you’re probably shopping at the:
thanks Ma ;0)
Category: Migrations
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my weekend: the Wang Yeh boat burning festival
those who follow me on twitter (or glance at my twitter update-feed to the right), know by now that i finally got to experience DongGang’s famous boat burning festival. the triennial event is touted as being one of the biggest of it’s kind – which i tend to believe quite easily. according to the Taiwan News, roughly 100,000 people flocked to my old town to participate in its 300 year old tradition.
The eight-day festival opened with a mysterious and complicated ritual on the beach of Jhenhai Park. Five Wang Yeh gods joined the one enshrined at the temple for a four-day procession around DongGang before they boarded their wooden ship on which they “sailed” around the fishing port’s streets to expel evil spirits and plagues.
On the seventh day, the temple offered the gods a feast of 108 Chinese dishes accompanied by fine wine and liquor to thank them for warding off evil during the processions over the previous week.
The ritual culminated on Oct. 17 when the elaborately carved wooden boat was set on fire to symbolize the Wang Yehs setting off to heaven, taking with them the evil spirits and diseases they absorbed during the processions.
to give you an idea of what it was like, here are some random snaps (also collected from friends) and videos:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yft-qFgK2T0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265][youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5HY-bV_rM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk92T5vZ2wQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265][youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6yhgbFVbmw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265][youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k4gXu3pUH4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
what i didn’t expect – and was really interesting – was the deafening silence right after the boat was lit. according to tradition, no festive sounds were allowed, lest the Wang Yeh turn around to see what the commotion is about. so after days of fireworks, local opera, gongs, bells, bands and whatnot – there was nothing…
creepy, but cool at the same time. -
link-love: Owl City's "fireflies"
this little gem of a song unceremoniously swept me off my feet today and rooted itself firmly at the top of my list of songs to purchase.
(fan-generated video below, as the official version can not be embedded)[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO3gg2cVfxg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]A little bit more about this spoonful of magic, from Associated Press:
Owl City music turns online popularity into sales
(AP) – 23 hours ago
MINNEAPOLIS — A young musician who recorded his album on a computer in the basement of his parents’ Minnesota home is finding success in the music business.Adam Young records under the name Owl City. His album “Ocean Eyes” came out at the end of July, and by this month it has sold nearly 100,000 copies. The single “Fireflies” is a top seller on iTunes, and is climbing the Top 40 and alternative music charts.
Young started out by posting some of his songs on his MySpace page. Now he finds himself signed to a record deal with Universal Music, where he joins the likes of Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
do yourselves a favor and check out the awesome Owl City website – and then spend some time on Adam’s MySpace blog. i’m intrigued enough to follow him on twitter – for his words – and revisit his MySpace for gifts like this:
go out and get yourself a (legal) copy of “Ocean Eyes” and other cool merchandise.
if “fireflies” is anything to go by – you’ll thank yourself forever.PS. i’m thoroughly enjoying streaming the other tracks from the official site! wondering if the physical CD (case and insert) is also a sublime adventure of discovery?
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justice served cold
remember the fellow who broke Ben’s nose, gave me nightmares and inherited my kids?
his attitude got him fired yesterday.
i’m not saying, i’m just saying…
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spot check: where does your mind go?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVogg_0Hhus&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]i haven’t laughed this hard in months!
(now also available for men – but that video isn’t as funny… except for the guy saying: “I haven’t been pumped like this for days”. deadpan.)buckets of thanks to cb over at mangina monologues (not for the feint of heart) for a truly gut-toning guffaw!
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do you follow the postsecret project?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zA54vb-eCY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&w=320&h=265] -
following role models: interesting snap by Paulo Coelho
i digg this snap of a statuette he found on one of his walks. can anybody identify it?
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list: top 10 anime movies
Ben mentioned, not too long ago, that he still wanted to ask me for some recommendations when it came to anime movies. i was flattered, seeing as how Ben is THE movie buff in my books. i was also a little nervous. true, i love anime – but i’m no buff by any stretch of the imagination.
anyway, he got me thinking about it and,after a little research, i can finally present what i believe to be the Top 10 Anime Movies:
10: 5CM Per Second (2007)
the movie is really three stories that deal with love between people separated by distance. kids might not get the subject matter – but Makoto Shinkai’s amazing artistry (best.scenes.ever.) makes this one of the best anime films out there.
9: Cowboy Bebop (2001)
based on the hit tv-series Cowboy Bebop (which has had a cult following since the invention of the term),the movie lives up to all expectations and is a great introduction to newbies.
