episode 17
In the midst of adversity, one cannot find words...one cannot find hope...
***
Some time ago, it was 'he studies a single blade of grass'. Now, it is 'I am a single blade of grass'.
Some time ago, it was 'take life easy, as the leaves grow on the trees'. Now it is 'I am a single leaf on a tree.'
history repeats itself
two years and six days after....history repeats itself....I am sad and speechless...
episode 16
It is important that one studies from the greatest teachers, Nature and Life. These aside, I had the best mentors (Mr Chua and Dr Ho) and I have the best friends I could ever ask for...I read the best books and listen to the best music. I do not consider myself lacking in discipline or determination or patience in the area of art. I am young and of reasonably good health. The only things I lack now are time and space. I do not have the luxury of working eight to sixteen hours a day for art. This aside, I should be able to produce good art. If under these conditions I cannot produce any good art, then I cannot imagine how anyone else can produce any good art under any other conditions. I must therefore succeed, for the simple reason that I cannot fail.
***
It is written in Ecclesiastes: there is nothing new under the sun. Truly, can one tell me what else has not been siad, except for subjective experiences of individual lives? Even so, are these experiences not universalities, the same hopes, disappointments, joys and sorrows that we struggle with? Is Nature not the same beauty perceived through different eyes?
episode 15
Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again.'
***
I might want to add to the above that renewing includes new interpretations of things already gone by...
***
'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived...
... Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?'
(Henry David Thoreau,
Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, a chapter from
Walden)
***
The more I study Wu Changshuo's art, the more I understand his profundity.
episode 14
Up to today, I can confidently proclaim that I have experimented with many different art forms, read many books, seen many exhibitions, kept (and thrown away) many sketchbooks, written many things, listened to much music, and other been-there-done-thats, but good art remains elusive. It is as if one is trying to grasp falling water with one's hands. The more I know, the more I do not know. The more knowledge I acquire, the more confused and stupid I become. The more I learn, the more I have to unlearn. The more I had achieved, the harder it is to become better. I feel more stupid than when I started art ten years ago.
episode 13
1. stock taking of the year gone by...
Books read:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/2YOV2L3F8UFLR/002-1175237-2862427Drawings:
http://community.webshots.com/album/516537058NjoRjr and
http://community.webshots.com/album/515172523KbxpHSWritings: Refer to earlier blog entries...
Of course, there are more than the above links, but guess I'm a bit lazy and busy to put everything in place. And of course, life is more than the above.
Teaching. Music. There are other intangibles that are very important. Like friends and time spent with students.
Looking back, I'm really thankful to Pigeon and Cheesecake for making my stay at NIE very pleasant. I'm thankful for a kopi-and-art friend like Amanda too (though yah, no more frog's porridge)...
2. Looking ahead into 06 (in generic terms; the details would come later along the way)
a) more reading, more art (and BETTER art), more music (these will remain constant)
b) better teaching (this will be measured against my students' grades, though of course, the intangibles should be looked into as well)
c) better money management
d) NOT neglecting people, whether friends, teachers, or students...
I must be daring enough to dream...
episode 12
One who is dispossessed of freedom and love in this life would find the idea of eternal life very attractive and appealing.
I have never loved uncertainty more in my whole life...
***
episode 11
It is not easy to be anything... I'm not sure if I can live up to my labels...artist, teacher...useless labels that do not mean a single thing if one does not live well...
Emily Bronte's poetry really makes me want to write and paint, but I simply do not have the mood or time...Sometimes, I really think I can devote my life just to studying a great person alone, like Emily Bronte, or Thoreau, or Huang Binhong...
My sketches feel so useless...but let me continue to draw...
my barest soul episode 10
I did a sketch at West Coast this morning...it's okay, not too bad.
Sungei Buloh is very, very beautiful. I love that place. Would love to bring some of my students there if I have the chance.
I want to draw. I want to paint. Am I too young or too old for that? I don't know....I want to be a man of Nature....
No matter what happens, life goes on.
