Lanai Breeze

Island Etude

2009-12-28T23:29:00.003-10:00

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/419948/Island-Etude/overview
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/EtudeBike

(12.13.2008)
Watched a wonderful movie from hometown, Island Etude. A college young man, who has hearing disability, with a simple backpack and a big guitar on his back, rode his bike around the island of Taiwan.

The movie is about the people and places he visited during this adventure. The story is based on a true story, and the actor who plays the college young man has similar hearing disability. It might seem nothing to people from bigger landscapes, a 7-day bike trip around the island. But I like the view from the dirctor and the young man. They touched upon gently existing social situations as well as the warmth that never fails in people.

The reason I don't use the word "issues" is because it seems people learn to cope with those social situations, and they never grow big. This last part, the existing social situations that never grow into the scope of issues or something requires violent solutions, breaks my heart a little. But I guess in places like this, where I'm from, people are like that. They value peace more than others. It's good and bad. The bad part is sometimes people don't fight hard enough for their problems.

When asked why he took a week or so off from school in his last semester in college, just to finish this trip. He could've waited after his graduation. He said, there're things, if you don't go for it now, you never will. I guess everyone understands this urgency, 'cause we've all been there. And very likely there's more of such urgency to come.

During his trip, he shortly encountered a girl from Lithuania, who travels a lot around the world because of her job. At the farewell, she said in her own language that

...we all come to this world traveling alone...even with a companion, we would go our separate ways...

I've been naturally tuned to this philosophy since little, without a doubt. Just in the past, it was a romantic view; romantic or not, it's quite realistic to me now...

note: Dec.19.2009 I graduated with my PhD. On the X'mas day Kayo returned this DVD Island Etude to me, a poetic movie about my homeland, Taiwan. As I am wrapping my hawaiian life up in all dimensions, I begin to feel homesick...Post this old piece to let go some of the sentimental thoughts.

2046

2009-12-04T01:17:00.002-10:00

(04.14.2007)

was a little nervous before watching the movie 2046. after watching his 'in the mood for love', i thought kar wei wong was done.

once transforming the bustling and yet wastefully indulgent due to the possible identity confusion, post-1949 hong kong, the great britain's last colony at the pearl river delta (aka the pearl of the east) into the theater by superposing 2-dimensional images, not necessarily sequentially arranged, with penetrating sounds from the era, and making the audience live and breathe every moment of the characters, kar wei wong has perfected the characteristic nostalgia in the general psychology of the post-colony hong kong (after 1997) in his movies, 'days of being wild', 'chungking express', 'happy together', and 'in the mood for love'.

while 'in the mood for love' itself is well crafted, the level of indulgence has gone beyond the proportion that i can appreciate or comprehend.

i'm so relieved after finishing 2046, for it reclaims wong's strength, sense and sensibility.

a train leaving for the year 1997 from 2046, once the destination of youthful passionate lovers, also the room number in the hotels in singapore and hong kong, where the unforgettable love affairs that scar the souls of the main characters during various periods in the 1960s. during the journey, the encounters of tony leung (main male character) and the various female characters bloom into romances of some kind, which in the end are composed into his unanswered gut-ranching love for the woman from earlier time.

thanksgiving afternoon

2009-11-22T21:44:00.003-10:00

(11.28.2008)
Thanksgiving afternoon behind the tranquil golden veil Manoa Campus reminds me of the Southern Franch town, Nimes on that silent Sunday afternoon. Only a few pigeons and tourists strolling in the streets, as if the residents of the town have gone on vacation and hired the tourists to housesit for them during the weekend...

my architect--a son's journey

2009-11-20T00:25:00.002-10:00

http://www.myarchitectfilm.com/

The story of the architect, Louis Kahn, told by the son, who got to know him not in person but through his buildings.

Louis Kahn's work infused the International style with a fastidious, highly personal taste, a poetry of light, and is widely known for his spaces' poetic sensibilities...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Kahn

He seeks harmony between nature and man-made objects. His buildings , such as Salk Institute, overlooking the Pacific Ocean

http://www.terragalleria.com/images/us-ca/usca34591.jpeg,

have this larger-than-life meanings, which makes one humble...

my architect my hero--le corbusier

2009-11-20T00:12:00.000-10:00

(8.23.2006)

it was before urban highway system.

one day corbu walked in the street of paris near the university, seeing cars took away the streets. he felt nostalgic about his youth when streets belonged to people and was bitter about the change. at the same time he sensed that the cities have been rendered completely obsolete by the advent of the automobile...after making a leap, corbu came up with the urban highway system: to build a highway system to keep the constant flow of cars above and liberate the space beneath it. of course later such an idealized highway system has caused other social problems, but that's another issue.

like corbu's solution. he's a great metaphysician.

carcas sings

2009-11-19T23:11:00.000-10:00

(pic from http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne)

(9.30.2006)
the tragedy of orpheus rescuing his beautiful wife, eurydice, who was killed by a serpent while avoiding a minor god, got me thinking about greece.

in athens, where once lived the legendary king, theseus, son of poseidon, there sits the famous acropolis, a man-made crown to top of the mountain. such an architectural approach to nature that the two enhance each other and create a new kind of harmony by contrast is what corbu agrees. it seems more truly respectful than the emulation of natural forms as practiced by gaudi, whose famous sagrada família in barcelona looks like a giant volcanic rock that is full of cavities.

after finishing his education, young corbu, who later became one of the master minds in modern architecture, made certain clear-cut decisions for himself. among those is his commitment to the mediterranean tradition: the strength, vigour, and grandeur of greece and rome.

another heavyweight architect who was also devoted himself to transforming the ruins of ancient rome into modern buildings is louis kahn, a jewish immigrant from russia (to u.s.). if corbu is the poet in the field of architecture, then lou kahn is the tense philosopher, in a religious way. his buildings have a sense of history, and his way of infusing light and space makes his work contemplative.

when traveling to carcassonne, the medieval walled city in southern france, lou was impressed: the city was designed from an order of defense. the concept has been lou's earlier center city schemes: a modern city will renew itself from its order concept of movement which is a defense against its destruction by the automobile.

this brought me back to the summer when m and i spent a month wandering around the country. carcassonne was one of our stops. even with all the knowledge stored in my brain, i was too young to practice such an exercise of connecting the facts. at the time i was just excited about finding a cool black t-shirt that has modigliani's "woman with black tie" painting on it, and satisfied with the delicious four-course french dinner in a cozy family restaurant by the wall.

i remember after the dinner we were high-spiritedly dancing with the enchanting river lights until midnight...

strong enough

2009-11-07T07:47:00.002-10:00

(8.26.2007)

In life there are things we are told and threfore we know but we don't comprehend until serendipity shows.

It was like that this golden mist emerald green sunday morning between me and Manoa.

In hawaiian "Manoa" means strong or powerful. For a long time however Manoa to me means homey.

There's a Starbucks that jumps start my day. I like their playing jazz 6:30 in the morning and the people work there seem to know the custmers' names, or at least what their regular drinks and pastries. when they mistaken customer Dan with Mark, Dan would say he's been called eveything, this one is not too bad...

My late night stand--Safeway, where I usually go and get my dinner fulfilling, often an organge tomato, cheap gouda cheese from holland, some cucumbers or celeries, and probably a couple more in-season fruits. The judgement would come at the checkout counter. Two or three of the young clarks always make fun of my dinner combo while positive comments would come from a nice lady clark who thinks that I'm eating healthy despite my slightly unhealthy life schedule...

The simple, neat, and very forgiving Manoa Bakery, who always kindly sells One strawberry cream cheese biscuit to me every time despite the fact that a mother of 3 or 4 has just bought a dozen of their an pan and danish of every kind in front of me.

The loving Long's Drugs I went when a couple weeks ago I had a emergency mouth situation in that I rinsed it too rigorously and too frequently with a new mouthwash, which resulted in burning sensation in the every corner of my mouth. Before my dentist could see me the next day, the pharmacist at Long's reassured me that it was no big deal...

But this morning, as I was driving along a new route with similar giant mountains and high trees setting nearby, Sheryl Crow's Strong Enough that I accidentally stumbled into last night diffuses in from all direction. The gentle but firm tempo reminds me of Aboriginal Stamping Ground, remotely, suddenly I see the strong and powerful side of Manoa that I'd never seen before.

note:
submitted everything to graduate division yesterday. was an official period of my phd study in hawaii...

last night on my way home heard this familiar old song and thought of this old piece i wrote. about manoa

Bailero

2009-10-23T03:11:00.001-10:00

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/photopade/2483271722/)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalGP1_hgyI

(8.14.2007.Sun. Pre-Flossie category 4 hurricane 650 miles away)

For a long time, my usual Sunday morning mess is listening to Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne, (http://inkpot.com/classical/auvergne-angeles.html). It brings one to roam in the volcanic Massif Central. Bailero is my favorite. It's a beautiful lonely shepherd song that fills your heart with sadness and forgiveness...

