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June 28, 2004
Incremental Reading
Last week, I needed a novel that can distract me but easy enough to read for my tired-out eyes. I chose Tony Parson's Man and Wife and it was clearly trashy, albeit enjoyable. I progressed on to Haruki Murakami's South of Border, West of Sun.
South of Border, West of Sun is probably Murakami's weakest work, or so the critics say. His protogonist is extremely unlikeable - selfish, self-centered and thinks too much with his penis. However, I liked it. It struck a personal chord in my heart. Perhaps his confusion and his need to reach out to people to cover his loneliness felt like mine. Perhaps his selfish-ness was just realistically humane, most storybook characters are abit too infallible for my taste. Hajime is flawed but each mistake he made, each person he hurt filled him up with immense guilt. The inability to repent immediately but dwell on his guilt instead gave him a Claudius-like quality. Something I can definitely identify with.
This is a simple story. A story without fantastical plot-twists or intricate sub-plots. This is a simple story with simply the protogonists thoughts and dilemmas written out. This is a story about a human's mind. It gives me hope. For Hajime chose to do the right thing in the end. I know full well that whether or not life will become better or if he can keep his promise is another matter altogether. But, it's his hope and his want to try again and to right the wrongs he made because of his selfishness that gives the reader hope. Hope that the human race is not that self-obsessed yet.
And next to Parson's excuse-for-a-dick protogonist, Harry Silver, Hajime is very heroic indeed.
Posted by lainey at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2004
Stupidity
Because I've run out of words.
1. What time do you get up?
It depends. When I'm home, I always try to wake by 7am.
2. If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be?
Can't think of any name off hand.
3. Gold or silver?
Silver, gold turns blackish upon contact with my skin.
4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Can't remember. I think it was Harry Potter.
5. Favorite TV show(s)?
Sex & the City? Friends. Charmed. Will & Grace.
6. What did you have for breakfast?
A glass of soya bean milk.
7. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
My dad.
8. What is your middle name?
No middle name. Not gonna divulge Chinese name.
9. Beach, City or Country?
torrential beach. Alone. Big white house on sad.
10. Favorite Ice cream?
Haagen Daaz green tea icecream or anything from Bravissimo really.
11. Butter, plain or salted popcorn?
butter or salted. I usually ask for a mix.
12. What kind of car do you drive?
I don't have a license.
13. What characteristic do you despise?
Hypocrisy, dishonesty and boastfulness.
14. Favorite flower?
daisies or dandelions.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Right now? The French country side sounds tempting, Bintan sounds tempting, New York is too humid in the summer so I guess San Francisco or Melbourne.
16. What color is your bathroom?
Purple. Not by choice. This is my sister's old room.
17. Favorite brand of clothing?
French Connection.
18. Where would you retire to?
French Countryside, Somewhere along the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne or somewhere along the Northern Californian coastline.
19. Favorite day of the week?
It used to be Friday or Saturday. Now I need to rethink and relive all my days before I know.
20. What did you do for last birthday?
Stayed home. I hate birthdays - mine.
21. Where were you born?
Singapore
22. Favorite sport to watch?
Swimming
23. What fabric detergent do you use?
I have no idea
24. Coke or Pepsi?
Don't take sodas.
25. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Am definitely not a morning person.
26. What is your shoe size?
8
27. Do you have any pets?
Does my sister's dog count?
Posted by lainey at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2004
Today's Dinner
Beef Stew with Rice ( I used brown rice because I was feeling guilty about the potatoes in the stew ;)
Posted by lainey at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)
Readings
I've just finished two books -
1) Disgrace by J.M Coetzee
I finally got down to reading this much acclaimed book after seeing a tired-looking second-hand copy on the shelf of the secondhand bookstore at Serene Centre. It is a good fast read ( I finished it in two days) with pressing issues pertaining to the social environment of modern South Africa. However, it didn't felt stunningly good enough for the Booker Prize it won but I guess I'm not a worthy judge. The ending is pretty strong though and it is a pleasant surprise from all the weak endings I've been dealt with of late. The book draws on strong parallels between men and women and the effect of rape and abuse. How the story's main characters react to a terrible physical abuse differently shows not only the difference in sexes, but also, the difference with experience. You can never pretend you understand unless you have been a victim of rape.