Had a tiring day; need an early rest.
episode 9 (cont'd)
Two of my favourites, Charlotte Bronte and Henry David Thoreau are here:
http://www.ivu.org/people/writers/index.htmlThoreau! Thoreau! How I love Thoreau! You fill me with ecstatic joy! All must read this:
http://www.ivu.org/history/usa19/thoreau.htmlThose who are curious may look at this:
http://www.veganoutreach.org/index.html
my barest soul episode 9
Today I'm greedy...
breakfast: 1 vegeterian noodle
break 1: 2 vegeterian pratas (at Beach Road -- VERY GOOD! the fake mutton curry tastes like the real one, though honestly I don't like the taste of mutton, so I'd prefer curry with just potatoes and cabbage instead)...1 orange-mix-watermelon juice
lunch: rice, bean curd, ladies' fingers, 1 carrot-apple juice
dinner: 1 red bean bun, 1 lotus paste bun, 1 vegetable bun, 1 Milo-O, 1 apple
That seems like a lot.
Anyway, I did not have time to draw today. Was busy doing some attendance records, sending my laptop for a friend to fix (now I have MS Office and can read Chinese text), buying Pulau Ubin maps for NPCC (hence I was at Beach Road) etc.
Not drawing for a day makes me feel weird. Maybe I'm becoming weird.
I'd be busy tomorrow and the day after, but I
really hope I have time to do a decent drawing tomorrow. Will be doing recce at Sungei Buloh, because we're bringing the cadets there next week during the camp.
Just to explain (?) my vegeterian stance a bit -- the Chinese say that 'illness enters from one's mouth', and it seems apparent that the 'cleaner' or less potentially toxic food are essentially the plants. I mean, imagine all the fish eat polluted stuff from the water. Then you have the big fish eating the smaller fish. Then you have us human beings eating the largest fish. All the toxic substances will be in our bodies. Besides, what happens in reality is this: our bodies actually carries a lot of toxins. We become ill because of 'imbalance' as a result of the toxins. What happens? We have diarrhoea and vomit and cold and cough and stuff. These are symptoms that the body is trying to expel the toxins. What happens when we take Western medicine is, they suppress the symptoms, so while we think we are okay because the symptoms are gone, the toxins actually accumulate in our bodies, so that the next time we become sick, it gets worse. Conversely, when we fast, or eat fruits and raw vegetables (though I haven't reached that stage myself), this diet allows us to expel the toxins (those familiar with Chinese medicine or alternative medicine will understand what I'm saying). Why do you think cancer patients have to limit themselves to a certain prescribed diet of fruits and vegetables? This is because such a diet expels the toxins from our bodies and keeps the body healthy and 'clean'. In Japan, some monks were so strict with their fasting that most of the harmful bacteria in their bodies died because there is nothing for the bacteria to thrive on, for the monks only had tree bark and water. Imagine! Even the bacteria DIED in the monks' bodies!!!!! If SARS were not such a swift-acting disease, I believe it would be curable too. Unfortunately, some diseases act really fast. When your body is 'clean', it is unlikely that harmful bacteria will thrive inside, and hence a lesser chance of you falling ill. Whatever I had sprouted might sound like nonsense to you, and at this stage I'm not confident ro knowledgeable enough to preach to everyone to follow my method, but it makes sense to me. In fact, if I have time to read up and be well-informed, I'd gladly be an ambassador of such a diet. Consider also how it saves the Earth's resources: we have to feed chickens (and other poultry and animals) before we can eat them. Why don't we learn to eat vegetables, and slowly learn to eat fruit, and survive on that and water alone? Western medicine and science can say all it wants about calcium and vitamins and proteins, but there
are really alternative sources to be found in fruits and vegetables that allow us to live long and well enough. Personally, I find fasting to be something spiritual, though I have no religious feelings for any religion as of now. It says something about one's spirit and way of living and seeing things. I am just beginning, so I'm still exploring things.
The bottomline and basic common sense is this: I believe essentially most bodies are born to be similar (I'm not saying the same). The reason why some are healthier than others could be largely attributed to diet, since everyone sleeps and eats. (Though exercise could be another factor) So if we are indeed what we eat, and if the Chinese are right that 'illness enters from one's mouth', then I believe that having a vegeterian diet has its advantages over a meat diet, and it keeps the body 'clean' and rids it of toxins. In fact, it is even believed that if you eat enough raw food and vegetables, even the mosquitoes would not bite you simply because there is nothing in your blood that will attract them.
