quippingwithquyne

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I’m not famous.  It’s not like people are running around trying to get the latest scoop on me.  I just like to tell stories.

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GENDRYA TAKES ON COMIC CON!

"You can be my forest love and me your forest lass"

Many people were dissatisfied at the ending of Game of Thrones and so was I. There's more than enough to be said there but in terms of what they did with Gendrya, my favorite GOT ship of all time, their buildup and storyline was butchered. Book Gendry never would have proposed to Arya after she killed the Night King. It'd probably be more of a Shang and Mulan moment like, "uh...ahem...you fight good."

My boyfriend and I decided to rewrite Gendrya's ending where they end up together, whether it's bon voyage or Storm's End. We added elements of Lyanna and Robert's aesthetics to illustrate that Arya and Gendry were the new Stark-Baratheon generation that did romance right. Half of the people that noticed us first thought my boyfriend was Robert Baratheon 😂 So we sometimes rolled with it and told people that we were "Fanfiction Arya and Gendry" when they asked.

This was my first cosplay at my first con and I was so excited to meet other GOT cosplayers! This was a whole new world for me and I think there will be more cons to come 😊

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This is un-edited for now.  I am leaving it as a Stream of Consciousness until then.

             In 2013, I stumbled upon a cheeky video called Disney Dudez by Todrick Hall in collaboration with the boyband IM5.  It was cheesy but in an absolutely enjoyable way.  I remember that Dalton Rapattoni (Cinderella/Prince Henry) and Will Jay (Mulan/Shang) stood out the most to me; Will Jay for his great control and Dalton for his purpose voice.  I don't know if a term yet exists for this concept but for now, I call it a “purpose voice.”  After a recent manic episode, I finally found a way to articulate how I’ve always felt about music and why my support and love for Dalton’s music still hasn’t wavered. To this day, his music is able to make me feel things and think long and hard about it.  I like to think of my voice and songs as a mosaic of inspirations, whether it be celebrities, musicians, friends, family, or memories. He didn’t help my find my voice but Dalton’s influence since 2014 has heavily impacted my journey through finding my own voice and purpose as a singer-songwriter, which is why my “re-imagined” cover of his song “Heaven” was important to me.

             A purpose voice is almost like a purpose statement. When we apply for some colleges, we are expected to articulate exactly what makes us stand out from the thousands of applicants who want to succeed in the same field of interest.  To me, it’s the same difference as seeing someone who’s singing for the attention versus using it as a vice to strip into a vulnerability that connects with the audience.  Some artists have the luxury of being able to write their own lyrics to tell the audience their story with purpose.  Others may have difficulty doing this with covers of other people’s songs but even so (and like Dalton), they sing it with their own purpose that may or may not have anything to do with the original version.  

             And then there’s a purpose song sung with a purpose voice.  These are usually the profound tear-jerkers or emotionally driven songs like “Shallow” by Lady Gaga, “By Now” by Will Jay, or one of my favorites: “Music” by Jojo (stylized “Music.”)  “Music” is quite literally about Jojo’s purpose and why she does music.  It starts out talking about singing as a young girl to escape from overhearing her parents’ arguments, then later on growing up poor, watching her mom at work, and singing the troubles of poverty and hardship away.  Music is the subject the love song is dedicated towards and the way Jojo articulates her lyrics is chilling.  She is parched and longing for a sip of music to hold onto during hard times.  The last part hits home for those who have lost a loved one and she dedicates the bridge to her late father, “went on the road to make my daddy proud / but I lost him and so I sang to the crowd / my only hope is that he’s looking down thinking, ‘oh my god, my daughter’s doing it now.’”  There’s almost never been quite the song that describes the relationship between music and musician.  I think “Music” does this so well in making it as holy grail as water is to survival.  Overall, this song exemplifies the perfect matrimony between meaningful lyrics sung with vulnerable conviction – purpose.

              Somewhere in Sunnyvale, Texas and approximately fourteen years ago, a nine year old boy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  It was difficult understanding every emotion he experienced as he grew up no matter how many times a doctor or his mother would explain.  His grandma later gifted him guitar lessons and he enrolled into a nearby music camp, School of Rock, where he and his peers and mentors discovered he could sing. He formed the band Fly Away Hero and it was clear music saved him every time he performed.  At age fifteen, he ended up in a boyband where he was singing things he didn’t like and after a few years, he left to reunite with Fly Away Hero and sing with his whole heart again.  This was the era in which I discovered Dalton Rapattoni.  

