Monday, May 18, 2009
Chinese music video
Y played this song for me earlier, and I really like it; it's called"I'm Not Afraid of Demons If I've Seen Hell and it's by a Taiwanese band called Tizzy Bac:
Enjoy :-)
Enjoy :-)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
It's Eurovision!
Yes, it's that time of the year: Eurovision is with us again! Good luck to the UK, although I doubt we'll win :-(
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
London
When I was young, my Mum used to take me and my sister to London several times a year; sometimes to stay with my cousins, and sometimes just for day trips. Being a country lad, it was always quite exciting, even when I got older and had to be a typical teenage boy and pretend not to care.
My earliest memories of London are bomb scares and police at all stations; grey concrete everywhere; beggars and homeless people; and Dr Who. We used to visit MOMI so that I could see the regular Dr Who exhibitions they held there. Whenever we went on the train there were always police around, and I remember several bomb scares and station closures (usually IRA-related). Plus there were homeless people EVERYWHERE (or so it seemed to me, the impressionable country boy!).
Now, my thoughts of London are food, music, art, and seemingly endless free exhibitions and festivals. Y and I don't go out drinking and clubbing much these days, but we do eat out a LOT, and I'd say we're fairly cultural; we'll see an exhibition or performance or something most weeks, as there's just so many free things available in London, and it's a fascinating place just to walk round as there's so much variety, in terms of both architecture and culture.
So, basically, 3 years on I'm still loving living in London :-)
My earliest memories of London are bomb scares and police at all stations; grey concrete everywhere; beggars and homeless people; and Dr Who. We used to visit MOMI so that I could see the regular Dr Who exhibitions they held there. Whenever we went on the train there were always police around, and I remember several bomb scares and station closures (usually IRA-related). Plus there were homeless people EVERYWHERE (or so it seemed to me, the impressionable country boy!).
Now, my thoughts of London are food, music, art, and seemingly endless free exhibitions and festivals. Y and I don't go out drinking and clubbing much these days, but we do eat out a LOT, and I'd say we're fairly cultural; we'll see an exhibition or performance or something most weeks, as there's just so many free things available in London, and it's a fascinating place just to walk round as there's so much variety, in terms of both architecture and culture.
So, basically, 3 years on I'm still loving living in London :-)
Sunday, April 05, 2009
6-month summary ....
So, what have I been up to since I last posted properly in October? Well ....
Some travelling: Y and I have been on short breaks to Bruges (Belgium), Budapest (Hungary), Barcelona (Spain), and Krakow (Poland). It's quite ironic that until I met Y, I'd never actually taken a holiday in Europe, other than a school trip to Spain; I'm one of those people who never appreciates what they have on their doorstep; luckily Y has helped me to see that you don't have to go half way around the globe in order to see the world!!
Some reading: I've been quiet geeky recently, and I've been on this site Tech Radar a lot. I've also read The 39 Steps, by John Buchan (which is a very short book, so is no excuse for not blogging for 6 months!).
Some watching: Having complete all 7 seasons of Buffy and 5 seasons of Angel, Y and I are currently working our way through the X Files. We're now on the final season, season 9. Next up I think we're going to watch Family Guy; I've caught a few episodes on TV a while back, and although I hated Family Guy when it first came out, I really enjoyed them this time, so I'm looking forward to seeing the whole set.
Some travelling: Y and I have been on short breaks to Bruges (Belgium), Budapest (Hungary), Barcelona (Spain), and Krakow (Poland). It's quite ironic that until I met Y, I'd never actually taken a holiday in Europe, other than a school trip to Spain; I'm one of those people who never appreciates what they have on their doorstep; luckily Y has helped me to see that you don't have to go half way around the globe in order to see the world!!
Some reading: I've been quiet geeky recently, and I've been on this site Tech Radar a lot. I've also read The 39 Steps, by John Buchan (which is a very short book, so is no excuse for not blogging for 6 months!).
