you live your life you go in shadows you'll come apart and you'll go black some kind of night into your darkness colors your eyes with whats not there.
mazzy star, fade into you
i don't know what you are doing anymore. i don't know what i am doing anymore.
floating, falling, sweet intoxication touch me, trust me, savour each sensation let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
music of the night, phantom of the opera
american idol this week spurred my dark hidden love for musicals. i always loved theatre but didn't know that i was in love with it.
the very first musical i caught was joesph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat.
I was dragged by my mom for some biblical sharing group outing. i remember hating the waiting for the show to start, but when the first lights came on, it was the start of the bright, lustrous relationship.
then, after that my mom admitted it wasn't for some bible thing, but it was her devotion to donny osmond. shameless.
through the years, i've been very lucky to be blessed with relatives who are passionate about the song and dance or some in society call it, "the bastard product of opera". well, bastard or not, you cannot deny it, it's damn entertaining.
i have an aunty and uncle who are avid fans of musicals, esp andrew lloyd webber's work. every musical that had hit town, they've been there. and i've been there. they even went to London to catch the final run of Cats, and was almost in tears when they heard that it was going to be the last time they'll hear a decent version of Memory. (jason castro of AI is not works.)
me-ow.
the phaaaaan-tom of the operaaaaah is here!
i've been fortunuately, feeding my hunger of musicals via my very generous aunty and uncle. they've brought me to watch a bevy of world class musicals, each touching me in a different way.
fame: the musical made me understand passion
miss saigon made me understand obstacles
saturday night live! made me understand fun
grease made me understand friends.
joesph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat. made me understand faith.
chang and eng: the musical made me understand family.
phantom of the opera made me understand love.
i hope i don't come across as gloating, this is hardly. i wish i could actually tell you how much joy i get from sitting there and watching life. it's utterly humbling.
of course, even though i say andrew lloyd webber is one of the biggest poofs of the century, i think he is extremely talented. not even extremely, he is crazy talented. it's the songs he writes, the melodies that play timelessly. think of songs like "All i ask of you", "Any Dream will Do" and "Memory" which all stood the test of time.
everyone, no matter how much you hate sitting in a theatre and watching a bunch of people in drag costumes sing, should watch at least one musical in their lives. if i had to pinpoint one, it would be undoubtedly Phantom of the Opera. All the hype is true.
The worse, was the recent We will rock you. Simply put, bad story line but amazing performances. It would have been so much better as a Tribute to Queen concert rather than 300-years-of-supression-led-us-here-the-gaga-people-breaking-into-song.
but then again it's my take. i've heard fad reviews from friends, who's to know? but mig ayesa... pure sexxx personified.
firstly, i MUST warn you: this post is chock full of pictures, long paragraphs and opinions about the latest season of American Idol. i believe i have a mature audience, if i have an audience at all, so if you think maybe someone who can't sing can actually win american idol (like miss shout and rumble my throat clarkson), then i suggest you take your hand out of your pants and click the teeny X at the right (or left for more develop beings, who like white) and move on. :)
shall i begin?
the past few weeks have been short of suicide. just constant work and exams, which have now died down to a slow silly pace.
so, all i do now is find every moment to enjoy music. sounds around me. i dedicate this post to the music all around me. be it on purpose or accidental aural pleasure.
First up, timbre. I've been going to timbre every saturday of april just to take a listen to the goodfellas, who are awesome. Because not only do they sound good, but they are damn entertaining. From dragging unwilling nerds up there to 'shake it' outkast style to momentarily bursting out in Beyond's classic song (the guy who sang was malay, and he did the canto version), they keep me happy through the saturdays.
the food, excellent. I recommend their roast duck pizza ($17++). Big enough to share among 2 - 3 people, there's shredded roast duck, peking duck sauce and crispy popiah skin for toppings. really shiok man. their Chicken Wings (8.80++) and Beer Batter Tiger Prawns (10.00++) are also awesome.
Second up, Reality TV sing-a-longs. After watching America's got talent, i was very skeptical about talent in the US of A. Britain's got talent was full of six year olds who sang songs that would make Goliath cry. America's got talent had... well him:
leonid the magnificent letdown to his parents
Not that I'm saying that USA doesn't have it's fair share of talent. I mean, you guys have brilliant orators and singers and actors and just-for-laughs kinda of talent and also a president that asks "IS our children getting enough education?". Apparently, not enough since most people aren't smarter than a 5th grader.
note: there was an episode were this guy could speak 5 languages, was from some ivy league University and was some high position holder in an MNC but still insisted the largest animal in the world was the giraffe. hello? the blue whale's tongue can bitch slap that giraffe.
American Idol came along, we had our usuals:
the token, can belt out notes ala gospel choir african american.
the "i'm too cool and shy about my talent but let's just try and see" blue-eyed surprise. (by the way, not a good surprise.)
the "aw, if i don't vote you, who will cos your too cute to be on tellie young man" pubescent boy. way da go McCullay Culkin.
the typical blonde who you can't remember until she sings a song that freaks you out because you think she's gonna kill you.
the sassy lil lass who kicks some put and has freakishly good screamo voice that you can't appreciate till musical theatre week.
much like last seasons:
the black girl.
the blue-eyed surprise.
the weird blonde (srsly, beat boxing and AI is cannot)
the puberscent boy. well, this season's david archwhatever actually CAN sing and CAN'T do a mohawk. phew.
and the sassy lass.
and of course... the winner.
jordin sparks won last year, beating (all pun intended) blake lewis. i quite preferred her over pfft-plat-boom-chica-wee-wee blake. not that i don't like beat-boxing but i believe if you're not good at it, ugh, don't. just don't.
