|
|
| Wednesday, 6-Feb-2008 10:00 |
Email | Share |  | Bookmark |
|
CNY Tour Day 1 #Beijing
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wednesday, 17-Oct-2007 21:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Local Fruits
|
|
The first time that i really learn of the fruit call Chang Shou guo (longevity fruit literally) 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Monday, 23-Jul-2007 19:15 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Awaited Le Petit Prince !
|
|
Main Casts :
Le Petit Prince musical show has left a profound thoughts-provocation in me. The philosophy displayed in the story has amazed me on the fact that it is a children story book, yet it is not. Do you call it child psychology ? I think it's more than that, and how intelligent of the author to portray the realistic (adult) human nature through the naive & innocent eyes of a young child standpoint.
The mysterious Little prince has always avoided direct answers to the aviator continuous probing questions. However it is through bits and pieces of his encounters that the aviator can truely gather over the time he had put in to understand this special friend of his.. Not to mention also, of the Little prince unending love and undue responsibility he had for his ever unique rose he left behind on his asteriod planet - of how he later knows that the rose has tricked him into accepting she will be able to stay independent without his care , and how ephemeral his rose can be. And this is pretty much true in reality and akin to the fragility of life too ...
I have bought the story book to recollect the deep thoughts i had during the musical show..it's in Chinese but i guess it's not that hard to grasp like those Jin Yong wu-xia novels. 
The finale also ends with an autograph session with the pilot cast actor Laurent Ban. Wow, the queue was really long, and in fact, I did not queue but was right at the table snapping photos of the autograph sessions.
Laurent Ban is a very amicable person, and comical in front of the cameras judging by the numerous funny faces he posed with his fans! Well, I was intrigued by his simple signatures - of a prince , fox or a sheep he could offer to his fans! Not to be missed, I did get his autographs, since I'm there anyway - and all 3 drawings on various Le Petit Prince artifacts i've got ; story book,ticket and bookmark !
I also caught the Little Prince, which turned out to be a she. It was indeed a well played 'he' ! And she's 19 years old. All thanks to the almighty Google search engine
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Monday, 23-Jul-2007 12:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Le Petit Prince Background Review
|
|
Some background readings i've done prior to the show and after it =)
| Quote: |
Kids speak universal truths
By Qiao Zhengyue (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-05 10:04
Seldom has a fairytale like "Le Petit Prince" captivated so many grown-up hearts. Now a French musical based on this fable will be staged in town next month with most of the original cast - and a new prince, this time a girl.
The musical by composer Richard Cocciante ran at the Casino de Paris from October 2002 to January 2003 with Canadian singer Daniel Lavoie playing the pilot.
In the Shanghai production, the pilot-narrator is played by Laurent Ban, who played the Conceited Man in the original production. He also starred in the French-language productions of "Les Miserables' and "Phantom of the Opera."
This time the Little Prince is played by a 19-year-old girl, but producers are keeping her name and that of her understudy secret until the last minute.
There will be subtitles in English and Chinese. An elaborate stage setting and melodic French songs revive the fairytale world of the otherworldly but very true-to-life little prince. All the lyrics are faithful to the original lines in the novel, published in 1943.
"Le Petit Prince" ("The Little Prince") is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery's most famous novel, which he wrote in the United States while renting the Bevin House in New York on Long Island. The novel includes a number of Saint-Exupery's charming drawings, which are reproduced in most versions.
On the surface a children's book, it shows how different adults are from children. In the story pilot Saint-Exupery tells of his being downed in the Sahara Desert, thousands of kilometers away from human habitation - there he meets a young extraterrestrial prince.
The little prince lives alone on a house-sized asteroid, B612, which has three volcanoes and a rose. He spends his days tending for his vulnerable flower, while pulling out the baobab trees that are constantly trying to take root.
One day he leaves to see what the rest of the universe is like, and visits several other asteroids (numbered from 325 to 330), each of which is inhabited by an adult who is foolish in his own way, such as the drunkard/tippler who drinks to forget that he is ashamed of drinking and the businessman who is always busy counting the stars he thinks he owns.
He also meets the King, Conceited Man, Lamplighter and Geographer, all with their own flaws. He then meets and tames a fox, who explains to the prince that his rose is unique and special, because it is the one that he loves.
In the conversations between the prince and the fox, the author reveals his own views about the follies of mankind and the simple truths that people seem to forget as they grow older.
"As many say, the fable tells the love story between the little prince and his rose. I think the meaning of the book is so much deeper than love," says translator Ma Zhencheng, who first translated the novel into Chinese more than 20 years ago. "The rose symbolizes not only love, but also everything that you are devoted to, such as your home, your nation, the earth and civilization. I've read and translated other novels by Saint-Exupery, which seldom focus on romance between man and woman but on broader love of the mother and homeland.
"Saint-Exupery's language is simple and clear, but it reaches the most important problems of human beings," Ma adds. "The six planets that the little prince has visited represent the characters and living conditions of human beings - greed, vanity, power, addictions, possession of useless things and the increasingly speeding pace of life. And today history has proved his writings and worries true."
