For some very insane reason I cannot quite explain, I'm determined to read or have read The Little Prince to this song. It just fits!
You try it - tell me if you agree it works.
Climb, climb into the rocket
And we set the fuse to go, go go
Head start, cosy in the rocket
And I need to go, go, go,go
Tip top ready for the sky
And I'm tip top ready to go
Tip top ready for the sky
And I'm tip top ready to go,go,go
Come, come, fly into my palm
And collapse
Oh oh, suppose you'll never know
Nobody knows where they might end up
Nobody knows
Nobody knows where they might wake up
Nobody knows
Nobody knows where they might end up
Nobody knows
Nobody knows where they might wake up
Nobody knows
Tick tack toe, you're fitting into place
And now the old ways don't seem true
Stick stop blue you're only changing in
In the same old space you always knew
Tip top ready for the rocket
And I'm tip top ready to go
Tip top ready for the sky
And I'm tip top ready to go, go go
Come, come, fly into my palm
And collapse
Oh oh, suppose you'll never know
Come, come, fly into my palm
And collapse
Oh oh, suppose you'll never know
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Fabulous invention of new world television
I've discovered a fabulous invention of television that I don't have back home. English subtitles for the hearing impaired! Well, not that I am hearing impaired, and also not that back home (tm) have no subtitles in English. Just none for programs in English.
Now why would anyone want to read subtitles on screen in the same language that they are listening to if they were not hearing impaired? What is the additional benefit, pray tell, of the very same words spelt out on screen, sometimes in really bad spelling?
It's amazing! There are even subtitles for ads. And hashes #where there are songs#. The best thing of all is... there are #titles and artists# of songs played on TV. Even on Grey's Anatomy, Smallville, Desperate Housewives, Dawson's Creek and Friends. Even when an ad plays - I now know what Land of Hope and Glory and that particularly used Tchaikovsky piece sounds like. Now I will never have to sit there and wonder, and ask a friend, google, and ponder for ages thinking "What the heck is that lovely song played on the telly?" The television will now, very kindly, as it should have for ages, tell me what the song is and who its sung by. Lovely, lovely invention!
My television gives me subtitles!! In English!! With instantly google-able song title and music artist! Long live digital TV!!
The oddest thing of all is, with audio options, somehow when I switch to Audio: English for the visually impaired - the sound goes off. It must be a bug, not a feature. But I'm a happy hamster now...
Now why would anyone want to read subtitles on screen in the same language that they are listening to if they were not hearing impaired? What is the additional benefit, pray tell, of the very same words spelt out on screen, sometimes in really bad spelling?
It's amazing! There are even subtitles for ads. And hashes #where there are songs#. The best thing of all is... there are #titles and artists# of songs played on TV. Even on Grey's Anatomy, Smallville, Desperate Housewives, Dawson's Creek and Friends. Even when an ad plays - I now know what Land of Hope and Glory and that particularly used Tchaikovsky piece sounds like. Now I will never have to sit there and wonder, and ask a friend, google, and ponder for ages thinking "What the heck is that lovely song played on the telly?" The television will now, very kindly, as it should have for ages, tell me what the song is and who its sung by. Lovely, lovely invention!
My television gives me subtitles!! In English!! With instantly google-able song title and music artist! Long live digital TV!!
The oddest thing of all is, with audio options, somehow when I switch to Audio: English for the visually impaired - the sound goes off. It must be a bug, not a feature. But I'm a happy hamster now...
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Ten Things to do in London in a day
Ten happy things that I'm going to do when I am done with budget and have an Amelie weekend to myself:
- Compile a London Day playlist on the iPod that will keep me company through the entire day
- Play with dogs in Hyde Park
- Eat a cupcake at Hummingbird
- Take food photos at Borough Market
- Sit in the British Museum (and then take some photos while I'm at it)
- Wear a nice floral dress and strappy sandals
- Buy something from Verde's - Jeanette Winterson's shop
- Take a set of Polaroids in a crowded shopping area (current target: Carnaby Street)
- Have a warm/or cool (depending on the weather) latte along South Bank
- Go gourmet food shopping but end up with a gourmet pizza for dinner
My love song for summer
This is a song for warm summer nights, for lying in the arms of a lover, for staring into eyes, for tracing pictures on faces, for hushed toned conversations, for crowded cafes that feel like a personal universe, for private worlds.