2) The Virgin and The Gypsy by D.H Lawrence
This is a good short moral tale which opened my eyes on morality, life and God. D.H Lawrence is a good old-fashioned story-teller.
Posted by lainey at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2004
My Dinner (cooking is great therapy!) :)
Chicken, Tomato & Egg Rice
1/2 cup of brown rice
chopped garlic (as much as u want)
1 tomato (chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped)
half a chicken breast (diced)
Italian spice
pepper/salt
vinegar
dark soy sauce
olive oil
Marinate the diced chicken with a dash of vinegar, a dash of dark soy sauce and some italian spice.
Set aside.
In a saucepan, add olive oil and brown the garlic.
Add the onions next.
Add chicken and fry till brown (not cooked)
Set aside chicken.
Add abit more olive oil.
Add the brown rice into the saucepan. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
Add 1 cup of water.
Add salt/pepper to taste.
Add a bit more italian spice
Cover the saucepan and simmer at minimum heat for about 10 min.
Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken on top of the rice.
Cover the saucepan and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Crack an egg on top of mixture.
Cover and simmer for 2 minutes.
Scoop on plate (careful not to break the yolk) and serve.
Posted by lainey at 06:47 PM | Comments (3)
June 19, 2004
Not Finding Nemo
This is my current obsession, it's a really hilarious watch and really rather interesting and engrossing. I don't want to be a sardine, don't like killer whales for killing the baby blue whale and think squids are absolutely the most adorable creatures in the deep blue sea. But then again, I'm only at episode 2. ;)
Posted by lainey at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2004
One Last One - I promise!
I aim for Bloomsday 2005 ok? :)
Posted by lainey at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
Bloomsday Missed
My Bloomsday is not logged here because I've not been home. Though I did not wander the streets of Dublin, I did but wander the streets of Singapore - tired, depressed and hungry. Food was forced down my throat somewhere by Mom - unsuccessfully (She capitulated into buying me an ice-blended, which, she insists, is not food) and Tiff. WAlking from bookstore to library to comic bookstore in the maddening heat, I thought I ought to be home finishing up my Ulysses.
Today was spent going to Ang Mo Kio, Seng Kang, Hougang, Holland, Singapore Poly and hither back home finally for a breather. Walking around in this inhumane heat and feeling my perspiration down my back, down my face, between the crevices of my body is a strangely liberating experience. The sunlight is so intense everything looks hellishly surreal. Is this what apocalypse will look like? Feel like?
Anyway, this should be my last post/link on Bloomsday...for this year of course.
Stream of consciousness writing, I'm not quite like Joyce, but my writing is consciously unstreamed too.
Posted by lainey at 05:24 PM | Comments (1)
June 14, 2004
What happens after "I DO
The nitty gritties of gay marital life.
"...When a lesbian couple marries, could the women change from Ms. to Mrs.?..."
Posted by lainey at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)
More Bloomsday Mania
Melbourne prepares for Bloomsday too!
And no, I don't think I can finish re-reading James Joyce by June 16, 2004.
It's gonna be 100 years!
Posted by lainey at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
Bloomsday!
Dublin remembers their greatest writer and his greatest book, ever!
:)
Oh how I remember helping my prof with organising Bloomsday in Melbourne!
Posted by lainey at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2004
Furnulum pani nolo. "I don't
Furnulum pani nolo.
"I don't want a toaster."
Generally, things (like this quiz) tend to tick you
off. You have contemplated doing grievous
bodily harm to door-to-door salesmen.
Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by lainey at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)
You're Brigitte Bardot! What Classic
You're Brigitte Bardot!
What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by lainey at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
Retreat From Moscow
Outside still fell the smothering snow.
Was it a voice indeed, or but a dream?
It was the vulture's, but how like the sea-bird's scream.
-Victor Hugo
Posted by lainey at 12:23 AM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2004
Almost 100 Years
James Joyce's Ulyssian Masterpiece.
Posted by lainey at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)
Life goes on
Daniel Pearl's widow moves on with life.
My prayers are with her and her son, who has never and will never, see his father or know him.
Posted by lainey at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)
Othello
Went to watch Othello last night. I was expecting myself to fall asleep at some point because I had not slept well for the previous two nights, was nursing a bad headache and well, I have a tendency to get bored at some point of a theatrical production.
