Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
Hidden Connections
Of Coincidence
Bizarre ending to Moon Palace. M.S.'s father (Julian Barber) died from tripping and falling into an open grave. Eventually, M.S. gave up his search for the elusive cave, walked off into the sun, much like cowboys do in westerns.
Not the first time Auster killed off important characters in a whim near the end. Much like Auster's other books, this one had been a bizarre journey littered with strange, almost surreal occurrences. Memorable scenes in the book - There is this one part whereby M.S. imagined his father being at several places he had been before. That he may have unknowingly ran into him on several occasions. He even 'placed' Julian Barber in Vegas, that his father could have been one of the audience of Uncle Victor's band performance. He began to see hidden connections everywhere. Another is M.S. reading off the books left behind by Uncle Victor as a way of mourning him. Also, carting Thomas Effing through the streets of New York in the rainy night to distribute money to 'deserving' strangers. These scenes will always be memorable to me.
Coincidences do happen in real life but they're often dismissed or viewed as out-of-place. You almost can't find them in an abundance in books or movies anymore. Weird coincidences do happen to all of us. Somehow the intentional 'imperfect' ending of the book takes you back to a modern reality. The world is imperfect, why should we expect logical endings in books? The world stays the same, only we have changed from experiences accrued. The journey is what counts.
No coincidence too that I tried to tackle this subject early on, made this stupid short-film back in school, aptly titled Coincidence Inc. :) These are difficult topics to explore- The effects of deja vu. How can you be certain that you haven't encountered this person before? And to merge the ideas of Coincidence with Religion.
Coincidence, Failure, the Search for (or absence of) a Father (figure) are recurring themes in many of his books. I think that is the reason why I can relate to them. Essentially, Auster is telling almost the same story in all his books.
Halfway through another book, Oracle's Night. It is an ongoing process to understand who the writer Paul Auster is. Consequently, hoping to be able to pick up pieces of myself along the way. To better understand who I am.
Of J. B. Jeyaretnam
Another coincidence that I met Mr. JBJ in person just months ago at the lift lobby of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A pretty tall, charismatic individual. First time I've ever seen the man in person. Maybe he was there for his heart checkup. An Indian woman, in her 50s or 60s, was waiting for the lift too. She smiled, almost shyly, at JBJ. JBJ acknowledged with an amiable smile and a nod. To me, it was a very genuine smile that seemed to say, "Don't worry. I will carry on the fight for all of you." While most current government officials seemed perched at seemingly unreachable places, it is gratifying to know there is someone who stood right by our side.
I just realised that was also around the time he would be busy constructing his comeback into politics, the formation of the Reform Party. Rest in peace.
Bizarre ending to Moon Palace. M.S.'s father (Julian Barber) died from tripping and falling into an open grave. Eventually, M.S. gave up his search for the elusive cave, walked off into the sun, much like cowboys do in westerns.
Not the first time Auster killed off important characters in a whim near the end. Much like Auster's other books, this one had been a bizarre journey littered with strange, almost surreal occurrences. Memorable scenes in the book - There is this one part whereby M.S. imagined his father being at several places he had been before. That he may have unknowingly ran into him on several occasions. He even 'placed' Julian Barber in Vegas, that his father could have been one of the audience of Uncle Victor's band performance. He began to see hidden connections everywhere. Another is M.S. reading off the books left behind by Uncle Victor as a way of mourning him. Also, carting Thomas Effing through the streets of New York in the rainy night to distribute money to 'deserving' strangers. These scenes will always be memorable to me.
Coincidences do happen in real life but they're often dismissed or viewed as out-of-place. You almost can't find them in an abundance in books or movies anymore. Weird coincidences do happen to all of us. Somehow the intentional 'imperfect' ending of the book takes you back to a modern reality. The world is imperfect, why should we expect logical endings in books? The world stays the same, only we have changed from experiences accrued. The journey is what counts.
No coincidence too that I tried to tackle this subject early on, made this stupid short-film back in school, aptly titled Coincidence Inc. :) These are difficult topics to explore- The effects of deja vu. How can you be certain that you haven't encountered this person before? And to merge the ideas of Coincidence with Religion.
Coincidence, Failure, the Search for (or absence of) a Father (figure) are recurring themes in many of his books. I think that is the reason why I can relate to them. Essentially, Auster is telling almost the same story in all his books.
Halfway through another book, Oracle's Night. It is an ongoing process to understand who the writer Paul Auster is. Consequently, hoping to be able to pick up pieces of myself along the way. To better understand who I am.
