农历新年。。。快乐。。。吧！

想不到今天已是农历一月初九了。
眨眼间，农历新年就过了。
期待迎接新年的心情，好像是几天前的事。
当开工的日子接近时，新年的气氛也开始淡了。

今年的农历新年还过得不错。
可说是难得的两全其美。
两全其美的原因是 = （吉隆坡+吉兰丹）过新年。
所以，过得还蛮充实的。

除夕：团圆晚餐，太丰富了。

初一：早上大团拜和观赏新春表演;下午到小姑家在SIERAMAS的独立洋房大团聚；晚上到PETER LEONG's OPEN HOUSE 品尝吉兰丹的美食。

初二：到外家去大团拜。

初三：向朱理事长拜年，吃了好多日本住家料理。

初四：早上收拾行李，搭下午的飞机到吉兰丹去拜年；晚上与男友家人一起吃晚餐；到主华家和他的兄弟们团聚。

初五：早上向从香港回来的薇薇拜年；中午到“大嫂”和他的朋友家拜年；下午边吃边买KEROPOK；晚上与他的兄弟们在THAI BAAD享用泰式晚餐；午夜到THE SUN与老朋友们团聚和八卦。

初六：到伯公家，美銮姐家，UNCLE LOONG家去拜年；晚上与男友搭巴士会来吉隆坡。

初七：与家人到戏院去；晚上捞生庆祝人日。

初八：朋友们来拜年；晚上听炮竹声响入睡-福建人拜天公。

今天：开始收拾心情了，明天要开工了。

哎~~~新年假期就这麽过了。开心的日子总是过得特别快。

ANYWAY祝大家：农历新年快乐，金猪年行大运。

<) n n (>
.("(oo)"). 恭喜发财！
(_)--(_)

RAIN'S COMING-WORLD TOUR IN KL

是！没错！就是他。

2006年亚洲人气直升第一的小天王 - RAIN

（Rated by Time magazine as “One of 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2006”）

虽然我不是他的歌迷或影迷，可是却是他的大舞迷！

因为不想错过清眼目睹他的舞技，所以我没有放过这个机会去观赏了这演唱会。

不是很了解他的我，当晚的确被他的舞技和风采给着迷了。

如有看过他说参与的电视连续剧，就会觉得很意外和惊喜。

平常小得如一线的迷人眼睛和天真无邪的笑容的他，

站在舞台上却摇身变成很酷的地狱天使，唤起了全场的热情欢呼。

其实，最让我出乎预料的是当晚的舞台视觉效果，可说是前说未有的一级棒特效。

所有的背景荧幕和影响都配合得完美无瑕。

开始的时候，就有一颗颗的水珠渐渐增加地滴下。

水滴越滴约大颗，在一声巨响和烟花点燃后，就开始了当晚的第一首歌 - 下雨（It's Raining）。
就这样，当晚的情绪都保持在最高潮的状态。

当然，他的舞技让我看了都不想眨眼。

要不是亲眼目睹，我也很难相信他也是迈克杰逊 (Michael Jackson) 的歌迷/舞迷。

在他的身上，他的舞魂出现了很多影子。

最初，我看见了Michael Jackson。

然后，他又化身为Usher。

最后，我发觉他被Justin Timberlake附身。

从这里，我也发觉到他的舞技都有很强烈的嘻哈元素。

Old school or new school, breaking, popping and locking等等都包含在他的每一支舞蹈里。

这小天王也不忘用舞蹈来挑逗所有的歌迷，搞得全场尖叫不断。

抽空休息的时候，他以满腔初学的英文与全场对话。

为了得到更激烈的反应，还不断地称在场的各位是他的宝贝。

My Baby! My Baby! 搞得全场的人疯狂了！

其实我是听不懂他在唱什麽，但至少我还认识几首吸引我的歌， 有如：

It's Raining，I Do，I，In My Bed，I'm Coming，Touch Ya，Not A Single Day，B-Garage，Friends.......ETC.