Note: These couple of days we have hurricane Neki near by.

blackout

2009-10-09T15:39:00.004-10:00

(12.28.2008)

~ in the saturated darkness life becomes simple ~

An islandwide power outage occurred in the early evening of 26th, the day after X'mas. I was amazed by the order and merriment that people brought out in a situation like this. As the night dived into its subconsciousness, I heard giggling from the pool downstaris and popping fireworks from distance.

That night I dreamt of angels in paradise...

Pearl pink sunset

2009-10-04T19:21:00.001-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hONYMyIe_E

Nexus #2

2009-09-29T01:31:00.035-10:00

(http://www.hanacoast.com/Calhoun.HTML)

http://www.last.fm/music/Ali+Farka+Tour%C3%A9/_/Hawa+Dolo

Thought of Hana Coast Gallery in Hana, a serene town on the east end of Maui. The gallery is itself very spiritual.

Love this piece from its current exhibition, Nexus #2 by Tom Calhoun: (http://www.hanacoast.com/Calhoun.HTML)

...an old belief that trees are the connecting points between the heaven, the earth, and water...

Note: the music "Hawa Dolo" is by Mali guitarist Ali Farka Toure

So what

2009-09-27T21:47:00.009-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEC8nqT6Rrk&feature=fvw

L'Amoureuse

2009-09-26T15:19:00.016-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlbXdEjHkRc&feature=related

Waltzing's for dreamers

2009-09-23T04:00:00.013-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGsr-RhYMg4&feature=related

note: passing my defense a week ago (9.14.2009). looking back, however stressful the whole process was, this "waltzing's for dreamers" seems to say it well ~

...one step for aching, two step for breaking
waltzing's for dreamers, and losers in love
one step for sighing, two step for crying
waltzing's for dreamers, and losers in love...

Lanikai

2009-09-20T23:01:00.015-10:00

Mamiko's going back to Japan for good next Sunday, I just finished my defense, and the Kailua brunch promise to Chuan-chuan Bon-bon has been long overdued... One just doesn't get a clear sign like this often...So on this sunny side up Sunday, we head to the turquoise blue Kailua.

note: it's been a while since i came to the beach. forgot how beautiful the color of the ocean is

Oli and Minoo's Wedding

2009-08-22T22:10:00.013-10:00

congratulations dear oli and minoo. wish you two a lifetime love and happiness ^.^

Congrats my dear Oli

2009-08-22T07:40:00.006-10:00

http://www.kodakgallery.com/sweetgirl/main/19_au_revoir_simon
http://www.kodakgallery.com/sweetgirl/main/oli_s_birthday_2008?

(9.19.2008)

Just got a wonderful news, my dear friend, Oli, got engaged, with his sweetheart, the lovely Minoo!

Not sure where it came from, but suddenly I got this very mother-like tingle...our Oli is getting married...

Awh...i think the tears of joy just came out of my eyes...

Congratulations, Oli!

note: today one of my best friends, oli, is getting married. repost this old one when i first learnt the news! (will update the wedding photo after the wedding :)

Sunday night contemplation

2009-08-16T23:50:00.000-10:00

At "Coffee or Tea", the pearl drink place run by a charming Taiwanese couple in McCully Shopping Center, we talked about Typhoon Morakot, the one that brutally wiped out the foothill villages in Southern Taiwan 9 days ago.

While the whole thing took us by surprise, since Taiwan is no stranger to this powerful rage of nature--every summer at least two or three or even more typhoons come and go. Among the series of senseless news and incidents that follow, none of us could comprehend the slow response of the government to the situation. What were they thinking?

After coming back, I just feel very grateful that none of my family nor friends is the immediate victim in this heartbreaking tragedy. (We even had our fb reunion this weekend!)

I hope to express my deepest sorrow to those in need. God Bless the victims of Morakot and their family.

shing
8.16.2009

Typhoon Morakot Swamps Southern Taiwan

2009-08-11T14:02:00.004-10:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/aug/10/hsiao-lin-village-taiwan-mudslide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEtieOpOH6Q&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.chinatimes.com%2Fvideo-cate-cnt.aspx%3Fcid%3D4%26nid%3D13713&feature=player_embedded

A Po's one-day trip to Hawaii

2009-08-08T20:49:00.027-10:00

A Po was on his way to Marshall Island to lead a group of passionate young college students from Taiwan stationing there for a summer workshop, educating local kids earth science and the world. The mission sounds very A Po!

He stopped by Honolulu for one day yesterday. I was busy wrapping up my dissertation and didn't have time to show him around the island. Luckily Satomi and her Jazz band, Bop Tribal, were playing at Diamond Head Grill/Lotus Hotel in the evening!

The concert started at 6:30pm. Hawaiian summer daylight is still on. It came through greenery outside and big glass window. The interior of the restaurant is in soft blue teal tone. Musicians eased us in with gentle jazz. Can you imagine? Bathed in late afternoon light and sound viewing a large Monet's painting! What a treat!

The concert made A Po's one day stopover worthwhile ^_^

Thanks to Chuan-chuan and Bon-Bon's company, or A Po might be bored listening to my miserable dissertation processes @_@

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCJGuSZB8xk&feature=channel_page

Time to sleep

2009-08-02T00:04:00.028-10:00

(http://easton.pixnet.net/album/photo/86309946#pictop)

can't believe this stressful week has nearly come to an end. perhaps soon i can see it as the week of rebirth

"Time to Sleep" from "Four Last Songs" by Ricard Strauss through Jessye Norman's heavenly voice ~ good night ~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75CnnsFonM&feature=related

note: i rescheduled my defense because i couldn't make it. my draft is only 90% complete...i was crushed, by myself, mainly...

note2: the painting is by a young artist from taiwan. he has hearing disability. i was impressed by his performance in the movie 'island etude' and later learnt that he draws and paints too (see link).

paint the rust

2009-07-20T23:12:00.002-10:00

(http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=16831554&albumID=483249&imageID=7023554)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5ehOW4ZZg&feature=related

fools

2009-07-19T20:26:00.013-10:00

(http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewAlbums&friendID=16831554)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhLRxui7vXU

note: was immediately fall in love with this song and the band after watching their youtube...their passion and energy is just WOW...

note2: i'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired

bob

2009-07-18T22:10:00.000-10:00

(http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/amelias_blog/2009/07/time_to_die_by_the_dodos_patie.php)

Bob
http://vimeo.com/4291300

trade and tariffs by dodos

2009-07-18T00:00:00.001-10:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16473963

chi

2009-07-16T23:14:00.004-10:00

http://booyababy168.tripod.com/images/wallpapers/chobits.jpg

(Jun.30.2007)
hawaiian summer la nina casts a romantic spell on manoa campus

i sat in ono pono court bathed in the morning white showering rain
with lingering pain, tangled occasionally by warm sunbeams and flows from dark shadow

note: this afternoon i sat in ono pono court reading and modifying my draft. there it came a wind blow shaking everything awake from their afternoon nap. suddenly i found my research on air-sea interaction and eddy propagation very romantic

note2: the lingering pain in the main text was about my tooth ache. nothing romantic about it. recently i found many people are more romantic than i am. hence this footnote to set the record straight ^_*.

pale blue white

2009-07-12T23:49:00.015-10:00

http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/980-madison-2003-05-cy-twombly/#

Today I googled a lot to find some useful illustrative cartoons to describe MJO, a dominant mode of variability in the coupled atmosphere-ocean system in the tropics, and came across a useful reference whose author has a name Goo-something.

For some reason I remembered a gallery I like a lot, Gagosian, on Madison in New York.

Remember first time when I heard of it, I wrinkled my eyebrows, didn't like the odd quaking sound of gallery name...However as I entered the gallery, the white-ish blue exhibition it was showing purified all the noises and echos from the street from the hallway...

The pale blue white is all what's left...

note: title of exhibition 'a gathering of time' by Cy Twombly

Quelqu'un ma dit

2009-07-09T17:05:00.006-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfCnLTsGgcQ&feature=related

note: had an anomalously wonderful time last night...been dissipating my response with this humming rhythm throughout the day

Jazz Wed at Gordon Biersch

2009-07-06T21:48:00.018-10:00

an event i'm very looking forward to (^_^)

Satomi Trio with two guest artists

http://www.myspace.com/satomijazz

shing02: love you like water:
(http://www.tubefire.com/t/w.aspx?v=2byaJUa9e9Q)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2byaJUa9e9Q

emi meyer: room blue

(http://www.myspace.com/emimeyer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E99P2PgzyQ&feature=related

note: printed two flyers from satomi's myspace. thought to give them to my favorite breakfast cafe, coffee bean at manoa...suddenly feeling very shy (or chicken) when i was there...so two flyers are still in my car...after coming home, decided to post these on my blog...much less pressure this way...whew...(maybe i could give it a try tomorrw?!)

note2: my 2nd attempt to give coffee bean friends flyer failed (still very shy and chicken...) but i did manage to leave one of the flyers in my neighbor's car windshield :D

Happy Birthday Dear Brother

2009-07-04T22:10:00.004-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICbnRCF2b3U&feature=related

note: been so busy. running out of my brain cells...post these pics of my dear brother and his beautiful wife, taken during their trip to hawaii, with the lively background music "lemon flavored suede shoes" performed by my favorite local jazz band bop tribal, to wish him a happy birthday!

note2: brother is on a business trip...it's becoming a new form of our family birthday celebration...another modern life dissatisfaction 8-/

true romance

2009-07-03T10:35:00.016-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT-yylPUtx4

(Sep.06.2008)
One of my fav action movies. directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Last Boy Scout, Spy Game), written by Quentin Tarantino. Cast is surprisingly strong, though each only shows up less than 10 min.

