One more post before I leave

Thank the world for the blessedly enquiring and candid minds of children.
- Five Foot Broadway mini drama in the audience.

It is times like this that induces one to gush about the cute innocence of children, but never mind. It is a horrible unearthly 4.45am in the morning now and what inspiration I had for this post has been lost in an oncoming headache. Don't ask why I was up at 3.30 am either. I should have been enjoying my sleep.

Notice: Going Away

Tue-Thurs. I will be in Malaysia. Specifically, a particular mountain (hill?) where there is usaully very low visibilty and lots of people go there to risk their lives either at the table or the coaster. Or maybe they just risk their lives blundering about in mist and fog. Will be back in Singapore sometime Thursday night. Till then.

Blitzz

Right. I am sooo charmed. All I did was stand next to my sister's laptop and she gets a mysterious error code. Sheesh.

Poster Talk: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Everyone knows what this poster is. No need for introductions I think. In any case, skipping the poster harping that has accompanied my movie posts in recent months, I just want to forget the unpleasant staff and slow-crawling queues at Cathay Causeway and just focus on the sole fragment of light and hope for mankind in the whole of a pretty bad day. We entered the cinema in medias res no thanks bloody slow staff, and by the time I'd settled down, I expect I had missed some ten minutes of the film.

I liked the movie, because Andrew Adamson, the director, has made the film his own. It's pretty much nothing like C.S. Lewis at all. Which does remind me... I recall not really liking (loathe is too strong a word) Lucy of the four Pevensie children, but really, the choice of casting is pretty darn good, and the on screen chemistry of the siblings seems to have taken off quite nicely in this sequel, which, if I may add, is really really nothing like the dull, stuffy book version. I do recall, in spite of the years seperating us, that Prince Caspian (the book) was not one of the better Chronicle of Narnia as I was reading the series in secondary school... My favourites are the ever famous The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Silver Chair and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is the subject of the next film in the Narnia franchise. (Yay). It's a pity that Adamson is not directing, as I think he made the films a lot more palatable to a general audience in some ways, for example, by being less morally didactic and emphasizing the value of imagination. Very very important, the latter.

Warning: Spoilers ahead. You can still read though.

The concern of course is that without Adamson helming the third Narnia film, it remains to be seen if the franchise can play catch-up. Already, certain all too familiar images are appearing on the screen, such as walking trees and mild-mannered little New Zealand streams suddenly materializing violent and rapid flooding that kill off a good lot of the enemy. There are of course a few little other details that may also suggest the same production company had some dealing with another famed trilogy, but that is speculation for another day. In any case, I suppose imdb has all the gossip and data to make the comparisons. Alternatively, one may argue that seeing as Tolkien and Lewis were such pals anyway, it is unsurprising if this is Adamson's way of paying homage to that friendship. Or maybe the trees and the river already were in the book.
I honestly can't remember. In any case, I hope it wouldn't turn out to be another X-Men-Ratner debacle. What a way to end the series.

Singapore Arts Fest Opening Act: Complaint

As an econs tutor once said, "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys", and if you pay zilch, you don't even get monkeys; instead what you get is a ridiculous crowd squeezed against the border of Boat Quay in the sweltering heat. grumblegrumblegrumble.

Sure, there were tricks with flaming rods and cyclists pedalled on the watery surface of the river, but still, it was not worth the heat, the unfriendly security or the monkeys (hanging off trees) that have come to watch a free show too. grumblegrumblegrumble.

The performance, as PY remarked, was untidy; one doesn't know where to look - the pretty fireworks spiralling dizzingly above our heads or the acrobatic act below us in the river... The indecision can be costly - in fact, I missed the end half of the closing scene. Humans. So easily distracted by pretty shiny things that make loud noises. grumblegrumblegrumble.

This is a street show. Whatever happened to the free and easy attitude that comes with open performances? I like where I was standing and I'm still a little annoyed that security kept nagging at people to not stand on the benches. I expect for the security, heat and stress led to bad tempers flaring up, but I fail to see the point in even trying to get people to behave in the appropriate way at what is supposedly a big spectacle. A street show is carnival, and as the word suggests, indicates that social customs are about to go topsy-turvy. Who cares if it's pure madness to climb a tree in the middle of the CBD? On a day like this, one can hang off the branches and no one (unless you're in danger of being hit by wobbling branches) is going to care.

Considering the maxim adopted year after year by the Arts Festival, the arts is supposed to be something everyone can enjoy, and I however, for one didn't feel quite so welcomed thanks to irritable staff lurking in the dark. As I've discovered, its nonsense to say that Singaporeans are straight laced (the people crouched in funny positions on trees and benches are definitely not), it's the staff. Still, the organizers should just live and let live - being oppressive at an Esplanade concert is one thing, but at a street performance?? Why?? It's the opening act! People should have been having picnics, laughing and smiling and wowed by the performance. I don't know about other people, but I left feeling distinctly unsatisfied by most aspects of the opening act.

Remind me to go for a ticketed performance next time.

House

I need something to cheer me up while I wait for August.

Eye Candy

This is Yoshitaka Amano's work. His style tends to be more widespread than I am making it out to be here, but I just happen to like those with flowy lines best.



It reminds me a little of Aya Kato's stuff, or this short anime OAV called Kigeki. If some of Yoshitaka Amano's work seems a little familiar, it'll likely be because you'll might have spotted some of his artwork in the Final Fantasy series, or alternatively, if you're not the gaming sort, the illustrated horror series Vampire Hunter D. (also adapted as an anime).

The above two images are from Hiten, his first exhibition, which exhibits a very wide array of what Amano is capable of. His latest works in progress in fact indicate him going back to his animation roots (Speedracer ugh). As it is, I seem to have a penchant for the German Expressionist-ish style... But then again, some of the best illustrators do seem to come from Germany too...

Another familair big-wig name attached to Amano would be Neil Gaiman, whose Sandman series got a freelanced watercolour treatment from the artist. See below: Lord Morpheus, as envisioned by Amano

Image sources

(Hiten): http://gallery.aethereality.net/

(Morpheus; Lord of Dreams): http://www.elevenland.com/amano/amano.php3

Stumbled on a memory

And so, it’s not quite the height of summer boredom, nor was it set in a deserted house, but the contrary, a well lit restaurant, and rather than sitting amidst rank weeds under a full moon, I was surrounded by the low buzz of inane chatter and happy diners. Still, ghost stories don’t wait for the so-called appropriate moment but for the importunate moment (I was eating, mind you) and the setting in any case, recedes into being immaterial once one is hooked.

So, after a couple of creepy stories, my friend told me the one her brother told her – one of those army ones that always seem to have an inexplicable ring of truth to them. Actually, this one sounded totally far-fetched, but as they say, human beings have the most amazing capacity for making connections where there are none. Hence, what you will get here are some of those random connections that came to my rambling mind:

As the story goes, an army colonel is making his way down the stairs one day (or night). Being a careful man not in a hurry to make his way to his destination, he held on to the staircase railing. Unfortunately, while the colonel was making his sedate way down the stairs; (he wasn’t as young as he once was you know), he, in spite of the precautions, in spite of holding the railing – fell anyway. The lackeys who were before him rushed up the stairs while those behind rushed down to his aid. Here is the interesting part. Out of the many recruits bustling about, one who stood at the top of the stairs remained where he was. His expression was grim, and several of the recruits could only wonder why he did not make a move to help the higher-ranked officer who was, incidentally, below him that day.

The recruits talked about it later that day, and someone finally dared to ask the lone soldier about his odd behaviour. The answer came calmly enough. Coming down the stairs, the soldier explained that he’d seen the colonel fall over an old man who had been sitting on the staircase, and even as his room mates hurtled to the colonel’s rescue, the old ghost, unnoticed, had been rubbing his injured arm in an irritated way. It seemed, the colonel had had the misfortune of tripping over a ghost…

So, the story is not the usual creepy kind, but it does lead in several interesting directions. This is the part where you, the reader, will have to suspend belief and assume that this is a real situation. Or maybe not.

The reasonable mind would have pointed out that it seems pretty far-fetched that with so many people coming and going on the stairs, each and everyone of them would have tripped over the ghost, and not just the colonel. A mistake by the reporter? A loophole in the account? In any case, ghosts shouldn’t be able to feel pain – they’re dead after all. In fact, they shouldn’t even be able to trip anyone since they aren’t even a physical obstruction.
Or maybe not.