             I was going through a writer’s block and had not yet been aware about my bipolar disorder at the time but I remember watching these pixelated videos of a carefree Dalton rocking out with some of his best friends and instantly became hooked to his songwriting style.  “Hercules” was one of the most inspirational songs that kicked the fire of my songwriting spree that spawned my debut album “It’s a Wacky World” (still available on iTunes and all other streaming platforms!)  Whenever I get excited about anything, I scream it to the heavens and I must have done it so much, made so many covers, painted so many obscure memes about Dalton to the point where it could have been an obsession. The parasocial relationship became a nice banter-and-exchange when I met him in Texas at his EP release party.  It was a magical moment for me.  He moves like he was born for the stage in a way that television or YouTube could never fully display.  After that Texas trip, I definitely made some posts for attention and had to remind my fangirl self that he’s human, too.  But like my respect for Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, and other inspirational artists, my dreams about Dalton were closer to sharing the stage and nothing more.  I knew nothing about his actual personality but I felt so connected in our music styles, songwriting style, and artistry.  It was like his music breathed life into mine again.  

             I didn’t understand why I struggled so much inside. I thought I possibly had ADHD or was just plain stupid compared to my peers in schools.  I didn’t get the best grades but I was well-read and teachers still described me as “smart.”  Music was where I felt like I could go anywhere with it despite it not giving me anything back in return other than a mental dose of amphetamine.  It wasn’t until I talked to one of my doctors about my thoughts about ADHD, to which he said, “actually…it’s bipolar disorder.” You never know what you have until you ask and I was always afraid to ask but the manic episodes were becoming more and more frequent.  Years later, I started shutting myself in my room and locking the door whenever I pleased.  My very Asian parents had never let me lock the door before 2018 and while some will think it’s controlling, I was used to that.  However, I was in my early twenties now so they stopped questioning my choices to lock the door.  

             I started writing again.  Even though years have passed since I flew over to Texas to meet Dalton, I felt even more connected to him upon learning about his bipolar disorder. I was always curious about what “Heaven” was about (but honestly, I’m curious about pretty much all of his songs) and perhaps there was some deeper meaning than learning how to pray again after a breakup with a “heavenly” girl.  Maybe it isn’t his purpose song but it was his first solo single and it hit home for me when I listened again in 2018.  I had the same feeling that I felt when I listened to “Music” by Jojo. Whatever it means to Dalton, I interpret it as his ode to music (“I found my heaven in you, coming back to your embrace.)  It is 2019 and I experienced another writer’s block so I returned to binge his music once again.  I sung Heaven in harmony with voice but this time, with purpose.  It fulfilled a long ago dream of sharing the stage with him, even though it wasn’t real. I locked my bedroom door, closed my eyes, and felt like I was just sharing a moment with someone who understood my struggles and coped with them through a similar outlet.  

          Dalton mentioned years ago that perhaps maybe we could share the stage sometime and I don’t think it’ll ever come true but “Heaven” is as close as I can get.  I was just overjoyed enough to receive such kind words from him.  I wrote It’s a Wacky World after taking some inspiration from the Fly Away Hero “Lost and Found” era and I like to think that my writing spree catalyst – his music – will always somehow be a part of me.  It definitely started out sounding like his work until I found my own voice and I think I found something that works for me that incorporates Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, Max Milner, and of course, Dalton Rapattoni.  I know I found my purpose voice so thank you, Dalton.  I hope that my future works can do the same for others well. 

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My views on language, cultural appropriation, and respect.

These thoughts all occurred to me as I, a Vietnamese-American woman, laid in bed thinking of the many times I was called "pretentious" or judged for speaking Spanish and French in their proper accents. It annoyed me every time because why would I say, "koh-moh ay-stawss" when I can properly pronounce "como estás?"

It's not pretentious to speak French with a French accent. It's not cultural appropriation to speak Spanish with a Spanish/Latin American accent. It's not offensive to speak Vietnamese with a Vietnamese accent. Accents are hard to replicate for some people but if you can speak a foreign language in the country of origin's accent, do it as a sign of respect towards the language and the cultural aspects of the language. What I think is disrespectful is if you have the ability to speak a foreign language properly but you say it however you please recklessly. A foreign language is a part of someone else's identity that they have graciously shared with you, which is why you can learn it at all. So treat it with care.

