Sometimes the Universe Lines Things Up

(From Ping) Another month and we will have been in Taiwan for a whole year. It was time to get Mark's residency extended so he can continue to be a LEGAL ALIEN. This involved a trip to the county office and then to the immigration office in different part of the city. We also decided to stop by the camera maintenance shop downtown, and then we went to dinner with my parents in a different city. We did all the above using public transportation. The truly magical thing is we did not need to wait for a minute! They (buses or MRT) simply showed up when we were ready. It's so amazing that I have to write something here. I feel so blessed.

搬來台灣快一年了。今天決定辦理馬克的居留證延期手續。首先需要去北投區公所申請最新的戶籍謄本，然後得到移民局申請延期。既然人到了台北，我們決定順便取回維修好的相機，然後到竹圍和爸爸媽媽一起用完晚餐再回家。（寫到這裡感覺好像在寫小學時期的日記哦-流水帳！感覺老師的紅筆快要畫下來了。）說了半天我要說的是，這一整天的奔波靠的大多數是公車和一小部分的捷運。每當我們走到了車站，無論是公車或捷運，我們需要的車子就馬上出現。所以一天下來都不用等車。這真是太神奇了。好完美的黃道吉日啊！

The Police sing..."FEELINGS???" 如果讓“警察合唱團”唱Feelings 會是如何

Oh, yeah. They do. Well, sort of. Check out Mark's version of what he thought The Police would sound like if they recorded the notorious lounge lizard classic "Feelings." Plus, check out his original animation inspired by the artwork on their album "Ghost In The Machine." Please "Like" and Share it if you enjoy it! Thanks!

See the YouTube Video!

Back when I [Mark] was at Nike, we challenged each other to record a song in the style of a band that would NEVER play that song. I chose "Feelings" and decided to do my version of what I thought The Police would sound like if they had written it.

Ever since I did this recording, I've had this idea for an animation to go with it. Now that I have NCH Software's VideoPad, I can finally put together a real animation. I learned that YouTube's frame rate doesn't exactly match with the song's tempo, so some bits are a little off after the upload, but I sure had fun doing it!

Please share this if you enjoy it. :)

A Man Without Wheels

I know all the reasons why I (Mark) don't drive. They're all practical. I could go on and on about being green, saving money, how hard it is to find parking, where would we even store a bicycle, etc., etc.

Blah, blah, blah... None of this can take away my feeling of loss. Why does being in command of a set of wheels mean so much to me? I thought it might be just the All-American Gotta-Have-A-Car thing,

美白 還是美黑 Whitening vs. Tanning

文化的差異有時很明顯。對膚色的喜好就是個好例子。拿我自己作比方，我的膚色，用台灣人的標準是無可置疑的“黑”。對，就這麼乾脆！“黑白分明”，有什麼大不了的？
 

誒？那為什麼常有人看了我之後“欲言又止”，有把口水困難地吞下去的動作？

常言“一白遮三醜， 一黑…“，

New story: "Stone Carrier" 背著石頭的人

Stone Carrier

by Mark Ivan Cole

Stone Carrier trudged up the dusty trail. His legs trembled under the weight of the stones in the big, sturdy basket on his back. Thick leather straps looped over his shoulders to hold it fast. Another strap pressed flat against his forehead and he bent low against it, straining forward, step after shaking step.

He had collected these stones over many years. He couldn’t remember where most of them came from, but he had carried them a long way.

     He turned a corner and, suddenly, Angry Man blocked his path! Stone Carrier could not pass. Angry Man shouted, ranted and raved, picking up rocks and throwing them

Full Video: Yo Yo Ma's Horse!

Click the image to watch the video

Ping wrote recently about teaching Mark to ask: "Did Yo Yo Ma's mother scold Yo Yo Ma's horse for being slow?" It sounds funny enough in English, but in Chinese it sounds like:

"Ma-Yo-Yo-De-Ma-Ma-Yo-Ma-Ma-Yo-Yo-De-Ma-Man-Ma."

Right. Only there are also TONES involved. Not all "Ma's" are the same. Use the wrong tone and things go sideways. Here's what happened when Ping gave Mark what she called a "refresher course." Sure, we talked about it before, but Mark never actually learned it. Until now. Maybe. Check it out and tell us if you think he succeeds.

We recorded the audio in one take, ad-lib and unscripted, cracking up the whole way. Then Mark edited it for time and created the illustrations.

Like it and share it if you enjoy it! :) Thanks!

幾週前我在部落格上用中文發表了馬克的第一堂中文課。過後幾天吃完晚飯後我們剛好聊起那堂未完成的課。當時一時興起我們決定將我們的談話錄下來。這段影音是馬克加上了卡通之後的成果。希望能博君一笑。如果希望馬克多上中文課的話，請給一個“讚”

Picture of the Day: "Watching the Gates"

I've been enjoying drawing on colored paper. This piece was improvised without any actual design or intention. I guess I just felt like drawing rocks! See how many watching faces you find. I wonder what's inside the ruined gates...hmm...could be a story here...

For this duotone, instead of white charcoal, I used a white watercolor pencil and another cool tool I just bought: a brush with a synthetic white sable tip and a hollow, squeezable  handle. Just fill the handle, screw on the tip and squeeze to make water flow to the brush. How cool is that? It should be an excellent travel tool. I used it on the white colored pencil and was very happy with the results.