Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Balinese Kecak Dance at CKS Memorial 中正紀念堂廣場的 印尼克差舞表演

After the encounter with the cosplay folks in Ximending 西門町, we walked across town a bit to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial 中正紀念堂. Ping had learned about a performance of traditional Balinese Kecak Dance 克差舞 that was to be held there. Our route led past another event: the closing party after a parade in support of gay marriage. Once again, we fit right in (if you don't count the guys in black vinyl hot pants, suspenders and homburg hats who stood out in contrast to everyone else there).

The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial is a wonderful venue for outdoor events with its wide expanses of stone pavement. The Balinese dance was held next to the National Theater Concert Hall 國家戲劇院,

Monday, October 29, 2012

Video for Halloween Ximending 西門町 Style

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Ping took a couple of videos of the Ximending 西門町 Halloween parade and the posing session just afterwards. We've posted them as a single 2:22 clip on YouTube. Click on the image at left to check it out! Amazing detail in the costumes.

How cool that this is what we find when we just go take a look!

Halloween Ximending 西門町Style

The Taiwanese celebrate every--I repeat--EVERY holiday, bar none, without exception, and with liberty and justice and something yummy to eat for all. You might not get the day off work, but you can always celebrate!

So it is with Halloween, that spooky trick-or-treat extravaganza that Americans do each 31st of October. In Taiwan, it can take the whole week. You want costumes? We got costumes. Heck, we've got a whole STREET of costumes! (You can get your Christmas and Easter stuff while you're at it.)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

台北的萬聖節遊行 Halloween Parade in Taipei


我們不常出門。馬克喜歡創作,我喜歡做心靈功課。一不留意,我倆可以一整個禮拜待在家裡,而且還常常覺得時間不夠用。有趣的是每次出門,即使只是上菜市場買菜,我們似乎都有身心的收穫,總是異口同聲的說應該多出門。
我聽說昨天在台北紅樓會有萬聖節的活動,心裡蠢蠢欲動,實在太好奇台灣人怎麼慶祝這個外國人的節日了。其實馬克對這種湊熱鬧的事情一點也沒興趣。但是可能是害怕不去的後果,勉為其難的答應陪我去走一回,看一看。

在出發之前我只依稀知道一點大概,心想到了大約地區之後跟著人群走就對了。結果我們下了公車後看到了不少新鮮的東西,就是沒看到穿costume 的人。但是既來之則安之,剛好肚子有點餓,所以倆人買了老天祿的雞翅,素雞等滷味吃將起來。準備吃完後繼續隨性亂走,胡亂逛逛。好難得到鬧區來,其實隨便怎麼走都好玩,絕對不會失望的。
話說才剛吃完,突然間看到遊行隊伍朝著我們走來。哇塞!台灣的萬聖節服裝打扮還真有特色!可以看得出來參加遊行的人都是非常用心的。這是我們第一次親身體驗Cosplay,馬克和我各拿一個相機跑前跑後地照個不停,竟然不知不覺地跟著遊行隊伍走到最後的廣場。雖然已經入秋了,這一天的天氣卻是相當的炎熱。從遊行者的裝扮可以看得出來他們的服裝道具是層層講究的,因此不難想像他們熱的程度。令我感動的是他們很有耐心地和任何人合照,並且讓你照到滿意為止,每個人的態度都和藹可親!
我好慶幸我們來此一遊。沒有親臨現場,我對Cosplay 的感覺是七分好奇,三分怪異。經過了這次的經驗,我了解Cosplay 不過是一種嗜好;就像我的一些好朋友,有的喜歡玩模型火車,飛機,有的喜歡搞樂團,玩電玩,或賽車。我們都有自己喜好的東西,都希望把生命過得充實,有趣。這個萬聖節遊行提醒我要保持客觀的態度,多學習尊重彼此的差異,並常常真心替人開心。
每次出門都學到東西,真應該多出門耶!
(請按”Halloween Ximending 西門町Style“欣賞相片。雖然是用英文寫的。懶得讀英文的人還是可以欣賞相片的噢!)
 (請歡迎按“Video for Halloween Ximending 西門町 Style” 欣賞影音短片)

Friday, October 26, 2012

"Love Theme For Aliens" - New video!

