if remembering someone's birthday and wishing him happy birthday is an act of love, i'm wrapped in lots of it this year...
somehow i've drifted apart from friends...
no... rather, i have a more distant attitude towards friendship since NS started.
maybe it's the decreased contact with my friends, or the nature of relationships with your platoon mates and colleagues (i realise poly grads are more dao - meaning more cold and distant - than jc kids), that changed the attitude i have about birthdays.
i mean, it's a bit gay to wish a guy friend happy birthday right? the idea of a guy expressing concern is a bit of a put off, no? unless you're really close to your colleague/friend/acquaintance, you won't be greeting him on his birthday.
i guess that mindset is taking root firmly in my brain now...
maybe i'm becoming reluctant to be my true self now...
...so much so that it becomes who i am?
so anyway, it's so heartening that your friends still remain so sweet at this time and age.
at the same time i'm ashamed of not wishing them happy birthday because of silly reasons like what i've just described. hehheh forgive me please...
thanks to my girl friends for organising a gathering for me :):) and to my other friends for wishing me a happy 20th birthday, too!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
goodies!
i got the time to convert my illegally recorded .wav files from my mp3 player into downloadable mp3 for all to hear!
presenting, the raffles chorale!
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338075/21ab6763/Just_The_Way_You_Look_Tonight.html
the way you look tonight.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338047/e488558c/If_I_Can_Help_Somebody.html
if i can help somebody. it's a negro spiritual.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338065/38b05622/It_Was_A_Lover_And_His_Lass.html
it was a lover and his lass. shakespeare poem.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338105/6f289b93/Shall_I_Compare_Thee_To_A_Summers_Day.html
shall i compare thee to a summer's day. also from the bard.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338116/ef3afb68/O_Magnum_Mysterium.html
o magnum mysterium. composed by victoria. sacred music.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338119/7f85e6f9/Pokpok_Alimpako.html
pokpok alimpako. a filipino showpiece about kids playing.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338073/c8c8c256/Kucinta.html
kucinta. a local composition by zechariah goh toh chai. a some-sort-of avant garde piece.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338122/c37a6cb2/Raffles_Junior_College_Anthem.html
ah yes... what's a raffles chorale concert without a rendition of the college anthem.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338152/8c3bfa75/Soleram.html
this wasn't sung this year, but while i was there :) good quality recording, taken live at the olomouc competition in 06.
and while i'm at it i might as well upload justin's songs, as i had promised.
justin 侧田
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338167/d77c5d39/04_Track_4.html
loving you.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338175/20690d54/01_Track_1.html
好人 (hao ren).
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338188/d9406d26/06_Track_6.html
命硬 (ming ying).
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338203/840d80ff/05_Track_5.html
erica.
enjoy the music!
presenting, the raffles chorale!
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338075/21ab6763/Just_The_Way_You_Look_Tonight.html
the way you look tonight.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338047/e488558c/If_I_Can_Help_Somebody.html
if i can help somebody. it's a negro spiritual.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338065/38b05622/It_Was_A_Lover_And_His_Lass.html
it was a lover and his lass. shakespeare poem.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338105/6f289b93/Shall_I_Compare_Thee_To_A_Summers_Day.html
shall i compare thee to a summer's day. also from the bard.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338116/ef3afb68/O_Magnum_Mysterium.html
o magnum mysterium. composed by victoria. sacred music.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338119/7f85e6f9/Pokpok_Alimpako.html
pokpok alimpako. a filipino showpiece about kids playing.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338073/c8c8c256/Kucinta.html
kucinta. a local composition by zechariah goh toh chai. a some-sort-of avant garde piece.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338122/c37a6cb2/Raffles_Junior_College_Anthem.html
ah yes... what's a raffles chorale concert without a rendition of the college anthem.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338152/8c3bfa75/Soleram.html
this wasn't sung this year, but while i was there :) good quality recording, taken live at the olomouc competition in 06.
and while i'm at it i might as well upload justin's songs, as i had promised.
justin 侧田
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338167/d77c5d39/04_Track_4.html
loving you.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338175/20690d54/01_Track_1.html
好人 (hao ren).
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338188/d9406d26/06_Track_6.html
命硬 (ming ying).
http://www.2shared.com/file/3338203/840d80ff/05_Track_5.html
erica.
enjoy the music!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
music reviewss
contents: justin (from HK), raffles chorale concert 2008
1. justin (侧田)
ok, it's really late to review his earlier albums - namely his self-titled debut justin and no protection. but it's rather good music so i'll still do it anyways haha.
his slow songs are really good. the power and grace of his voice, flowing smoothly between registers, are showcased in pieces like 好人 (hao ren) and 我不是好人 (wo bu shi hao ren). his cover of loving you (yes, the one sung by minnie riperton) is done laid-back style and it oozes like warm chocolate. i liked erica and 命硬 as well.
his 橙色暑假 (with miriam yeung 杨千桦) is an upbeat ending to a ballad-y second album.
overall, around 3.8/5 really nice vocals, though i'd like more exploration in an otherwise oversaturated music scene. more variety in the second album (a lot of ballads) would be great, too...