The reasonable mind can also point out that of course, if the ghost can materialize a solid arm to trip colonels over, they arguably would also feel the sharp pinch of pain due to the contact. No? Yes? In any case, what in the world are ghosts? A slip of memory; a shadow of the past that lurks behind? I remember my physics teacher in secondary school and his wild conspiracy theories. Apart from being convinced that China had managed to conceal a high-tech military facility under the Forbidden City, he spoke about the “4th dimension”. This, he claimed, is the other-worldly world where fragments of time and space wander freely, and when the time-space orbit of our world bumps into this other-place, the outcome is essentially a ghost sighting. Memories of past, present and future? Had this fictitious colonel bumped into an illusory sliver of time realized?
Or maybe not.

Shoes

Because I am insanely proud of these ugly shoes.

The Film that Might Have Been

And so, in an alternate dimension, an altenate me might have been watching the Mamoru Hosoda version of Howl's Moving Castle had he stayed on with Ghibli for the length of the project. It looks to me like it would have been a more faithful adaptation of the book and looking at the storyboards, I can't help but wish that he had completed the project.

The picture above is actually a scene that existed in the book, though of course there are slight differences. The one below that shows the Witch of the Waste is also closer to the way her physical appearance appeared in the book. The man (I suspect he's Gaston) obviously can't be Howl. If you've watched the Miyazaki version or read the book you'll know what I mean.

What do you all think?

credits for images: http://www.pelleas.net/aniBBS/viewtopic.php?t=400&sid=0b4150aa477a9687252ab4d3e0f2369f

Your 'if' is the only peacemaker, much virtue in 'if'. - As You Like It

Now that my arduous three weeks of revision and exams are over, I am so looking to using my brain for happier things. Cheers for the holidays!

Countdown

3 down, 1 2 go!

Poster Talk: Sky Crawlers Update

image source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-04-28/oshii-sky-crawlers-trailer-officially-posted-online

I take back what I said about how this was going to be old school animation with less CGI. The new poster, with the added figures (presumably main characters) says its going to be CGI-heavy. Sigh...

Travel Bitten

The Great Escape
Have you ever heard of a place where you can go to and forget all your worries and chores? Such a place has been identified before, and rumour knows it by many names: Arcadia, Halcyon, the Hesperides, Haven, Paradise, Eden, El Dorado, East, and also West of the sun and the moons. The truth is, such a place has no name at all, and the splendour of it as it is described accordingly is but a pale shadow of what it is to really experience the place yourself. It is after all, a place where your desires are true and anything can happen, as long as you will it to be so.
However, to describe this place is to impose limits on your store of possibilities, and render it finite. Yet, a complete refusal would mean to deny oneself of a dream of blissful happiness, even if that dream is but a painted picture, a handful of coloured glass, mere effluence of a wholly inadequate nature.

And we realize this only at a point

Where they lapse like a wave breaking on a rock, giving up

Its shape in a gesture which expresses that shape.

-- John Ashberry.

I could sit here all day and look at pretty pictures, rendered all the prettier by some photo editing programme, and yearn to jump into that world in front of me, or I could get myself a plane ticket and see the wonder as it is in reality. A reality that I suspect will be at once grander in scale and yet only half as exciting as the colours on my computer screen

Poster Talk: Ponyo on a Cliff

image source: http://www.ghibliworld.com/news.html

More anime posters! This one is from Studio Ghibli's latest fare, Ponyo on a Cliff, directed by the venerable Miyazaki Hayao of Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi) and Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) fame. Word has it that he is going back to his roots too, and CGI will take a back seat... wait. this sounds familiar... Anyway, it is true that unlike his last 3 works, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl's, Ponyo will feature more hand-drawn water coloured art.
Anyway, what you see up there is most likely the official movie poster for the film as so far, what's released on the net appear to be colour sketches for the film and unlikely as poster material. The guy in the middle is Suzuki Toshio, the publicity guy and producer for many many Miyazaki films, since Miyazaki has a habit of not talking to the press. Nevertheless, back to the topic.

The Ponyo poster is cute. Er. Actually, when I saw this, I got into a sulky mood since this really doesn't say anything more about the film than what fans I suspect, already know (namely, that it is about a 5 year-old boy who rescues a goldfish princess). Well, actually it does. The target audience seems to be about five years old. Darn. The sulky mood as some might have guessed is that the film really seems too kiddy for me to enjoy, which is sad. The theme song is also highly simplistic, almost like a nursery rhyme. Ungh. I'm almost worrying that this will end up something like Panda! Go Panda! which is beyond kiddy. Even young-at-heart adults would have found that painful to watch.

The poster's candy colours are appealing though. After the muted palettes in Spirited Away and Mononoke-hime, there seems to be a move towards pastels and bright pinks and yellows and blues - Howl's coat was...colourful to say the least, though echoes of the intricately decadent design from Spirited Away lingers in some of the scenes. Here, in Ponyo, I think there will be less of that decadence and rich art and that it'll look looser in design. I think the deep red from Mononoke and Spirited Away will also be taking a step back, if not from most of the film, it will be in the advertising. Besides, red is really too strong a colour when advertising for children.

Am I being subjective?
Yes.

At any rate, I am wondering if I will be giving this film a miss. Haha. Who am I kidding?

Wired on Wireless

Ohhohohoho. I am connected. My laptop is connected. Yay! I spent last night growling furiously about how I had limited connectivity on my laptop... and this morning I went online and had 2 read a bunch of messy forums and finally discovered the network key given by stupid singnet was a wrong one... sheesh.

Happy-esque

If happiness is a measure of wealth, then I am pretty poor.

Poster Talk: The Sky Crawlers

image: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-06-20/oshii

Right, this is Mamoru Oshii's latest film which I refered to in an earlier post. The poster has been out for some time and I can't gush enough about it. The design is deceptively simple. Some people naturally would complain that like their first teaser advert of blue sky and fluffy clouds, this poster tells us absolutely nothing about the film. I agree. The poster says very little, and I don't know Japanese, so it's worse, since the taglines are beyond my comprehension too. Nevertheless, allow me to endeavour with gushing.

Firstly, before we get anywhere, a caveat. I am one of those people who are overly fond of blue skies dotted with clouds, so I am defintely approaching this from a biased point of view. If we had that Oz poster, I would assure you that blue skies and a rainbow would have found it's way into the poster somehow. In my defense, it would have fit the theme very much.

Right, so, on to the Sky Crawlers poster. It's nice. The simple design is refreshing. If you park it next to posters that try to squash as many famous faces as humanly possible into the frame, it'll be crowded, looks like a star vehicle (which the film likely is), and more importantly, looks as though it is trying too hard. A poster like this stands out from the rest because of it being opposite - sparse composition, and no stars or characters or various other objects to distract from its clean design. And because minimalist is always tasteful of course.

If you ask me, this poster works for me because it tantalizes. Rather than trying to overwhelm with information, instead, it refuses to say anything, which induces curiosity. Far more can be said by remaining politely poker-faced and inviting speculation. Having said that, I would also add that such a poster attests to several things already. One, it is about aviation. Definitely. Two, it is definitely a wistful sort of film, not in the vein of Ghost in the Shell, which is all cyber punk; this one looks nostalgic, old school. CGI will be taking a backseat here. Three, it's attempting to straddle arty and commercial. In other words, it is tailored for the young movie going crowd. The plot, I suspect, won't be hard to follow at all, and there will be humorous bits.

All guesses of course. I have not watched it yet, and there is only a miserable short trailer out. I wonder if they'll be bringing in this to Singapore, this and Miyazaki's new film... At any rate, a pretty poster, and it says a lot. Really.

Burnt

Add to list of things wanted:
Ability to Mentally cause combustion Of little papery bits of unwelcome nEws

The 200th Post: Academe's Supergirl

Academe's Supergirl

***

She scans books with a single glance,

She scales CAP with a single bound,

Wields a pen like a a blazing lance,

And gets A pluses all around.

***

Strange Thoughts

What is the Spring Equinox:

In certain parts of the world, this would mean that the length of day = the length of night, and you either chant a lot or dance a lot or do both. In the grander scheme of things, it means that sometime in late March, the sun is directly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and the North pole and South pole (same difference) or directly overhead at the Equator. This of course is not an issue to people living at the Equator since the weather is indistinguishable all year round except for certain periods of more rain (therefore wetter) or less rain (hotter). It's even harder to predict now, when it rains one week and then is boiling for the next.

Further out in the twilight of space, where the sun is but one bright spark surrounded by more bright sparks, the Spring Equinox is a phenomenon unheard of... As such aliens to Earth need not bother.

Wanted

WANTED:

$000,000 Cash REWARD

for

House of Many Ways

Vintage buttons

Black Jeans

Plain canvas shoes

Pretty ear studs

Dorian Gray

Sky Crawlers

Ponyo on a cliff

Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Empire of Ivory

Black Powder War

Life of Pi (illustrated)

Ballet flats

Tickets to Pillowman

A good Mystery/Detective Novel (any recs?)

Vanity Fair

Kite Runner

Murphy's

Ruined my aunt's comp trying to email MOE. What luck eh. The thing black screened.


