I am Your Sunshine

好用 Wiki

Monday
20:00 ABC Dancing with the Stars (9/20)
21:00 FOX Lonestar (9/20) double life con man
21:00 NBC The Event (9/20) Conspiracy Thriller
22:00 ABC Castle (9/20)

Tuesday
20:00 FOX Glee
21:00 FOX Raising Hope (9/21)
21:00 ABC Detroit 1-8-7
21:30 FOX Running Wilde (9/21) (Keri Russel, Will Arnett)
22:00 CBS The Good Wife

Wednesday
20:00 NBC Undercovers (9/22) JJ
21:00 CW Hellcats (9/8) Cheerleaders, 但似乎有點囧
21:00 ABC Modern Family (9/22)
22:00 ABC The Whole Truth (9/22) (Maura Tierney)

Thursday
20:00 CBS The Big Bang Theory
21:00 CW Nikita (9/9)

Friday
21:00 ABC Body of Proof (Jeri Ryan)

另外 Laura Linney 的 The Big C 也很令人期待

Apartment 3A @ 皇冠小劇場

偶爾上 FB 看到有人推薦膛口, 原來是筱婷的劇團.
剛好本次演出日期我在台灣, 於是便招人一起去.

對於台灣的戲劇環境我不是很清楚, 不過常常聽到很悲觀的說法, 於是對於這個英語演出的舞台劇也不知道該抱怎樣的期待. (但話說以前看的幾齣外文系畢業公演都還不錯.)

場地的音效不錯, 音樂也很用心. 女主角 Annie 一出場便令人驚豔. 不只是英文流利口條清晰, 她情緒表現的掌控也非常精確到位, 很自然地把觀眾帶入戲裡. 然而房東 Betty 感覺就像在演刻板印象中的厲害大嬸, 像鄉土劇中那種, 不是很有說服力, 有點令人不耐. 男主角(?) Elliot 的英文語調很韓式, 常常得看字幕才知道他在講什麼. 也因此完全無法判斷他的演技, 因為他整個就像在展現他背台詞的能力, 知道, 卻看不出這個角色的個性. 他一直 “Hey Annie” 也很讓人難受. Donald 就… 中規中舉的.

劇本很棒, 該輕鬆的輕鬆, 深刻的部份也是溫柔的深刻. Annie 在描述 Donald 出現的幻覺時, Donald 站在舞台前方, 伸出手, 那幕實在是太美了. 最後房東 Betty 親口確認了大家心底的懷疑時, 我跟著 Annie 回想與 Donald 相處的種種, 幾乎落淚. (但是觀眾好多人在笑… orz)

不知道台灣人這種遇到尷尬情況不知如何反應就笑的習慣什麼時候才會改掉呢…

Finished the script on my way to Tainan. At this moment, I like the movie better. Even though there are more intriguing lines in the play, (they’d have seen smart-assed and insincere in a movie.) I cannot bear to see my favorite Posner growing up to be this sad, or pathetic even. Granted he is destined to be a tragic character; still, I’m much content believing that he turns out to be a “not happy, yet not unhappy” teacher.

The movie is done beautifully. Alan Bennett really masters his work, instead of being a slave of his own creation. He knows the essence of the story (it didn’t just “happen”, like some of Auden’s earlier poems); therefore, he is able to manipulate it to fit the form. He takes the advantages of flashbacks and voiceover, uses them to compliment the story but never overplays. The ending of the film is poetic and gives viewers a sense of its root – the theatre.

Having read two of his plays, one is tempted to jump to the conclusion that he’s a Auden enthusiast. But it might well be my personal adoration of Auden and my lack of literary knowledge which is so very much venerated in the History Boys. Bennett throws in “gobbets” effortlessly through mouths of his characters as if to show off. But for me, he is merely demonstrating the kind of spirit, which is the heart of the play, that one is in harmony with the entire human experience through words, through literature, that one is part of the union of unique individuals.

As Hector tells Posner in the play,

The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.

The reading was succinct, clever and beautiful, much like Auden’s poetry.

It took place at the smallest of the three – Cottesloe Theatre. I, as usual, took my time getting the ticket and fortunately there was one in the center available.

The moment they walked onto the stage, I was literally breathless. Damien Lewis, Jeremy Irons in flesh and blood! They were just few steps away and I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off Damien. Ms. Hart began with a brief intro and Ms. Atkins started off with one of Auden’s work which I once put some effort into studying it – Musee des Beaux Arts. Damien continued with w’s favorite, one of my top choices as well, As I Walked Out One Evening. Turned out that Damien read the ones I love very much, including The Unknown Citizen, O Tell Me the Truth about Love and Funeral Blues. His reading was animated and entrancing; he evoked some laughters at times , and he completely took my breath away with his presentation of Funeral Blues. Ms. Atkins and Mr. Irons’ readings were excellent as well, much filled with humor and/or emotions.