KT Tunstall's Universe & U
A fire burns
Water comes
You cool me down
When I'm cold inside
You are warm and bright
You know you are so good for me, yeah
With your child's eyes
You are more than you seem
You see into space
I see in your face
The places you've been
The things you have learned
They sit with you so beautifully
You know there's no need to hide away
You know I tell the truth
We are just the same
I can feel everything you do
Hear everything you say
Even when you're miles away
Cause I am me, the universe and you
And just like stars burning bright
Making holes in the night
We are building bridges
You know there's no need to hide away
You know I tell the truth
We are just the same
I can feel everything you do
Hear everything you say
Even when you're miles away
Cause I am me, the universe and you
I'm the universe and you
When you're on your own
I'll send you a sign
Just so you know I am me, the universe and you
The universe and you
The universe and you
I am the universe and you
How to Save a Life
Let me start out by saying what I don't like about the lyrics, even though I will put it up, and I think the lyrics do match the melody in a sort of "the music is still going on" sort of way.
What I don't like is the sheer technicality of it - you just don't create a rhyme using the same word that you're trying to rhyme with. It's just not done. What sort of lyrics go "some sort of window to your right, as he goes left and you stay... right". That's not a valid rhyme. It just isn't. Two incidents of this sin turn up in the lyrics, but otherwise, it's pretty emotive.
Somehow I keep having that image in my mind of a boy and a girl, sitting at opposite ends of a room after an argument, staring blankly at each other. There is a simple, wooden table in the middle of the room, the rest of the room is industrial, grey walled, cold colours. The girl has long, brown hair, straight cut, center parted, dark blue eyes. Slightly gaunt, skinny. The boy has scruffy dark blonde curls, the colour turns up only slightly in the light.
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
What I don't like is the sheer technicality of it - you just don't create a rhyme using the same word that you're trying to rhyme with. It's just not done. What sort of lyrics go "some sort of window to your right, as he goes left and you stay... right". That's not a valid rhyme. It just isn't. Two incidents of this sin turn up in the lyrics, but otherwise, it's pretty emotive.
Somehow I keep having that image in my mind of a boy and a girl, sitting at opposite ends of a room after an argument, staring blankly at each other. There is a simple, wooden table in the middle of the room, the rest of the room is industrial, grey walled, cold colours. The girl has long, brown hair, straight cut, center parted, dark blue eyes. Slightly gaunt, skinny. The boy has scruffy dark blonde curls, the colour turns up only slightly in the light.
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Cosy in the rocket
Psapp, a more twinkling, relaxed girly version of Tosca - responsible for Grey's Anatomy's theme song - Cosy in the Rocket.
I kinda think that GA kind of mauled the song for the bits that they took, the beginning 5 seconds of the song and the little bit of chorus vocals singing "Nobody knows where they might end up... nobody knows... oh, oh, suppose you never know" which, in my opinion, ended up being the weaker part of the song.
But strangely, for a girly day, twinkly, giggly and lounging on the pure white sofa with too much make up on, this song is perfect.
I kinda think that GA kind of mauled the song for the bits that they took, the beginning 5 seconds of the song and the little bit of chorus vocals singing "Nobody knows where they might end up... nobody knows... oh, oh, suppose you never know" which, in my opinion, ended up being the weaker part of the song.
But strangely, for a girly day, twinkly, giggly and lounging on the pure white sofa with too much make up on, this song is perfect.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Grey Matter
I know I've been talking alot about Grey's Anatomy lately. I guess it's just my latest new fangled obsession, as is wont to be the case. One moment it's anime, the next it's 24, another moment it's Grey's Anatomy, that's the way life is.