Oh, and left-handers rejoice! The (possibly) ONLY left-handed mouse in NUS can be found on the left-hand side of the library, that is, if you enter from the Quiet Study Area side...

The Book Post: House of Many Ways preview

image: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/diana-wynne-jones/house-of-many-ways.htm

Hohoho. The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.
I'd actually heard about this late last year, but didn't want to be too happy till the news was official. And you can't get any more official when the cover's out.

The book will be released in May/June 2008, which is...really soon! I hadn't expected it to be so fast, since the news was still pretty much the kind of "I heard so and so say so" sort of rumour. At any rate, I just want to blabber on about the cover for a bit.

Firstly, I was hoping for a more exciting cover. Or something with curly font, and this cover, with its straightforward vertical lines and realist style just doesn't do for a author who has had a habit of breaking stuffy societal conventions. Secondly, just because she is British, and her characters speak with (I can imagine) a crisp upper-class-ish accent (Chrestomanci) doesn't mean they would like that apalling Victorian era yellow wallpaper print on the bottom half of the cover. In other words, this cover is boring, even if I have to admit that this gradual melting of wallpaper prints into multiple doors is a rather nice concept.

On the other hand, I see what might be an homage to Miyazaki and the animators at Studio Ghibli. If you squint at the top right corner of the cover, you'll see this castle-shaped blot that looks suspiciously like the ramshackle thing Howl puts together in Hauru no Ugoko Shiro, right down to the turrety things rising out of the mist, and which seems to echo the opening scene of the film.

The great thing is, obviously, there is another DWJ book out to read really soon. I can't really be bothered about the cover (yeah right) so long as there is something inside to read, though a nice cover that does justice to the book contents really helps too. Of course, i can't say what the content of this book would be like, but I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be good...

In other news, fans of Mamoru Oshii, long time rival and some time collaborator with Hayao Miyazaki would be pleased to know if you haven't already known, that his new film, Sky Crawlers is due to be released some time this year.

Satisfaction

Guiltless Sleep. Lots of it. None of those "I can''t go to sleep because my holiday is ending soon, better make the best out of it" things or those "I can't go to sleep because that bloody essay is haunting me" rubbish

Lots of cheap fiction

House

A house

Veoh would buffer faster

Anime.

Fansubbers would sub faster

A pair of white school shoes

Pale green, pink, and bright yellow fabric paint

Vintage buttons

A blank notebook to start anew in

A reboot of this semester

Dissatisifaction

Is a hard thing to cure.
It's not something chocolate, hot tea with lemon, or a hug can fix.
It's not something the doctors can operate on.
It's not something that will go away by itself.

I think I need a sabbatical even if it isn't the seventh semester yet.
I think I need to climb Mt Kinabalu. And then live in a wooden hut for a month with the birds and monkeys and caterpillars and consuming only fruits and vegetables everyday. Up high, there aren't any mosquitos, so I think I would actually get some meditation done, unless there are flies of course.

And maybe I'll come home satisfied.

The Book Post

If you are very free and want something to read and like dragons:

His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik. Quite a fun and light book. Yay.

Personally, I shouldn't even be reading stuff outside my school work. I haven't even started on Love's Labour Lost yet

BarberQ

Going to a BBQ and meeting the people you haven't met in a while or people you've never met at all is like watching Sweeney Todd.

Really.
It was

fun
disturbing

(slightly)
and

ended
too

Soon.

(Mostly, I just liked the title, so there, an analogy is born.)

Skin

Don't worry if you are feeling overwhelmed.

This brilliantly coloured skin would only be around for the CNY hols. Guess I was feeling festive in advance, to make up for the essay and presentation hell after that...

What my stomach told me

On Saturday, I watched kappa eat the delicious fish bee hoon from downstairs and felt hungry even though I had breakfast not an hour ago. It was a sign. Now there isn't anymore fish bee hoon downstairs. The entire store, fish and bee hoon have up and disappeared.

And then, another era fades away. Though, in this case, more like abruptly came to an end.

The day the printer died

Damn damn damn damn.

Which is why I hate cleaning up. Everything works before it is cleaned up, packed away or thrown. Dunno why. The fates insist on a dirty shelf perhaps.

When Skool happens

The Skool Survivor Scheme
An Easy Guide to Follow and Adhere by

Being the unique and utterly useless treatise on subjects of mild interest
By MsF

First and most obvious thing: Your Bag: Always bring one with you. You never know when piles of textbooks would suddenly drop in on you, and a bag is always handy for such circumstances. You don't actually want to be seen lugging these evil creatures about do you? Therefore, for the 1st week, and I mean the first 7 schooling days, a big bag. After that, you don't want to be seen with the mother of evil creatures - the unsightly big bag do you?

Second and of secondary importance: Shoes: Comfort is important, but then so is newness. New shoes, are bought for not only comfort, but also speed and infinite stairs.

Third, which is not so much 3rd as in conjunction (in anticipation of murphy's law), or as is most often the case, followed by: plasters: Tucked in said big bag / underneath demonic new shoes / jeans pockets

Four, for: Fun (last chance, really)

Fifth: The Essential Element: A notebook. Electronic or otherwise. Remember to get it updated, change your passwords, especially if they have expired...

Sixth, and final, which is for Patience, for getting down to here, you don't quite need the advice, but still, be patient with the new, the unwelcome, the housekeeping and general sense of getting down to slaving away.

A Long Time Away

Hah! Realised that I haven't blogged in a really long while. As you can see, phone died, and I had to get a new one... A Sony Ericsson! Now, I've always been a Nokia user, and the switch is confusing. Apart from pressing the wrong buttons a lot, the charfer plu seems to like the switch at home a lot, and refuses to be unplugged unless extreme violence is undertaken by yours truly.

Apart from that, happier memories: cycling at Pasir Ris! Aside from getting midly sunburnt (ugh! have I been holed up fpr so long that i've forgotten what sunlight is??), it was nice just to go out and do so excercise. If I keep up the illusion that my tummy looks flater after all that biking around, I think I'll be cycling a lot more from now on. Now, if anyone were wondering what happened to the so called attractions on Sentosa, I can tell you where they moved to...
Pasir Ris Park!

No kidding, there has sprung up, among other things, a pony ride! I'm not sure how much it costs, but its conveniently placed next to this carpark, but not so conveniently placed for those coming from DE, as it's a good 15 minutes bike ride away (and very far by foot). It wasn't very amusing, but I suppose little kiddies would like the ponies very much, even if they pee and poop and all...

Still, it was a nice day out... Sigh... School's reopening in two weeks's time. Darn.

Contact

My phone which got its screen fixed, is now unable to get reception. No matter how much I try waving it in the air or doing other sane things to make it work. You can start smsing/calling me though as I've switched to a spare phone that my dad picked up in his taxi.. At least it can send smses/calls.

Contact

Dear all.

My phone has just died. That had involved a lot of shouting, screaming etc, and one very stupid sister who has a lot of money to pay my repair bills. Don't bother trying to call or message me for the above reasons until further notice.

Thank you.

Whoop

I had something to say here... I can't remember what. So.. what you'll get instead a nice little happy post about how my exams end tomorrow. Or maybe, that is what I wanted to say.. really, about from gloating that I get free preview tickets to watch Vexille next week.

Greedy me wonders greviously why we don't get free preview tickets to Stardust, or The Golden Compass, or rather, when I want to watch something, it's the exams... or essays. Still, am super happy. I only hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, because if it does it totally ruins my plans...
This, people, seems to be the beginning of a beautiful holiday

Examinus Lazuli

Dear doctor:
My head aches, and my nose is runny. It's not a flu because I don't have a fever, and I feel sleepy only if I look at my revision notes. Perhaps I am allergic to paper? No? Oh yeah, I've written on them ever since I could write (or scrawl or doodle). In any case, do you think you could write me an excuse? I don't want to take my exams.

Thank you.
m.F.

Inundated

Do I wake or sleep?

The past week has been nightmarish really. Will turn into a paper eating zombie at this rate. Well, actually I've one more essay to go, but I guess that can be ignored for now. Am dead tired... But I guess that waking up at 7 says something about being tired but having a damned essay to do. Alrighty, enough with the complaints. But then, it seems like all I have to do are essays. Or reading. Or more essays. This isn't a complaint, its more like a sigh of resignation. But still, the weather hs been lovely, and I can't say I'm not relieved that it hasn't been baking hot, but nice and cool. There's nothing like waking at five AND having to endure bloody heat...

Had a muffin for breakfast, and now i kinda realised that I ate a piece of the wrapping to boot... Hmm. Paper zombie?