这些歌都让我全身的细胞不停跳舞着。尤其在“I" 的演唱时，他以最高招的方式把歌给结束。

当他站在舞台的最中间时，突然天上直下了一场雨，有如金粉似的雨水把他的白衬衫给湿透了。

这种悲哀的性感照型把我给愣住了。绝招啊！

他突然唱起I Do 这首歌，让我也尖叫了起来。因为这是我最期待他现场唱的一首歌。

演唱会的最后，他以一首Friends 向我们告别了。

除了以荧幕致谢，身为World Vision - Children AIDS 的代言人也不忘了做慈善。

无论如何，这是我一生看过最精彩的视觉效果演唱会。

的确是很值得一看的演唱会！

More on Rain: 1

Welcoming 2007

一直以来，到每年的最后一天，都是大家一起倒数迎接新的一年。
当然，今年也不例外。
不过，这次底却有所不同，可说出乎预料。
起初，只打算留在家和家人安安静静的迎新。
后来，接到D姐的短讯，提议去参加H2O水上派对倒数迎新。
其中，我却是犹豫不解。
最后，我还是参与了。
D姐也放了鸽子。的确很无奈和可惜。

当晚，奶妈和E朋友，来到我家接我们后，就向目的地出发了。
在那，与其他的朋友聚齐后，便一起进入了水上派对现场。

虽然在场人数并不是想象中多，可是节目却多得很。
节目的大概如下：
Buffet Dinner
Face Painting
Rhythm Tapping
H2O Final Competition
Fashion Show
Bikini Search
Foam Party
Splashing Countdown......

我们二话不说，直飞到食物桌区填饱肚子。
搞定后，换上了泳衣，就跳进泳池里去了。
那里的游戏道具，让我们玩得不亦乐乎。
我们这班无理头，可说是最瞩目的焦点。

Foam Party

疯疯癫癫的我们，突然出了怪注意。换场！
这因为E朋友表示已预订VVIP 座位在D'flame Bar。
他的朋友已在那儿等我们过去会合。
与倒数时间只相差75分钟内，我们赶紧换好干净的衣着奔过去。

虽然路程只需20分钟，因为Sunway Pyramid范围的车龙已挤得水泄不通。
我们只好在车上倒数迎新和观看烟花表演。

找到地方泊车后，便快步的走到D'flame Bar去。
话说回来，一身山滩衣着打扮和穿凉鞋的我们，竟然能够进去HAPPY。
这也多亏E朋友的面子，我们才能够有所谓的人生第一次，或最后一次。

疯狂了一个小时后，我们突然又换了地点。
下一站是到Sri Petaling吃点心，因为肚子饿了。
边吃边谈边笑，也让我们高潮的心情平复下来了。
睡神开始呼唤了我们，E朋友身上的酒精也开始作祟了。
终于，我们都打算离开了。

今天，的确很开心。
认识了新朋友。
各自都有新的开始。
2007年应该是不错的一年吧！
朋友们，加油啊！

Peace Christmas Season

Without realising, the Christmas was coming so quite and peace.

Everywhere we went, we saw the christmas trees, celebrating events, SALES and christmas songs in every shopping malls.

This year, I chose to have a warm and peace way to celebrate Christmas.

I celebrated with my whole family and another two half family members :P

During the Christmas eve, we went to the Japanese buffet restaurant to have a family dinner. We thought the environment would be quiet and less customers. Who knew, there were a lot of people there having the same idea as us! The restaurant was full of Christmas celebration and we were warm-welcomed by the people there.

Of course, without any delay, we started to have our dinner!

My parents were so happy to have this dinner as family gathering, felt like a reunion dinner!

During "half time", both of us spent some times grabbed some "Kawaii" photos.

Before leaving the restaurant, we took a family photos as memory.

Since we all ate until "overloaded", we took a walk down to Bukit Bintang there to enjoyed the enviromnment. Really amazing that the view of KLCC during the night time is so attractive. We were so irressistable to take this photo.

After we walked until the legs started "melting", we decided to go back home earlier to proceed our christmas presents exchange time.