This year's winner is, if God is fair and a woman:
of all the years i've watched american idol, all the bad pitches, the paula and simon kisses and the millions of dawgs randy has said, i can safely say, i have never wanted anyone more to win than David Cook.
a true unbelievable talent, rock and soul. he's not the best singer really, i mean carly smithson or david arwhatever can sing circles around him.
but rmbr, being a star isn't just about singing, it's about entertaining. and david cook, is an entertainer. If you get bored at his concert, just count the number of panties being thrown at him and there's fun for everyone.
this is just an opinion based on my own personal hormones and judgment. honestly, everyone up there stands a chance and are winners in their own right. All will have careers, be it babysitting for the rest of her life or singing.
American Idol made my whole day man, david cook singing Music of the Night was utterly panty melting and carly's jesus christ superstar was a hawt dawg. Though tonight carly was better, david still won my heart because he couldn't do wrong after last week's amazing performance. and also, he happens to be a man. heh.
watch david cook sing Music of the Night from Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic, Phantom of the Opera:
and carly's Jesus Christ Superstar:
phew, now finally, to my final point:
Third up, Teeth (2007)
If you have heard of Vagina-den-ta-ta, well good to see you survived while learning about it.
Vagina-den-ta-ta is a unrecorded sexual illness that results in your vadge growing teeth. yup like molars and wisdom and two front teeth. Oh, only that they aren't pretty and straight and featured in kodak moments. they are sharp and jagged and will probably shred a dick in no time at all.
that's what teeth is about, a girl who has a tad too much bite. it was scary, you know , seeing the little brothers all minced, but i have to say it was a rather good show. not much of a story line but, acting, directing and musical arrangement all good.
music played a damn impt part in the movie, as i fondly rmb shutting off the speakers every time something came near her vadge. it was very haunting. it was at that point that i realised i had been so attentive to sounds and music, it contributed that much to how i liked the movie.
after watching the movie bit with no sound, i switched on the sound. 10000009% worse than the prior. ugh. shredded....man parts.... everywhere.
men, please don't pick this as a first date movie. i know the poster is all quirky and untypical and if your chick is kinda boho... srsly, last date ever with a girl/virgin.
and audio recording has ended.
note: those who read all the way here, i admire your tenacity. i don't think even i can stomach this
down here it's better, down where it's wetter take it from me
get lost thursday is now officially known as get lost candy. because she has not hung out with us for 2 weeks straight and will not be hanging until the week after next. so busy this candy.
so me and sera hopped to vivo to scavenge for my dress for my brother's wedding. i found it - grey, jeweled, ridiculous nice. all for below a $100. CHEEEEEPS!
Then we shopped, me and sera stayed in a DVD store for more than 45 mins going through disney classics we all loved as kids.
nostalgia kicked in when we saw all our favourite titles: beauty and the beast, little mermaid, lady and the tramp, Pinocchio , Cinderella, Aladdin and so on.
after spending 45 mins in there, we emerged with one dvd. and it wasn't even for us. it was for my brother. pixar's short movie animations vol. 1. OH yes, the short ones they show before the movie that always makes you excited secretly. 12 of them in one disc. EXCITES!
thursday was fun. we did have a get lost thursday. we got lost in our childhood.
FRIDAY WAS AQUAMARINE DAY!
after a seriously tiring day at work = no lunch, no food, just two mini cartons of choc milk + no cigerette break till 530pm (from 930) + kenna make fun of by boss and colleague about photo taken long ago in ngee ann that is plastered on the wall there,
me and kris feasted at marina mandarin's aquamarine.
think fresh seafood like scallops and crayfish and king prawns and mussels.
think hot local food like babi ponteh, chicken rice, roasted beef and drunken prawns.
think jap food like sushi, chawamushi and salmon sashimi.
think dessert like
bread and butter pudding, chocolate truffle, chocolate mousse, mango mousse, fondue doughnuts and cookies.
THINK about two girls who didn't care about how they looked as the gorged down the food with much speed and gusto.
we look damn constipated because it was like our fifth plate of food and we were so caught up with the marina mandarin magic that we forgot to take photos.
me and kris have started a pre-hi tian lo club where we're going to go eat buffets once a month like this one.
next stop: grand corpthone or meritus mandarin :)
shit now my boss will think he's paying me too much.
the "i'm too cool and shy about my talent but let's just try and see" blue-eyed surprise. (by the way, not a good surprise.)
the "aw, if i don't vote you, who will cos your too cute to be on tellie young man" pubescent boy. way da go McCullay Culkin.
the typical blonde who you can't remember until she sings a song that freaks you out because you think she's gonna kill you.
the sassy lil lass who kicks some put and has freakishly good screamo voice that you can't appreciate till musical theatre week.
the blue-eyed surprise.
the weird blonde (srsly, beat boxing and AI is cannot)
the puberscent boy. well, this season's david archwhatever actually CAN sing and CAN'T do a mohawk. phew.
and the sassy lass.
jordin sparks won last year, beating (all pun intended) blake lewis. i quite preferred her over pfft-plat-boom-chica-wee-wee blake. not that i don't like beat-boxing but i believe if you're not good at it, ugh, don't. just don't.
