The Insignificance and Vulnerability of Simplicity

Wednesday, July 30

I missed those times..
When the pencils were held spontaneously..

When sketching was done in an aura of concentration..

When I was really appreciating still life in a non digital manner..

When the soul's soothed..

I want to draw again..

Then that stopped..

When the camera is forever within half an arm's length and everything was snapped in RANDOM..

Not that bad either

Just another dimension to life..

*****

irony @

1:45 PM

Sunday, July 27

Themes:
Humanity versus Morality
Spontaneity versus Strategies

Dark and gloomy..
Renditions of the batman film has matured tremendously to an adult classic with serious food for thought.
No longer a childhood comic,
No longer a cliche of the good being triumphant over evil.
Christopher Nolan deftly controlled the movie flow in a somber manner.

Brooding and lonesome,
Batman is ever the misunderstood one..
Unwittingly became the brunt of social anger.
He knew that the civilisation needs a hero with a face, someone whom they can relate to, not someone with a mask.
Perhaps of his dying desire to seek another hero to Gotham's needs, he failed to heed the district attorney's ominous prophecy:

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain.."

Why the dark knight?
Darkness lurks in the whole plot, every dimension..
Threatens to overpower all forms of righteousness.
Of course, the hero chose to work in the night in a black suit.
And the deepest shadows among human nature erupted maliciously.
Survival instincts of humanity crushes all forms of morality..
Even Batman is not spared.

He is forced to choose, to face his innermost fears and his uncertainties.
As the film progresses, one gradually became so immersed in the film that the audience too, began to have doubts on this tragic hero.

The whole idea of Joker is a satire..

The main pillar and spice of the movie
His presence made the people hate and need their hero at the same time.
The Joker teases the weaknesses of men and taunts their virtues.
Human beings usually take things for granted when life is peaceful and smooth-sailing,
that is until trouble starts brewing again and people face the verge of impending death..
The fear for death always forces the integrity out of them.
They forget who is the one who has been their guardian all these while..
They begin to doubt.

The Joker is one who challenges this steadfast morality.
Living on the extremes
No rules, no scheming plans.
He prefers knives to guns so that he could enjoy his victims' slow painful death..
He derives sweet pleasure in playing mind games with men and proving them as evil as he is..

Tickling on the people's will to live,

the Joker placed the vessels in the hands of one another.

In order to survive, one should pull the trigger before the other could do so..
A vessel full of "scumbags-who-deserve-to-die" ironically, threw the bombing device out of the window without any hesitation.
The other vessel that consisted of the supposedly good citizens had anonymous votes of 300 plus to 100 plus to pull the trigger on the scumbags.
You'd ask yourself, are the scumbags really villains?
Perhaps the good guys are actually the bad ones who never get caught.

Heath Ledger played it damn well..
Of course there may be other actors who can carry Joker off with that makeup.
But there is something in Heath Ledger, just like the Joker, repulses the way the society is being functioned.
Or perhaps he is the Joker himself.
Listening to the Joker's thoughts, you find yourself being twirled into the melancholy of how inept this society has evolved into today.

When you refuse to conform to social norms, you'd either become an outcast, or jailed, or plunge into depression that eventually leads to...

The makeup in the film is almost close to real.
The joker no longer wears a mask, he was disfigured.
The district attorney was half burnt to reveal his bare teeth and a piece of facial bone.
Batman, as usual, sports a thick and undyed crowning glory that is immaculately groomed just like any superheroes will have.

A very deep movie that is indeed literature worthy..

Seven or eight years back in Literature class,

Perhaps this shall be a credible movie that we would be asked to do a critical review on.

*****

irony @

11:48 AM

Friday, July 25

Situated at a desolated corner at the third storey of Novena Square.

Easily distracted by Ichiban Sushi and Ling Zhi restaurant if you go up by the escalator.
Plain obvious that the isolation is taking a heavy toll on business..
So much so that the one working opposite for years did not even know about this dining place o,0
LOL

The ambience wasnt that bad afterall because there really werent much customers..

A good place to catch up in a big group though.

The theme of wood, red and gold..

Katakana caligraphy spells curry..

Of course the main dishes were curry and more curry..

And they do let you choose between regular and spicy..

The variety was there..

The taste an average one.

But the sides were the more eye catching ones.

We ordered cheesy katsu and mushroom fry..

And I quite liked the idea of a half size curry..