Direct LInk
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sunday, 22-Jul-2007 15:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Awaiting Le Pitit Prince
|
|
I'm eagerly anticipating for tomorrow coming French musical show 'Le Pitit Prince' at Shanghai Oriental Arts. It's also the finale of the muscial tour show!
To be frank, I have not read a single bit of the famous 'The Little Prince', and ironically I am going to sit into a French musical show, which is going to mar my understanding of the story further. Well, there's going to be Chinese (and even English i hope) subtitles to assist.
While i'm here in Figaro trying to do some serious studying, on the other hand i am figeting with the Net to understand more background of the anticipating show background. I'm just distracted by my thoughts. 
It was an easy time getting the tickets for the final day, apparently it was all sold out at the official ticket booth. Initially all the cheapest seat tickets (200rmb) were all sold out, next followed the seat tickets (400rmb).. and gosh, all 23rd seats were gone..
Well, i still liken the idea of getting from the huang nius, cos I can get much cheaper tickets, though i do have to take some risk that the tickets might turn out to be fake or whatsoever.. I was eventually told by MT that the seats were very good as they belong to circle seats. Well..shall stay tune !
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, 14-Jul-2007 15:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
In Search of More Wireless Cafes @ Arch Cafe
|
|
Read quite a bit of recommendations from Cityweekend and other online sites about Arch Cafe & Bar that prompted me to make a trip down near Jingan area.
I was abit disappointed that it was not a really wireless-friendly cafe as electrical points were hard to get as compared to Figaro Cafe.
Nevertheless it did serve a good spread of main dishes (and pretty $ though but i would consider it good money well spent)
Had a late brunch (or i would put it as late lunch at 3pm) and spent my the day till 9plus with my laptop and books.
What a weekend gone again
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Friday, 13-Jul-2007 22:30 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Mbox Nite
|
|
Be amazed - we were by the fiery glass 'fountain' which last for less than a minute.
Not to be missed, Mbox is still my number one hangout place for cool live-band music.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Friday, 13-Jul-2007 19:30 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Dinner with Mrs Loh @ 渝信川菜
|
|
渝信川菜 has never failed me with her 水煮鱼 - rich blend of spices with its utmost meat tenderness. It's the best to-date that i've tasted. And not to mention, of its liang mian 凉面. Simply amazing.
Seems like it's my favourite dinner place to bring people too for a good meal. Previously was Prof Ang, now Mrs Loh. hmm.
It has been really quite a while since I've last met up with her, nearly close to 2 1/2 years after graduation. It all started with my initial internship in 2004, next followed by a series of help-out on the pre-GIP programme awareness then in Shanghai and then back in school. Time really flies!
The whole gang of us have a really good time chatting and reminiscing about anything though each of us was of different time-frame of internship.  And we were in fact 'chased' out of the restaurant while we were happily indulging in our chats.
So i proposed next to bring them on to my next favourite hangout - Mbox!
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Friday, 13-Jul-2007 12:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Infor Forum @ Le Meridian
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wednesday, 11-Jul-2007 23:55 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Sense of Betrayal ?
|
|
These days I tend to be more emotional, can't explain the change in mood chemistry. I used to be a very systematic, go-by-books guy, what is right is right and what is meant to be wrong IS wrong. I hardly have emotional ups and downs. Maybe with age i guess, work and also my extreme tendency to brood and think deeper in things around me, and swarmed with all the could-it-bes scenarios.. Have i become more cold-blooded or magnanimous, or even lost in my own world of mix emotions - i'm dumbfounded.
But i know, what my trust in people is build on - sincerity and honesty. I think it's duality of human nature, that the more trust you place in a person, the more hatred & dismay you had if you had found betrayal by your trusted ones.
Being truthful to others is being responsible to oneself
Don't ever learn the truth ; be it pure white lies or even the slightest dirty lies you had made, trust me, my trust will be wipe clean. And that mis-placed trust will always be placed on a bleached piece of paper - that the trust will hardly be re-inked back in me.
Once a lie, always a lie. What i feels trust is all about, is being open. Even if it means telling lies, there is a sense of guilt that one will eventually admit, and being self-responsible for one's action, but all these should happen before the other party discovers. That's what i call my trust in others, in other words means believing and having faith in you and your actions.
Perhaps all these are tied to my codes of principles which i have been abiding for the past 20+ years. Being upright, being responsible to oneself and responsible to others. The expectations i set on me, i expect the similar conduct in return. And that's why i despise liars, hypocrites and back-stabbers. Be open & frank with me, don't talk behind my back, nor make lies in front of me. Sometimes bare truth is hurtful, but the painful process is enriching & self-motivating, and that's where trust is entrenched further, not the reverse as what others use often as a pretext for telling lies.
People often commented that as Ah-Q. I do agree, even if it means how naviety the thoughts are. However, I would rather in persisting in upholding the pureness, without staining our thoughts and conduct, as the best way to go.
Learning the lies unexpectedly are cruelties i feel. I felt cuts from each revoked trust i had when the lies get unearthen one by one and slowly being pieced together. All the trust and faith I once had is drained at one moment.. and with that, I will bury that deep in my heart, and piled it with my silence. And till the day the one is willing to tell the real truth,which i had discovered and kept in my heart way before..
|
|
|
|
|
