When November Comes..

First of all, Happy Halloween to those who celebrate this day of pumpkins, bats, witches, fancy costumes, buckets filled with sugary sweetness and booming tooth fairy business It’s not a very clever idea to go around trick-or-treating over here, and it’s not a major celebration either. Almost every house has a gate and strangers aren’t always welcome. With the existence of kiasu people (like most of us are), treats won’t be given out so easily. Heh.

[No, I did not make this gem]

one I have photic sneeze reflex, which means that I sneeze when I look at the sun or some really bright light.

“You’re allergic to the sun?” - Farisha

I already knew that I have this condition long time ago, but I didn’t know that there’s a name for it. About 17%-35% of humans have this condition, says Wikipedia. What about you?

two A few weeks ago, my piano teacher told me that her professor’s teacher’s teacher is…

Frederic Chopin! One of the most famous composers from the romantic period. The dude responsible for those lovely nocturnes, waltzes and etudes. I guess that I am an indirect student of him According to my teacher, Chopin attached bars to the arm of his students to keep their arms stay at a certain position so that their fingers can voice out the melody nicely. Yes, piano-playing is not only about how your song sounds like, but it’s also about the tone, touch and technique.

three A few random photos taken a few weeks back:
[Note: They are all not doctored by Photoshop!]

A very yellow afternoon with a touch of the spectrum

My nearly-successful shot of a lighting. Bulb mode. Was too lazy to go outside

Bench for two, beneath a tree

Spying from afar…a community gathering
(I woke up when I heard them playing “Help!” by the Beatles)

four Fun with Photoshop after a very long time:

Nick McCarthy, he is. I’ve never seen his eyes so blue like this before, and I was tempted to digitally paint his eyes. As you can see, I got lazy to continue the rest of the face The eyebrow isn’t exactly the same, but it’s quite a killer to do.

five J.K. Rowling vs. Stephenie Meyer. I don’t read the Twilight series but I read the summary instead. The thickness of the books, I heard, are filled with love, love and only love. Predictable. Edward Cullen was modeled as a perfect character, and he’s too perfect that I can’t be convinced. I just read a wonderful 1-star review of Twilight, recommended by my friend. Give me some time to discuss more of that in the next post.

Get your burning pitchforks ready.

Frolick in the autumn mist

I grew up listening to oldies. I also grew up listening to “Puff the Magic Dragon” + the german version, “Paff der Zauberdrachen”

I just remembered about this song today and I thought of listening to it again, after many, many years.

Puff makes my eyes puffy, and no pun intended. Really, this song makes me cry. Every single time. Without fail. I guess it’s just the melody of the song which blends so well with the singer’s soothing voice. Or just the story within it. Have a listen.

The English version (the highly effective one that made me cry):
Puff the Magic Dragon, performed by Peter, Paul & Mary

The German version (which I oftenly listened to, as a kid, compared to the English version):
Paff der Zauberdrachen, performed by Marlene Dietrich

Right, maybe the German version wasn’t so saddening to me because I don’t wholly understand German. Looks like this is my kind of “emo music”..*laughs*

Now, let’s see if any of you had puffy eyes, like I had..