Sara Bareilles

Due to my MadWorld auditions, I was introduced to Sara Bareilles. I've heard her song 'Love Song' on airplay and then I heard 'Gravity' played once on the "older folks" radio channel, but never really got into her. I thought she was another regular pop act.

Then, when I had to sing 'Gravity' for my callbacks, I was hooked, line and sinker into Sara Bareilles.

Got my hand on the 2nd album 'Kaleidoscope Heart' and never looked back.

With my slanted interest towards the lesser known acts, I really like Bareilles' way of writing and composing. She writes with such wit, such eloquence and her melodies are definitely memorable. Her lyrics are vulnerable, raw, yet polished with her melody. There's often that raw honesty to her songs and the way she expresses them that makes her songs resonates deep, even without having going through the same heartache or excitement that she has gone through. Somehow you can identify with her almost completely.

She isn't the most compelling singer (I mean, no one beats Whitney Houston and those legendary divas), but she knows how to hone it to her advantage, hence, she has one of the really beautiful vocals of her genre. I still can't sing her songs without either running out of breath or having choppy timing. Well, they are all techniques, and Bareilles is one that got hers down pat with her self-written songs fitting to a tee, hence her voice fits her songs perfectly and vice versa.

My dream is to be able to sing-songwrite like her. *looks at the piano and sighs

P/S: I really do love her gutsy-ness.

Music video for 'Gonna Get Over You' from her sophomore album 'Kaleidoscope Heart'


One of the best live singers:


AND The song that started it all (from her major-label debut album, 'Little Voice')

Live:


Music video:



SaraB, I love you.

The Lessons of Mercy and Grace

What is mercy?

When somebody bestows compassion upon you.

What is grace?

When somebody bestows mercy upon you even when you don't deserve it.


"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."


How am I going to repay that kindness and mercy and grace?


Oh Lord,
purify my heart,
restore to me the joy of my salvation and
that I will never stir away.
Anchor my soul and
refine me to be like pure gold.

Amen.

Travel

It's been a while since I flew out of my country to another.

This time is to a country I longed to go for a long time. This time, I could.

Korea.

What a trip. We walked. Got lost. Found our way back. Walked some more. Ate. Drank. Shopped. Met friends. Opened hearts. Spoke the local language. Spoke English.

Time is so short. I wished I can be there for longer. I wished I can see more, experience more.

This trip only makes me want to go back for more.

Korea is a great place for the creative mind to flourish and find inspiration. It has its crazy moments; People can be curt, people can be in a rush and the language barrier is real. It could do with more public rubbish bins and less public spitting, but it's a country with its own charms. Quaint restaurants, even quainter cafes, but with big ambitions. It's a mix of tradition and increasing metropolitan tastes. On one street you can see youths in their school uniform just fresh off school, hanging out and laughing over nothings; then on the other, you can see a few older men smoking cigarettes and sharing a few bottles of soju, discussing about their dreams.

On one street, history and modernity co-exists together. In an old house, you see a modern cafe. In a modern restaurant, you taste traditional Korean food with a good makgeolli (rice wine) to boost.

Roads turn from busy to quiet, and even though every door looks the same, they boast a different air, a different kind of pride. The persistent ahjummas (aunts) who keep inviting you into their shop for some fried fish, the trendy young girls who brave the cold all day inviting you into their shops to buy their snail creams, all these looks the same and feels similar, but a different charm to them still.

Every night back at the hotel, I would reflect on the day and wondered if this is a place I would want to come back. Even if the day may turned out less than expected, and people's response may turned out to be less than friendly, I'd still want to come back.

I can't pinpoint what exactly is the reason why I want to come back. Maybe I'm just short of time and there are just too many things to explore. Locals often told me that it is a small country, but I beg to differ. Korea may be small geographically, but it's big at the heart of it.

It's not a perfect country, but Korea leaves much to be explored again.

Or maybe I'm just happy I got my Tablo album after so long.

Discipline

I don't remember when was the last time I blogged so fervently. I guess it's good to be writing my thoughts down?

Yesterday my colleague introduced me to this fitness blog. Honestly, while I don't mind reading them, the level of commitment they have towards fitness can be a little too obsessive to me. But I was intirgued and while I don't agree with everything the blogger writes in there, perhaps they are more doubts than outright disagreement, the author does have a point in keeping fit.

