| HAPPY 2007! |
[Jan. 1st, 2007|12:32 am] |
( I will be moving! )
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...Because there's nothing more random on New Year's Day than wicked statistics from xkcd. And father penguins. And the smell of indian curry on your sleeves two hours after a family dinner. And a long, tight family hug on a warm, cozy bed; each of your family members curled like commas with john-lennon-off-the-radio in their ears. Though, actually, there's nothing random about that.
This is going to be a beautiful year. |
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| (ii) today's african emir is El Hadj Mamadou Kabir Usman, Katsina, Nigeria |
[Dec. 29th, 2006|10:05 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | reality, recs | ] |
| [ | playing |
| | frou frou - holding out for a hero | ] |
"Wotcha lookin' at, punk?" - & more of the same.
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( And, so, i'm feeling slightly sad because... )
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I've discovered quite a few interesting things on the web these few weeks, and i'll split the links conveniently into recs for people in my flist i think would like them most. If you don't appear here, i assure you it's nothing personal - same as before, i probably don't know enough about you (perhaps you could comment more HINT HINT). So here goes!
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) aulait: It's easiest to come up with recs for you. First, there's If We Are Pretty Ghosts. Hammered In by Kerri Webster. Turns you inside out. Next, there's William S Burroughs's and Brion Gyson's Non-Linear Adding Machine, which is fabulous for writers' blocks of all shapes. Lastly, a report on the worst ads on American teevee. Enjoy!
alldoubtaboutit: This is a mega big rec, probably because you're my most eclectic friend. First up, a terrific podcast archive - Open Culture. It doesn't matter if you don't have an iPod; you can just visit the websites and download the episodes direct from there. I've spent the afternoon getting language lessons. For easy navigation: french, german, italian, russian, spanish, japanese and brazilian portuguese. Also, there's a super-report by the New York Times called "Ideas". Here are a few i thought might interest you: sporno, the ballot-that-is-also-a-lottery-ticket, psychological neoteny and yodelling is universal. To top it off, here's Indexed, basically what i think rabbit and bear would do if they were econo-socio-scientists. Or something.
phantasmagoria5: Yaning! Let me see: first, there's some articles from "Ideas" that may interest you too: taxing virtual economies, literary spam, jujitsu advertising (attention, aulait!), the hidden-fee economy and the comb that listens. Haha, I realised i recced most of the techie/economie things :) Don't worry, there's also the Kyoto International Manga Museum, an archive of anime and a list of 2006's best reads.
xinnk: Because i know you like creating things: cooking, for engineers and knitting a binary scarf. Also, some interesting sites: MakeZine, full of interesting-missions-for-rainy-days and a knitting community, Knitty!
thirty9: A list of the best movie trailers this year and a totally hilarious video of Justin Timberlake's "Dick in a Box"!
cheshirequeen: (i) Musicovery, a visual music application that allows you to listen to music according to mood, time period or style and (ii) Bill Waterson's rarest.
odditorium: I'm sorry. The comic history of Rome. Oh and, for kicks, the economics of the short cappuccino.
deewhydeeax: Here's something fun - copy and paste anything you've written and this nifty app will supposedly tell you your gender. Also, i have no idea how this might amuse you but - Google Patent Search.
Also, randomly, there's Smllr, which enables you to add scents to your photos (uhm, so those family reunion ones...?) and Guardian's take on the best in online cinema. Once again, sorry if i missed you this time! Everyone gets a thick cord of love for new year blessings!
*
It's to bed and a hectic new year's eve's party preparation tomorrow (super mega extended family steamboat huzzah!), but before i leave, a few words from a famous president:
"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself." - George W. Bush.
Ta! |
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| (i) breadfly's flutterings - the reality is shat post |
[Dec. 28th, 2006|11:59 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | reality | ] |
| [ | playing |
| | peter white - jump on it | ] |
Which pretty much sums up my past two weeks.