Thoroughly a treat!

結果我還是忍不住去吃了一頓比較正式的下午茶. 決定之前在各個餐廳評鑑網站研究了好久, Ritz 跟 Harrods 都有點價格與品質不成正比, 而且還要穿正式服裝, 我根本就沒帶高跟鞋來啊… 最後我挑了在 The Capital 旅館的下午茶室. The Capital 就在 Harrods 的旁邊, 位於 Chelsea想當然爾一定也是走高級路線的. The Captial 的茶室本身很小, 擺設非常典雅親密, 大家講話也都小小聲, 氣氛頗佳. 洗手間用的是 molton brown 的產品, 擦手的是毛巾, 而且每間廁所裡還有一盆蘭花(!), 另外有兩張休息的椅子, 旁邊還有礦泉水跟杯子.

finger sandwich 有四個, egg salad, tuna, salmon, chicken. 風味各異, 都非常好吃, 不會有太乾或沒味道這類常有的問題.

scone 配的是 Devon 產的clotted cream 跟他們的 rasberry jam.
很慚愧的是我沒有吃出 scone 香不香.
因為 scone 小小一個, 所以我每口都塗了跟scone本身一樣大的cream & jam XD
所以沒怎麼吃到 scone 本身的味道, 不過口感真的很好 :D

fruit cake… 我本來就不喜歡這種東西, 所以不是他做的不好吃

pastries:
lemon tart + 一小塊草莓: 酸甜得宜, 滑嫩又入口即化

巧克力蛋糕(?) 中間夾了rasberry醬 搭配的也很好吃

再來是我超愛的 banana macaroon 中間的cream夾上banana rum的醬
外殼似乎灑了一些椰子粉

中間一杯底層是 rhubarb compote 上面 sponge cake 再上面 custard
再上面一圈 pistacchio 小餅乾片中間圍著一顆 rasberry

非常滿足啊…

號稱是英國最大的螢幕. 覺得比 SF Sony Metreon 的 IMAX 小一點, 位子是絕對比 Sony Metreon 少的, 不過開始看之後覺得螢幕還算夠大.

好幾片預告裡, 比較有興趣的是 Tron: Legacy 跟 Prince of Persia. 不過說真的, 不要再一直拍華麗場面但故事空洞的電影了, 這種很容易就看膩的.

回到 Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. 演得很好, 感情與性格表現的很確實而動人. Mickey Rourke 的角色從一開始就 cliche 到不行, 不過這也不是他能控制的. 反正這個歡樂的故事裡只需要 stereotypical 的反派, 至少這個反派的個人能力夠強, 也不是個白痴. 說到白痴, 就不能不提 Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), 真是蠢的非常成功, 不過 Sam Rockwell 一直讓我想到 The Fifth Element 裡的 Gary Oldman.Scarlett Johansson 的出現讓我緊張了一下, 不過好險她沒有破壞 Tony 跟Pepper 之間的平衡.

本集的動作沒有第一集那麼緊湊, (也可能是胃口被養太大了,) 不過一點也不會覺得它冗長. 但也許是為了維持整體的節奏, 有些地方感覺處理的比較隨便不夠細膩. 不過呢, 本集保有 Iron Man 一貫的幽默, 讓它跟其他近代的漫畫電影有所區別, 也是我喜愛Iron Man 的原因之一.

* Tron: Legacy 是 1982 年 Tron 的續集, 當初的主角是 Jeff Bridges, 他會在續集中繼續演他原來的角色!

* Avengers 電影預記 2012年發行, 應該會由 Joss Whedon 執導, 真令人期待!

今天從美國來的朋友相約在 Gloucester Rd 站附近的 pub (Stanhope Arms) 吃晚餐看 Man City v Tottenham Hotspurs. 我比較晚到, 所以她們已經點好食物與飲料. 我到吧台點了一杯 Strongbow (是 Cider, 因為沒看到我想喝的啤酒), 遞出信用卡, 結果酒保羞澀地跟我說五磅以上才能刷. 我打開皮夾, 驚訝地發現我沒有紙鈔了 (其實夾縫裡還有, 不過我還不想用), 當我在零錢袋裡翻找著銅板時, 旁邊的一位大叔忽然出聲, “I’ll pay for her drink.” 我嚇了一跳, 但酒保似乎嚇了一大跳, 還再三確認他是否是認真的. 我客氣了兩聲便欣然接受了. 當個外國(偽)小女生的好處啊~ 科.

