Sexist song ever written :) Also my very first opera! I have the whole scrip of the opera and I think I can sing the whole opera! But if you really want to go beyond the opera, there is a book titled "Erik" which tells the tale of the phantom in his youth. A very beautiful book, but I can't seem to find it on the web thought. However, you can read up on Erik here.
Wanted to share a more modern version of the song with you, but unfortunately, not even Josh Groban can sing as well as Michael Crawford when it comes to this song :)
Although coming from a Chinese family, and studying in a Chinese school, it seems my life's value system is build on English Fiction. Here is an example of it, an excerpt from stories book that I felt made sense(dated 1993/94).
Now I ask you, does it make any sense to build your value system based on works of fiction? Just imagine that everything you've ever learned about your religion, about the law, about your country, is all based on fiction. Does it changes anything? Does it make you a worst person? Or a better person? Maybe fiction character is a better role model then a real one? Cause you can make a fiction character as perfect as you want to be.
Long live Raistlin Majere! :P Long live Esmeralda Weatherwax! :P And so many more fictional characters that helped shaped our value system! Scary!
Poetry was found in almost every book of my diary. I love reading them and writing them. The very first poem I truly like was William Blake's Night, found in one of my mother's old English Literature book. That was my first love affair with poetry. William Blake remains my favorite poet till this day. I'll share more of the other poems found in my past, but for today, it's all about Blake. Here is a passage taken from Auguries of Innocence:
I used to own a complete book of his work, but I gave it away as a parting gift to someone before coming to Singapore. Never did have the urge to get another book. Instead, I'm stuck with a collection of Edgar Allen Poe. Sigh, the irony of my life...Interestingly, Blake was also a painter. Here is a slideshow found on youtube to share with you. Enjoy!
More cool stuff from the past. Here is a drawing of Palpatine! In case you're not a Star Wars fan, Palpatine is actually the evil Emperor from the show. Yes, you heard right, E-V-I-L Emperor, Dark Lord of the Sith! And I bet he has never looked this cool before as shown in this drawing! LoL. Found this from one of the handmade "Get Well" card I got from a friend of mine. Can't remember what I was getting well from, but still, it's a cool card to get! (dated 1994/95 when the RPG session CCC was still on)
And while looking up Palpatine for this blog entry, I discover a Wookieepedia! And it's hilarious! Don't get me wrong, it's super informative and contains everything you ever needed to know about Star Wars! But the site really cracks me up! Give it a try! I've included two reference link below, one from Wikipedia, and one from Wookieepedia. I enjoyed the Wookieepedia information a lot more!
And if you still don't know who Palpatine is, perhaps this clip would help. Before there was Luke Skywalker, before there was Dark Vader, there was - Palpatine.
One of the very first book that made me cry is S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. I first read it in 1992, and Robert Frost's poem Nothing Gold Can Stay was featured in the story. I've re-read the book many times in my youth, but never actually own the book as I borrow it from the library. The book was also made into a movie with the same title, and staring some of the biggest names in today's celebrity list like Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, and Emilio Estevez. Strangely enough, I've never seen the movie version before, and never had the urge to do so.
While looking up the book and film on the internet, I chance upon this beautiful song by Stevie Wonder call Stay Gold, and I'm posting it here to share it. Somehow, this blog seems to be going backward in time these days, and the music really add atmosphere to the entries :) Hope you enjoy it. I've hardly even touched the surface of my diaries' content yet!