It was a monster at 3 hours and 10 minutes. (Did it really last that long?) Three acts, two intermissions, alot of non-words, imagery and some subtitles. I didn't get bored at all. In fact, after getting the hang of toggling between the subtitles screen and the real stuff going on the stage, I was hooked and was almost surprised each time an act ended.
The staging was superb and with a white Othello, all the "black" connotations dived right into the darkness of the human psyche and eliminated race issues. A simplified thematic approach to make issues of the human mind more pressing.
This is the first time I've ever cried at a play. When Desdemona confided in Emilia about her confusion regarding Othello's lack of love and unwarranted suspicion, her simplicity and trust in the faith of love cut deep into my heart. Trust and love is never enough, if it's only one-sided. And for that fabulous scene, I now can't decide now if I feel more for Ophelia (a la Hamlet) or Desdemona. Her hope, her love, her haplessness - does she deserve to die at all?
All in all, I 'm glad I went. It's money well-spent definitely. :)
Posted by lainey at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2004
Nice House
I want.
;)
Posted by lainey at 06:12 AM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2004
Something New Brews In Brooklyn
For a different art experience - very nice indeed. :)
Posted by lainey at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2004
The terrible new modern age
I'm not sure if I'm a literary snob, but Microsoft absolutely disgusts me.
Homer will be flipping and cussing in his grave.
Posted by lainey at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
"You do not come to Euphemia only to buy and sell, but also because at night, by the fires all around the market, seated on sacks or barrels stretched out on piles of carpets, at each word that one man says - such as 'wolf,' 'sister,' 'hidden treasure,' 'battle,' 'scabies,' 'lovers' - the others tell, each one, his tale of wolves, sisters, treasures, scabies, lovers, battles. And you know that in the long journey ahead of you, when to keep awake against the camel's swaying or the junk's rocking, you start summoning up your memories on by one, your wolf will have become another wolf, your sister a different sister, your battle other battles, on your return from Euphemia, the city where memory is traded at every solstice and at every equinox."
- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
Posted by lainey at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2004
Margaret Atwood
Clara Chow meets Canada's best.
Posted by lainey at 05:44 AM | Comments (0)
Choosing Death Over Life
In the state of Oregon, there is a law which allows patients who are expected to die in six months lethal doses to end their own lives. Surprising is the number of people who signed up for it, and more surprising is the actual number of people who uses the lethal doses after signing up.
However, I think having the option to end one's own pain is a powerful and wise law. Though I somehow wonder how valid is physical suffering as a reason for suicide. I have had two relatives (my uncle and my aunt) diagnosed with terminal diseases and told they were going to die in less than six months...years ago. They are still alive and irritating the hell out of me now. ;)
Posted by lainey at 05:41 AM | Comments (0)
hahaha!
You're Lebanon!
Your room's a mess. Your house is a mess. Heck, your life
is a mess. It all used to be really beautiful, and someone even compared you to Paris
once, but that's all been replaced with heartache and struggle. You're small, have been
influenced by outsiders for too long, and don't know what to think about religion. At
least you smell rather pleasant!
Take
the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid
Posted by lainey at 05:26 AM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2004
Everyone is as Heaven made
Everyone is as Heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.
-Cervantes
Posted by lainey at 05:07 PM | Comments (0)
DVD Alert
Why do I have a hunch that I have more than 1 friend waiting to add this to their DVD collection? ;)
Posted by lainey at 02:00 PM | Comments (1)
The Wonders of Internet
And we can sit in front of the computer and buy as many posters as we can without spending money on an air-ticket.
Posted by lainey at 01:40 PM | Comments (1)
June 01, 2004
An Extremely Delightful Website
Ginsberg's Celestial Homework : Specialized Reading List for "Literary History of the Beat Generation," a course taught by Allen Ginsberg at Naropa Institute during the summer of 1977
In 1974, the poets Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman launched the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Institute (now Naropa University) in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado. Founded by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the school was modeled after Buddhist learning centers like Nalanda University that flourished in India between the 5th and 11th centuries described by Waldman and Andrew Schelling as "part monastery, part college, part convention hall or alchemist's lab."
Posted by lainey at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)