Although this year I was not celebrating with friends at happening places, but I felt the peace of this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

2007 A Better Year To All Of You!

冬至节......美味汤圆

明天是个特别的日子。
明天是吃汤圆的日子。
明天就是团圆的日子。
明天就是所谓的冬至。

其实，我满期待明天的到来。
因为它让我再次感觉到新年的气氛。
因为它也让我们有机会回家去团圆。
因为他再让我们有机会一起搓汤圆。

其实，年年都庆祝冬至的我们，到底了解它的意义吗？
其实，真的不好意思，我真得不晓得，只知道冬至大过年。

冬至是农历的二十四节气之一。
这一天北半球黑夜最长，白昼最短。
俗称“冬节”、“长至节”、“亚岁”等。
在中国传统的阴阳五行理论中，冬至是阴消阳长转化的关键节气。
在十二辟卦为地雷复卦，称为冬至一阳生。
易复卦象曰：“雷在地中，复。先王以至日闭关，商旅不行，后不省方。”
12月21日至12月22日交节，太阳位于黄经270度，直射南回归线。

《后汉书》“礼仪志”中记载：“冬至前后，加子安身静体，百官绝事，不听政，择吉辰而后省事。”
由此可知从汉代起冬至是国定假日。
在中国北方有冬至日吃饺子的习俗，
南方某些地方有冬至日吃汤圆的习俗，
传说在汉朝的医圣张仲景体念家乡乡民在寒冬中工作的辛苦，
在冬至那天利用羊肉等祛寒的药材包在面皮中，作成耳朵的样子，给乡民们治病补身，
这个药方的名字叫作“祛寒娇耳汤”，娇耳就是饺儿。

中国南方则有吃汤圆的习俗。
中国江浙在冬至吃汤圆外,还要吃桂花酒酿,并祭祖，
苏州还有桂花冬酿酒,只在此时节上市。
汤圆有馅的“粉团”是用于晚上祭祖，而无馅较小的粉圆”用于早上拜神。
祭祖之后还有将汤圆粘在门窗上，称为“冬节圆”，
等干燥以后再给孩子们吃，有保佑健康成长之用。冬至扫墓叫“过冬纸”。

《台湾府志》（一六九六）卷七记载：“冬至，人家作米丸祀众神及祖先，举家团圞而食之，谓之‘添岁’；即古所谓‘亚岁’也。门扉器物各粘一丸其上，谓之‘饷耗’。是日，长幼祀祖、贺节，略如元旦”。

在台湾冬至的汤圆有红白两色，另有较大的汤圆，内包有芝蔴、花生、或鲜肉等内馅。
在中国，人们从冬至开始数九，以九天为一九，九九八十一天，寒冬就会过去，称为九九数尽。




至于作汤圆，要作红、白两色，也有青和黄色；形状有大有小，内包糖料、花生粉等。

吃过冬节汤圆就表示增添一岁，因此有冬节不吃汤圆避免年龄老化的笑谈。
吃冬至汤圆代表添岁的观念，可能源自周代到汉初以冬至为岁首的历制，
南宋陆游（冬至）诗注就有“吃尽冬至饭便添一岁”之说，
由此可见，吃冬至汤圆象征添岁的观念形成已久。

吃汤圆时，还有一种俗信：每匙只舀两粒，吃到最后，未婚者必剩下奇数，已婚者必为偶数。
嗜赌者也会以碗中剩下的汤圆数的奇偶，来预测自己赌运的输赢。
所以，明天终于可以。。。。。。
搓汤圆。。。。。。煮汤圆。。。。。。
吃汤圆。。。。。。大团圆。。。。。。

更多详情

Hip Hop Cultural - From Da East To Da West Sharing(II)

Hip Hop Music

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Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. It consists of two main components: rapping (MCing) and DJing (production and scratching).

Typically, hip hop music consists of intensely rhythmic lyrical form making abundant use of techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The rapper is accompanied by an instrumental track, usually referred to as a "beat", performed by a DJ, created by a producer, or one or more instrumentalists. This beat is often created using a sample of the percussion break of another song, usually a funk or soul recording. In addition to the beat other sounds are often sampled, synthesized, or performed. Sometimes a track can be instrumental, as a showcase of the skills of the DJ or producer.

