Memories of Past Tense

January 25, 2010

Let's Kindle

I'm loving this reading device from Amazon. It's a bit risky to purchase the item out of faith from an ocean away, but after living in Taiwan for 4 years and paying way too much for paperbacks at Eslite, I'm ready to jump in both feet. The device is everything I imagine, and way more convenient than I believed possible. You can probably find all these information online if you have done your research, but I'll list out the features that appeal to me the most:

1) When open a book, it will automatically go to where you left off last time.
2) It doesn't flicker like a computer screen (my eyesight will remain intact when I turn 50, hopefully).
3) You can change the fond size. This feature has proved its worth in situations where glasses are forbidden, such as in a hair salon.
4) No worry about bringing not enough books with you.
5) New books are just one click away(Caution, the downside is there is no turning back).

Today there are countless varieties to choose from for e-book reading (iPad is all the buzz right now...no feminine product jokes from me). I don't feel right to label this as the BEST reading device out there. But if you considered yourself an Amazon bookstore regular, then I can say without a doubt this device is perfect for you.

I annoyed the hell out of my family with my giddiness when the package arrived. It still amazed me how I was able to refrain myself long enough to take this picture.

Am I Yours?

This song has made its circle around the world and touched millions. At this rate, I'm surprised no country has yet proclaimed it as national antheme and played the song before movie screenings and state dinners. And this adorable 5-year-old Japanese kid with ukulele will put Jason Mraz to shame. I'm telling you, the kid is going places.

Silent Hill Blind

As a fan of RPG games, especially the gore-based horror ones, I'm ashamed to admit that I can never get past my own screaming and twitching to play the game properly, let alone finish it. Reaching the first save point of Resident Evil 2 is considered my best achievement so far. Yes, that's like a zillion years ago, and yes, it's a disgrace to my PS1. Thank God for the invention of YouTube, and someone who goes by the name of LOrdVega, and many brave souls who take it upon themselves to post horror RPG games on the Internet, so people like me (don't be like me...) can scream all they want while other people fight off the bosses, and beat the games again and again.

The Silent Hill series are the best to watch in blind walk through (I think LOrdVega does it best, too bad he only did the first three). I think the neglect of logic is its most horrifying attribute. It's insanely irritating to the point of maddening. It goes against the grain to say this, but I hope the team behind Silent Hill never try to make sense out of it. It's best to boarder the story close to insanity, making it hard to play, but fun to watch.

Let's Play Silent Hill 1 [BLIND]
Let's Play Silent Hill 2 [BLIND]
Let's Play Silent Hill 3 [BLIND]
(You can find more of Silent Hill 4 and 5 on YouTube.)

Box Animation

"3D animation presented as an event installation using matchmoving and compositing techniques. Box materials were hand painted and scanned into the computer to create the materials for this project."

This enchanting work is the creation of Jordan Clarke, who is a Vancouver based designer specializing in motion design and video production. This video simply takes me breath away.

Box Animation from Jordan Clarke on Vimeo.

Will 2010 be the Charm?

Ever since that unfortunate incident of watching him landed his US Open title in 2003, I've stumbled down the rabbit hole of wishing in vain for something great I once witnessed. It is now 2010, we are not getting any younger, but hopefully he's finally getting wiser, and able to maintain his cool in the finals. And maybe the fate will be so kind as to NOT make the Swiss his opponent.

Australian Open official site
Australian Open Live

Silently We Pray

For most people, the best way we can help Haitians is probably through donation. I'm out of words, and in this case, I feel words are redundant, when a look says it all.

photos from the New York Times

讓我無言的無言花

在KKbox上聽到這首歌,結果在短短幾分鐘內徹-底-被-洗-腦
這首歌被蕭老大唱的整個糾心撕肺兼肝腸寸斷
跟著鬼吼了幾天, 驕傲地覺得這根本就是我2010年1月的主題曲
還自認為台語進步神速到阿爸都會哭泣的地步

但仔細上網搜尋後才發現: Cow, 原來是江惠女神的老歌
虛心點出來聽了幾遍, 詭譎地發現蕭老大跟江女神的發音感覺不大一樣
(蕭老大該不會是陶吉吉在唱望春風吧?)
是我耳殘, 還是神字輩的發音和老大級的差很大?

