Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Night Festival 2008 Opening Ceremony
So at 9.30pm, the show finally started and it was awesome as the crowd oohed and ahhhed. We saw a huge ship 'flying' in mid air moving smoothly while an acrobat was dancing as she floated about. If you look close enough, you can spot how there are cables attached to the acrobat as well as the props and there are runners who are constantly pulling and making sure that the different parts didn't crash into each other, while making everything look so smooth and effortless. From the second picture on top, you can see water spray to give that effort of the ship being out at sea and caught in a storm. Nice!
Yes, that's an actual piano floating mid-air with a pianist playing while a dancer performed, dancing on the piano while moving from one end to another. Was just amazing lah..
What is interesting about this is that there were two acrobat dancers at either end with the sphere in the centre. For all three to remain horizontal, the two ladies have to be of equal weight to balance the whole thing. It all looked so simple but the work that goes behind each act must be real huge.
Instead of zooming, I took a picture with the whole Museum at the background and you can see how it provided a magnificient backdrop to The Dancing Sky. And unfortunately the moon wasn't out cuz it would have been even more awesome. Slawek was there during the rehearsal the night before and he had a great picture with the moon around. Will have to see if I can borrow that picture.
This was the hightlight of the first part of The Dancing Sky when two HUGE spheres came out with two acrobat dancers and they moved about, even coming close to the audience at one point.
The spheres were constantly moving and it's a shame but I didn't managed to get a clear picture of the reddish sphere. It looked really gorgeous up in the sky and these pictures aren't doing the whole show any justice. You just had to be there and enjoy the whole experience :o)
The second part was a display on SMU Green which used the different elements - fire, water and air. The two pictures (above and below) show different images which were reflected on the water sprays and it was fun trying to figure them out as they came on.
And here's a picture of her and her splashes. Very clever way of playing with water to give a cool effect. Yes, we the audience were impressed.
And the glass on the bowl helped to magnify her too. What we noticed during our two hour wait, one of the crew member had to monitor the water temperature. Guess had to make sure that it was just right and comfortable enough for the acrobat.
And another shot of the water lady in her bowl. The word FISH BOWL kept popping my mind as I watched her swim about...
The last two pictures show the fire display where you can dancers performing with props that were lit up. First one did an 'umbrella' dance where the spokes were flaming and looked nice when she spun that around.
Thankfully, it only started to drizzle some after the first set was over. Am not sure if they could carry on with the second show which started at 11.30pm and was suppose to go on till about 2am. I sure hope they managed to cuz there would have been people disappointed if they had to cancel the show.
I would definitely love to see Studio Festi perform again but hopefully in a different setting where we didn't have to fight for good views, wait two hours before just to get a spot or wait 30 minutes for people who didn't know how to follow given instructions....Monday, July 07, 2008
Always Be My Baby...
I like Mariah Carey's Always Be My Baby (yes, there are some of her older songs that I actually like) but I love David Cook's rendition of the same song. It's haunting and have been listening to it quite a bit when I drive to school these days and love it more and more each time I hear it. I think I missed it when he performed it on American Idol. So if you missed it too, here you go ....
Labels: David Cook Always Be My Baby
Friday, July 04, 2008
World of Charms ...
My aunt selected the charms and one of it had a Maori Tiki and a Kiwi bird that reminded me where the bracelet came from. She started me off and at that time, I managed to find some awesome charms and added on to the bracelet. I have one more space left and I am looking for the right charm to represent my aunt :o)
And the bracelet means the world to me and is one of my precious worldly possessions because it's from my aunt. She passed away about four years ago in New Zealand and unfortunately, I wasn't able to be with her then because I couldn't get away from work. But my parents were with so that was comforting. She was my favourite aunt because she understood me so well. I could talk to her about anything and I knew she would always be supportive. The bracelet reminds me of her and although I don't wear it as often (because I am worried of spoiling some of the charms), it always makes me smile and think of her when I do.
Clockwise: Love Story Book that opens up to reveal two hearts, a Kiwi bird, an egg that opens up with a lil birdie in there, a spinning charm that says I LOVE YOU, a Sphinx with a mummy inside, bird cage that opens up at the base, a dunny that opens to reveal a man reading the papers and a Maori Tiki.The world of charms is so intriguing. Just go to ebay and see some of the fascinating things that they have there. And recently, after my trip back from UK, I decided to start another charm bracelet to capture my travels. So that's work in progress and I am enjoying hunting for charms that represent the different countries I have been to (and have stretched it some to include places that I would like to visit in the near future). I also have a few other ideas for bracelets that I would like to work on. Yes, it's very addictive. What I love about charm bracelets is that it's unique to the owner. Each charm comes with a story. Yes, you can get 'ready made' ones which are cute. But I rather have the ones with stories to go with each charm.
Recently, I gave my bracelet a good clean. I tried using a polishing cloth but that didn't work as well. A friend Sima gave me this super effective tip for cleaning Sterling Silver. Line a bowl or plate with aluminium foil. Put the bracelet on the foil and try and get as much of the bracelet to be in contact with the foil. Sprinkle some bicarbonate soda onto the bracelet and charms. Pour boiling water to cover the pieces and cover the bowl or plate. And after five minutes or so, you'll see how shiny your pieces will be. For pieces that have tarnished badly, you may need to do this several times but I did it once and was amazed by the result.
I googled some and managed to find how Charms came about from 925silvercharms so take a read:
A Sterling Silver Charm lasts forever, commemorates any occasion, reminds you of priceless memories, lasts for generations and makes a wonderful gift!
Labels: Sterling Silver Charm Bracelet