Hip hop began in The Bronx, located in New York City, when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk and disco songs. The early role of the MC was to introduce the DJ and the music and to keep the audience excited. MCs began by speaking between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually this practice became more stylized and became known as rapping.

By 1979 hip hop had become a commercially popular music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived as promoting violence, terrorism, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 2000s, hip hop was a staple of popular music charts and was being performed in many styles across the world.

Social Impact......

Hip hop music is a part of hip hop, a cultural movement that includes the activities of breakdancing and graffiti art, as well as associated slang, fashion and other elements. The popularity of music has helped to popularize hip hop culture, both in the United States and to a lesser degree abroad.

The late 1990s saw the rise in popularity of the "bling bling" lifestyle in rap music, focusing on symbols of wealth and status like money, jewelry, cars, and clothing. Although references to wealth have existed since the birth of hip hop, the new, intensified "bling bling" culture has its immediate roots in the enormously commercially successful late-to-mid nineties work (specifically, music videos) of Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records as well as Master P's No Limit Records.

However, the term was coined in 1999 by Cash Money Records artist Lil' Wayne on B.G.'s hit single Bling Bling, and the Cash Money roster were perhaps the epitome of the "bling bling" lifestyle and attitude. Though many rappers, mostly gangsta rappers, unapologetically pursue and celebrate bling bling, others, mostly artists outside of the hip hop mainstream, have expressly criticized the idealized pursuit of bling bling as being materialistic.

Hip hop has a distinctive slang, that includes words like yo, flow and phat. Due to hip hop's extraordinary commercial success in the late nineties and early 21st century, many of these words have been assimilated into many different dialects across America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans (the word dis for example is remarkably prolific). There are also words like homie which predate hip hop but are often associated with it. Sometimes, terms like what the dilly, yo are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used briefly. Of special importance is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg and E-40, who add -izz to the middle of words so that shit becomes shizznit (the addition of the n occurs occasionally as well). This practice, with origins in Frankie Smith's non-sensical language from his 1980 single "Double Dutch Bus," has spread to even non-hip hop fans, who may be unaware of its derivation.

Hip Hop Cultural - From Da East To Da West Sharing(I)

Hip Hop Dance

============

It covers a wide range of styles, including dances that have often been associated with hip hop culture, to those that are merely performed to the music. These styles have grown in popularity over the years, partly due to the rise in popularity of hip hop music. The term most often refers to breakdancing.

Breakdancing, also known as breaking, b-boying, or B-girling by its practitioners and followers, is a dynamic style of dance. The term "B-boy" originates from the dancers at DJ Kool Herc's parties, who saved their best dance moves for the break section of the song, getting in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. Hence the "B" stands for break-boy (or girl). According to the documentary film The Freshest Kids, a history of the b-boy; DJ Kool Herc describes the b in b-boy as short for breaking which at the time was slang for "going off" also one of the original names for the dance. However early on the dance was known as the "boiong" (the sound a spring makes).

B-boying is one of the major elements of hip hop culture, commonly associated with, but distinct from, "popping", "locking", "hitting", "ticking", "boogaloo", and other funk styles that evolved independently during the late 1960's in California. It was common during the 1980s to see a group of people with a radio on a playground, basketball court, or sidewalk performing a breakdancing show for a large audience. Breaking began to take form in the South Bronx alongside the other elements of hip hop. A "burn" is when you humiliate your opponent. The name of the first B-Boy crew was The Zulu Kings.

"Hip-hop" as a form of dance is becoming more popular. Hip hop dance comes from breakdancing, but does not consist wholly of breakdancing moves. Unlike most other forms of dance, which are often at least moderately structured, hip hop dance has few (if any) limitations on positions or steps.

The revolution begins...

Old school hip hop dances are those styles that evolved in the seventies and were primarily danced to funk and old school hip hop music. Breakdancing is the best known of all hip hop dance styles, and is considered a corner stone of hip hop culture itself. In the 1980s, many funk dance styles that originally evolved separated from hip hop, such as popping and locking, started to be incorporated with the hip hop culture as well, and could be seen danced together with breakdancing.

