicians manipulated the military to do dirty work and how most of the politicians wriggled their way out of persecution through the various loopholes in the legal and judiciary systems of countries. I suppose the real world can be like that - not all good guys have happy endings and not all bad guys get caught.

The ending, which featured the eventual killing of the corrupt politician and colonel, was somewhat like a cowboy movie but the movie, overall, won me over with its sincere portrayal of the struggle of the twice-betrayed sniper.

Maple Story:

Finally managed to purchase enough 60% weapon attack scrolls for my maple character after a month's worth of saving up of mesos and shouting at the free market. I now have another obstacle to overcome - a person with a high enough skill level to scroll my primary weapon which is worth millions of mesos. My scroll luck is lousy and I am resisting the temptation to ruin a potentially devastating weapon on my hand. Looks like the higher level my maple story character is, the higher the risks and costs in maintaining it. Haha...Oh well, I'll just have to take things as they come along and I am not very worried because my "clean" primary weapon can still deal reasonable amounts of damage during gameplay. After all, it's just a game and I don't want to lose sleep over it.

Lunch with Friendly Bee:

It was a disappointing lunch appointment and afternoon outing with Friendly Bee today because:

1. She was late (again) for thirty minutes, causing my stomach to be raving with hunger. Of all the outings she had been out with me in my entire life, she was only on time twice.
2. She failed to eat lunch with me because she had a really late breakfast with a friend who gate-crashed at her house this morning when she herself suggested eating lunch together today.
3. She did not manage to do what she wanted me to accompany her to do - to try on and buy her spectacles and ended up walking aimlessly around Orchard Road.
4. She dimissed my movie suggestions at both Cineleisure and Lido, citing no good shows (when she later regretted her decision after the suitable movie timeslots had passed -_-").
5. She ignored my hints to rest at some cafes because my legs were quite tired after walking down Orchard twice from Centrepoint to Lido and from Lido to Plaza Singapura.

I was pretty angry with her but I kept that to myself because I did not want to vent anything on her. It is tough to go out with a friend who only seemed to cater to her own needs and wants without genuinely listening to what other people wants out of the outing but she is still my friend.

Sigh...Friendly Bee still managed to sms "Sorry" after I parted with minimal words at Dolby Ghaut MRT Station at around 5.30pm. I supposed she knew she had not been much of a companion during today's outing. I reluctantly accepted her apologies because it is better to forgive than bear a grudge but I really, really hope she can be more considerate to the people who are going out with her and not just listlessly patronize these people's suggestions for activities.

Singing Tips For CSS 2 Contestants and Singing Enthusiasts Part Three:

The third instalment is almost ready. I should be putting it up on this blog on Monday morning or so. Hope the readers who have been following the trilogy are happy with what I have had written so far.

(Image source: http://sg.movies.yahoo.com/Shooter/movie/13853/)

Singing Tips For CSS 2 Contestants & Singing Enthusiasts Part Two

Alright. Sorry to keep those who are keeping track of Part Two waiting. It's just that I simply don't write these things overnight because I have to check what I have written is correct before posting it up for the public. Hope most of you can digest the information and analysis given in Part One since I have not really heard much feedback from the tagboard so I presumed silence means ok?

Anyway, without further ado, there's Part Two as promised...

评判说：“你的高音拉不稳…”

高音，尾音，或假音能不能拉得稳有几个因素，包括足够的练习，选歌的实际性，歌唱信心的指数，还有丹田和喉音够不够气。要掌握这点需要时间，不是瞬夕间就能有突飞猛进的进展， 因为好歌手的肺气要足够，丹田气要充沛，喉音要稳扎。有时候，只是因为歌手没有信心，一指都不敢尝试拉高音或假音，其实是拉得上或拉得到的。在没损音的情况下，你其实有多大的歌唱浅力呢？

评判说：“你唱歌不够爆发力…”

歌曲中若需要有爆发力的部份，不只是唱得大声点便可以了的。所谓爆发力是指对歌曲中的莫个意境作出适当的感情舒发。例如，陶哲的歌曲《找自己》的一些部份要唱出纳闷中的渴望，和在最终找到释怀自己的空间中的兴奋。你在唱歌是，是否有唱到那爆发部份的能量呢，还是排徊在提高声量而已？这和能不能在适当的层次中，融入歌曲的感动有着密切的关系 – 有真实的感动，才会有说服力的爆发力。