This reminds me of what a popular singer in Korea said when she was interviewed about her exercise regime. She works out everyday at the gym for about 2 hours. She said she loves singing so much so she is sure to keep her body physically fit to fuel her passion. Because honestly, being physically well and fit really does help one's singing. Our vocal cord is so dependent on the body's condition. If we are tired, people can hear the fatigue in the voice without even looking at us.

While I don't think it necessary to be overly buff and rippling, as some people do go to lengths of making sure that happens, I do think it's really good to be working out. You feel fresher, you feel like you can do a lot more things than being sedentary and you do see the benefits in the long run. I actually feel more confident after working out especially when I can see results.

That being said, I am still a far long way off from getting a fit body. But I hope to continue. I may not end up buff but at least I'll be fit. I can have a longer lasting stamina, as it is becoming evident in my singing. I'm glad I took swimming classes and now I can at least swim, even if it's just breaststroke and freestyle (which I still struggle).

But this is the caveat: exercising requires discipline. Keeping fit requires discipline. It's like taking care of your face. Cleanse, tone, moisturize. But you have to do this everyday (and more) so that your skin will display the result. Same goes for exercising...well, same goes for anything, really. Discipline is a practice I long struggle with. I still fail from time to time. I think maybe virtually from hour to hour! Procrastination is still a very big part of me. But I am going to overcome this! By God's help, I will overcome this sin that has entangled with me too long. Procrastination leads to complacency and that leads to mediocrity. God did not create us to be half of us. We have unique places within the body of Christ, each with its own purpose.

So, accept no mediocrity. Start with discipline. You reap what you sow. And with discipline, all of us will definitely feel better once the fruit is tasted. It may take a long time to fulfill, and that gets to us, because everything is instant nowadays. But work on it day by day and it will come.

Talking about discipline, I should be disciplined about my sleeping time. Hee.

Jonathan: Humility And Friendship

In 1 Samuel 23, we see David fleeing from Saul, who was bent on killing David as the presence of David threatens Saul's throne and his lineage.

Instead of Saul finding David, his son, Jonathan, finds David instead.

The Bible has mentioned about David and Jonathan's friendship more than once. This shows how close those two brothers are. "Ma brother from another mother, yo." that kinda thing. Their friendship started after David killed Goliath and was honored in Saul's courts and Jonathan honored him as well. You can read the rest of the story here: 1 Sam 18: 1-5 If you continued on, you'll find why Saul is seeking David's life in better details.

But back to the point.

What truly amazes me is Jonathan's character and attitude.

"And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home." 1 Sam 23:16-18

Jonathan is the son of the king. He is next in line to the throne. But he willingly gives it up for David and encourages him as well! I mean, this man really has solid character! It's not easy to give up something that you inherited or something that people and yourself are expecting to receive, what more for a non-family member, besties notwithstanding.

The funny thing about this conversation was that Saul knew about Jon's support to David and I do believe this riled Saul up further. "Son, you nuts?" is most likely the modern equivalent.

This shows that Jonathan knows that God chooses what He knows is right for the nation and so he SUBMITS to God's perfect plan. By submitting to God's plan wholly, Jonathan is free to love and support David, with confidence in God that God knows what He is doing. When we let go and let God, we are free to love and support even our "enemies". Or our real enemies. Of course it's not easy. Letting go of my pride is the hardest thing I have to do each and every day, but it does help because I can be genuine and authentic. I need not be afraid of my motives when I encourage people in their talents, etc and I can truly be happy for them. I can truly thank God that He has blessed them with talents and not wallow in self-pity or a perfectionism spiral downturn.

Jonathan, unfortunately, dies before he could see David crowned. So the promise of being next to David back at Horesh, he could not fulfill. But David did his part. When he found Jonathan's son Mephibosheth still alive, though crippled, David took him back into the palace and cared for the son and his servants. (You can read it in 2 Samuel 9)

I thank God for my friendships and that He taught me that I must learn to treasure my friendships and to work on them. Sometimes it is difficult because we live in a world that is constantly busy, we lose track of time and thus forget to work on things that actually matters the most.

--

Through Jonathan's character, of how he humbly, genuinely gives up his right to the throne for the love of God and friend, we can see the friendship of David and Jonathan worthy of several mentions in the Bible, which should inspire us further to be humble and to treasure our friendships.

Night Tune

Looking at my abilities tonight.