Love the theme music by Hans Zimmer "Your are so cool". It's been used in other movies. But ever since this movie, whenever I listen to this song, I always have the image of a girl driving a purple Cadillac and searching for her dream. It could be Romance or any dream.

For some reason I always thought it was a Chicago-based story, until recently found out it's based the motor city Detroit...

Note: didn't like my yesterday's post (toooo depressing...) grabbed this one to renew the spirit of my blog ^_^

time to leave

2009-07-02T19:18:00.000-10:00

(Jul.08.2007)

http://www.francois-ozon.com/english/trailer/time-to-leave.html

http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/07/14/movies/14time.html

by François Ozon (2005)

A very quiet movie unravels few significant events flowing through the last segment of the life of Romain (Melvil Poupaud; A Summer's Tale), a young talented fashion photographer who is newly diagnosed of terminal brain cancer and has only a few months to live.

As irrelavent as they might seem, the events inlcude picking up fights with his sister, who, used to be his close buddy since childhood, is now a pregnant mother of one little kid; chasing away his young attractive boyfriend, whom he met at a night club. It was love at first sight. One last visit to his grandma (Jeanne Moreau), who lives alone in the suburbs, and who would be the only family member to learn about Romain's sad secret. When asked why, his answer is so unexpectedly simple 'because you'll be dead soon (and she'd understand).'

Additionaly, he agreed to an abrupt huge favor to the couple (the wife played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; 5x2), who owns the truck stop deli, where he stops for food during his trip to the grandma, to be the surrogate father of the barrent couple who has longed for a child.

The quiet movie is dashed with a few lonely scenes in Romain's trendy paris loft apartment deafened by his pain. The story is wrapped up with Romain's last visit to the sunshining beach filled with joyful crowd and a brief philosophical encounter with his childhood self. Then the sun sets.

untitle

2009-07-01T17:50:00.003-10:00

~~ rain spices the day with a spoon full of melancholy... ~~

lately i felt like a pregnant woman
from the movies they tend to get more emotional than usual...

guess that's how everyone, or most women react to the enormous pressure...

i enjoy the moment after uttering my unstable self into non-offensive verses

Rubies (Jewel)

2009-06-30T21:27:00.009-10:00

(choreographed by george balanchine)

(Jan.30.2007)
had a good meet today

feels like one of those flirtatious rubies girls in jewel

"Rubies" is one of the three sets in "Jewels", which includes Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds, choreographed by Balanchine, the founder of the School of American Ballet. It says that "...Emeralds signifies the romanticism of France; Rubies has jazzy elements; and Diamonds is illustrative of imperial Russia..."

Like "Rubies" the best. The dancers are in red and dance flirtatiously. Fun to watch.

Aurelie Dupont and Alessio Carbone are adorable in Rubies!

Note: had four good meetings today. feeling a bit breezy in the evening...still a tough week to go

Land of mine

2009-06-25T20:15:00.013-10:00

(Sep.02.2007)

A good friend of mine is leaving Yale for her new postdoc in Dublin this weekend.

As she went on about her hectic packing situation on the other end of the phone, I noticed my reaction to travel has changed.

I always thought that I have gypsy gene in my blood, if there's such a gene. I can't stop traveling, my mind or my body. However troublesome the process is to get ready to set off a journey, I would always bite my lips and go through with it, because I know once I take off, every hectic detail would seem so minor to even spend time complaining about.

But this time, my muscle aches, either from my recent physical activity or from the imagination of the process. After all these years, I'm a little tired.

Then again I can still feel the excitement of Chia-hsien's new adventure. Isn't it life all about? We rush into a new territory and got hurt here and there feel regretful now and then but in the end we're glad that we've done all that.

After the farewell, I found myself humming softly, and slightly off keyed, Dido's "This Land is Mine",

...follow the days I've travelled alone...

note: chia-hsien is a very good friend of mine. she finished her phd study in astrophysics a few years ago. she's always smart, brave and independent. talking to her calms me down.

A few busy days

2009-06-23T22:10:00.017-10:00

(Feb.08.2008)
1. Justin's farewell luncheon at Indian Cafe

Justin (down) was telling the story of how, at one of the IPRC farewell dinners at Mekong, a BYOB Thai on Beretania, he was rejected by Times (supermarket across street from Mekong) for buying beers as a minor (forgot to bring his ID and he looked 19, said himself), and Jay (up), who looked slightly older, like 25, was rejected for buying beers for the minor (e.g., Justin, who was standing next to Jay), and finally Bunmei (below) came to the rescue: successfully bought the beers with a valid ID and without the minor and Jay on site. That night everyone was having a lot of thai curries and drinking beers happily ever after ^_^

2. Afternoon Bob's Dissertation Defense
Energy Dispersion from Tropical Cyclone and Generation of Synoptic scale Rossby Wave Train
[ @#% or something like that --> sorry Bob (middle one with lei), your title is too difficult to remember o_@ ]

(Feb.12.2008)
3. Cliff's Dissertation Defense
Intraseasonal interaction between the Eurasian wavetrain and the Indian summer monsoon
Cliff (middle one with lei)

4. SOEST Lecture Series: Professor Chip Fletcher (Geology and Geography) is giving a seminar on Sea-Level Rise

The seminar was scheduled the same time as Cliff's defense. I wanted to go to it but Cliff was defending...Luckily later in a global change workshop I was able to catch a similar talk by Dr. Fletcher. It was great!

Note: these past few days were exciting:
a. My super mentor Jay (McCreary) came back from his sabbatical and he may be able to come to my defense at the end of July :D
b. My best friend, Bunmei, reunited with us, the old MET(eorology) gang on Facebook ^_^
c. and some (I'm keeping them to myself. Just share my joy ^_*)

ps, old MET gang jump (about 5 years ago)
some are successfully captured by camera, some aren't --> last three: after numerous failed attempts, we were all exhausted from jumping too much and began to look like zombies :P)

White Widow

2009-06-21T20:26:00.011-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuE13-jAkrE

(Dec.11.2006)
saw a robert altman's movie this weekend

'the company'
quite different from other altman's movies

less busy less sharp
i imagine some critics weren't happy about this alternative altman

documentary about joffrey ballet company from chicago

always had mixed feelings for ballet--
appreciating greatly the stunning gracefulness in it
but disapproving the sacrifice one has to make in order to achieve it

besides, classic ballet stories can be a bit too simplified

then the movie reveals modern concept of dancing
free body language expression
(sometimes blended with issues and dissatisfaction)

i was speechless when watching the piece 'white widow'--
a girl hanging/holding onto a rope
spinning flying floating air-walking/running (can't tell anymore...)

stunned by the degree of freedom her body is able to achieve
on top of the already solidly established gracefulness
the rope provides the support to absolute lightness of the dancing

of course there's a beautifully sad story about this piece as stated in the title 'white widow'

but the story seems so trivial in this new dimension of two ultimate beauties in life--freedom and gracefulness

i cried (yeah, i know. i'm made of water)
didn't think it's possible to see something so breathtakingly pure

whenever i see beautiful things like this
i forgive all the flaws in myself
and forget the ugly people and things i see and know

it's as if it the beautiful thing makes up for the ugliness...

Note: the originally plan was to re-post the piece about rubies from jewel, a cute ballet piece by balanchine, to celebrate father's day. but was a bit #@$*, picked this one instead...(good thing that i talked to mom & dad already before this transition.)

Happy Eddies

2009-06-20T13:16:00.007-10:00

Happy 2009

(Jan.01.2009)
Central American Gap Wind Eddies--
Justin, in Tehuantepec Band next to Snowman
Niklas, first eddy in Papagayo band
S-P, next to Niklas
Shing, next to S-P

and we shout

Happy New Year eastern Pacific warm pool!!

Note:
the weather is sun shining and trade-wind breezy today in honolulu. wanna go play...use this new year card made from one of my eddy figures (my research) to encourage myself to work hard *_*
Note 2: we, justin, niklas, s-p, shing, and snowmen are eddies ^_^

a piece of romantic sound

2009-06-19T22:36:00.004-10:00

Albeniz: Granada (Suite Espanola)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvt54-DIFT4&feature=related

sublimed

2009-06-18T18:40:00.008-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoPL7BExSQU&feature=related

(Jun.3.2008)

Two weeks after the proposal defense, slowly it became clear to me that I am happy, even though I'm not very good at my research yet, even though I'm not sure if I ever will..

Never get Mile Davis's jazz, neither the sound, the mood, nor the melody. Oftentimes they all seem a bit too indulgent for my taste. I like Cannonball Adderley better. It's more light-hearted. Listening to his jazz makes me feel safe, as if a wise man is telling me that everything is gonna be all right.

