Uncategorized – Page 22 – Artistic Apathy

Piece of Me

I came up with another interesting metaphor the other day. What if your heart was divided into fragments and each person you loved carried a piece of it?

So, you don’t give your heart to a single person but multiple people, those you love, each get a piece of you. This also made me wonder, if there are only so many pieces, than there are only a limited amount of people you can truly love. Take family for example, your family might each have a piece of you but I believe that others carry a bigger piece of your love in them than others. You might secretly prefer one brother/sister over an another. I believe this makes sense because when your heart is broken, it’s not that your whole heart is broken but that a piece you gave someone has been broken. It can always be repaired. I think then we must be careful who we give a piece to because there are only so many. Someone might break a piece you give them and then you will wander for long looking for someone to mend it. You might want to save a piece for yourself too.

This has been the writer at Artistic Apathy, thank you for reading.

Untitled

Truthfully, I do not know what I want.

All I know is that I want to remain by your side forever.

I don’t know why I feel the way I do sometimes, I don’t know why I think the way I think.

I feel like I don’t understand myself.

I don’t feel like my own person.

Is that bad?

I don’t seem to know what makes me tick like I thought.

I feel this love for everything around me but still I don’t know what I should do with it.

It’s not something you can physically see.

At times I want to soar but I am flightless.

My heart jumps with joy.

I can feel something moving inside me.

I’m taken to new heights.

I marvel at the world like an infant who is just coming to know it.

Every passerby is a friendly face.

Although it may be dark out, there is a light in me that shines brighter than any lamp or streetlight against the night sky.

I want to live like this forever.

As long as I carry that light in me, I can pull through.

I don’t know what I want. I may think I do. Everyone has an idea of what’s best, and while I want to honor them I know the answer can only be found from within.

The Soundtrack to Your Life

You ever watch a movie and think “wow this soundtrack goes perfect with this film,” something along those lines?

What if you had a soundtrack of your own that played randomly at certain moments of your life? Would it make your life better? Would those feelings be more intense?

Can you honestly say you have a soundtrack of your own?

What do you listen to when you’re sad? Happy? Depressed?

If I asked you right now to compile a playlist of songs that reflect the most vital moments in your history here on Earth, could you do it?

Do you know what song you would like to play at your funeral? Do you want people to be sad or happy?

I think the right song in the right moment can change everything. It can make that evening out something magical, that walk in the park all the more special.

Try making a playlist of your own. Pick the best songs you think best represent you. Write the soundtrack to your life and seize every opportunity!

Best wishes, everybody — the writer at Artistic Apathy

The Name Artistic Apathy and What it Means

The definition of apathy is lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Hopefully I don’t have to define artistic for you, because even that definition varies among people. So, Artistic Apathy? What do I mean by that. Well, if it’s not already obvious, it means basically, no enthusiasm or interest for pursuit in the arts.

You may think that’s a strange name for a blog that’s all about art. Well, that moniker is somewhat personal.

I believe certain people have an innate desire to create. When that person is cut off from their creativity, they begin to deteriorate. This can happen in the form of a creative block, where no ideas are coming out or in my case, you could lose all sense of who you are and your purpose to the point where creating is the least of your worries. The very thing I was cutting myself off from could have been my saving grace.

Anyway, I see this as turning over a new leaf. This blog was part of that. The name is just to acknowledge that that was something I went through and still might go through.

I want to share something personal with you all now, and it relates to all this.

I wrote my first complete story in a long time. Albeit, it was a bit short but I was very proud of it. I used my own pain and experience to write it and I felt like I wrote characters people could really connect to.

I had to kill off one of my beloved characters for the sake of the advancement of the story. Their death triggered something within me and I cried actual tears. I had never been impacted by a story like that before and it was something I wrote. I knew then that this means a lot to me. It was the first real release I had in a long time.

If I knew then just how important my creativity was, it would have helped a lot. Thank you for reading. Till the next post.

