I (Still) Love SciFi.

capnjazzercise said: haha seriously? my friends and i have been curious about this for a while...

Mon, 07 May 2012 01:51:43 +0800

capnjazzercise said: haha seriously? my friends and i have been curious about this for a while now. i really wanted it to be called love in the butt, though.

I KNOW RIGHT?! I was watching on the little news screen at the subway and thought “get the fuckouttahere.” So disappointed it was Buff and not Butt. Did you catch the trailer for what looked like the Taiwanese remake of Donnie Darko? Only they made it a bubblegum-pop teen romcom. And they turned the bunny into a purple chicken.

Sun, 06 May 2012 20:32:20 +0800

I went to a "secret" show last Wednesday

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:26:00 +0800

I’ve been meaning to do a catch up post but I’ve been too tired, busy, or lazy to do so. And I hate tumblr.

As a stop-gap until I get around to writing that long and assuredly obnoxious post, here are 4 videos I shot from last Wednesday. Technically it’s my first real show in Taiwan since that first Sleaze show I shot, I only went to watch Sleaze.

ONLY $100TWD! (LIKE $3.40USD)! AND THERE WERE KIDS! LOTS AND LOTS OF KIDS! THERE IS A REAL MUSIC SCENE HERE THAT PEOPLE RE EXCITED ABOUT!

This show was fun fun fun. The Japanese band Fuji Rockyu was just utter chaos throughout their set. I think they played a ostinato of Blitzkrieg Bop like 3 or 4 times.

Also, I had a midterm the next day and only ended up studying 2 hours since I was up until 4am editing videos.

Whoops…

P.S. I don’t suppose anyone reading this out there in Taiwan-Tumblr land has a hook up at HTC and can get me the One X for free or like 10k TWD? K THX.

Fuji RockYu @ National Taipei University of Education on...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:14:58 +0800

Fuji RockYu @ National Taipei University of Education on 04.04.12

Full @ http://archive.org/details/04.04.12_FujiRockyu

Sleaze 湯湯水水 @ National Taipei University of Education on...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:13:00 +0800

Sleaze 湯湯水水 @ National Taipei University of Education on 04.04.12

Full @ http://archive.org/details/04.04.12_Sleaze

Wayne So Sad @ National Taipei University of Education on...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:12:00 +0800

Wayne So Sad @ National Taipei University of Education on 04.04.12

Full @ http://archive.org/details/04.04.12_WayneSoSad

No Order @ National Taipei University of Education on...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:11:00 +0800

No Order @ National Taipei University of Education on 04.04.12

Full @ http://archive.org/details/04.04.12_NoOrder

Sleaze 湯湯水水 @ The Wall (Taipei, Taiwan) on 03.23.12 Full @...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:22:00 +0800

Sleaze 湯湯水水 @ The Wall (Taipei, Taiwan) on 03.23.12

Full @ http://archive.org/details/03.23.12_Sleaze

My first show in Taiwan.

The people here are building their own music scene from nothing, finding their own ways to punk/metal/hardcore/indie rock/whatever. The fuck I care about Jeremy Lin? It’s this shit right here that makes me proud.

Also…

= Metal + Hardcore + Mutual appreciation + Language...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:00:22 +0800

= Metal + Hardcore + Mutual appreciation + Language barrier.

Been busy with school and family. Hopefully I’ll have time to write this weekend.

Look-a me. I’m like-a Wong Kar-wai lololololol.

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:21:38 +0800

Look-a me.

I’m like-a Wong Kar-wai lololololol.

Coolcoolcool

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:31:33 +0800

Coolcoolcool

For visa.

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:15:55 +0800

For visa.

In Hong Kong for a visa run. The Killer was the first thing to...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:57:07 +0800

In Hong Kong for a visa run.

The Killer was the first thing to pop up when I turned on the TV.

Yes.

Chinese Language Division @ NTU update #1 for Dorothy

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:15:04 +0800

Dorothy wanted info about my classes so I figure I’d post them here.

Registration and Orientation
This was a bit daunting, I would’ve freaked out if my aunt hadn’t taken me. The Chinese Language Division program is part of the Liberal Arts department at National Taiwan University and the building is located pretty much at the end of campus from the front gate. There aren’t enough maps on campus so we got lost a bit the first day before my Aunt was able to have a student help us. If you registered properly and have all your stuff in order it’s quick. Go up the second floor and there are a few posted signs pointing to the office at the end of the hall where you sign in and pay (they only accept cash). If you have problems, like I did with my Visa, they only have an okay grasp of English so I had to have my Aunt translate or ask things myself a few times. No big problems and the lady was nice (and in what would be a continuing theme when dealing with people here, gave me a tonnn of shit for being Asian not knowing Chinese)

Once you pay they make you take a written and oral test if you know any Chinese. The written test is in simplified and traditional characters as well as pinyin. The oral test is one-on-one with a teacher. Written is about 15-20 minutes while oral is about 10 minutes. After that, If you’re a first time student you have the option to pick a morning orientation or afternoon orientation.