Last night as I was listening to Miles' 'Blue in Green' from 'Kind of Blue', I was surprised by this sublimed aroma amongst the over soothing trumpet tone.

I don't smoke but if I did, this would be the moment I'd exhale the smoke gently through my lips and watch it meandering into 'infinite in all
directions'...

Note: This describes my general state of mind today ~~

Happy Birthday Sachico

2009-06-16T22:10:00.004-10:00

Sachiko is one of my closest girlfriends here. It is her birthday today. We both love Carla Bruni. Post "Those Dancing Days are Gone" to wish her a happy birthday ^_^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6HDA0oJAbk&feature=related

ps, we are both busy this week and decide to go have pearl drink next monday to celebrate her birthday and my teeth cleaning day

Sister's birthday

2009-06-15T20:17:00.010-10:00

(Figure 1)
Sis's birthday today...

Left a simple birthday message in her blog...

Uttered a short birthday wish on the phone, when she's almost fallen asleep, due to exhaustion of being a great mom of two little boys...

Still not quite feeling expressive enough about my love for her...

Inspired by the drawing of sis by little Ian, my little nephew (see Fig 1)

(Figure 2)

I, too, drew, the three of us: sis, bro, and myself (see Fig 2)

Growing up, there are three of us. Our features are as follows.

Sis: one with a pair of beautiful eyes
Bro: one with a handsome nose

"what about me", asked little shing,
"um..."
"you have nice ears, sweetie..."
said loving parents.

#@$?...

Conclusion: my drawing skills hasn't grown
up since age 4

Happy Happy Birthday, dearest Sis ^_^!

Super cute 'The Bus Song' by super fresh group 'Curly Hair'

2009-06-14T23:11:00.000-10:00

http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/amelias_blog/2009/06/curly_hair_at_pure_groove_curl.php

The bus song:
http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.singleplaylist&friendid=428166962

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHkwRpPMkJM&feature=player_embedded

Good News: Curly Hair's new tracks (including 'Bus Song') will be released in mini album in September and will possibly be available on itunes ^_^

love like this

2009-06-13T18:34:00.003-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t6iNXgvRXU

note: lately love listening to dancing songs...seems fit the rhythms of daily life, most of the time. it's simple easy and fast, in a healthy way. when moving along with such a pace, i don't feel obligated to overthink of things, which is nice.

another saturday

2009-06-11T21:13:00.015-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5-fdmezMgA

found this pic in a folder I almost deleted
taken a few years ago
i looked like a kid--i've aged ever since :'(
but i like the smile
not sure if i still have it...

note: the youtube song is 'Another Saturday' by Stuart Murdoch in the album 'Dark was the Night', put together by Red Hot, an AIDS awareness organization.

note2: originally i only wanted to post this song with the singer's pic, in which he looks out of the window, on one of sunny (satur)days.
however, it seems the pic is still copyrightable...:(
please click on the link below, if interested, to see my dream combo for today's post

http://www.playinginfog.com/portraits/stuart-murdoch3.html

note3: for more songs from 'Dark was the Night', see

http://www.darkwasthenight.com/

(Yesayer's performance is pretty cool)

wonderland

2009-06-10T22:46:00.007-10:00

(Nov.18.2006)
directed by michael winterbottom

(better-known work includes: welcome to sarajevo, and jude)

set in south london, the story is about modern working-class londoners' loneliness. the movie stems from life of three sisters: a lonely waitress, who places personal ads to meet men, in the hope to perhaps find love; a divorced horny mom with a preteen boy; and a hysterical pregnant young wife, whose husband just quit his dull salesman job and caused the couple a nevous breakdown. the movie also touches upon their parents and the neighbors's stale life patterns.

like the way the movie portrays the poignant loneliness through disconnection in the webbed streets of london, through the gaze of nadia (the waitress, played by gina mckee) into a blurred city's nightlife crowd...

"how's the movie related to wonderland", one may ask, since it doesn't seem to connect to the title, not even in a remote sense. well, just as he loyally records the gloomy landscape of the city crowd, michael winterbottom (the director) also captures the nuance of humanity, the good kind, that often surfaces through interactions between individuals.

of course winterbottom expresses it explicitly: after passing the freaking out phase, the pregnant young couple decides to call their unborn baby girl alice, as in "alice in wonderland".to me, i like the end scene, the smile of nadia:as long as there's smile in gina mckee's frail face, there's a possibility of a new day.

Art Below

2009-06-09T19:39:00.010-10:00

Tokyo Subway

Taipei Subway

Read about an interesting project from Amelia's Magazine:

http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/amelias_blog/2009/06/going_underground_art_below.php

"...Art Below, an organisation that holds the belief that public space can and should be utilized as exhibition space...

...working with galleries, universities and other art organizations Art Below has infiltrated the tube stations and surrounding areas of London, Tokyo and more recently, Berlin with fresh engaging cutting edge creativity..."

For exhibition slide show:

http://www.artbelow.net/

This reminds me of the new exhibition in Taipei subway (heard from a friend, little apple, who gave me the following link)

http://blog.xuite.net/yap.taipei/alienfish/22697038

Imagine how wonderful it is if everywhere we go and see is artful!?

Georgia O'keeffe

2009-06-08T21:20:00.003-10:00

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/geok/ho_52.203.htm

(4.18.2008)
Georgia Okeeffe is probably most famous for her flower paintings. Her flowers are so vivid and giant, sometimes I fear I might be eaten if I get too close to the paintings. In her later years she moved to New Mexico. There she began to paint cow skulls and shells.

I like her cow skull paintings. She uses a lot of whites, but the fine structure of cracks in the skull is so genuinely captured and yet the painting doesn't lose its artistic quality, which is amazing to me.

The colors in her painting are very pure and her style is very unique. I can't recall anyone who has similiar style.

Note: had a very pure day today ^_^

Great Stalacpipe Organ

2009-06-07T15:36:00.008-10:00

The organ constructed inside Luray Caverns (Virginia's Shenandoah Valley). It uses the frequencies resonant with the Stalactites! Isn't it amazing?!

http://www.oddmusic.com/clips/stalacpipe.mp3

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om25450.html

New meaning of the week

2009-06-07T00:12:00.007-10:00

Sachiko & Shing

Kayo

After posting our pics from Pineapple Room to Facebook, I cried into sleep with a box of Kleenex.

Most of my closest girlfriends are leaving Hawaii. Although most of them will be back before I even notice it, still I feel sad.

After a warm sound Sat afternoon nap, with a pair of swollen eyes I woke up, feeling more positive.

S-P said to me yesterday that there are still 7 holes in my dissertation, I need to fill them up…

Hmmm (nodding) I’ll fill one hole a day and by the time when Kayo is back my holes will be gone and we can celebrate again! And it’ll be Sachiko’s birthday too (yay!).

I began to feel very happy ^_^

whispering

2009-06-06T00:32:00.009-10:00

...had a good busy week this week
reluctant to go to bed now...

~night~

note: Sunday, S-P, my super adviser is leaving Hawaii for the first half of summer. He won't be back until the end of July, a few days before my defense...I am a little scared...

Super cute movie: Nekonade

2009-06-03T01:28:00.007-10:00

http://tw.movie.yahoo.com/videoplayer.html/id=2916&type=movie&play=5083&tab=r#

A super cute japanese movie, now playing in Taipei...probably won't come to the states :'(

The preview is fun to watch too (better than nothing) ^_^

unwritten

2009-06-01T03:23:00.003-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxOPkejZctg&feature=related

Mermaid Bar

2009-05-31T22:10:00.000-10:00

Last Sat, Kayo and I went to Mermaid Bar ($10-$15), a light meal place on 2nd Fl of Neimen Marcus department store. The food is delightful and the restaurant is spacious and bright! It was quite a pleasant surprise--didn't think anything can be so delightful at such an affordable price in the department store of NM (Needless Markdown) ^_^

Kayo bought a new toy, Amazon kindle, a wireless reading device. It seems very convenient and the design is nice too. The price is still high though ($360). I heard the next generation that can read pdf files will come out soon!

Into the Wild

2009-05-31T04:53:00.012-10:00

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi730988825/

http://www.intothewild.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy6iwP9Ux3A

(Nov.15.2008)

The thing that pumps my blood is this. The "wild" doesn't have to be Alaska, doesn't even have to be the 'Wild'. It's a playground, a battlefield, where we allow ourselves and/or oftentimes are allowed by others, if we're lucky, to go beyond, farther and farther. No holding back for irrelavent sometimes ridiculous reasons.

In the movie, the main character says, '...one doesn't have to BE STRONG, but to FEEL STRONG...', and '...it is important to measure oneself at least once...' I think the honesty coming from really measuring oneself is very powerful.

Note: the movie is based on a true story. The main character, Chris McCandless, was found dead in a trailer in the wild of Alaska. The cause of his death was food poisoning (he ate some poisoned berries). He left a journal behind and Sean Penn made a movie telling his story.

Note: a couple of friends from our dept went into the wild of Kuaui. There they hiked, camped, and kayaked in the primitive land. After seeing their pictures, I thought about this movie. If cutting off the dissatisfaction and sad ending of Chris McCandless, the soul-refreshing even healing nature of such a journey is equally powerful!