I will also say that I have been not free of cultural ignorance and disrespect myself. In elementary school, I said a derogatory comment to an African American classmate. I have objectified Pacific Islander and Latino men that I have been attracted to based on cultural things they take very seriously. Before learning to be proud of my Vietnamese heritage, I used my small claim over European blood as a racist intention against my Asian roots because I thought it was cooler to be only partial Asian. I know everyone in my area makes fun of white/Caucasian people so I still do sometimes but I am trying to curb it because enforcing stereotypes on others is not a justifiable revenge for being discriminated against in the past as an Asian-American woman. Some things you do or say in life are clearly forms of racism/cultural appropriation/discrimination and some things are definitely not. However, a lot of things are within a grey area and we swim through a sea of ignorance before we determine what is right and what is not. Let us reason together, inform, be informed, and respect one another.

How do I define cultural appropriation anyway? As grey as it can be, I can best define it through examples in Vietnamese culture, due to my positionality.

Let's use the recent Lunar New Year as an example. I have seen non-Vietnamese people wear our traditional garment, the ao dai, to our festivals. I will consider it offensive if you wear it and tug on your eyes to mimic typical slanted Asian eyes. I will consider it offensive if you wear it and spew nonsense to mock our language (i.e. "ching chong ling long ting tong.") I will consider it offensive if you are a non-Vietnamese man and you wear it just to attract our women. I think I agree with many people when they say that intention counts when evaluating someone for their cultural appropriation or lack thereof. Then what do I consider cultural respect or admiration? I like it when non-Vietnamese people wear ao dai and they: join in our Lunar New Year rituals like li xi and attend lion dancing festivals, know ao dai trivia (such as the fact that the final generic design we know today is a combination of an ancient mid-1700s design by a Vietnamese Lord and the influence of French-Vietnamese designers in the early 1900s), are signifying their union to a Vietnamese spouse by wearing it during the traditional daytime wedding ceremony, and basically anything that shows you respect our national garment.  At the end of the day, I am not saying that you should not wear our national garments.  But if you choose to, treat it with care as we have warmly invited you to join in on our customs.

Everyone has a different example in their own culture for what they can determine as offensive or in-offensive. I am no position to determine the time and place for the kimono, folklorico dress, cheongsam, kilt, sari, kanga, and many more. Not enough people do enough research and wear sacred cultural things like bindis and Polynesian tattoos as fashion accessories. Worst comes to worst and you don't know if you're being respectful or not, just represent your own culture and take plenty of pride in it.

All in all, these are just my thoughts at 2 A.M. and all are welcome to continue the discussion, correct me and educate me, and/or simply comment!

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Leap into winter on Charlie Puth‘s birthday!

I hope you guys like the new theme for this season!  The old logo is still visible on my Graphic Design page.

Something quite incredible happened to me last night.  I don’t remember what I was doing before I received a surprising call but basically, a copy of my It’s a Wacky World CD is now in Charlie’s possession!  He read the title as he struggled to pronounce my name (which most people do) and said that it was cool that my name meant “songbird” in Vietnamese.  That was the coolest Charlie Puth-related thing to have ever happened to me besides watching him perform at Shoreline Ampitheatre this summer. 

I am incredibly happy to know that he has my CD and somewhat knows who I am.  However, I’m actually quite scared that he’ll listen to it and won’t be offended if he doesn’t.  I am proud of that piece of work but It’s a Wacky World is something that I hardly identify with anymore.  It’s more noticeable the closer and closer I get to the anniversary of the release date.  It’s not the kind of impression I want to leave anymore but it still is a personal part of me and I hope he at least finds it somewhat enjoyable (I’m glad it opens on a funny track).  With a pitch-perfect brain like his, he’ll spot every little moment of pitchiness, I’m sure haha!

Those songs were written with Ed Sheeran, Dalton Rapattoni, and Max Milner as inspirations and I can’t wait for my work next year to launch with Charlie Puth, Jessie J, and musical theatre being my new catalyst.  I hope Charles had a great birthday today and I look forward to being amazed by his genius creativity again.

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This is a little cover Flor and I made a while back and never released.  We didn’t feel that we could quite get it right but here it is for funsies!

Follow Flor on instagram. Subscribe to Flor on YouTube.