2. rjc choir concert 2008
actually their official name is raffles chorale, but i digress.
although mr toh felt that the 2nd half was better (quote-unquote: the roof was too high in the 1st half!), i thought the interpretation of the latin and other sacred pieces was way more marvellous than the 2nd half. exaggerated dynamics are nowhere to be found (unlike previous concerts), subtlety is apparent throughout the 1st half, which i appreciated very much. it could be the acoustics of the esplanade which softens dynamism more than vch, the preferred performing location of the chorale.
they could sound louder and closer to the audience, though. when the sound became fuller in the 2nd half, you wonder why the 1st half sounded distant, haha. maybe it's the esplanade acoustics that changed in the 2nd half.
their tone sounds more similar to other top jc choirs than in other years. less robust (as in like a western-sounding choir). however, it's still a wonderful sound to behold. i like the newfound purity of sound in the female parts.
i liked the way the following songs were sung:
1st half
parce domine (by nowowiejski)
ave maris stella (kverno)
ave maria (bruckner)
song of triumph (grotenhuis)
pokpok alimpako (feliciano) - although all my friends would like to add that it was out of tune
2nd half
it was a lover and his lass (rutter)
wade in the water (koepke)
i want two wings (parker)
if i can help somebody (liebau)
as you can see, it's hard repertoire, especially the 1st half. fantastic repertoire, it played to the choir's strengths very well.
i am trying to upload my (illegal) recording of the concert here, but the files are too large and i'm yawning away while typing.
till then next time...
1. justin (侧田)
ok, it's really late to review his earlier albums - namely his self-titled debut justin and no protection. but it's rather good music so i'll still do it anyways haha.
his slow songs are really good. the power and grace of his voice, flowing smoothly between registers, are showcased in pieces like 好人 (hao ren) and 我不是好人 (wo bu shi hao ren). his cover of loving you (yes, the one sung by minnie riperton) is done laid-back style and it oozes like warm chocolate. i liked erica and 命硬 as well.
his 橙色暑假 (with miriam yeung 杨千桦) is an upbeat ending to a ballad-y second album.
overall, around 3.8/5 really nice vocals, though i'd like more exploration in an otherwise oversaturated music scene. more variety in the second album (a lot of ballads) would be great, too...
2. rjc choir concert 2008
actually their official name is raffles chorale, but i digress.
although mr toh felt that the 2nd half was better (quote-unquote: the roof was too high in the 1st half!), i thought the interpretation of the latin and other sacred pieces was way more marvellous than the 2nd half. exaggerated dynamics are nowhere to be found (unlike previous concerts), subtlety is apparent throughout the 1st half, which i appreciated very much. it could be the acoustics of the esplanade which softens dynamism more than vch, the preferred performing location of the chorale.
they could sound louder and closer to the audience, though. when the sound became fuller in the 2nd half, you wonder why the 1st half sounded distant, haha. maybe it's the esplanade acoustics that changed in the 2nd half.
their tone sounds more similar to other top jc choirs than in other years. less robust (as in like a western-sounding choir). however, it's still a wonderful sound to behold. i like the newfound purity of sound in the female parts.
i liked the way the following songs were sung:
1st half
parce domine (by nowowiejski)
ave maris stella (kverno)
ave maria (bruckner)
song of triumph (grotenhuis)
pokpok alimpako (feliciano) - although all my friends would like to add that it was out of tune
2nd half
it was a lover and his lass (rutter)
wade in the water (koepke)
i want two wings (parker)
if i can help somebody (liebau)
as you can see, it's hard repertoire, especially the 1st half. fantastic repertoire, it played to the choir's strengths very well.
i am trying to upload my (illegal) recording of the concert here, but the files are too large and i'm yawning away while typing.
till then next time...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
my dislikes
part one:
i really dislike strangers adding me to their msn contact lists.
it's really different, you know, messenger as opposed to friendster/facebook/whatever online portals you have. like, messenger is meant to be a private contact list, like how you have the phone numbers of only your friends, not strangers. the point of friendster, facebook and the like is to expand your network from the familiar to the unknown, due to its interactiveness and public nature.
anyway, i already have about 5 random characters (all girls) on my list, of which i deleted 3 and 2 are left.