Some watching: Having complete all 7 seasons of Buffy and 5 seasons of Angel, Y and I are currently working our way through the X Files. We're now on the final season, season 9. Next up I think we're going to watch Family Guy; I've caught a few episodes on TV a while back, and although I hated Family Guy when it first came out, I really enjoyed them this time, so I'm looking forward to seeing the whole set.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
New comments
OK, so I'm hoping that I've successfully changed over to Blogger comments now ... testing testing, 1 2 3!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
An update!
Yes, I know, it does seem almost like I've given up on this blog doesn't it ... however, it's not intentional, I just got lazy (again). Anyway, I noticed today that my comments host, YACCS, is shutting down, so at some point in the not-too-distant-future I'm going to switch over to Blogger comments, which is probably a better option anyway as it's integrated.
Anyway, I'm fine, so is Y. There are two main reasons for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere (that's such a wanky word isn't it?) - firstly, Mario Kart on the Wii, and secondly, Final Fantasy Tactics on the Game Boy Advance (I know, I'm old school!). I've been quite heavily addicted to both of these games, and it's amazing how time-consuming video games can be, especially the Final-Fantasy type games, but I do love them so!
Anyway, I'm fine, so is Y. There are two main reasons for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere (that's such a wanky word isn't it?) - firstly, Mario Kart on the Wii, and secondly, Final Fantasy Tactics on the Game Boy Advance (I know, I'm old school!). I've been quite heavily addicted to both of these games, and it's amazing how time-consuming video games can be, especially the Final-Fantasy type games, but I do love them so!
Pipe Wrench Fight
Saw this today, which made me laugh - an altered version of A-Ha's Take On Me, with lyrics changed to exactly match what's happening in the video:
If this doesn't work, the direct link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLY9MWZVfiE (and yes, I did get this from Popbitch!).
Update 01/04/2009: I noticed that the original link had been pulled by YouTube due to "copyright infringement", so I've updated the link to a different version which is still available. Yay!
If this doesn't work, the direct link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLY9MWZVfiE (and yes, I did get this from Popbitch!).
Update 01/04/2009: I noticed that the original link had been pulled by YouTube due to "copyright infringement", so I've updated the link to a different version which is still available. Yay!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Cheer up sleepy Jean ...
You know, despite loving Shonen Knife for years, I've somehow never seen their video to 'Daydream Believer' - it's so cute (^_^)b
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Oops
OK, so I've done it again haven't I; dropped off the face of the (blogging) earth for no good reason .... sorry :-(
If anybody is still reading this, I loved this short movie posted on YouTube by Future Shorts, it's beautifully animated and really quite touching:
If anybody is still reading this, I loved this short movie posted on YouTube by Future Shorts, it's beautifully animated and really quite touching:
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Pizza Cut Five
No, this isn't a typo, but the name of a clothes brand in Taipei. They've taken a visual cue from Pizzicato Five's styling (as well as a sizeable chunk of their name!), and morphed it into a pizza-delivery style clothes shop, with clothes in chiller cabinets and pizza boxes, and even a scooter delivery service .... See the following:
Main Page:
http://www.pizzacutfive.com/
Pizzicato Five designs:
http://www.pizzacutfive.com/web/index.php?target=series.php&c_sn=1&s_sn=1
Taipei Times newspaper article (in English):
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2008/01/31/2003399704
Main Page:
http://www.pizzacutfive.com/
Pizzicato Five designs:
http://www.pizzacutfive.com/web/index.php?target=series.php&c_sn=1&s_sn=1
Taipei Times newspaper article (in English):
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2008/01/31/2003399704
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Domestic goddess
Well, I'm trying to be a bit better with food these days .... when Y cooks he always makes stuff from scratch, whereas I've historically been quite a consumer of pre-prepared food. Nowadays I'm trying to eat a bit healthier, eg: organic food, no E-numbers, etc etc, so I thought that if I'm going to start getting fussy in my old age I should really try making the stuff myself sometimes.
