Month: January 2024

Posted in Blogging, Music

3 Lin-Manuel Must Listens

Posted on by Thepiesendure
Lin-Manuel Miranda for TIME Top 100 Influential People

Originally written for a writing course

Here’s three songs that Lin wrote that resonate with me currently.

1. One More Song – Vivo: To be honest all the songs from Vivo hold a special place in my heart, especially the tracks that he sings on. First of all because it proves his own talent as a singer, but also because they hold such a note of hope in them. This song specifically is such a beautiful tribute to artists who have long gone and how we want to continue working with those long gone. Or to keep remembering their legacy. And I want to do that with Lin’s art.

2. Carnival Del Barrio – Film version: Daphne’s vocals in this version are so powerful and hearing Lin’s vocals threading through the whole song makes my heart sing. His verse as the Piraguero makes me smile so much and I love the harmonies and story telling in this song as the community is toughing out the heatwave without electricity. It is a song of solidarity and community.

3. We Know the Way – Moana: I just love the fact that I loved this song before I knew who Lin-Manuel really was. Also the added fun fact that Lin originally recorded this song as the demo to show the Disney execs and they told him they were going to keep his vocals on the song for the film. The joy he must’ve felt when hearing that.

It seems Disney has come a long way when it comes to crediting the voices on the songs on animated soundtracks.

Posted in Adoptee Thoughts, Blogging, blogging the important stuff

What is Culture?

Posted on by Thepiesendure

Originally written for a writing course on IG, inspired by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Writing about my culture is a tricky activity to do. Because as an international transracial adoptee I’ve lost a lot of my original birth culture (Hong Kong Chinese). I am by no means bitter about this as I love the culture I’ve been raised in…but, this does raise a question.

What is Australian culture? I know outsiders might say something like riding kangaroos and wrestling crocodiles a la Steve Irwin. Others might say, friendly quokka selfies – Western Australian specific. Others might say the Ocker Aussie, with a broad accent like Crocodile Dundee. Some might say drinking a beer and watching cricket or Aussie Rules Football. Many would say we are more laidback than other cultures.

Also, importantly we cannot ignore the many Aboriginal peoples and their differing cultures as well. Acknowledging them is essential.

But for me? And my own family culture raised by white Australians? Well, I love cricket and Aussie rules football. I have a standard Aussie accent (so neither broad nor cultivated). I like Chinese food. We celebrated Lunar New Year when I was a child so that we could try and explore some of my birth culture. But, I don’t speak Mandarin or Cantonese (my native tongue), and I was raised Christian and that has definitely impacted my culture. Not in a negative or positive way. Just in ways that formed me as a person.

I am an Australian citizen. I am Chinese born, but have the world view of an Anglo-Celtic Christian raised in a country with more opportunities that I would’ve had in Hong Kong.

But, I know that this doesn’t mean my life now is better than what I might have had if my birth mother had kept me.

Just a different one.