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Here is a new cover by me!  This one was just for fun and I thought I’d put it out there while my current music project is still brewing.

The backing track was provided by JustAcoustic on YouTube.  I recorded and mixed my own vocals and designed the artwork.  Hope you enjoy!

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Michael Kors Eau de Parfum: A Versatile Line For All Women

Thanks to a birthday gift card from a good friend of mine, I was able to explore the Michael Kors fragrance line quite recently.  I was excited to discover that all of the scents I tried were very distinct from one another.  There will be scents in the line for different personalities and occasions.  Read on to see if Michael Kors has one for you!

Let’s start with Michael Kors Signature. 

Right off the bat, this fragrance is powerful in its jasmine-y overlay, although the website states that it has incense and peony notes.  I tested this out for a whole day ending with an evening banquet and it held up pretty well but I felt like I had to reapply once.  Signature is a unique fragrance, smelling like freshly brewed jasmine tea with some sweetness to it.  I find it versatile for all kinds of occasions and a generally good fragrance that will suit a lot of different personalities.  My signature scent is usually the summery Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue but this is close to taking its spot for the fall and winter.  It’s floral tones are very similar to the Gucci Bloom and for a “one size fits all” kind of fragrance, it still stands out as a unique signature of Michael Kors.  I give this an A-. 

Moving onto the glamorous Michael Kors Wonderlust.

Wonderlust is a glamorous and sultry blend of jasmine, bergamot, and spice.  It is perfect for evening wear with a warm fall vibe.  This fragrance is sexy yet mysterious, so the sexy tones are not too overpowering for office wear.  It is definitely a date night scent and unlike the original Signature scent, the performance lasts longer, unlike my exes.  You might be drawn to it if you’re a tease for its mysterious and dark sexiness.  However, there might already be some fragrances in the industry that are similar, so I give this an B+.

While Wonderlust was subtly sexy, Michael Kors’ Sexy Amber is the kind of scent for a woman who is sexy and wants you to know it. 

Sandalwood is the most prominent note in this fragrance.  It is warm, inviting, and my boyfriend loves this scent on me almost as much as when I wear Giorgio Armani Si Passione, another sexy and alluring fragrance.  However, the performance on this one fares better than Si Passione.  While Si Passione is slightly candy-like, Sexy Amber gets a warmer spice from its sandalwood and amber notes.  It is only slightly floral compared to his other scents and truly uniquely spicy but friendlier than the acquired taste of Dior Hypnotic Poison.  I would definitely wear this on a date.  It’s a bit of a daring fragrance for some women but I give this an A-.

For the tamer romantic, Michael Kors’ Sparkling Blush might be the scent for you.

Sparkling Blush is probably the most generic of Michael Kors’ fragrances although it is a nice blend of rose, vanilla, lychee, and sandalwood.  You can smell the individual notes but the blend ends up smelling like a softer version of Dior Miss Dior or Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf.  It almost has the floral freshness of Daisy Love by Marc Jacobs but it’s not quite there yet.  Plenty of fragrance lines already have something sweet and floral so this might be worth the buy if you like Michael Kors and the jewel-esque packaging.  Without comparing it to other fragrances, it’s still a good fragrance on its own.  I would wear this to a candlelit dinner and although it’s romantic, it’s quite versatile.  Michael Kors’ Sexy Amber was a mature sexiness so I would say that Sparkling Blush is more of a youthful romance.  This fragrance gets a B from me.

Last but not least, I tried out Michael Kors’ Twilight Shimmer as a sample and find it charming, from the packaging to the execution.

As a fan of DKNY Be Delicious, I am drawn to the fruity undertones of this fragrance even though it’s not as fresh.  It’s a dark date scent with woody hints but is still suitable for regular evening wear.  I would say that it is almost comparable to Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose.  I could still see myself wearing this in my cozy office at work, although nothing beats my favorite Nirvana White by Elizabeth & James for the office environment.  There’s a sweet creaminess to it due to the praline and it adds to the warmth of the fragrance.  I still have not yet done a wear test with this fragrance since I sampled it in the mall but I’m hoping to try more of it later on!

I hope you all enjoyed this leap into the Michael Kors fragrance line and that you may find the perfect scent for yourself along the way!

Warmest,

Quyne

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Don’t curse the universe during times of suffering.  Thank the universe for the blessings you have in the midst of suffering.  Only then will the universe deliver you its love in return.