I have been doing terribly nerdy things post-As, all of which may be categorized as "enhancements". First, i set about improving my net profile. This is a kind of scary thing to do and it is quite hit-and-miss. (i), i tried to develop some sort of fanbase for my hopeless-as-leehsienloonglocalreferences naruto fanfiction; (ii), i signed myself up to some social networks, notably MySpace and Last.fm, hoping to meet likeminded invisible friends (this one was a great success!); (iii) i set about cataloging my material possessions: namely my books at LibraryThing, my fledgling writing at Editred and my humanity at Wishlist (most are empty, still in the process of setting about); (iv) i categorized all of my Firefox bookmarks into a beautiful tag cloud for easy retrieval of all kinds of things from photography to hunger reports, from themeparks to memes of pure genius. Second, i spent 3-4 days installing Firefox add-ons, iBook software applications, Dashboard widgets, etc. and basically upgraded everything there was to upgrade. Third, i went to play rpgs. Until I was sick. Really, really sick with a flu. Then, i set about returning to the human world and had a shoppingasm where i spent most of my 2006 savings on books, tops, shoes, earrings and health food.
Needless to say, i felt terrible afterward.
I also met up with all the important people in my life. My three cousins from other countries (two tiny ones, size not age, from KL and a tall, athletic one from New Zealand) came over and we had a ball of a time in a KK hotel room truth-and-daring-without-truth-and-daring. Well the three of them plus my brother. I was the female cousin, which means not-really-a-girl-but-sure-as-hell-not-a-guy and my role was primarily to swear oaths of secrecy ("I will not tell Ah Ma...") and keep them just this side of decency ("...unless you call me a fucker one more time."). We also played Casino Royale poker, which i kept winning because in a room of men, only the sober girl can keep a straight face. (And also cause the "money" was pieces of hotel pad paper which the guys kept insisting "didn't count for nuts!"). My grandma went up with us too and I was mighty happy to be with her. I mean, she's 70 and she hikes. She's a sort of benevolent goddess.
Also met up with Des and Tiffybunz. Walked around all our favourite places and ate good food. Talked about everything and re-established our immortality.
Then, I remembered life goes on in 2007 and begun volunteering for every food distribution programme in the country and offered to freelance write for all kinds of local NGOs. I also figured i better get a job so i went to cut out classifieds and roam Orchard looking for the "Jobs Available" posters outside restaurant doors and, after 6 hours, went into Cedele (which didn't even have a sign), asked if they had an opening, and was promptly told, yes actually, can you start work next week? To which i said, anytime! And so they'll contact me next week cause it has to go through several levels of bureaucracy but i sure as hell hope to get the job because i love cedele food and there was a china boy chef there (from the tough-as-hell north) who talked to me while i was waiting to be interviewed and told me he was really sad because he can't speak a word of english and, frankly, singapore sucks like hell. I really want to see that china boy again. |
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| The 2006 entry! |
[Dec. 27th, 2006|11:55 pm] |
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I have decided, after some thinking (approx. 2.36 seconds) that the theme for 2006 should be food! This is the year i properly recovered from anorexia and rediscovered the great adventure that it is - rice and gravies, mushrooms tossed with tofu and chopped onions; all, of course, totally organic and fat-free (some things will stick). Also, it's the year i properly committed myself to a cause - that of fighting hunger - and applied to study geography/business/development for my undergraduate degree with the hope of pursuing sustainable development work in the region (or wherever they might need me!). All in all, a decidedly food year!
( Here are some food links to go with our theme! )
This promises to be a long post, for several reasons. First, I haven't blogged in ages - i've been in and out of a testy flu for about a week and have spent most of my fevered delerium doing the kind of shit you expect geeks to do (one hand grasping mucousy tissue, the other a mucousy mouse): signing up to a flurry of social networks (last.fm - for music, librarything - for cataloging books, editred - for my original prose/poetry and meeting other writers, wishlist, myspace) and, most importantly, del.icio.us, where i spent the last four days cataloging over 7400 bookmarks (!!) for every bit of info i've amassed over 2 years (everything from aborignes to zoos); caught up with my favourite rpg, kingdom of loathing; read my dictionary of theories and very short introduction on descartes and wrote naruto fanfiction. Please feel free to add me as a friend to any of the above!
