Reflections

This is perhaps my second favorite song from the album of ‘The Moment of Silence‘ – after Love You More – although it sound a tad dramatic at times but the flowery words made it nice to listen to. I really like how Nicholas sing this song also.

The MV took it up another notch to create a morbid theme for this one. However, I think it was very creative with a lot of symbolism thrown in – though a bit violent at times. It did capture the emotions involved and the essence of the song though.

*All images were captured by DTLCT

Recently, I’ve been addicted to this song without rhyme or reason. It’s just too addicting. It’s not helping with my sudden addiction to rap music or those types of really upbeat music either.

I especially like the part where Will sings “I’m the king of the world. Everybody, get down, get down.” Sounds so powerful and dominant. Maybe it’s because there’s this ‘control bug’ within all of us that makes us want to be someone who’s on top also. Still…something to think about. Doesn’t Will look so cold and cool from the images above? (Haha)

This is actually my 3rd favorite song from the album ‘007‘ after ‘Shuang Ren Wu‘ and ‘Be With You‘.

Okay, I just felt like being random with this entry. But still…what do you think?

*All images were scanned by DTLCT

Source: Dat Mui Cuoi Tuan (http://www.baoanhdatmui.vn)

Article Link: http://www.baoanhdatmui.vn/vcms/html/news_detail.php?nid=173

Written by: Thuc Nghi

“I was born and raised in a large family, with several generations living together under the same roof, full of happiness with everyone getting along very well. When I first joined the entertainment industry, the support from my family was the drive that helped me overcome many obstacles and hardships. Family is the most important to me.” – An Yi Xuan confided.

“My aunt”
At home, I’m called ‘Doll’, which was nicknamed by my aunt; because she said that my cute acts are like a little doll, so she called me by that. At that time, I would tag her; whenever he has to go to the bank, I would beg her to take me with her to the babies’ clothes shops and persuaded her to buy them for me. My aunt really loves me so she would always fulfill my wishes.

In my family, my aunt is in charge of the financials, she is the one that makes all the decisions – from small to big. She was the one who persuaded my father to let me join the entertainment industry, but with these conditions: No hair perms or dyes, no wearing sexy outfits, no boyfriends before 25 years old….if I were to break these terms, I would be force to…“retire” (from the entertainment industry).

“My father”
My father is a very strict person with old-fashioned views, especially with educating his children. Normally, I’m a good and obedient girl to my parents, but there are also times that I’m very stubborn and rash, so my father especially pays attention to me more.

I remember when I was in 7^th grade, my friends teased me about being out of fashion, living in at Shi Lin but never been to Shi Lin Night Market. So I went with my friends to the Shi Lin Night Market after school one day. The result was a memorable beating from my father.

On my 15^th birthday, my father let allowed me to invite my friends over to attend my party. There were several male friends who wanted to attend, so they thought of going along with other female friends in order to pass my father’s surveillance. However, it turned out that my father stood at the door for censorship, separating males to one side and females to the other side. Facing my father’s sternness, they have no choice but to obey my father’s command and stay at the seat that he had assigned.

Talking about memories of my father, there are numerous to be mentioned. One year on the night of New Year’s Eve, I asked my father to let me spend the entire night with my friends, he only replied briefly: “Have to return by midnight.” No matter how hard I begged, it would not change his decision. Because I was having so much fun that night, I forgot about the time, so I came home at 1:00 A.M. Luckily, it was New Year’s Day so I was let off from punishment.

Due to my father’s strict discipline, so I always feel reluctant of it, always wanting to live a free life. After graduating from high school, I took out all my savings for the preparations the ‘escape’; that was the first time I ran away from home. However, it was only a couple of days when I was worried and homesick, so I called my family up to notify them that I was all right and would return home soon. When I set foot into the house, I was prepared to receive a good beating, but my father only looked at me and told me that he will give me two choices: the first is to return to my room, the second is to get out of the house. Of course I immediately ran into my room before my father got mad.

Now I’ve matured, I finally understood that my father’s strictness was for my own good. To me, my father is always the best father in the world. I remember the time that he was drunk and spilled out: “Daddy really loves you.” That phrase has helped me understand a father’s heart. The more I think about it, there more I appreciate my father and promise myself that I would be a filial child and not make parents sad.

Many reporters have asked me, what is the most desired type of man in my point of view? In regard to this, I always wanted to find someone who is like my father, who will love me unconditionally and are forgivable, who will make feel safe. If he has a face like Wu Yan Zu, or a reserved personality like Liang Chao Wei, that would be a plus.

“My friends”
With friends, I’m very honest and would give out my all, but my best girl friend said that, if I’m not careful with my enthusiastic personality, I will be taken advantage of. But I still believe that we will be treated the way we treat others. Moreover, I’ve never made any of my friends sad before. All of my friends and colleagues are very nice to me.

Like when I was filming in China, after a tiring day of hard work, I would call my best girl friend up to talk and relieve stress. Even if she cannot help me, but she would still listen with supportiveness and encouragements.

Many people wonder why my friends call me ‘Cheapskate Princess’. It’s because I’m very cheap when spending for myself but would spend graciously for others. On my cousin’s birthday, I bought an expensive brands skirt for her, but I would have to give a second thought if I were to buy it for myself.