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Early Concept Art for It’s a Wacky World

In the mid-summer of 2017, I made up my mind to ensure that It’s a Wacky World would be released by the end of the year.  Around that time, I reached out to my good friend and artist Paige Heishman and asked her to be my album cover artist.  Those who knew that I could also paint asked, “why didn’t you paint your own album art?”  My idea for a Wacky World was something that was somewhere along the lines of Salvador Dali meets Lewis Carroll.  Perhaps I’ll paint my own album art for future releases.  However, having worked with Paige before, I knew that there was only one person who could bring my ideas to life.

Paige accepted my project with enthusiasm and we began by working with demos of the album with my imagination in mind to come up with the notes you see here.  These concept markups were previously only available to our sponsors.  Enjoy!

Above, we created three possible front cover photos.  As you can see from the final image, the first concept block was the one we chose.  We liked the idea of literally drawing a train of thought and playing up the train theme from the album’s single, “Stranger on a Train.”  I ended up choosing the first concept block in a painterly style because of its simplicity. 

The other blocks were a playground for Paige’s surrealist styles, as seen in her depiction of Dalton Rapattoni’s song “Open Book”.  I wanted most things in my cover art to make absolutely no sense yet seemingly arbitrary to the world they came from.  I had given Paige plenty of freedom and she came up with upside down trains, a world with clouds where grass and pavement should be, disconnected body parts hanging in midair, showers of roses and money, and swings. 

For reference, Paige was given access to raw photos of a photoshoot I did with my other good friend and frequent collaborator Erika Svensson. 

Pictured above is an edit by Paige herself.

These poses were played around with until we decided to use those alternative concepts for other sides of the CD case, as seen here. 

I was blown away by her art in general but the leftside painting of my Wacky World was far beyond anything that I had originally imagined for my album art.  She did such an incredible job and I felt truly honored to have had her talent take part in my debut album.

Moving onto the remaining concept markups:

Once Paige decided how I was going to pose on the cover, we discussed the framing devices of the artwork.  I remembered telling her that I wanted bright colors, dark subjects on a light background, and for the third concept markup, I had chosen #6 for the color schemes.  Colors were later on muted to add a dreamy quality to the art and as Paige worked with the purple in my hair, color scheme #5 made more sense for the surreal vibe I was going for. 

It’s been nearly a year since It’s a Wacky World was released and I hope the second album that I am working on will follow up as soon as possible.  For now, I hope you enjoyed this peek behind the scenes of the album art and we will be selling physical copies of the CD online soon.  Stay tuned for updates!

Purchase digital copies here!

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Six Strings to Freedom

   At first sight, the denotation of a guitar is a contraption made of wood and metal.  Guitars make lovely sounds and can go from helping their players deliver tender lullabies to rebellious anthems.  Additionally, as guitarists, we are able to become one with this contraption of wood and metal.  It becomes an extension of our bodies as we dive into melodies.  It is the most soulful musical instrument of all because unlike the others, we hold it close to our bodies like we would with a lover.  We feel its curves, stroke its neck, and lovingly strum its strings beneath our fingertips.  This all connotes a deeper meaning to the wood and metal, for the guitar to a guitarist is like an extra limb or even a friend.  In my household, there are plenty of guitars since my dad started collecting fifteen years ago, but there is one particular guitar that stays perched in the corner, collecting dust.  It is not the best quality guitar that we own and its tuners have rusted terribly, but out of all of the other guitars, it has the most meaningful story.  We consider it to be one of our family’s greatest treasures.  The guitar has been around ever since my father’s father told him to stop playing it until today, where my own father encourages me to keep strumming and plucking, on and on.  This guitar serves as a key symbol of my dad’s transition from son to father as well as representing the acceptance of music in the Vu family as a whole. 

    “Guitarists often drive the ladies crazy,” my old man would say, “so I picked up the hobby at age fourteen, the year I really started to notice girls.”  However, as he played on and on in his neighborhood, young Quang Vu really became one with his instrument.  It was no longer about the girls.  He could not let it go, which made his bandmates and the village girls even more enthusiastic.  My dad’s identity went from “the boy with the ten sisters” to “the rockstar...with the ten sisters.”  People in the neighborhood used to ask him questions about his sisters whenever they ran into him on the street, but within a year of playing guitar in a local band, the questions were all about his upcoming shows.  He expressed to me that living with his sisters was like a flea market.  All of the young women in the house were constantly shouting over one another to be noticed.  My father was simply noticed because my grandfather wanted a son more than anything.  After nine daughters, he finally got what he wanted.  But my father wanted to be more than just the sole carrier of the family name.  The guitar brought music to his identity and he could have not been prouder.  