Of J. B. Jeyaretnam
Another coincidence that I met Mr. JBJ in person just months ago at the lift lobby of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A pretty tall, charismatic individual. First time I've ever seen the man in person. Maybe he was there for his heart checkup. An Indian woman, in her 50s or 60s, was waiting for the lift too. She smiled, almost shyly, at JBJ. JBJ acknowledged with an amiable smile and a nod. To me, it was a very genuine smile that seemed to say, "Don't worry. I will carry on the fight for all of you." While most current government officials seemed perched at seemingly unreachable places, it is gratifying to know there is someone who stood right by our side.
I just realised that was also around the time he would be busy constructing his comeback into politics, the formation of the Reform Party. Rest in peace.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Man In the Dark - Paul Auster
Paul Auster reads from his new book, Man in the Dark. Snippets of movies referred to in the book - Tokyo Story, Apu Trilogy, Renoir's Grand Illusion, Bicycle Thief. Gotta get this. :O
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Moon Palace - Paul Auster
Lovely book I picked up from the library recently. Simple words put together can be so poignant, deeply moving. A pen and a notebook. Auster's words flows naturally, is easy to read, yet beneath the calm, an undercurrent of absurd ideas and magical thoughts bounce off each other and then the seabed.
Wanted foolishly to try to retain certain experience of reading it so I have collected here a couple of passages from the book.
The Fall
"After such a promising start, it would not have been difficult for me to go on acting sensibly. All kinds of options were available to people in my situation - scholarships, loans, work-study programs - but once I began to think about them, I found myself stricken with disgust. It was a sudden, involuntary response, a jolting attack of nausea. I wanted no part of those things, I realized, and therefore I rejected them all - sabotaged my only hope of surviving the crisis. From that point on, in fact, I did nothing to help myself, refused even to lift a finger. God knows why I behaved liked that. I invented countless reasons at the time, but in the end it probably boiled down to despair. I was in despair, and in the face of so much upheaval, I felt that drastic action of some sort was necessary. I wanted to spit on the world, to do the most outlandish thing possible. With all the fervor and idealism of a young man who had thought too much and read too many books, I decided that the thing I should do was nothing: my action would consist of a militant refusal to take any action at all. This was nihilism raised to the level of an aesthetic proposition. I would turn my life into a work of art, sacrificing myself to such exquisite paradoxes that every breath I took would teach me how to savor my own doom. The signs pointed to a total eclipse, and grope as I did for another reading, the image of that darkness gradually lured me in, seduced me with the simplicity of its design. I would do nothing to thwart the inevitable, but neither would I rush out to meet it. If life could continue for the time being as it always had, so much the better. I would be patient, I would hold fast. It was simply that I knew what was in store for me, and whether it happened today, or whether it happened tomorrow, it would nevertheless happen. Total eclipse. The beast had been slain, its entrails had been decoded. The moon would block the sun, and at that point I would vanish. I would be dead broke, a flotsam of flesh and bone without a farthing to my name."
On Conversation
"As Uncle Victor had once told me long ago, a conversation is like having a catch with someone. A good partner tosses the ball directly into your glove, making it almost impossible for you to miss it; when he is on the receiving end, he catches everything sent his way, even the most errant and incompetent throws. That's what Kitty did. She kept lobbing the ball straight into the pocket of my glove, and when I threw the ball back to her, she hauled in everything that was even remotely in her area: jumping up to spear balls that soared above her head, diving nimbly to her left or right, charging in to make tumbling, shoestring catches. More than that, her skill was such that she always made me feel that I had made those bad throws on purpose, as if my only object had been to make the game more amusing. She made me seem better than I was, and that strengthened my confidence, which in turn helped me to make my throws less difficult for her to handle. In other words, I started talking to her rather than to myself, and the pleasure of it was greater than anything I had experienced in a long time." -Auster
Wanted foolishly to try to retain certain experience of reading it so I have collected here a couple of passages from the book.
