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Colorgenics Again

  • Nov. 27th, 2009 at 7:03 PM
From GoldinUniverse.

Name: Akira
Date: 11/27/2009
Colorgenics Number: 21076453


You are a very sensitive person and you try hard (perhaps a little too hard) to make favourable impressions and to be recognised by your peers. But you have that inherent need to feel appreciated and admired and you are easily hurt if all of your endeavours go by unappreciated or not acknowledged. Stop trying so hard.

The way things are you are under considerable stress and you feel that there is little hope of matters righting themselves. Everyone about you seems to aggravate the problem even more. You feel that at this time you need to be alone and you are right - move back and give yourself a chance to breathe.

You are a perfectionist in everything that you put your hand to. You are demanding and very exacting in the standards you apply to your choice of colleagues and friends -perhaps you demand too much from people. That perfection you seek in a particular person is illusive - perhaps it does not even exist.

You are experiencing extreme frustration at this point of time, trying to achieve security and peace of mind, but whatever you seem to do doesn't effect the situation. You are worn out and your energy is being seriously depleted. You may be experiencing what is known as 'heartache' - both mentally and physically. You are a listener and you listen and respond to everything that is going on around you. You feel that all that life has to offer should be within your grasp and you would like to participate in every part of it but the situation is such that every door seems to be closed to you. You just can't understand why that is. But it is - and what's more you feel powerless to change it.

Overwork - be it mental stress or physical strain, you are completely worn out and this depleted vitality has created an intolerance for any further stimulation. You feel disappointed with your obvious lack of energy and powerless to do anything about it. You are angry with yourself and this frustration shows. You are contradictory and argumentative and feel helpless to change the situation at this time. Take a break - even if it is only for a few days - allow yourself to breath, to unwind - you'll feel much better for it. Then trust and let go.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LOL I'm really just one big psycho case.

What do you think?


This is a story of how a girl got into an accident and using pieces of herself is recreated by her parents using technology. And this is how she deals with her own humanity (or inhumanity).

I think that this book was alright. There were moments when I thought that the book would turn Twilight-esque but it doesn't. I like the way that the book reflects the thoughts. I think I would have thought in a similar way as Jenna did. And that makes it believeable. It makes Jenna Fox human despite all. It might have had a too perfect ending in the end but it's also enough to convince me. But in the end I wonder to myself, is Ethan really ok with a teenage wife for the rest of his life. Is Kayla ok with a teenage mother for the rest of her life? Is Alyss ok with being alone? With no Ethan by her side? Wasn't she ever envious of Jenna and Ethan? And what was Dane's deal anyway? There is a story for him but it's incomplete. What was he trying to do?

And she never went on to what other possibilities that could happen. If Jenna was acceptable, why not make superhumans? Why not make the decision to change yourself when you're fully healthy?

Why do they live at the same place for 200 years? Wouldn't she have traveled instead? Like the vampires, I wonder how she could stay with someone for 200 years. So many road could have been tread but it doesn't matter. The end that came was a truly optimistic one despite all the dark sides and pitfalls that could have been. It's an optimistic view.

Funny enough, it reminds me a lot of the Uglies series, it has the same feel but a different dimension. I think we should read more of these books. For so long people have been predicting the future in science. And now, that world is slowly coming true. And it's up to this generation to shape it. And as we've seen the possibility of viral idea's, idea's can truly change the world. So the books, the stories, can really change things as we know it.

PS: Must dig out Nancy Farmer book and read it.
What do you think?


It doen't matter.

  • Nov. 18th, 2009 at 10:03 PM
It doen't matter, emotions. Feelings.

In a cold world. A world of rational thoughts. A world of science and logic. There is no such thing as sentiments and fantasy. There is no place for it, this irregularity. There is no rationality, no link between its creation and its being. No reason for it other than... it's own reason.
There is no set of probabilities that apply. There no logical prediction. You can't say that it will happen. Or that it will not happen. No will, no rhyme nor reason. We'd never know how it happened.

There are just so many within its spectrum. In every language, in every form. In words, in movement, in touch. In stories, in movies, in song. So many types, and yet, like an endless stream, there is always more.

Love. Hate. Happiness. Sadness. Calmness. Excitement. Anger. Hopeful. Anxiety.

It could be, it could not be. It may and it may not. The coin under the cup. The red pill or the blue pill. Schrodinger's cat.