It's a great show I guess in a number of ways, most predominantly because it has a very well written, thought-provoking script. It's not very eye-catching at first glance, I've come across it several times without really getting drawn in, until one day I sat down to watch a full episode. And then once you get immersed, the music, narration and photography just get you.
In case someone gets irritated by the number of GA posts I'm having up here for now - I do apologize, but hey, that's the way life is. It'll pass and I'll find something new to obsess about shortly.
It's a great show I guess in a number of ways, most predominantly because it has a very well written, thought-provoking script. It's not very eye-catching at first glance, I've come across it several times without really getting drawn in, until one day I sat down to watch a full episode. And then once you get immersed, the music, narration and photography just get you.
In case someone gets irritated by the number of GA posts I'm having up here for now - I do apologize, but hey, that's the way life is. It'll pass and I'll find something new to obsess about shortly.
For everything I said about marriage, I apologize
Good friends who know me, and not so good friends who don't, all at least know a single inalienable fact about me. I am completely and utterly against the institution of marriage, for reasons of farce, inauthenticity and lack of credibility. Marriage fails. Marriage as an institution, in my opinion, fails to protect the individual from anything other than the ridicule of having technically gone to bed with a single person for an entire lifetime (sorry, that's not necessarily a bad thing, just not biologically normal for homo sapiens). Marriage is a cage that allows one to see the outside world for all that it is, while giving the false sense of security that one is safe in the confines of a relationship to which cage one has the key.
OK - so I'm done about talking about marriage the way I usually talk about it. Generally, the only person who doesn't see my commitment phobic point of view is my mother.
However, today, interestingly enough, Grey's Anatomy Season One (of all things) changed my mind about some things.
This episode has Derek (the primary male who has a relationship with the primary female) contemplating signing divorce papers with his wife whom he'd walked out on after coming across her having an affair with his best friend. Aforementioned Derek has had a relationship with Meredith (primarily female character) to whom he loves but isn't married to. And Derek says something very interesting to Meredith. He goes, "Look, I've been married 11 years. That's 11 Thanksgiving's, 11 birthdays, 11 Christmas's. Addison's (the wife) family. And with one signature on a bunch of papers I'm supposed to end my family, just like that? So all I'm asking for is a little understanding here."
Later afterward, Meredith's mother ends up telling her, "He's going to stay. He doesn't love his wife, but at the end of the day, he's going to stay with her."
Suddenly it got me thinking that the truth about marriage is that we were wrong all along. It's not about love. It's not about a couple declaring undying love for each other, man and wife, in the presence of God, the family, the friends, the everybody-you-know including the next door neighbour's dog. People do that every day without getting married. They hold hands when they walk along the streets. They kiss on bridges over rivers. They give each other secret smiles when they think no one's looking.
Obviously, marriage is more than that. It's obligation. It's the one thing, the only thing, that turns a complete stranger into a next of kin, into family. It gets you through doors, across countries, into the hearts, homes and lives of people that you would otherwise not know in the full capacity of life except through making a commitment, signing an oath, saying a vow that you're going to stick with this person till death do you part. It turns someone you love, into someone that becomes like a brother, a sister, a parent.
I've always wondered what makes marriage so untouchable when divorce exists. People can get together, people can always break up. No big deal. The adage goes that blood is thicker than water. I know at the end of the day, my family aren't people I like best in the world. That's the truth for most people, whether we care to admit it or not. We don't choose our family. But I know that regardless of memories I have of fighting with family, screaming at them, wanting to tear their hair out sometimes in frustration of something either intensely trivial or casually serious, they're like an inalienable fact, as obvious, recognized and in-your-face as the fact that we share the same name.
So what is marriage? It's your single one get-out-of-jail-free card that you choose to give to anybody you want in the world. It's the only family member in your life that you get to choose. I now understand why some men have multiple wives, and why each wife considers another like a sister. I now know why some people stick with their spouses even though the love has gone colder than a cup of coffee left on the windowsill in winter.
It's obligation. It's mutual adoption.
Suddenly, despite divorce, I now have a newfound respect for the institution of marriage. While previously I used to reject the notion personally out of disdain, suddenly I do so out of fear. Probably isn't going to cure my chronic commitment phobia, but at least now I have a darn good reason why.
