there's a Tai-yu song called a piece of falling meteor. there are many versions of it, being a well known folk song, of course. But i only have two versions, one sung by the very soulful Chyi Chin (in the album, Innocent) and the other by my most favourite voice, the folksy, crazy Bobby Chen. Close, close friends all know i love, love Bobby Chen's music - so free and at times utterly uncaring about trends and commerciallity.

However, i much prefer the soulful, near ethereal rendition of Taiwan's 'Father of Rock''s (it doesn't mean he is old, ok). It reminds you of a meteor - burning up, disintegrating as it hits the earth's atmosphere, so sad.

Big sister, Sky loves Chyi Chin - who wouldn't. Still, his albums are so sporadically made, you wonder if you'll ever get to hear his voice ever again. After living practically like a hermit half his career, he has finally disappeared into semi-retirement. Plus, i must say, cannot buy any of his backlist. Except those China versions which i feel quite reluctant to buy. Sad, even. i keep thinking that they are bootlegs.

(now, this is why i want to go to Taiwan. Wanna buy them original cds. Especially Chyi Chin's, second hand also no problem.)

And the most coveted Chyi Chin CD which i do not even possess any version of - the Purple Rain one. (Best of albums are all ok and whatnot, but really, what makes people think the popular songs are really the favourites?)

As for the wandering Wolf, fans can only play back those old albums when they miss his voice.

Cakey was demolished in a jiffy. Jay & gang must have been hungry.

At the end, big sister said cakey was ok, and to make more.
Hah!That is such a clever way to get me to start making more cakes in the future but i suppose it should be alright to bake more often. Watch this space la.

got my Explore M cd (the repackaged one) and gosh, i thought - what happened? Gee, the saucy look just does not suit M, not at all.
His previous solo efforts have always been a little on the edgy, sexy, sort of hip-hop look. Which looks great though honestly, i could not care less. i'm purely interested with his music. (so why comment on it? 'cos it's just difficult to ignore)

but really - plumed hats and too much haute couture really doesn't suit the more macho men of Korea. You may think that i'm exaggerating or worse, discriminating. i'm not, honestly. if you're sort of thin, lean or even near to skinny, the androgynous look is fine. (even then i can remember one of Lee Ki Chan's albums where he wore a curly wig) Ugh! Please la, control those overactive creative juices. Not everybody can pull off a Takuya Kimura or a Hyde, not even a Tetsu.

my point is just keep on playing good music, the frills you need not have if you're that good. i would support good music over good looks anyday. so don't bother to dress up.

(Afterthought: on the way home, i was listening to M. i guess if music is all that counts - i'll be able to look past the no-frills and embrace the too-frilly. And so be it, M.)

i spend the entire day cleaning house, which really includes sweeping the floor (having positively refused to do it last weekend) and slowly (operative word here) dusting and polishing the furniture. At times like this, i'm glad we have very little of them.

well, anyway, i'm not a clean freak but i do enjoy the feeling i've achieved something whenever i'm done cleaning up. also, it puts my mind at ease so i don't have to bother about it for a while. as i was dusting and dusting, vacuuming etc, it suddenly occurred to me that it is such an odd subject that Mr Philip Pullman chose to write about. (i've been listening to the Golden Compass audio book with full cast on the car stereo, now at disc 7)

Common, no doubt but dust? i mean, sure his concept about elementary particles and what not is interesting and the consequences thought provoking. In fact, i think by calling it Dust, he made it easier for a whole lot of readers to understand (especially since his audience are often kids). but really, who would want to gather Dust? and the fact that teens get more dusty? that's cos those strawberries don't like soap and water. i, honestly, see nary a point to salivate for dust, but who am i to say? These Dust is powerful and golden! Freaksters will yearn for dust.

oh yes, Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter can have my dust, anytime. See how different that feels.

on another note, whenever i had insomnia, i'd imagine myself cleaning up this room in my head. it's great to help me relax. Just sweep all your thoughts into those drawers up the inside left ear and open door at the right ear, to let out those troubles. sweep, sweep, sweep and i've got a clear mind, clean brain and a blank conscience.

i’m a great skeptic about books being made into movies. i suppose its because there is always some rumor or other about a book being adapted for a movie, some may finally reach the silver screen albeit quite poorly (the Dark Is Rising movie has earned fans' scorn, i've heard), while others are become blatant marketing ploys to get the bookstores to stock more. (Spiderwick is doomed for the big screen, it seems. Check out the ridiculous new covers on ALL the books!)

One of my pet peeves is a book with no ending, or rather the worst kind - a book where the excitement begins, right at the end!

Why, oh why do people think that it's easy to buy the stuff they want? There are even some who will go to a book store and expect the staff there to produce the book exactly as they want it.