到英國之後, 我也跟著大家一邊看球一邊拿杯啤酒 (因為酒吧真的也沒啥好的葡萄酒選擇, 而且我發現有些當地產的啤酒其實還蠻好喝的.) 因為都是出社會的人了, 大家也很習慣地你一輪我一輪的買酒, 我也因此被請了好幾次. 但問題在於, 我每次喝一 pint 就好飽了 (還會狂跑廁所), 所以幾乎沒有我買 second round 的機會. 不過我還是會找機會回饋給其他人. 也許不是當初請我的人, 不過我相信這世界是存在歡樂的互助暖流的.

前幾年倫敦地鐵似乎花大錢重整, 今年來到倫敦, 覺得地鐵跟印象中不同. 記得十年前的倫敦地鐵, 動線是比紐約地鐵好懂一些, 不過陰暗與髒亂度比紐約地鐵有過之而無不及. 這次來倫敦, 發現地鐵變得乾淨明亮 (當然還是比不上台北捷運), 指示也非常清楚, 只要稍微研究過一下地鐵圖, 都不太可能坐錯. (District line是複雜了點沒錯.)

前幾天我從 Northern Line 要轉 Piccadilly Line, 下樓梯一轉彎便看到 Piccadilly Line 正要準備離開, 我快步向前, 兩大跨步跳進了車箱, 抓住車箱正中間的欄杆轉了半圈. 我還在為自己的靈巧感到慶幸時, 旁邊一個上班族忽然對我說, “that was impressive.” 我還不知道該得意還是困窘, 他又補了一句, “if you’d add a somersault next time, it’ll make my day.” XD

之前都是在各個小鎮喝三到五磅不等的 cream tea (就是一壺茶搭配 scone), 在 Rye 吃了一次傳統下午茶, 也是不到十磅. 結果心血來潮想來找找倫敦哪裡有好吃的下午茶, 卻發現有名的動輒要三四十磅!

其實我還是想吃 Sally Lund.

在英國待了兩個月, 看的劇如下:
(在清單後分享各個便宜票的購入方式)

4/03/10 London (Wyndham) Avenue Q
4/15/10 Cardiff (New Theatre) Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
4/19/10 London (Drury Lane) Oliver!
4/26/10 London (Aldwych) Dirty Dancing
5/01/10 London (Criterion) The 39 Steps
5/01/10 London (Haymarket) Sweet Charity
5/05/10 London (Lyttelton) The Habit of Art
5/06/10 London (Savoy) Legally Blonde
5/10/10 London (Piccadily) Grease
5/13/10 London (Victoria) Billy Elliot
5/17/10 London (Olivier) Women Beware Women
5/18/10 London (Soho) Idiots of Ants: This is War
5/20/10 London (Trafalgar) Holding the Man
5/20/10 London (Prince Edward) Jersey Boys
5/24/10 London (Noel Coward) ENRON
5/25/10 London (The Globe) Macbeth
5/25/10 London (Queens) Les Miserables
5/26/10 London (Old Vic) The Real Thing
5/27/10 London (Open Air) The Crucible
5/28/10 London (New London) War Horse

以下依照我的喜愛程度排序~ Continue Reading »

[原文於 Mar 11 2009發表]
Dead Zone 裡 Johnny Smith 的 “是誰造成世界末日” 關係圖.

the wall of doom

Life 裡 Charlie Crews 的 “到底是誰陷害我?” 關係圖

Conspiracy wall

本周的 Chuck 的 “為什麼我變成Intersect” 關係圖

the secret of Tron poster

[新增] FlashForward “跳到未來是誰搞得鬼” 線索牆
Mosaic Investigation Wall

“Your Mileage May Vary.”

Saw it on FlyerTalk forum. The shorthand came from the small print in automobile commercials in the 70’s and 80’s. It has come to mean an acknowledgment that the opinion of the poster may not be shared by everyone.

=D

observe and learn.
pick and choose principles to live by.
feel free to change your mind anytime.
most importantly, reflect,
and eat your vegetables.

This is the first time that I read (okay, listen to) a book simply because I like the reader. Agincourt is read by Charles Keating, who read The Lighthouse and The Murder Room and Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James. His voice is affectionate without being to sentimental, authoritative yet kind and his reading is always engaging.

