I am Your Sunshine

the ones I like
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“… Are you listening at all?” He asked, mildly irritated.
“I ceased to be interested a moment ago.” She replied, unapologetically.

There was once a person who could intrigue her in the simplest of sentences, one who could tickle her with a slight rise of eyebrows. Thoughts quietly exchanged along with undetectable grins. Her memory is a blur. Like pieces of different puzzles, none make sense. All she has are vague ideas of what it once was like. She remembers being intensely engaged. She remembers laughing hard, as though having uncontainable, concrete joy bursting out of her ribcage. She remembers soft, caramelized whispers in a crowded place, comfortable silence on the bench, the touching of hands. She remembers the side of the face, so calm and tender that had always drawn her in, mesmerized. But she too remembers the hairdryer thrown, china smashed, words that cut like knifes. She remembers waking up, unable to breathe, and the pang that followed every heartbeat…

“Just kidding, ha.” She reached out to him. “Come on, don’t pull a long face.”
Seeing his still gloomy countenance, she gave him a smooch on the cheek and a sparkle of smile blossomed where it landed.

“Smell me.” She said.

I didn’t notice when the others have gone. It was late; I should have gone home. But we were having such a good time. She was adorable. I loved talking to her, and watching her talk. I remember her velvety cheek, as pink as my baby brother’s. When I realized the time, we were the only ones left in the classroom. It was dark already. She must have noticed me noticing the time. She smiled, and murmured something that got lost in the chilled air. She leaned over and looked me right in the eyes. I could feel her breath tingling the top of my nose. I did not dare to move a single molecule; I didn’t think I could anyway. She rose one of her arms, everything was in slow motion, and pressed my head against her breasts. “Smell me.” She said, in a luscious tone. I, unable to disobey, took a deep breath, and sucked in the sweet and bizarre aroma of white peach and steamed milk. Her voice soft and faint, continued to hypnotize me with indistinguishable moans. I still had not moved. About a thousand years later, she let go of me, grabbed her bag, and left the room. She acted as if nothing had happened the next day. I guess it was true in some ways. She moved away before the semester ended.

“Hello?” She snapped her fingers impatiently. I must have seemed dumbstruck. “What’s the matter with you? Come on, smell it.” She put her wrist in front of my face. It’s summer and the grass is green. “My new perfume. Like it?” She put her arm into mine, and I smiled.

那天要去接w, 跟貓約在京站逛了一下,
發現美食街有個復古的小攤子賣宜蘭小點.
魚丸湯, 四神湯, 還有看似巨大蘿蔔糕的九層炊.
貓說小時候我們有買來吃過, 我是一點印象也沒.
所以對我來說也沒有味道對不對的問題.
我只在乎它”對我來說”好不好吃.

其實很多東西對我的意義皆是如此.
雖然也會好奇想試試某一料理的”正確口味”,
藉以揣想當地人的味蕾,
但”道地”兩字從不是我執迷不悟誓死效忠的精神指標.
日本拉麵往往太鹹, 墨西哥豆我是敬謝不敏,
而法國麵包的堅韌恕我無福消受.

不過… 當朋友在南灣邀約上印度館子的時候,
我想我還是會以”美國的印度菜怎比得上英國的印度菜”這種雅痞理由婉拒,
誰叫我這想給別人一種”印象”(不管是哪種)的個性難改呢.
哎呀不過那位會找吃印度料理的朋友似乎已經搬回台灣了.

而我, 坐在台南一家非常講究卻又不給人難以親近之感的咖啡廳
一度恍神以為我仍身在倫敦.

從小就喜歡把玩媽媽收藏的眾多香水瓶,
後來幾次自己出國, 也有帶一些漂亮的香水進貢給媽媽.

一直都有想要買一瓶屬於自己的香水, 但一直不敢輕舉妄動.
總覺得穿在身上的跟拿在鼻前嗅的還是不同一門學問.
第一瓶香水也不想太隨便.
後來因緣際會入手了 L’Occitane 的 The Vert au Jasmin,
但因不確定搭配起來如何, 仍是極少臨幸.