评判说：“你的声音发不出来…”

这点跟所谓的“头音”有关系，因为不同的歌曲可能得用不同的身体部位发音。要记得由丹田，胸肺，喉咙，鼻子所发出的歌音都有不同的奏效。例如王力宏的《爱的就是你》中不同的部份得用上不一样的头音才能唱出歌曲的味道。声音发不发得出来当然也和够不够气，有没有爆发力，换气的方法，还有对歌曲的感动有着分不开的关系。我也发现有些朋友还不太会用麦克风，才会有这现象出现。

评判说：“你的舞台动作有待进步…”

肢体语言，手势，台步都要经过一定的复习才能上台表演。这不是说要造作，最重要的是看起来够自然，不碍眼，有诚意，有亲和力。若没有去想如何去摆，站，走，后果会很尴尬勉强，自然就会“扣分”。脸部表情也包括在内，唱歌时还是可以微笑，不一定要苦着脸唱情歌。若有舞蹈佩合歌唱，记得要动感实足，练习到家，因为舞蹈跳得有气无力，那就跟胡乱的“手舞足蹈”没有两样了。

Of course, some visual example will make the above-mentioned points more comprehensible so I hereby include a Youtube video of Teresa singing a classic but actually not really an easy song《记得》. She chosed little stage movements and focused on using her singing expressions instead. Watch how Teresa concentrated on her endnotes by starting gently, moving up steadily and ending powerfully, bringing the performance to a decidedly high finale.



My observations from the Final auditions of CSS 2 competition are complied into a trilogy so do stay tuned to my humble blog for Part Three, which should be ready in a few days' time, which will include the following points:

评判说：“你的气不够…”
评判说：“你换气的方法错了…”
评判说：“你唱歌时不够集中…”
评判说：“你唱不出歌曲的感觉…”

Have fun learning and singing!

(Video source: ihateveg, 14 Apr 2006, YouTube)

Singing Tips For CSS 2 Contestants & Singing Enthusiasts Part One

Singing Tips For CSS 2 Contestants and Singing Enthusiasts:

I am using the above video of Teresa Tseng to show all of you how to emote a song onstage. Obviously, if one had been present on that day itself, the background noise and visual chaos then was incredibly distracting but watch and learn from Teresa on how she managed to keep her concentration intact and prepare herself emotionally for the song ahead.

Look carefully at how she emoted appropriately at the key junctures of the song and cleverly made use of the breaks within the song to interact with the waving audience and cameramen. Observe how Teresa sang with varying strengths of notes to add depth to the difficult song. Watch how she made full use of the stage area and moved with quiet confidence to face different directions of the stage whilst singing the song at the same time.

Now, let us see what the three judges during the Campus Superstar 2 Final Auditions on 14 April 2007 Saturday had been saying to the contestants who had sung onstage that day and what their comments meant in my analysis on my blog.

I will be typing in Chinese from here onwards because some of the singing and performance terminology are better explained in Chinese since I would be quoting the judges' Mandarin comments directly. For those readers who may not be so fluent with Chinese language, you may want to get a friend to help you to translate those harder-to-understand terms below. Hope you have fun reading and learn whatever you can from the below analysis! =)

我在校园的第三场复赛中，频频听到三位资深评判给了台上小歌手的一些评语。于是我决定借助那些评语来解释歌唱时的优点与弊点，让有兴趣提高歌唱技巧的朋友们可以作个参考。

先从评判口中常提到的弊点谈起吧：

评判说：“你选错歌了…”

选歌是个很重要的步奏，不能偏选你爱唱的歌，你最支持的歌手的歌曲或是最流行的歌曲，因为歌曲应该让你有机会发挥你在唱歌时的强卖点，而巧妙地避过你的弱点。还有，歌曲若和外表有太大的不协调，那歌曲就不太适合了。例如，样貌清纯的歌手们若选太成熟的歌曲可能会让观众觉得没有说服力。假音若不够稳的歌手，不应该为了突显自己，勉强唱换音转音多的歌曲，因为评判会认为他们不自量力。

评判说：“你在抢拍…”