Hula Hoop

2009-05-28T20:02:00.011-10:00

(Last Sat a couple of friends and I had cocktail party and afterwords we were playing hula hoop. It reminds me of one of our family fun.)

Playing hula hoop is one of the things we love doing in our family.

We're all very good, but Dad (so probably thanks to Mom).

Even though Dad's skill of hula hooping is awkward, he still tries to teach us. He has a theory to do it right: first use you belly to push it, second use your side waist to hold it, and third...He'd count 1, 2, 3...1,2,3

Rainy and Little Black, our little dogs, would just stand there watching us. They seem to feel the excitement of hula hooping fun, 'cause they always bark when we are laughing.

We'd spend the quality time after dinner hula hooping in the living room. All night you'd hear our laughing, Little Black and Rainy's barking, and never-ending hula hooping, except when it's given to Dad, who's constantly counting 1,2,3...1,2,3,...bam (dropping sound of the hula hoop)...

ps, am a little stressed these past few days. closed my photo album temporarily. will open soon, after this time period. thank you

untitled

2009-05-28T03:33:00.006-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScSCILXXLnM

M told me once he was trying to teach her how to skate.

She was so bad that he didn't think it was possible. He held her as long as he could, until his arms ached.

Later she became the most graceful skater he ever taught.

I think our body learns and adjusts, sometimes faster than mind. Once it experiences all the wrong unnatural ways of doing things, it is fine tuned to gracefulness.

I fell awkwardly again. Wish I'll be able to skate gracefully on my own soon.

Scent of an Anonymous Afternoon in May

2009-05-26T23:25:00.003-10:00

(May.23.2007)

i bought a new perfume, so i have a new smell. there is a cute story behind it.

a little more than two weeks ago, klaus successfully defended his proposal. afterwards he and matt barged into my office, and broke the good news. somewhere during our conversation, matt began to go through the stuff on my desk. before i noticed it, he started to sniff a magazie, where it has perfume ads, the kind of perfume ads that wrap the scent of the perfume inside the corner portion of the page. soon the two men took turns sniffing the magazine. the one that's not sniffing was urging me to buy a bottle of the same smell....i also provided them other perfume samples. they both shook their heads and said 'no, no, no no. this is the one' pointing the magazine page.

i found it so much fun to see two not necessarily fashionable male friends of mine seriously suggesting me to definitely get this perfume. they were even willing to chip in! later that day i went to the mall and bought the perfume.

people say that smell is closely linked to our memories. as unromantic as it sounds, this smell will always remind me of the magazine-sniffing-boys and the their serious perfume judge expressions in an anonymous afternoon in may.

ps, felt so exhausted today...just wanna to go to bed, wishing everything will be switched back to zero, the starting point, tomorrow...post this old article to wrap up my randomness of the day. nighty night -_-

Bach with a Twist

2009-05-25T11:29:00.004-10:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104435997

very havana ^_*

My Blueberry Nights

2009-05-23T13:23:00.026-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCupTpjjfo&feature=related

films: 我的藍莓夜My Blueberry Nights (by Sally)

(the following is some additions by Shing)

A relatively new movie by Kar Wai Wong (2007) .
Like many things about the movie.

Like the title 'My Blueberry Night'
Thought I can write something like 'My Cherry Vanilla Night' ^_^

Like the cast, every single one of them, Jude Law, Nataile Portman, Rachel Weisz, David Stratharin, and Norah Jones. Who'd have thought she can act as she sings!

The way the story is told reminds me of Chungking Express, my favorite from the director (1994), a few individuals connected loosely by some random events.

However, something is missing in this film, as Sally wrote.

Many of Kar Wei Wong's work have distinct time frames, mostly in the 60's Hong Kong or Shanghai, filled with end-of-era exquisite, which sometimes can be rotten like a ripe fruit. 'Blueberry Nights' takes place in the modern time. Perhaps with such a background whose characteristics remains to be told by later generations, 'My Blueberry nights' did not have the pounding effect on me as others did.

The obvious difference between 'My Blueberry Night' and 'Chungking Express', two modern time films about lonely young individuals, is the landscape. 'My Blueberry nights' sets in a much broader continental US and the stories are connected through cars, buses, payphones and postcards. 'Chungking Express' takes place in crowded Hong Kong. Old subways noises and pagers are the threads linking the stories.

My favorite part is from Leslie (Natalie Portman) and Lizzy (Norah Jones) going car shopping to their waving each other good-bye at intersection where their journeys split.

At car shop, Leslie tries to bargain so that Lizzy gets a better deal. She grabs Lizzy to walk away

"don't look back, he'll lower the price..." She says to Lizzy.

"but this is the one, the car I want..." says Lizzy turning back and buys the car at original price.

Leslie leaning against her car, smiles "you're hopeless"

"so are you" says Lizzy, with the same smile in her face.

A little turn off: I find the scene where Jude Law kisses sleepy Norah Jones' lips and eating off her blueberry pie debris near her mouth a bit gross...(why not just wipe it off and kiss her?!)

a welcoming party, two group meetings, and a wedding

2009-05-22T21:11:00.006-10:00

(Sep.7.2008)

Our head coach, S-P, who's currently on sabbatical, came back for a week. So last week we had two group meetings, each lasted for more than 2 hours, naturally everyone came out of the meetings with eyes looking like @_@...

After an intense discussion with S-P on my research late Friday afternoon, there was our Dept Fall welcoming party to new students, pizza and beers in front of the SOEST library. At the same time there were welcoming parties from GG and OCN Depts...For some reason, theirs always look better than ours... >_< Finally this fast-flowing, heavily-condensed week was concluded nicely by a romantic event, Dr. Wang's son's wedding on Sat. The beautiful ceremony was held at United Church and the tasty banquet was given at Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki ^_^

I'm now enjoying the silent Sunday before another week stations in...~_~

Note: with a quiet campus between spring and summer sessions, my week went unexpectedly loud on the inside...The pace and density of this hectic week is comparable to the one early last Fall. whew...

Lonely art patron

2009-05-20T19:20:00.007-10:00

We were drawn to this painting,
like the colors and the profile of a person, presumably a lady in pink hat with her eye gracefully closed, as if she is pondering...

I even gave a slant pose to fit in the grace of the lady with pink hat

Just when Chuan-chi and I were admiring this painting being abstract-just-right, abstract but not too abstract, we shockingly discovered that the title of the painting is 'Diamond Head Tower @#$?^

Suddenly we felt lost, lonely and not-understood...

impression of one hundred years of solitude

2009-05-19T21:29:00.007-10:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5116004.stm

(Mar.11.2007)
A novel by Marquez, the Colombian novelist and the recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in literature, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a story of seven generations of a family in a deteriorating village of a weary country by its own decade-long violence, and their struggles.

My impression of the novel is the sticky atmosphere and the distorted view of an exhausted townhall through the vapors of power...

The town, Aracataca, Marguez's birth place, just celebrated the author's 80 years birthday on March 6, in the absence of the birthday man. It was in the NY times. A critical friend of mine viewed the event an irony.

I think differently.

Because of Marguez's novel (Aracataca is the model forthe fictional village Macondo in the novel), this little place of no name in the country where the rest of the world would normally stay away from made to the New York Times. Now people who read and who think begin to learn a little bit about her and her soul (e.g., the people who live there), and they may soon begin to talk about it.

I think it's humane, and Marquez's absence doesn't take away tiny bit of it.

note: had a coffee break with Tobi and Fabien this afternoon. They talked about surfing and vacationing in Canary Island, a popular vacation island near Spain for europeans. I remembered the movies shot on the island and in Spain. 'Magic Realism' is a commonly used style in latin american movies (e.g., 'Like Water Like Chocolate') and literature ('A Hundred Years of Solitude').

Come Away with Me

2009-05-18T22:07:00.007-10:00

http://www.norahjones.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBKcKQHZXks

never understand why it opens with soft metal drumming sound
but i'm having a norah jazz night, strangely,

come away with me in the night
come away with me
and i will write you a song

...

New girl in town

2009-05-17T16:31:00.008-10:00

(Jan.8.2009)

Things are getting crazier and crazier.

But today after the group meeting, I couldn't gather enough concentration to focus on work. So I took the afternoon off. On my relaxing way towards the end of the day a couple of unexpected things happen.

I cut loose another immature high maintenance friend, who though lives elsewhere has the superpower to exhaust me over the phone. Although I felt relieved completely after this decision, I was a bit sad since we've been friends for such a long time...

Luckily by the evening, I met three new friends and a dog, by accident, they made up my sentiment of leaving a friend...

The day didn't turn out too so bad...

Note: was so excited to learn that Pang-chi has a blog today...dig out this old post when she first came to town.

A girl's whisper

2009-05-13T23:06:00.011-10:00

http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m031.html

(Jul.13.2006)

In the movie Before Sunset, in which Julie Delpy and Ethan Hwake walk the entire movie in Paris while accompanied by their unsettling feelings for each other, which have partly delicately brewed into the 10-year issues of their own. Somewhere between the Le Pure Café and the Seine boat tour, Julie mentions that she keeps a journal since she was a teenager, and recently she looks into her old journal and she finds that she didn't change much...