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Mark's posted a new video for a song he collaborated on with good friend (and incredibly good musician!) Larry Benigno. Check it out on our YouTube channel. ~好奇走一回~的最新音樂。請欣賞。

[Mark]
Larry Benigno and I have never actually met, but thanks to Sue Morton, we've been friends for several years! In fact, I don't think we've ever been within less than 3,000 miles of each other! Sometimes things just click. Larry and I collaborated on this piece

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

One Size

In Asia, the phrase "One Size Fits All" means something a little different than it does in the U.S. In much of the world, the phrase has been shortened to two words: "One Size." This seems to be more accurate. But what is "size" really all about?

Ping has this remarkable ability to wear sizes that don't seem to apply to her and make it look like that's exactly how the designer intended the outfit to look. When she buys sweatshirts, she gets XL because she likes them loose. When she buys tops, they're generally XS.

I think the best example was a Nike Jordan knit vest that she wore with a black top and leggings. Add a cool belt and it became uniquely fashionable. I mentioned this to a fellow Nike employee who said: "I didn't know Jordan had a women's line."

"They don't," I confirmed. "It was a Men's Size Large."

Just like Yin needs Yang, the opposite also holds. I can wear something and make it look ill-fitting, regardless of size. To be fair, though: much of what we find in Asia doesn't fit me anyway.

Check out these hotel slippers, for example. As we often say: "One Size Fits Ping."

Friday, October 19, 2012

Random shot from a street corner in Taipei 台北街景一瞥

(中,英文,in Chinese and English)
It was a nice cool sunny Fall day yesterday. We decided to enjoy the beautiful day by checking out some Halloween costumes. Yes, you heard me right. Our friend Kerri told us about a street full of Halloween costume shops.

What Are You Going To Be? 你要當什麼?

Apropos of nothing, Ping suddenly asks me an existential question. Here's how the conversation went.

Ping: "What are you going to be...for Halloween?"

Mark: <pause>

Mark: "Older"

Ping: "Haha!"

Mark: "Yeah, it's the same costume every year! Just a little bit more here, a little bit less there, slightly different colors over time...pretty much the same thing, though."

Yup. That's what I'm going to be for Halloween: older.



 Ping, on the other hand, will be FABULOUS! (But that's no different from normal either.)



Tuesday, October 16, 2012

On the way up to the Temple of Heaven 往天宮的途中

(Kuandian TianQiaoGou National Park, 寬甸天橋溝國家公園)

"When you listen generously to people they can hear the truth in themselves, often for the first time." - Rachel Naomi Remen

"Kitchen Table Wisdom" by this author is one of the few books that survived our extreme downsizing when we decided to move to Taiwan. I've read it several times over the years and still continue to learn from it. 

We took the picture above while standing on top of a pinnacle similar to the ones you see in the photo. This was a challenging but very satisfying hike. A group of Chinese hikers was slightly ahead of us for the first part of the hike. Some members of the group felt the great need to yell out very loudly every few minutes. I think it must be a Chinese version of the Tarzan call. Perhaps it was meant to be "macho-esque." I secretly practiced my witchcraft and it worked. Well, to be precise, I stopped myself from feeling victimized and started envisioning enjoying the place in a quiet and peaceful way. Not long after that, they had to hurry up to meet with the rest of their group down below. We two were left with the whole place to ourselves. What a divine place!

我們站在這山的奇岩山照著那山的奇岩時,爬在我們前頭的幾位中國的旅客不停地大聲吆喝。這是中國的習俗嗎?中國式的“泰山吼“嗎?我認為是噪音污染,一開始覺得心裡不爽,還好當機立斷,開始想像自己愉快地享受如此美景。不久後他們因為擔心會錯過他們旅行團的集合時間而加緊腳步離開了,留下我們兩個獨享人間美景。 好開心!

