#meeh to this time of year's music

[victorluvsalice]

Okay, I actually have heard this one on the radio a couple of times this year...and discovered in the process that this particular video is inextricably linked with the song in my mind now. XD So yeah, I think this one now qualifies as another "reblog every year" classic. XD

Not gonna lie, this video got me into Corpse Bride XD

[gonerface]

1-30

if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?- Lots of bands and artists is for the listening, watching: Skam + Skins+ Teen Wolf + some pretty but meaningful movies, read: the perks of being a wallflower + it’s kind of a funny story... it’s a whole list but not today 

have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?-Not really actually

list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with.- does this only involve tv shows or? if it’s for tv shows imma guess I’m pretty much Isak and Noora combined   and from Teen Wolf I link with Stiles and Lydia

do you like your name?  is there another name you think would fit you better?-I like my name, but I hate the fact that people can’t spell it right. I don’t think another name would fit me better

do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?- I guess I do both

are you religious/spiritual?-I don’t really believe in god, but I like Greek mythology

do you care about your ethnicity?-yeah I do

what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?-tbh I have no idea

are you an artist?- I wish I was

do you have a creed?-nope

describe your ideal day.- did that one already, probably messed it up but oh well 

dog person or cat person?- both, I’m sorry but really both

inside or outdoors?- I have more fun inside, but festivals and concerts are always a go!

are you a musician?- I tried playing the guitar & cajon too 

five most influential books over your lifetime.- The perks of being a wallflower, Drarrie In De Nacht

if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d have turned out the same?-I ask this myself a lot, since we like moved 4 times, and I guess I would have a been different

would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”?-yeah it is

what’s your patronus?-I don’t have that I guess

which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle?- I did a test a long time ago, I got Hufflepuff

would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else?- I’d like to live in a world of airbenders, waterbenders, firebenders and earthbenders

do you love easily?- I’m attracted easily, but falling in love meeh. I do get flirty but that doesn’t mean I’m in love 

list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.- social media, listening to music, sleeping, dancing/singing, showering

how often would you want to see your family every year?-more than twice a year but oh well here we are

have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone?- yes, this happened quiet often

could you live as a hermit?- if I was born one, and lived like it, I would manage cause I wouldn’t know better. But starting from now?? sorry but no

how would you describe your gender/sexuality?- I am a girl, doesn’t care about buying some boy clothes and wearing them, bisexual

do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”?-not really. I wish it was.

on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for someone to get under your skin?- guess 4, but it depends on what you do 

three songs that you connect with right now.- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1vfB0207bo- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoAdVyuEuU-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpRok9uFLzc

pick one of your favorite quotes.- “ Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always “

[pseudoartsnlove]

These are the only films i finished watching last year, I may have watched more but i did not finish them. And I may have forced my self to watch on one of these.

1. SONGWRITER / An Ed Sheeran documentary

of course it's teddy! I watched this a couple of times and this was amaaazing! this is a documentary film made by ed's cousin murray (who is actually a good looking white man). This was mostly about how Ed made each track of his album Divide, the people behind each track, and couple other song's he's written and given to other artists as well. This made me realize how every track should be protected and be bought in a legal manner because a lot of people is involved, worked hard to deliver that certain piece for us to listen to.

favorite part: Ed and Cherry moments, and when Ed was writing Love Yourself, Ed cussing. Haha cute really (sorry!)

Made me cry part: Every word he has said to the kids of the school he went to, it was just so inspiring and so powerful and amazing how he ever come up with such thought. And that part when he made his dad listen to his song Supermarket Flowers. 😭😭😫

2. BABY DRIVER / Ansel Elgort & Lily James

One night I cudn't sleep and randomly lurked at my sisters laptop and happen to see Ansel on the picture display, so i watched it and wow. I genuinely loved it! probably bcos it played music from the start until the end and bcos they were really good songs, most I replayed for a month. The plot wasn't bad as well, I did not cry or nor did feel sad after watching but it was good i thought it was fast and i wanted more when it ended.

3. OUR TIMES / Taiwanese movie

This is another random movie we watched at work, halfway we had to stop bcos of work ofc so i finished it at home. This was romcom/sappy film. Super funny, in a Meteor Garden-ish setting. I actually love the most was the ending. There were 2 major cameo roles in the end and if your a fan Meteor Garden and Fated To Love You, you will surely love the ending too! (no spoiler yes!)

