Sunday, December 21, 2008

9th Post: Christmas Voices

Thanks to ms. jyo who robbed my blogging material on Andrew Johnston, i have to scratch my head off to think of what to write to my new blog post. So in the end, I decided to promote two christmas album that I've sampled recently. First up, 'Winter Symphony' from Sarah Brightman, one of the most famous soprano in the world.


Winter Symphony is Sarah Brightman's first holiday album. It came off as quite a surprise that she would release 2 albums in a year since she took 5 years to produce 'Symphony' which is being released earlier this year. Songs in the album include silent night and amazing grace which I believe shouldn't be new to most of the people. Sarah's voice managed to breath some new life into these familiar songs which we've listened for so many years. My personal favourite being 'Ave Maria (Duet with Fernando Lima)'.Definitely an album that will make your christmas more wonderful this year~


The second album comes from Enya, entitled 'And Winter Came...'. Enya was quite different from Sarah Brightman who is known for her vocal prowess. In fact, what propelled her to international recognition was her unusual sound which was characterized by voice layering. 'And Winter Came...' fully captured the atmosphere of winter and shines with the ethereal voice of Enya. More suitable to be listened during nighttime due to its reverberant nature. I recommend 'Trains and Winter Rains', a ingeniously crafted song~
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Two great albums from classical crossover and new age genre respectively, bound to make your christmas more special this year. Enya and Sarah Brightman may not be your cup of tea, but no harm giving them a shot, it maybe a pleasant surprise in the end.=)

p/s: Don't forget about Andrew Johnston's 'One Voice' too!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

8th Post: HELP

I helped out in the open day of our college. It was fun talking to parents and trying to sell our college to them, I mean the a-levels programme only. It's quite odd that only the a-levels department have student helpers on open day and we're like trying to force the visitors to the a-levels booth, ambushing them immediately as they stepped into the college. Though most of the time we're just standing there waiting until my backbone is on the brink of shattering apart...

Just an interesting anecdote during the open day, an auntie came to the reception counter to ask for the direction and here's what she said:" Leng lui, where is XXX?" and our receptionist is actually a middle-aged indian lady. I was like: do you simply call any and every woman you meet on the street 'leng lui' as well? Well, at least I'm sure that the receptionist would be happier to be addressed as 'leng lui' rather than auntie.

Friday, December 12, 2008

7th Post: Departure

Tag from yew hong. My music library is not really suitable to be used for this tag since I have a lot of japanese song, so I have to use google translator to find out their meaning...Anyways, instructions:

a. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
b. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
c. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN, NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
d. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
e. Put this on your blog.

1. If someone says, "Is this okay?"
キャンバス/Canvas - Ken Hirai
Comment: Canvas is something artist use to paint, ok?

2. How would you describe yourself?
Taking Chances - Celine Dion
Comment: Hm, quite a fitting description.

3. What do you like in a guy/girl?
Ranch at Night - Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon~Laybrinth Forgotten by Time~ OST
Comment: What? Character from Harvest Moon?

4. How do you feel today?
水龍の体内 - Okami Piano Collection
Comment: Ok...its raining outside when I'm typing this...

5. What is your life's purpose?
ピエールの瞳/Pierre's eyes - Atelier Iris Grand Fantasm Mini Album
Comment: Anyone know who is this pierre who is supposed to be meaning of my very existence?

6. What is your motto?
きっと永远に - Crystal Kay
Comment: Google translator(still in beta) fail to translate this phrase...

7. What do your friends think of you?
Hikari ~KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version~ - Kingdom Hearts OST
Comment: Hikari means light in japanese, thank you.