Monday, October 15, 2012

中國 - 桓仁五女山,WuNuShan, HuanRen, China


"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." - Johannes A. Gaertner
 

Saturday, October 13, 2012

2012 的秋 - Fall, 2012



When we left the U.S. last October, we didn't know what kind of Fall season we could expect after the move. In fact, we wondered if we would even get the Fall season at all. Fall is my favorite season. I love the Fall colors, crisp air, warm apple cider, pumpkins and gourds, gatherings with family and friends, holiday decorations, baked goods, the smells--just about everything. I couldn't help but feel a certain degree of separation anxiety as we left all of those behind. 


In the most wonderful and mysterious way, we got to spend a week in the most splendorous Fall colors in northeastern China: LiaoNing Province, to be specific. Here is a random photo from the thousands we took on the trip. We plan to post more on the Photo Blog later, once we have a chance to review them.


在美國居住了將近三十年,秋季始終是我最喜愛的季節。 每年九月開始,樹葉開始變色,家家戶戶開始在屋外佈置起萬聖節,感恩節的景象,空氣不時瀰漫著各種秋天才聞得到的香味,親友聚餐的頻率也變得頻繁起來。秋天對我來說是美,平安與喜樂的綜合,我總是期待著。所以當決定搬來台灣時,心中最不捨的少數幾樣中”秋季”即是其中之一。每次想到了就不免有點沮喪。



這次能有機會和媽媽到中國東北遼寧省體會到璀璨絢麗的秋景是當初意想不到的。這一週吸收的美麗秋景美得讓人作夢都會笑! 我們胡亂照了幾千張相片,都還沒整理。在此任選一張先與大家分享。

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Travel Art Kit Is...Inktense!

Recently, I picked up a 24-color set of Derwent "Inktense" ink blocks. The main reason I wanted them was so I could have a color option when I was traveling. The coolest thing about these is that you can just add water to this block of pigment to get some serious colored ink!

Jiantan Hills Wall
Xinjiang Rock Outcrop
Yosemite Creek
These are my practice tries, using a small 3x4" pad of watercolor paper, an ink pen, and a nifty brush with its own, squeezable water reservoir.

I got the chance to put these to use as we explored the northeastern corner of China with its brilliant Fall foliage. I'll post the results soon!



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Version 2 of "Old Denizen" Pastel Painting

The first pastel painting I did when we moved to Taiwan was from a photo taken on our first hike in the local hills. I discovered that working with soft pastels in a hot, humid environment was very different from working with them in a dry place. The sticks seemed almost "greasy." I couldn't seem to control them on the page. Plus, I'd given myself some pretty tough challenges: the paper I was painting on was a deep red, the original scene was almost chaotic, I wasn't particularly experienced painting forest interiors (especially Taiwan's!) and there was this interesting log in lying on the ground that looked like a snake no matter how I painted it.

Eventually, I got the image on the right. It sat like this for months. I wiped it off and tried again on the same paper. It wasn't much better. Then it sat for several more months.

Finally, I wiped it off one more time and tried it again, almost a year after the first attempt. By this time, I'd had some more success with the pastels, dabbling first in little paintings, and then larger ones until I could get some control over the new feel of the medium in this environment. I also drew, and drew, and drew...as much Taiwanese imagery as I could. That helped.

Here's the resulting "Version 2" of "Old Denizen." I've corrected the mistaken interpretation of some of the branches, removed the "snake" log, and worked mostly on lighting the branches and the ground better. It's closer to the original photograph. Is it better than the first version? I suppose that's up for debate, depending on what you like. I find this version more satisfying. In any case, the composition isn't particularly compelling, so I don't think I'll post it in the gallery, but I'm glad for the experience. I learned a lot!