Ithaca?

I recently took a short vacation (like one day kind of short) in Ithaca. To be honest, I don't like the town of Ithaca very much. It is, well, bleak. Some may call it quiet and peaceful, but I think it is rather dull. I think dead may be a better word. Doesn't anyone in that town talk above a whisper or move faster than a snail? The most lively person I saw is a statue. The only cheerful part around Ithaca is a college campus that make you feel as if you just stepped into a story book. The blossoming trees and green grass surrounding stone and brick buildings under the sun are beautiful. In conclusion, like any town, there are ups and downs in Ithaca.

The sky is really blue...

Swan Lake

I don't consider myself the biggest fan of music. There exists a few good pieces that I like or use as space filler, but my iPod is basically a dust-attractor. But if I have to choose a genre of music that I like, then I would pick classical music. Strange? Some people tell me "yes, it's strange that you like classical music." Okay, so classical music is not the most popular music around anymore, but I think that, in general, classical music is definitely the best music around. After all, somethings do not stay around for centuries unless people see great value in them. Not long ago, Google features a doodle tribute to Tchaikovsky depicting a scene from a ballet. A spark went off in my head! One of my favorite band is 12 Girls Band (女子十二楽坊), which consists of...12 girls. They are a Chinese music group performing instrumental music on traditional Chinese instruments. Aside from traditional Chinese music, they also play western music and popular songs. Thus, the connection to Tchaikovsky is formed.

May I present: the 12 Girls Band performing Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake!

Sketch of Fancy

I really want to be on a drawing spree, I really do. However, there are still a few things that I must take care of before I can do so (this blog is one of them). I did start a couple of projects that I WILL finish, and here is one of them. It is a work in progress. The original picture is a photograph of a cosplayer (someone who dresses up like an anime/manga character) posed as Yoite from Nabari no Ou. Cosplayers basically bring a character from the paper into the real world. Thus, I want to take the character back to paper.

Original

My work in progress done in color pencil

I shall continue this and post the finished product. I hope that will happen soon.

Oh, Rainy Days...

It has been raining for the last few days (with days of intense sunlight and heat in between), which remained me of a post from some times ago. In that post, I introduced a song about the rain (or was it rainbows?). Either way, these rainy days drew me back to a piece of music that I have not listened to for some time. So, I pulled up YouTube and played this beautiful piece called "Kiss the Rain," by the Korean composer and pianist Yiruma. Words cannot describe the perfect tranquility of this sound. Thus, rather than I ramble on about it, just listen to the sound of rain.

Pottery

Recently, I had my first encounter with pottery making. While messy (clay, clay everywhere), it was quite enjoyable. Of course, as an inexperienced novice, making objects on the wheel was (still is) quite challenging. During that short time of pottery making, I gained a new hobby: watching other people make potteries. Surprisingly, it was very soothing (I thought it was going to be dull), especially when I am watching experts at work. Thus, I search YouTube (it seems I'm on there all the time) for master potters. I was not disappointed and below are two clips. One is of the legendary pottery maker Hamada Shoji and the other is a more recent clip of someone making a teapot (it inspired me to make a tiny, hand-sculpted tea set). 

Hamada Shoji

Almost instructional video on teapot making

I can't stop watching; must see more. I wish I had more time with pottery making, then again, don't we all wish we had more time with one thing or another.

Duck, Duck, and More Ducks!

Courtesy of http://www.schemamag.ca/archive2/images/pekingduck1.jpg

(Ironically, this is from an article about the UK banning the oven for cooking the ducks.

No oven = no ducks)

My favorite dish award goes to the best dish on Earth: the Peking Duck (北京烤鸭). This centuries old dish originated from imperial times in China and remains a favorite today, for good reasons too. Premium duck roasted over a live flame creates the perfectly crispy skin and juice meat. After it leaves the oven, the duck is skillfully cut into thin slices with skin and meat. It is eaten with thin pancakes (more like paper thin flat breads), spring onions, and hoisin sauce. The best place to enjoy this dish is, of course, in its native home in Beijing (used to be called Peking, hence Peking Duck). Two restaurants famous for their delicious duck are Quanjude and Bianyifang, so be sure to visit if you are ever in Beijing. You won't be disappointed. Yummy!!

