王菲 - 幽兰操

兰之猗猗 扬扬其香
Alone stands the orchid, aroma shimmering around;

众香拱之 幽幽其芳
Rejoiced by all else, above and beyond;

不采而佩 于兰何伤？
Of sorrow shall it be, unnoticed all along?

以日以年 我行四方
Days and years, wondering around like a vagabond,

文王梦熊 渭水泱泱
Wisdom the Old King seeks, hence wise and strong

采而佩之 奕奕清芳
May the Lord see mine as the one

雪霜茂茂 蕾蕾于冬
Blossom my wisdom for my lord, like the orchid under the cold,

君子之守 子孙之昌
Long last my lawful words, till generation of prosperity unfold.


When i first heard this song, i was rather disappointed at how low-brow it is. without much further listen, i find myself humming to it often and strange enough. Now it's something that i cannot stop listening. the way the accompaniment so subtly and beautifully ebbs and flows with Faye's voice. listen to the first line clearly, and what might seem like a slur on first listen, turns out to be subtle and perfect diction. therein lies the exquisiteness and timeless quality of Faye, where she leds u to believe she missed one word in "猗猗". Art indeed.

* the english translations above were taken from a youtube viewer.

American Idol s10 is ON!

"16-year-old Robbie Rosen took his time with his breathy version of "Yesterday," inspiring Randy to expand his vocabulary ("marinated") and J. Lo to limit her own while waiving the entire voting process ("No. Hollywood. Bye.") Hip synovitis kept Robbie wheelchair-bound at a young age, but now he's fine. I loved how he didn't feel the need to mention his tragic past in front of the judges, then quickly remembered that of course, the judges always have their cheat sheets so they already knew. I always wondered how people's different sob stories are designated on the cheat sheets. I mean, I'm sure the cheat sheet is probably in English and includes words like "kindergarten" and "wheelchair," but I like to imagine that they use pictures instead, for ultimate ease and efficiency. So it's just generic clip art of a wheelchair (physical affliction), coffin (loved one lost), map of the U.S. with an X over it (foreigner), smiley face (slow learner), rainbow bashfully scooting under a cloud (stealth gay), or tiny campfire (convicted arsonist). Maybe these were Paula's cheat sheets. I'm kidding/I love Paula." - EW's Annie Barrett, on the recap of the premiere of American Idol s10.


HILARIOUS!

[王菲2010巡唱]上海演唱會20101126 - 你在我心中

少见又难得。

彼岸花

绝美。

你快乐所以我快乐

懒洋洋的星期天下午，我想起了这首歌。
我不常看王菲的MV，总是听她的歌，看她的现场录影比较多。
十年后重返回味，有了不一样的感觉，和更深一成的欣赏。

现实生活又何况不是如此。有些时候看起来不起眼，不会欣赏的人事与物，不必那么早排斥。
给多一点时间，多一点机会，有时候最不起眼的，在抽离与分隔后，说不定会有一番风味、新鲜。

现代人习惯用了就丢。因为以为“时间就是金钱”，所以守候与耐性都变成了奢侈。

她是我无与伦比的美丽。迫不及待三月奔快的到来，好让我能圆梦。
这一次菲一般的出发，必定会得到启发。

Robert Altman

i was reading Roger Ebert's reviews on some Meryl Streep movies, and it led me to a tribute article on Robert Altman's unintended final movie, A Prairie Home Companion, before he passed away.

I've heard so much about him, yet I've never seen his movies, not even when i have the Gosford Park vcd lying in my cabinet. A Prairie Home Companion was my first contact with what everyone calls "the actor's director", an auteur with a profound passion for the art.

Here's an excerpt from Roger Ebert's article, that not only captured Ebert's admiration for Altman's passion in films, but was also lovingly written, and bittersweet.

"Did Altman know this would be his last film? Certainly not. But he knew his time was limited. "Where the years have gone, I don't know," he told me backstage that day at the Lyric. "But they're gone. I used to look for a decade . Now I look for a couple more years." He got them. "When I'm not making a film," he told me on the set of "Gosford Park" in 2001, "I don't know how to live. I don't know what to do with the time. I don't have an assistant director taking me to this little restaurant around the corner, and a production manager telling me about my hotel, and a driver to take me where I have to go."

He said he kept track of time not by the years but by the film he was making. Given an Honorary Oscar in March 2006, he astonished his audience by revealing he had been living 10 or 11 years with a heart transplant. He didn't mention that he also had leukemia, listed as his cause of death on Nov. 20 of the same year. At the time, he had two films in pre-production."