My favorite YUI songs. Like you will not believe.
The childlike quality in her music is more that it is very open and expressive. At first, I found her voice to be very weird, but later it grew on me where I could see how people found her style to be unique enough to stand out in their mind. It just leaves you completely entranced sometimes.
sotto tsubuyaita kimi no kotoba you say it
ugokidase mienai kedo michi wa hirakareteru
Your words that were softly whispered, you say it
I begin to move, unseen, but the path is being shined on
I feel my soul Take me your way sou mogakinagara mo
kitto kono mama zutto aruite yukeru
I feel my soul Take me your way even while I struggle,
I'm sure that I can go on walking forever as I
doro darake yo najimenai tokai de
onaji you ni waraenai utsumuite aruita no
isogiashi de surechigau hitotachi
"yume wa kanaimashita ka?" atashi mada mogaiteru
In the city I'm not used to that's full of dirt,
I can't laugh the same and I walked with my head down
People pass by in a quick pace
I ask "has their dreams come true?" But I'm still struggling
suminareta kono heya wo dete yuku hi ga kita
atarashii tabidachi ni mada tomadotteru
eki made mukau BASU no naka
tomodachi ni ME-RU shita
asa no HO-MU de denwa mo shite mita
demo nanka chigau ki ga shita
furui GITA- wo hitotsu motte kita
shashin wa zenbu oite kita
What books are on your nightstand?
I don't actually use my night stand, but instead all the books I'm reading (or about to read as the title suggests) kind of sleep in bed with me. Uncomfortable? Eh maybe, but I like jumping into bed and bumping into a book I haven't read yet. A huge batch of books I put on hold came all at once, so now my bed is almost too full for me.
In the order by which I will probably read it:
Madame Secretary by Madeleine Albright (Currently Reading)
Young Warriors: Tales of Strength edited by Tamora Pierce (Currently Reading)
Moment in Peking by Lin Yutang (Currently Reading)
Shanghai: The Decadent City by Stella Dong (Currently Reading)
The Light of the Oracle by Victoria Hanley
The Secret War in Shanghai by Bernard Wasserstein
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
My American Journey by Colin Powell
Edit:// OH! Wait
Speaking of reading, this article is a good example of Opinion writing, burn on Dan Brown, and all around pick me up for a faltering ego.
Writing Off Reading
Ayumi Hamasaki - Beautiful Fighters [Blue Bird Single] (4 Stars)
I know that a big star like Ayumi probably has like a bajillion dollar budget to do these things, and it is very apparent in videos like this one.I actually didn't like this song when I first heard it. I brushed it off as another upbeat happy song, but videos do a lot of change my mind when it comes to music.
Normally people trying to be overly cute or hilarious doesn't amuse me, but through the shenanigans of her and the rest of the girls I really began to appreciate the meaning (of the video at least) more. Even though people can be complete screw ups, everyone is secretly a beautiful fighter on the inside.
"We are Beautiful Fighters
To be honest
There are some terrible days
But the girls who live
Without stopping nor giving up are
Beautiful Fighters"
Ayaka 絢香- Real Voice [Real Voice Single] (4 Stars)
Real Voice presents a lot of opposites back and forth, but more or less gives a good performance view of Ayaka and her trademark vocals which I highly recommend.
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics (4 Stars)
Possibly my favorite Christina album to date and a rare indulgence in American music. It is definitely good for getting work done because it has a beautiful subtle way of getting you absorbed without being completely distracting. The lyrics are very today, but the feel is completely old style tribute periods like the 1930s. Anything that can draw inspiration from the past while still being modern doesn't have a hard time finding it's way onto my like list.
Recommended tracks: Ain't No Other Man, Still Dirrty, Nasty Naughty Boy
Paris Hilton - Paris (3 Stars)
Ugh kind of embarassing, but I have honestly heard worse. Although the vocals are not bad, something about the sound seems kind of artificial. Most of the songs are quite catchy and dance-y if you don't mind their shallow nature and content. I'm also not much a fan of the double meanings in her lyrics, but overall the album is relatively solid and goes with how she presents herself. I don't think it's the travesty to humanity that people make it out to be, but neither am I particularly impressed.
Recommended tracks: Turn It Up, Stars Are Blind, I Want You
Gym Class Heroes - As Cruel As School Children (3 Stars)
Very humorous in it's presentation of everyday school related subjects, going though 1st Period, Lunch, and Detention. Where Linkin Park was rock with a smattering of rap, this is a sort of rap style with interspersed rock elements. But what I think I like most about it is that it makes me laugh and it is a style that isn't tiresome as it is different with each track and not a rap style with the usual subject matters.