***
That's all for now.
episode 8 (cont'd)
On books
I have so many good books, but I have no time to
really read them. 'The Enlightened Mind' edited by Stephen Mitchell is one. 'The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson' is another. I also have my Thoreaus, and poetry by Emily Bronte and Emily Dickinson. I want to really
delve into the
texts and not just to scan through them superficially.
I guess I must
really learn to take things one small step at a time.
my barest soul, episode 8
Problems with my computer: I do not have MS Office and I also cannot read Chinese text.
Breakfast: Vegeterian noodles
Break 1: Carrot and apple juice
Lunch: Brown rice, bean curd, ladies' fingers, potatoes, orange and watermelon juice
Break 2: Brown-rice tea
Dinner: 1 red apple
So far my diet seems to be going on okay and fine. Anyway, I did a drawing at Bukit Batok Industrial Park area. I can't say the sketch is good, but it's fairly decent. I have stopped getting excited about each new work of mine. I just know that I have a very, very far journey ahead and I cannot be bothered with small litttle successes or failures now. I just need to move on and press on.
I have not been thankful to simple little things for a long time ....like, thankful for the shady morning that made my drawing session smoother. Thankful for a glass of plain water. Thankful for the gentle breeze that blew in through the window that gave me some life and joy and hope for reasons unknown.
I just hope I do not get into too much trouble with Dad and other relatives when I go back to Johore for the Chinese New Year (as a result of my conversion to a vegeterian diet).
I still cannot find any books on Shi Tao. I love Corot's drawings. I am having *slightly* greater confidence with my medium. Let's hope I can push on and go further from where I am.
my barest soul, episode 7
During my brief absence, many things occcured. Let me try to organise things and type them here...
My laptop was down, but my friend repaired it for me. After that, it could work, but I could not get online, so I went to get a new modem (after two visits to Singtel who told me I need not get a new modem because I have my old modem but I lost the installation CD-rom...and they thought somehow that would work, but it did not, so in the end, I still got a new modem.)
*** ***
I shall yet again start from zero, or scratch, or nothing.
Life is a process. Here, I congratulate myself on having reached thus far -- here.
I must be ready to die each day, I must be ready to suffer each day. But even more so, I must be ready to LIVE each day, and live it well, like never before.
I am so ignorant, but it never felt so good to know that I am ignorant.
I am a zero-artist. I always start from zero. I do nothing. I achieve nothing.
I am an artist. I draw.
Thinking IS form.
...I am weak and tired from flu. The weather has turned cooler. A window view seat is priceless.
From Thoreau's 'Walking': If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again, -- if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk. ... I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spent
four hours a day at least -- and it is commonly more than that, -- sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields,
absolutely free from worldly engagements.
There is no rush.
'The True Man of No Title'...what a worthless label! Art is art, work is work, and life is life.
I need to look beyond Chinese painting. Shi Tao will be the last (unfortunately, after I wrote this, I could not find any cheap portable books on him). Besides Chinese art and Western art, there is a lot a lot more...
A NEW WAY OF LIFE. I've decided to adhere to a very strict and healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, and bread. I am going on a minimum (or totally abstain from) for chicken, pork, fish, eggs, and even milk. That is the surest possible way to a long life. Such a diet is known to cure diseases (even cancer and certain kidney problems). I do not intend to elaborate here, but basically I have
generally (not completely) lost faith in Western treatment and medicine and I am
becoming a vegeterian. Talk to me in person if you want to know more about this drastic move.
Sample meals I had:
1) 2 slices of bread, a cup of green apple juice
2) 1 pineapple pie, 1 yam pie, 1 peanut pancake, 1 soy drink
3) brown rice, green vegetables
4) white rice and vegeterian dishes, soy drink
Today's lunch:
1 green apple, 1 orange, a few slices of guava, a bunch of grapes
Today's dinner:
1 walnut bread, 1 milk (I had no choice, Mum still has a few packets of milk in the fridge that I have to finish)
One must move from a meat diet to a vegeterian diet, then to 1/3 raw diet (i.e. eat raw carrots, eat raw vegetables, eat more fruits), then eventually learn to abstain from eating (i.e. fast).
