Anchorite Yao

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes! The past year is really amazing for me, even though I do not change that much (I think, ha). Here are the birthday wishes I make this year, for me, and for you. 1. I will be brave enough to try new stuffs. 2. I will have the stamina and determination to keep doing what I want to do. 3. (Keep it for myself.) I might change the world one day, but now I will focus on changing myself into a better person first!

I attended the SI Chinese New Year Party at Paul's place today. I brought the fried rice stick that I spent 1.5 hours on preparing it. Cooking a for a big audience with that kind of size is quite challenging for me. My fingers are still a little bit shivering now, after I was done with the cooking. Based on the result, I would say "Mom! You can feel just a bit safe about my cooking skills, ha! At least some of the SI faculty and colleagues  approve it!(by eating it, of course)" I did not expect to play the piano and did not even practice, but eventually played it in front of my colleagues. I stumbled a bit at the end, which was the most difficult part of the whole number, but was able to finish it smoothly. That is it! Now, go back to the readings and assignments. A whole new year is coming!

I spend a few hours digging on youtube to find out about the Les Miserables movie cast. Enjoy! (There is no movie related videos for cast singing.) 我竟然花了幾個小時在 Youtube 上找悲慘世界的演員唱歌的影片 XD，分享給大家。電影演員唱歌的部份已經避免了跟悲慘世界有關的影片，所以請放心享用(如果你還沒看的話)！ Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean) Russell Crowe (Javert) Anne Hathaway (Fantine) Amanda Seyfried (Cosette) Sacha Baron Cohen (Thenardier) Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thenardier) Eddie Redmayne (Marius) Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) Smantha Barks (Eponine) Colm Wilkinson (Bishop, and the original Jean Valjean of the London cast) Frances Ruffelle (One of the whore(s) in the movie, and the original Eponine)

聖誕節晚上，留在 Ann Arbor, 沒有特別去哪裡玩。 不過我很幸運，跟一群UM的朋友去吃了家鄉，然後去看悲慘世界的電影！ 等了超久超久的啦！！！ (我想我大概從 3 ~ 4 月就開始等了吧！哈哈) 我很喜歡！！！！！！！！！！！！之後 DVD 出來我一定想辦法拿到 XDD 簡單來說，  滿意： Hugh Jackman (Jean Valijean) 很會唱，雖然我不意外，他都得過獎了 Anne Hathaway (Fantine) 的 I dream a dream 滿感動的，但我也不意外, 她跟本就在很多電影裡面都唱過了 Samantha Barks (Eponine) 唱的 On My Own很動人 (好吧！就是單戀的那種...喔，超可憐的，黯然消魂啊...)，她也是悲慘世界 25 週年紀念音樂會的 Eponine 。跟 Eddie Redmayne (Marius) 的 A Little Fall of Rain 也很棒，我本來以為被 cut 掉了超失望，結果有！那段臨死的道別超讓人不捨的！！！ Eddie Redmayne (Marius) 的聲音遠比我想像的好太多了啊！(Sorry, 我沒見識，之前根本沒聽過他的名字，我本來以為他是花瓶, 只是型長得適合而已 XD) 唱得還滿 man 的！大勝 25  週年的 Nick Jonas！！！查了 Wiki發現他得過獎～ Amanda Seyfried (Cosette) 的聲音滿漂亮的，但是反正這個角色本來就沒什麼空間，就不多做評論。  不滿意 : Russell Crowe (Javert)，好啦！我滿喜歡他的眼神的！我覺得厲害的演員眼睛會講話！但他唱的部份我覺得還好(就是其實不錯啦)，沒有很突出，他的曲子被弄得有點緊湊，所以他好像也沒辦法好好的表現。  Aaron Tevit ( Enjolras, 青年領袖) 大家可能在電影方面沒聽過他，但是他已經演過幾個 Broadway Musical的主角了。Next to Normal (我心中的 No 2 音樂劇) 的 Gabe Goodman 跟 Catch me if you can 的 Frank Abagnale ...

I discovered this song, Grateful, one year ago and fell in love with it. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and it was my first real Thanksgiving (yap, turkey and food). I spent time at friends’ place and also my advisor’s place. When I was back home yesterday, I was full and exhausted. I went on my bed and try to call my family using Skype. My mom was not at home at the time, but my aunt was there. We had an amusing conversation about whether she should go to the performance in the afternoon (It was in the morning at Taiwan). Later, I got some recommendations from Youtube, and this video was one of them. I am surprised at the reencounter, and yet not surprised at all why this happened. It is Thanksgiving, and people express their appreciation and gratefulness. The melody is really beautiful, and the lyrics truly fits my mentality. Yap, I came to this city(Ann Arbor) with strangers two years ago. Now I have a family of friends (yes, you guys.) I am grateful for that....

OMG! I am so excited about Smash season 2. There are just sooo many superstars in it. Jennifer Hudson, Katharine McPhee, Jeremy Jordan, Jesse L. Martin, Andy Mientus (Michigan alumnus), Bernadette Peters, Megan Hilty, Christian Borle, and Sean Hayes. http://tv.yahoo.com/video/smash-exclusive-111912-232403362.html 'Smash' Exclusive: Season 2 First Look Jennifer Hudson - I'm Here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxu9rjei-Ss   Katharine McPhee - Don't Forget Me:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMh8aRVE5VY Jeremy Jordan - I'm Yours by Jonathan Reid Gealt:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCCbH2GJoWw   Jesse L. Martin - I will cover you:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmvmoWa_Cko  (Original Tom Collins in "Rent") Andy Mientus - Barcelona, Cartagena, Anywhere:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjsfJ4sLTS4 (He is a Michigan grad) Bernadette Peters - Being Alive:  https://www....

Last summer, I saw a video for “Memphis The New Musical” on Youtube. I checked out the original cast album from MLibrary and fell in love with every single track. At the time, I did not see myself going to New York City to see any musical, so I was aiming at the national tour, which would visit Michigan State University at March 2012. At the same time, I was jump-starting the process of PhD application, which included GRE exam, TOFEL exam, and writing application statements, so I wrote a short and probably silly headline at the top of my ToDo List: “Get the highest GRE scores, Write the best SOP, and Go seeing Memphis!!!” Even though I did not get the highest GRE scores and write the best application statements, I did go through those processes in the last few months. Today, I am so grateful that I have friends who also enjoy musicals and are willing to give me a one-hour ride to see the show together. Seeing the show in live is really stunning, not to mention that several ...