Listened to my performances over and over again. Flat notes are one of my weaknesses, so are the end notes. Diaphragm, Bekah, diaphragm!

I'm not perfect. I'm not the best of the lot. In fact, I have much to catch up. But I have had good encouragement along the way.

No matter how much I gripe over my weakness in my skills, it's just a matter of practice and training which will boost 'em up. I believe so. I convince myself so.

Sometimes I do feel a little aimless, but me, believing in the God who holds my future, can believe that He is bigger than this. I need to learn to let go and give it back to Him - my talents and my gifts.

And perhaps, have a little more joy in my life. Ironically, I cannot remember my pain.

Then again, any road that is too easy will seem more wrong than the ones you find difficulty in believing that it's the right road. Or do we deceive ourselves? Is it wrong to pursue a dream like this? I don't remember when exactly did my dream to sing has become so strong. I never really had a dream to sing. At least not like this.

The best answer, and one that I know, but difficult to apply is this: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these will be added unto you. Less of me and more of Him and others. Trying my best to not focus on me alone. It's not about me. It's about Him. When I look back at my performances, honestly, I can pin-point almost every single flat note (goes to show my hearing needs more practicin') but people around me would praise and encourage. I am truly blessed by dear friends who are encouraging. I am also reminded that God is the One who deserves the glory, that in my weakness, He is my strength.

We are slaves to these age-old afflictions
Fighting for control 'till we fell too far
Pursue desire, ignore our convictions
Only wretched souls beneath the weeping stars
- Humanity, Tim Be Told

[Pop Culture] Review: War Horse (2011)

Disclaimer: I am no movie critic (a la Roger Ebert) so don't take this review personally. I'm not even sure if it should be called pop culture either. ;)

(picture from EW.com)

[Much spoilers ahead]

Watched this yesterday with a few colleagues in the cinema, since they only released the movie in Malaysia around early Feb 2012. To say the least, this movie received smaller reception compared to, say, movies like Underworld, so I'm half-surprised to see the theater half-filled. But not surprised to see most of them in their late 20s and older. Heh.

Onwards to the movie shall we?

Some reviews called it boring, some called it a tried-too-hard project of Steven Spielberg, and some called it slow at first and picked up its pace in the 2nd half.

I'm agreeing with the latter group. Sure, War Horse isn't some high-tech film that wows you with its effects. In the plethora of action/CGI-packed movies, War Horse is one of the movies that speaks more volume through its quiet moments. Which are quite a number.

By quiet I don't necessarily mean absolute silence. War Horse possesses lots of moments that provokes reflection and thoughtfulness from the audience, from a simple scene of two German brothers who go AWOL, just wanting to go home to their parents, to a sickly girl who wanted to ride a horse her whole life.

Summary
In a nutshell, War Horse is about a horse which is supposed to be a farm horse, which was then sold to the army for the upcoming World War I. The horse, named Joey, went through some rough times to almost the point of death, before it(he?) could reconcile with his owner.

Plot
The movie opens with Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine), the protagonist of the movie (besides Joey) who watches Joey growing from a young thoroughbred foal to a young horse in the outskirts of Devon, England. Joey is then sold to Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan), Albert's father, in an attempt to out-buy his landlord. While Albert was excited, Rose (Emily Watson), his mother, is not, since the horse was bought at the expense of the rent. A thoroughbred means Joey is not a farm horse, but one that is bred for racing.

 (picture from DreamWorks)

What other choice do the Narracotts have but to try to prove to the landlord Lyons (David Thewlis) that Joey can plow their rocky field and that they can plant turnips in time to pay the rent. The whole town came to watch the spectacle as a determined Albert pleads with Joey to plow the field. It seemed like a hopeless attempt until it starts to pour. Joey, being further encouraged by his young master, obeys Albert and soon the whole town watched the rock-laden field being plowed beautifully. In your face, Lyons! :P

 (picture from DreamWorks)

Alas, another torrential rainstorm came and ruins the crops, driving Ted to desperate measures and off he goes to sell the horse to the militia, much to the dismay of Rose and Albert. Albert couldn't take the pain of losing Joey, and so tries his best to enlist into the army. Alas, being under-aged, hence disqualified, Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) assures Albert instead that he will have Joey as his personal steed and will personally return Joey to Albert once the war is over. Joey is then led to the stables where he is groomed and trained together with Major Jamie Stewart (ah, Benedict Cumberbatch!)'s beloved horse, Tophorn.