唱歌一定要跟着拍子，不然歌曲听起来就乱七八糟。我知道唱到投入，或是紧张的时候， 可能会把拍子忘了，可是一定要把它控制回来。耳朵敏锐的裁判能听得很清楚，所以练歌是不能只顾背歌词，记旋， 还要温习跟着拍子唱歌。很多人喜欢用耳机来练歌，可是这作法不够踏实，因为耳机的音量有时会盖过歌曲的主拍，导致无法有效地练习跟拍。

评判说：“你的咬字不清…”

咬字不清可能是华语说得不流利，缺乏练习，可以用时间加上后天的努力补上。但是如果是因为长时间在不自觉之下模仿歌手的唱腔而变得咬字不清不准，那么要小心处理了。尤其是在唱快歌或快词句时，很容易因尾音的转变，而导致咬字不清的状况发生。记得咬字不代表要唱到一块块的，要求的只是唱华语歌，不是怪语歌。

评判说：“你的歌声很平…”

何谓平淡音色呢？这是指在唱歌时没有音幅变化，都是仅用单音或双音带动整首歌曲。若要在这方面有所突破，就得养成对音幅变动起伏的敏锐度，并用深厚的丹田气来扶持歌曲中音幅的变化。这跟能不能领悟 “groove” 有一定的关联，因为若能了解，声线就能练到刚柔并齐，有弹性，有磁力。

Alright. That is all for Part One. I will discuss the following points in Part Two so stay tuned to the blog here.

评判说：“你的高音拉不稳…”
评判说：“你唱歌不够爆发力…”
评判说：“你唱歌时不够集中…”
评判说：“你的舞台动作有待进步…”

(Video source: blanketma, 23 Mar 2007, YouTube)

恭喜入围二十强的校园Superstars!

恭喜入围二十强的校园Superstars!

好累喔！要站足七个小时来观看六十位小歌手比赛，对我这副老骨头，确实是一大腿力考验，不过还蛮值得的。

恭喜入围二十强的校园Superstars! 过关斩将, 入围席位得来不易. 但希望你们能虚心学习, 因为你们其实还有很多地方有待进步哦...

我也希望那些没入围的朋友们不要太难过，毕经比赛一定会有输赢，并不代表你们在众人眼中不是好歌手，只不过这回不被载判青睐吧了。

本来想在我的博客网 上写些我对这次比赛中所看到的歌唱利弊，但我看还是等大家心情平复了再写吧。 希望大家还是能保持歌唱的热爱，毕竟能唱歌给人听是在造福啊...

(Image source: sibaudio, 26 Jul 2003, stock.xchng)

13 April 2007 Start of the Day Post (Friday The 13th)

Friday The 13th:

Wah...today's Friday The 13th, supposedly a bad luck day. Why? You can read the URL link here from Wikipedia to understand why many people fear this day.

Anyway, potentially scary things aside, I just want to blog about what I have been doing and will be doing for Friday The 13th of 2007.

Maple Story:

Woke up at 6.45am this morning to eat breakfast and catch up on my mapling. It has not been a good week of mapling because there were server checks and an extended delay in the manual patch for version 0.41 which costs a couple of days of decent mapling entertainment. The triple whammy came along when there is another server check at 9am today, which means much rushing to train my maple character. The gamemasters of this free online game seem to be doing a worse job as the days goes by....sigh.

Using the little time during the hour-long server check, I found an interesting website that gives free daily horoscope so I added it to the list of my daily reads. Feel free to visit it whenever you like and see what your horoscope says for you. Am quite intrigued by such horoscope thing because sometimes, they are actually quite accurate and I am pretty fascinated.

Exercise:

Gym is scheduled today and I need to do my exercises again, even though it looks rainy. Not that I am an exercise freak but I read an article titled "Exercise and The Brain" on Newsweek (09 April 2007 issue) that said that regular exercising over a long term perdiod actually helps one to grow new nerve cells and new capillaries, which will significantly help in keeping the mind intelligent and agile. I like that so I am going to continue to exercise for sake of my body and my mind! =)

New Singapore Shares:

Heh, those shares have finally matured and credited into my nice savings account. I will be buying some nice confectionary back home after my gym session because my family likes to eat good cakes and pastries. Call it a celebration because I managed to keep those shares intact all the way until maturity, earning a hefty interest on them ($$$) while most people I know have already sold them years ago.

