a fun little project while back in Taiwan this past December.

im generally not really a fan of “on location” dance videos.. but for being in the homeland, I suppose I was willing to make an exception…

probably the first project we’ve done that required a little more planning… storyboarding, and editing concept, something of a storyline, etc… although it was probably done moreso to keep ourselves in check/on schedule/focused while shooting since we literally only had one day in which everyone could be present… and also being able to incorporate arthur since he wasn’t able to physically be with us in Taiwan..

if anything, this was a good editing project for me to work on and learn from.. not just cutting/editing, but finding points of transition.. in the video itself, in the music, deciding to place certain scenes for comedic timing, even some instances of sound editing.

i’d have to say the coloring was probably the most time consuming. especially since the lighting was generally inconsistent as we worked with what we had.. fluorescent, tungsten, daylight, cloudiness… you name it, we had to work with it.

aaahhhhh so much more to learn!! another progressive step.

i hope you enjoy this one!

**thoughts on lacking inherent Taiwanese cultural depictions:
in this video it’s mostly landmark/modern locations.. the MRT, Taipei 101, 7Elevens (yes those count as Taiwanese landmarks haha). as a Taiwanese/Taiwanese-American, what am I doing to show where I am, convey my history, and tell my stories without stereotypical (and possibly contrived) portrayals? 

a state of mind to strive for and return to

June 19, 1937

Dear Cedric,

A strange thing happened to me today. I saw a big thundercloud move down over Half Dome, and it was so big and clear and brilliant that it made me see many things that were drifting around inside of me; things that related to those who are loved and those who are real friends.

For the first time I know what love is; what friends are; and what art should be.

Love is a seeking for a way of life; the way that cannot be followed alone; the resonance of all spiritual and physical things. Children are not only of flesh and blood — children may be ideas, thoughts, emotions. The person of the one who is loved is a form composed of a myriad mirrors reflecting and illuminating the powers and thoughts and the emotions that are within you, and flashing another kind of light from within. No words or deeds may encompass it.

Friendship is another form of love — more passive perhaps, but full of the transmitting and acceptance of things like thunderclouds and grass and the clean granite of reality.

Art is both love and friendship, and understanding; the desire to give. It is not charity, which is the giving of Things, it is more than kindness which is the giving of self. It is both the taking and giving of beauty, the turning out to the light the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit. It is the recreation on another plane of the realities of the world; the tragic and wonderful realities of earth and men, and of all the inter-relations of these.

I wish the thundercloud had moved up over Tahoe and let loose on you; I could wish you nothing finer.

Ansel

source: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/i-know-what-love-is.html

tomlikesdance:

Teaching at TAS! A reflection here, with coherency up for grabs.

and check out Rob’s choreography from his class!

some Tom-isms

i had the opportunity and chance to teach once again at our old high school in Taipei while back here. over the last two/three years i’ve had the chance to sort of work semi-consistently with some of the students and its been amazing to watch and see growth and progression each time i return to Taiwan.. my own included. 

i’ve always loved Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” but i was definitely captivated and blown away when i heard The Weeknd’s cover off of their newest album, Echoes of Silence. choreographed in the wee hours of the morning.. sometimes inspiration comes at 2am.. or perhaps you just have a screwy sleeping schedule. 

hope you enjoy and thank you everyone for dancing with me!

and just for the hell of it, some life relevance.

CHECK OUT TOM’S MODERN CLASS!

what’s warmer than a scarf? a scarf on fire. 

tomlikesdance:

Grandma was wearing an absolutely horrendous scarf so we bought her a better one!

reason. purpose. 

Ai Wei-wei's (艾未未) "absent"

Ai Wei-wei’s "absent" at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. 

• an unexpected personal/emotional connection
• the sense of purpose was powerful, and empowering
• defiance, defying
• a sort of satisfaction, a sense of unspoken justice? (mostly, a big F*** YOU.)
• i may disagree with certain depictions, but i cannot disagree with his effort and his purpose. 

some straight up, in your face expression of discontentment. or perhaps i’m just reveling in the fact that someone just took a saw to a three-hundred-year-old-antique (although followed by reassembly). 

more on Ai Wei-wei here
and also, some current events

some personal favorites:

 Dropping a Han Dynasty urn (1995)

Table with Three Legs (2007) - a “revamped” Qing Dynasty table

Surveillance Camera (2006) - marble sculpture

Study in Perspective (1995) - Tiananmen Square

**on a somewhat relevant note, Taiwan presidential elections on Jan 14th. 台灣加油!

currently home at the moment..  there are things i feel like i haven’t done in Taiwan, despite having grown up here. 

spent an afternoon out in 淡水 (Dan Shui), exploring the river/small town sights via rental bikes with Tom and our friend Shahanna (小北). everything was pretty much spontaneous in this case..

