The year of 2012...
I graduated from Norco college, didn’t know what to do with my career. I fear, fear that I will starve being an artist.

I came back to taiwan and work with my dad. The family member I always felt distance to as a child.

My dad gave me the little of Manager. He wanted me to do whatever my vision was and always trusted me. He trusted me to interviewed people, design logo, manage website outlet, go to trade shows, etc.

I know deep down he wants to pass down the knowledge and business. More importantly, he wants me to get to know his life since he’ve always been a mystery the family.

But, when I worked with him, I saw his sorrow and the true intention behind arming up his kind heart with superficiality like nice car, nice motorbike, nice food, etc. ( I can go on and on but TMI...)

Anyway, eventually I left. I went to New York and got scholarship from @thecollectivenyc to pursue what was best for me at that moment.

I went on my own exploration path, worked at Wall Street, using my street knowledge, and some abstract business talk with him. I sometimes think of how he’s doing? But I never really ask much... Even though we don’t talk much& have difficulty express our love for each other’s, but we always want the best for each other.

I always remember his last couple sentences when he came to the 桃園airport to pick me up. He told me, 飛得越遠越好 一路好走 (Fly to the furtherest, leave us! )

I was a bit confused and kind of hurt, and mad at him, because I just came back to taiwan to visit family and that’s what his response was?!

Years after, I internalized and rethink what he meant. It’s beautiful! He just want me to enjoy life with no 掛礙 worries about family

Thanks to dad always looking after, and tries his best to take care of us. Even though 家家有本難唸的經( Family dynamics always has its own complication)

I can truly said you’ve planted a seed in me.

A free spirited, abstract, kind, and creative force, that won’t stop spreading until the body collapses itself.

I no longer fear of who I am, and doing things I am passionate about.

Thank you& I love you.
Forever& ever.

一路好走, 走得越遠越好!

R.I.P
#RIP #dad #storytelling

🎹鋼琴的大千世界：蕭邦過世前1848年在英國的紀錄片

Fryderyk Chopin’s connection with Britain is one of the least explored aspects of his career. Yet he spent eight months there – longer than in any other country, save Poland and France. Why was he there, whom did he meet, and what did he play?

These are among the questions that form the basis of Alan Walker’s presentation, in which he also attempts to provide some of the answers.

The text of the lecture is drawn from a chapter in Dr. Walker’s recent biography of Chopin titled “Twilight in Britain, 1848”. It is illustrated with more than fifty images and contains performances by Arthur Rubinstein, Murray Perahia, and Valerie Tryon of pieces that Chopin is known to have played during his long sojourn in England and Scotland.

Many thanks to William Wright for providing a photograph of Lord James Sandilands Torphichen, one of Chopin’s hosts in Scotland.

Music in this video
Study in A-flat major, op. 25 no. 1 and Study in F minor, op. 25 no. 2
Artist: Valerie Tryon

The indefatigable musicologist Alan Walker has produced yet another filmed lecture about Chopin, the third to be filmed and released in the last year.

This one focuses on Chopin's 1848 visit to Britain and is filled with insightful details about Chopin's own thoughts about and approaches to playing. I found it particularly fascinating to hear how superficiality and marketing were very much present in the composer's time too, in a fascinating section of the lecture that presents Chopin's thoughts about the names given to his compositions and one particular audience he was playing for.

As always, Walker speaks with tremendous eloquence - both in his verbiage and delivery - helping make his presentation of this fascinating information that much more mesmerizing and engaging. The 91-year-old author and scholar shows no signs of slowing down - long may he continue to share his brilliant insights!

In love with simplicity🖤 「完美的簡單」並不簡單 🖤 SurfAce Bikinis - SurfAce Apparel // english below👇🏽
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我是一位試圖剝離並擺脫所有“額外”=“不必要”的東西的人。
在這個社會裡真的很難做到這樣，我們被無止盡的物質和信息所淹沒，我們被告知，更多華而不實的東西和更有的魅力名聲等於成功和富裕。 🙄
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如果你深刻反思它，你會發現那根本不是真的......
你有沒有想過這個問題：「如果今天有人可以送你任何禮物，那麼能給你帶來最大價值的禮物會是什麼？」
對我來說，這個禮物將會是「快樂」，也就是一種自己有「愛」和「意義」的感覺！
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因此，假如說我們能量比喻成快樂的話，並通過我們擁有的「快樂量」衡量「成功和富裕」......⚖️... 請問 你認為你是多麼富有？ 🤔⁉️
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對我來說，任何多餘和膚淺是負擔。它只讓你分散注意力並消耗你的時間。我啊 不想浪費我的生命。我寧願投入所有精力去做更多我覺得有意義的事，學會如何感激我已擁有的東西。因為感恩是幸福的基礎，而且若你能因為你的行為和想法感到滿意，你將會是最富有！♥️
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（我覺得我有時候心裡有點像僧人？😅🙏🏽其實我有想過當光頭，不擁有任何東西，在喜馬拉雅山里幸福地冥想🧘🏽‍♀️😬😂 我9歲就有這個想法，但我那時候想說我不能逃避，我得挑戰自己，當一個一般在社會中生活的女孩，因為最終在現實中找到理想和執行力之間的平衡可是關鍵吧🔑）
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I am a person who tries to strip off and get rid of everything that’s “extra” = “unnecessary”.
This is really hard in our society, a generation where we are overloaded with endless material and information, where we are told that more flashy stuff and more glamorous fame equals to being successful and rich. 🙄
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Which if you reflect deeply on it, isn’t true at all...
Have you every thought about this question: “What is the gift of biggest value that someone could give to you?”
I think if for me that would be a gift called HAPPINESS, a feeling of LOVE and PURPOSE!
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So if it was possible to quantify happiness, and measure success by the amount of happiness we carry...⚖️... how RICH do you think you are? 🤔
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To me, excess and superficiality is burden. It’s distraction that consumes your time and attention. I don’t want to waste my life on that. I’d rather invest my energy into doing more of what I find meaningful and learning how to be grateful for what I have. Because gratefulness is the base for happiness, and being truly happy with who you are and what you do, is the richest you will ever be. ♥️
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( I think I am a little bit of a monk at heart sometimes? Actually I’d totally see myself being bold, owning nothing and meditating happily in the Himalayas. I’ve had that thought since I was 9🙏🏽 😆 but here I am, a girl who challenged herself to live in society, where in the end, finding balance between IDEALS and ACTION in reality is probably the key 🔑)
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🖤 SurfAce Bikinis - SurfAce Apparel 🖤 @ Taiwan

MERDEKA SPECIAL

Selamat Hari Merdeka!

And to celebrate the 53rd year of our nationhood, we speak to six individuals who everyday particiipate in our society deep below the surface and superficiality of daily life -- the daily life of sloganeering; the hurrahs and hurrays of being Malaysian, the flag-waving lives that the government wants us to live.

Well, we all know that things are not that hunky-dorry...

by Indrani Kopal

SUB VIDEOS / RELATED VIDEOS

Pt 1| Hisham Rais: Negara Ciplak
Pt 2| Hisham Rais: Di Malaysia ini mereka hanya 'Aá Uú Aá Uú '...
Pt 1| Eddin Khoo: We've no language of nationhood
Pt 2| Eddin Khoo: We are content in our 'lala' land
Pt 1| Saira Shameem: We sanitized our past...
Pt 2| Saira Shameem: Sex, Sexuality and Merdeka
Chi Too: This is my country too
Effa Desa: Doesn't the content of your mind matter?
Janarthani Arumugam: Activism is personal