One of my first attempts is to make muffins at home rather than buying them in the supermarket, as even the more expensive 'quality' muffins have preservatives and stuff in them. So, here is a picture of my first attempt, some choc-chip vanilla muffins I made a couple of weeks ago. They were slightly over-cooked, so they were a bit harder than I would I have liked, but they were still tasty, and I'm about to try another recipe this evening. Fingers crossed!
One of my first attempts is to make muffins at home rather than buying them in the supermarket, as even the more expensive 'quality' muffins have preservatives and stuff in them. So, here is a picture of my first attempt, some choc-chip vanilla muffins I made a couple of weeks ago. They were slightly over-cooked, so they were a bit harder than I would I have liked, but they were still tasty, and I'm about to try another recipe this evening. Fingers crossed!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Another year ....
Gosh. 31. Doesn't time fly?! I know I'm getting older because I'm getting fatter. I'm hoping that a Wii Fit will miraculously solve that, and return me to my previous slender form .... We shall see!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Suga suga ...
The Sugababes are on a bit of a roll at the moment, I think - their last few singles have all been pretty fab, and their videos have all been quite pretty too .... Here's the most recent:
Monday, March 24, 2008
Meigui, megui, wo ai ni
I've been obsessed with a song recently. Anyone who's watched the Peter Greenaway film The Pillow Book should remember this song, as it recurs several times throughout the film. It's 'Rose Rose, I Love You' (Or 'Meigui, Meigui, Wo Ai Ni' to give it its correct title), by Yao Lee from 1940.I first downloaded this song years ago on the original Napster (RIP), but unfortunately I lost the file when my housemate's PC crashed. For years I intended to re-downloaded it but never got round to it - until now!
I don't know why exactly I'm so hooked on it ... I'm a sucker for a simple but catchy melody, and I guess the association with the film probably helps. Interestingly, I was talking to Y about this song, and just from me humming one line of it (with no words, because I didn't know what they were at the time) he guessed it straight away - apparently it's a very famous song if you're Chinese, and I did a bit of research and there were even a few Western versions of it apparently, notably by Frankie Lane and Petula Clark.
Anyway, here is the song, in all its mono glory: Rose, Rose, I Love You [M4A, 2.4MB]. Enjoy!
(PS: If it downloads as a .txt file, just delete the .txt part, which should leave the filename as rose.m4a. I'm not sure why it does this, it's a bit annoying ...)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Addicted!
Yes, it's true, I do have an addiction: Special K! It's not because I'm trying to be healthy or anything, I just love it! My parents used to eat it when I was young, and I remember liking it as a boy, but then they stopped eating it and for some reason I never decided to try it again when I was older - until now, at the age of 30! .... My favourite flavour is the Purple Berries I think. It's just yummy!!
Mind you, apparently it has a much higher sugar content than it used to, which is a bit naughty, and although it's low in fat it does have a surprisingly high sugar content. I was eating some Coco Pops Mega Munchers earlier, as you do, and I was quite shocked to find that they have approximately 34g of sugar per 100g of product. No wonder kids are so fat these days! But even my beloved Special K isn't amazingly better; admittedly I'm not eating a very healthy variety at the moment - Special K Bliss (Creamy Berry Crunch), which has approx 23g sugar per 100g product. So despite the fact that it advertises itself as "Less than 3% fat," it still loads you up with sugars which will turn to fat unless you exercise like a maniac. Which I don't.Another blast from the past I've been into recently is the first Buggles album, "The Age of Plastic." Yes, they really were more than just a one-hit-wonder with Video Killed The Radio Star; they actually had two whole albums as a group, of which I own the first. I bought it in the online-equivalent of a bargain bin, on the strength of that one song, but also because I'd read some very positive reviews about it, and I was really pleasantly surprised with it. It's by no means the best album ever, but it has some great 'tunes' on it, and it's quite creative. I love the deliberate retro-futurism of some of the tracks (a la Fritz Lang's classic film Metropolis), including one of my favourites, which I offer to you here: Johnny On The Monorail [AAC, 6.4MB]. Enjoy :-)
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