The Fall
"After such a promising start, it would not have been difficult for me to go on acting sensibly. All kinds of options were available to people in my situation - scholarships, loans, work-study programs - but once I began to think about them, I found myself stricken with disgust. It was a sudden, involuntary response, a jolting attack of nausea. I wanted no part of those things, I realized, and therefore I rejected them all - sabotaged my only hope of surviving the crisis. From that point on, in fact, I did nothing to help myself, refused even to lift a finger. God knows why I behaved liked that. I invented countless reasons at the time, but in the end it probably boiled down to despair. I was in despair, and in the face of so much upheaval, I felt that drastic action of some sort was necessary. I wanted to spit on the world, to do the most outlandish thing possible. With all the fervor and idealism of a young man who had thought too much and read too many books, I decided that the thing I should do was nothing: my action would consist of a militant refusal to take any action at all. This was nihilism raised to the level of an aesthetic proposition. I would turn my life into a work of art, sacrificing myself to such exquisite paradoxes that every breath I took would teach me how to savor my own doom. The signs pointed to a total eclipse, and grope as I did for another reading, the image of that darkness gradually lured me in, seduced me with the simplicity of its design. I would do nothing to thwart the inevitable, but neither would I rush out to meet it. If life could continue for the time being as it always had, so much the better. I would be patient, I would hold fast. It was simply that I knew what was in store for me, and whether it happened today, or whether it happened tomorrow, it would nevertheless happen. Total eclipse. The beast had been slain, its entrails had been decoded. The moon would block the sun, and at that point I would vanish. I would be dead broke, a flotsam of flesh and bone without a farthing to my name."
On Conversation
"As Uncle Victor had once told me long ago, a conversation is like having a catch with someone. A good partner tosses the ball directly into your glove, making it almost impossible for you to miss it; when he is on the receiving end, he catches everything sent his way, even the most errant and incompetent throws. That's what Kitty did. She kept lobbing the ball straight into the pocket of my glove, and when I threw the ball back to her, she hauled in everything that was even remotely in her area: jumping up to spear balls that soared above her head, diving nimbly to her left or right, charging in to make tumbling, shoestring catches. More than that, her skill was such that she always made me feel that I had made those bad throws on purpose, as if my only object had been to make the game more amusing. She made me seem better than I was, and that strengthened my confidence, which in turn helped me to make my throws less difficult for her to handle. In other words, I started talking to her rather than to myself, and the pleasure of it was greater than anything I had experienced in a long time." -Auster
Friday, September 12, 2008
Auster, MBV and When You Sleep
Ever had that feeling you're living through life like one of the characters in Paul Auster's trilogy? A-huh, it is that bad. :)
For therapeutic purposes = Couple of footages of MBV Live this year. Good stuff happens still.
MBV - I Only Said
MBV - Only Shallow
MBV - When You Sleep
Only place I'd rather be. And yeah, Bilinda Butcher.
Loud band. Check out the number of amps. Not an easy task to record them live lol.
For therapeutic purposes = Couple of footages of MBV Live this year. Good stuff happens still.
MBV - I Only Said
MBV - Only Shallow
MBV - When You Sleep
Only place I'd rather be. And yeah, Bilinda Butcher.
Loud band. Check out the number of amps. Not an easy task to record them live lol.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Lost In Translation and MBV Reunion
Lost in Translation. Love the ending to this movie.
Just Like Honey - Jesus and Mary Chain
"Listen to the girl. As she takes on half the world. Moving up and so alive. In her honey dripping beehive."
Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine
MBV reunited and releasing a new record soon!
Just Like Honey - Jesus and Mary Chain
"Listen to the girl. As she takes on half the world. Moving up and so alive. In her honey dripping beehive."
Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine
MBV reunited and releasing a new record soon!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Happiness in spending meaningless time
Quoted from Claes in Gunslinger Girl. Just found out season 2 is out, dubbed Il Teatrino. The art, animation and even seiyuu have changed. Still trying to get used to the changes. Hope it'll be a good season.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
My Friend
Slamdunk OP and ED. Slamdunk. How long ago was it? The OP and ED kinda takes me back to the time when I was first introduced to animes and mangas. :)
Slamdunk OP/ED
The last song from the above clip was My Friend by ZARD (Izumi Sakai). One of my favourite songs from ZARD.
My Friend - ZARD
ZARD's lead vocals, prolific singer/songwriter Izumi Sakai passed away about 5 months months ago. Her songs. Her melancholic smile. Eien.
Eien - ZARD
Makenaide - ZARD (Lucky Star version)
Thank you for the music! Arigatougouzaimashita.
Slamdunk OP/ED
The last song from the above clip was My Friend by ZARD (Izumi Sakai). One of my favourite songs from ZARD.
My Friend - ZARD
ZARD's lead vocals, prolific singer/songwriter Izumi Sakai passed away about 5 months months ago. Her songs. Her melancholic smile. Eien.
Eien - ZARD
Makenaide - ZARD (Lucky Star version)
Thank you for the music! Arigatougouzaimashita.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Zurich Stained
Always a joy to listen to Malkmus sing about staining his sofa, furniture or whatever.