4. A Star Is Born / Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

When I first saw the trailer of this film I quickly vowed I'd be watching this, so I did, in an actual cinema. I really highly anticipated this one and even thought the premiere date was way too far so while waiting I listened to the official soundtrack over and over again. I was the kind of warrior really fully geared for a war except i did not read the synopsis! Haha I was expecting this to be a sappy unrequited love romance film but it wasn't! This was about mental health, that not even the person you love can save you from yourself. The ending struck me so much it made me cry.

Shallow won in Golden Globes btw, congrats Gaga and Cooper! 😍

5. To All The Boys I've Loved Before / Netflix Film

This is the review i hate to do. This is full of resentment and disapproval. So if you loved this film, stop reading. I have warned you.

Let's start this off with the fact that I have read the book series To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han, in fact i have the three books and love them dearly. I was one of those who went euphoric when the news came about the film adaptation, i have actual friends who loved the book as well and can still remember how excited we were, talking about the good news. Well, until the trailer came in. It started then, that my favorite fiction characters died along with the film.

I vowed i will never watched this movie, until everyone on social media were talking about it so I man up and watched for the sake to be objective. And who knows maybe there'd be miracle! Haha (yep, i was that patient)

I was never wrong, it was awful!

What went wrong: The wrong choice of artists. Lara Jean was half Korean, and the artist they chose was Half Vietnamese (atleast Asian-American? That does not do well with the plot, the artist acted like she was half korean, which is wrong. We keep giving all the non-asian audiences the chance to misidentify asians like they are all the same).

The Song sisters were meeh, the only artist that sort of fit was Kitty's. Margo's was way too old (which made her character impossibly immature) and the three of them just literally don't look like each other. How the fuck did they not notice it? And let's get back to Lara Jean, Lara Jean was freaking warm, cute and pretty, the one on this film looked like Charice Pempengco I cringe the whole time I was watching.

[newyorktheater]

David Henry Hwang was attacked by an unknown assailant with a knife and nearly died. That experience, along with the playwright’s shock at the results of the 2016 Presidential election and his oft-expressed ambivalence towards the patronizing but gorgeous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The King and I,” all make their way into “Soft Power,” an unusual musical by Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori that inventively and oddly presents the themes of East-West divide that Hwang has long explored in such works as “M Butterfly” and “Chinglish.” “Soft Power” is clever, highly entertaining, hilarious, in places downright inspiring, and chock full of stimulating intellectual, cultural and political argument that forces us to look at American society, and the very nature of democracy, in a different way. “Soft Power” is also, ok, confused….but not confusing.

The heart of “Soft Power” is a spoof of “The King and I” that reverses and updates the story so that the “king” is Hillary Clinton (Alyse Alan Louis) and the “I” is a Chinese musical  producer named Xūe Xíng (standout Conrad Ricamora, who was, in a delicious irony, one of the stars in the last Broadway production of “The King and I.”)  The reversal reflects Hwang’s irritation at such American musicals “where the white hero goes to some dangerous land and civilizes the backwards natives. The writers get all these details wrong. And the locals somehow speak with stupid accents — in their own country.” At the same time, though, such shows make Hwang cry.

The David Henry Hwang who expresses these views is a character in “Soft Power,” portrayed winningly by Francis Jue. The first half hour of “Soft Power” is a set-up for the musical spoof to follow. Xue Xing meets with David Henry Hwang (called DHH in the program) in 2016 to entice him to write a musical for the Chinese market.  His idea is to use it as a vehicle to bring Chinese values to the world, which is what he says “soft power” means, and what the United States has done for decades through such “international products” as Catcher in the Rye and Saturday Night Fever.

DHH is going to a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, and invites Xue along, where he gets to meet the candidate and get a selfie with her. The two men are both shocked when Hillary loses. Then DHH is stabbed….

“In the moment before I lose consciousness,” he tells us in front of the curtain, “a whole world passes before my eyes. I hear … violins?” �� and the curtain opens to offer a musical from China’s point of view – which, like American musicals, shows Xue traveling to the dangerous land of New York, the details are all wrong (the Golden Gate Bridge is in New York), and the locals (Asian-American actors in blond wigs) all have stupid American accents, and carry guns. What follows is a mock razzle-dazzle em musical.  At “the most famous American restaurant of all” – a gussied up McDonald’s —  rolling-skating chorus boys deliver elegant burgers, while Hillary  dances for the voters in a sparkling red tuxedo pantsuit, which she strips off to reveal a skimpy Wonder Woman costume. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court explaining the electoral college system using a suspiciously all-gold ballot box.

Presumably, this has all been DHH’s hallucination brought on by blood loss.