My skin is naturally dark, so reporters often call me ‘Miss Black Chicken’, but I’m not sadden by it. Because I think that a tanned skin represents energetic, healthy, and having the skin like the color of chocolate is currently the trends.

Translations by: DTLCT

Translation Date: Friday, September 4^th, 2009

Not everyone likes sad endings because it would defeat the purpose of them wanting to see their favorite on-screen couple to end up together. Not to mention no one dies in fairy tales, right? Everyone wants to see a happy ever after ending or if there are conflicts, they would be resolved in the end, allowing a satisfying ending, right? I was one of those people once upon a time but I’ve become accepting of those endings over the years, having been more in touch with reality. I don’t have to like it but I’ve become more understanding of the creators’ intention.

As I was listening to Van Fan’s Listen With Your Heart once again for the umpteenth time on my mp3 player, I once again recall of the final scenes from Sound of Colors when Wallace’s character, Yun Xiang, died in the hospital after seeing Ruby’s character, Jing Jing, for the last time. Being a Wallace fan, I must admit I did not want that kind of ending. Though I’ve known of it beforehand from various articles of it during the filming process, I was still hopeful of the ending. I wished for some incident like the script-writers changing the details of it to give us viewers a more favorable outcome. In the end, it was like the news had reported it as. I was disappointed for a while. However, I come to accept it more after several days. I also gave it a good thought of how the whole story was crafted and how the events had led to such an ending. In the end, it has become one of my favorite endings ever – even if it was really sad and tragic.

Perhaps a big clue of the ending was how Yun Xiang had tried to stop the doctors from taking his mother’s eyes for Jing Jing when his mother died. He was only a kid and knew only to protect his mother from being touched by others after her death. However, it was a big hint after they’ve met again and how he became aware of the incident that took place years ago. It was a twist of fate – as the writers crafted the story. It was also a whole new journey he was going on as he entered Jing Jing’s world. She was a blind girl yet she was still optimistic about life, learning to be independent and having a job to support herself – though unnecessary since she has an older protective sister, Ming Ming (Hao Lei), who was willing to take care of her no matter what. Jing Jing’s optimistic nature has affected Yun Xiang, making him see the better of life and to let go of his past, forgiving people who could possibly hurt him – accidentally or on purpose. Maybe Jing Jing was an angel sent to him to open his eyes up and see the better of this world – though she was the one who did not have a sight of her own.

To get back to the scenes leading to the ending, I must confess that I cried the whole time during the last few scenes of the drama. It was that sad. Jing Jing never knew about Yun Xiang’s disease – even through the time that he had to go into surgery. It was only to the very last minute that they knew Yun Xiang won’t make it that Ming Ming, Fan Yang (Huang Meng) – aka Ming Ming’s boyfriend and Yun Xiang’s step brother – and the others decided to tell Jing Jing. It was her last chance in seeing him. Jing Jing received the call while she was at the radio station. She was beyond shocked upon hearing the news from her Voicemail, dropped her cell phone and rushed outside – though she could not see or know of which direction she should have taken. She only knew that she must go to Yun Xiang’s side. Fan Yang arrived on time and drove her to the hospital. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she took a tumble since she was beyond herself at that point. Allowing herself to be led by Fan Yang, they finally made it to the waiting area where the others were waiting for news of Yun Xiang.

A touching scene unfolded as soon as Ming Ming rushed to Jing Jing’s side, trying to calm her down. Jing Jing lashed out and asked why the others did not tell her until Yun Xiang was almost dead. She was furious, hating the others for not telling her earlier. However, she did not meant that  but it was because she wished she knew before. Being the one in the dark (no pun intended) was not a good feeling. I think that part was one of Ruby’s most emotional scenes in portraying Jing Jing and this role had allowed her to act out various emotions, showing her capabilities and proving to others that she was not just a pretty face who was trying too hard to be cute.

Anyway, a doctor finally stepped and told them of the condition. After he left, Jing Jing rushed into Yun Xiang’s room (since she probably heard where he was stepping out from) and tripped on a chair since she did not know of its existence. Ming Ming helped Jing Jing up and guided her over to the bed where Yun Xiang was laying – with tubes in him. He was still unconscious but was soon awoken by her heart-breaking words, asking why he did not tell her, not allowing her to face the obstacles with him. Yun Xiang, who was quite weak by now, was only able to summon whatever was left of his energy to trace out his words on her hand, apologizing for his actions. She tearfully told him that she did not want his apologies and only wanted him to be well and be with her. The final words breaking through everyone’s heart who was present were, “Why is Heaven so unfair? I’m already blind and now I’m losing you as well.”

The fact that Van Fan’s ‘Listen With Your Heart’ was playing the whole time while the scenes were unfolding was not helping much either. It made it hard not to shed a few tears for what was happening.