OK - so I'm done about talking about marriage the way I usually talk about it. Generally, the only person who doesn't see my commitment phobic point of view is my mother.
However, today, interestingly enough, Grey's Anatomy Season One (of all things) changed my mind about some things.
This episode has Derek (the primary male who has a relationship with the primary female) contemplating signing divorce papers with his wife whom he'd walked out on after coming across her having an affair with his best friend. Aforementioned Derek has had a relationship with Meredith (primarily female character) to whom he loves but isn't married to. And Derek says something very interesting to Meredith. He goes, "Look, I've been married 11 years. That's 11 Thanksgiving's, 11 birthdays, 11 Christmas's. Addison's (the wife) family. And with one signature on a bunch of papers I'm supposed to end my family, just like that? So all I'm asking for is a little understanding here."
Later afterward, Meredith's mother ends up telling her, "He's going to stay. He doesn't love his wife, but at the end of the day, he's going to stay with her."
Suddenly it got me thinking that the truth about marriage is that we were wrong all along. It's not about love. It's not about a couple declaring undying love for each other, man and wife, in the presence of God, the family, the friends, the everybody-you-know including the next door neighbour's dog. People do that every day without getting married. They hold hands when they walk along the streets. They kiss on bridges over rivers. They give each other secret smiles when they think no one's looking.
Obviously, marriage is more than that. It's obligation. It's the one thing, the only thing, that turns a complete stranger into a next of kin, into family. It gets you through doors, across countries, into the hearts, homes and lives of people that you would otherwise not know in the full capacity of life except through making a commitment, signing an oath, saying a vow that you're going to stick with this person till death do you part. It turns someone you love, into someone that becomes like a brother, a sister, a parent.
I've always wondered what makes marriage so untouchable when divorce exists. People can get together, people can always break up. No big deal. The adage goes that blood is thicker than water. I know at the end of the day, my family aren't people I like best in the world. That's the truth for most people, whether we care to admit it or not. We don't choose our family. But I know that regardless of memories I have of fighting with family, screaming at them, wanting to tear their hair out sometimes in frustration of something either intensely trivial or casually serious, they're like an inalienable fact, as obvious, recognized and in-your-face as the fact that we share the same name.
So what is marriage? It's your single one get-out-of-jail-free card that you choose to give to anybody you want in the world. It's the only family member in your life that you get to choose. I now understand why some men have multiple wives, and why each wife considers another like a sister. I now know why some people stick with their spouses even though the love has gone colder than a cup of coffee left on the windowsill in winter.
It's obligation. It's mutual adoption.
Suddenly, despite divorce, I now have a newfound respect for the institution of marriage. While previously I used to reject the notion personally out of disdain, suddenly I do so out of fear. Probably isn't going to cure my chronic commitment phobia, but at least now I have a darn good reason why.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
How to save a life...
Thank you thank you thank you! You know who you are - you, yousendit users - I love you lots!! :-) Thanks to your fantastic use of technology, I'm now a happy happy muffin. So thank you thank you and thank you again.
The music is fantastic - it is so much the kind of music I play to white natural sunlight, lounging on a white sofa (which I incidentally have), smooth coffee and smiles. Or pure sunlight on green grass (now it is outside my window), blanket (red/yellow), reading a book for an afternoon.
Do you think after a while people settle into a genre? If so, what would this Grey's Anatomy genre be called? Lounge? I think Hed Kandi. Pop? I think Take That. There should be a new genre called Relax.
New song on the playlist - How to Save a Life (The Fray)
The music is fantastic - it is so much the kind of music I play to white natural sunlight, lounging on a white sofa (which I incidentally have), smooth coffee and smiles. Or pure sunlight on green grass (now it is outside my window), blanket (red/yellow), reading a book for an afternoon.
Do you think after a while people settle into a genre? If so, what would this Grey's Anatomy genre be called? Lounge? I think Hed Kandi. Pop? I think Take That. There should be a new genre called Relax.