*** ***
I did a decent sketch at West Coast park today. Generally, I'm okay.
brief updates
This blog will stop functioning for a while for a few reasons:
1) (main problem) My laptop crashed. I'm typing from school now.
2) I have a lot of work undone.
3) I'm down with very bad flu.
Like all things, these will come to pass and I will be back, except I'm not sure when. Well wishes to all in the meantime.
my barest soul (episode 6)
1. Memories
I have let the most beautiful people go. I have even let some of my best memories go, but I have kept those most heartbreaking ones, perhaps because they are closest to the soul.
2. A day alone
I had a quiet breakfast at NUS canteen this morning before heading to my school. (The food at West Coast market is really pathetic, while Clementi Central reminds me too much of a beautiful past that is no more.) I saw a picture of my old coursemate Sasi presenting at a conference outside a lecturer's office -- and I thought: time really flies.
I cannot believe that I actually spent half an hour calling kids to turn up for their CCA tomorrow, knowing that more than half would refuse to turn up. But such is life. To top things off, I have to physically go down to Toa Payoh Lorong 1 to see if an NSman still resides there, because he is uncontactable via phone (as I was given the unfortunate responsibility of the detachment IC -- army guys will have a faint idea of what I'm talking about). Anyway, I reached here and found him and another guy (presumably his brother) playing computer games in front of the TV set. Their room seems to be very filthy. On first sight, I can already imagine that most of the NT kids in my school would end up like these: aimless people without a sense of direction in life and wasting their lives away. In fact while I was on the bus ride back home just now, I actually thought f writing a story through the eyes of a teenager from a problematic family, but I know I simply do not have the luxury of time.
Anyway -- so that took up half the day. I went to Orchard Kinokuniya, but I bought nothing in spite of looking at many books. Then I went to Bras Basah. I bought some pens and a drawing pad. I did not buy any books there either. Initially, I wanted to go to Fort Canning to draw, but my cousin's call (to talk about depressing family issues) and the sad sight of a beloved tree took away my mood for drawing. The place was also unusually filled with picnicking families and newlyweds and couples, so I left and went to Citilink and Marina Square. I had an early dinner at Cavana's (they are selling chicken rice at $4.50 now) while watching Michael Jackson's concert video and I wondered what's the big deal about him besides his break-dancing.
After dinner I went to transfer money for Bro and helped Mum buy some Christmas cards. (Half my day alone is filled with miscellaneous errands of all sorts -- I must also mention the impossible queue at Bras Basah Post Office which took up a great deal of my time simply because I needed to fax something to my reservist unit and the whole world does not provide faxing services there.)
I bought a cheap notebook from Muji and an old Wang Jie CD. Impressed right? I actually did NOT buy any of the Jap CDs I thought of getting (Emi Fujita, X Japan, Mika Nakashima, Kiroro).
The only good news is, the NPCC meeting tomorrow is postponed. So no matter how many cadets turn up or do not turn up tomorrow, at least I can have keep my mind either clear or dead, rather than cluttered or stressed or tired. Of course, problems will always come, but I shall enjoy peace while I can.
my barest soul (cont'd)
1. Restless mind
I looked at works as diverse as Wu Changshuo and Brice Marden, as well as the Carnegie 1991 artists. I think I understood John Cage's work well. On the other hand, Wu Changshuo took thirty years to learn to paint the plum blossoms. How much longer should I study from Nature!
2. Philosophy in art and life (Quotes I cherish and try to live by --cont'd)
a) I would like to beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books in a foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. (Rainer Maria Rilke)
b) Being an artist means: not numbering and counting, but ripening like a tree, which doesn't force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come. It does come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are there as if eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly silent and vast. I learn it every day of my life, and learn it with pain I am grateful for: patience is everything! (Rainer Maria Rilke)
my barest soul
1. Huang Binhong and Li Keran
If art is about appearance, Li Keran would have an edge over Huang Binhong; but if art is about soul and depth, or even poetry, I would rate Huang's art over Li's art. Li Keran's art is modern and has a powerful presence. Of course, there is a lot of deliberate thought and skill as well. Huang, on the other hand, is already at one with both Nature and the brush and ink. An old willow tree by Old Huang is worth more than a large mountainscape by Li in his middle years.