In the 1990s, as hip hop music evolved and grew further away from funk, it got slower, heavier and more aggressive. This modern hip hop music has given birth to new styles of hip hop dancing partly inspired by the old school styles, many of them focusing on upright dancing as opposed to breakdancing which is better known for its floor-oriented movements. Some more specific styles of new school hip hop are krump,harlem shake, Chicken Noodle Soup, c-walk, Jigging, tone wop, freaking and hyphy.

Classifying these newer hip hop styles as a unique dance style of its own has grown common with larger street dance competitions such as Juste Debout, which includes new style as a separate category for people to compete in. Many of the newer styles of hip hop are a common sight in today's music videos on television channels such as MTV.

Today, many dance studios offer hip hop classes of some sort. They might focus on a specific style such as breakdancing or combine elements of various street dance styles. As hip hop dancing is such a broad genre, the teacher has much freedom and room for personal interpretation, and often mixes various styles freely, even mixing them with other dance forms such as jazz.

Some criticize this type of teaching as being too strict and too choreographed, losing important elements such as improvisation and personal interpretation on the students' side. Because of this, some dislike labeling these dance classes as "hip hop" as it might not actually include all aspects of the traditional hip hop dances, especially when the teacher mixes it with dance styles not originally related to hip hop.

However, despite the controversy, studio-choreographed hip hop is still widely accepted today, especially by the younger youth group.

Yo yo yo~~Wazzup? Hip Hop?!

The term hip hop (also spelled "hip-hop" or "hiphop") refers both to a musical and cultural genre or movement that was developed by African American predominantly in urban communities starting in the 1970s. Since first emerging in New York city in the seventies, hip hop has grown to encompass not just rapping, but an entire lifestyle that consistently incorporates diverse elements of ethicity, technology, art and urban life. There are four fundamental elements in hip hop: hip hop dance (breakdancing), urban inspired art (graffiti), DJing and MCing.

During the early 70s, a Jamaican DJ called Kool Herc arrived in New York City. Herc introduced the Jamaican tradition of "toasting," or boasting impromptu poetry and sayings over Reggae, Disco and Funk records. Herc also was the originator of break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs—being the most danceable part, often featuring percussion—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. Later DJs such as Grandmaster Flash efined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting.

DJ Grandmaster Flash, one of the architects of hip hop DJing.

Herc's idea was soon widely copied, and by the late 70's a myriad of DJ's were releasing 12" cuts where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow's The Breaks and The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight.

Hip hop as a culture was further defined in 1983, when former Black Spades gang member Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force released a track called Planet Rock. Instead of simply rapping over disco beats, Bambaataa created an innovative electronic sound, taking advantage of the rapidly improving drum machine and synthesizer technology. Many credit the sensation caused by the track as the defining moment in hip hop music and culture. The mainstream media began to focus on one of the greatest impacts of hip hop; instead of fighting with guns and knives, former gangmembers had a new way of battling--though break dancing, rapping, turntable mixing, and tagging (graffiti). By 1985, youth worldwide were laying down scrap linoleum or cardboard, setting down portable stereo and spinning on their backs in tracksuits and sneakers to music by Run DMC, LL Cool J, the Fat Boys, Herbie Hancock, Soul Sonic Force, Jazzy Jay, Egyptian Lover, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, to name a few that I know.

Early hip hop has often been credited with helping to reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles. Many believe that in later years (with the emergence of commercial and gangsta rap during the early 1990s) the emphasis on non-violence has come full circle, with many rappers boasting about weapons, crimes and violence. Within this time period, hip hop music has also begun to appeal to a broader demographic.

Within the culture of hip hop, some differentiate between heavily commercialized and "underground" or "alternative" hip hop. Many artists are now considered to be alternative/underground hip hop when they attempt to reflect what they believe to be the positive roots of the culture. Artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, Dead Prez and Jurassic 5 claim to emphasize messages of unity, activism and verbal skill instead of messages of violence, material wealth and misogyny.

Hip Hop is considered as a new cultural appears in this new world, especially in this new generation. There are more interesting to share about Hip Hop, such as the dance, music, fashion, theatre and the beat in my next blog! Don't miss it!