 (picture from DreamWorks)

An ambush is planned on the Germans and so the cavalry goes, with Joey and Tophorn and their riders in the lead. Being tipped off (which I highly suspect that's the case), the Germans surprises the English cavalry instead with machine guns and captures all of them, killing Captain Nicholls and many other cavalrymen in the process. The English cavalry surrendered and the remaining horses shot if they're injured. A private of the German army, Gunther (David Kross) and his 14-year-old brother Michael (Leonard Carow), asks for the healthy horses to pull the ambulance cart. Joey teaches Tophorn how to wear the brace, as how Albert had taught him to for the plowing. Hence, Joey saves both their lives.

 (picture from DreamWorks)

The German army are filing out towards war and Michael is selected, instead of the older Gunther, because of Gunther's skills with handling horses. Gunther, reluctant to let Michael go off to war at such a young age, decides to go AWOL with him, together along with Joey and Tophorn. They both hide in a windmill, anxious to get home to their parents, but the army officers got to them first. For deserting the army, both boys are shot.

Joey and Tophorn were left in the windmill until Emilie (Celine Buckens), a French girl, discovers them and decides to adopt both the horses. Her grandfather (Niels Arestrup), who makes jam, is reluctant to keep them, and even more reluctant to let Emilie ride the horses since Emilie suffers from brittle bones. But Emilie is determined. She tries to teach Joey how to jump over the barrier, which Joey still doesn't (which was shown earlier in the movie when Albert was riding Joey, in a challenge to the landlord's son, David (Robert Emms - who plays Albert in the stage version), who was showing off his father's car to his date. Joey stopped just right in front of a fence which propelled Albert forward and had him landed on his bum, sorely embarrassed).

 (picture from DreamWorks)

The German army raids the grandfather's house while Emilie hides the horses in her room. Soon, the grandfather relents and lets Emilie ride Joey on her birthday up the hill and back. But all joy is short-lived when the Germans were gathering in the other side of the hill and captures the horses.

Joey and Tophorn are made to pull the artillery, but Tophorn is in bad shape. The German soldier (Nicolas Bro) in charge of the horses tries to take care of them by offering the other horses but to no avail. Then, Joey, being the stronger one, moves forward for Tophorn, replacing Tophorn in the artillery pulling.

(picture from screenrant.com)

Albert, a few years older now, has enlisted in the army with his best friend, Andrew, along with landlord's son, David, with a mission to search for his horse. Thinking they have infiltrated the German's camp, the enemy releases poisonous gas and thus kills Andrew and blinding Albert.

As the Germans were retreating to their other camp, Tophorn finally succumbs to the exhaustion and dies. The German soldier who had looked after the both, told Joey to run and save himself. Joey runs while the war goes on in full force, until he gets trapped by barb wires in the no-man's land, a border of sorts that separates the English and Germans.

The soldiers are astonished to find a horse still surviving, no less in no-man's land, which motivated Colin (Toby Kebbell), one of the Geordie soldiers, to wave a white flag to try to save Joey. Soon, Peter (Hinnerk Schönemann) from the German camp, came out with a wire-cutter to help free Joey. By a toss of coin, Joey is led back to the English camp, where the army doctor (Liam Cunningham) declares Joey as untreatable and wants him shot dead.

Albert, recovering from his blindness, hears about the miracle horse and decides to give his hooting call (a call which he taught Joey). The army doctor disbelieves Albert since Joey was all covered in mud. The significant characteristics of Joey, which are 4 white socks and a diamond blaze on Joey's forehead, were covered. The army soldiers decides to help wash the horse and it was indeed Joey.

 (picture from DreamWorks)

The armistice came and the war was over. Albert's sight recovers and he is longing to bring Joey back to Devon, but military rules says that Joey, along with other horses, has to be sold through auction. The armymen helps to gather money for Albert, but the bid went to Emilie's grandfather, whose granddaughter has died. At first adamant in bringing Joey back to France with him, Joey runs to Albert, unwilling to let go of his master. Emilie's grandfather took out Ted's military pennant, which Albert had tied to Joey's bridle before Joey was sold off to Captain Nicholls. Realizing the first connection that was already made, Emilie's grandfather graciously lets Joey go. Albert and Joey returns home to Devon, happily reuniting with his parents.