Recommened tracks: 1st Period: The Queen and I; 4th Period: Clothes Off!; 6th Period: Viva La White Girl; 12th Period: Sacndalous Scholastics
Snakecharm by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (3 Stars)
Second book of what I assume to be a three part series which I began reading back in middle school. The protagonists are back at trying to maintain a stable peace between the two races of snake shapeshifters and the avian shapeshifters. It sounds a bit absurd, but I love the fantasy worlds she creates which make it a complete guilty pleasure book. I find her style to be that of really good fiction/fanfiction so it is very creative. At the same time, I dislike that all the characters are very fanservice/Mary Sue/Gary Stu who are beautiful, strong, mysterious, with magic powers etc etc all at the same time without major personality flaws. And resolution to problems can sometimes magically show up. I often expect much more resistance, obstacles, and plot twists, so I suppose in a way I'm always surprised that things end perfectly sometimes. But if I had to read something frivolous, the I couldn't imagine anything else really.
The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares (2 Stars)
I seem to be trying to catch up with all the easy reads I've been meaning to do this past year but never had time to do.
I am stilll completely lost on the appeal of these books, but I do find the writing style to be good for a teen novel, simply because it is able to express some observations that I mean to say but fail to communicate.
Overall, I am not one for the story of relationships and interaction, nor for self-discovery of others in areas that I am not particularly concerned with at this point in life. I find these types of stories better heard aloud than read on paper where I am prone to roll my eyes at how cheesy that love scene came together, or that lesson one of the girls learned through the experience.
I've discovered in reading this book that I am quite bad at appreciating things for their thematic value or their symbolism. At most I may be able to spot a moral or intended message, but I tend to take everything I read quite literally and forget that the content of books are molded to better express the author's intention.
Beginning slowly, I found the book went much faster after you could tell the characters apart. Initially I believed the book to be a tracking of the history of one family as The Good Earth was, but upon pondering the events and the title, it finally connected in me. The experiences portrayed were not a means of showing members of the family, but in how they each had their issues with solitude from both each other and what they wanted.
I really wish I figured that out earlier when I still thought I was reading a book about a lineage of backwoods incestuous crazy people.
Weblogs
-The feeds of my own blogs due to some very silly reasoning. Of course I know when I update, but I would want that someone using my computer to easily find my sites if I needed them to do something important.
-An assortment of personal sites and blogs arranged in whatever order I happen to decide on (usually varies between age, geography, or rate of updating).
News
-BBC International Edition: I love that they seem to present subjects that local media doesn't focus on.
-Blogging Baby: Parenting-related news. Random yes, but I find the ones that relate to teenage issues to be typical issues that we would care about.
-CNN World News: More specifically the Asian news section, I depend more on local offline sources of US news anyways.
-Japan Times Online: I particularly enjoy their articles on either daily life, or ones that contain recent statistics and opinion polls.
-People's Daily Online: The English edition to a particularly political Chinese newspaper. Presents an interesting view and great editorial reads.
-Shanghai Daily: The English paper in Shanghai with a focus on subjects very local to that city.
Entertainment Blogs
-Kaiju Shakedown: Variety's Asian movie blog detailing the status and happenings with upcoming movies from Asia.
-Hikki Texts: Translations of Utada Hikaru's Japanese blog.
-JPop News: Simply details and tracklistings for upcoming Japanese album and single releases.
-Chinese Music Blog: Music reviews.
-Hot Celebrity Photos: Guilty pleasure. Actually I'm mostly just curious as to who is considered hot these days. Contains a good mix of Western, Asian celebrities as well as some fictional characters.
-New Game Plus: Gaming blog focusing on issues and developments relating to female gamers.
Vox Newbie
I've already fallen in love with the books, photos, and audio functions. Not to mention the interface is so much more visually appealing than what I am used to. I was honestly expecting a long line to get a chance to check it out, but Chantelle was generous enough to send me an invite (Thanks!) And thus, my wait was thankfully cut short.
So that explains how I got here and so that only leaves me with where I'm going with this...
Memoirs is already where I discuss what is happening in my life and I don't really plan to expand on that. Live-journal is amazing for communities and staying in touch, but I dislike trying to dive into my more private and thoughts in such an impromptu manner. One is a bit too structured and the other too abstract, so I want this endeavor to be what falls in between the two.
About this Weblog
我的心中的日月 is Chinese for The Sun and Moon of My Heart. The title was inspired by Wong Lee Hom's song Shangri-La, or 心中的日月. Although "Shangri-La" is meant to describe a paradise/utopia, I usurped the Chinese title's more literal translation to better suit what I plan to pursue with the weblog.
Caros is a nickname of Caroline used only by my close personal friends. It is special to me not only because of that, but also because my name comes with so few available offshoots. Entries, for now, are public, but photographs, books, and other features are available only to those listed as friends.
Established August 3rd, 2006.
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
