Taipei Diaries - TMC Pop Music Exhibit, Dihua Street

[halfcactus]

Just got back and put together some clips on the plane—the timing is off in a lot of places but I've decided to be a normal person for once and let it go because I'm running on an hour of sleep and I have a lot of work backlog to catch up on tomorrow.

Keeping it unlisted because 1) it's personal, 2) I'm unclear about the exhibit's policies.

When I visited I was told only that I could take pictures but not use flash, and no mention of video recording. So I, uhh, took videos. I mostly posted them on a private IG for personal documentation and so I could show my friends what it's like and why they should check out the exhibit when they're in the area. (I myself only found about it through nermida_'s travel notes.)

Watch on Vimeo

Video link if embed doesn't work: https://vimeo.com/1012012977/ebbfa97b67

BGM is 靠近我 by Zhang Xincheng. :)

I got a really interesting comic from Taiwan Comic Base. The guy at the counter was asking me where I was from (he assumed Hong Kong, curiously) and I ended up with a surprisingly wholesome travel encounter and a new comicbook to show for it.

The comic is Halo-Halo Manila by Jimmeh Aitch, who, based on a cursory internet search is indigenous Taiwanese, and he draws comparisons between Taiwan and the Philippines's histories of martial law. Thinking out loud about the comic to my Philippines-raised Taiwan-based friend has also sparked some illuminating convos I'm still chewing over.

Naturally, I completely forgot I was reading Bridge Tower because I got distracted vibrating with excitement over comics. XD Thankfully, this (distraction) happens every week so I'm pretty sure I can lock in again...

Comments

[geraineon]

I love the clip! I wish I had more time in Taipei when I stopped by last time... it was mostly a stopover (3 days, there to do a quick friend meetup), but I really enjoyed my time there. And seeing the streets, the souvenir shops, the food, ah, it takes me back.

he draws comparisons between Taiwan and the Philippines's histories of martial law.

Oh, that is interesting! I looked for it and found a sample. I really liked what I read so far. Now I wonder if I can get a copy somewhere...

[halfcactus]

Yeahhhhh I've only been back for like 48 hours and already I want to go back haha. It's so chill! And I didn't get enough boba ;A;

Re: the comic - it's apparently a series of autobiographical shorts and so far only the first one is about martial law. ^^; The rest are anecdotes about his life and observations while living here, which I've been finding, for lack of a better word, enjoyable (and a little emotional) because I rarely am able to read these kinds of slice-of-life stories. It's an interesting outsider's PoV so far! And I love all the familiar little details. :')

[geraineon]

Tragically, I did not get milk tea in Taipei properly! I only got it in the airport, on the way out ;__;

Too busy trying to make the most of the three days (tbh, it's more like two) with my friend, running around fitting activities and food and it was raining for most of the two days too. Next time!!

I liked how the author told the story, with the insider/outsider pov for the martial law story. What is your favourite (or favourites) anecdotes from that collection?

[halfcactus]

LOL yeah I originally was gonna do outdoorsy stuff with my friend over the weekend, but it rained the whole time... It worked out well enough because she got to accompany me on places that were in my "if I had more time to myself" itinerary ahahaha. I hope you get to visit again next time you're in Asia!

Re: the comic - hard to tell so far but right now I'm at a part where he's talking about the language and I love it so much. :') Both for what he wants to communicate to a Taiwanese audience and reaching for words in other languages (I liked that one of the first "equivalent words" he thought of for a word of endearment was in Amis language), and for how he's visually illustrating his points... But tbh even just the first story was plenty emotional for me... in a time where history is being revised and erased. My education exposed me to martial law literature written by people who lived in that time, and I think that's changed for this generation. So it means a lot to me to see the history still be documented overseas like this.