Zurich is Stained
Artist(Band):Pavement
i can't sing it strong enough
'cause that kind of strength i just don't have
if you watch the light change
don't hold them hanging
you think it's easy, but you're wrong
i am not one-half of the problem
zurich is stained and it's not my fault
just hold me back or let me run
what does it mean, a mistake or two?
if it's the kind of mistakes no one can trace
to the fountain where we sold it
and held them hanging
you think it's easy, but you're wrong
i am not one-half of the problem
zurich is stained and it's not my fault
just hold me back or let me run
you think it's easy, but you're wrong
i am not one-half of the problem
zurich is stained and it's not my fault
just hold me back or let me run
20 Best Pavement Songs ever
Zurich is Stained
Artist(Band):Pavement
i can't sing it strong enough
'cause that kind of strength i just don't have
if you watch the light change
don't hold them hanging
you think it's easy, but you're wrong
i am not one-half of the problem
zurich is stained and it's not my fault
just hold me back or let me run
what does it mean, a mistake or two?
if it's the kind of mistakes no one can trace
to the fountain where we sold it
and held them hanging
you think it's easy, but you're wrong
i am not one-half of the problem
zurich is stained and it's not my fault
just hold me back or let me run
you think it's easy, but you're wrong
i am not one-half of the problem
zurich is stained and it's not my fault
just hold me back or let me run
20 Best Pavement Songs ever
Monday, October 01, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Merlion in Bebop
Bad-ass Faye Valentine
Trivia- The Merlion was featured in episode 24 of Cowboy Bebop (on Faye's video.) It may be implied that Faye spent a portion of her childhood here in Singapore. The whole time I wanted to dive into the TV to point out to Faye the "water-sploosh" thing is in Singapore lol. But it made me smile a little, as does this song Green Bird, by Yoko Kanno, every time I hear it.
Yoko Kanno
For memories
Cathedral Fight - Ballad of Fallen Angels
Music - Greenbird
Compilation AMV (spoilers)
Music - Blue
Episode 24 - Hard Luck Woman
Music - Call Me Call Me
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Come See The Duck
Friday, April 06, 2007
Panda Panda Panda
pan-da-pan-da-pan-da-pan-da-pan-china!
bunny bunny bunny bunny bunny- bunny! i can't get u, lalalala! i can't have it, the monster Rabbit!
DEERHOOF! SATOMI MATSUZAKI! YAY! :O GREAT BAND!
bunny bunny bunny bunny bunny- bunny! i can't get u, lalalala! i can't have it, the monster Rabbit!
DEERHOOF! SATOMI MATSUZAKI! YAY! :O GREAT BAND!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Mantis Technique
I always love the blizzard forums. You often get crazy, sometimes intelligent and funny posts.
In this case, someone was blabbering japanese on the WoW forum in this thread. Had everyone confused and folks tried to decipher it.
Then, at the end, a guy Layoth came out and commented: "insolent whelp! try my mantis technique"
(shrug) I don't know, but that made me laughed. :D
In this case, someone was blabbering japanese on the WoW forum in this thread. Had everyone confused and folks tried to decipher it.
Then, at the end, a guy Layoth came out and commented: "insolent whelp! try my mantis technique"
(shrug) I don't know, but that made me laughed. :D
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Hope
This song was playing somewhere...
(overheard)
"At the back of my mind, I was... always hoping that I might just get by."
(overheard)
"At the back of my mind, I was... always hoping that I might just get by."
Friday, March 09, 2007
Lrn2Heroes
The title is something invented from the World of Warcraft forums. Say, in the game, someone complained about a nerf to his/her particular class or character-in-game, the common response on the forum would be to tell him to "Lrn2play" (learn to play (the game)). Extend this to almost every other aspect of life- lrn2shutup, lrn2timemanagement, lrn2parent, lrn2(insert anything) etc. You get the drift.
Anyway, I'm hooked on this new NBC series, Heroes. It's like your X-men (folks with altered genes display special abilities) show, except they give these gifts to the common folk. For example, this cheerleader gained the ability to regenerate. What did she do with it? She tried to ram a car into the wall, with this guy (who had tried to date-rape her earlier) in it. The guy would suffer multiple injuries and she would escape, regenerated later, to come out virtually unscathed from the intentional accident. Another example is a policeman who suddenly gained the ability to read thoughts used his skills to try to repair his broken marriage.
It has aspects of J.Michael Straczynski's comic series Rising Stars and X-Men.