 (picture from DreamWorks)

Thoughts
First things first, the cinematography is beautiful. From Devon for the first scenes, to the warzone, all were captured oh so prettily. The horses were gorgeous. The sheen on Joey and Tophorn's body shines literally.

There are a few scenes which I really loved, one of it was the scene where Joey loses Captain Nicholls (it's evident he was shot and had fallen off Joey) and Joey continued running before being subdued by the Germans. If a horse could express fear, that scene was it. The same kind of fearful expression was repeated again when Joey ran across the battlefield and gets trapped by the barb wires.

The other scene which I loved so much was the temporary truce between Colin and Peter. That scene reminded me of C.S. Lewis' description of war. Sometimes being obliged to fight in the war doesn't necessarily means you hate the "enemy", as this was shown in the scene. Colin and Peter could have a friendly banter and work together to free Joey, something that the war was propagating against. In the end, when they were parting, you could feel that both were feeling a little sad that they have to go back to fighting each other.

I appreciate that violence was not focused upon in this movie. There were a few scenes where you're left to understand the next activity on screen, like the part where Captain Nicholls had the foreboding of death in his eyes though his death was never shown. You just knew it when Joey continues galloping without Nicholls on his back. The only time when death was more pronounced was when Gunther and Michael were shot. Even that was covered by the windmill's rotating flaps. You only hear the sounds of gunshot and then both boys were shown lying on the ground.

Of course this movie's not flawless. I admit the Devon (Dartmoor) scenes were a little too long as it feels like it's taking quite some time to build the plot. Even the land-plowing bit served little build in climax as it was predictable. You knew that Joey was going to come through and surprise the townsfolk. But when we got to the war, the pacing got a little better and the highlight was when Albert recognizing Joey and when Joey returns to Albert after being sold to Emilie's grandfather.

I wish they do improve on some plot points since sometimes I find it jarring. Like the scene where the grandfather hands Joey back to Albert. I know why it is there and I like that scene. I just wish that the whole transaction could have been stronger. To me it just feels like something is missing, like Emilie's grandfather will give Joey back to Albert, just because. The scene isn't void of those dialogues, just that it could have been much much stronger.

Or the scene where Andrew, Albert's best friend (Matt Milne), dies. I am not really sure what the team wanted me to see or feel, since there isn't a repercussion of that, except for the fact that Albert was temporarily blind. Andrew played a more significant role in Devon as he was the one who witnessed Joey's growth together with Albert, so I do wish that at least some dialogue or some grief would take place (or even Andrew's trademark "Well, would you look at you" line). But the death fell flat. Before the gas, Albert almost shot Andrew then they both rejoiced at finding each other in the war. Then Andrew just dies. Again, I wish the scene could have been stronger. I'm not asking for tears even. I mean, it's a war movie, and if you set up Andrew to be Albert's best friend, wouldn't it be nicer to have a little more bromance? I mean, even the horses has better bromance.

And I actually wish for more visual cues, like where exactly we are in the movie. I got lost when we were in between French and Germany? Or was it England? It doesn't help that the characters spoke in English, regardless of their nationality. My colleague actually commented that using the native tongue would have made the scenes more effective. We had to decipher for ourselves by their accent and their names, which not every character has.

But back to the positives. The soundtrack is appropriate most of the time, and it helps to build suspense, though I thought it felt like I was gonna watch a horror sequence when the dark tones were being played. Overall, I enjoyed John William's score for War Horse.

The acting was wonderful, with Jeremy Irvine in his movie debut. He sure pulls off the innocent, naive and vulnerable horse-loving youngster well. I love it when he identifies Joey even when he is blind, so sure that it is his horse.

I admit, I didn't cry in this movie, but I was moved by the story. I like war stories that focus on the relationship and the humanity, rather than just all-out rage and violence. I think, sadly, a lot of movies lack that nowadays. I know I'm in the minority who love stories like these. Joey knew what it was like to suffer, but he also trusted that he will see his young master again. For that, the movie has managed to hit the right notes. But I do wish for the human relationships to flesh out even more, war horses notwithstanding. It's either we go all the way on the horse plot, or we strike a nice balance between the two protagonists, the horse story and the human story.

 (picture from DreamWorks)

Watch if you like: Lassie, Black Beauty and all those animal stories, with a dash of grit and depressing realities of war.

Rating: 7/10