Yoshinoya Yumminess!!

Courtesy of www.yoshinoya.com

One of the best fast food restaurants is Yoshinoya. No, I lied, it is the best. Yoshinoya (吉野家) is one of the leading Japanese fast food chains. Established in 1899, Yoshinoya has won the hearts of many consumers with its gyudon, or beef bowl (pictured above). It offers convenient, healthy (compared to restaurants like McDonald's), and, most importantly, delicious food at a low price. If one is lucky enough to find a Yoshinoya restaurant, stop in and enjoy the experience.

Case #1c: Select Sketches

Click here for the Master List.

The detective, after discovering Paddington's secret, takes the enchanted teddy bear back to the Detective Agency.

Fun(ny) Song

This has to be one the funnest songs ever. Titled "Hare Hare Yukai," this song hails from the most random-filled anime, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. One must admire the many ways that people use animation technology. This catchy song comes complete with its very own set of dance moves, so grab some friends and take up the challenge of dancing the "Hare Hare Yukai" dance!!!

Note: The video is conveniently mirrored for easy learning

Tried it yet? Tired yet? This could make for a fun workout. 

Happy, but Sad, and Kind of Confused

Courtesy of http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/

From left to right: Sam, Lucifer (in Nick's body), and Dean

First of all, this post may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.

Couple posts ago, I wrote about my excitement and expectations for the season finale of Supernatural. And the dramatic conclusion is...AWESOME!!!!! This episode has met my every expectation, which does not happen very often. I was so happy with the direction that this episode took and was saddened by the apparent end. However, the masterminds of the show really threw me for a loop. Warning; starting here are spoilers and possible confusion for non-followers of the show.

Sam said "yes" to Lucifer (but he and Dean have a plan to beat the Devil), which means that Lucifer can now walk freely on Earth by "wearing" Sam as a suit. However, plot twist ensures, as Dean and Sam discover that their surprise, clever plan to put Lucifer in his cage was not a surprise. Lucifer knew what they were scheming. Then Adam, the long lost Winchester brother, shows up as the Archangel Michael and prepares to fight with his brother, Lucifer/Sam. At the last moment Dean shows up to save Sam. Before he was able to do so, Dean was severely beaten by Lucifer/Sam. After that heart-gripping fight, Sam comes to his senses and overcomes Lucifer's control. As Sam/Lucifer jumps into the Devil's eternal prison, with Michael in tow too, Dean is left all alone (Cas and Bobby were with him, but Lucifer killed they). It was the saddest scene I have seen on television. Then, comes the pile of new questions (hint for Season 6?!). Cas is miraculous brought back to life with all of his angel powers. But who brought him back? God? That leads to the next question: who is God? By the very end of the episode, it seems that the prophet Chuck is the likely candidate (previously "normal human" who sees the plans of Heaven suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke). And Sam is shown to be standing outside Dean's "new home." How did he get out of the eternal prison?

After all that emotional roller-coaster, I must say, I cannot wait for Season 6.

Pencils (But of What Kind?)

I recently searched local store for pencils after I lost my last mechanical pencil to the unkown. For starters, I'm a mechanical pencil person, and I have not used a wooden pencil for writing (I use it for art) since elementary school. At the store, my eyes were immediately drawn to a colorful pack of what looked like regular wooden pencils. However, upon close inspection I saw that they were, in reality, mechanical pencils. Delighted, I brought them in a colorful pack of 28.

Kind of Sad

Courtesy of http://www.tvguide.com/

Tonight the season finale of Supernatural, my current favorite TV show, will air. I am excited to see what is going to happen and I just cannot wait!!! However, this episode, being the last episode of this season, is making me sad. I just found this great show in the middle of this season and now it is over (sad face). This episode is supposed to sum up and answer the accumulating amount of question starting from Season 4 (it is currently on Season 5). What is going to happen to the Winchester brothers? And Castiel (or Cas for short, but Castiel sound cooler)? It he going to return to Heaven (Cas is/was, and I quote, "an angel of the lord")? But the big question is, how is Team Freewill (Winchester brothers, Cas, and Bobby) going to stop the Apocalypse? So many questions...are they going to be able to answer them all in 45minutes (I know the show is one hour long on TV, but the amount of commercials on TV nowadays is ridiculous). I have high hopes for this episode, and I hope the writers will bring this season to a great ending. I hope I don't cry.

