Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Time killer

Tag

book mark

parchment

parchment with colour background


I know I'm not (and I won't be) good at parchment work as I lack the necessary patience and attention to details which is the a-must requirement. Euphemistically I call myself freestyler, haha, a pretext for clumsiness, and that's why I like decoupage and scrapbook much more. But having said that, I do want myself to be more skillful in parchment making, in the hope of training me more elegance, err... don't vomit.

Monday, April 18, 2011

He was there

Bob Dylan @ Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong 13.04.2011

Bob and his shadow
Dylan and his shadow (this made me think of the split personalities/identities as suggested in I Am Not There)

First, I must admit that I am not very familiar with all Dylan's songs, so I attended the show merely from a pilgrim's perspective, thinking I should pay a visit to this legendary person, if chance arise. Of course what I got from the night was more than a pilgrim's experience. Bob still rocks with his band, especially the extended Highway 61 Revisited (oh but he didn't play Desolation Row while he played it the previous night!) Groovy and blue, men with office attire who flooded the venue already took off their suits and ties, intoxicated and danced crazily. Bob seemed quite enjoy the vibe and the scene and bestowed flashes of sneaky smile.

So, about that constant question for each show of this Asian tour - Will he? Will he not (play the Blowing in the Wind)? For a man who has such large repertoire, and for a song that has played over 40 years, I was not disappointed about the omission or thought that Dylan was self-censored. The closing tune Forever Young, "May you always know the truth, and see the lights surrounding you, may you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong" I would like to think that these are the words Dylan dedicated to us.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Because everything's in ruins



The Turin Horse



"Because everything's in ruins. Everything's been degraded, but I could say that they've ruined and degraded everything. Because this is not some kind of cataclysm, coming about with so-called, innocent human aide. On the contrary... It's about man's own judgement, his own judgement over his own self, which of course God has a hand in, or dare I say: takes part in. And whatever he takes part in is the most ghastly creation that you can imagine. Because, you see, the world has been debased. So it doesn't matter what I say because everything has been debased that they've acquired, and since they've acquired everything in a sneaky, underhand fight, they've debased everything. Because whatever they touch - and they touch everything - they've debased. This is the way it was until the final victory. Until the triumphant end. Acquire, debase. Debase, acquire. Or I can put it differently if you like: to touch, debase and thereby acquire, or touch, acquire and thereby debase. It's been going on like this for centuries. On, on and on. This and only this, sometimes gently, sometimes brutally, but it has been going on and on. Yet only in one way, like a rat attacks an ambush. Because for this perfect victory it was also essential that the other side... That is, everything that's excellent, great in some way and noble should not engage in any kind of fight. There shouldn't be any kind of struggle, just the sudden disappearance of one side, meaning the disappearance of the excellent, the great, the noble. So that by now these winning winners who attack from the ambush rule the earth, and there isn't a single tiny nook where one can hide something from them, because everything they can lay their hands on is theirs. Even things we think they can't reach - but they do reach - are also theirs. Because the sky is already theirs and all our dreams. Theirs is the moment, nature, infinite silence. Even immorality is theirs, you understand? Everything, everything is lost forever! And those many noble, great and excellent just stood there, if I can put it that way. They stopped at this point, and had to understand, and had to accept that there is neither god nor gods. And the excellent, the great and the noble had to understand and accept this right from the beginning. But of course they were quite incapable of understanding it. They believed it and accepted it but they didn't understand it. They just stood there, bewildered but not resigned, until something - that spark from the brain - finally enlightened them. And all at once they realized that there is neither god nor gods. All at once they saw that there is neither good nor bad. Then they saw and understood that if this was so, then they themselves do not exist either! You see, I reckon this may have been the moment when we can say that they were extinguished, they burnt out. Extinguished and burnt out like the fire left to smolder in the meadow. One was the constant loser, the other was the constant winner. Defeat, victory, defeat, victory and one day - here in the neighborhood - I had to realize and I did realize, that I was mistaken, I was truly mistaken when I thought that there has never been and could never be any kind of change here on earth. Because, believe me, I know now that this change has indeed taken place.
"

Monday, April 04, 2011

My Flash Delirium

MGMT live @ Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong 30.03.2011


Flash Delirium as the opener, how apt it was!!! I must admit that I'm still deliriously happy even it's nearly 1 week after. Since some time last year, I fell under the charm of this band so you may understand how I began my delirium when I heard that they would have a gig in my little hometown. And then, boom! Euphoria always flashed past unnoticed. Those ecstasy-filled songs such as Time To Pretend and Kids never failed to hypnotize the whole crowd into a state of bewitched rapture, we were all intoxicated by the beats and sound and oxymoronic to the lyrics, we did not have control anymore. But what i like most for the night was that they played nearly the whole Congratulations except the nightmarish Lady Dada. "When it's over, to breathe in everything exposed" what did it bring? A sweet trip. An escape. A lost. But did we find again? The last two songs were pretty autobiographical, The Handshake and Congratulations (and, I never thought The Handshake could be so psychedelic!). I was a bit lost. My trip ended, the show ended. The last two songs told me (and the band) what the reality was like. They seem to play well in this game of balancing reality and idealism (while i never know how to play this game) and I hope they will continue to manage well in this game (cos' they're called MGMT).



swallow many psycho candies

psycho candy

psycho

psyche or

psycho flower

-delic wall

-che-

psy-

The visuals on the backdrop were so much like the visuals after consuming substance (hey, i was told about it)

Ben Goldwasser
my fellow sagittarian hid behind the amp

Andrew VanWyngarden
ok, i tried hard to control my idiotic fangirl gene