    My father loved playing guitar but the country in which he was playing it deterred him from pursuing it any further.  Vietnam was overrun by communists and the last occupation that any Vietnamese person wanted was to become a musician.  This was a view highly expressed by my grandfather, who ferociously disapproved of my dad’s night life.  Even today in Vietnam, communists are arresting musicians for releasing music that say anything against the government, whether it be explicit or implicit.  This happened quite publicly in 2012 and the charges were pressed against two musicians who were “spreading anti-state propaganda” (Tan, 2012).  My mother also recalls a time when her family owned a bookshop and even the slightest hint of anti-communism had the communists bursting through the door, demanding that my maternal grandfather ban certain books from his shelves.  However, fear of the communists never stopped my dad from sneaking out at night to rehearse with various local bands.  He would pay for a guitar in small increments every time because he and his family were impoverished.  Despite my father’s efforts to please his family, he could not resist his burning desire to get in touch with his passions simultaneously.  My grandfather found the guitar and smashed it to pieces.  My father then resorted to borrowing a friend’s guitar, only to have it smashed as well.  After that, he was careful enough not to let his father see that any guitar was in the house.  To ensure this, he bought a third guitar and would leave it at a friend’s house.  These rituals of sneaking off with new guitars signified rebellion to my father.  Not only was he rebelling against his father but he was freely expressing himself against the oppression of the communists.  As an adolescent, freedom of the body and spirit was very important to him.  He wanted to be able to find himself with the least amount of limitations possible.    

    The war continued to drag on and my father and his bandmates were forced into labor camps.  There was no time for dilly-dallying on the streets with their guitars, which respectively collected dust.  The only thing on my dad’s mind in the years that followed was to find a way to leave his corrupt country.  Despite the circumstances, my grandfather often introduced him to young women since his health was declining and he wanted to see his own son happily married off before he passed.  My father declined them all and said that his future was in the United States so only there would he settle down.  He planned to flee to the Philippines, which he ended up doing in the mid-80’s.  He was twenty six when he arrived at the United States and claims with expressive arm gestures that he had nothing but five bucks and the last guitar that my grandfather did not destroy.  In his moments of struggle, the guitar was his saving grace but he did not spend too much time with it in order to build a good foundation for his future descendants in America.  My father did everything from shoe-making to jeweling.  Additionally, around that era, a lot of rock and roll music was written and released in favor of the Anti-War movements (Hopkins, 2012).  He had a hard life struggling in America but the music around him continued to inspire him and he had hoped to significantly bring the guitar back into his life again.

The guitar was left abandoned until over a decade later when he had his own house with a three year old girl and a baby boy on the way.  Becoming a father brought him great joy.  When I was born, my mother wanted to keep up with the Kim (meaning “golden”) theme in her family since her name (Kim Thu) meant “Golden Autumn” and my aunt (Kim Binh) “Golden Peace” in Vietnamese.  My dad agreed but he also wanted to add his music touch to my name, since music was a huge part of his life.  They agreed with the final name (Kim Quyen), “Golden Songbird.”  It would have been a real kicker if I ended up becoming a dismal singer.  The first time he picked up the guitar after so many years, I hid behind the couch, extremely curious at the age of three.  He would notice me staring and then I popped out of sight again.  He continued to play guitar again and again because this discovery amused him.  He thought to himself, “if a kid keeps staring at you that way when you play music, that kid is going to be a musician.”  

I did not pick up the guitar until I was thirteen, but when I was three, I remember a distinct memory in which I waited until my father was out of sight.  I plucked the strings, made awful sounds with the guitar, and then tuned the high E string out of interest until it split in two and burst in my face.  It stung but I was more concerned with the broken string and said, “uh-oh.”  My father had been watching me the whole time and instead of being angry, he laughed.  It was truly heartwarming to him because the guitar had once been taboo in his household but now that he was the head of the house, music was going to be everywhere within it.  He was going to help that happen by encouraging his daughter to become a musician.  To me, I had analyzed these moments synchronically and saw it as just an extremely interesting object.  To my father, it showed him the evolution of the guitar in his life from a diachronic perspective.  It had been the forbidden fruit but now it was something that he could openly share with his own children.  I never really played his old guitar but he gifted me several new ones as the years went by to show how much he had passed down his passion to me.