It what makes us human I suppose.
What do you think?


I have a lot of things to talk about.

  • Oct. 24th, 2009 at 1:35 AM
I'm writing this mostly because of what happened just now. Humans are such contrary creatures, and merely thinking about our social mannerisms and structures gives me a headache (well, actually I already have one...).  I really wanted to write about things for a while now but I just haven't got the writing mood. *sigh* But what counts is that I'm writing NOW. Sure I need to study but... I can't. I have a headache. And most people would think that this would not make it any better, but it will. I would have written, and that is good enough for now. 
 
"What happened?" the casual reader may ask. Well, there was this interview that I went to. And I thought that I might have done pretty well considering the fact that we might have veered off the topic. 
 
Then I was rejected.
 
The first question I had was, where did I screw up? The main panelist (and the person who was actually choosing the people who are to be selected) reassured me that wasn't it. And I figured that it was just chance, that maybe I wasn't suited because someone else was better than me. It was an oppertunity that I didn't get. So I brushed it off.
 
But today, one of the panelists got honest, I was told that the main reason that I wasn't chosen was because of first impressions. The main panelist didn't have a good impression of me. It was strange, she met me a year ago and she doesn't have any good thoughts about me? Or whatever I did was so bad it sort of stuck through the whole time? Maybe it was wrong of her to take people in by what SHE thinks of them instead of who they are but thats generally how it goes, doesn't it? Not always can people be chosen for who they are. But then it got me thinking of my first impression. Do I give a bad one? Is it because I'm ugly or fat? Is it because of what I wear? Is it because I'm callously loud? Is it because I have a short attention span? But I am who I am. Some people like me the way I am and some people think I do give a good first impression. But not every first impression battle can be won. 
 
Sitting across the table from those who rejected me I wonder if it may be true that I'm noxiously evil to her. Since they were on the other end they mostly ignored me and had their own fun and games. And knowing that she doesn't like me puts a whole new dimension to it. How will she handle hanging out with me? But after a while I wasn't too bothered about it. It's her perogative. I have other friends as well.
 
Then I remember a question she asked. About the bad rumours I heard about HER. I honestly didn't hear any. I just thought that she would be a strict taskperson. And she probably is. But that is another story to tell.
What do you think?


About this book I read...

  • Oct. 4th, 2009 at 11:44 PM
 I have no doubts that I am your regular run-in-the-mill youth. This is fact is severely highlighted with the fact that I'm nowhere on top of the game. I'm in a University that never name it to the top 100. I'm not even the best in my class. I may have big dreams but so do many other people. I get riled up by many things that I believe are wrong. I strongly disagree on discrimination and closed minds. I strongly disagree on war and abuse and child prositution.  
 
And now. I strongly disagree on mental torture and the ISA. 
 
Why the sudden vehemence?
 
I am currently reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. And I previously I just read Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
 
But the book that got me writing for a bit is Little Brother. It's a story about a boy that got caught out near a bombing site during a terrorist attack. And was assumed to BE the terrorist. Thus began a torture (which I'm pretty sure was pertaining to the taking in and questioning of suspects of criminals/wars expecially during the Iraqi wars - in other words Guantanamo Bay). But it draws a surprisingly strong parallel to what ISA might be doing.
 
In the story the government wants to control all they can. Control, they believe, is the answer for a perfect society. They believe that it's the answer to terrorism and crime. But so much control just seems to turn into one of the 15Malaysia clips (One Future). And we know we don't want that.
 
This book is also helping me understand more of why I we need a healthy dose of paranoia when it comes to software and technology. It was a weird thing at first, this paranoia, as it was a big thing with the FOSS society in Malaysia. And as I was first plunged into it I didn't fully understand what to do or even why (I am, even now, a stereotypical n00b). But now I do, in little bits and pieces, and I am so going to get a second laptop/computer and equip it with pure OSS. 
 
Nevermind about that.
 
This book also features a forcast of future technology and where it is heading. Oryx and Crake may be what the furthur future might look like but the technology of the next five or ten years would probably be something like in Little Brother. And along with those technology comes the little hacks that go with it. As we can see now hackers and cool coders are heroes and legends. And google is not a noun anymore. It's  increasingly becoming a verb. It has become a neccessity. And even maybe, a monopoly.
 
I could probably write reams more later but I haven't even gotten halfway through the book yet. But I already know the rest is going to be awesome. 
 