The Stolen Child
-W.B. Yeats-

WHERE dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scare could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering troutA
nd whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand

Observations IV

There is this person in a long-sleeved shirt and pants snoring in the library. I can't concentrate.
Hungry too.
Why Why Why

Reading and Writing

MF:Gooood evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Ms Fickle's Mind Live! Interview, where you get to meet such extraordinary persons that you won't think to meet! (and will never meet, Peace be upon you) As for tonight, let's see just who we have tonight at the studio!
[camera pans right to cushy armchairs]

MF:Ah! I see that we have the excellent Master Reading here in the studio tonight with us! [chorus of excited murmur]
MF: So! Master Reading! What a pleasure it is to meet you in person! I am told that as it is the end of the semester, you have seen a slight dip in those who follow Readership.
MR: [Sourly] It is expected of course. But those who turn away ultimately return during the exams. I am not overly concerned by this.
MF: I see! How nice it is to see you so unconcerned... As a matter of fact, you have been criticised by some as being rather autocratic. Your followers complain that they have been often coerced into Reading textbooks and research.
MR: [waves one hand nonchalantly] I quite fail to see it as my problem. Insofar as I see it, they'll just have to deal with me in whatever way they can. [smirks] Seeing as they can't escape me anyway.
MF: Oh dear. Perhaps this might exlain why in the mean time, Readers have turned to your more charming cousin, Sir Essay Writing. I hear that at least he has been more democratic in dealing with his er. essayists.
MR: Democratic? I hardly think so. He may be as you call it, more "charming", but he is no less demanding than I am. Though I do admit that the effort put in on working on essays are strictly on a voluntary basis. Flattery may get you somewhere with him, but not me. I am not so two-faced. [looks at clock on the wall impatiently] Is it over yet? I did not ask for this ridiculous interview did you know? I am a busy person.
[link terminated]

Booklist

Revived an old list of "to read" books, and decided that I have to update it..

List of Books to read:
-Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman [finished!]
-The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro [finished!]
-The Magic Toyshop, Angela Carter
-The Gormenghast Trilogy, Mervyn Peake [it's STILL sitting at home]
-Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips
-American Gods, Neil Gaiman [I never seem to get round to reading it]
-Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
-Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
-100 Great Books in Haiku, David Bader
-The Misanthrope: and other plays, Moliere
-The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
-Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders, Gyles Brandreth
-The Time Traveller's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

The Irrelevent Post

Hmm. So life continues on, without stopping (as usual) for a breather, while I sit back and admire the lovely mess I've created. Went back to school yesterday, forgetting it was a public holiday, and naturally, everything was closed, my readings stuck behind the wretched glass wall... No matter, I suppose, so I went back home, and scowled at the review I was supposed to be writing, while simultaneously planning this other essay I've got... the one of many other essays to come, but I needn't complain. I forsee all-nighters in the not too distant future. And I haven't finished reading Jane Eyre. And I have a presentation on it.

I do wish I can cough up 10 page research papers in a day... I hear you have to do something similar if you want your PhD... Incidentally, PhD; I don't know how many of you actually know, but it doesn't mean Permanent Head Damage as many of us know it as, but A Doctor in Philosophy. Weird, especially when there actually ARE doctors of Philosophy out there... i.e. the profs at the Philo Dept (where else).

Right then, back to my point about writing essays fast. I really don't have all day to sit around waiting to be inspired, but it happens, and I glaze over the essay/review/write-up/report/proposal/research paper and half the day is gone. Talk about time passing...

Lost lost lost

Why oh why can't I go through a semester without losing something?!
Last sem, it was my earring and nearly a textbook, and this semester it has to be my thumbdrive. The worst part is. I don't even remember where I lost it. Or HOW. Did I leave it hanging on a computer somewhere (most likely right). Mercifully, most of my stuff are in the other thumbdrive and my laptop, but still! Waaaaaaaaaaah.
Come to think of it, I also lost a newly topped cashcard too. All on campus. Damn damn damn!

Am feeling like an idiot. And miserable to boot. My faithful thumbdrive.. that saw me through the busted laptop period...lost. gone forever. taken by some twit. ungrateful twit at that.

Observations III

Well then. Where are my slippers? I can't go out without my slippers! Who has taken my slippers? Mom?! Have you seen my slippers?

And so. I wear my sister's slippers, which are a tad too big for me cos my feet are smaller than hers, and slip and slide all the way and frantically cling on to the staircase in case I fall down...

Where do I start?

I could start by burning all my books. And papers. Yes. In particular those. There's too much of them.

Small Things

Having decided finally what topic I want to do for my Japanese film paper (hail all Ghibli fans), am feeling much better. The vague sense of anxiety which has plagued me for the last two weeks is over (for now), and I can move on to other matters that as time passes, become even more and more pressing, thanks to time's ability to move forward without you noticing. This means datelines loom forever closer, even as I space out thinking of smart things to say in my ultra smart Romanticism class, whom some are already marked out for not being appreciators of Coleridge. Mwahahahaha. The reason that I'm wrecking things to say are twofold:
One, which is also the most pertinent, is that my CA grade depends on it, and Two, because umm. come on, one must defend what one likes even at the great risk of looking stupid. Then again, I am not sure I like critiquing what I like in the first place... I mean, I'm not even sure I like doing lit this way, which is to say, critiquing it. I feel like I'm not up to it, not to mention, these are great writers. How the hell do you criticise them and where do you start???

Life is beautiful.

The Incoherent Raving Review of Ratatouille

Oh my god it was soooooo cute my goodness the animation is absolutely brilliant did u see that did u see that? it's amazing what did they to the fur it looks like real fur for crying out loud i mean seriously it waves, the action is so smooth and the way the mouse i mean rats move! they are sooooo fat and tubby and just sooooo cute! aieeeeeee!!
It's a very simple story.
Of course it is! the best stories keep things simple sniffle i love it how touching...
alfredo linguini did u know you can order alfredo linguni for lunch? alfredo is a triple cheese spaghetti and if you prefer linguini you can actually order an alfredo linguini hahahahaha how weird is that?

Well.

If you made it through all that.. not bad. Pity. Because here is the coherent version, which you can actually read.
An excellent little film and all that. Pixar-Disney have done it again. Personally, I thought, with the Incredibles (I hated Incredibles. Who hates Incredibles too?) and Cars, they were on a downhill... but yippee! It seems they have found the right ingredients for the perfect Disney flick again! Whee and whoop and all that. Apart from all that raving, let's see if I can get a proper review done up...

Ratatouille is a cute little film indeed. The animation is absolutely world-class, if it can even be classed as such. Perhaps a more helpful description would be to say it was first rate animation that did justice to one of the mightiest animation houses. The fur looked real. The hair looked real (you can actually see the maroon highlights on one of the characters) and the food. I felt like chewing the screen. Apart from the tech involved, story-wise, it isn't quite anything new, but then who needs new? Chock-full of silly witty puns that actually work and lovable characters, the film would win over the sourest critic. Which goes to show, really, how important being earnest is, and a timely reminder that brilliant animation is nothing without content. (Think Incredibles... or any really lousy animation you had just watched)

Observations II

The best way to stop your nose from dripping like a leaky water-tap is for some complete stranger to offer you tissue.

____________________

Of course. It rains when I'm wearing jeans and freezes when I'm in skirts or berms.

Theatre

Oh spare me. WHY is there a couple two rows in front of me???? As if what I'm watching isn't sappy enough... Plus, she's blocking half the stage (leaning heavens knows where (and you know too)), and creating a gulf between every on-stage couple. Love. can be so selfish.

Observations

me: Excuse me, do u have the Studio Ghibi box set?
salesperson: Hah?
me: Studio Ghibli box set.
salesperson: .... Studio Jimmy?
me: you know. Japanese animation? Spirited Away? Howl's Moving Castle?
salesperson: We don't sell here...
__________________

salesperson: Oh. sold out.

.............

Good grief. And that is why, ladies and gentlemen, mini skirts are a stupid invention. (You'll never see me in one) You can't run for the train with them. Well, maybe you can. propel yourself forward by kicking out stiff-kneed without your feet actually leaving the ground. Think can can with reluctant leg kicking.

.............

The fickle mood strikes again

Once again decided to give blog a facelift. As if I haven't a ton of other things to do...

School. That ominous word.

Oh poor me with poems to read
Oh poor me with films to heed
Oh woe me with too much on my plate

What do numbers mean?
Word-counts of course, to take away hope's gleam
Whinewhinewhine: school life takes away all the fun
Even though woe is still miniscule
Compared to others and what's to come.

Burnt out

Worked worked worked like mad today, shifting music scores in a certain new school library in a particular part of Singapore, descriptively speaking, it's somewhat near Little India, somewhat near Bugis and basically existing in Nowhere-near-anywhere.

