Murakami’s Novel Takes the Stage May 25th & 26th

If you are planning on being in Singapore in May, be sure to put a big star on your calendar for the 25^th and 26^th of May! The 2012 Singapore Arts Festival is going to take off with a bang mid-May, and one of the shows that I would definitely be looking forward to the most is the theatre production of Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I have written at length about Murakami in the past, and I definitely would consider him as one of the more fascinating authors whose work I have had the pleasure of reading. It will be interesting to discover how well his novel can translate over to the live stage!

We’re proud sponsors of Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra’s upcoming annual gala

Sophia from Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra reached out to us sometime last month about a sponsorship opportunity for their annual gala event. This year’s gala theme happens to be Fairy Tales, so we were more than happy to supply them with a few dozen of our Grimm’s Fairy Tales posters.

So, who is Brooklyn Philharmonic and why do you care? Here’s what they do:

Our mission is to serve, celebrate, and contribute to the diverse and ever-changing cultural fabric of Brooklyn. Dedicated to innovation, collaboration, and education, the Philharmonic engages Brooklyn’s culturally, geographically, and ethnically diverse population, approaching the orchestra as a living tradition which can both enrich these communities and be enriched by them. To these ends, the orchestra performs music of numerous styles in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor venues. We hope that, through imaginative and high-quality work rooted in Brooklyn, the orchestra will make a meaningful contribution to the broader musical community.

If you happen to enjoy the orchestra and are in the Brooklyn neighbourhood on May 24, 2012, I highly suggest you buying tickets for what seems to be a spectacular event! You can do so on their gala page: http://bphil.org/bphilwp/gala/

And the Final Picks are…

My final picks for songs that are poetic in their lyrics come from two bands that are less well known than the choices in my previous blog. The first is the song Your Ex-lover is Dead by Canadian Indie rock band Stars. Every time that I read through the lyrics I sense the intensity of the words which evoke the bittersweet encounters of broken relationships. Check out the video as well! My last pick comes from Mexican Indie band Enjambre. The song is called Makin’ it Back and although quite short, I do enjoy reading through the lyrics as I feel they are so multi-dimensional and can be interpreted in so many ways – and isn’t that the sign of a good writer? Enjoy the music as well and let me know what you think!

The Poetic Quality of U2

What list of poetic lyrics would be complete without adding at least one song from Irish rock band U2? Lead singer Bono has long been considered as one of the greatest lyricists of our time and has created countless songs with beautifully poetic lyrics. For me, one of the most hauntingly beautiful lyrics are those of the song Kite. Check out the lyrics and the video and let us know what you think! And of course we can’t forget about one of the best known songs by U2: One. Here are the lyrics and music video for you to look at as well! Enjoy!

The Poetic Beauty of Tombstone Blues

My nomination for lyrics to poetry for today is Bob Dylan’s song Tombstone Blues. It is quite long, but I think the lyrics are great! Be sure to read the lyrics through like you would a piece of poetry before you decide to listen to the song. What do you think? Do you consider Dylan’s lyrics as Nobel Prize worthy?

From Music to Poetry and Back Again

Have you ever been crooning along to a favorite tune and stopped to think how poetic the lyrics can be? I myself have often wondered at what point do lyrics become poetry and vice versa; some of my favorite songs could most likely be written out as a poem and still be equally powerful without the music. Could musicians such as Bob Dylan or Bono be considered modern day musical poets? Here’s an interesting fact that might make you think more in depth about the question: according to this article Bob Dylan was actually a formidable contender for the Nobel Prize in literature back in 2011! What do you make of that?

Bring on the Girl Power!

It’s time for some Girl Power! Through the recent release of the film The Hunger Games (based on the novel by Suzanne Colllins) we have been introduced to one of the fiercest and strongest leading female characters in contemporary young adult literature. I mean, Katniss Everdeen can shoot a bow and arrow, fight people to the death, and still come out looking like the loyal kind of young woman a lot of us would like to be. But don’t forget all those other awesome leading ladies from some of the favorite books of our childhood! Check out this article to get your fill of some amazing girl characters! Enjoy !

Weekly Twitter digest for 2012-04-05

• The next coming months will be extremely exciting for us! #

The Unwaivering Magic of Peter Pan

My first introduction to the tale of Peter Pan was, of course, the Disney cartoon film Peter Pan back when I was just a little girl (can you believe this film was created back in 1953!). I’ve never really taken the time to learn a lot about the origination of this great story, but The New York Times recently published this article which discusses quite in depth the evolution of Peter Pan and the different manners in which this character and his tale have been represented. However, beware! Reading this may involve quite a few flashbacks to your childhood! Enjoy!

Making a Book in One Minute and Fifty-Five Seconds

Would you like to see a book being made in under two minutes? Check out this great video which shows a book being assembled via traditional printing methods. What I love most about this video is the amount of human interaction with the books as the process unfolds. This is definitely one of the cooler things I’ve seen this week. Enjoy!