真正把我拉進香水深淵的還是 w.

那時 w 開始想玩香, 便拉著我大街小巷的逛.
某次晃到莎莎, 與 w 愉快地一起東張西聞,
一不小心 Lanvin 的 Rumeur 沒噴在試香紙上,
香水點點落在手腕, 一時之間驚為天人.
我相信這是我與她的緣份, 於是回家便上 Amazon 下訂.

另外 Tocca 的 Florence 也深得我心, 只是好貴… XD

入夏之後覺得 Rumeur 太過厚重, Florence 要省著用,
於是打起 w 的 Story 的主意, 跟 D&G 的 18 Le Lune 交替.

前陣子被 Harrods exclusive 的 Prescriptives Calyx 再版弄得心癢難搔,
但是因為是不熟悉的香調所以沒有下手.
另外 Balenciaga Paris 跟 Marina De Bourbon 的 Fleur de Lys 也都讓我有點心動.

*還有一支以前蠻喜歡的, Badgley Mischka 的 Fleurs de Nuit. 不過因為太貴一直沒有考慮…

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好用 Wiki

Monday
20:00 ABC Dancing with the Stars (9/20)
21:00 FOX Lonestar (9/20) double life con man
21:00 NBC The Event (9/20) Conspiracy Thriller
22:00 ABC Castle (9/20)

Tuesday
20:00 FOX Glee
21:00 FOX Raising Hope (9/21)
21:00 ABC Detroit 1-8-7
21:30 FOX Running Wilde (9/21) (Keri Russel, Will Arnett)
22:00 CBS The Good Wife

Wednesday
20:00 NBC Undercovers (9/22) JJ
21:00 CW Hellcats (9/8) Cheerleaders, 但似乎有點囧
21:00 ABC Modern Family (9/22)
22:00 ABC The Whole Truth (9/22) (Maura Tierney)

Thursday
20:00 CBS The Big Bang Theory
21:00 CW Nikita (9/9)

Friday
21:00 ABC Body of Proof (Jeri Ryan)

另外 Laura Linney 的 The Big C 也很令人期待

Apartment 3A @ 皇冠小劇場

偶爾上 FB 看到有人推薦膛口, 原來是筱婷的劇團.
剛好本次演出日期我在台灣, 於是便招人一起去.

對於台灣的戲劇環境我不是很清楚, 不過常常聽到很悲觀的說法, 於是對於這個英語演出的舞台劇也不知道該抱怎樣的期待. (但話說以前看的幾齣外文系畢業公演都還不錯.)

場地的音效不錯, 音樂也很用心. 女主角 Annie 一出場便令人驚豔. 不只是英文流利口條清晰, 她情緒表現的掌控也非常精確到位, 很自然地把觀眾帶入戲裡. 然而房東 Betty 感覺就像在演刻板印象中的厲害大嬸, 像鄉土劇中那種, 不是很有說服力, 有點令人不耐. 男主角(?) Elliot 的英文語調很韓式, 常常得看字幕才知道他在講什麼. 也因此完全無法判斷他的演技, 因為他整個就像在展現他背台詞的能力, 知道, 卻看不出這個角色的個性. 他一直 “Hey Annie” 也很讓人難受. Donald 就… 中規中舉的.

劇本很棒, 該輕鬆的輕鬆, 深刻的部份也是溫柔的深刻. Annie 在描述 Donald 出現的幻覺時, Donald 站在舞台前方, 伸出手, 那幕實在是太美了. 最後房東 Betty 親口確認了大家心底的懷疑時, 我跟著 Annie 回想與 Donald 相處的種種, 幾乎落淚. (但是觀眾好多人在笑… orz)

不知道台灣人這種遇到尷尬情況不知如何反應就笑的習慣什麼時候才會改掉呢…

Finished the script on my way to Tainan. At this moment, I like the movie better. Even though there are more intriguing lines in the play, (they’d have seen smart-assed and insincere in a movie.) I cannot bear to see my favorite Posner growing up to be this sad, or pathetic even. Granted he is destined to be a tragic character; still, I’m much content believing that he turns out to be a “not happy, yet not unhappy” teacher.