and of which, there's this one pesky 15 year old (i don't know how the hell she found my facebook profile) who keeps messaging me stupid boring stuff like "how r u?" and "wat u doing now". is she trying to construct an image of a guy, complete with a face (remember, she can view my profile on facebook) and some character attributes, and think of this virtual yet real person as a friend? brings into question, what sort of social life does she have? it must be a rather non-existent one, since she has to resort to making friends online. despo.
and it seems that she likes to choose her friends. i saw her (really sad) facebook profile and all her friends (are somehow directly related to me!) are male, and have photos of their face as their profile picture. needless to say, we're all at least decent looking, if not good looking (i belong to the latter category) and are 4-6 years older than her. she probably does not have icq because her mommy (who set up HER facebook account, as i learnt from her) probably told her chatting with random strangers is dangerous.
how shallow can teenage girls get???
i mean, i don't mind if the stranger in question is interesting. of course most guys wouldn't mind chatting with a girl who flirts a little. the girl who's messaging me now is just a plain jane (not to mention, not pretty).
that's rather shallow of me, too. haha..
chat wif u next time. nite. have a sweet dream.
reeks of cute. i don't care if it comes from the heart or not. the fact is, she's just a stranger to me.
***
part two:
the reason why i'm tired of social ties is that they're hard to maintain. i mean, it's totally understandable that after some time of not talking or meeting up, friends will drift apart. it's perfectly normal and i'm alright with that. what i don't like is how relationships transform as people get too familiar with each other.
strangers start off as cordial towards each other, then as they become accquaintances, they become courteous towards one another and eventually, they become friends.
friends start off as being totally helpful and selfless. you ask them if they can share food with you, they say yes. if you need a helping hand in your work, your newfound friend can cover your duty with no obligations.
your friend gets rather interesting to you now. you learn more about his quirks, what makes him tick and what gets him upset. you start chilling out with him more often.
now, this is the part when things can go wrong. the friends either be happy ever after, or be happy and angry with each other ever after.
you realise his shortcomings, and they are irritating you. his weaknesses come in your way, and the situation is probably the same for him, too. it's the start of the end of the friendship!!! but it's real, he's truly making things harder for you! it's especially so when your friends are also your work partners.
unless the friends can find a way to salvage the situation, trivial things will drive a wedge into the friendship that's too big to remove.
***
conclusion:
what you know about the person is mainly what he does. that is, the actions he shows towards other people. this understanding of a person is more often than not, tinted like light viewed through coloured glass. how much can you know about a person? in that light, are we still in the best position to judge him? and therefore, should we be forgiving and nice towards all people, since there's a chance that the person living inside that body is a truly good soul?
i realise i'm being more picky with other people, be it strangers or non-strangers. it's not a good thing to observe acutely others' actions and deduce (be it correctly or not) the person's character from the observations.
i need to be less critical in order to be a happier, more positive person.
i really dislike strangers adding me to their msn contact lists.
it's really different, you know, messenger as opposed to friendster/facebook/whatever online portals you have. like, messenger is meant to be a private contact list, like how you have the phone numbers of only your friends, not strangers. the point of friendster, facebook and the like is to expand your network from the familiar to the unknown, due to its interactiveness and public nature.
anyway, i already have about 5 random characters (all girls) on my list, of which i deleted 3 and 2 are left.
and of which, there's this one pesky 15 year old (i don't know how the hell she found my facebook profile) who keeps messaging me stupid boring stuff like "how r u?" and "wat u doing now". is she trying to construct an image of a guy, complete with a face (remember, she can view my profile on facebook) and some character attributes, and think of this virtual yet real person as a friend? brings into question, what sort of social life does she have? it must be a rather non-existent one, since she has to resort to making friends online. despo.
and it seems that she likes to choose her friends. i saw her (really sad) facebook profile and all her friends (are somehow directly related to me!) are male, and have photos of their face as their profile picture. needless to say, we're all at least decent looking, if not good looking (i belong to the latter category) and are 4-6 years older than her. she probably does not have icq because her mommy (who set up HER facebook account, as i learnt from her) probably told her chatting with random strangers is dangerous.
how shallow can teenage girls get???
i mean, i don't mind if the stranger in question is interesting. of course most guys wouldn't mind chatting with a girl who flirts a little. the girl who's messaging me now is just a plain jane (not to mention, not pretty).
that's rather shallow of me, too. haha..
chat wif u next time. nite. have a sweet dream.
reeks of cute. i don't care if it comes from the heart or not. the fact is, she's just a stranger to me.