Sunday night in Honolulu. Tori Amos's "I don't like Mondays" is whispering in my ears. My vision has been blurred by all day swapping between microscopic and macroscopic viewpoints of the newtonian fluid activities. Here I come opening my old journal in the night sky above the concrete jungle.

M31, the Andromeda galaxy, is located in the Andromeda constellation, a member of the "royal family of constellations" in autumn. it is the nearest neighboring galaxy to our milky way, ONLY 2900k light years away. Even though both our milky way and Andromeda are spirial structure galaxies (that look like an octopus, not very aesthetic to me), Andromeda, in our eyes, is an elegant oval tilting femininely in the northern sky, like one of Modigliani's portraits.

Note: Today, they're replacing Hubble's camera, our eye gazing into the rest of the universe for the past nearly 20 years. Some of the breathtaking star pictures we see were taken by it. The following is the NPR news for the event. Remember to check out the 13 amazing pictures of other galaxies:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104129863

Omohide poro poro

2009-05-11T21:30:00.006-10:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Yesterday_(film)

Today is a 'Remembrance of Things Past' day. Starting from Joe Hisaish's Asian Dream Song to Miazaki's animations, they brought back childhood memories. Nate's NBA post reminded me how much I used to love watching ball games in Buffalo, Football (Buffalo Bill), Hockey (Buffalo Sabres), baseball (Yankee), basketball (teams that play against Lakers)...At one point I almost learn how to watch 'lacrosse'. Finally in the evening I came home and saw the teenager son of my 11th floor neighbor holding a pair of drum sticks, which pushed my memory back to junior high. I played drum too (not well though)...

The link is to the end theme 'The Rose', in Japanese,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS7eRiyM_oQ

Note: It is a Japanese animation by Isao Takahata, produced by Hayao Miyazaki. A story about a 27-year-old girl, who took a trip to her childhood hometown. The trip turned out to be a journey with her childhood self. The title is something like "raindrops like memories of childhood"...

Boy in a red waistcoat

2009-05-10T23:37:00.003-10:00

http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/cezanne/cezanne12.jpg

(09.12.2006)

lately i've been thinking about a painting by cezanne: boy in a red waistcoat, my favorite from the painter.

cezanne's canvases are known for their harmony in parallel with nature. most of the time they exhibit a calm and yet heroic serenity. this one "boy in red waistcoat" has an additional introverted quality.

Moving Pictures Silent Films

2009-05-06T21:33:00.006-10:00

Been a little stressed lately

Late one night thought of a familiar but distant face and found myself singing 'where have you been and what have you done...' The face is a composite of a few friends from my past whom I liked but sorta lost track. The music is from the song 'Moving Pictures Silent Films' by 'Great Lake Swimmers':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8hM5altwu8

Read it somewhere that the band recorded this album in an abandoned grain silo somewhere in Ontario. As uncomplicated as the music might have sounded, the slow rhythm accompanied by the simple acoustic guitar and the lead singer Tony Dekker's non-aggressive voice unravels a kind of warmth, even caring, that doesn't seem interactive and yet relaxing, as in numerical models we often relax the boundary conditions to climatology after a series sophisticated time and space integrations.

To me, such a relaxation of the inner self is quite spiritually powerful. Probably for those friends, I hope they are somewhere and doing wonderful in their lives.

Then I thought of the familiar faces of my presence, whom I may soon lost track of, and whom I'd sing softly "where have you been and what have you done..." when wondering if they're doing fine.

An Ensemble of Incoherent life

2009-05-02T20:18:00.005-10:00

Oct.8.2007.Mon (Columbus Day)

For some time I've been studying coherent strucutre in a nonlinear system (e.g., eddy formation), a subject that's a little beyond my tiny brain's comprehension. It also demands long period of concentration.

I remember when Bunmei was studying for his comprehensive exam, he listened to a lot of Bach, saying that he wished, in addition to Baby Bach, Baby Einstein had something like Comprehensive Bach for graduate students...

So I began to listen to classical music again.

Monday morning, I was walking towards the office, carrying a couple of classical music CDs, along with my laptop on the left shoulder, a messenger bag on the right, and a breakfast muffin in my hand, thinking "today's gonna be a good focused day!"

Among the CDs was my all time favorite, Brahms's Sextet by Amadeus Quartet. I remember first time when I listened to the 2nd movement of B-flat sextet (op 18), the tears immediately overflew in my eyes. I seldom get so emotional when listening to classical music. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but this piece has since become my favorite.

I also listened to other editions, such as Sony group (YoYO Ma and Stern...) and Raphael Ensmble, but I like Amadeus Quartet's interpretation the best. For a long time I thought it was due more to the filial imprinting effect, since my first encounter with the piece was via Amadeus Quartet. But later I found Amadeus Quartet is just perfect to listen to Brahms's string ensemble.

http://www.schillerinstitute.org/highlite/2005/brainin_obit.html

http://www.fruittea.net/~current/cd_review/brahms/string_sextet.html

This box of Amadeus Quartet's Brahms's string Quintets and Sextets has long been the forbidden item for anyone to borrow in my library, simply because I can't bear the idea that I don't get it back and it's no longer available in stores.

So on this potentially good Columbus Day morning, in the parking structure I was walking cumbersomely carrying an ensemble of my future career--laptop, my current concentration medicine--classical music, including the 5-star rated Brahms's Sextet by Amadeus Quartet, a little innocent breakfast muffin I adopted earlier from Starbucks, and a pink-heart-patterned bag of daily miscellaneousness. At the same time my tiny brain was over occupied by the thoughts of turbulent eddy formation...

All of a sudden the classical music CDs slipped out of my hand falling onto the dirty concrete ground. The first thought that went through my mind was: '...Thank God it's not the muffin...'

@#$^&...

I think...I'm
"Still primitive, after all these civilizations...."

Note: After meeting with my super adviser yesterday evening (that's right, my friends, Friday evening starting from 6pm, I felt much relieved. So relieved that my good mood lasts until now, Sat evening. Although this post was from older time on different subject, my mood, my level of humor sense, the coherence of different aspects of my life, the degree of my civilization (when it comes to food, everything else steps back please :) are pretty much similar to it, at least for today!

Time to listen to Paul Simon's still crazy after all these years...

The Dreamers

2009-04-30T01:56:00.003-10:00

http://www.artistsnetwork.org/news12/news605.html

(Feb 26 2007)
Being young and being in Paris in the spring of 1968 is what the movie "The Dreamers" is all about.

Matthew, the young American with a sweet face and the soft lips, was lucky to be in the university and didn't have to go to the controversial Vietnam War. Instead, he came to Paris and found himself at the rumbling junction of the gothically mysterious old Europe and the youthful revolutionary passion that was born out of student dissatisfaction, partially brewed by the grand political and social dramas, and that would soon to be realized in a series of historical events collectively referred to as the days of may.

A pair of exquisitely beautiful young French twin, Theo and Isabelle, represent the passive rebels who strongly disapprove the suffocating old system but reluctant, perhaps due to intimidation of the unknown, to participate. Despite the disagreements between the trio on Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, on Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix, on Vietnam War and on chairman Mao, Matthew, the open-minded skeptical sensibility, was drawn to Theo and Isabelle's kinky fermented end-of-era sexual intimacy and emotional sadomasochism.

In the end of the movie, a stone thrown from the street crowd shattered the window, wakening the three dazed dreamers...

The movie is full of naive beauty. Like the three 20-year-olds express themselves with an unguarded sincerity that would be easily patronized or mocked by cynical no souls.

Millennium Mambo

2009-04-29T00:15:00.002-10:00

http://www.kinematrix.net/script/mmambo/mmambo_foto.htm

(Apr.12.2007)
"Millennium Mambo" is a movie by Hou hsiao-hsien, the super super director from home. People say that his movies are like Ozu's (the super super movie director from Japan), slow and poetic.

Ozu's movie has a very typical Japanese implicity. Hou's movie, from my point of view, has an additional Taiwanese melancholy from older generation, especially those live during Japanese occupation. Not necessarily a negative thing though, the Taiwanese melancholy. Even though the story of Millennium Mambo is about a young woman of new generation, the movie still has that.

The movie portrays a confused young woman and the three groups of men in her life. Two cause turbulence, one is her even more lost boyfriend, and the other involves gangster. The third one is a pair of brothers from Japan. their grandma lives in a remote mountain town in Hokkaido. When the unhappy young woman comes visit, all the noises of her life are purified by the heavy snow. An old izakaya, meandering threads of vapors from the warm food, the 80-year-old grandma's birthday wish to live for 2 more decades to see the change of the small mountain town, and the prints of their feet and smiley faces are what's left in the snow.

The white snowy scene reminds me of "love letter", another Japanese movie shot in Hokkaido. This northern countryside must be a very pure place. I bet if a gangster movie were to be shot there, it'd still be beautiful.

