Starry Starry Night

a lovely song. Went to search for it when i did a search on Van Gogh.
what do u think of when you read of Van Gogh's life story?
it seems to be such a heavy existence, to die without fulfilling all that he wants to do, to have his life ending in insanity. but i believe his existence is aptly represented by a country music piece such as Starry Starry Night. There is a solitary beauty in his works. a silent beauty that invites you to step in.

Here's an analysis from www.vangoghgallery.com.

Expressing Van Gogh's inspiration for the painting. However, one line says : "Look out on a summer's day." which is a false statement as Van Gogh was in an asylum at Saint-Remy, and was not able to paint picture from an actual view point, it is strictly from his mind.	Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue and grey, Look out on a summer's day, With eyes that know the darkness in my soul. Shadows on the hills, Sketch the trees and the daffodils, Catch the breeze and the winter chills, In colors on the snowy linen land.
These are references to other Van Gogh paintings. Flaming Flowers: The Sunflower Series Swirling Clouds: Starry Night Field of Amber Grain: Wheat Field with Crows Weathered Faces: The Potato Eaters.	Starry, starry night. Flaming flowers that brightly blaze, Swirling clouds in violet haze, Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue. Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain, Weathered faces lined in pain, Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.
This is Van Gogh's tragic Death. Even though he loved painting, his paintings could never love him back. Van Gogh attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest, which ultimately led to his death two days later.	For they could not love you, But still your love was true. And when no hope was left in sight On that starry, starry night, You took your life, as lovers often do. But I could have told you, Vincent, This world was never meant for one As beautiful as you.
Van Gogh's artistic legacy is contained within his paintings, drawings and writings. They are everlasting and will never "forget" the style that created them. They are Van Gogh's eyes that watch the world. This is all metaphorically speaking though.	Starry, starry night. Portraits hung in empty halls, Frameless head on nameless walls, With eyes that watch the world and can't forget. Like the strangers that you've met, The ragged men in the ragged clothes, The silver thorn of bloody rose, Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Finally we come to the conclusion of realizing Van Gogh's eternal struggle with insanity.	Now I think I know what you tried to say to me, How you suffered for your sanity, How you tried to set them free. They would not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will...

Boston

Boston - Augustana

In the light of the sun, is there anyone? Oh it has begun...
Oh dear you look so lost, eyes are red and tears are shed,
This world you must've crossed... you said...

You don't know me, you don't even care, oh yeah,
You said
You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains... oh yeah,

Essential yet appealed, carry all your thoughts across
An open field,
When flowers gaze at you... they're not the only ones who cry
When they see you
You said...

You don't know me, you don't even care, oh yeah,
You said
You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains... oh yeah,

She said I think I'll go to Boston...
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I'll get a lover and fly em out to Spain...
I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind...
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice... oh yeah,

Boston... where no one knows my name... yeah
Where no one knows my name...
Where no one knows my name...
Yeah Boston...
Where no one knows my name.

nice track, amazing video huh.

planning to stay in Boston after summer school. not sure how long i'll be there, perhaps long enough for me to feel sick of that place. or long enough for me to feel homesick. or long enough for money to run out. i need to plan an itinerary i guess. can't just go with my luggage and Lonely Planet in hand. Cool idea, bad plan. besides knowing that place, i just want to immerse myself in the suburbans. somewhere close to nature, not too far from city life as i know it. and imagine how my cottage might look like (so they even have cottages there?)

Sunscreen

Sunscreen
by Baz Luhrman


Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or reliable then my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice....now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.
Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this, tell me how).

Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of Calcium. Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body: use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance...even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions (even if you don't follow them). Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me, I'm the sunscreen.

i have a dream

today was one of those suicidal days. but thank God for Ed who smsed from the Down Under. it made me feel better :) although i still don't quite get what you mean by your life being like a bubble about to burst :( sorry, it's poetic alright but i guess will have to wait for you to substantiate more when you blog.

Freedom Writers!

warning: mild spoiler ahead


and Thank God for speaking to me through Freedom Writers.
it totally refreshed me and gave me hope.
like it loads, but love God's raema word most of all because He's a wise king :)

after i sat through the movie, the Word that was impressed upon my mind, is this: This is what i mean by the gift of singleness. i was pleasantly surprised. i hadn't expected it.

i guess it's common to feel the anxiety in university. it seems like the biological clock is ticking so loud everyone in the Central Library lift can hear it go Tick Tock Tick Tock? Single guys fret about being able to pursue whichever girl who's latest on their radar. Single girls wondering if they'll ever get on someone's radar. the rhetoric and grammar might be different but the story more or less the same.

i don't know if the real Erin Gruwell gave up her marriage for the bunch of students but it spoke to me in a profound way. i can't remember the exact line but she said something along the lines of "when i bring about hope and meaning into their lives, i find hope and meaning in mine"? and in response her husband went ahead with the decision to opt for the divorce because he felt he was "asked to lead a life he didn't ask to". it was sad, but my take is that it happened because her husband didn't see the world the way she did; they were at different levels of growth, being preoccupied with different things.

to expand on it, she found her life mission after she got married and her husband wasn't part of that mission. and the gift of singleness is this: that you pursue your dreams with all your heart and mind, with no one else to share that perhaps, but it's that period of solo and privately intimate time when you're young and idealistic enough to grab hold of those castles in the air as blueprint for the concrete construction of your life. it's nice if you've a companion who's chasing it with you, but more blessed with the freedom and space to grow when you're solo.

so that, when two come together, they indeed become better than one :)

so don't worry if you're single. and don't be overly concerned if you've a friend who has remained single for a long time. read: ed, i'm talking about you. this might be the best period of their life yet ;)