8: Tokyo GodFathers (2003)
Satoshi Kon’s masterpiece is really a social comment on Tokyo’s urban minorities. the story follows three homeless friends, who find a baby in a dumpster and try to return it to its parents. did I mention that one of the friends is pre-op M2F?
7: Princess Mononoke (1997)
Princess Mononoke was Hayao Miyazaki’s breakthrough movie in the Western world. take whatever you know about the genre, go to your warm and fuzzy place and prepare to be enchanted.
6: Paprika (2006)
you’ve heard of vivid imaginations, right? prepare to experience a visual orgasm. the plot is centered around a “dream machine” — which allows doctors to see a patient’s dreams — that is stolen by a thief who uses it to enter people’s dreams. Paprika and her team set out to recapture the device. shifting between reality and dreamworld continuously, you’ll definitely want to watch it again to get all the details.
5: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Miyazaki’s second film on the list was developed from the book by Diana Wynne Jones. a girl is cursed with a spell that makes her look old. her only hope of becoming young again lies with a wizard and his giant, walking castle.
4: Ghost in The Shell (1995)
the Watchowski brothers reportedly showed Ghost in The Shell to producer Joel Silver and told him, “We wanna do that live action”. then they made the Matrix. enough said.
3: Grave of The Fireflies (1988)
the film that made everyone realize that anime can be used to tell serious, heart felt stories. It centers on a boy and his young sister who struggle to survive in WW2 Japan after their mother dies during a US bombing. Roger Ebert called it “the most powerful anti-war movie of all time”. newly remade as a live feature film, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.
2: Akira (1988)
the movie that pretty much defined the whole genre: from its art style, to its realistic portrayal of violence, to its ability to tell several stories at once. Akira is the hallmark of anime for the past 20 years.
1. Spirited Away (2001)
in all probability Miyazaki’s masterpiece. this is the story of a girl who stumbles into a land where witches, gods and spirits rule. she struggles to keep her own spirit, while fighting to release the spirits of her parents. the film won dozens of awards, including an Oscar for best animated feature. it even surpassed Titanic to become the highest grossing move of all time in Japan. that in itself is enough to make me grin like an idiot ;0)
so… the next time movie night comes around, why not grab a few of these? it’s guaranteed to delight, inspire and educate. -
Meme: It’s not really fall until…
here’s a meme i got over at Sunday Stealing – just to get me back in the swing of blogging.enjoy ;0)
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1) What did you need to do in the waning days of summer for it to feel complete?
swim in the ocean – which I haven’t done yet.
2)A person I know was wrong for me but about whom I frequently thought after a break-up was…
*lol* the person who kinda fits the criteria never dated me, so there was no real break-up… let’s just leave it at that, shall we?
3) If you could only attend one major sporting event what would it be?
the gay games – for the fun of it!4) Assuming that you write an anonymous or partially anonymous blog, by what non-physically identifying characteristics might you be identified in a bar?
uhm… probably won’t be in a bar (walking in dry places)… what would work here? i’ll take a cue from Geoff and say “my voice” (and to make it “non-physical” let’s contextualize this as my “flavor”).
5) Most blogs cover some sort of niche – personal, political, dating, culinary, etc. What topic, if any, would you like to address on your blog but doesn’t fit into your niche?
olfactory overload (sure like the sound of that)
6) If you could manipulate the time space continuum and give as many as three pieces of advice to a younger version of yourself, what advice would you give and to what age of you?
@ around 5 years of age: believe in the life you prayed for – it is coming!
@ around 12 years of age: you are perfect exactly as you are. live your truth!
@ around 19 years of age: forget about making anybody else happy – study the arts (design & education).
7) Who among your friends do you really wish had a blog because their stories, or perspective on something ought to be shared?
A) Luzanne – her perspective truly ought to be shared.
B) Karl – his exploits would make great reading!
C) my Dad – because he rocks on so many levels.
8) If you were to take an e-cation (vacation from the trappings of our electronic world,) and assuming that employment obligations would allow it, how long of a break could you take? What would you miss the most, the least?
with Peter by my side, i’m pretty confident i could last a couple of months (unfortunately though, he would barely last a weekend).
miss the most: music
miss the least: work e-mail.
9) On September 11th of this year, I attended a couple of parties and was somewhat conflicted by the fact that this ignoble anniversary shall pass with it being just another day in the eyes of many (and in some ways my own eyes as well.) Thoughts?
live in the light – and in the present. anniversaries are for lovers ;0)
10) How high are your walls? Who was the last person to scale them? What tools should would-be climbers have on their belt?
walls? i broke those down after Peter leaped them in a single bound!
would-be climbers would need a different target (awww schweet)
11) The sexiest thing a man or a woman can say to you (or has said to you) is:
“Dance with me.”