The movie is done beautifully. Alan Bennett really masters his work, instead of being a slave of his own creation. He knows the essence of the story (it didn’t just “happen”, like some of Auden’s earlier poems); therefore, he is able to manipulate it to fit the form. He takes the advantages of flashbacks and voiceover, uses them to compliment the story but never overplays. The ending of the film is poetic and gives viewers a sense of its root – the theatre.

Having read two of his plays, one is tempted to jump to the conclusion that he’s a Auden enthusiast. But it might well be my personal adoration of Auden and my lack of literary knowledge which is so very much venerated in the History Boys. Bennett throws in “gobbets” effortlessly through mouths of his characters as if to show off. But for me, he is merely demonstrating the kind of spirit, which is the heart of the play, that one is in harmony with the entire human experience through words, through literature, that one is part of the union of unique individuals.

As Hector tells Posner in the play,

The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.

The reading was succinct, clever and beautiful, much like Auden’s poetry.

It took place at the smallest of the three – Cottesloe Theatre. I, as usual, took my time getting the ticket and fortunately there was one in the center available.

The moment they walked onto the stage, I was literally breathless. Damien Lewis, Jeremy Irons in flesh and blood! They were just few steps away and I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off Damien. Ms. Hart began with a brief intro and Ms. Atkins started off with one of Auden’s work which I once put some effort into studying it – Musee des Beaux Arts. Damien continued with w’s favorite, one of my top choices as well, As I Walked Out One Evening. Turned out that Damien read the ones I love very much, including The Unknown Citizen, O Tell Me the Truth about Love and Funeral Blues. His reading was animated and entrancing; he evoked some laughters at times , and he completely took my breath away with his presentation of Funeral Blues. Ms. Atkins and Mr. Irons’ readings were excellent as well, much filled with humor and/or emotions.

Thoroughly a treat!

結果我還是忍不住去吃了一頓比較正式的下午茶. 決定之前在各個餐廳評鑑網站研究了好久, Ritz 跟 Harrods 都有點價格與品質不成正比, 而且還要穿正式服裝, 我根本就沒帶高跟鞋來啊… 最後我挑了在 The Capital 旅館的下午茶室. The Capital 就在 Harrods 的旁邊, 位於 Chelsea想當然爾一定也是走高級路線的. The Captial 的茶室本身很小, 擺設非常典雅親密, 大家講話也都小小聲, 氣氛頗佳. 洗手間用的是 molton brown 的產品, 擦手的是毛巾, 而且每間廁所裡還有一盆蘭花(!), 另外有兩張休息的椅子, 旁邊還有礦泉水跟杯子.

finger sandwich 有四個, egg salad, tuna, salmon, chicken. 風味各異, 都非常好吃, 不會有太乾或沒味道這類常有的問題.

scone 配的是 Devon 產的clotted cream 跟他們的 rasberry jam.
很慚愧的是我沒有吃出 scone 香不香.
因為 scone 小小一個, 所以我每口都塗了跟scone本身一樣大的cream & jam XD
所以沒怎麼吃到 scone 本身的味道, 不過口感真的很好 :D

fruit cake… 我本來就不喜歡這種東西, 所以不是他做的不好吃

pastries:
lemon tart + 一小塊草莓: 酸甜得宜, 滑嫩又入口即化

巧克力蛋糕(?) 中間夾了rasberry醬 搭配的也很好吃

再來是我超愛的 banana macaroon 中間的cream夾上banana rum的醬
外殼似乎灑了一些椰子粉

中間一杯底層是 rhubarb compote 上面 sponge cake 再上面 custard
再上面一圈 pistacchio 小餅乾片中間圍著一顆 rasberry

非常滿足啊…

號稱是英國最大的螢幕. 覺得比 SF Sony Metreon 的 IMAX 小一點, 位子是絕對比 Sony Metreon 少的, 不過開始看之後覺得螢幕還算夠大.

