Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding --Einstein
I'm going to be 25 this Saturday. Birthdays always feel weird when you know you are getting older and have nothing to show for it. I really don't feel anything about turning 25 actually. I don't have any special plans for that day though someone did ask me out. I said ok without knowing that it's my birthday that day. Serious! I kept thinking that my bday is a Sunday for some reason. I'm not too sure if I should go or not, cos though I dont really give a damn either way, I dont really want to give the wrong idea (that i'm positively dying to spend my bday with the guy who asked me out). Should I? :-)
New Book
Nick Hornby has got a new book out!
Mike and
David, you should check it out (I think you will like it) because it is basically about 31 songs that changed his life. Amazon has the title listed as "Songbook," but I think the UK ed is called "31 songs." (Neither is very original, is it?) I read the reviews; not too bad. They did mention though that some songs he wrote about are harder to find. Hey, then what's kazaa for? :-)
This week's
This or That Tuesday:
(I'm trying this out, cos Friday Five sometimes ask rubbish questions. But the problem here is that there are too many questions! Oh well, we'll see how it goes)
1.
Poetry or prose?
Prose I guess. Depends on who the author is.
2.
Funky modern art or the older, "classic" variety?
Give me funky any day! Though I do appreciate the "classic" version and everything, but after a semester of art history... I've had enough.
3.
Sculptures or paintings?
Paintings; sometimes installations. I like Jenny Holzer (she uses Neon Lights as part of her art) and
Damien Hirst (a "sensationalist" artist who cuts up dead animals, preserve them in formaldehyde and put them on display. It's in-your-face, but you cant help but
react to it and I think that's part of the artist's intention.)
4.
Theatre: exuberant musical or serious drama?
Not too sure. Probably neither actually.
5.
Ballet or modern dance?
Same as No. 4
6.
Movies: major studio or indie?
Possibly Indie, just cos you sort of know how major studio releases will end.
7.
Authors: Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss?
Shakespeare, without a doubt.
8.
TV: PBS or A&E?
Not applicable
9.
Music: Beethoven or Beatles?
Both.
:-)
Some shows I will be catching at the
Film Fest:
1.
Max
It's got John Cusack (need I say more?) and it's about a promising artist who opens a gallery and meets a "aspiring artist" named Adolf Hitler.
2.
Derrida.
My all-time favourite thinker. A bio of his life and thoughts.
3.
Bungalow
German film about a moment in the life of an army recruit whose "childhood is now over but adulthood has not yet arrived."
4.
Monday Morning
French film about being trapped in a mind-numbing 9-5 life in a factory (hence the title I guess)
5.
24 Hour Party People
It's about the life of Tony Wilson, who headed Factory Records and is a "parable on why the music industry suck today." I've heard that it's brilliant, and has got a smashing soundtrack (with New Order).
6.
Salo
I think this is a rather old movie, and adapted from Sade's 120 Days of Sodom. I was
forced persuaded to watch this.
I hope they are going to be good shows. I'm really broke now after buying the tickets.
Oh well, some random pictures:
My very own
music advisor! Check it out! (thanks
david)
I "scrobbled" yo la tengo together with teenage fanclub, and they (^) tell me that they couldnt find any matches!!
Teenage Fanclub is a really great band! They are grossly underrated.
The world in which we live,
is a mirror of our souls,
a home for orphans
a ghastly drama.
The world in which we live,
is a comedy for those who think,
a tragedy for those who feel.
The world in which we live is
however, the only one we know.
^ adapted from an ad I saw somewhere.
War has been on everybody's minds of late, and I am no exception. I still think that it is a shame that the situation has to come to this. I do not believe that all possible peaceful alternatives have been exhausted. There are too many questions left unanswered and too many grey and murky areas. For the record, I just want to be "anti-war" without taking sides.
/offical scornfate statement
(not that it matters in any important way)
Site to check out:
A
photoblog on Iraq (via
david)
Also, shoutouts to
David for the extremely kind and generous offer of sending me a copy of
yo la tengo's live shows. I am still very touched and grateful! Thanks!!
The recent
debate on computer languages has been very illuminating. Thanks,
mike and loki!
| You are 44% geek |
You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.
Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.
You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!
Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!
