There isn’t a whole lot to say about the new iPad except that it successfully went through a weight-loss programme and was fitted with a faster brain and two eyes in the process. They’ve also implanted some good ol’ magnets inside the body frame to pull off some neat tricks with the Smart Cover. Simple yet ingenious idea that just works.
I Could Write A Book by Dana Lauren.
A classic show tune made famous by Ella Fitzgerald and Anita O’Day. I was looking for a different rendition of the song and stumbled upon this talented young jazz vocalist. Her voice is just phenomenal. Plush and supple. I guess with a bit of inventive vocal improvisations and clever arrangements, she’s definitely gonna be a force to reckon with on the international jazz scene.
Fresh from Nihon! The Nintendo 3DS was just released in Japan a couple of days ago. Other parts of the world should expect to see this baby popping up on shelves by the end of the month. Highlight of the device is of course its autostereoscopic 3D display, which creates a perception of depth without you wearing clunky 3D glasses. Does it work? Absofreakinlutely! Playing games on this baby is like watching an animated diorama. Kinda weird but pretty cool. If you don’t like the eye-popping 3D effect, you can always turn it off with a slider that switches between 3D and 2D modes in milliseconds. Now please excuse me while I go do some Shoryuken… Childhood flashback time!
Sympathique by Pink Martini.
Legendary 12-piece band from Portland, Oregon. Together they’ve created a distinctively retro, antiquated style that blends jazz, classical, cabaret, latin and world music with sophistication and elegance. Their music is so lighthearted and just so much fun! Definitely one of the greatest international ensembles ever.
Cuerpo y Alma (Body and Soul) by Esperanza Spalding.
Gotta admit I was late to the party. Didn’t know about this musical prodigy until she won a Grammy and upset all you Bieber fans out there (yes, you). Having just listened to her albums released to date, I’m 100% convinced that she’s well deserving of the award and destined to leave her mark on the jazz world. Some of her tunes are just mind-blowing display of raw talent and creativity.
Once again I’ve succumbed to the dark side and bought another MacBook Air. This time it’s the 11-incher. What can I say? It’s 2.3 pounds of PURE BLISS!
I Need To Be In Love by Winterplay.
Any hardcore Carpenters fans ‘round here? Well here’s one of my favourite Carpenters’ song performed by the most promising jazz quartet from South Korea. Their Songs of Colored Love album is in heavy rotation on my playlist these days. Great pop album made with the attitude of jazz musicians. Don’t you just love covers when they’re done well?
Picked up this neat Vietnamese lacquer painting by a young artist called Khắc Mẫn when I was in Hanoi. The various techniques required to produce such artwork are complex and arduous, to say the least. And it may take up to several months from preparing a piece of wood to serve as the template, to the final stages of careful rubbing and polishing. This picture you see here doesn’t really do it justice, the painting has a unique texture and lustre that you can only appreciate up close and personal.
With this red leather strap from Artisan & Artist (Japan), the Sony NEX-5 now feels complete. Both of them place great emphasis on minimalistic design without losing functionality and comfort. This little shooter just feels great in the hand and captures the best low-light pictures in the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) category. You probably have to fork out extra dough for a spare battery ‘cause it drains relatively fast. And you sure as hell don’t want to be caught with a juiceless camera while shooting up a frenzy!
All of Me by Michael Bublé.
Well I don’t think Michael Bublé needs an introduction. He’s the modern day king of swing who’s like Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Mel Tormé and a little bit of Elvis Presley all rolled into one. Velvety voice and smooth delivery. Anyone catching him live at his Crazy Love Tour?
Update: What a good show but way too short Michael!
Just went soaking up some Asian art pieces by Master Hsiao Chin at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. Born in Shanghai, raised in Taiwan, and lived most of his life in Italy. He was responsible for the first Chinese abstract painting movement in the 1950s. His works combine the distinctive style of Western modern art, and the profound philosophical thinking of the East. Much of his later works involve a cosmological dimension and it seems as though — well to me at least — he’s trying to understand the universe and seeking a higher form of awareness. But what do I know?
Better, By and By / Mood Indigo by Raya Yarbrough.
The original Duke Ellington’s Mood Indigo was an incredible jazz standard and the song’s been covered countlessly in the past by jazz giants such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra etc. But none of those covers are as interesting as this version by a relatively unknown jazz vocalist. This is how you should pay homage to the classics. Fresh, inventive, and just so brilliant!
If you’re up-to-speed with the smartphone market, you’d know BlackBerry’s losing ground not only to the iPhone but the increasingly promising Android platform. And it’s not hard to understand why. The latest BlackBerry OS 6 features a lot of small improvements over its predecessor. But that’s about it. If you’re not already a CrackBerry user, there’s nothing in the new BlackBerry Torch 9800 that will make you jump ship. It is that boring. I’m not gonna kid myself and tell you how awesome RIM’s first-ever slider phone is because it’s not. I probably would’ve drooled all over the phone if it was released last year. But this is 2010 and a 480x360 touchscreen powered by a measly 624MHz processor just don’t cut it anymore. Don’t get me wrong, this is still the best BlackBerry ever made, it just came out a year late.
Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars) by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto & Stan Getz.
How can you beat the central figures in the creation and proliferation of bossa nova? Well, you can’t. This song just never gets old no matter how many times it gets played.
Best. iPad. Case. Ever. ‘nuff said.
Update: Well it’s about damn time! Hit up iTunes and get the shiny new iOS 4.2 loaded on your iDevices now. The king of tablet just got a hell lot more useful.