Girl with Pearl Earrings

2009-04-28T03:58:00.000-10:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring

(Aug.19.2008)

A painting by my favorite painter, Vermeer. the title is "Girl with Pearl Earrings". The glance of a young girl's insecurity, perhaps due to future unknowns and/or existing disappointments, is impressively captured in the canvas.

Note: Recently I came across a nice picture of such a glance, which reminds me of this painting. The girl with the glance seems to go through a transition, possibly caused by a heartbreaking incident. I wish her well.

Delicatessen

2009-04-27T06:27:00.001-10:00

(Nov.18.2006)
A surreal dark comedy. The story is about a butcher landlord, his crumbling old apartment building, and its materially, sexually, and mentally suppressed tenants. Among the residents are two attractive women: the landlord's young pearl-white daughter, who wears a pair of heavy glasses due to her nearsighted eyesight, and his mistress, a flirtatious charming single woman. The movie starts with a new tenant.

The story takes place in France during an imaginary period when the entire nation is short on food supply. Basically if you want to please a girl, you bring her meat. In the apartment building, if you're marching towards your finishing line in life, the first thing your neighbors relate is...uh...meat. But don't be scared, the movie is not bloody. Even though it's dark, it's a comedy. So they don't show horrifying scenes.

An incident happens in the beginning of the movie, one of the tenants is unfortunately dead. Everyone's lining up at the butcher's shop picking up their share of meat. Meanwhile they need a new tenant, or a future meat supply, to be more precise. Played by Dominique Pinon, (Jeunet's favorite actor before Audrey Tautou), the new guy works as a handyman/janitor in exchange for free rent. Used to be a happy clown, the new tenant still grieves over the loss of his partner, a monkey. He plays musical saw when he's not working. He's the normal one with a good heart and least twist.

This unfit personality changes the dynamics in the building (including a love affair between the butcher's daughter and this ex-clown/handyman/janitor), which eventually leads to a major bizarre event, when the butcher is determined to kill him. In the end, the building collapses, butcher's gone, two little kids running around, and the lovers of innocence are playing cello and musical saw...

My favorite scene is when this ex-clown/handyman/janitor is helping the flirtatious mistress of the landlord fix her bed. They both sit in bed trying to locate where the broken spring is. I don't know, there's something very harmonically soothing about this scene, especially in such a grotesque movie. (Hawaiian music is playing in the background during this scene.)

The Beat that My Heart Skipped

2009-04-26T01:53:00.000-10:00

http://www.facecouncil.org/

(Nov.26.2006)
Romain Duris, with a face that looks like Ewan McGregor and a blended smile of young Brad Pitt and lesser known Eddie Cahill (Rachel's sexy assistant at Ralph Lauren in Friends), is too good-looking and too sexy to play a would-be concert pianist, Thomas, in the movie "The Beat that My Heart Skipped".

Wearing a black leather jacket, Thomas hurdles through the streets of Paris, meeting with his business partners he dislikes, business associates he hates and sometimes has to beat the crap out, the women he loves, and a waning old man he calls Dad.

In the outer world, Thomas is a real estate brute, who chases people, mostly terrified immigrant families, out of their sheltered homes, and sometimes helps close the dirty deals of his disapproving father, who no longer is good at his real estate loan shark business, and yet still tries to shoo away the music the son listens to.

In his inner world, Thomas practices Bach and Chopin on his baby grand piano that connects him to his late mother, who was a talented professional concert pianist.

"The beat that My Heart Skipped" is a movie about what it takes to escape our own prisons.

City Hall

2009-04-25T18:11:00.008-10:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsQ6vy9PB08

(Jul.24.2007)
"...the breezy, country-tinged euphoria of "City Hall" came about after San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom announced in February 2004 that same-sex marriages would be recognized by the city...."
--The Rounder Records

Note: must be a very memorable day

Note: On my way home yesterday evening, saw people holding rainbow colored flag at the corner of University and Dole. Didn't have a chance to read in detail what they want, but thought it might be something relevant to same sex marriage. and I thought about this wonderful song.

Washington Square

2009-04-23T21:09:00.002-10:00

(Jun.27.2006)

Washington Square is my favorite in New York City. Unlike its neighbor Union Square, where there's always an angry crowd protesting against things, the crowd in Washington Square is very laid-back. Many music groups, a small dog park, sometimes a magician. In the summer young people would sit on the stairs surrounding the fountain and read and hang and checking people out.

I always go there on weekend afternoons whenever I'm in the city. In my early Hawaiian years, I used to fly to the city once every few months. Particularly I like watching a group of amateur musicians play and sing. They just seem so into their music. I must've shown up so frequently that one time one of them asked me if I was a student at NYU and that if I lived in the neighborhood.

Note: The lively atmosphere at Coffee Bean this afternoon reminds me of those fun weekend afternoons at Washington Square.

Whale by the Moonlight

2009-04-22T18:26:00.000-10:00

(April.01.2007)

As I was wrapping up another indecisive Saturday night, I noticed it was almost full moon outside. The quiet spring moonlight reminded me of an image of the pale blue fluke of a whale by the moon from the book “The Moon by Whale Light”, written by Diane Ackerman.

It was a poetic book about animals. Besides the magnificent humpback whales, Diane Ackerman also writes about crocodile’s smile--the curve of their jaws make them looking like they are smiling, and much misunderstood nature of sweet-tempered bats, who indeed are really shy and not harmful in most cases. They’re just very sensitive so they live in the cave and only come out at night.

Note: lately I work quite late and am constantly amazed by the fullness of the night.

Meet Little Black's Twin

2009-04-21T18:09:00.000-10:00

Yesterday at Coffee Bean, saw a black maltese that looks exactly like my Little Black (a mix of maltese and black puddle)...

Little Black's twin, Roxy, is as shy as Little Black.

I couldn't help but walk towards this Little Black's twin immediately after I saw her, with my camera (of course).

"Aw... can I take a picture of you?"

The Little Black's Twin looked up at her owner, as if she was asking her permission.

"Okay", said the owner.

Only then the twin looked at me and my camera...

Her confusing expression was just like my Little Black.

Her name is Roxy and she's 9...

ps, her owner and her friend are busy. so i dare not to ask them to take pictures of me and Roxy :(

When the cat's away

2009-04-21T00:16:00.000-10:00

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115856/

When the Cat's Away (1996) by Cedric Klapisch

A girl lost her cat and began her cat-searching journey in the neighborhood, Bastille area in Paris. The cat-searching journey soon turned into a soul-searching journey for her. Like the dynamics between she and her neighbors in a city of a changing face.

Note: Cedric Klapisch's other movies include: Potluck, Russian Dolls, Paris

Mercy Mercy Mercy

2009-04-19T20:11:00.000-10:00

Painting "Trattoir Parisien" by Oana Lauric

One of my favorite jazz pieces to listen to on a flickering weekend afternoon, like today, is Joe Zawinul's Mercy Mercy Mercy, played by Cannonball Adderley Quintet,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRrFWp4DUho

Love Cannonball Adderley's gentle narration in the beginning:

"you know sometimes we're not prepared for adversity. when it happens sometimes we caught short. we don't know exactly how to h~andle it..." a soft prelude to the tender and yet masculine tempo that follows...

Friday Afternoon

2009-04-18T20:11:00.000-10:00

Something very Kailua about Friday afteroon at Coffee Bean yesterday.

Lunchtime a grumpy lady was having lunch with her friend while guarding an unused electrical outlet that she would use after lunch. she was then irritated by the smoke of cigarette from an elder lady outside.

Justin, the store manager, had to call the police, upon request. Meanwhile Tina, one of the warm and sweet Coffee Bean Crew, came explained the situation to us, me and the pretty girl, who was earlier taken as an invader to the unused electrical outlet by the grumpy lady...

After a few orders of cappuccino, the cigarette smoke dissipatesd the police came, and there went the anger and the grumpy lady and her friend.

Soon Coffee Bean fluctuated back to her normal afternoon Jazzy laidback state. Before I left for TGIF, I heard Korey was explaining to lady customers their new product, slightly sweetened fruity flavored water "it's good for your skin" he said...

Note: that's Tangerine taking a nap in the last pic.

Anderson Fairy Tales in summer Kailua

2009-04-17T15:47:00.001-10:00

(Sep.1.2008)

Last day of summer.

Kayo and I went to the lovely Kailua, a laidback town on the windward side, where Waikiki influence hasn't found its way around. We had brunch at Brent's, a very Mom's kitchen interior and cooking.

A quick stop at a used bookstore, 'Bookend', and Macy's Dept store. Kayo was looking for Anderson's Fairy Tales and Stories. I was enchanted by the bookstore: the books are stacked high up almost reaching the roof, and the mono lowkey jazz sound filling up the rest of the space in the store...For a moment I thought I could just sit there and read and melt into this lazy cozy atmosphere.

The visit to the quiet Macy was a surprise. I imagine there's a big crowd in the same dept store in Ala Moana shopping center. In Kailua, only a few human beings strolling on each floor. Some may not even be there for the purpose of shopping. (Kayo and I went for the lady's room...)

Everyone is at the beach, BBQing, swimming, kayaking (and other water sporting), taking naps, or gazing into the jaded ocean green light and bright blue sky...We also met a middle-aged westie, Arthur, and his beautiful middle-school teacher owner, Christy.