Orientation was just okay. The two student guides were nice and friendly though it was mostly reading off the student packet and the walking tour was only 20-25 minutes showing the dining commons, student center, library, and hospital. I wish they talked about NTU or had a “Welcome to NTU! Here’s some history + in depth info about the campus” packet. Though I’m a dork so no one else probably wanted that. You’re better off just wandering and getting lost by yourself which I’ve been doing a bit before and after class everyday. I wish there was more info on how to join clubs since I really want to join a few like the Film Club on campus. There was a student group called ISIS that focuses on international students flyering for a field trip later in the month. They also held a club fair but I missed the fair because I couldn’t find it, and I’m not sure how I even knew about it.

Class and classmates
Classes are limited to 6 students which is awesome for learning but terrible for meeting people. There are three class times (morning, afternoon, and night) with about 10-20ish classes total for the various levels at each time. You get put in a class based on how you did on the written/oral test, availability and your chosen preference during registration. Classes are 3 hours with 10 minute breaks every hour. I’m afternoon from 12:00 to 3:00 book 1/level 2.

The teacher is adorable (ex: *in Chinese* “English? Psh, who needs to learn English?”) and super nice. I think she’s a grad student at NTU though a few of the other teachers in the other classes seemed to be both much older and much younger. She knows pretty much no English so the whole class is taught in Chinese which screws the students without a strong listening/speaking background. To compensate, she’s really animated and will act the words out. I know the lower levels book 1/level 1 students have English speaking teachers though.

First few days fucking straight up sucked. I got put in the second half of the first book so we started on chapter 7 and there was a full blown panic between me and my classmates. 4 out of 6 of us grew up speaking Chinese but could not read or write (in my case I forgot everything from college/I learned simplified characters) and 1 of those 4 couldn’t speak/listen too well so the first test was brutal. I got a 30/50 and so did some others. The reason for the freak out if that you have to hit a certain grade level to continue to the next level and they will drop you and not let you re-join CLD@NTU if you hit below the 70 mark, also if you’re here on scholarship you’ll have it revoked the next semester. We pretty much tried to mutiny after we got our grade back and tried to convince the teacher to start from chapter 2. We decided to go back and forth between 7 and 1, 8 and 2, etc and move a bit slower.

There’s no magic to learning Chinese, it’s just painful rote memorization. From the start of class to the third day it took about 16-20 hours of self study until I felt more comfortable and starting getting 47 and 49 on tests.

- I’ll finish tomorrow Dorothy, its 1:14 am here and I’m exhausted.

Hardcore + Chinese homework.

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:32:01 +0800

Hardcore + Chinese homework.

Photo

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:07:17 +0800

All work, no play.

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:06:57 +0800

All work, no play.

Grandma and grandpa.

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:19:25 +0800

Grandma and grandpa.

Stray observations for 02.28.2012

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:46:00 +0800

It was 2/28 today. There’s a weird dissonance from how open Taiwanese culture and politics is today, regardless of how ridiculous it sometimes can be, and the fact that it was basically a dictatorship where people could just disappear until the year I was born.
Aunt took me to Wulai, Taiwan for a day trip. Small rural town by the lake, lots of gorgeous green scenery and the rain added a nice wisp of clouds. It also kept the crowd low so it was easy to get around. Really close to where I am staying in XinDian, Taiwan, about a 30 minute bus ride and the bus stop is literally just outside my house.
The town itself was a bit of a tourist trap, rows of kitschy shops and hotels though the Wulai Atayal museum about Taiwan’s aboriginal people was great (and free!). Funny that it had a section on headhunting since I remembered reading last year about how Seediq Bale was suppose to have a ton of it.
There are two free public hot spring areas right on the lake and there were a ton of people there for each even though it was freezing out.
There’s also a “scenic” toy train ride up the mountain from the bus stop and cable car ride that takes you to the top of the mountain. Both are fun though quick. The top of the mountain is just a hotel so you’re really just paying for a view from up top. Find better pictures here from a blog I found googling more info on Wulai after the trip.

Aphasia - Good Morning! Taipei

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:46:00 +0800

Apparently Taiwan/Taipei loves them some post-rock and shoegaze.

Also? All these fucking records I bought came out in like 2010 AFTER my last visit so most of the bands appear to be broken up/inactive. Goddamnit.

On that note… I skipped through the Aphasia - the Crocodile Society of Aphasia record a few times since I got it last week. My first few scattered listens reminded me of San Diego-era Tristeza. Finally took some time to listen to the record in it’s entirety tonight while walking around and my first impressions were just a little off. Big time Explosions in the Sky and This Will Destroy You influence that I didn’t catch because I was skipping through the songs.

From what little I read, the bassist KK is pretty much the godmother of the Indie rock scene in Taipei, starting the White Wabbit record store and label while the other members work at The Wall doing sound.

This is get-lost-and-wander around Taipei music. Great soundtrack for riding around the subway or just people watching.

I’ve said this pretty much every Taiwan-music related post but the fact that the White Wabbit and Waiting Room crews are building their respective scenes from the ground up still makes me so ridiculously happy. I can’t wait to see what music in Taiwan is like in 10 years. I need to trick a kid into making Mike Kirsch sound-collage sample-heavy punk rock. Or an ignorant/angry as shit Scott Vogel influenced band.

I hope the song title is a reference to this. I’ve got some scores to settle with Taiwanese films but that’s for another time.