Had lunch at Cafe Cartel with Kappa, which incidentally is also my day-at-the-new-swanky-better-than-nus-looking-library mate. Not bad and all, only it was quite a walk to get there, the nearest being at Doby Ghaut and neither Bugis or Little India.

The good bits were having a preview of a swanky new school, before it becomes infested with students, and of course, having HP 7 returned to me, which I happily hugged protectively for a few seconds (seconds, people. It was a public bus stop for crying out loud. Exposing my precious for longer than neccessary might entice robbers), and of course, discussing the various things there are to discuss in the aftermath of reading. The library had aircon, so that was ok. The work isn't however, and for what must be the umpteenth time, I wonder why there aren't more guys who work in the library because the scores are heavy, and the shelves require self-assembly (already done thankfully when we arrived), and the scores were heavy.

whinewhinewhine
whinewhine
whine

In any case, time seemed to fly when you're having fun, in spite of yourself and the work, and we discovered that it was already waaay past 4 when we left. The library continues to be in a state of shambles, but I suppose they'll be done by the end of the week... hopefully. I miss the library. And to think I used to shelf books as my CCA...

Readreadread

Reading list for next semester (not including the various poets)

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -- James Joyce
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit --Jeanette Winterson
The Bloody Chamber --Angela Carter
To the Lighthouse -- Virginia Woolfe
----
Wuthering Heights -- Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre -- Charlotte Bronte
3 Gothic Novels -- 3 different people

SEVEN BOOKS! HOW am I supposed to finish them?!

HP 7

Msfickle would like to extend a warm invitation to you all who would like to join her in salute of the Boy Who Lived for the very last time...

The seventh and final book is out and surprisingly, there're still copies floating about out ther in shops.

NO SPOILERS, IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING...

Have just finished the final book without hearing a single wretched spoiler from anybody! Wheeeee!!! There was a moment there, in Chinatown... but I heard wrong (by accident), so yay for me!!

The ending is silly. Just so you know what I think about it, and do read past volumes, if you haven't heard any spoilers yet. Very very worthwhile to do so.

Am now unable to sleep. Too excited. Go. Sleep.

5 Dollars

Watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix today at the very cheap price of $5 at PS. Feel envious. mwahaha. Well, thanks to the movie, am now dying for next Sat to come. You know... 21st July. =D =D =D =D =D =D =D

Eternal Sleep

And there goes another one... to doze in the fields of eternal sleep.

Actually. What happened was this. We needed to bury our poor hamster that had died. There was a cleaner in the way, which meant playing a game of dodge and peek and discreetly standing around until he has left. Then, hastily dig a hole in public grass and bury the poor bugger. I've never been so pissed at a cleaner before for being diligent.

Perhaps I ought to be weeping distraughtly, but.. it's the eighth one that went, and the 6th we've buried. I'll miss them all. Somewhere out there, they're happy. Or at least, it's my hope that they aren't sad.

Baking disaster

Ok, so... the chiffon cake was stuck to the cake tin. Any ideas anyone? Had to use a knife to scrape it out. The cake had the wrong consistency too. Maybe whisking by hand wasn't good enough? So, how did people bake chiffon cakes then, before the days of electronic beaters? Hmm? Hmm?

I feel ill. Over indulged on cake.

Time Travelling

So.... guess what this slacker was doing today....

-- Went back in time of course... you know, by leaping off staircases and diving boards...

The Girl who Leapt Through Time (aka Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo) is an animated feature film directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Right now, it is only released in Cathay cinemas, so forget that Lido or Vivo screen... Unfortunately, it isn't showing at the AMK Hub cinema either. A pity, since a grand total of 3 cineplexes in Singapore screen this film.

Anyway, it's one of those films where, well, mercifully, there isn't any guns or some guy getting beaten up or, for that matter, beating someone up. That doesn't mean it isn't funny or exciting though, because it is. The main character is utterly selfish, meddlesome, and totally amusing in her attempts to matchmake her friends, eat pudding and pass her tests with flying colours by turning back time. Still, you've got to give it to her, she does succeed... at all three.

There is something about this kind of film that works so well. I laughed at it of course.. but then, I suppose it's safe to say that the whole audience laughed with it. Perhaps there is something naive in the way the film portrays youth, but then, it is that, that best captures that innocence that the young supposedly are endowed with... Whatever.. huh.

I'm scaring myself talking like that. Let's just say a little innocent fun and nostalgia wouldn't kill us... it's nice to see a film that doesn't try to be arty, but somehow manages to be arty, and successfully, if you ask me. It's a sentimental film, utterly sweet and slapsticky, which is something I suppose only the Japanese are capable of producing... All the same, great film.

A Riot of Colours

I never did get this: why is a bunch of many different colours a "riot"? What? Are they going to rebel?

And when the sunlight struck the window in full force, the coloured glass in it threw forth multiple points of glittering light.

The blues, reds and white decided to get together, against the reds, yellows and greens, throwing the world of colours into great disorder.

Blue: Hey! How come you're on their side too, Red?

Red (to great protest from the oranges): Why ever not? Being on both sides is also a side.

"If you want to talk about sides, then technically, you all should be on mine," adds White.

Red and Blue: Shut up, you!

"If we get together, we can unite and stand against Black," White continues, albeit sulkily.

Hey! Don't get me involved, I'm not a colour! - Black.

Thus, the colours went back to rioting...

Bed Breaking Work

Oww oww oww oww. My new mattress came in today, which means removing the old mattress, and putting in the new mattress, which is heavy. To my utter horror, the new mattress is waaay taller than my old one, and now I feel as if I'm miles away from the ground. The new mattress is also a lot heavier, which makes this somehow...tragic. I feel as if I've been heaving dead bears about, (which to all intentions and purposes I might as well have). Then, of course, I'll have to forget to put the mattress protector on first... and have to remove my beautiful work and start all over again.

Hail all hotel room service. Those beds are NOT fun to change on a daily basis.

Train

After sulking all morning and letting myself getting all pissed for stupid reasons, I'm feeling better (and benign), hence I might as well blog about the mime performance I went to watch and was blown away by...

First things first, The Train, by Dramatic Company Cho-In is a South Korean mime performance brought in specially for... you guessed it, the Singapore Arts Festival! Wheeee! When I first saw the poster and it said "festival outreach programme", I was convinced and prejudiced (with reasons of course) into thinking it was a kiddy show... The poster showed a bunch of mime artists typically painted inn the usual clownish manner and that the programme said it featured a "magician couple" made me think: this is for kids. The number of kids being brought by their yuppie aunties and parents to the show didn't make me feel any better, not to mention, instead of distributing the programme at FOH, they were giving out fliers for other shows... I had to go to the flier rack at the sistic counter in Esplanade to get it. =(

In any case, The Train is for kids the way Spirited Away is for kids. In other words, you wouldn't feel as embarrassed as you would normally feel if you were watching, say, Ronald MacDonald on your primary school stage... Speaking of Spirited Away, does anyone remember the faceless train conductor from the film? There are some eerie similarities between the conductor and the station master in the mime act... Both of them were stern sorts.. and faceless. If I happen to find a picture of the station master from The Train, it'll go up here and you all can compare. There must be something universal about train conductors/station masters...

Note: The picture on top isn't the train conductor from Spirited Away, but this is the closest I could get to finding a match....

See the resemblance?

Apart from that, the performance was really good... Not one word, but my attention was gripped throughout the whole show. Then, there was the scene where it snowed, well, fake snow of course... but still, it was very pretty. And you wouldn't believe the acting... I think it's pretty hard for a girl to play a bratty little boy. Yup. Not easy at all, but you'll believe that it was a boy and girl on stage where they are still obviously female actors...

W*e

Am sulking this morning, and therefore in no mood to post properly about the mime performance I went to watch last night. Better not in fact... a bad review might get me sued. It's rather funny really, that in this (day and age) time, people can get sued for not-even-complaining about distant big brands (am I gonna get sued for this, immensely large organisations???) whilst getting away with flaming people they do know. I do wonder which is a worse crime. Well, actions speak louder than words. I stand by my A**r post because everyone gets what A**r is anyway. If you don't, it doesn't matter.. And anyone suing a blogger is silly. As if ******** really works. And I'm being sillier for listening to that voice-in-my-ear (NOT my conscience). WHY is it that I don't listen to myself but hang on to what others say? And now I'm complaining about myself. Great. Actions that speak louder than words.

On the Other Side of the page

Wow. The first thing that has to be said about SPH is that they have nice air-con. This is how pathetic I must have felt thanks to a wrong turn around what should have been my old turf and walking on the baking tarmac of an unsheltered carpark... walkwalkwalk ... instead of under the nice cool void deck. Ended up dripping sweat under a rain tree (the sort that comes with nasty green caterpillars) outside SPH and wondering how people wearing long sleeved shirts can walk about and not fall into a heat induced dead faint.