One of the most awesome things about this book is that you can download it for FREE! You can find it here. The author has allowed it to be on the net for free so that a lot of people can benefit from it. He's had so many great reviews from some of my favourite authors (including Neil Gaiman, Eoin Colfer, Scott Westerfield) and you know what... YOU should read it too.
 

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What do you think?


During The September of 09

  • Sep. 8th, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Strange things happen to people everyday but sometimes people just brush it off anyway and go on with their lives like nothing had happened at all. As if it was no miracle, no omen, nothing.  Like lightbulbs exploding for no reason. Like friends suddenly appearing when you least expect it. Like the car crash or explosion that was so close by. We live in the shuttered blinds of our lives never knowing more than what we know. Never seeing more than what we see. Oblivious to the links and signs that make up the lines of fate and destiny. But to err is to be human. And human is what I am.

I spoke to lala yesterday yesterday night. I haven't spoken to her for a long long long time. But there was something really really special that night. (Other than  discovering Youtube video's of James McAvoy). I talked to lala as I rarely talked before, seeing introspections of my life that on some level I deduced and understood but had never been spoken out or written as I had said it to her. I wish could remember all that I said. I don't recall acurately about what I talked about. Some of it was about friends, boyfriends, studying and my situation right now, I'd write them up sometime later I suppose. Just yesterday I watched Tron (in event of the new Tron Legecy that is coming out next year). It was released in 1982 and I think it's so cool how they thought it all up! I can't wait to see how Tron Legecy looks like! (But it's so funny how I thought the circuitboard was like a city. And in Tron it is! :D)

But despite the fact that I'm actually bogged down by work and exams and societies and projects I still find myself going out. Going off tangent. Going to places. It might be a good thing... But it might be really bad too. But not here.

;)

*signs off*


What do you think?


Musings during Notting Hill

  • Sep. 3rd, 2009 at 1:53 PM
 No wonder people really really love Notting Hill. It's horribly endearing. There are just so many times that I almost seem to tear up. I really really like this. 
 
But it seems to have a few defects. The scene's are really really nice but the personalities aren't as well defined. Maybe this is what books have an advantage on over films. You can take as much or as little words as possible to describe the character. There is so much more that can happen in a book. Just so much more scenes which means so much more windows into their personality.
 
But there is so much animation that you can get from film, you use up more of your different senses (alright, you just hear more and see pictures and movements).  It requires less imagination. More food for your dreams. :)
 
Stories are from scene to scene, from event to event and at times the common to common. From something as normal to waking up from bed, to explosions and dark scenes. So many places, so many faces, so many things that happen from day to day in every place, every part of the world. 
 
And this you can just make up so many stories. So many wonderful stories. Sometimes I just don't know where to start.
 
Going off tangent... Now that I thought of something. The Japanese. I was watching Nodame yestersay and i just realized something. Nodame attracts me with its exuberent and loud personalities that are amusing the first time around. But the more you get to know them the more you admire them and love them for the crazy selves.  I want to be like that. I think it would be lovely to be like that. But I fear I just came off as awkward. And now I would smile in self decepretion. It's just who I am.
 
Oh gods, that movie is GOOOD.
 
*sobs*
 
What do you think?


 I have not written for quite a while now. (echoes: For quite a while, for quite a while) And today, a Friday, I could do anything I want in the morning. And so I woke up (and prayed) and studied Japanese. (Note: Tae Kim's guide is a good one!)
 
What am I doing recently? I am just trying to catch up and get all my work done these days. And in between try my best to be an AIESECer and responsible active person at the same time. I went to help Bobby Ong with his charity work as well. I'm trying to be harder, better, faster, stronger.
 
I've tried to become more neat and consistent. Trying to make changes to my lifestyle like never before. Maybe I do think differently now. Maybe I am different. But I really don't want to lose the spark of fun and creativity that I have. I don't want to lose my emotions in the new walls of rigidity I put upon myself.  But today, I feel different, a sort of happy calm. Not some dirge of depression and loneliness. 
 
I should be more more more. I feel like I might have ended up being a robot. I meet so many people. And maybe it's starting to sound disinterested and vague. I find myself being constantly pushed aside to make way for another person. Another conversation. Another another. Not me. 
 
What is your defunct?
 
I wanted to write something this morning. Maybe something like "An Ode to a Grey Sky Morning" would be cool.
 