So thou shalt not waste rice in an inflation-prone country like thee.

It was nice to see them again..

But the tinge of awkwardness still lingers amongst us..

And yes, we do make the effort to meet up once a year.

Eight years to be specific.

*Smiles*

*****

irony @

2:54 PM

Thursday, July 24

Baby's got blood, not funnyyyyyy!

LOL

irony @

9:53 AM

Monday, July 21

Shape Run 2008

They changed the route..
Perhaps motivation,

Perhaps thy enjoyment..

The run seemed shorter albeit the midst of ermm human obstructions..

8000 runners, and my bib number was 7982..

18 more and I might very well miss the registration..=x

Heee..

The 8000 participants contributed to the horrendous queues with no end..

And the scorching sun did not favour us at all..

But still, define the power of the (female) masses..

This year, a huge wave of green..

For a moment or two, we couldnt help but absorb the picturesque landscape..

Indulged in nature and colonial landmarks..

How could we miss out the cameras..=p

Thereafter..

The hunt for savory food to reward ourselves..

Heee

Warm porridge with aloe vera and dried scallops!

BBQ pork pastry

Steamed scallops and shrimp dumplings

Fried shrimp with fruit dumplings..

Teehee..

Another run accomplished in 2008 =)

Satisfied.

*Credits to Suki's Sony's Cybershot's multi shots =p*

*****

The next run to come..

irony @

3:03 PM

Wednesday, July 16

Yay

Youtube can support MOD file..
Damn funny..

*Disclaimer: This video is purely for fun, leads please feel free to voice your objections =p*

Pardon the paparazzi for the low quality video.

*****

The night went well 'cept for a damn blunder I made.

Or rather a witless question I asked that caused discomfort.

Certain expectations fell short too..

And I really have to brush up my mediocre PR skills.

*****

irony @

10:19 AM

Sunday, July 13

Friday night.

Set up my lappie.

Daddy was making noise that his MP3 player was not properly charged by my brother.

Hence there it was, the charging Creatve Zen lying beside my lappie.

Was trying to test and upload some pictures into the lappie, praying that my Fuji cam is still usable for the next day's outing.

Hence out came the Fuji cable.

Then I realised the Fuji cam battery is dead.

Hence out came the Fuji battery charger.

Then I confirmed that the Fuji cam is indeed beyond usage.
Hence out came my Olympus camera.

Then the battery's dead as well.

Hence out came the Olympus battery charger.

Then I suddenly remembered I need to check if the battery of the video cam is dead as well.

Yes deadly dead.

Hence out came the video cam battery charger.
Suddenly my hp gave a about-to-be dead warning alert.

Hence out came my hp battery charger.

The end result:
A dollop of wires.

No no, I'm not a gadget freak.

*****
Realised that the seats are blue this time.

And my old Olympus is really too slow duh.

Plus the stabilizer's too weak..

zzzzz

Not much new songs..

Or perhaps I was really out of touch on earth..

Kept living in the past.

But these fellas really drove me crazy..

Had a fun filled evening.

*****

Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro make a great duo.

The battle of wits between the war professionals not without a tinge of comic element.

If looks can kill, their eyes hid daggers.

If intelligence can speak for themselves, great minds always think alike.

The application of the most outdated battle formations between Zhou Yu and Zhu Geliang.

The formidable zealous courage of each fighting character.

I thought the choice of actors was brilliant.

Veteran actors contributed a lot of spice to the show.

Takeshi gave a breakthrough performance to Zhuge Liang.

And yes, I shall take my words back.

He definitely portrayed the strategist convincingly well.

Then Tony is one funny Zhou Yu.

And from the way which he fought on the battle ground, except for the arrow shot he shielded for Zhao Yun, it seemed as if all the warriors are invincible and infallible.

John Woo deftly used Nakamura Shido for the role of Gan Xing.

His Japanese-filled Chinese naturally hubbed the accent of the Northern pirates.

And they deliberately casted a Chiling Lin lookalike to emphasize on the obsession of Liu Bei..

To which inducing his warriors to suspect his main motive of the war..

The role of Chiling, which I thought was somewhat similar to Diane Kruger in Troy.

"The face that sinks a thousand ships"

The movie did give a reasonable introduction to the story.
Finally able to grasp what the Three Kingdoms really meant.

And the sickening part:

To be continued..

And the even more sickening part:

The second installation will be Jan next year.

irony @

2:51 PM

Sunday, July 6

A tragic superhero who is so drunkenly damned at the opening scene.