Back to the air-con... nice.

Apart from that, I sat on the fringes of the ST office... on a chair/bench that wouldn't have looked out of place at the dentist's, i.e. a really posh dentist. There were even framed photographs facing the bench/chair; of the sort that you can find at clinics.
It just occurred to me... does the ST office get that many visitors? Still, it was a nice chair, and it's nice meeting up with old friends and sneaking into offices. I'm probably only several metres from writers I see in Life! everyday.

Notebook Woes

Got my darling* laptop back yesterday afternoon. They wiped my hard disk. Clean. =( Lost all my handphone photos. I'd thought I had made a backup for them... Guess not. Had to re-install messenger, MSOffice and a bunch of other stuff. Humph. It's just as well I had backed up all my documents.. would have been a major loss if I hadn't... Mysteriously enough, the 1st time I went to the repair centre, just about everybody who was there as well had an A**r in tow... Sad. At least, on the day I went to get it back, there weren't any other A**r toting cases... just me and a guy with a M*****k... Nevertheless, there is still something wrong with A**r laptops if you ask me...

Because apparently I'll might get into trouble for writing what everyone knows anyway...
*Still sulking: guess no one shall know the brand of my beloved laptop now anyway...

Ode to Ice-cream on Hot Days

It's hot today. Yesterday night, I left my handphone at my grandmother's house and had to double back after dinner for it. Bought my first blue ice-cream. =D Ate like 3 of them already.

Lovely, lovely, lovely blue ice-cream...

Maybe I should write a sonnet about blue ice-cream... ... What, in any case is a sonnet?

The Booke Faire Chronicle

Day 1: Sat, 26th May
In which one meets one's new colleagues and seizes up the competition

The morning shift included some rather eclectic people. Curiously, we were all from a so-called arts background. I suppose only us will be stupid enough to take on this job. Our booth had two open sides (one length and one breadth), since we shared two walls with an electronic goods booth and a myopia education booth, i.e. we are a corner booth... On both side of us were our 'friendly' rivals, and truly, they are friendly indeed, since they can't stop smiling: apart from being book fair veterans, they quite outnumber us greenhorns. Was rejected by every customer when attempting to entice them to look at our products.

Friendly rival 1: the Reds. Weapon-of-choice: professional looking and loves to shake hands. Has Rita Skeeter.
Friendly rival 2: the Greens. Weapon-of-choice: hard-sell, jerseys, balloons and a walking vacuum cleaner like thingy that is not a vacuum cleaner.

Day 2: Sun, 27th May
In which one is rejected yet again

The title speaks for itself. Sunday morning was quiet. The same group of girls came in to do a spot of colouring (Finding Nemo colouring book) again. No idea where their parents are. Things only began to pick up after lunch, or at least, slightly before lunch. Everyone going up the escalator to the convention centre seems to be going to Aquarama instead, or maybe it's my imagination. On the way to lunch, met Aaron, who told me he had a set of Americana at home. After lunch, I discovered that our rivals were giving it away for free as a prize in a lucky draw.

No luck still with customers. None of them came into our booth. When I mean none, I do mean none that I approached of course. It doesn't help when our booth is shorter on one side, so the opposite camp can grab the customers first, not to mention their aggressive tactics. By mid-afternoon, it is clear that book visitors have wisened up to our tactics and are avoiding the lanes occupied by us. Rita Skeeter is still annoying.

Day 3: Mon, 28th May
In which nobody comes

A slacky day. Enough said. I can't remember whether i pulled anyone in. Probably not. There weren't many people walking about in the first place. It was the day of the bratty kid, if I'm not wrong. If he isn't lying, he's from Rosyth. Has the attitude of a financial CEO, and is probably not even 10 yet. He said he would have to "consider" buying our product. Good grief. Most of our part-time colleagues have disappeared. Without a trace.

Day 4: Wed, 30th May
In which customers defect to the other side, and one reflects sadly on the gimmicky state of our booth

Back from one day's rest. We chatted to this father-son couple who seemed really really interested in buying. He said he'll consider, and then LATER, they got dragged into opposite camp. (The Reds) The father looks apologetic. At least he did.

Day 5: Sat, 2 Jun
Success at last, and mistaken identities

Our booth has been re-arranged. Now, we have more posters up on the wall, and half of it has become a section for people to sign up language courses. The booth looks tidier, and ever since a large board was placed outside letting people know we do langauges, more customers have been streaming in. Yay. Unfortunately, we were unprepared for talking to them about lang courses (as we weren't taught how). I must have lost a hefty bit of my commision telling them to go back to HQ...

After sitting for 3 hrs (i think), we closed a deal. Not bad, the commission will be split 3 ways. Finally, towards the end of the day, one family came in. They were eager to buy our most expensive set, but the price was a problem... They never came back. Sigh. In any case, for some odd reason, the entire family claims that i look familiar... Maybe that's why I got them to sit down so easily...

Day 6: Sun, 3rd Jun
Closed 2 more deals

The title says it all. It's the end to an exhausting week. ZZZZZZ... Pre-ordered Harry Potter at the same time. Got a second book (worth $15) free.

Thus, my one week stint at the World Book Fair has come to an end. Ugh. I've tried two of the worst jobs anyone could take, apart from cleaners and sweepers i suppose - waitressing (more like odd-job labourer actually) and selling encyclopedias. Up till now, I tend to talk like a salesman and smile too brightly. Hopefully, it's not permanent.

Everyday Heroes

What if, all you had to do to become a hero was leap across the watery chasm to the land beyond? What if all you had to do to become the mighty ruler of a beautiful woodland kingdom was close your eyes, and... keep your mind really open? Your pencil flies across empty paper and then voila! The denizens of Terabithia leap into life from carbon and parchment...

Yesterday, I went to watch Bridge to Terabithia with Shauna. It was a nice movie. The film is based on a book by Katherine Paterson. I used to see this book everywhere in my old secondary school library. For someone who read Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia, this book never once caught my eye. =/ I've always felt that watching a movie was a cheater's way out of not reading the book, since all you had to do was sit there for two hrs and you get what would have been a day's (or more) worth of reading.

In any case, the movie was a good one. Some books translate well into small films about the everyday, while others... become a monumental task. Perhaps the reason Bridge to Terabithia (the film, not the book) resonates so well with me is because I do believe in the power of art in the real world. Some people call art and fantasy the opium of the masses, the bridge to illusions and escapism. Not true, as Bridge to Terabithia tells us - there are trolls and monsters in the real world too, and stories help reconcile us to the fact that they exist and have to be dealt with. The ending may come to shock some, since it is supposed to be a "kiddy" film, but I think it works well by anchoring a fantasy film firmly in reality. No worries, I shan't spoil it for people who are planning to watch it and haven't, and if you aren't planning to... nevermind.

So saying, I still don't intend to pick up the book. I never liked it, because it was attempting to explain to me the value of the imagination and story-making, two things which any reader can easily point out. It's not like you can like these things and not understand the value of fiction. Hence, reading it would have been a pain as the protagonist would have to go through the painful steps to enjoy what it is this frantic and aggreived reader already does. I'll keep saying "I told you so" to the character, which would quite take out the pleasure of the book. It's been said that there are two kinds of readers: the kind that just read, and then there is the other kind. I hope I fall into the second category.

Another Review

I've just finished reading Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman, finally. I've been trying to finish this book, with little luck ever since I first caught sight of it a few years back. Happily, the deed is done and I can go on to other incompletely read books in my holiday reading list. (For example, Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day) In any case, Anansi Boys is...

Let's just say, read it and you'll know. It's a nice little story about finding yourself, through stories, and within stories. As an obsessive-compulsive reader, it isn't too difficult for me to find myself in a fiction world, and it isn't too difficult either to see why Anansi stories are full of wit and wisdom. After all, you take what you need from stories, and each stories' wisdom is peculiar to each reader. Anansi Boys celebrates the power of story-telling, and I don't mean for self-glorification (that's Tiger), but stories' ability to bring laughter and humour to the foibles of human character.

It's all in the attitude, as Anansi would say.

The Dutiful Review

Year Four, and still not graduated I suppose, what with us coming back to watch yet another NY drama performance. It was Othello. Shakespeare's. Not the game. Duh. I remember watching them rehearse. Up till the week before, lines were still being forgotten, and I was wondering if I'll be getting my money's worth. On the whole though, it was clear that the cast and crew had put in their most, and even if I was sleepy (no thanks to medicine), and I didn't half catch what they were saying, I think anyone would agree with me when I say that for any school production, it's the journey that counts. Not the money. Ok... maybe the money too, but sheesh. There was an interval, which was merciful for some (since people who didn't do lit/Othello couldn't understand what they were saying), and not so for others, as they had to keep playing interval music which was oh so helpful when the lecture theatre was so noisy already. Huh. The lt did look really good however...even though the dragon banner on stage was ugly. I mean, seriously, that dragon looked...wormy. A pity. Still, I wonder how much longer we'll be coming back to watch NY drama stuff... It's been 2 years already.