It is a grey sky morning
And now the air is cool
The rain is a rush from sky to land
When I woke up I was comfortably in my room
With a blue blanket wrapped around my leg
I shiver and pull it up to my chin
And thought about rain
And how it was so beautiful
I once wrote that wet mornings are for new beginnings
And for people who have shed tears
But then it is also for peace and calm
And feeling protected
It is for life and living. 
 
What do you think?


Some thoughts I thought.

  • Aug. 20th, 2009 at 3:13 PM
 I think I fooled around long enough. Playing voyeur and irritant on Facebook. But before I start working I have to share some things.
 
One is the 15Malaysia project. It's 15 short clips by 15 local directors. It is also the last bit of film that Yasmin Ahmad made before she passed away. I really really like this project and I'm so going to download all the clips when I have time. I really like the thoughts and emotions put into these films. It's filled with comedy and feeling and thought. All you have to do is just watch it yourself and as a Malaysian, you would understand.
 
And now I would correalate it to me. (As such a selfish beast as I would normally do.) It made me rethink of the stories I'm going to write. If you asked me when I was younger, what kind of stories would I write, I'd say I'd write fantasies. But these were stories that had no base but my own imagination and whatever I wrote would probably be shallow and thin. It was also an excuse I used to not start writing for a long long time. The more I delved into life and human connections the less I wanted to write. At times it was distasteful, other times it felt unneccesary, and sometimes it felt like what I would write would change the very essence of fantasy stories because my culture does not sound like the english books I read. Then I started to read books about India and the Indian culture. These books are purely in English. And yet they manage to transcribe the life and emotions of a regular Indian and show their innate uniqueness. They still sound so exotic even in black and white with their deepest thoughts exposed. Then watching YA movies and these clips, it shows how Malaysia is exotic in its own way. I know some of these and I think I could start here too. But I can't write a historical book like the previous successes of other Malaysian writers. Not only is it cliched, there is still something here, in its future to write about. We are unique. And yet... 
 
And there is also a tribute to YA done by Pete Teo. Things that she said really struck home for me. Like about the optimistic interracial love stories that she likes to do. And being accused of being sentimental. There is so much of it in the outside world and there is no need of it in the cinema's as well. It makes sense why people want to hear about love conquers all and happy endings. Personally I want to write it that way too. "Why obliterate hope?" she says. "We have too much of that already."
 
Another thing I want to share is something I stumbled upon on a blog of a Google engineer, Reza Behforooz at http://www.rezab.com/2008/03/bikes-cars-and-human-psyche.html.
 
This is what he wrote:
 
"Why is it so easy for humans to hate each other (bikers vs drivers, drivers vs pedestrians, religion X vs religion Y, country X vs country Y, ethnicity X vs ethnicity Y, people on different sides of a river, etc)? What wiring in our neocortex promotes this?
 
I saw a documentary that showed that some types of monkeys have a similar trait. In the experiment, they found that neighboring communities of monkeys had different ways of breaking hard-shell fruits like coconuts. One group used rocks, while the other group used sharp objects like a stick of wood. They did a study where they took a monkey from one community and put it in the other community. The results were amazing. The displaced monkey would get mocked! It was just like a kindergarten where a kid with a different habit showed up in school.
 
I enjoyed reading these couple of pages of a Book on this topic called 'Why we hate?' (http://books.google.com/books?id=q_mCtra-a5IC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=hate+neocortex&source=web&ots=bR7BkqOChH&sig=K6gvrQeAO9IT3OUUSnpL1GYXE1g&hl=en#v=onepage&q=hate%20neocortex&f=false) . Here is a related article on Psychology Today (http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200305/why-we-fear-the-unknown). Sadly, we never teach these things in schools and openly talk about why we have biases/hatred (let's put our semantic differences aside). Maybe it's not politically correct to admit that all of us have some biases/hatred?"
 
And it's so ironic that what he wants for America is the same thing could be applied in Malaysia where our society has been polarized by race and religion. To understand this would be part of the key of uniting Malaysia as 1Malaysia. And if they really did teach us this in schools... would we be a better Malaysia? I'd like to think so. And we probably need more understanding of this more then ever before in this volatile world as this could be applied in so many situations. 
 
Thats all for now...
 
Now for work!!
What do you think?


Like old songs and good books...

