I do realize I've been slacking off with daily posts lately. So here goes my latest addiction (briefly) explained - which will hopefully tap into the relatable, understanding corner of my reader's mind. Sally's fallen head over heels for anime. Again. Anyone else been in the zone of staring at a magical fairytale full of kawii, non-stop? As strange as it might sound, it's just as comforting as the very moment you jump into bed after a demanding day. I can visualise heads nodding vertically. From age 6 up (my memory as an anime fan only extends so far back), I've been through Detective Conan, Ojamajo Doremi, Kaichou Wa Maid Sama, Chibi Maruko Chan, Death Note, Nodame Cantabile, and - ah too many to name - but I'm sure you get the gist. Now after a hiatus of half a decade, the phase is back. Yumeiro Patissiere has sweetened my life with its plates full of desserts. Each one drawn, almost, to perfection. For sure it'll get you treating yourself to a maracon (or something equally as delicious), before heading home next time you're out. Ichigo Amano, the protagonist, is your seemingly ordinary 14 year old girl who has a no talent, except eating a whole lot of cakes (and later making them too). Grasp the idea of tumbling into patisserie academy and being teamed up with the school's top 3 patissiers, Makoto Kashino, Satsuki Hanabusa and Sennosuke Andou, the Sweets Princes. Without a doubt, they're all equally charming with their own specialty - chocolate, candy sculptures and flower based cakes, and Japanese sweets, respectively. Of course, you can't forget the Sweets Spirits. Adorable fairies who come to the human world to find themselves a sweets partner. Once pairs are matched, they'll help each other create the best dessert. I love them. Wish I had one too, except maybe a musical one would be better. Musical Spirit! *Imagination gone wild* Since the marathon started approximately a week ago, it should come as no surprise that I've finished the first season, a total of 50 half-hour episodes, this morning. As 7.53pm strikes it's 10th second hand, I'm onto the seventh episode of Yumeiro Patissiere Professional Season 2. Although there's definitely symptoms of addiction, I still recognise my limits. Time to eat dinner. *But thank who ever I need to thank for giving me pretty good eyesight till this day.
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Two likes I would like to share today. One: Lecture, a Chinese tv program hosted by iCNTV. Two: Xu Bing, a Chinese-born artist. Lecture is a weekly program that invites a different scholar every week to give a lecture on their respective discipline. Speakers range from entrepreneurs, biologists, physicists, writers, artists, economists, writers, actors, to you name it. So far I've watched around a dozen episodes and each speaker has inspired and motivated the many directions of my life, including the culmination of my artistry. I sincerely hope (for those of you who understand Chinese, as unfortunately there are no English subtitles) to watch some Lecture episodes. They're available on YouTube. Now onto Xu Bing, an artist most well known for his printmaking skills, installations pieces, and creative artistic use of language and words. (The video you see above is his episode on Lecture.) He is currently the president of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. His cultural creativity drew me in. One of the many artworks he has created include his Square Word Calligraphy (below left). 20 years ago, he began manipulating English letters and bending their horizontal side by side conventional structure into the blocks of Chinese characters. Believe it or not, all you English readers out there, you can understand the work below! I found it extremely interesting. Another work they showcased on the episode was a book that was conventionally written (horizontal lines, left to right), yet entirely using simple pictures (below right). At first I though it was nonsensical writing, but when he narrated a page...it all made sense! Oh how great is the pleasure when you discover the essence of the artwork and are able to relate to it!
Even though it's only a few seconds long, I'm already in love with the short, sassy tune. Feeling the 'Yo-Yo Ma versatility' coming along. Yay!
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