Second, I have a lot of things to blog about. So many in fact, that i must list them first, less i forget. (This has, predictably, made me rather terrified to start this blog post at all!):
- update about my life, the weather and christmas
- random, juicy tidbits from the interweb
- new year resolutions - what will be happening with me in 2007!
- beautiful books and music i've discovered
- some new, original prose
- recs for my flist: music, literature, movies, links
To keep things neat, I'll have separate posts (maybe two or three; if not, six!) over this week till New Year, so feel free to watch this space. Till then,
<3! |
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| HINT HINT |
[Dec. 14th, 2006|02:26 am] |
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Is anyone planning to go for Rapunsale on the 16th? If so (and you're feeling thus inclined), some cheap trinkret from it would make a tidy christmas present (i'll be away, sadly)! Have fun while i'm gone! |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 13th, 2006|08:13 pm] |
( Six more from the series. Around the world in over a thousand words. )
*
What a charming coincidence that Slate's Today's Pictures should feature jet leavings on the eve of my departure to the tropical lazy town of Kota Kinabalu. As usual, extreme excitement (one month ago, in the thick of As) has given way to mild anticipation (past week, when long, hot days never seemed to end), indifference (three days ago, when i realised how much weight i'm going to gain) to total lethargy (i'm staring at my bag, its staring at me) so now i'm not sure if i want to go at all. Of course, tomorrow i probably will but that's tomorrow.
Now i just want to forget things. Rapidly putting on weight these days and i don't like it. Exceeded fifty in the past week and am trying to get it back down. Funny how i thought this whole incident finally convinced me that happiness comes before shape but here i am, still angsting over one or two pounds. That's feminine life, i guess. Hopefully, i do get the Edinburgh place so i actually have a valid excuse to fatten up.
Bought a swimsuit today. It's a sweet, simple (blue) thing that doesn't make me look like Father Penguin. I do not have a swimsuit body though so i believe that, for most of the trip, it'll be hidden beneath a tiki tube and a mountain of books. Which, to me, is the definition of a good holiday anyway. |
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| eighteen more levels, no end |
[Dec. 13th, 2006|02:45 am] |
*
Finally watched Casino Royale and loved it to bits. Most existentialist Bond ever; i particularly liked how you couldn't really be certain if he was a hero or villain and how he had a smile that could never be happy. Even if he acted; even if, for a moment, he forgot everything and everyone and noticed only the shape of the sun and the lethargy of movement. At some point (i know exactly when but i won't spoil), Bond suddenly reminded me of Batman and i promptly fell in love, never (probably ever) to recover.
*
I've also stumbled upon, in my haunted wanderings, ten bizarre people, a pregnant man and Dr Lakra's clients. Back to the bizarre people (haha, when did we leave?), I think someone should make Lal Bihari's story into a movie. (Hm, maybe "Revenge of the Undead" oh god that's so tasteless). I imagine people must try to kill you all the time so life would be something like straddling death.
My post seems to be rather morbid today - and it gets worse.
( Two tragic pieces of prose i stumbled upon today. A series of James Bond drabbles and the end of childhood. )
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I suppose i'm thinking more about death and all it's associations (failure to get into Edinburgh, the bright light my grandfather described moments before he passed away, the disturbing premonition that i'll be tortured to death protecting my brother, etc.) lately with the days growing quieter and my thoughts shifting to mortality. Sucked my prune fingers after bath and realised that, someday, i'll age and wither and it's different when you actually realise it. Some people spend their entire lives preparing for their death and here i am, typing a livejournal entry and wondering what to eat for the 4am breakfast. ( My uninteresting take on death. )
*
Here are a few darkish comic (strips and one-shots) and films for those staying up to brood:
- Migraine Boy (Greg Fiering): Real childhood, or at least, how i remember mine.
- Sniffing and Pills (David Forbes): A public service announcement.
- My Mother Was A Schizo : An info-comic. Schizo is not a disease.
- Ojingogo (Matthew Forsythe): Hilariously cute and pessimistic. Love the monsters.
- Psychonauts: I have no idea what the hell this strip is about but it's good.