Unshaven, disheveled, unkempt clothes.

Suddenly springs up and disappears on ground just to fly through buildings with a hard liquor on hand and land in a car that is hot on heels by the police.

It seems like the city is fine with living with a someone who has exceptional powers around.
They got used to Hancock zooming around, tearing things down and incurring infinite collateral damages to state property.
Indefinitely, there is an noticeable tinge of repulsiveness towards such a different someone with his unique way of handling matters.
"With great powers come great responsibilities",

Hancock fulfills his responsibilities, yet not quite responsibly.

Someone who has amnesia and had absolutely no idea why or how he is one of his kind and thinks that people hates him cos he is different.
He lacks the wholesome package necessary even for superheroes.

A social norm that the public wants someone who is well groomed, in control of himself and has a clean image.
He thus slams people and displays hostility as a shield to his very own loneliness.
And the only person who believes in him is a PR and advertising executive who teaches him public etiquette, grooming him into an accepted hero by the public.
He brings down Hancock's defenses, brings down his pride, and brings out the humane side of him.
He is the only one who saw that the general public is taking him for granted, hence encourages Hancock to go to jail to make people miss him and seek his help instead.

Unlike Spiderman, he is not a comic character.
Unlike Ironman, he doesn’t start off living a rich and flamboyant life.
Unlike Wolverine, he doesn’t fly outlandish machines.
Unlike Daredevil, he has his own fears.
Unlike all superheroes whom we have seen so far, there is no stronger power outside that he has to fight.
He is but his own enemy.
He has to give up his love in order to function well.

Movies by movies,

The superheroes are getting more down to earth but never lacking the spice.
And yes, Americans do have a penchant for damaging cemented grounds, smashing glass windows and blowing up vehicles.

This is a short but worthwhile show to catch.

Will Smith

Loved him ever since Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness and Legend..

He really proved his worth as a serious and versatile actor..
Simply too talented.
He produces most of the movies he acted in.
He acts convincingly in any impossible genre.
He is really the epitome of vulnerable loneliness portrayal.
To add on, he even sings and raps for movie soundtracks.

*****

irony @

11:15 AM

Wednesday, July 2

The Haphazard Musing

I turned the calendar over in 180 degrees.
The month now sites on the reverse page.
And I meaningfully fulfilled nothing.
Well done.
Nothingness so long, taunting me mocking at me..
Time passes so fast. It’s a boring cliché
Tide waits for no one. Again a cliché
An irresponsible hackneyed statement.
Yet no one ever bother to really do anything, let alone change it.

As usual I question fiercely
I fire maliciously
Still, no answers.
Even with answers there aren’t solutions.
Even with solutions there isn’t enough will power for execution
Even with will power for execution there is guilt.
Thereupon I remembered my friends with appreciation.
Glad they bothered, gratified that they nagged.
Yet inertia gave me doubts.
Not them but aye.
Creases which I have to smooth out.

Balancing on a pole with nothing
Swaying to the side whenever the platform will tilt.
But never reaching the center of gravity.
Perhaps only in death will equilibrium be really attained.

*****

Then I wonder when the train station will be ready.
I vision how it will further diminish my hopes of finding greener grass elsewhere.
I picture myself working till sunset, walking home in darkness.

A situation perhpas too taken for granted by the people who gave out pay cheques.

*****

I saw the beach.

A small café by the waves, I’m lying on a hammock.

Sun tanning, sipping my tea latte, reading a novel.

Shades on, beneath a large straw hat.

I comfortably took a nap, only to be awakened by the laughter of freedom so close..

And I began to stroll along the long unwinding stretch of white milky sand.

Mingled with my patrons for a while, appreciating the kind and exotic faces staring back at me.

I concoct special tea, alongside the aroma of freshly baked bread.

Topping it all with fresh fruits and chocolate fondue.
Here,

No one questions my past, no one questions my life, and I don’t question myself.
Here

No one bothers to stay white and fair,

No ads to remind you to mind the harmful UV rays,

No commercials to induce you to make big bucks,

No lure of luxury cars nor houses,

No temptations,

No debts.
Here

I live the day by running on the beaches, wakeboarding, scuba diving,

I live to love life itself.
I belong to the sun, the sand and the blue waters.

Aye aye aye

Define dreams..

Pluck me out of my reckless reverie..

*****

irony @

12:07 PM