crystal profile picture

crystal

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

I'm a believer in Christ, globetrotter, literary enthusiast, hopeless romantic, art aficionado, culinary connoisseur, style maven, feminist fanatic, eternal optimist, adventure seeker, loyal friend, cinephile, karaoke chanteuse, jukebox junkie, jazz cat, wordsmith, wine snob, sushi addict, chocaholic, sorority sister, PR professional, and a Taiwanese-Californian expat residing in Shanghai."someone who sees like a child, gives like a saint, feels like an angel (never mind the broken wings), speaks like a picture, cries like the rain, shines like a star, as long as the fire remains." http://www.xanga.com/crystalyzedShanghai, Bringing Sexy Back:
Cool Slideshows

My Interests

arthouse films, concerts, spas, travelling, writing, fashion, restaurants, nature, babysitting. *aspiring alchemist with a heart of gold*

I'd like to meet:

i want to meet genuine souls, kindred spirits, and those who dare to be vulnerable enough to love and live in the Truth.

Music:

Lifehouse, Shunza, Michael Buble, Anna Nalick, Cary Brothers, Frou Frou, Weezer, Aimee Mann, Ben Folds, Tony Bennett, Babyface, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Eat World, Maroon 5, Michelle Branch, Matchbox 20, Sarah McLachlan, Dido, The Donnas, Cranberries, John Mayer, Postal Service, Ataris, Tori Amos, Bryan Adams, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, TLC, Josh Groban, Vienna Teng, Amy Grant, Plus One, Point of Grace, Avalon, all types of jazz, Chinese/Taiwanese Pop: Tanya Tsai, Penny Dai, Annie Yi, Harlem Yu, David Tao, Mayday, Fish Leong, FIR. Broadway soundtracks: Rent, Miss Saigon, Phantom, Chicago

Movies:

films by Cameron Crowe, Ang Lee, Woody Allen, Wong Kar Wai. When Harry Met Sally, CHICAGO, Joy Luck Club, Reality Bites, Vanilla Sky, About A Boy, Serendipity, Wedding Singer, Legends of the Fall, Turn Left Turn Right, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Whale Rider, Chungking Express, Perhaps Love, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, A Walk To Remember, Love Actually, My Best Friend's Wedding, Moulin Rouge, Top Gun, Life is Beautiful, Sound of Music, Momento, 50 First Dates, Pretty Woman, Back To The Future, Look Who's Talking, Ghost, Untamed Heart, Isabella

Television:

Taiwanese soaps, Ally McBeal, Mad About You, Will & Grace, Scrubs, Entourage, Sagwa, Food network, Travel channel, Style Network, re-runs of eighties sitcoms and cartoons

Books:

Books by Wu Dan Ru, Yi Neng Jing, Chong Yao. any National Geographic magazine, When God Writes Your Love Story, Captivating, Wild At Heart, Time Traveller's Wife, The Tipping Point, Your Best Life Now, Zoya's Story, 1421, Dreams of Trespass, White Oleander, Confessions of Max Tivoli, Foreign Babes in Beijing, anything Nicholas Sparks, One Billion Customers, Five People You Meet In Heaven, Maker's Diet, People's Republic of Desire, THE WORD

Heroes:

Jesus

My Blog

Lust Caution

There are many reasons Lust Caution is a must-see. It's an espionage thriller, a wartime epic, a love story. It's made for commercial success, boasting some of the biggest names in Asian pop, not to m...
Posted by crystal on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:30:00 PST

The Last Chinese Chef

Looking forward to this one:from the New York Times book review.Nicole Mones's third novel, "The Last Chinese Chef," features a story interrupted by excerpts from a 1925 culinary masterpiece titled "T...
Posted by crystal on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:29:00 PST

my foray into fashion

it all started with my obsession with the physically disproportionate fashion icon which infiltrates little girl's fantasies and households around the world. yes, she's every American school girl's be...
Posted by crystal on Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:17:00 PST

Perfume

When watching Perfume, your senses and taste buds are heightened. Suddenly you can smell that Parisian fish market where protagonist Jean-Baptiste was born, the collective stimulations of all the eau ...
Posted by crystal on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:08:00 PST

fave romantic film quotes

"Latched in life Like branches in a riverFlowing downstreamCaught in the currentI'll carry you You'll carry me That's how it could be" -- Before Sunrise "you can disconnect from everything but...a kis...
Posted by crystal on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:58:00 PST

Isabella

one of my fave arthouse films i've seen since Whale Rider...... its stylistic cinematography has been compared to that of wong kar wai's works and it beautifully captures portuguese influenced pre-ha...
Posted by crystal on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:55:00 PST

Match Point

despite his weird semi incestual personal life, i've long admired woody allen's films and i think he is a true artistic genius. i loved Mighty Aphrodite and Everybody Says I  Love You. he popular...
Posted by crystal on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:54:00 PST

Jasmine Women

i finally got to watch the long awaited Zhang Zhi Yi film Jasmine Women. how fitting that i saw this one in Shanghai, in this city where the film depicts its beautiful, sorrowful, history of the ...
Posted by crystal on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:48:00 PST

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

when i first read the synopsis and learned the film's backdrop is set against the Cultural Revolution, my reflex reaction was that this is gonna be another one of those heavy, high-death-toll rev...
Posted by crystal on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:46:00 PST

Walk The Line

i'm a sucka for love stories...especially ones that are true. my favorites range from the tragic rock legends Lennon/Yoko, biblical royalties King Solomon and his ethiopian lover Queen Sheeba, the rom...
Posted by crystal on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:40:00 PST