  • Aug. 19th, 2009 at 3:01 PM
 
When I look back at my journal (which has been so littered by my deepest darkest thoughts thus barring me from being able to reveal it to a lot of people because if I do it would truly show what a negative viewpoint I have which opposes my cheerful persona... but it doesn't mean I am a hypocrit... I feel so happy at most of times. I just feel so sad at other times. Especially when I'm not with funky people.) I realized I haven't written about other life changing exprience... MSLS, Gadoh, selling laptops and more recently Xcapade. And there are so many more snippets of life that I didn't record (eschewing imperfect photo's that don't seem to capture EVERY moment and feeling that changes by the seconds) preferring to leave them in coccoons of memory and feeling thats far sweeter than anything else. However, "Memory's truth, because memory has its own special kind. It selects, eliminates, alters, exaggerates, minimizes, glorifies, and vilifies also; but in the end it creates its own reality, its heterogeneous but usually coherent version of events; no sane human being ever trusts someone else's version more than his own." says Saleem Sinai from Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. You've got to admit this rings true.
 
So now I write, (albeit inconsistently) in my journal which has shifted its purpose, like I have shifted in personality, in thoughts and perceptions. It's alright to have changed although my dark journal could also be counted as a negative change. But I'm not really willing to compromise on material. In doing so I'd be less honest on what I'm publishing. I have to forget that I'm writing out to reading people, and write as unselfconciously as possible. And only then I might be able to write something great. Just like Yasmin Ahmad said in her talk at TEDxKL. She needs to empty herself and let the magic happen. Hmmm... I think instead I empty myself into my journal. It is after all a very personal project that probably my closest friends only know about. So usually I will write for them, or for me. And I honestly don't bother to tell anyone else about it. For one thing... nobody asks. :P Except for Tse Hwei. Must be because she blogs too. So the longer it is the longer my journal spirals into oblivion and the longer the amount of entries would be. And I don't mind. Because I'm not playing the popularity game. 
 
This entry took a whole day to write. And I think I will waste my time on writing more when i do have the time for it.
 
Au revoir.
 
What do you think?


Losing Interest.

  • Aug. 7th, 2009 at 8:56 PM
 I have questioned myself again and again about my goals and motivations. What makes me do the things I do, what makes me feel the way I feel. But one thing I never truly questioned was why. Why was I feeling the way I do? I do not question this because there is no answer for it. None that I know at least. It may lead to questions of the very essence of being human. Happiness and sadness. It may lead to questions of how I've been brought up, the very essence of my being, my personality. There may have been dabbles of fate and chance. Or it could be nothing at all. What I do is not a big deal.
 
I'm getting restless and bored. I can't seem to study like everyone else does. It may be a question of willpower. Or brainpower. Maybe I'm just not interested. Just like I'm losing interest in the Engineering Society because there's no one there that wants it to live like I do. Like I'm losing interest in the college activity because I'm forced to do it. Just like I'm losing interest in AIESEC because they didn't give me a call. Just like I'm losing interest in reading, writing, drawing and programming. I just can't seem to push myself. And when I do I feel bitter and angry at myself. I don't know. I don't know what I should be doing.
 
The only thing I seem to do is to hold on to this sadness and feel it crest and crash whenever I watch touching movies. There's never enough movies to watch. 
 
I just want to gather myself up in a cocoon and sleep it all away.
What do you think?


Perfume The Movie

  • Aug. 3rd, 2009 at 12:59 AM
(I start from when Jean-Baptiste is hired by the perfumier.)

The arrogance of the man is overwhelming. He an old and great man. He is a great perfumier that has worked his craft for years. And yet when he see's this dirty young man professing to know how to make perfume (and having the best nose in the world) and proving it to him, the boy is treated with the worst and rudest of manner.  But then he is used. Used to get the formulae's of so many beautiful perfumes.  
 
But Perfume is a strange tale by itself. The main character may be one of the most horrible specimen of mankind but his story is still as equally compelling as any story ever was. His quest for scent is a rare tale. Entirely plausible. Yet utterly gross and obscene at the same time.
 
In the movie, Baptiste could actually be a good looking man. Especially if he wasn't so skinny. And the movie gives me something the book doesn't give me. A visual and sound  presentation. A concrete look on how they might have looked for real. None of my imaginings. I didn't even know how the words I read sounded like. And when I hear how it's supposed to be for the first time, it does not sound like my words at all. And as with what I see and hear and experience, this whole world is new. And it may be slightly familiar. But it would never be the same at all.
 