- The Mole People: This is so scary looking i haven't even read it yet.
- Chi-chian: Twisted Chinese story about a girl and some caterpillars. An animated film.
- The Killer (Casterman Productions) : Really broody animated film about an anti-Bond.
- The Tale of How (Black Heart Gang): Spooky, eccentric, beautiful film. Very stop-motion.
- B & W Drama Theater (Alan Saunders): Very twisted and occasionally charming shorts, mostly on broken families.
And, to end it all off, finger cookies!
Here's the recipe and have a good night's sleep.
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| small people, smaller day |
[Dec. 9th, 2006|12:37 pm] |
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( I'm still wondering what to do with my day. )
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The world is a quiet place. In the corner of my eye, behind the visions of death and sunbathing flowers criss-crossed like the project of a mother, i see fields of people lying with their backs to the grass and their faces to the universe. It is hot so they are graded: rare, pink and well-done. Watching them makes me hungry and, as if reading my mind, the closest boy takes the sun in his hand, the whole yolk of it, and nibbles a corner. Salty, he mouths, like tears, and spits it out.
The sun dissolves into the Earth, now content in its womb; from the stray bits a flower blooms, terrible and alive, as a tombstone for a god forgotten. A god rejected and now desired more than ever. The only god that lives in the sky (the others, of course, live in our heads); the only god with a tongue:
I take each of you in my mouth, one body at a time, from the smallest weed to the largest ocean; each of you has been artfully digested at some point in your life. Perhaps at ten, when you wanted nothing more but to hide in a hole in the ground and have your birthday there instead. Or at twenty, when you did hide - with powders and rouge - in a hole with a boy and pretended you couldn't feel the kicking weed inside of you. Or eighty, near death, when you asked them to draw the curtains, to hold your hand, to close your eyes. You could feel me, couldn't you; the indefinite penumbra, the uncomfortable warmth, the ache of doubloons on the back of your lids. You cursed me, fucked me, put me in your mouth. God kills those who kill themselves.
With people gone, the noise returns. The sun returns from behind a cloud. I move into the world one foot at a time, stepping over bodies and weeds and the remains of Saturday. The Boy Who Licked The Sun's now licking a boot and he greets my approach with great anger: I ate you, baka, get the hell away. I spit and draw an angry red burn on his back.
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Bjork and Thom Yorke - I Have Seen It All |
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| going solo |
[Dec. 8th, 2006|11:44 pm] |
( Three beautiful poems: every moment is a trick waiting to happen. )
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I'm thinking of going for the Betty Warrington-Kearsley poetry reading at Books Actually tomorrow just to get out of the house. I've been a tad jittery these few days and occasionally a wave of nausea about the As (especially those one or two tamade papers) will wash over me and leave me reeling. I need to keep moving because once i stop i start thinking and there's no turning back from that.
Bought some versatile clothing (three tubes, a polo, a thick swipe-collared jumper) from Far East Plaza basement today as well as a couple of earrings (blue zipper, cocktail, white flowers, pink-yellow tiki, white-blue mini hoop) and miscellaneous accessories (polka-dotted hairband, white watch) today. Felt a little better and then incredibly guilty. All the rest of my savings is going into language kits and knitting wool, I swear. |
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| being, not doing |
[Dec. 7th, 2006|11:22 pm] |
I seem to be stumbling upon quite a bit of blasphemy this week. Besides the incredible Late Supper Star Wars style, there's this wicked poem by Jim Culleny from NoUtopia and this collection of Marvel-based Peanuts sketches. For those historically inclined, there's also this piece on nazi jokes and another one (my favourite) on politically incorrect children's comic book characters. For example, did you know Babar the Elephant was a French despot with orientalist views of "the jungle"?
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( During the first two weeks of self-discovery after the end of my A levels, three significant things have happened. )
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( Other minor, semi-interesting things. )
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That is mostly it actually. Will be hanging loose most of time between now and Dec 18 (the KK trip) so if anyone needs a schmoozing companion, be my guest! Before i go, here's Gackt's Mind Forest (xinnk, this is especially for you!).
Ta-ta! |
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