New song on the playlist - How to Save a Life (The Fray)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Small questions why
Now I have to say that after wondering why plates are round (answers to question welcome in comments), this very idiosyncratically Singaporean, absolutely true, very funny question put a huge smile to my face.
There is something that’s been bothering me all day. Back in April 1963, Television Singapura launched Channel 5, the channel we have all become so familiar with. My question is, why was it Channel 5 and not, say, Channel 1, 2, 3 or 4? Despite the best of my internet search abilities, I cannot fathom an answer. To make things more perplexing, Television Singapura launched Channel 8 in November the same year. Did channel 6 and 7 pop up in this span of time, or did Television Singapura arbitrarily think those other numbers were just not cool enough?
Initially, I was thinking that the reason behind this might have been our merger with Malaysia back in the day - when Singapore became part of Malaysia, Television Singapura was renamed Television Malaysia (Singapura). As we know, Malaysia had RTM 1 and 2. Perhaps this explained us calling our channel number 5. That being said, RTM 1 was launched in December 963, AFTER channel 5. RTM 2 only began in 1969. Why the hell would we thus give two non-existing television stations precendence? Also, this doesn’t explain why we didn’t pick the numbers 3 or 4. Malaysia’s TV3, I believe, was only launched in 1983. What gives?
I suppose this could be some sort of channel naming convention - 5 could be related to some technical detail, like the frequency it was broadcasting at. That being said, I don’t understand why we couldn’t make like our northern neighbours and go for channel 1 and 2 - wouldn’t that have been much easier? Perhaps someone just liked the number 5, and 8, as well. Does anyone care to enlighten me? I have been wondering about this all bloody day.
one word playlist
You might not think so, but there's something very relaxing about being in the following scenario: quiet, empty house. alone. sunset rays streaming in through open windows, falling on deep wood floors and white walls. and the one word playlist the only sound that surround you.
lifehouse - everything
goo goo dolls - iris
james blunt - cry
massive attack - teardrop
take that - patience
simple plan - untitled
swan dive - becoming
tori amos - toast
it's a short one. but the swells and ebbs of the melody wash over you like a very good cry, and it's sunset music.
lifehouse - everything
goo goo dolls - iris
james blunt - cry
massive attack - teardrop
take that - patience
simple plan - untitled
swan dive - becoming
tori amos - toast
it's a short one. but the swells and ebbs of the melody wash over you like a very good cry, and it's sunset music.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Now playing...Ivy
I'm looking for recommendations or samples for Ivy's "Long Distance" album. Featured quite extensively in the soundtrack of Grey's Anatomy (my new favourite TV series with good background noise...) I love the music! Ivy was also on the first soundtrack of Felicity quite some time ago, so again, I think this is up my genre.
But... (if only, but... the problem is) I can't find the album for a sample!! So if anyone (like little fish) happens to have some samples, can you send them my way or let me know?
More birthday wishes - Ivy's Long Distance and Grey Anatomy's Original Soundtrack #1.
But... (if only, but... the problem is) I can't find the album for a sample!! So if anyone (like little fish) happens to have some samples, can you send them my way or let me know?
More birthday wishes - Ivy's Long Distance and Grey Anatomy's Original Soundtrack #1.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Suddenly Carrie Underwood
Short one, probably due to budget stress, my latest must-get album is Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts. (Somebody save me from this country madness, this country's madness). It must be the soothing pleading tones of all those gospel, country sounds.
Jesus, take the wheel, she sings. I'm letting go...
Jesus, take the wheel, she sings. I'm letting go...
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Birthday Wishes
You know, I dream about things to do on my birthday when I am bored. I especially enjoy making lists of spontaneous, zany, memorable things to do with loved ones on my birthday, whether I have them with me or not. It reminds me of the time when I was so in love and 17, when these were things I nearly did every day, and the sun was bright, the people gorgeous, and the world at my feet.
I realise my life runs like an Amelie snippet. Probably everyone's does, but mine specifically, doesn't occur in big picture but small little snapshot images, sounds, likes and dislikes that have no over arching meaning. It's almost neurotic, viz.