Another thing I wonder, since the wounding paths taken by Baptiste is so strange and bizarre, that one could barely believe that it could be for real. And I could hardly imagine how he could relate to a normal being. Is what he felt for the redheaded girls be something else altogether? In other circumstances could it be love? Or merely simple adoration of beauty and innocence and all things pure? Merely translated into... scent.
 
It almost looked like a rock concert before it turned into an orgy. And suddenly, was that a confirmation? A regret? A plea for love?
 
And just as I remembered, he was eaten to death.
What do you think?


Dreams...

  • Aug. 2nd, 2009 at 3:59 AM
There's a reason why I am enamoured with the arts. I am totally and irrevocaly in love with my books, my music, my movies and comic books. Living it (to me) is a life worth living. A life worth the pain, the horror and (at times) the mere torture of breathing. The emotions they evoke, the thoughts they present, the very idea of creating stirs my very soul. This is why I want to be here. This is why I am.
What do you think?


I want to be Home

  • Aug. 2nd, 2009 at 3:08 AM
 I wonder from time to time. When will HE come? When will HE, the love of my life, my other half, my destiny set forth and introduce himself? When will I finally embark on the journey so dreamed of ever since young? I must not run around and find him like a lost key. And yet I mustn't just stand around and wait for miracles to happen. They say when it comes it comes. But it hasn't happened yet. I'm still stuck in this limbo. Watching and waiting. And hoping for something that might be anything and everything and nothing all at once. I am here with no experience to my name. I stand innocent and virginal. (And by this time I wonder if it's because I'm totally unattractive.) 
 
I just can't wait to be absolutely sure. I want to always know I'm beautiful to someone. That I really matter to someone. And I in turn want to be there for someone. It would be so wonderful to know if I was just bored and wanted to say hello, he'd be so happy about it and would say hi back. That someone I could whine to all the time and it doesn't matter. Someone to help me feel sure that I can become that better person. Someone to love. Someone to hold me. Someone warm and solid. I want to feel like I'm not all alone.
 
I want to be home.
What do you think?


Hum a little song inside.

  • Aug. 2nd, 2009 at 2:39 AM
 It's so easy to see that i have done nothing. No books have finished being written. No artwork to display in a deviantart page. Not even good results or a good placement in a prestigious university. No achievements, no world changing event. Nothing.
 
Watching a movie about Jane Austen, where every moment she was struggling to be more than what society dictates to her, makes me feel like a total sloth. I haven't written anything at all that could lead to a book. No matter how many excuses I make about gaining experience and learning more, I am not going anywhere if I don't do it. I have to stop distracting myself and hiding. Stop! I am not going out. I am going to stay here and study. I am going to stay here and work on writing. Page by page. Line by line. I have to stop feeling like if I stop moving the whole world would stop as well, like a bicycle that only moves when it is going forward. If I don't stop, I am probably going to crash and burn.
 
So take a while and get on the path. The path that I always want to walk but I feel like I've never taken it before. I want to do this properly now. Today.
 
What do you think?


Pretty/Ugly

  • Aug. 1st, 2009 at 10:33 AM
 It might seem a little retarded and I might have talked about it one too many times. But I am a girl. I am self concious. It doesn't bother me most times but at other moments it does. 
 
I am pretty/ugly.
 
I looked in enough mirrors and pictures of myself to know that. I can look nice sometimes but I could also look like a veritable monster. Sometimes I look totally fat. But sometimes I'm utterly grateful that I'm not like That or That. 
 
In short I am pretty/ugly.
 
Sure, sure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and everyone is unique. But everyone wants to be beautiful. I'm not. I think...
What do you think?


Vainglorious...

  • Jul. 24th, 2009 at 10:06 AM
 I don't remember where that word came from... But it sounds so glamorous... 

An interesting subject I stumbled upon. Gender and Masculinity. It's a new subject taught at the Social Sciences faculty. I was really interested about it ever since Gabrielle sort of introduced it to me when she wanted to write a book about the emancipation of men and breaking them out of their mold. I was asking myself the need for this and I realize that it's very true. 

And this story... This story is a good one.... From the Gender Centre.... And I think it's so cool...
What do you think?


Me and Where I Live

  • Jul. 21st, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Days of inactivy and aimless wondering has brought me back here to the screen and once again I face my words. 