Stopped at a mini gas station, Miata needed gas, Kayo and I needed water. A cyclist passed us by said "Massa", that triggered a giggling smile of a nearby lady in the truck. We waved goodbye to her and summer Kailua.

Riding giants

2009-04-16T17:08:00.000-10:00

http://www.documentaryfilms.net/Reviews/RidingGiants/

(Jan.05.2006)

It's a documentary about big wave surfers worldwide. Surfing is a real sport. You don't brag about it and you don't do it just to show off. You're out there challenging yourself with big waves...The entire documentary is exhilarating.

One of my favorite parts is when a big wave surfer describes the struggle in his head whenever he sees a charming big wave that might be out of his league (too big for him to ride on). He said he'd be tempted but at the same time knows that the wave might be beyond his skills...But the itch becomes so irresistible that it's all coming down to this final reasoning: 'sh*t it's a good day to die...' and then he'd go for it...

Note: Last weekend at Coffee Bean I met Prof. DeCarlo (Eric) from Oceanography. He came in to get a take-out coffee because he was going surfing later. This is one of the charms of many professors at UH. Not only they are intelligent, but also sporty. Later I thought about this movie.

footstep of time

2009-04-15T13:36:00.000-10:00

http://www.mystudios.com/art/modern/modigliani/modigliani-woman-black-tie-1917.html

i cry often these days

my schedule is so tight that my breath hurts every time when the minute tiptoeing by

Dogtown and Z boys

2009-04-14T01:16:00.000-10:00

http://www.sonyclassics.com/dogtown/

(jan.4.2006)

Love Sean Penn's lackluster voice that brings out the legacy of dogtown (can't remember exactly how the narration goes, but it's something like this):

'...route 66 stops at the pacific ocean side, where the american dream ends...'

It's an abandoned seaside park, formerly known as the Coney Island of the west, including Venice, Ocean Park, and Santa Monica. It was a tough town. When the waves were good, locals surfed between broken pilings and abandoned rollercoaster rails. When they weren't good, kids found their way to surf on the cement ground...

I like the part when describing the z boys made their first public appearance at a skateboarding competition, they said "it's like a hockey team going to a figure skating contest..." Back then skateboarding was more like gymnasium on a skateboard...less aggressive.

Also skateboarding in swimming pools was the highpoint. During 1976-1977 the area experienced the worst drought in recorded history (the famous modern climate shift happened during the period). The swimming pools had no water or little water in them. The z boys would break into some rich people's house, drain the swimming pool, and begin to skateboard in it, until the police car comes. and then they'd run away.

key chain

2009-04-12T22:13:00.000-10:00

my concentrated life hanging on a delicate key chain

Meet a dog

2009-04-11T18:23:00.000-10:00

I was so lucky today...

Remember I was so sentimental yesterday when thinking about Rainy and Little Black...Mom told me that they're getting old. Rainy's hearing is not as good...(can't think too much, or I'd cry again...)

(Then the good news of the birth of little Ryan saved the day).

This afternoon, just when I was exhausted from sorting out my unclear thoughts on my research results at Coffee Bean, I saw a husky-look-like dog...His face is so adorable. His owner told me he is an Australian Cattle dog (oh I hope I got the breed right...my knowledge about dogs is so limited...)

His name is Gunner, and he's 14 already. Very quiet and tame :)

A Good Friday

2009-04-10T20:18:00.000-10:00

I began to work in the coffee house again. Like its open air, warm strangers, and silent time passing me by amongst the arguments between flatware and plates interrupted by the steam that espresso machine angrily throws out to make cappuccino. All are knitted into a morning jazz gig.

Note: A melancholy dog got me. Miss my Rainy and little black so much today. My eyes were flooded a few times while working at Coffee Bean...In the evening, Mom called and told me the good news, little Ryan, Sis's 2nd baby, was born around noon today. Congratulations dearest sis. Welcome to our family, little Ryan!

was full of emotions today!

Twirling Chagall

2009-04-09T23:22:00.000-10:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mari%C3%A9e

A surrealist painter from Belarus, Chagall's paintings are warm and romantic. While Dali's famous nightmare-like painting of distorted clock and roaring tiger in the sky speaks loudest for the surrealism, I'm just relieved that not all the modern art forms have to deal with the dark side of human unconscious mind.

If you ask, I'd say, Chagall's paintings is twirling, doo doo loooo doo doo looooo doo doo loooooo....

Note: Regina's paintings in her recent exhibition at Pali art gallery (Feb.02.2006). reminds me of Chagall's paintings, probably because of the colors, dreamlike objects, and soft curves.

Circle in the sand

2009-04-08T21:09:00.000-10:00

(Oct.6.2006)

Moon festival today

It's been a while since I saw such a translucent full moon

A couple of years ago, we were celebrating Fei's winning of some beauty pageant. At Kiss, the 5'7 tall beauty passionately danced with her Australian Paul. Fearing being stepped into a 2-dimensional picture by the giants in the pool, Lily sat quietly by the bar, listening to the deafening music her dj boyfriend K picked. She felt reassuringly calm with a background like that, she said. In the crowd I was dancing alone to/for S, who sat at our table holding a glass of white pina colada I asked for and watched me with his sweet dumb smile that I don't get but love so much in his face...

After Kiss, the six of us came to White Sand Bay on island's northeast corner. At night the beach seemed shy. Walking along the edge between land and sea, we saw the bone china moonlight drew an artistic circle in the sand, who was just intimately licked by the ocean waves...

Note: was written two moon festivals ago. although not even close to this year's moon festival, it fits today's mood alright--
a densely clouded full moon night

Peaberry

2009-04-07T21:12:00.000-10:00

Peaberry is a defect coffee bean. The fruit from coffee tree is called coffee cherry. One coffee cherry usually bears two coffee beans. Occassionally some cherries yield only one bean inside, due to various unfavorable environmental conditions. This is the so-called peaberry coffee bean.

Peaberry coffee bean, due to it's abnormality, is very rare. In Kona (where the famous Hawaiian kona coffee is grown), only a few percent of the beans come out as peaberry. The coffee made out of peaberry beans is very smooth and it doesn't have the acid taste. Besides, who can resist its round oval shape that is oh so cute?! (normal coffee beans are flatter.)

Peaberry, a little defect makes perfect...kinda nice, isn't it?

Little Street

2009-04-06T21:38:00.000-10:00

http://www.vermeerscamera.co.uk/galleryimages/vermeer-little-street.jpg

I always come back to Vermeer after a turbulent time period.

Little Street has been my favorite ever since I first saw it in the painter's art book and later in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam a couple of years ago.

A quiet street corner in a little dutch town called Delft, who's famous for her blue pottery,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delftware

It was a slow early spring Tuesday afternoon when we were there, with streets filled with samll bunches of tulips here and there and a field of daisies everywhere. The facade of the building in the painting has been well preserved, thanks to Vermeer. It makes it easy for one to slide in a little kid playing on the ground, a maid by the narrow door sewing and the other in the alley sweeping, to see the painting with his/her own eyes and mind.

The town was never quiet in the 16th century. It was busy with her flourishing blue pottery industry, just like the painter's daily life might've been disturbed often by financial and family troubles, according to the movie based on a fictional novel, girl with pearl earings (by Tracy Chevalier http://www.tchevalier.com/faq/gwape.html#g1).

While 16th century dutch painters are known for their sincerity to mirror nature and daily life, like photographers capturing moments of real life, I'm always stunned by the tranquility portrayed in Vermeer's canvas.

The Songlines

2009-04-06T00:34:00.000-10:00

(A Book by Bruce Chatwin 1986)

The native Australians believe that the world started in the dreamtime, and they sing their land into existence. The songs of Aborigines are mixtures of myths, atlas, and stories of tribes and individuals. More elements (e.g. myths, atlas, and stories) are added to the songs each time when crossing of paths happens. Gradually they sing their land into the world they perceive.

Note: recent facebook & blogging activities remind me of this wonderful book by Bruce Chatwin. Aren't they similar? We are singing our songlines.

Late August, Early September

2009-04-04T21:37:00.001-10:00

(http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/1999/07/07/assayas/index.html)

"late august early september" is one of my favorite movies. seldom see a film converges so well into it's music, the meditative midtempo blues by guitar. mali guitar player ali farka toure's "hawa dolo" is the main theme.

the story is about 6 or 7 parisians, their tangled friendships and uncertain selves. the movie is kind in that judement is being informed by understanding. facts, cruel or not, compromising or not, and emotions, bitter, sweet, sad, passionate and/or violent, are all muffled by the pensive twirls led by slow foot-stomping rhythms.

like the review at salon.com--

it describes the charcters in the movie "reached the age where their youthful idealism is no longer enough to keep them from acknowledging the privations and limitations their choices have entailed..."

it also points out that "assayas is trying to reinvent himself as a humanist filmmaker while staying true to the spirit of his generation and class of parisians..."

as my struggle for the dissertation continues, i found myself began revolving around the question: what's the spirit of my generation....

and she sings hawa dololo...