Under the communists, every aspect of living is controlled.  The education systems are constantly being regulated.  Every book, CD, film, and other various forms of media are being checked by the communists to make sure that there were no anti-communist ideas that would influence their people.  In 2012, Hunger Games was banned for showing hints of communism and brutal violence (Ben-Moshe, 2015).  Since everything is being monitored, this is how musicians would end up in jail for expressing themselves.  Part of my grandfather’s resentment towards my dad’s love of music must have stemmed from the ongoing control from the communists.  To my grandfather, the guitar only symbolized a potential downward spiral for my father’s future.  My father loved rock and roll and it was heavily introduced to Vietnam in 1954, inspired by Western entertainment (Gibbs, 2008).  The communist party in Vietnam highly prides themselves in “[supporting] and [encouraging] the development, preservation, and restoration of all forms of traditional music and arts” (Deschenes, 2001).  Therefore, rock and roll also meant a sense of rebellion to my father and his fellow musicians.  The guitar was a helping hand for them to grasp on whenever they felt oppressed.  My father rebelled against the communists and his father, thus creating the bricolage of the guitar.  To him, it meant many things, and now that he is in the United States with children of his own, it represents to him what freedom truly means.  When it was in Vietnam, the guitar was a crutch to help him stand up against his father and the communists.  Over here in the United States, it is more widely acceptable to play guitar as a hobby so the guitar speaks volumes about how far my father has come from the young fourteen year old boy who first picked up the instrument.  

    From being an oppressed son to a liberated father, the guitar that stands in our living room corner signifies the evolution of Quang Vu.  His love for playing guitar stemmed from wanting to find his own individual voice amidst his ten sisters.  That voice wanted to speak out against my grandfather as well the communists for both of those elements held him back from being himself.  The communists did not encourage much freedom of expression so my father relished in the attention that he received at his local shows.  My grandfather wanted to oppress his only son as well so my father often snuck out with the guitar like Bonnie and Clyde-esque rogues in the night.  Learning from his past, he allowed his children to get wrapped into music as well, but to never forget about financial stability.  He just hoped to make sure that we were able to express ourselves freely as much as he could not.  There were times when I was sick in bed and my father would come into my room with a guitar.  He played soft melodies as I rested.  That would have been completely unheard of back when he was just someone else’s son.  My father was never too verbose about his love for me but it was moments like those that highlighted our father-daughter dynamic because we shared this passion in common.  This is the life that he had always wanted, and the guitar served as a bridge to his new life in the United States as a free man.

References:

Ben-Moshe, A.  (2015, Nov. 19).  Censored: Movies that have been banned throughout the world.  Jerusalem Online.  Retrieved from: http://www.jerusalemonline.com/ariel/censored-movies-that-have-surprisingly-been-banned-throughout-the-world-1163

Deschenes, B.  (2001).  The music of Vietnam.  Musis.  Retrieved from: http://www.musis.ca/matsu_take_eng/8_AMG_Vietnam.html

Gibbs, J.  (2008).  How does Hanoi rock?  The way to rock and roll in Vietnam.  Project Muse.  Retrieved from:  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/amu/summary/v039/39.1gibbs.html

Hopskins, A.  (2012).  Protest rock n’ roll during the Vietnam war.  Student Pulse.  Retrieved from: http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/713/protest-and-rock-n-roll-during-the-vietnam-war

Tan, D.N.  (2012, Oct. 31).  Vietnamese musicians jailed amid crackdown on dissent.  Bloomberg News.  Retrieved from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-30/vietnamese-musicians-jailed-amid-crackdown-on-dissent

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My Top 5 Fragrances for 2018

Before I spent a good amount of time researching and trying many perfumes in stores, I used to only use body sprays from Bath &  Body Works, little sample bottles from Sephora, and a small bottle of Black Opium by YSL.  It wasn’t until one birthday that I used a Sephora gift card and bought myself a mini Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue.  I have been obsessed with this best seller ever since and sought out to discover so many more perfumes.