Holiday Fever

I'm sick.

Go Away*.

*pls ignore.

The pros and cons of a Fever:

Pro:

I feel cold. Which is good neh? In this hideous bad warm weather. Free air-conditioning...

Invalids get to boss people around.

Con:

I feel wretched.

I feel lousy.

I feel ILL.

I am going to be ill when I have two busy weeks and a line of activities lined up. Wah.

Cockroach Update

The cockroach died. My dad sprayed it, and it zapped about in its upside down way. In a misguided attempt to spare the critter its pain, I tried to concuss it with the newspaper. It didn't work, and it was only after smacking it (with little effect as far as I can see), it dawned on me that this was a creature that could still be alive if its head got chopped off. There is no concussing of cockroaches. I mean, they are still alive, headless! What's the use concussing them? Cockroaches are a do or die sort. None of your shilly-shallying with the question of health. Darn. You should have seen my sister's face when I told her what I did. Sometimes, kid sisters seem to possess all the sense while keeping none of it for themselves. A pity.

Umm...

There is a cockraoch. No use denying it. And.. it's perched on the computer plug. I feel itchy when I look at it. Eww. Now, it's decided to move. It's on the table now, near the telephone wire. Heeeelllllpppp!!!!

Ok... before I go to bed, should it be the newspaper or the insecticide? Or both?
Plan A, if everything goes the way it should: whack cockraoch while simultaneously spraying it.
Plan B, in the case cockraoch starts flying around madly: spray spray spray! then whack. and spray again.
Plan C: Run away.




Bye.

12 Days Later...

And then the exams are over. You would think I would be elated. I certainly thought so, but then it doesn't work out this way does it... I came home. Smiled maniacally, had a nice bath, ate a nice dinner, and then... couldn't find anything to do. I thought of reading, but the thought really sucked because I feel like I've been reading more than I should have been (and it's true. I HAVE been reading more than I liked.) The next thought was movies! But then, the thought of staring at a screen for 2hrs turned me off, when my mind happily thought in a damned freakish manner (and soooooo... how should this be analysed?) Ugh. I am trying to celebrate my end of exams here!!!! Helllooo!!! Anybody ok up there?? Even reading/watching a mindless (ok, it isn't really) or rather more appraochable piece of pop fiction has become an instinctively analytical task. Darn. Maybe I should just go play pinball on my laptop. At least I don't have to analyse that.
Maybe, tomorrow will be better.

Sparkles

Indulge my obession.. This is soooo pretty!

Be envious

Bought THREE books for the price of TWO. Be reaallly envious of me. =p

On learning from your mistakes

If Man is imperfect, why do we strive for the impossible (i.e. perfection)? Why should making mistakes be so painful?

Things to be doing

3 Down and 2 to go!

Now, I should once again be studying (like really), but I had two depressing head-banging, nerve-wrecking papers today. The first was Lit, and I cannot for my life recall watching that episode of South Park that the exam paper asked me to write about. I don't even recall watching it... Ungh. Philo was worse. I should have studied for it. Instead, felt like sleeping throughout the paper. Darn. I tell you, it's not fair...open book makes you not want to study.

Right now, i shall indulge in A List of Things to do next week.

1)Go Tea Bone & chill
2)Read books
3)Get hair cut
4)Give blog makeover
5)Blog somemore
6)Study for last paper
7)Youtube/Crunchyroll/Veoh... you get the picture

List of Books to read (or planning to):
-Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman [I want! I want!]
-Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami
-Tale of Genji, Lady Murasaki Shikibu [must finish this scandalous book]
-The Remains of the Days, Kazuo Ishiguro [it's sitting at home]
-The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby
-The Magic Toyshop, Angela Carter
-The Gormenghast Trilogy, Mervyn Peake [it's sitting at home]
-and... Georgette Heyer stuff of course. She is like my comfort read. Not the brainy kind. It's the witty kind.

A Reminder that there is life beyond exams

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantmentit is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.


Max Ehrmann, Copyright 1952.

The Exam Hush

Hello everybody!

It's me again! It's the exam period now. So guess what I should be doing... OK, so sociology paper is over.. now it's one down, four to go. I don't believe I have ranted about how abysmal my exam timetable looks (now let's not even start to describe my future grade, but yeah...) My last paper (before anyone else comes up, asks, and then looks smug at me), ends next Friday Afternoon. Good. Now, that's done. What shall I rattle on about next?

Hmmm. Has anyone attempted to study in the library recently? By library, I do mean the one at NUS... It's freaky. It's quiet. It's like that hush before an orchestral concert in the Esplanade... only ten times more stressful. If someone so much as gets off their chair.. u can sense it without looking up. The floor by the way, is carpeted. The chairs by the way are heavy. If anyone walks past... it's as if a rhino or elephant or some huge... African savanna mammmal trotted past. That's how quiet it is.

Maybe I'm exaggerating.. but only a little!!!

Argh!

Please... Keep all dancing in virtuality

A bird caught something wiggly today. Then, when I was politely trying not to stare, since I can't abide by wiggly things, the bird hopped over (wiggly thing in tow), and I had to make a wide berth round it. The two cleaners who were walking out of the rubbish dump area stared. Can't blame them.

Then, an over-excited person decided to spray me with water from her cup. An over-enthusiastic twirl from the chair did that. Never knew playing Audition could get you wet... especially when you weren't the one playing... ...

Sometimes, it's easy to feel what it's like in the twilight zone.

Of ramblings and musings

The deep breath before the leap.
The edge of the cliff.
The space between the frying pan and the fire.
The damne void.

Thou haste reachede the ende of thy roade. Whither will thou go now? To blogge? Or to studye, as a goode student muste? I saye, the ende is also the begininge. Of what? Of depressinge studyynge ande revisione, what else? Buggere alle this. The daye is too beautifule to be spente studyynge. I will blogge insteade; it is a muche bettere occupation to hath.

One of these days...

I was nearly struck by lightning at a certain faculty that shouldn't BE struck by lightning. I fear for my safety when I know these people are the future builders of our wonderful garden city-state...
It doesn't help either that a week later, back at said faculty, the electronic exit barrier at the car park refused to budge, and a whole train of cars and shuttle buses formed. Any longer than it actually lasted and it would have formed a most lovely bottle neck. Anyway, people ended being late for class. No surprises there since we were stuck for a good ten minutes or more... and of course, someone's hp/bus radio (i don't which) HAD to be blarring the damned lyrics "I like the way you move..."
Now, you tell me: can this really be just "me"?

5 Things to do to cure essay block

For all those who suffer from that sub-species of writer's block: Essay Block (EB)!
(And also for those who suffer from the further sub-categorisation of EB: specific EB which only targets certain kinds of essays, like literature essays for instance.)

1. Sleep. Divine intervention might just occur, and your essay miraculously saved. Other than that, it's tons better than agonising over it...

2. Get Drunk. There must be a valid reason why artists, with their famous amount of creative juices are also alcholics and smokers... There is... right?

3. Eat Sweet Foods. Eat something sweet; the walk taken in search of food will also do you good.

4. Play Rabbit Games. This doesn't work. It's just fun.

5. Take a Walk, Ladies. The walk will clear the stuffiness from your brains. Besides, walking around in anguish will ensure that no one will disturb your study territory, since they'll avoid you as they think you've gone mad.

Chat with Su.Z

Me: Hello myself, how have you been?

Moi: Not very good I'm afraid. Why?

Me: Oh...nothing...I'm just sick and tired of my essays, work...MORE essays

Moi: Dear dear...it's not like I have it better. For instance, I'm talking to myself...

Me & Moi: True.

A Lame Joke. Don't take me seriously.

nus: rhymes with "moose", and spells like "nose"

Lost!

Wanted: One blue, heart-shaped earring, lost on campus, between Art and Science Faculty, following the shuttle route: A1/A2.
Disappeared between the time of 1200h-1800h

Reward: My heartfelt gratitude. And MAYBE lunch [not from tent].

Damn you cashcard stealer!!

Beautiful Rain

Once again, I seem to be heading nowhere with my essay, which is due today. I stared at it. And stared at it again. Typed one word. Or two. Then give up altogether. Looking out of the window behind me (I'm in school by the way), I see the top of the trees in the park behind the library and feel a sense of calm. There is nothing like rain to cheer you up; that is, of course when you happen to be inside a building and not outside, which while aesthically pleasing and charming to the eye, is mighty wet. Drippy. Ugh weather to be wearing jeans.