好幾片預告裡, 比較有興趣的是 Tron: Legacy 跟 Prince of Persia. 不過說真的, 不要再一直拍華麗場面但故事空洞的電影了, 這種很容易就看膩的.

回到 Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. 演得很好, 感情與性格表現的很確實而動人. Mickey Rourke 的角色從一開始就 cliche 到不行, 不過這也不是他能控制的. 反正這個歡樂的故事裡只需要 stereotypical 的反派, 至少這個反派的個人能力夠強, 也不是個白痴. 說到白痴, 就不能不提 Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), 真是蠢的非常成功, 不過 Sam Rockwell 一直讓我想到 The Fifth Element 裡的 Gary Oldman.Scarlett Johansson 的出現讓我緊張了一下, 不過好險她沒有破壞 Tony 跟Pepper 之間的平衡.

本集的動作沒有第一集那麼緊湊, (也可能是胃口被養太大了,) 不過一點也不會覺得它冗長. 但也許是為了維持整體的節奏, 有些地方感覺處理的比較隨便不夠細膩. 不過呢, 本集保有 Iron Man 一貫的幽默, 讓它跟其他近代的漫畫電影有所區別, 也是我喜愛Iron Man 的原因之一.

* Tron: Legacy 是 1982 年 Tron 的續集, 當初的主角是 Jeff Bridges, 他會在續集中繼續演他原來的角色!

* Avengers 電影預記 2012年發行, 應該會由 Joss Whedon 執導, 真令人期待!

今天從美國來的朋友相約在 Gloucester Rd 站附近的 pub (Stanhope Arms) 吃晚餐看 Man City v Tottenham Hotspurs. 我比較晚到, 所以她們已經點好食物與飲料. 我到吧台點了一杯 Strongbow (是 Cider, 因為沒看到我想喝的啤酒), 遞出信用卡, 結果酒保羞澀地跟我說五磅以上才能刷. 我打開皮夾, 驚訝地發現我沒有紙鈔了 (其實夾縫裡還有, 不過我還不想用), 當我在零錢袋裡翻找著銅板時, 旁邊的一位大叔忽然出聲, “I’ll pay for her drink.” 我嚇了一跳, 但酒保似乎嚇了一大跳, 還再三確認他是否是認真的. 我客氣了兩聲便欣然接受了. 當個外國(偽)小女生的好處啊~ 科.

到英國之後, 我也跟著大家一邊看球一邊拿杯啤酒 (因為酒吧真的也沒啥好的葡萄酒選擇, 而且我發現有些當地產的啤酒其實還蠻好喝的.) 因為都是出社會的人了, 大家也很習慣地你一輪我一輪的買酒, 我也因此被請了好幾次. 但問題在於, 我每次喝一 pint 就好飽了 (還會狂跑廁所), 所以幾乎沒有我買 second round 的機會. 不過我還是會找機會回饋給其他人. 也許不是當初請我的人, 不過我相信這世界是存在歡樂的互助暖流的.

前幾年倫敦地鐵似乎花大錢重整, 今年來到倫敦, 覺得地鐵跟印象中不同. 記得十年前的倫敦地鐵, 動線是比紐約地鐵好懂一些, 不過陰暗與髒亂度比紐約地鐵有過之而無不及. 這次來倫敦, 發現地鐵變得乾淨明亮 (當然還是比不上台北捷運), 指示也非常清楚, 只要稍微研究過一下地鐵圖, 都不太可能坐錯. (District line是複雜了點沒錯.)

前幾天我從 Northern Line 要轉 Piccadilly Line, 下樓梯一轉彎便看到 Piccadilly Line 正要準備離開, 我快步向前, 兩大跨步跳進了車箱, 抓住車箱正中間的欄杆轉了半圈. 我還在為自己的靈巧感到慶幸時, 旁邊一個上班族忽然對我說, “that was impressive.” 我還不知道該得意還是困窘, 他又補了一句, “if you’d add a somersault next time, it’ll make my day.” XD

之前都是在各個小鎮喝三到五磅不等的 cream tea (就是一壺茶搭配 scone), 在 Rye 吃了一次傳統下午茶, 也是不到十磅. 結果心血來潮想來找找倫敦哪裡有好吃的下午茶, 卻發現有名的動輒要三四十磅!