Volleyball:

I am supposed to pass my nice little "Molten" volleyball to The Friendly Bee because she is going to play beach volleyball with her colleagues as part of the farewell celebration to one of her superiors who will be leaving her company. Hope she'll have a good time tomorrow and I have had it all pumped up and cleaned to pass it to her tonight in between my evening lessons.

Wow, quite a number of things to complete and I hope everything will go smoothly and safely. See you folks on Satuday The 14th then! Tata~~~

Hawker Food, Munchkin & S.H.E Concert DVD

Sorry for not blogging for quite a few days because I was caught breathless with work and other matters of pressing datelines. I just met up with The Changed Man and The Married Soldier on the 07 April 2007 (Saturday) so I will post about what happened on that night. After all, with our busy schedules, the brotherhood usually only manages to meet up once every few months.

When I finished my make-up lesson on Saturday at around 2.30pm, it was pouring. I met The Changed Man first and he drove the both of us to IMM Jurong East because he had not had his breakfast yet so we went there to get his stomach filled. After browsing through the food outlets there, The Changed Man eventually settled down at MacDonald's and munched through his meal of grilled chicken foldover while I satisfied my hunger pangs with a simple Fillet-O-Fish burger. We sat there for about an hour and he talked about his latest love entanglement, which he was still trying to figure out the relationship he was in currently.

After that, he dropped his books off at the Jurong East Regional Library and we made our way to the Coronation Plaza at Bukit Timah because we were supposed to buy a bottle of wine since the gathering was to be at the Married Soldier's new house. The Changed Man gave me a tour of his previous childhood haunt at Coronation Plaza and he picked white wine at the Wine Connection before leaving the place.

Initially, The Married Soldier proposed burgers and card games at his house but both of us frowned about the idea because we don't get to meet often and we had already eaten burgers for our "afternoon tea" so The Changed Man drove all three of us to the Bukit Timah Hawker Centre and we ordered the traditionally sinful Singapore food for our dinner - White carrot cake, Popiah, Rojak, Satay and Sugar cane drinks and talked over the din of the place. The talk was centred mainly on the diving expeditions by The Married Soldier and he was encouraging both of us to take up diving because it was an interesting (though expensive and time-consuming) hobby. Given the current upsetting weather patterns, I think I will shelve the thought for now.

Back in the home of The Married Soldier, he enthusiastically showed us a wonderfully-shot fifteen minute video footage of his diving expedition in Thailand and we settled down to play his favourite card game Munchkin. The card game was far more entertaining than I originally expected (because I am more of a PC game player) and even though we only played one round (The Married Soldier won) but it was a long and challenging round because we were actively scheming against one another, plotting to take away one another's treasures and cards during the gameplay. I was unfortunate enough to be "cursed with a chicken on my head" and "had a sex change" in the gameplay while The Changed Man (lucky twit) had "boots with immunity to curses". You can click here to find out more about the interesting game. Am seriously thinking about buying it myself..haha

After playing Munchkins, we watched a few segments of the S.H.E concert in Hongkong on the DVD because The Married Soldier loved the concert, saying that it was the best concert on DVD that he had actually seen. The concert was just a average one in my opinion but I appreciated the viewing nevertheless. Both The Changed Man and myself left the place at around 10.30pm because I had work the next day and The Changed Man had a midnight mahjong session to celebrate another friend's birthday. It was quite an enjoyable gathering because we had not been playing and laughing so hard (especially during the Munchkin game) for such a long time.

To TFC-ians: A couple of TFC-ians have discovered a photographer on Flickr who managed to take quite a number of photographs of Teresa during the CSS 2 auditions. I'll place the link here so that TFC-ians who are interested can go there and have a look since I had difficult saving the pictures. The URL link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightymousesg/sets/72157600050590981/

Ok, that's all for now. Will blog again as soon as I am able to. Take care everyone.

Video On The Confusion of Names...

Alright, I received a YouTube video from Sushi Rabbit moments ago and it was really funny. They say names can be quite a communication barrier once they cross cultural and linguistic boundaries - I suppose the video exemplifies it very well. Hahaha....

(Disclaimer: The video is obviously just having some fun with the confusion about names with no malicious intent directed at anyone who appeared or are named inside the video.)




(Video source: starseuss, 30 Nov 2006, YouTube)