Then, there is the sound of rain which should have been refreshing. Unfortunately, it is currently making me fall asleep. The outside is too pretty to be ignored. I should take a photo, but this is the libarary, and because I'm using the powerpt station, everyone is facing me. Weird stares are NOT welcome.
Right. I am instead going back to my essay.

Horoscope of the day [Libra]: It could be that you feel ignored or that no one is really listening to you today. This won’t actually be the case; it’s a sun/moon aspect that is distorting the way you see things. Indulge in a pampering session or a facial to banish those negative thoughts. A piece of hematite will help too.
From http://www.horoscope.com

Ignored? I'm ignoring MY work...

Food! or CNY (2)

A list of new year goodies at home:
(In decreasing order of what I like best)

1.Rainbow candy

2.Pepperridge farm's rainbow fish [it's not a traditional goodie but who cares?)

3.Kueh bangkit

4.Cornflake pastry/cookie thing

5.Almond cookie

6.Fragrance bak kwa (Lim Chee Guan has fallen out of the list)

7.Garlic cashew nuts

8.I HATE pineapple tarts

9.melon seeds

10.Kueh lapis (I liked this until I found it it's made solely from egg YOLKS)

11. Prawn rolls - every year, this does not fail to give me a sore throat, hence, I am avoiding these

New Year Cheer (1)

So what have I been up to these few days? Hah. Happy indulgence and procrastination of course. Somehow, it seems as if I should begin the new year with an excessive amount of eating, smiling, and visiting and playing host - to the point that I think that the stars are against me doing my work. Just so that you can imagine my horror better - imagine the following scenario happening to you:

You wake up really happy and excited of your break on Fri morning, happily thinking that you'll take a well-deserved break. Then, of course, stupidly, the next day, when you decide you had better get on with your essays, you get writer's block. You just stare at that badly written thing and wonder how you'd accomplish 7 pages last semester without less fuss than this time. Then, of course, all essay writing and mid-term revision goes out of the window at the approach of evening and reunion dinner (yum! Of course, you helped too). The next day is given. No work done. Monday was meant to be the last day you'll be having fun. Turns out your relations arrived and one must you know...smile and be the filial daughter etc. Then, the rest of the day was spent agonising over the stupid essay, with nothing done, and then go to granny's for dinner (not so yum again: after 2 days of meat excess you felt like dying). The highlight was learning how to play mahjong! Lost. Badly.
Tuesday dawned bright and clear in yet another attempt to write essays. Emailed your lecturer about consultation time. Then of course you realised how stupid that was when you haven't eve began writing ANYTHING. Then, in dismal horror you find out it's due this Monday. Plus, there is still that in-limbo essay wailing for attn. Darn.

New Beginnings

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Tis the year of the pig!

Balm for sore feet

On Tuesday, py and me went to watch "Multiple Personalities Disorder" starring solely, Hossan Leong. Apart from almost going to the theatre late (thanks to non-existent waffles), it was a night of laughter, laughter and more laughter. As a measure of how funny the entire performance was, I totally forgot about my sore, blistered feet (thanks this time, to my shoes). Unfortunately, the pain returned, and I had to limp all the way home.
It's rather funny. I remember feeling so utterly light and care free, like all the troubles in the world, ok. my world, at least, had just vanished into thin air. Some people were staring, which I suspect had to do with me smiling in the middle of the stupidly crowded bus stop when everyone else was feeling cranky (bus not coming...bus not coming...). Hah! Who asked them not to go and watch a perfectly laughable show to de-stress!

Actually, I'd plans for a really long review, but it's been two days, and sadly, all that's left is that echo of hilarity, people sniggering appreciatively at the funny bits in the theatre and how, for me, the play had made my week already.
Even if it was only Tuesday.
Even if I'd nearly lost my $50 textbook to the Faculty of Long Staircases (aka Science).
Even if I have two mid-terms, and 3 essays due after Chinese New Year, and several drafts to prepare by next week.
Credit of course, goes to py, who managed, by default of cca membership, to procure half priced tickets.

Old hat, new hat and thinking caps

As usual, this blog has become the place which I visit only because I have nothing else to do. However, before my conscience and weird stares at "nothing to do" arrives to bug me, I'll like to point out that I blog here only when nothing else stands in the way of looking at school work and reading boring course packs. Hence, there really is a lot to do. I'm just not doing it.

So, what's this business with the hats. Right. Reviewing all my tutorials to date, I find myself most enamoured by sociology. Ok, maybe "enamoured" is coming on too strong. Perhaps "like" is a better word. Sadly, lit has been ousted from it's cushy "I love Lit no matter what" position and there must be reasons why this is so.

So let me count the ways:
1) I have done lit for two years - almost instinctively the answers and queries are on the right path. Clearly, I have somehow lost the knack for asking literary questions.

2) This, I suspect have to to do with how I am working less hard at it, plus I fear making a fool of myself when I have not said anything remotely stupid about this subject and fear doing so now.

3) It doesn't help either when you think everyone else is smarter and your lit grade has been sliding.

4) New subjects (like sociology): everyone makes a fool of themselves anyway, so... why not?

5) New subjects (like phliosophy): I am thinking too hard to say anything. Plus, they think so fast! Argh!! Someone should invent thinking caps that come with a mental speed booster.

Actually, 5) doesnt count as to why I can't seem to do lit right now: it's just griping. Then, there is 6): I don't enjoy lit class anymore and I think it's the tutor's fault (partly).

It'll be great if lit was the way it used to be, but then again, no progress means no advancement in my love for this subject right?
Haha. I wish!

P.S. I have also decided to label all my posts (past and present and future). It will be an uphill task though.

A guide to buying textbooks

Book XXX

"The Master said: To buy a book, one should not do so by herself; instead call a friend to do it, and then the book shall be in your grasp."

Black Week.

And it's only Monday.

Clarifications and Updates

Clarification no.1: I do NOT like caterpillars - whether they come in red, black, matching green or modish black n white stripes. Or spots. Or checks. Or whatevers.

Update no.1: My opinion of my current modules as it now stands:
Classical Chinese Philosophy: bewildering and expensive
Geography: I miss geog! What a welcome opportunity for nostalgia and the gd ol' jc days!
Soci: Neutral.
Intro to Film Art: I don't know and I don't care. (See below for explanation)
Genes and Society: Somebody shoot me so I don't have to do this module. Plus. It's expensive.
Film n Cultural Txts: Likewise: a "somebody shoot me situation". It's not expensive though.

What lovely weather we've been having... and I've watched my first film in Spanish! Pan's Labryinth is an excellent film, hence I shall weather Film n Cultural txts because in some vague, currently unknown way, this module will help me better my movie/film watching experience. I can't wait for this semester to end already!

Update no.2: 10 reasons why I should like media studies.

It's er. updated.
It's interesting.
Helps you be consumer aware.
Helps me update myself with the hottest tv programmes, and media trends
It's a little bit like soci and I am neutral to soci.
It's a good break from airy fairy lit.
Some ppl must like it. Pity it isn't me.
One should diversify from dusty moth eaten books [NEVER!]
I like film
I hate ads (now I'll know why)

Clarification no. 2: If it sounds forced, it's only because I'm prejudiced, and am trying to like it. Do help me out by adding on to this list. A semester of surprises indeed.

School Reopening!

Back to school, as usual. When I think about it, I've been in school (different ones of course) for over a decade. How appalling.
6 years in primary school
4years in secondary school
2 years in a junior college
and ___ years to go in university.
In all: 12 full years and one semester (less than 6 months) of academia so far.

Funny how it took 6 years to NOT miss school holidays and dread school. Thank you, secondary school then. And then I think of how it's been like all those years - maths, chinese (horrors). I have the greatest respect for my mother tongue - it's just that it is beyond my grasp; so, come to think about it, is logic. Er. 12 years and what do I have to show for it? School's back - another round of reading (ugh), research (ugh) and essays and projects (double ugh).

Here are my modules for next semester as proof of the amount of reading amd thinking involved. Come to think of it, thinking is hard work too...
Daoism and Confucianism [Qn: WHY am I doing this when I don't even like the idea of patriarchy??]
Film art - an Introduction. [yay!]
Film and Cultural Texts [May I be more consumer savvy with this module.]
Soci [duh.]
Geog [please oh please don't make me go on field trips!! The hot sun...rocky paths...icky humid air...]

Well, at least, with 12 years of studying and exams, tests, pop quizzes and such other "surprises" I can safely say I am as unprepared as I was 12 years ago. A new semester of surprises awaits... not to mention that it's a new year. Whoop.

Merry Christmas!!

Now what is it again?

Peace on Earth and Joy to all Men (and Women)?

Now I can't be sure but who cares?

Merry Christmas to everyone out there!

Going Away

Won't be in Singapore from the 12th to 16th.. Hong Kong here I come!!