Here are all of my recommendations in no particular order:

For all occasions, Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana eau de toilette is a perfect fresh scent for the summer.  It’s very popular on the shelves and the most distinctive note is the Granny Smith Apple freshness.  I am more likely to be drawn to fruity scents with apples being amongst my favorites.  Light Blue is understandably popular for its versatility and it is not very offensive.  However, the performance is not the strongest, since it is an eau de toilette and I reapply once or twice depending on how long my day is.  I have yet to purchase the intense version since I do hear that the notes are far deeper and the performance is much more enduring.  There is also a version for men, too, which I also find to be versatile.  For someone who used to use Black Opium every day, Light Blue is simply a fresher alternative with flavor.  Other all around versatile perfumes lie within the Miss Dior by Dior line so feel free to check those out, too!

For date night or an evening out with the girls, my current go to is Si Passione by Giorgio Armani eau de parfum.  I was told that Armani had amazing scents such as Armani Code pour femme (which I have yet to try) but their eau de parfum performance is akin to a typical eau de toilette.  However, I am in love with this new fall release!  It’s sweetly warm with a seductive undertone and the most prominent notes to me are blackcurrant and woody vanilla.  Despite the darker tone, it still remains vivaciously bright and is suitable for all occasions as well, since it is not offensive.   For those who find Hypnotic Poison by Dior offensive, this warm but lighter alternative is worth a try. 

My current office scent is Nirvana White by Elizabeth and James eau de parfum.  It seemed slightly offensive to me at first but over time, it grew on me with its uniqueness.  It’s a clean scent with floral notes, a balance of warmth and freshness.  I first discovered this amongst my Sephora samples and knew that I had to get the full sized bottle.  The performance is not lacking neither extremely impressive but it does last a while.  I believe I have only reapplied it once during extremely long days at work.  The other scents in the Nirvana line might be more offensive than their first launches but are worth checking out for their uniqueness and deep warm tones for the fall.  Nirvana White is by far the most popular from the Nirvana collection but I highly recommend Nirvana Bourbon or Nirvana Black for some extra spice.  If any men are interested, I find the Nirvana line to be quite unisex so this line may be worth checking out!

Si Passione was dark and seductive.  Light Blue was fresh and sweet.  I find Tresor Midnight Rose by Lancome to be sexy enough for a date but fresh enough for daytime office use as well.  This is most likely due to the combination of the raspberry and rose notes of this fragrance.  The performance is nothing mindblowing but out of everything listed here, the packaging is my favorite if you’re into the presentation of fragrances.  It is considered to be one of the sexiest fragrances for women and I always receive compliments when I wear it.

Last but not least is my current favorite fragrance for men, Dior Sauvage. This fragrance packs a punch with a powerful performance while remaining sleek and seductive.  Anyone remember the hype surrounding Hypnotic Poison by Dior for being so-so with women yet driving men crazy?  That’s what Dior Sauvage does for me.  I find it to be the sexiest fragrance for men so far and I kind of wish my boyfriend was into fragrances as much as I am so that I could spray this on him!  It is slightly musky with a top note of Bergamot.  Too much can be powerful and offensive so I would be careful with overspraying.  I like to use it on myself as well and find it to be a dark, mysterious, and alluring scent for women even though it was formulated for men. 

Honorable mentions: Ombre Leather by Tom Ford, Flowerbomb by Viktor&Rolf, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet by Dior, Rosa Excelsa by Dolce & Gabbana, Mon Guerlain by Guerlain, Gabrielle by Chanel, Aura by Thierry Mugler, Black Opium by YSL

If you don’t already own any of these fragrances, hope you guys love these recommendations!  If you have any fragrances that you personally love that aren’t on this list, feel free to send some recommendations under the “Ask me anything!” tab in the leftside sidebar.

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Welcome to Quipping With Quyne!

Ever since I started working at my day job, I hardly had time to bust hours at the studio to drop my second album.  For now, I make content whenever I can and squeeze in time for my music.  I will be taking followers on my creative process this time as we watch the next albums unfold together.  I will also touch on topics like literature, politics, culinary arts, pop culture, arts & graphic design, and many more.

I’m also figuring out where to apply for grad school so consider it a scrapbook for my gap year. 

Sidenote, really digging my theme, which was created by Miracle Gro Gardening.  You’ll see that it changes with each season!

Warmest regards,

Quyne