Secret (2007) – Taiwanese Film Review

Secret is a 2007 Taiwanese film written, and directed by but also starring Jay Chou who is primarily known as a Taiwanese musician. Jay plays, well, Jay, the main character. Opposite to him is Kwai Lun-Mei who plays Rain. Yes, I’ll be using the English names for this review. I don’t know the Chinese ones.

Summary: Jay is a new transfer student at an art school. He is a musical prodigy, specifically piano. One day when he is taking a tour of the school he stumbles into an old building, hearing some very captivating piano music. That’s when he encounters Rain. Another student who is also skilled at piano and is very mysterious. The two end up getting very close. Rain has a secret but she won’t tell Jay what it is.

Some minor characters include: Sky, a classmate who has a crush on Jay. Bob and Lance, Jay’s no-good jock friends, and Jay’s father.

Secret is a movie I saw many moons ago when I yet wasn’t an adult. This year I revisited it again when Netflix brought it back. I revisited it for the third time and that’s why I’m writing this review. One thing I have to say: it’s still just as good if not better than the first time I saw it. There were so many things I did not realize when I first watched the movie but who can blame me. It was very subtle.

There’s definitely something about Rain but as a first time viewer you will not pick up on it right away. The movie is masterful in the way it keeps you guessing. After watching it a third time I picked up on how cleverly they string you along and leave you unassuming. Only for everything to be completely unraveled in the end.

Kwai Lun-Mei’s performance as Rain is just captivating. You don’t want to forget her. She’s also absolutely adorable. That always helps. Rain is very playful and likes to have fun, often sneaking up on Jay to scare him and even teasing him. Jay is more reserved and plays the cool guy act well. He’s also very humble and likeable. The chemistry between these two is undeniable. They seem to bring out the best in each other. There’s even a moment where they play piano together.

Just. Adorable.

Their moments are surprisingly intimate. I shall not forget their bike rides and their moments just overlooking the river.

The relationship isn’t perfect however. Rain always alludes to having a secret. Jay always has a hard time reading her. He even goes so far as to ask why she’s so mysterious. Rain wants to tell him her secret desperately but just can’t.

At one point, Rain stops showing up to class. During this time, Jay starts spending a lot of time with Sky, trying to not think about Rain but he can’t get over her. She all but disappears for five months up until graduation where the two see each other again. Later, it is revealed who Rain truly is.

Everything that takes place in the movie is meaningful. The piano battle that takes place, while entertaining, serves a purpose. Even when Lance is doing an impression of Elvis at a school dance, and Rain and Jay dance together, it’s setting the stage for something later.

Rain and Jay both have single parents. Not a whole lot is known about Rain’s home life. At home, Jay does all the cooking and cleaning. He lives with his single father that’s always expecting the most from him. At first he seems stern but shows a lighthearted side. Although he is tough on him, it is obvious that he just wants the best for his son.

Still, Jay and his father don’t seem to connect well. At one point in the movie Jay is washing dishes and his dad is telling him to be “ordinary.” The way I interpreted this is to not attract attention and do what is expected, not being untalented or common. Although, he is a musical prodigy, he is still hard on himself. He tells Rain that she’s special but he isn’t.

Rain and Jay spend most of their time in the old piano room where they met. When Jay tells Rain that it is being torn down she tells him that she will teach him the song that he heard when they first met.

Jay wonders why she plays it so fast.

“It’s how fast I play before I go home.”

She advises against playing it in the old piano room because it “wouldn’t sound good”.

Another thing, is the soundtrack. My god, the soundtrack is outstanding! Seriously, matter of fact I have it downloaded on my phone. I like to listen to it from time to time. Jay Chou even wrote some of the songs on there and he did an amazing job. They really set the mood and are just beautiful pieces of music.

Also the backdrops! Yes! My words can’t do them justice but some of the shots and settings are just beautiful.

All in all, I have no complaints with this movie. If you like a good love story especially one with a twist and you like music you will like this. I gotta give it a 10/10 master work.