Postcard from my PhD-mate Steve

Thanks buddy!

(Myth busted: You can actually write over the address lines and the postcard will still be delivered!)

Joke of the Day

Ying: Eh, you want movement of goods or movement of bowels?

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Me: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

-_-” *mumbles: old men and their sense of humour*

Missing airplane food

~She says she loves you
And you know that can’t be bad.
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad!~

This song goes well with the jigging…and I miss the jigging!

(explains why I’ve been missing airplane food. Wanna come home…)

More Music and Me

Is music a generational thing or does it represent who you are?

I don’t like the 70s and 80s tunes. That’s when my parents were teens/ working adults. But I like songs from the 50s and 60s. So, how does this work?

I personally find myself stuck in the 90s when it comes to music of my generation. Can’t seem to appreciate the modern synthesized music.

I really don’t know. Does listening to mainstream music alot make you a mainstream-kinda person? Not much difference in other aspects of your being than the people around you? I don’t know.

Anyway, on an unrelated note, I always can’t help noticing bits and pieces of songs which sound the same. I’m weird, like that.
For instance, go Youtube Walk On by U2 and All I Want is You by Planetshakers. Yeah, Bono and a Christian band. You’ll be surprised. Same key, a few differing notes in the intro and first verse.

Another one would be Paris Hilton’s Nothing in The World and Katy Perry’s Hot and Cold. Go Youtube it. Same key and same bass. You can easily intermesh the two.

Ah, the whole list would be with Ying as I always mention them to him. See if he remembers what other songs I spotted.

On another unrelated note, I just remembered this song which was in the movie ‘Gosford Park’- The Land of Might-Have-Been. It’s a beautiful song. I never fail to get goosebumps when I listen to it. Eventhough the last time I heard it was 5 years ago, the effect is the same.

Lyrics: Edward Moore
Music: Ivor Novello

Somewhere there’s another land
different from this world below,
far more mercifully planned
than the cruel place we know.
Innocence and peace are there–
all is good that is desired.
Faces there are always fair;
love grows never old nor tired.

We shall never find that lovely
land of might-have-been.
I can never be your king nor
you can be my queen.
Days may pass and years may pass
and seas may lie between–
We shall never find that lovely
land of might-have-been.

Sometimes on the rarest nights
comes the vision calm and clear,
gleaming with unearthly lights
on our path of doubt and fear.
Winds from that far land are blown,
whispering with secret breath–
hope that plays a tune alone,
love that conquers pain and death.

Shall we ever find that lovely
land of might-have-been?
Will I ever be your king or you
at last my queen?
Days may pass and years may pass
and seas may lie between–
Shall we ever find that lovely
land of might-have-been?

This song is hilariously warming! ‘And Her Mother Came Too’. Jeremy Northam’s voice is brilliant!

I seem to be the victim of a cruel jest,
It dogs my footsteps with the girl I love the best.
She’s just the sweetest thing that I have ever known,
But still we never get the chance to be alone.
REFRAIN:

My car will meet her – And her mother comes too!
It’s a two-seater – Still her mother comes too!
At Ciro’s when I am free,
At dinner, supper or tea,
She loves to shimmy with me – And her mother does too!

We buy her trouseau – And her mother comes too!
Asked not to do so – Still her mother comes too!
She simply can’t take a snub, I go and sulk at the club,
Then have a bath and a rub – And her brother comes too!

There may be times when couples need a chaperone,
But mothers ought to learn to leave a chap alone.
I wish they’d have a heart and use their common sense
For three’s a crowd, and more, it’s treble the expense.

REFRAIN:

We lunch at Maxim’s – And her mother comes too!
How large a snack seems – When her mother comes too!
And when they’re visiting me,
We finish afternoon tea,
She loves to sit on my knee – And her mother does too!

To golf we started – And her mother came too!
Three bags I carted – When her mother came too!
She fainted just off the tee,
My darling whisper’d to me – “Jack, dear, at last we are free!”
But her mother came to!

Music by Ivor Novello
Words by Dion Titheradge

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In a desperate attempt to lift my spirits while slogging through this stressful week, guess what I bought.

 

I bet if I gave you three tries you still won’t get it.

 

Hint: it cost me £2.25 / RM 10.25.

 

 

Ok, here goes.

 

 

 

Tell me…am I crazy, ancient, or what??

Interesting music

Despite being a rather stressful last couple of weeks for both of us, Deb and I have still managed to squeeze in some time to discover some new things like pretty necklaces (her discovery), Project Runway (my discovery thanks to her),  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (my discovery) and really cool music (our discovery).

So, let me tell you about the music.

Deb and I always have had a love/less-love (as opposed to love/hate) relationship when it comes to music. I’ve always been a fan of progressive rock music like Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, Symphony X and the like; and also at the other end, of more modern jazz music like Dave Weckl, Fourplay, Syro Gyra and David Benoit. For Deb, she loves old(er)-school jazz like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, newer jazz vocalists like Jamie Cullum and Michael Buble, and alternative music like Goo Goo Dolls, The Feeling and Low Millions. While we often tend towards these favourites, on many occasions (as Deb says: ‘When I’m in the mood.’) we also like to listen to other kinds of music, which include each other’s favourites. An enjoyable plus is that we both like playing the piano and guitar, which opens up our musical possibilities beyond the record deck.

The best part of it, however, is when we discover some kind of music which we both never thought would strike our fancy, but which turns out to be fascinating to both of us. Lately, this has been about chinese music, which, a couple of years ago, might have made us really disgusted. In fact, just yesterday we discovered this singer, 卢广仲, the weirdest looking singer I’ve ever seen; but which ranks among the top of my favourite list at the moment – so much so that it’s become my earworm!

Here’s the song. (Just like many other times where Deb told me to watch David Archuletta’s videos and said ‘Don’t look, just listen!’ , the same goes for this one!)

Deb: WOI! This is not my fav vid lah! My fav song is this:

I am sooo in love with this song! He is sooo talented and for his vids, his look complements the quirkiness. Unlike Archuleta! Archuleta sounds soooo diff from how he looks and it ruins the song esp when you haven’t seen him before and you hear his voice first.

Also, I liked some Chinese artists since back in the day k? I wasn’t a complete anti- Chinese music person. Mostly, I hate the iffy, airy sounding ones. Esp from the females. I like Harlem Yu, Wang Lee Hom, Michael & Victor, David Tao’s upbeats, (as you can see, mostly guitarish tunes and by guys… haha) For some reason I can’t stand most Chinese female artists. OHHHHH except the One Million Star winner. That cutey pie! The one that paired up with Lu Guang Zhong up there during the competition… She rocks! The songs she writes are wonder wonder-bababa-wonder!!!!!!!! Speechless wonderful talent!

Okay… babble over.