追揸沽 (To Seek, Hold and Let Go)

This dead tree publication is a compilation of various online posts from the same name Chinese (Cantonese) blog by famed blogger Charcoal who is a self-proclaimed nihilist with the good look of Daniel Wu. Charcoal, when not blogging, runs a small business in Jordan, arguably the biggest cesspool in Hong Kong. Of course, the above can all be prefaced with the word "alleged," as I can neither verify nor debunk those claims except "famed blogger" which is my own assessment that I believe most people share. Charcoal has been pretty successful not to reveal his identity. Most if not all bloggers do not know his real world identity, myself included. But that's not important. What's important is his blog identity, that is, what and how he writes. Why he blogs is the least interesting part. He did say he uses blogging to alleviate tension from work. Or whatever. It boils down to because the guy can and do it much better than most people. About seven months ago, Sina did a similar compilation from Sina's own bloggers and gave the book a title "Why We Blog?" or "Why Weblog?" Anyway, I never bother to check it out, as I am least interested in why when it comes to writings. I am much interested in what people write and even more importantly how people write. Or I am simply turned off by the title. What Charcoal writes Charcoal knows. He writes about his work, his team of staff past or present, his life, his musings on things happened around him. In short, everyday stuff that in lesser hands, can and will become extremely pedestrian and boring. I am not sure if he is a nihilist, but from his posts, I can sense he is an humanitarian. All his characters, real or imagined are ordinary people. Ordinary as in people can be found in nightclubs, in small offices, on the streets, the mentally challenged, unprivileged and underprivileged in the urban jungle that is known as Hong Kong. Charcoal, through his writings, give ordinary people a voice, a character in an otherwise mundane if not totally cruel and meaningless life. Charcoal reveals and praises humanity in his most ordinary characters. Some of his more distinguished blog posts are actually novellas written yet in another voice, like a Beer Girl or an Office Assistant. Charcoal is a blogger-cum-novelist. Personally I think how is more important than what one writes. Charcoal, like I said earlier, writes everyday life. But he always manages to find an angle, a voice, an opinion, a connection that he can make his own and makes things interesting. Now that is what I call talent or past hard work manifested as talent. As to the dead tree publication, the comments are gone, so commenters don't expect to find your witty comments on the book. Like I said, the book is a compilation of blog posts from the past, so you can find all the contents online except for the book preface. The preface is typical Charcoal, well written, self deprecating, gives credits to people and fellow bloggers who have either inspired or helped him along the way. And finally he gracefully apologizes to Charlie Cho Cha-Lei for appropriating his picture as his online avatar and praises Mr. Cho's contribution to the Hong Kong cinema. "To Seek, Hold and Let Go", like Charcoal's online avatar Cho is decidedly lowbrow in the best sense of the word, very assessable and enjoyable. If you are to read between the lines or bytes, you can definitely appreciate the humanity and dignity of his characters that are shared among human kinds in an otherwise meaningless and sometimes cruel existence. "To Seek, Hold and Let Go" is the most important publication of this summer because I say so. Bottom line: You don't have to get the book if you are already an avid reader of his blog. But then again, if you read his blog regularly and religiously you would like to get a hardcopy so you can read it anytime and anywhere online or offline. If you have been living under a rock or don't believe in blogging (I am truly surprised you are reading this then) you owe yourself to get copy of this exemplary Cantonese writing at its very best. Disclosure: Yours truly got a signed copy with an accompanying note waiting for me when I checked in my hotel in the mildly dangerous and pleasantly decadent Jordan neighborhood, the same can be said about Mr. Charcoal's blog, mildly dangerous and pleasantly decadent. 7/25/2007

The whole post with proper hyperlink is right here.

Fiona Apple

Criminal
Across The Universe

月亮代表我的心 - 鄧麗君

山口百惠 - 秋桜 (Live)

update 7/4/2011 (I am going to ruin the post my writing something)
This is what happened when you stripped away the ridiculously gaudy costume, fancy stage design and cutesy dance moves.  An almost stoic yet oddly evocative performance from the one and only Momoe Yamaguchi san.

陶晶瑩 - 離開我

Maudlin love song.

Soul Crushing Tedium

The decidedly low tech low concept alt rock band that is uniquely Hong Kong My Little Airport presents a Cantonese song that is about the spirit stifling and soul crushing job working as a Telebet Services Assistant.  The lyrics are local but I have to say the state of being bored is largely a universal human condition shared by peoples across cultures from all walks of life, rich or poor.  I think I can relate or even appreciate people talking about life lived unfulfilled.  The song's cheerfully pessimistic and delusionary passive-aggressive subversive lyrics* really make MLA one of the few bands that are hip and "with-it."

*If I were to pick on something about the lyrics I would have to say, given it's sung by a female, the "dumb fuck(dick)" reference (at the 1 minute mark of the above music video) should be changed to "stupid cunt" or something to that effect.  Now it's kind of odd even I understand cursing can be really generic and mindless sometimes and can't be taken at face value or literally.  Anyhow, I suspect since the lyrics were written by a guy so it came out as "dumb fuck."

無眠

我只在乎你

Maudlin love song.

喜歡 - 張懸

Weekend Maudlin Love Song.

我願意

Weekly maudlin love song ...  This week I present you Wong Faye's 我願意.  Just read that she is going to have concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, China.  These songs just reaffirm how awesome Wong is.  Her awesomeness has really no parallel.  She rules.



OKAY, one more
傳奇

image from mingpaonews.com

copyright belongs to respective rightful owners.

甄秀儀/陳浩德（合唱） —— 《分飛燕》1973年原唱版

Canto pop continues ...



Now all we need is the version by 譚炳文，李香琴. Thanks to Sidney for the link.

郭靜 - 麻雀

There are no love songs like maudlin love songs and there are no maudlin love songs better than Mandarin maudlin love songs from Taiwan.

 UPDATE 10/28/2011: Looks like the video got taken down because of copyrights issue. Oh well.  Personally I think that's just dumb.

YouTube Love Songs

There are no songs like love songs except maudlin love songs. The more tear jerking the better. So here we go.





Personally I think the MTV don't do justice to the songs. I prefer a pure audio experience to the songs.

Youtube Wednesday.

This is a non video video with Cantonese dialog. The audio is not worksafe if you work in a Cantonese speaking environment. Good sound quality. Good for training purposes. Must listen for telemarketers.

A lively cordial if you minus the curse words exchange between a telemarketer and his prospect. The prospect has some strong opinion on his present telco. It's all fun.

YouTube Friday

I live in the presence but I belong to the past. This is the kind of Cantonese songs I used to listen to and dare I say liked.

YouTube Tuesday

If you think Wong Kar Wai is too arty farty, perhaps this hardcore clip from Times Square is more for you. [WARNING: toddler performing a perfect somersault involuntarily. Bad Taste, bad humor.]
New York City is Dangerous For Free Range Toddlers



I know you and I are going to rot in hell for laughing at this.
Seen first at http://www.gawker.com

YouTube Friday

WARNING: Read this first. THIS IS NOT WORK SAFE. 9-second Cantonese profanities referencing sex acts with one's mom in the most despicable yet common way only a Cantonese knows how. Watch with headphones.



It looks like this gentleman here is over compensating for his banal sex life. And he totally takes it out on the cops. His schizophrenic obscenities laden cursing is vulgar and at the same time hilarious. I laugh every time I watch it.

This is sourced from ESWN.