January 16, 2009 - Dazhi Bridge crossing the Keelung River. Finally, the Taipei International Flora Expo is OVER!! It was a major horticultural show and even though it was criticized for corruption and practicality, I hear it did turn out to be a tourism success, good for the economy, although I wonder how much of that tourism came from China, bad for Taiwan's independent status. The current president seems bent on making Taiwan more reliant on China.
My personal peeve about the flower show was that it closed the riverside bikeway on the south bank of the Keelung River (other side of the river to the right of the bridge) for over a year and a half. By the time I got back from the U.S. this time, the show was over and I rode over to the site and asked a worker when the bikeway would be open and he said it should be open by June.
February 9, 2009 - Taiwan Beer Factory! Mmmm, beeeeer. That's Taiwan pop singer A-mei shilling for Taiwan Beer. For most part, I hate pop music, but I've given A-mei's music a chance and some of it is listenable. Some of it is god awful. Like her song "The Power of Love" just made me think about the power of crappy music to make me hurl. But of course my fandom of K-pop has stripped me of much of my credibility and towering music authority, if not taste, so I should probably just shut up.
Mind you, I am full aware that there is plenty of crappy K-pop. Mind you, there are also very, very few legitimate rock acts from South Korea that I know of (I can't say anything about North Korea, although I hear Kim Jong-Il fronts his own heavy metal band that every North Korean knows every lyric to).
There She Is (Witches): legitimate South Korean rock band. Singer has a cool ass voice.
2 comments:
a year and a half?! that's practically a permanent exhibit! and are you sure witches is rock? it still kinda sounds poppy to me, and kinda obnoxious, haha. :P
I know, I know, under scrutiny my definitions all fall apart. What makes them legitimate is that they write their own songs and play their own instruments (but that doesn't mean a band is good).
Witches has a big of a ska influence, too, but I still put that under rock, like No Doubt, who some people think sound obnoxious, too.
When I first heard the singer's voice, I thought he was much older, but was surprised in the video how young he is.
Oh, the expo was only 6-7 months, but was under development for the rest of the time.
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