It has been a while. 
 
But I have not felt like writing. I have not felt like doing much at all. My mind has been in some level of stasis. Trapped in the desire to be someone and the actual doing of it. I haven't studied or read much. But I can proudly say that I've finished reading Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup (the author of Q&A aka Slumdog Millionaire).  Not like that is a big accomplishment and all but at this rate I marvel if I could actually finish anything. 
 
I've been living fay to day as if there's a hole in my life. It makes me infernally sad at the strangest of moments. And again and again I relaize that feelings cannot be rationalized. They just happen. And so you emote and and contort according to your feelings even if you don't realize it at all. Like I learned in in kee aun's post yesterday; about how to make people like you and be popular. It was mainly emphasizing emotional manipulation as humans are emotional creatures despite all. I find that I prove this to myself especially when i think back at how I react to situations and people. "Of course I feel like this... Who wouldn't feel this way?" is what I end up saying to myself when I'm confronted with feelings that I know I should not feel like envy, etc. 
 
It seems so bizzare sometimes that I live in a juxtaposition of two opposites. This morning I was drinking teh tarik while reading Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. I know that most of the people I know would not read literature of that kind despite the fact that it won the Booker Prize (and I suppose a great majority of people don't even know it exists). I suppose that reading all this is a very Western thing. Only I have teh tarik at college instead of coffee at Starbucks. Western and Malaysian culture in the blend, don't you think so?
 
What a picture it makes though. 
 
Looking through the eyes of an artist, a writer, or any sort of creative persona, I see the colours of my surroundings. Despite going through the motions of a mundane life, I see the beauty of it and I wonder what other people see at other places and other times. Whether I want to or not, I have become the preserver of the life and memories of Malaysia. I will be the one who knew it. And I will be the one who would tell it's stories. It becomes clearer every time I see the Kwai Lo's (the Americans). They are so fascinated by us and our country which is as foriegn as durian to their world. They have seen barely any movies about us. They have read about us even less. Some do not even know we exist. They do not understand the subtle humours and depressions of Malaysian life. And it's ironic that Americans which have been heavily publisized by the media which lead the ideal of modern lifestyle barely know us at all. 
 
I, on the other hand, realize more and more how special and how unique our point of views are. About our races and cultures and the delicate balance between them. About the food and how much of it has brought much freedom to my life (honestly I can barely imagine going through life checking every single label and ingredient of every product, every shop, every moment). About our stereotypes and situations. Despite modernization and westernization, Malaysia is still there and will always be the foundation of our lives. 
 
I am a youth of Malaysia and hopefully I stand as an open minded one. I welcome the future but I do not want to forget the past. When I speak English I do not mean to diss my country, I just prefer it that way. I know my malay, even if I cannot make it flowery. 
 
Some may find it strange but I feel like I can draw parallel's between Malaysia and Vikas Swarup's India. There are some situations which are the same and yet at other times it seems so foreign. I like these stories of India. It shows me things that I would never know or ever feel unless I'm an Indian. I get to know their lives through their eyes and despite all the nitty gritty, I still see the beauty in their lives. Someday there should be more Malaysian writers presenting to the world about us and how beautiful we are. Yet, we must not be afraid to show our faults. Despite the great food and friendly exterior there is a struggle. Scandals in politics and policies. Racism and the racial divide. Degradation of society and questionable morals. Divided thoughts and idealism. 
 
Maybe when we address these in print it would shake people up from their inaction and ignorance. We need people to wake up and not be afraid. Even I am unsure. Am I doing enough? Am I doing it right? What else can I do? Can I do it? 
 
This is when I'm going to stop. The future is ambiguous, barely defined. 
 
We'll see.
 
What do you think?


Jojo's Quiz thing

  • Jul. 21st, 2009 at 9:40 AM
 From here. 

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:

You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

_____________________

Jojo was right... This is sort of accurate...



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A brief stint of lesbianism

  • Jun. 28th, 2009 at 9:58 PM
The musical.
 
I liked Bobby. 
 
He's so cute! He's save the trees and Mother Nature in a cool hip hop sort of way. I liked the way he moved and said things and made the world go round.
 
He was a girl acting in a musical. 
 
I sort of forgot Bobby was a really a girl when he went onstage. Mind you I only like Bobby the character. Not the girl.
 
Hehehe.
 
What do you think?