You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.
|
Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com
Brace yourself: Long post ahead!
I went swimming today because i'm quite concerned (ok, embarrassed) about my lack of tan lines and pasty complexion. I got up real early and walked to the swimming complex 15 minutes away. I think swimming in the pool alone (there were less than 10 people around) is therapeutic. So many random thoughts and songs that got stuck for no reason (there were 2 songs in my head today: 1. Foo Fighters, One by One and 2. the excellent Jesse Malin, Queen of the Underworld--they were taking turns: very polite).
Random thoughts:
1. I remember that the contrast between the grandstand roof and the blue sky was really strikingly nice from the far corner of the pool where i was lazing in the sun.
2. how tanning is but a mere illusion of good health. I'd much rather get tanned by swimming than actual sun-tanning. I feel more "accomplished" somehow.
this is where it gets real random:
3. why computer languages are accepted as a
foreign language in colleges. I was thinking about how languages say more about the people who speak it than anything else. This is why the Eskimos have like 10000 words for snow, hail and other weather stuff, because they are so involved in that kind of environment. Whereas in Vietnam, they are more words associated with how one carries/holds stuff etc, because of the lifestyle that they lead.
The point I'm trying to make is that most human experiences are expressed through some kind of a sophiscated communal system of signs, gestures and words/writings. So, since programming languages are accepted as legitimate languages, what kind of human experiences do C++ and other programming languages express? I'm just curious. Does anyone know?
There is nothing more I would like to attempt than the learning of new languages. Because that is the surest way to know about a country's people and culture, I think.
I like this though:
I would really like to learn a computer language by myself. I would like to see what experiences can be generated through this. But where would I start? Advice/ Comments please!
4.
yo la tengo's latest album "Summer Sun" will be out on April 8. This, together with the
Singapore Film Fest in April makes me very happy indeed. More reasons to stay alive, I tell myself. I'm watching quite a number of shows but plans have not been finalised yet. Updates will be forthcoming.
/random thoughts
I am sad to report though that after swimming around in the hot sun for almost 2 hours (i think), I still don't have a good tan! Damnit! I dont tan easily that's why. But I intend to start swimming more often now.
a spanking new layout!
nice?
mike : could you tell me how to add a scroll bar in the blog area again? Sorry to bother you. Thanks!
Shoutouts and kudos to
mike if this works!
oh. shit. I just realised that i'm posting on my bro's computer, not my own. Doh!
*slaps forehead*
There's something majorly wrong with my pc's os (ms). One of the configuration files seems to be either corrupted or missing. I got my dad to help me revive it. Right now, it looks like it's ok. But I'm not sure if I have lost any important data as yet (i dont think so) but this really sucks! Damn!
/should have backed up,
damnit!!!
p.s.: sorry for not posting recently. The weather is so hot here that it's killed off half my brain.
p.p.s.: Does anyone know if there's something wrong with my page? Whenever I refresh, a pop-up dialogue box will ask me if I want to debug a "runtime error" (what's that?!). It's never happen before. If anyone knows how to fix this, I'd be real grateful. Thanks
It's kinda late, but what the heck. This week's
Friday Five:
1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?
Depends, I guess. I do like non-fiction stuff sometimes.
2. What is your favorite novel?
Hmmm. If we are going by the classical definition of "novel," I guess it would be
Pride and Prejudice (I know, I know.)
If not, then maybe more recent stuff like Coupland is cool
3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)
My favourite poem is by T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land. It's too long to quote in its entirety but below is my fave bit:
What are the roots that clutch? What branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish. Son of Man, you cannot say or guess
For you know only a heap of broken images. Where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only there is shadow under
This red rock (come in under the shadow of this red rock)
And I will show you something different from either your
Shadow at morning striding behind you, or your shadow
At evening rising to meet you. I will show you fear
In a handful of dust.
4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?
It will take me a lifetime (or rather, a couple of them) to read all the stuff that I want to read. I would like to read the classics: Proust is top of the list at the moment, and also, Flaubert too, Cervantes... etc.
5. What are you currently reading?
Kafka's short story, "Before the Law," for my dissertation. It's only a 2 page parable but I'm also reading the analysis and essays written about it. You wouldnt believe the number of pages devoted to this. I could just die!