2. Remix in art
Brian is suggesting that I pass him some of my drawings so that he may do 'remixes' to them (i.e. scan them and make them larger as part of an installation, or 'have a dialogue' with Alfian's poetry etc.) I am out of touch with modern art for too long and am too lazy to think about it, so I just agreed.
3. Philosophy in art and life (quotes I cherish)
a) Take life easy, as the leaves grow on the trees (as the grass grows on the weirs).
b) Love your neighbours. Love your enemies.
c) ....(he studies) a single blade of grass
my barest soul (episode 3)
1. Moving
In spite of my heavy work schedule, I delayed work till tomorrow to see what I could do to help Dr Ho shift to the new studio today. His studio at Tiong Bahru is no more; he is moving into another studio in the west. I love this man more than my own father. He has taught me many useful things in life. Somehow I wish things will never change. We would just take long walks, find a spot, sit down, and draw, after which we'll discuss our work, then have a coffee or tea, or even a meal together. I took an old bag which he didn't want. I also saw a painting which I did in 2003 that I gave to him. Anyhow, his new studio is very posh -- which doesn't suit his taste. I look forward to greater things from him...or perhaps, *us*.
2. Universal values in Chinese Art
Today, after leaving Dr Ho's new studio, I met my student at Jurong Regional Library. She is an Indian student, but we spent about two hours looking at Li Keran and Huang Binhong's art. Li Keran taught the most important values in learning: humility and determination. I have not seen anyone surpass him in terms of discipline in art. Perhaps only his fellow masters Qi Baishi and Huang Binhong, and maybe Wu Cangshuo and Lu Yanshao. My student was very impressed by the volume of sketches alone. I recall how small and insignificant I felt when I was running through the volume of sketches back in 2003 or 2004. My art will probably never reach his level, but the important thing is this: I do not need my work to look like his, but I must have his kind of values, spirit and character. Huang Binhong, well, is simply sublime, mysterious and unfathomable, though I only truly understood the meaning of unfathomable when I saw Li Keran's ink paintings. I will also always remember the sketches of Lu Yanshao which I saw in the museum. Those five pieces of A4-sized works moved and stirred me greatly -- I knew he was a poetic man just by those five sketches alone. While all the larger scrolls and big names went by, Lu Yanshao (whom I didn't know previously) moved me with five small pieces of paper. His works were not even framed or hung; they were displayed on a table sealed with glass casing. I want to learn from these people: they spent their whole lives devoted to perfecting a craft and sharing beauty with the world. While their art looks vastly different, their values are the same: diligence, honesty, sincerity...
My barest soul (episode 2, continued)
3. On books
At a point in time when I had access to some of the best books in the world, I actually had no time to sit and read even a single one properly. I know that if I were to scan through the texts it would not do them justice (among these were Dazai, Buber, and Basho). Some time back, I had realised that reading is not a competition. Now I realise and value the importance of reading in depth even more. There are just too many good sentences in the world. If one can only live by just a single of these sentences for his lifetime, that is sufficient. Lofty ideas are just dead words in a book, if one's mind cannot absorb them, or if one cannot learn and apply it to life. Letters as text on a page are dead, unless one is engaged with the text. Even so, one must take a step further: bring that text to life. Live by it, disagree with it, talk about it, whatever. If the poor did not instigate a revolution, Karl Marx's 'Communist Manifesto' would just be another little red book in the library. If lives were not lost, wars not fought, and exemplary lives were not lived, the Bible would just be another little blue book.
4. Side thought(s)
This may or may not materialise: while I was on my way home earlier on, I thought of helping Dr Ho and myself curate a show (or maybe separate shows) in the distant future. Fifteen years? Only time will tell.
Teaching, teaching, teaching....why are they calling us teachers when we spend more time on everything else besides teaching? Surely something is wrong somewhere. We need more administrative managers/workers.
my barest soul (episode 2)
1. On art
I want to draw a simple tree. I want to draw a simple landscape. Or paint. To what end? I would be happy if one or two of my drawings or paintings can find their way into one or two pages of an art book (or catalogue). The book might even be collecting dust and untouched for more than a decade on some obscure shelf in an old library. Then hopefully, in some very distant day, someone might pick up the book, flip to that page and go, 'Ah, someone actually did something like this before...'.