Then , however, Act II begins with a panel by Chinese experts fifty years in the future, during the intermission of the 50thanniversary performance of “Soft Power.” The panelists describe it as a landmark in Chinese art, an example of a new type of theater invented by the Chinese — “’Shūo chàngjù’ — literally ‘spoken and sung drama.’” This very funny scene sharply satirizes Western paternalism towards Asian art by flipping it (“There were no American artists per se. Only native craftspeople.”)

But is this still DHH’s hallucination, or have we dropped that?  The context of the musical we’re watching becomes  unclear. And when the musical picks up again after the panel discussion, the parallels to “The King and I” seem dropped as well.

Soft Power’s creative team is well versed in the American musical form. Director Leigh Silverman (Tony-nominated for Violet, who has been at the helm of some 30 stellar productions Off-Broadway) has put together a fine production on the relatively small stage at the Public Theater. Tesori, Tony-winning composer of “Fun Home” and “Caroline or Change”, has composed 13 songs that range from beautiful ballad to comic hip-hop, lushly performed by a 22-piece orchestra in full view on multiple tiers above the stage. Choreographer Camille A. Brown (Tony-nominated for Choir Boy) provides some expert moves for the performers, most of whom are Asian-American, many of whom are Broadway veterans, all of whom are first rate.

Yet, for all the experienced talent involved, “Soft Power” doesn’t feel like a fully realized musical (in the manner of, say, “The Book of Mormon,” which also includes a satire of “The King and I.”)  I doubt whether even the creative team of “Soft Power” could graph its plot.

This personally strikes me as an almost insignificant complaint in a show that, thanks to Hwang’s passion and sense of urgency, has the potential to change the way we look at the world, and at our own culture. “Soft Power” is at its most powerful when Xūe criticizes American society and democracy in ways that are frankly hard to refute. “Communism in China has raised hundreds of millions out of poverty. “But here in America, you have too much freedom,” he says to DHH in one of many such pointed observations. “You really believe your voting will force the rich to give up their money? Here, you cannot even force your mentally ill to give up their guns. “

Francis Jue as David Henry Hwng

Conrad Ricamora and Kendyl Ito as father and daughter

Conrad Ricamora and Francis Jue

Alyse Alan Louisas Hillary Clinton and company

Conrad Ricamora and Alyse Alan Louis

Alyse Alan Louis and Conrad Ricamora

Soft Power at the Public Theater Play & Lyrics by David Henry Hwang Music & Additional Lyrics by Jeanine Tesori Choreography by Sam Pinkleton Directed by Leigh Silverman. Orchestrations by Danny Troob; music direction and supervision by Chris Fenwick; dance arrangements by John Clancy; scenic design by Clint Ramos; costume design by Anita Yavich; lighting design by Mark Barton; sound design by Kai Harada; sound effects design by Bart Fasbender; video design by Bryce Cutler; hair, wig, and makeup design by Tom Watson; special effects by Lillis Meeh; music contracting by Antoine Silverman; and additional orchestrations by Larry Hochman and John Clancy

Cast: Billy Bustamante (Xue Xing Standby), Jon Hoche (Chief Justice/Hāli Aòhālā/Ensemble), Kendyl Ito (Jing/Prof. Lǐ Bìyù/Ensemble), Francis Jue (DHH), Austin Ku (Bobby Bob/Jū Míng), Raymond J. Lee (Randy Ray/Yáo Tuō/Veep/Ensemble), Alyse Alan Louis (Zoe/Hillary), Jaygee Macapugay (Betsy/Lóng Lín Kūn/Ensemble), Daniel May (Ensemble), Paul HeeSang Miller (Ensemble), Kristen Faith Oei (Ensemble), Geena Quintos (Airport Greeter/Ensemble), Conrad Ricamora (Xue Xing), Trevor Salter (Ensemble), Kyra Smith (Ensemble), Emily Stillings (Swing), Emily Trumble (Zoe/Hillary Standby), and John Yi (Swing). Running time: 2 hours including one intermission Tickets: $105 to $150 Soft Power is on stage through November 10, 2019

Soft Power Review: David Henry Hwang’s Sly Reverse Chinese Musical about America David Henry Hwang was attacked by an unknown assailant with a knife and nearly died. That experience, along with the playwright’s shock at the results of the 2016 Presidential election and his oft-expressed ambivalence towards the patronizing but gorgeous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The King and I,” all make their way into “Soft Power,” an unusual musical by Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori that inventively and oddly presents the themes of East-West divide that Hwang has long explored in such works as “