Agincourt is about the battle took place in 1415 that shocked Christendom. The Battle of Agincourt, or Azincourt in French, was of little real significance in the hundred year war. For Henry V, it had not been a successful campaign since he marched his army onto Upper Normandy. However, the fact that the sickness stricken and exhausted English army was able to defeat the healthy, well-equipped French who outnumbered the English probably 4 to 1 (even 6 to 1) makes the battle fascinating. Shakespeare’s play Henry V which centers the battle doesn’t hurt, either.

In Agincourt, Cornwell tells the story not from the King, not from the gallant Sir John Cornewaille, who was a real Agincourt hero, but from an archer’s point of view. Because of that, we are able to experience the battle in closeup. Not on a horseback in shiny armor, but really see the nastiness and fear of the battlefield. While telling the riveting story, Cornwell manages to delivering a great deal knowledge on battlefield maneuver and medieval war technology, which doesn’t interrupt the story but make it even more engaging.

I thoroughly love it.

It should be fun this year cos I’ve watched most of the nominated films.

the ones that I haven’t seen and not intended to see are:
Avatar, Precious, The Lovely Bones, The Hurt Locker, Fantastic Mr Fox, A Prophet, The White Ribbon and District 9.

watched and liked watched but did not like so much wanna watch
Continue Reading »

ABC’s new dramedy about 4 (or 5?) first year associates in a prestigious law firm in LA. It’s light hearted and fast paced, but you can’t really tell much from the pilot. As far as introducing the characters, I think it did a pretty decent job. However, it did give a Grey’s Anatomy impression with people sleeping around. For Pete’s sake, it’s only the pilot! I hope it wouldn’t turn out to be a legal version of GA with the lack of mesmerizing voiceover. It’d be the worst of both worlds…

I heard about NBC shuffling Jay Leno’s show yesterday morning on my alarm clock radio, but I didn’t fully understand what was going on, because I don’t give a damn about that stupid fat ass whose popularity over Conan never cease to baffle me, until I came across a statement by Conan O’Brien. As I read on, I realized that Conan is the victim of NBC’s self-proclaimed “genius” move last season. I can even picture the smug grin on Jay Leno’s face as the move doesn’t hurt him at all but Conan. In Conan’s statement, he expressed himself in a dignified way and in this depressing moment, he still insisted to entertain us with his usual self deprecating humor at the end of the statement.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Ah, this is the Conan I so love. I hope he can continue to do what he loves with whichever network that respects the work. :)

We were divided into groups today in our Fiction class. Having had to be face to face with my group members, I was once again stunned by the youthfulness they possess, their forgiven carelessness and their fearless disposition toward the world that is going to devour them. Perhaps it was because I haven’t taken classes that involved interaction with college aged kids for the past six months. (I’ve been in Taiwan and I only hanged with a middle aged graphic designer and a matured looking guy in my drawing class.) I wonder how they see me. That is, if they saw me at all. Nevertheless, I was less self conscious than I used to be. I’ve recently decided that if I’m uncomfortable, or unable even, to present the confident self in front of these bunch of overconfident brats (no hard feelings), in English, I’ll settle to be “the quiet one”, as in the poem “The Quiet One” which I haven’t yet to finish.

But as I was sitting quietly, trying not to be desperately wanting to join the conversation which was honestly quite dull even though spices were added to make it lively, the other quiet girl spoke. “Never used powerpoint in my life.” She paused, savoring the sudden attention mixed with amazement, and then continued with the languor she’d been posing all morning, “We didn’t use that in high school. I’m 24.” I almost bursted out laughing while the others exchanged murmured exclamation like “we thought you’re our age!” and thoughtful declaration like “you get that every once in a while.” oh my oh my…

B

I’ve been wanting to watch this movie because of this poster. It intrigued me somehow. Yeah, it looks lame; nothing more than a bizarre love triangle. But I was curious how it would be portrayed and processed.

But it turned out to be a movie about “love at first sight” and “the one”. It said that there’s the one person for you in the world, and when you meet “the one”, you’d know it right away. Personally I think it’s shit. If you fall for someone and it turns out to be fine, or more than fine, you just get lucky. However, I know those firm believers who never stop looking would argue that I don’t believe because I never have the experience. But honestly, what I think doesn’t have anything to do with you, unless you’re the kind of person who needs constant reassurance from others to keep your feet steady. or… unless I’m the subject of your love at first sight!? But wait, doesn’t this thing have to be mutual?

B+
劇情很簡單, 歌舞很不賴. 演員都是一時之選, 但整體還是比 Chicago 略遜一籌.

(要找 8 1/2 來看)