其實我還是想吃 Sally Lund.

在英國待了兩個月, 看的劇如下:
(在清單後分享各個便宜票的購入方式)

4/03/10 London (Wyndham) Avenue Q
4/15/10 Cardiff (New Theatre) Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
4/19/10 London (Drury Lane) Oliver!
4/26/10 London (Aldwych) Dirty Dancing
5/01/10 London (Criterion) The 39 Steps
5/01/10 London (Haymarket) Sweet Charity
5/05/10 London (Lyttelton) The Habit of Art
5/06/10 London (Savoy) Legally Blonde
5/10/10 London (Piccadily) Grease
5/13/10 London (Victoria) Billy Elliot
5/17/10 London (Olivier) Women Beware Women
5/18/10 London (Soho) Idiots of Ants: This is War
5/20/10 London (Trafalgar) Holding the Man
5/20/10 London (Prince Edward) Jersey Boys
5/24/10 London (Noel Coward) ENRON
5/25/10 London (The Globe) Macbeth
5/25/10 London (Queens) Les Miserables
5/26/10 London (Old Vic) The Real Thing
5/27/10 London (Open Air) The Crucible
5/28/10 London (New London) War Horse

以下依照我的喜愛程度排序~ Continue Reading »

[原文於 Mar 11 2009發表]
Dead Zone 裡 Johnny Smith 的 “是誰造成世界末日” 關係圖.

the wall of doom

Life 裡 Charlie Crews 的 “到底是誰陷害我?” 關係圖

Conspiracy wall

本周的 Chuck 的 “為什麼我變成Intersect” 關係圖

the secret of Tron poster

[新增] FlashForward “跳到未來是誰搞得鬼” 線索牆
Mosaic Investigation Wall

“Your Mileage May Vary.”

Saw it on FlyerTalk forum. The shorthand came from the small print in automobile commercials in the 70’s and 80’s. It has come to mean an acknowledgment that the opinion of the poster may not be shared by everyone.

=D

observe and learn.
pick and choose principles to live by.
feel free to change your mind anytime.
most importantly, reflect,
and eat your vegetables.

This is the first time that I read (okay, listen to) a book simply because I like the reader. Agincourt is read by Charles Keating, who read The Lighthouse and The Murder Room and Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James. His voice is affectionate without being to sentimental, authoritative yet kind and his reading is always engaging.

Agincourt is about the battle took place in 1415 that shocked Christendom. The Battle of Agincourt, or Azincourt in French, was of little real significance in the hundred year war. For Henry V, it had not been a successful campaign since he marched his army onto Upper Normandy. However, the fact that the sickness stricken and exhausted English army was able to defeat the healthy, well-equipped French who outnumbered the English probably 4 to 1 (even 6 to 1) makes the battle fascinating. Shakespeare’s play Henry V which centers the battle doesn’t hurt, either.

In Agincourt, Cornwell tells the story not from the King, not from the gallant Sir John Cornewaille, who was a real Agincourt hero, but from an archer’s point of view. Because of that, we are able to experience the battle in closeup. Not on a horseback in shiny armor, but really see the nastiness and fear of the battlefield. While telling the riveting story, Cornwell manages to delivering a great deal knowledge on battlefield maneuver and medieval war technology, which doesn’t interrupt the story but make it even more engaging.

I thoroughly love it.

It should be fun this year cos I’ve watched most of the nominated films.

the ones that I haven’t seen and not intended to see are:
Avatar, Precious, The Lovely Bones, The Hurt Locker, Fantastic Mr Fox, A Prophet, The White Ribbon and District 9.

watched and liked watched but did not like so much wanna watch
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