***
part two:
the reason why i'm tired of social ties is that they're hard to maintain. i mean, it's totally understandable that after some time of not talking or meeting up, friends will drift apart. it's perfectly normal and i'm alright with that. what i don't like is how relationships transform as people get too familiar with each other.
strangers start off as cordial towards each other, then as they become accquaintances, they become courteous towards one another and eventually, they become friends.
friends start off as being totally helpful and selfless. you ask them if they can share food with you, they say yes. if you need a helping hand in your work, your newfound friend can cover your duty with no obligations.
your friend gets rather interesting to you now. you learn more about his quirks, what makes him tick and what gets him upset. you start chilling out with him more often.
now, this is the part when things can go wrong. the friends either be happy ever after, or be happy and angry with each other ever after.
you realise his shortcomings, and they are irritating you. his weaknesses come in your way, and the situation is probably the same for him, too. it's the start of the end of the friendship!!! but it's real, he's truly making things harder for you! it's especially so when your friends are also your work partners.
unless the friends can find a way to salvage the situation, trivial things will drive a wedge into the friendship that's too big to remove.
***
conclusion:
what you know about the person is mainly what he does. that is, the actions he shows towards other people. this understanding of a person is more often than not, tinted like light viewed through coloured glass. how much can you know about a person? in that light, are we still in the best position to judge him? and therefore, should we be forgiving and nice towards all people, since there's a chance that the person living inside that body is a truly good soul?
i realise i'm being more picky with other people, be it strangers or non-strangers. it's not a good thing to observe acutely others' actions and deduce (be it correctly or not) the person's character from the observations.
i need to be less critical in order to be a happier, more positive person.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
argh.
i'm struggling to maintain a healthy level of enthusiasm when in training nowadays... it's not easy, although i really do like (or should it be, liked?) doing what i'm doing. maybe i'm too lazy to find motivation. or maybe.
the last couple of days went by really fast, somehow it (referring to the event) gets easier with every batch i take...
***
that aside, i'm here at a computer trying to prove something (and someone)...
... and with a few deft strokes on the keyboard, i found what i needed via google!
HA!
>:)
looks like i need external motivations to challenge me.
the last couple of days went by really fast, somehow it (referring to the event) gets easier with every batch i take...
***
that aside, i'm here at a computer trying to prove something (and someone)...
... and with a few deft strokes on the keyboard, i found what i needed via google!
HA!
>:)
looks like i need external motivations to challenge me.
Friday, May 02, 2008
more music reviews
i sat in for RJ chorale's practice yesterday together with beow, jeff, charissa, jingzhong, zhaofeng, weisong and adrian (the latter 5 we met coincidentally).
the quality of the sound is extremely promising. they are most sound when they sing chordal stuff, and everything is rather pleasing: the tone, blend, expressions. much better than last year's, and the year before. although i hope that they pay more attention to interpretation and not having individual voices stick out occasionally.
(punch and fringe are to not show up during this year's concert, only to appear in a separate concert in july...)
btw mr toh revealed to we 3 j4s today that mr hodge is a fan of punch hahaha! and he (mr hodge) has been 'complaining' to mr toh that the quality of punch's jokes has been deteriorating... not intellectual enough. whoops haha. our bad. :X
anyways, i think we can expect a good concert this year. people please come watch!
tickets can be bought at sistic outlets (remember the extra $1 sistic charge).
***
next up, joanna wang…
the quality of the sound is extremely promising. they are most sound when they sing chordal stuff, and everything is rather pleasing: the tone, blend, expressions. much better than last year's, and the year before. although i hope that they pay more attention to interpretation and not having individual voices stick out occasionally.
(punch and fringe are to not show up during this year's concert, only to appear in a separate concert in july...)
btw mr toh revealed to we 3 j4s today that mr hodge is a fan of punch hahaha! and he (mr hodge) has been 'complaining' to mr toh that the quality of punch's jokes has been deteriorating... not intellectual enough. whoops haha. our bad. :X
anyways, i think we can expect a good concert this year. people please come watch!
(you can't find me in this picture...)
concert details:
tuesday 6th may
7.30pm
esplanade concert hall
$15 (discount for students, nsfs and senior citizens)
tickets can be bought at sistic outlets (remember the extra $1 sistic charge).
***
next up, joanna wang…
i recently bought her album (it's out since the start of this year), after a quick listen of her hit "let's start from here" on my friend's mp3 player.
how good is the album? i'd say 4/5. the most striking quality is the beautiful jazzy timbre of the 19-year-old's voice you can get wistfully drunk to as she sings in immaculate english. the songs, although sound similar to each other (probably the all-too-familiar instrumentation), grow on you with each repeat hearing.
considering that i decided to purchase the album after a brief listening of one of her tracks, i ought to add that there's something about her voice that entices me.
listen to: let's start from here, lost in paradise, bada bada, lost taipei, true (cover version).
***
lastly, some (belated) comments about cantopop albums…
hang on while i catch a few winks first... just came home... x_x
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