..also in dire need of a steadicam. 

enjoy!

Filming: Rob Tsai/Tom Tsai
Editing: Rob Tsai
Equipment: iPhone4/Canon 5D Mark II
Song: Ovall - Take You Somewhere

GAN.

:D

some of the questions/comments i got about tom since opening up the “ask” button.. thought i’d start with something familiar.. enjoy!

• lauranguyen960528 asked you:

Have you every gotten into any kind of fight with your brother Tom? For instance; petty fight, physical fight, chicken fight? Any most memorable fight you had with him…. Hope you reply and will always be a fan of Instant Noodles Crew!

• Anonymous asked you:

i find your close relationship with your brother really inspiring. you’re very blessed… really! i wish i was that close with my sister :c

got questions? fire away here.

today, Tom and i (along with our friend Liane who tagged along) caught a documentary showing in Irvine called “Dear Taiwan” (好國好民). it examines the question of Taiwanese identity amongst the youth of Taiwan today via interviews with several prominent young Taiwanese artists.. musicians, artisans, etc. the entire DVD is on youtube to which i’ve included a link here (its part 1).

to be perfectly honest, i haven’t had many opportunities to share my sentiments about Taiwan, other than to Tom.. so it was refreshing to see that this movement is still very much alive and kicking.. that and even hearing people speak Taiwanese put a feeling inside of me that i haven’t felt for a long time. also, i love old Taiwanese people. 

one of the things i’ve been thinking of recently, is that perhaps that the Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American movements are actually two that differ from each other. i can definitely say that having actually grown up in Taiwan, there is a different sort of sentiment towards “The Homeland”, if you will, than those who were born and raised in America. I’m not saying that i’m better or that i’m more legit (in fact, my mediocre levels in chinese/taiwanese might say the exact opposite), but.. for the most part, its different when you experience a nation’s first presidential election, its different when you’re under immediate threat of attack from another country, and its different when your family has to wait 40 years to discover the truth about the death of a family member.

…and before i get bashed about the whole green vs. blue thing.. lets be reminded that this question of identity goes beyond politics, beyond unification vs. independence, although those topics are never far off. 

some questions for myself have been:
- how do i apply my Taiwanese sentiment to that of the Taiwanese-American movement? 
- will a stronger sense and understanding of Taiwan itself assist in the understanding of Taiwanese-Americans, and where our place is in the American context?
- and of course, there’s the whole question of, where do Taiwanese-Americans lie in the whole Asian-American movement? 

if you know me, have hung out with me for an extended period of time or have read past posts (Origins, Know Your History, and Creation of Ownership/Ownership of Creation) you’ll know that this concept of identity, for myself, and for Taiwan, is more than important to me.. and is a question i feel i will be asking forever. 

thank you if you’ve read everything up to this point.. i hope you find time to enjoy the documentary and hopefully learn something new :)

I decided to open up that “Ask” option here… fire away. 

ask me anything

Mass Media = False Media

an individual’s personal account about the Occupy LA arrests that happened a few days ago.

i will be honest and say that i haven’t exactly identified myself with the Occupy movement… let alone be physically part of it.. but from what I know with everything else that is going on (i.e. passing of the National Defense Authorization Act), it’s reaching a point where it doesn’t matter what the causes are anymore, but rather, retaining our rights as American citizens on American soil… to be able to say and do what we believe needs to be said and done, to be able to express our opinions on what we believe to be true. 

original article here: http://culvercitycrossroads.com/2011/12/05/dear-editor-lapd-arrests-the-truth-at-occupy-la/ 

notjustjeff:

You think you know what really happened by watching the local news? Read on.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan

My name is Patrick Meighan, and I’m a husband, a father, a writer on the Fox animated sitcom “Family Guy”, and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica.

I was arrested at about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning with 291 other people at Occupy LA. I was sitting in City Hall Park with a pillow, a blanket, and a copy of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Being Peace” when 1,400 heavily-armed LAPD officers in paramilitary SWAT gear streamed in. I was in a group of about 50 peaceful protestors who sat Indian-style, arms interlocked, around a tent (the symbolic image of the Occupy movement). The LAPD officers encircled us, weapons drawn, while we chanted “We Are Peaceful” and “We Are Nonviolent” and “Join Us.”

Read More

not sure why i’m reminded heavily of this right now, but i am. perhaps right now is one of those moments where, once again, i’m in a place where it is as real as it gets. 

"this is the stuff they write songs about."