crackle

bricks.

the earth is not a cold dead place.

because explosions are coming. it was like a silent wish I had this year, three seconds of my time I never had much faith in and let pass.

(photos by the band)

but now they're coming.

the toughest game of scrabble I ever did play

just ended. I knew there was little chance of me winning against Jacob, but that doesn't change the fact that it's definitely one of the best games I've had. This also means that its the toughest most claustrophobic head wracking game yet, and I'm glad that it's over so that I don't have to ask myself if I'm making up words or they really do exist. (I never thought I'd see the day I could play scrabble with friends overseas).

toughlove scrabulous.

translation sensation sweeping the nation

Plagiarism! Local bloggers have (inevitably) found that local celebrity N. Hudson's book of Malay poetry for children (written apparently when she was a teenager) contains at least three plagiarised poems in it (cute English poems by other people translated into Bahasa Malaysia). I've taken up the call in various comments pages for people to do a 'Hudson' too. Only this time give credit for it, of course.

But honestly, this is no light matter. The first of the three poems 'caught' was a Top Ten Comic Poem in the UK back in 1998. Although some were doubting the first capture, two more poems surfaced which really should erase all doubt for anyone. Bloggers have informed at least one author of the plagiarism. Read the poems & more at Being Chech and Gee Wheez Sudah Malas Menulis, and a long discussion at Bibliobibuli.

So here's my 'Hudson', and since my Malay isn't perfect (yet), I'm doing the reverse, to a Malay poem I remember studying for class in my final year of high school.

Son Of The Sea

Fresh sea winds
recover his longing for the wooden boat,
that fine bubble on the surface
a gateway to his daily
    crab shell
    squid head
    and
    prawn feet sympathies.

Wooden boat upturned
embraced by the sand,
Nets; veins, broken and aged,
The son of the sea sees it all.
he is sailing, almost there
at a more permanent gateway.

translated from the original Malay poem by Rahimidin Zahari,

Anak Laut

Segar angin laut
mengembalikan rindunya pada kolek
bagai buih kecil terapung di air
menjaring sedikit rezeki
        kulit ketam
        kepala sotong
        dan
        kaki udang yang bersimpati.
 
Seperti kolek terdampar di pasir
menampakkan urat jalur-jalur tua
anak laut itu sudah dapat menerka
langkahnya sudah tiba
pada muara Pencipta.

Vox Hunt: It Never Gets Old

Audio: Share a song you could listen to all day on repeat.

this song has a lot of significance for me over the years, if I had to listen to a song on repeat it couldn't be one of the guitar licking world-destroying songs I usually listen to because it'll just make me edgy listening to it so many times. has to be something light, mellow, gorgeous like this. i can play it on the piano. i did once, as a birthday present for someone special when i was broke. it's nice to know that breakups don't necessarily have to ruin certain songs for good.

QotD: Cards & Letters

What do you do with the cards and letters you receive?  Do you keep them all, just keep the photos, throw them away? 

Inspired by jacolily.

I'm a sentimental junkie, I keep as much as I can, wherever I can, and only sort it out a few intervals a year. I didn't ask to be this way, I wish I was one of those people who could remember everything just fine without needing triggers, but alas, my memory deteriorates faster than myself.

PS: if you'd like to add to my wall, please email me and I'll give you a postal address or something.

post-its, postage, postcard, polaroid & paraphernalia wall

semi-five quiz thing.

5 things found in my bag

• my Nikon FM2n
• The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
• flashdrive
• decomposing tissue paper
• a small bottle of tobasco sauce

5 things found in my wallet

• a photo of my mother and sister
• an old five dollar note out of press
• a sushi king card
• my driving license
• a packet of postage stamps from the local philatelic society.

5 favourite things in my room

• my post-its, postage, postcard, polaroid and paraphernalia display wall
• my bed
• my fisheye display wall (you've seen this in my videos!)
• my library
• my laptop
  

5 things I always wanted to do

• jump off a tall building unharmed
• make my car teleport in traffic jams
• travel
• learn sign language
• bring back animals from extinction
  

5 things I'm currently into

• teeny tiny oranges since they're in season
• learning a new language
• learning css
• writing in my paper journal everyday
• reading non-fiction, for a change
  

Top 5 presents I wish for

• a secondhand Nikon D70s body
• fashion sense
• free flights
  
• to get into that university (do not want to jinx master plan)
• to be happy without hurting anyone
  

The person who tagged you is: eirecolleen :)

Your 5 impressions of him/her:
But I'm really bad at doing impressions!

Most memorable thing she has done to you:
showered me with compliments I don't think I deserve

If she becomes my lover, you will
always have fabulous naked photos of myself.

If she becomes your enemy, the reason will be
because her leprechaun beat my toyol IN THUMB WAR

Pass the quiz to 5 people
or just do it if you want! follow, your heart. done job.

learning to love you more.

"In a sense, these are assignments -- in the same way that the ocean gives the assignment
of breathing deeply, and kissing instructs us to stop thinking."

giving shakespeare(bot) the cold shoulder.

giving shakespearebot the cold shoulder.

self-indulgent post on movies and ennui.

I feel like I have been holding my breath for about three weeks. I've lost my footing in my own life, I feel. I've lost track of time, I can't recall what I've been up to; memories and yearnings stretch, other areas are fenced off.

It helps when I've disappeared like this to be reading, a lot, and to watch movies I've been meaning to see. I was happy with the way Atonement was adapted into a film. It's probably one of my most favourite book-to-film adaptations yet, and makes me really worried to see Kite Runner. I also saw Last King Of Scotland because I'm a fan of Whitaker and a side dish of Mcavoy is a plus. That was a pretty ruthless film. I know they compressed a lot of history to get everything to fit in the movie but its pacing made me seriously edgy nonetheless. There really isn't a plot to it (I was screaming for one since I didn't read any synopses prior and the person I was watching it with had already seen the film) just a series of intense events, prefaced with tiny moments that you'll miss if you blink. I thought it was a smart thing to draw the viewers in with a (yummy) Scotsman, since Idi Amin declared himself the last king of Scotland. So it was interesting to see how two completely different people interact alongside each other with that one similarity in mind, sociopolitical blahblah.

I also saw The Good Girl, even though I never cared much for Jennifer Aniston (she was a Friend, a good Friend, and that is all). I did hear rave reviews about the movie and how she anchored it solid (also, a Mike White script!). I was pleasantly surprised. It's one of those quirky dark comedies, uncomfortable but strikes enough chords to stick (I feel bad for describing it like this because it would also be how I describe Punch Drunk Love and I love that movie on a much different level).

This has to be the most self-indulgent post I've written yet. I'm not even caring to make it pretty, or more concise or coherent or readable, I just need to get the movie stuff off my shoulders so I can go accumulate more. Oh okay, maybe I can make it a little more pretty. I'll combine a screenshot and a quote from two of the movies I mentioned in the post. If you don't read the whole damn thing its okay (too late?) but at least read this quote, because I like it.

After living in the dark for so long, a glimpse of the light can make you giddy.

Strange thoughts come into your head, and you better think'em.

Or are you going to the grave with unlived lives in your veins?