Fictional Character

One thing led to another and I invented a fictional character complete with an imaginary biography. And now, I proudly present to you:

Mai-chan

Fictional Character Biography:

Mai-chan here is a sixteen years old high school freshman, who enjoys drawing in her spare time. Her favorite color is blue, and maybe purple. She likes to play tennis on Sundays with Tama, her cat.

I have no clue what I am talking about. How does one play tennis with a cat anyway? This is just a simple exercise for me in Photoshop, the skin color looks kind of off here even though it looked alright on PS. How odd.

Replicating Life

Courtesy of howstuffworks.com

How does our genetic information replicate? I seems these day that one's DNA could be obtain from just about every inch of a person's body, according to police procedural show. But are shows like CSI and Law & Order correct? Well, they are most of the time. The human body consists of countless number of cells, and each of these cells (most of them anyway, curiously red blood cells do not contain DNA) contains a person's complete genetic information. Now, how does DNA get into each one of these cells? During mitosis (the division of cells), one parent cell replicates its DNA and then split into two daughter cells. DNA replication begin with the unwinding of the double helix. The base pairs (the step-like structures depicted on the picture above with the letters on them) separate and complementary bases pair up to form two new double-stranded DNA's, each with one strand from the parent and one newly formed strand. Fascinating, isn't it?

Replicate

A duplication of Georgia O'Keeffe's White Trumpet Flower.

Original Painting by Georgia O'Keeffe from

www.topofart.com

My version

The original O'Keeffe painting is done in oil, mine is in pastel (very chalky).

Still Doll

Kanon Wakeshima

Picture courtesy of http://www.jpopasia.com/

This a a cute (in the slightly dark way) little song. It is the ending theme to the popular anime series Vampire Knight. Based on the manga of the same name, vampire is a vampire high school romance story. However, it is distinctly different from the Twilight series that plague the western world. Still Doll manages to capture the feel of the anime and will leave the viewer looking forward to the next episode. My favorite part of the song has to be the cello solo, also performed by the singer. In my personal opinion, Kanon is a better cellist than she is a singer.

Still Life

I do like drawing, and here is one of mine. It took such a long time to finish this picture but the end result is worth it. Depicted below are a roller skate and a viewfinder(?).

Song Yuki no Hana

My random searches on YouTube has led me into the presence many good songs. Today, I want to share with you a song that resulted from two of my most popular search keywords; "hana" and "yuki." The song is called "Yuki no Hana." I think that this song is very popular in Asia because I have found in in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (listed in the order that I found them, which also happens to be the order that I like them from most to least).


Up first is the Japanese version.


Next is the Korean version.


Finally, the Chinese version.


Which one is your favorite?

Song Hana...

One way that I pass the time with is searching for random Asian songs on YouTube. About 50% of the time, I can actually find some pretty decent songs. I conduct my search by typing in a keyword and just leave the rest to YouTube. For example, I often type "花," which means flower in both Chinese and Japanese, in the search box, and viola, pages upon page of songs containing the word "花" appear before my eyes. "花" is one of my most used words because a lot of Asian songs mention flowers in one way or another. Most of the time, the songs are very nice. But once in a while, some strange songs turn up. Okay, let's start with a nice one.

Title: Hana 

Singer: Natsukawa Rimi

Title: Hana (not the same song from above)

Singer: Atari Kousuke

Title: Qing Hua Ci
Singer: Jay Chou

Now, time for a weird one, called "Boku no Hana." This song is not strange in itself. What is slightly odd, and maybe creepy, about this song is the movie that it is in. "Boku no Hana" is from the Japanese movie called The Infectious Song, and "Boku no Hana" is the title infectious song. Why infectious? Well, the song is nice and simple, and very catchy. Unfortunately, in the movie exists an urban legend that is one sings this song, one will commit   suicide (don't worry the legend is NOT true). I never saw the movie, so I don't what happened in the end. I only know that this song is hauntingly (maybe I shouldn't use this word) beautiful.