The last request that Yun Xiang had was for Jing Jing to be able to see this world with her own eyes as how he’d seen it in the first place – maybe even more. Of course that meant that he was giving up his eyes to her, which made sense of his last words to her: “I will never leave you. I’ll always be by your side.” The others were not aware of his wish either until Fan Yang found out from their father (his step-father and Yun Xiang’s father) of Yan Xiang’s plan – having already prepared a signed paper saying that he will donate his eyes to Jing Jing if anything were to happen to him. Of course Jing Jing did not accept with the current state she was in, stating that there was no need to see this world anymore since she already lost Yun Xiang. Another set of touching words came out from Jing Jing – though it might be from her unwilling to let go of Yun Xiang: “Heaven could take away my light, my happiness, and even my future. But don’t tell me to take away Yun Xiang’s eyes. If you guys love me, please love my Yun Xiang as well. Don’t be so cruel to us.”

It was not until one of Yun Xiang’s good friend brought out a present from Yun Xiang, saying that Yun Xiang wanted Jing Jing to see its contents that she finally agreed because it would fulfill Yun Xiang’s last wish.

The scene skipped to the part where Jing Jing was watching the clip Yun Xiang had prepared while he was still alive for her. Her operation had been successful, allowing her to finally see the person she loved so much and also allowing her to see the world. There was also the painting that he had created for her with them standing next to each other, waiting for the sun to rise and watching the rainbow overhead. It was also a sign that he will always watch over her.

Jing Jing came back to work at the radio station after two months of recovering from the operation and having explored the world around her to which she had missed most of her life. She finally accepted what happened and encouraged her listeners to cherish what they have around them because what one has at the moment might not be there forever. An inspirational message sent through the airwave while we see the last scenes of the drama unfolding with everyone moving on with their life. Ming Ming and Fan Yang were preparing for their wedding while Yun Xiang’s two best friends got together. Chen Gao and Tan Li Na (Jing Jing’s colleagues) were seen happily together as well with Chen Gao’s daughter like one family. Perhaps the other person suffering the most – among them all – was Yun Xiang’s father since he was still seen as mourning after his son’s death. The song ‘In Your Eyes’ sang by Rebecca Hsu guided the final scenes of the drama and helped it closed on a memorable note.

Final thoughts? It was memorable without trying to be like some other dramas. It was a success though it was not perfect. Maybe that was what made it nice in the first place.

*The first three images were collected from various places around the net, therefore, belonging to their rightful owner. The rest were captured by DTLCT.

Since we’re entering autumn and there are quite a few dramas airing, what are you looking forward to? I think this is a really exciting season. At least for me, there are a lot of dramas that I find interesting and hopefully they won’t disappoint like in the past. Most of the dramas have been quite low profile so it might surprise us more than those that receive tons of promotions but failed in the end. So let’s hope the best for each.

Love Buffet – Fahrenheit and Sweety collaboration – sort of with some members involved. The funniest thing is most fans are supporting the QiaoLun pairing. Maybe it’s because they’re seen together more and how Calvin has to run back and forth between locations for this and Momo Love. This started out quite low profile but was later spotted and blogged by many fans. The production was very lively and even the manga creator was quite excited about it, even picking out Aaron for one of the main leads.

Momo Love – After the change of cast and a change of the script, the production team start anew with a new goal. Considering how Director Winnie works, this should be quite slow pace, however, it should be worth the wait. However, unlike the last production that someone decided to step in and butchered it, he had freedom this time to finish what he started. Not to mention, it is airing yet so plenty of time. Major cast in this one as well, leaning more on the guy side since there seemed to be only about 2 girls in here aka the leads, not counting others. Fahrenheit and Cyndi have been in quite a few ADs together (although it might be due to some manipulations of graphics) but still a familiar feel to some fans so hopefully there will be plenty of support for this one. Words have it that Ken Zhu has a hand in directing this drama so let’s look forward to his creativity side.

Next Station, Happiness – After all the change of cast, it was finally decided as a Van Ness and Ady collaboration. To be honest, I was having doubts of seeing Ming Dao with either Yoo Hana or Ady An since it felt wrong. (However, I would still support it if it was that way since I am fans of the three anyway so would see what happens.) Van Ness and Ady look more compatible to me and after seeing the trailers, it seemed like it would be an interesting pairing. (Who knows? I might end up liking Van Ness with Ady after watching this.)

River Lovers – A Leon and Genie collaboration. A very refreshing pairing. Not to mention Remus Kam is in it as well. (Hopefully he gets a notable role since it looks like he has a major role at the press conference.) It is neither a SETTV or GTV drama and have been very low profile to the point of non existence if it wasn’t for Leon, Genie, and some of the others from the production team updating us, we would not have much news. The press conference at the very beginning of the shoot was it. It has finally wrapped and it is just a matter of time before it airs.

Lucky Day – From my last post, it is very obvious that I’m waiting for this and it will be airing at the same time during the filming process. Hopefully, there won’t be some rush or other types of plot gap for this one as it happens with dramas that are airing while still in filming. A Wallace and Tammy collaboration. A technology slash sci-fi theme sounds promising all right. Let’s hope the plot delivers.

One word to sum up all these dramas – refreshing! Yes, full of new pairings so viewers might have a different feel instead of the same couple over and over. (But of course that would depend on taste as well.)

Those are on my list of must watch, which are on yours?