It's like saying i'm doing a research piece on blah-blah and blah, do you something like that? Of course, they could try the internet, but why is it that these people do not know that a lot of work goes into writing a book? The research you'll need to get done includes a lot of legwork, reading and maybe interviews with other people who know their stuff, and that doesn't include the actual late nights/long days grappling with writer's block, meetings with editors and rewriting etc etc etc. I mean if there's already a piece written about it - or even something in the same vein, would YOU need to write a research paper on it? And what if the subject is something like the drainage of mangrove forests in Malaysia? Go look it up in some research institute, please - no, commercial publisher in their right mind would burn good money on it, anytime soon. (In fact, such grey material can be obtained) Not to be cynical or something but that's really not how it works, dahling!

Many a time, even as book retailers, we kid ourselves to think that we can sell all the stuff that is the best and perfect for the customer. But we forget that to a book (or any product) to the end-user takes a simple but arduous and serendipitous process of supply and demand.

Supply is the publisher, and the type of publishing which they do (and may make them big bucks), then there's the means of supply like the book buyer (who may or may not see all those books and based on budget, buy them), the merchandiser or retailer who displays and promotes the book to the customer. And demand is what the market dictates - who the publishers are selling to, what the majority or target customers would buy. At times, when you pull your hair and wonder why those publishers would let your favourite book go out of print - keep this in mind - publishing can come in waves and tsunamis; the tide can be low, too. It's all about supply-demand, demand-supply. Book retailers are just vehicles.

We go with the flow, and don't push our luck. One day, we'll find our favourite book/author, back in print.

I recently came across a China edition of Uglies at a cheap price, so i bought for my bud, Iren. Hope she will read it.

If you loved the Uglies Trilogy, you might like to know that Westerfeld has written an 'extra' book. Entitled, 'Extras', it's available as a early export edition. The original US version is still a hardcover.

Anyway, professional views aside - i think it's just ugly - trying to milk your own book dry. Yucks! To fans, sorry. I know, everyone is doing it. Though some succeed better and never get scorned for selling out.

Damn! Must remember that I personally would love to read another story set in the Old Kingdom. Really, sorry - at the end of the day, it's all about the fans.

'some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed
some say love, it is a hunger
an endless aching need
i say love, it is a flower
and you its only seed'

There's this song called The Rose, and i'm listening to Ken Hirai's version of it (album: Ken's Bar). There are other versions, but i like this one. One of the other versions is part of the soundtrack of a Taiwanese drama series - called the Rose (what else). Not a new one, but i've watched it on and off, finally managing to see the whole thing from the beginning to the end. Now how do i say this? If i had kept watching till the end, a couple of years ago - perhaps my reaction would be different. i dunno.

What i do know now is - it's a very interesting story that was actually daring to make, and could have probably courted controversy when published originally. Adapted from the manga 'Bara no Tameni' (the love song of the rose) by Akemi Yoshimura, the story had connotations of incest and homosexuality. About Yuri who, on the same day she is dumped by her boyfriend, arrives home to discover her grandmother dead. Left penniless, she relieved to find she still has family - a mother whom she never knew - a beautiful and famous actress (whose name i don't know in Japanese, can someone please enlighten).

Anyway, she packs up all her stuff and goes to seek refuge with her longlost parent. But she arrives to discover that her siblings (all beautiful, beautiful people) are mean and her mother hates her. She ends up acting as a servant and a drudge.

And then there's the mystery of her birth. Okay, up to this point, it might seem a tad too melodrama to you. Hold your horses, cos it's funny also. The siblings are so nasty, you love them. Yuri - sometimes want to slap her but lovable also.

I'm only still at volume four of the manga, even though i've watched the DVD twice. We all know how those people would take liberties with the original stories. So far, i can understand why this manga had its fans. Am i one? Yeah, i suppose. If you look beyond those connotations (like when the younger brother slips into the older half brother's room to steal a kiss), you'll discover that in the end, everything becomes okay. Plus, it made the careers of co-stars, Joe Cheng and Ella (S.H.E.).

or you could like William Blake - choose to see it as oh rose, thou art sick!

i choose not to, yet. At least, i loved the TV Drama. Now i shall withold my verdict until i read all the volumes of the manga. For like the Rose, it has thorns - those 'difficult to swallow' ideas. Strip them away and you have a beautiful flower.

guess what?

i now work in siberia.

i keep making resolutions to continue updating this blog.

all i ever do, eventually, is to rub it all out and start again. i suppose there comes a time when we cannot pack up and ciao. it's probably now.

so i'm gonna try to create something of this blog. even if, hell, i've nothing to say.