"Boku no Hana" is posted below, but if you are frightened by these kind of things, please DO NOT listen to it. If not, you can listen to it below (once again, the legend from the movie is...well, a legend from a movie, people on YouTube have posted themselves singing this and they are alright). You have been warned.

Kodomo no Hi

こどもの日 (kodomo no hi), or Childern's Day, is celebrated in Japan every year on May 5th. On this day, koinobori fly in the wind, which represents the boys in the household. These  wind socks are said to bring good fortune to the children. It is originally boy's day (called Tango no Sekku, much like Hinamori is girl's day), but now it is a celebration for all children. While dolls are the symbols for Hinamori, koi are the symbol for this holiday because they represent strength (koi are known to swim up waterfalls).

To all the children out there, happy Children's Day!!!

Koi in the Wind

Courtesy of Wikipedia

On May 5th in Japan this year, one can appreciate the strange view of koi (carp) flying against the blue sky. How exactly does a fish fly? Well, they don't, at least not the real ones. These flying koi are actually wind socks flown up high to celebrate Children's Day in Japan. They are made out of paper, cloth or other fabric with carp patterns painted on.

Called koinobori (鯉幟), a set consists of a pair of arrow-poked wheels, flying-dragon streamers (top picture: the multi-colored wind sock at the top), a black koinobori and a red koinobori. Additional koinobori are added if more boys are in the household.

Cute, isn't it?

Courtesy of Wikipedia (that's a lot of fish)

Case #1c: Aww...Cute Bear

Click here for the Master List of all cases.

"Please, sit," offered Miss Line pleasantly.


Somehow, that perpetual smile of hers is slightly unnerving. Thought the detective silently. "Thank you Miss Line."


They took seats across from each other on couches on two side of an antique coffee table. Each observed the other from a moment before Detective broke the silence.


"May I so boldly ask the reason for the secrecy of the matter," requested the young boy.


"Well," she smiled. "The reason would be that if many people become aware of what I am about to show, then chaos will surely follow." She answered with that unfaltering smile.


"I see," muttered the detective. "Why is that I can be aware of this matter then?"


"Mostly, for your knack at solving the bizarre occurrences that have recently plagued the land," Miss Line replied. "I supposed I should just tell you the reason soon," she stated slyly, seeing the anxious look deep in Detective's eyes. 


Walking up to a door, she opened it slowly and pulled out an object, which she quickly hid behind her back.


"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," she smiled once again.


Detective obeyed the strange lady's command and felt something soft in his outstretched hands.


"Go ahead and take a look."

To unlock the mystery...

May Day!!!

Today is May 1st, or May Day!! I have no clue what that means, thus, I look to my trusty sidekick, Wikipedia. Despite its reputation for being not entirely accurate all the time, most of its articles have some truth to them. Back to the topic. According to Wikipedia, and other sources, many holidays occur on May 1st. For example, many traditional festivals are held on May Day in Europe. However, the May Day celebration that I curious about this year is International Labor Day.

International Labor Day on May 1st originates with the United States labor movement in late 1800s. So why May 1st? On May 1st, 1886, headed by socialists, anarchists, and others in organized labor movements, unions went on strike to demand that the standard workday be shortened to eight hours. On May 4th, rioting broke out in Chicago's Haymarket Square including a bomb that injured several people. In the end, the protests proved to be successful and the workday is shortened to eight hours.

Today, many countries around the world choose May Day to commemorate the efforts won by workers and designate May 1st as International Labor Day. Curiously, the United States celebrates Labor Day in September even though the original worker's rallies took place in the US. How odd...

Expo!!!

Courtesy of http://www.expo2010.cn/

Today, the 2010 World Expo kicks off in Shanghai, China. With is theme of "Better City, Better Life," Shanghai wishes for the world to see the life of a fast growing city. The latest technologies for a "Better City, Better Life" from various countries will be gathered in one area. Running from May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2010, over 185 countries participate in the biggest World Expo ever. So if you can make it, visit the 2010 Shanghai World Expo for an unforgettable experience.