And my tree or landscape is nothing earth-shattering. In fact, it must be so simple and commonplace that it is very easy to overlook. One flips the pages so hurriedly without even noticing it. This is what it all amounts to. A musician takes a lifetime to practice an instrument, but we take less than five minutes to listen to it. An artist spends decades on his craft, but we spend less than five minutes on it. Liang Zhu was telling me the other day: the fact that there are four volumes of Li Keran's art books and one book on his art theory in the Jurong Regional Library wouldn't bother anyone in the whole Jurong East estate. But this is what it amounts to.
It is silly to think that because Realism took place in the 19th century, one should stop drawing or painting realistically. Yet, one must think of how to remain new and relevant. Even the Christians say, 'Sing to the Lord a new song.' We are not rehashing old ideas, or old ideals. We need new ways of doing things and looking at things. We need to discover what those who came and went before us have not discovered.
2. On how I lived today
Have I lived today well? No, I don't think so. But we have no time for that. We need to live tomorrow better than today.
my barest soul
1. NUS
The other day, some time last week, I went back to NUS to look for Dr Ho. I felt an unspeakable sadness and longing for the past. Everything felt like yesterday. I was drinking tea at the canteen, looking at people who went by. The difference was every face was a stranger to me. I went to the library to look at the books on Chinese painting. I went to Dr Ho's room to listen to music and look at art books, and we talked about life. He is finally going to move. There was some unspoken sadness; after all we are sentimental creatures.
2. NIE
I thought about what I call eternal moments in life. Some of what I recall are these:
a) Reading Russell's 'History of Western Philosophy' on the train'
b) Sitting on the pavement to draw trees after breakfast; listening to Emi Fujita's music at the same time
c) Doing monoprints alone at the printmaking studio
d) Putting up drawings in my hostel room
e) Jogging sessions with Roy-boy and Cheesecake
3. Songs
I was singing in the shower just now. I realised that I have not learnt a single song this year.
4. Books
I am going to read very, very slowly. And I mean very, very slowly. One line a day even, perhaps.
5. Art
I need to think and work more. Anyway, art should speak for itself.
Sometimes...
I wonder why I take art so seriously. Who am I doing it for anyway? (myself?) Is there any reason for me to aspire to be another Qi Baishi, or Huang Binhong, or Li Keran, though I know it's entirely impossible (these people spent like at least 8 hours on art everyday for decades)? If I can't achieve greatness, is there any meaning to striving to do well at it? Qi Baishi even sacrificed time with people just to do his art (he even went so far as to post a note saying 'Qi Baishi is dead' on his door).
Honestly, I can't think of anything else to say besides 'art gives me joy and meaning'. Like everyone else, I have been very happy and very sad before, and I try to express these in my drawings. Looking back at some of the stuff I had done, I'm actually quite happy with them. I can never compare myself with the masters. Perhaps I'm even technically inferior compared to the NAFA or La Salle students, but I'm happy that I've done certain drawings that I like and I'm proud enough to show people some of these drawings.
Perhaps the journey of art is like a journey of spirituality. You do not ask why you embark on it. Just go, and enjoy the process.
snapshots here and there
http://community.webshots.com/user/loksinNot the end, not the whole picture...but good updates on myself and my work...
None
Changes.
Uncertainty.
Something new.
Perhaps, maybe.
ramblings
Everyone's in a bad mood at home...Dad is in a bad mood because Bro is asking money from him. I'm broke and in debt. Mum is upset that Uncle insists that I return to Malaysia for the coming New Year.
Anyhow, I had been faithfully working on my art and reading. I think I need to get some school work done soon.
I have a long wish list.
On music, Emi Fujita has a new album! I think it's called 'Rembrandt's Days'. Pretty cool cover too. The other exciting thing is (I know I'm a bit slow, but --) Cheer Chen's new album is an absolutely stupendous achievement! I'm also considering getting the 'Fans' selection of X-Japan's hits.' How how how? Kiroro's new album is also released, but they imported only one copy and is selling it at $70.
I shall not go into my books...