不管怎樣,我只能說蕭老大唱的很壯烈,江女神唱的很淒美
然後...陳小霞是我的菜

無言花 (作詞：陳黎鐘 | 作曲：陳小霞)

今夜冷風酸雨來作伴
燈火正影人孤單
寂寞的滋味透心頭
嘸災東時天才會光
你我那會這無緣
離開了後才來思念
親像一蕊無言花
惦惦來開　惦惦水
一瞑花開的香味
引阮滿腹的稀微
你敢有聽見花謝若落土
破碎是誰人的心肝
你敢有聽見花謝若落土
破碎是誰人的心肝

轉載來自 ※Mojim.com　魔鏡歌詞網
你我那會這無緣
離開了後才來思念
親像一蕊無言花
惦惦來開　惦惦水
一瞑花開的香味
引阮滿腹的稀微
你敢有聽見花謝若落土
破碎是誰人的心肝
你敢有聽見花謝若落土
破碎是誰人的心肝
你敢有聽見花謝若落土
破碎是誰人的心肝
你敢有聽見花謝若落土
破碎是誰人的心肝

Google v.s. China

Will Google be the David to China's Goliath? The event is yet to unfold fully, but this is by far the most unexpected standoff in a decade. I'm so used to seeing everyone doing Beijing's bidding now that this outburst from Google has left me in awe. Someone with means and power actually stands up to the bully, and casts the first stone. I'm doubtful what one pebble can do, but surely it must at least hit a toe.

p.s. so this is why after whining for years I still haven't got an iPhone, thank u Google for sending me a clear message.

An Exceptionally Good day

It must be an exeptionally good day to get married this Sunday, because I was waken up by firecrakers, not once, but twice that morning. So yeah, these people better live happily ever after, because depriving people of their much needed sleeps is just inhuman. But it was indeed a very beautiful day, so drowsy or not, we took the kids out to have fun. We went to our usual place. It's a hidden passage in the mountain, not many people know the place, so we can set the beast free. By beast I mean our all-bark-no-bite retriver.

Who says retrivers are all friendly in nature? To human, yes, To fellow canines, not so much. It is fine when he faces off with a Chiwawa. But when he picks on German Shepherds or Rottweiler? I only wish he knows what he's doing.

In the mountain, where there is no passerby (and no four-legged animals in sight), it feels good to have this assurance knowing you don't have to wrestle the retriever out of his unseen death. I can just watch them run with abandonment, and thinking to myself, this is indeed an exceptionally good day.

Hill covered with ferns

More green

Artisan Lighting Collective

I finally visited Q Square last weekend. There are several interesting shops there to squeeze a second visit out of me, but the place lieterally sits on the junction of Taipei train station, bus station, and subway station, so you do the math, the crowd there is insane. If you like to take your time window-shopping and not get pushed around by people all around you, try weekdays.

I happened upon this delightful little booth that sells hand-painted lampshades by Taiwanese artists. The lady there was very passionate about their products and expalined in great detail the company background and their design concepts, which is to turn an everday device into artwork. During the daytime, it is not just a lamp sitting on your desk, you get a painting. What I love about it is none of the lampshades designs are identical, they are all unique in its own way. It has a raw quality to it that reminds me of my first Miyazaki animation. The lady also mentioned their booth is temporary. So I look up their blog and a possible online shop for those of you who are interested.

New Year in the Mountain

One thing I love about Taiwan is you can travel from downtown to a secluded mountain area under 30 min, give or take. And this is how I spent my New Year's Eve. In the mountain, away from the crowd. After last year, I've learnt that watching Taipei 101 "exploded" at midnight on December 31 wasn't as tempting as it used to be when I was 25. I really hope they can come up with a more creative way to choreograph the firework, instead of blasting everything they have and bury the buiding in thick fog every year. It is possible I'm just getting cynical for no reason, I'm sure there are people who'll contradict my sentiment in a heartbeat. Good for you. But I've tried every position with this building (don't get sexual with me), none of it worked. The only thing I havn't tried is be in the building while the explosion was on, and I doubt it will do me any good. Enough dissing, I'm picking on the firework simply because this paragraph didn' find its way into my log on December 31, 2008.

This great resturant is hidden in the mountain not far from Taipei, and it's full of old Taiwanese antiques that makes you nostalgic just by being there.

They brew their very own grape wine, imagine that! I love its fruity taste.

This is used for shrimp catching, put the bait in the basket and vola!

We brought the kids along, it won't be New Year without them messing up my pants.

At a moment like this, I always ask myself : why didn't I bring my tripod?

Happy Holidays

Over the years, it has become an unanimous family tradition. In celebration of the holiday season, we resurrect Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer shortly before midnight on Christmas day. Which reminds me, we need to get a proper red nose for next year. I'm against animal-dress-as-human, but animal-dress-as-animal? Not so much, and human-dress-as-animal? It's entertaining as hell, so why not?

Believe me, I tried to fit the horn on the retriever, but it's less hazerdous to wear it myself.

Baby girl even stayed still for a photo op, absolutely adorable~