It sounds cheesy but it's not. Very engaging and the story is pretty well done. It's interesting to see where the story will take us. Try to catch it if you haven't.
"Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
Anyway, I'm hooked on this new NBC series, Heroes. It's like your X-men (folks with altered genes display special abilities) show, except they give these gifts to the common folk. For example, this cheerleader gained the ability to regenerate. What did she do with it? She tried to ram a car into the wall, with this guy (who had tried to date-rape her earlier) in it. The guy would suffer multiple injuries and she would escape, regenerated later, to come out virtually unscathed from the intentional accident. Another example is a policeman who suddenly gained the ability to read thoughts used his skills to try to repair his broken marriage.
It has aspects of J.Michael Straczynski's comic series Rising Stars and X-Men.
It sounds cheesy but it's not. Very engaging and the story is pretty well done. It's interesting to see where the story will take us. Try to catch it if you haven't.
"Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Oscars
Wanted to watch this year's oscars, if only to catch the moment Martin Scorsese wins Best Director. And he did won it. :) And the montages were great. And Ennio Morricione. But the moment was fleeting. So I guess it's better to sit down and watch Martin talks about films he likes in the documentary "A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies". It's like having a glimpse into a walking film-book. Like browsing through my thick Timeout Film Reviews book. Or sitting through film school Day One again. D.W. Griffiths, F.W. Murnau... Pretty interesting.
I was still thinking about Adaptation, the movie I watched yesterday. It is fascinating how the movie went from passion for orchids and the beauty in that to mere obsession with drugs. :D Dug out this amazing quote from wikipedia-
"There are too many ideas and things and people. Too many directions to go. I was starting to think that the reason it matters to care so passionately about something is that it whittles the world down to a more manageable size. (Susan, in the book)"
That wisdom can be applied to so many things- passion for orchids, turtles... (spoiler) to passion for orchids-"whittled"-down-to-chunk-sized-drugs. :P
Found out from the earlier oscars too that Philip Noiret (actor from Cinema Paradiso) has passed away. Somehow what Forrest Whittaker said was true. There's a connection between the actor and the audience somewhere. I'm reminded of the first time I watched Cinema Paradiso in the cinema. And that Ennio Morricione music was playing. It's all coming together.
I was still thinking about Adaptation, the movie I watched yesterday. It is fascinating how the movie went from passion for orchids and the beauty in that to mere obsession with drugs. :D Dug out this amazing quote from wikipedia-
"There are too many ideas and things and people. Too many directions to go. I was starting to think that the reason it matters to care so passionately about something is that it whittles the world down to a more manageable size. (Susan, in the book)"
That wisdom can be applied to so many things- passion for orchids, turtles... (spoiler) to passion for orchids-"whittled"-down-to-chunk-sized-drugs. :P
Found out from the earlier oscars too that Philip Noiret (actor from Cinema Paradiso) has passed away. Somehow what Forrest Whittaker said was true. There's a connection between the actor and the audience somewhere. I'm reminded of the first time I watched Cinema Paradiso in the cinema. And that Ennio Morricione music was playing. It's all coming together.
Monday, February 26, 2007
The Ending In "Adaptation"
This is the first time I've watched Adaptation. Talk about "twists in the ending/the final act". This one blew me away. I was expecting the ending to just "coasts along". I really wasn't prepared for that.
Very fascinating and engaging (on many levels) film.
Very fascinating and engaging (on many levels) film.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The Ending In "Lost In Translation"
"Lost in Translation" was shown on tv earlier. It is, for me, one of those rare films that hits the right notes just about everywhere. Both actors were endearing. Brilliant soundtrack with music by Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine).
Unfortunately, the ending on this tv-version was snipped. I remember it was fairly shorter than the original. The ending was integral to the film too.
In anticipation of Oscar-day, which is Monday, another movie will be shown on tv tomorrow night- "Adaptation", which I planned to catch.
The fillers have ended for Naruto too. The new Naruto series which deals with the Akatsuki saga has started, named Naruto Shippuuden. Naruto and friends have grown older and Gaara has become the new Kazekage of Sand Village. :)
Unfortunately, the ending on this tv-version was snipped. I remember it was fairly shorter than the original. The ending was integral to the film too.
In anticipation of Oscar-day, which is Monday, another movie will be shown on tv tomorrow night- "Adaptation", which I planned to catch.
The fillers have ended for Naruto too. The new Naruto series which deals with the Akatsuki saga has started, named Naruto Shippuuden. Naruto and friends have grown older and Gaara has become the new Kazekage of Sand Village. :)
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