8. What do you think of your parents?
友のしるし/Friends of the sign - Angela Aki
Comment: Hm, but I don't take money from my friends, not that I mind if they're willing to give me.XD

9. What do you think about very often?
Shinto Shrine - dot Hack G.u. OST
Comment: No such shrine exist in the world...

10. What is 2+2?
Sacred War - 太王四神记OST
Comment: Doesn't make sense...

11. What do you think of your best friends?
秘密結社 ~annex~ - Suga Shikao
Comment: Secret Organization?...

12. What do you think of the person you like?
Destination(Where I Belong) - Kalan Porter
Comment: That's a nice answer.

13. What is your life?
Tabibito/Traveler - Generous
Comment: Life is like a journey, and I'm a traveler...sounds cool!

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
我が主のために/For our Lord - Zwei II OST
Comment: I don't want to be a servant...

15. What do you think of when you see the person you like?
仙剑问情 - 仙剑奇侠传三外传·问情篇音乐选集
Comment: Am I going to have a sword duel in order to win my love?

16. What will you dance to at your wedding?
Moments - Ayumi Hamasaki
Comment: How to dance?...

17. What will they play at your funeral?
Pavan for piano and orchestra - Ouran High School Host Club Soundtrack & Character Song 1
Comment: Yes, please hire an orchestra to perform at my funeral.

18. What is your hobby/interest?
Mog House X - Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon~Laybrinth Forgotten by Time~ OST
Comment: The most nonsensical answer in the whole post...

19. What is your biggest fear?
初次 - Winter Sonata OST
Comment: Now what is that supposed to mean?

20. What is your biggest secret?
EXEC_HYMME_MOISKYRIE - Ar Tonelico OVA Special CD
Comment: What a big secret that I don't even understand myself...

21. What do you think of your friends?
宗介のなみだ/Scenery of the Emperor's Kosuke - 悬崖上的金鱼公主OST
Comment: Haha, I don't have an emperor friend.

22. What will you post this as?
Departure - JS
Comment: I like this title.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

6th Post: Beyond Madagascar

Yup, I've watched Madagascar 2 recently and it was indeed very interesting, my favourite character is Nana the old lady.XD However, I'm not going to do a review on this film(since many people did this already and its not like I have a different opinion anyway). What I'm going to write is something that I saw after watching Madagascar. After I walk out of the cinema, the 1st thing that I saw is ....... the poster of Cicakman 2! My mood undergoes drastic changes immediately (from =D to =.=)...

It's a sequel to the original Cicakman and 'aptly' titled Cicakman 2-Planet Hitam, what a terrible planet we're living in... I've never really paid any attention to the first film, just that i'm amazed that the film actually managed to get a sequel. The film, to me, is a cheap emulation of Spider Man. Let's explore the plot a bit:

Hairi, is a loser who lives in Metrofulus. While working in the lab, he accidentally drinks coffee that has been contaminated by a virus-infected gecko. He soon finds himself doing the most insane things, such as sticking to walls, making chirping cicak noises and adding bugs to his menu. He turns to his best friend and apartment mate, Danny, and begs him to find the reason behind his strange antics.

It has an almost identical setting to Spider Man with the main protagonist being a somewhat not so popular person who got superpowers accidentally and turned into a hero after that. But instead of bitten by a spider, this hairi guy got his power by negligibly drank a cup of coffee flavoured leftover bathwater of an virus infected cicak which is so ubuquitous in Malaysia. Let me guess, their sponsor is Tongkat Ali Cafe, right? Maybe they can even make some money by creating a new brand called Cicak Cafe with the main ingredient being the faeces of cicak(I supposed that's what make the coffee in the movie so special too). Let's not discuss this anymore or else I may have a nightmare tonight... Let's wait patiently until the new installation of this 'immensely popular' series is shown in cinema, which I definitely won't watch. (And I'm not interested to know how he chirp like a cicak!)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

5th Post: Completed

This is the moment to rejoice: I passed my LAN subjects! I got A for malaysian studies and C for moral studies. Grades doesn't matter, the main point is I don't need to study moral or history anymore for the rest of my life!(and I definitely won't study it in the university). Status: completed.