She wakes up before the alarm clock at 6.47am every morning with a song in her head that she hums as she brushes her teeth. She likes the feel of fabric threads against her skin and dislikes the feeling of crumbs falling on her lap (insert image of angry woman saying "I hate crumbs!").
If only everybody's life could be Lomo'fied like that.
More and more with each passing birthday, I get very specific birthday wishes and fewer and fewer gifts. It seems that every birthday after 21 deserves, not a gift, but an experience. And the quirkier the better.
So for this birthday, I would hope to celebrate the day in the following ways:
I realise my life runs like an Amelie snippet. Probably everyone's does, but mine specifically, doesn't occur in big picture but small little snapshot images, sounds, likes and dislikes that have no over arching meaning. It's almost neurotic, viz.
She wakes up before the alarm clock at 6.47am every morning with a song in her head that she hums as she brushes her teeth. She likes the feel of fabric threads against her skin and dislikes the feeling of crumbs falling on her lap (insert image of angry woman saying "I hate crumbs!").
If only everybody's life could be Lomo'fied like that.
More and more with each passing birthday, I get very specific birthday wishes and fewer and fewer gifts. It seems that every birthday after 21 deserves, not a gift, but an experience. And the quirkier the better.
So for this birthday, I would hope to celebrate the day in the following ways:
- Having a Red Velvet cupcake with a single black candle on it (possible)
- Running around taking a full Polaroid roll of photos to capture things that I see/feel on that day (perhaps also quite possible) - [ed. at the beach, sand, sunshine, flirty dress, smiles]
- Owning a Polaroid camera for one (I know it's not expensive, I've always wanted one but never had it)
- Falling asleep on my beloved's shoulder to the sound of Le Petit Prince read to me - Happy Birthday Antoine St Exupery (this is sooooo not going to happen) - if I am even more particular, it has to be read to me in French.
- Taking the dog for a long walk/run on green, green grass (perhaps perhaps) - [ed. sand!! and if my dog could do it (which i doubt) i'd be cycling with a long lead in tow]
- Having a $3 plate of Balestier char kway teow with extra fish cake, extra egg and extra sweet sauce (tres possible!)
- Waking up at 6am in the morning to see the sunrise and falling asleep on the sofa in front of the TV as though it were my last day on earth
- Sitting in a cafe that provides paper and crayons and infinite iced tea and doodling with good conversation (if Singapore still has this... I wonder)
- Staring out into the dark marina skyline in a Ritz Carlton hotel room with very cold air conditioning (possible with some expense) - [ed. scratch this. New resolution, having an hour at Yamaha with a music studio booked, me and a piano. I've been dying to get my hands on the black/whites again.]
- Driving around to every sentimental place of mine in Singapore (possible if I can come up with a list) - [ed. I think I want to go back to City Space again for teriyaki skewers and plenty of drinks. This will cost me, but it may be the very last time of my life for a very long time.]
Apparently having a good, memorable birthday doesn't take very much for me these days. But I'm quite serious about the Polaroid camera.
No Second Troy
Was browsing through little fish's blog randomly when I struck gold with this blog post. little fish writes that here W.B. Yeats was describing the contemporary woman in No Second Troy. It was a poem I hadn't come across, but bias aside from little fish's comment, when I read the poem, it struck a chord of unsettling recognition. It was like looking in the mirror and recognizing that this was everything I could be described with.
No Second Troy by W.B. Yeats
Why should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery, or that she would of late
Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,
Or hurled the little streets upon the great,
Had they but courage equal to desire?
What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this,
Being high and solitary and most stern?
Why, what could she have done, being as she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?
It was almost as if, at that point, my image in the mirror had caught fire and I recognized, in a single blow, that it was exactly who I was, with a mind that nobleness made simple as a fire. The destructive energy of desire and ambition suddenly culminated in that recognition, coalescing like fire, in a single, sudden, all encompassing thought. My ambition no longer burnt for desire. For there was no desire for anything except to burn, the fire consuming itself, burning until it can go on no longer, until it had consumed and destroyed everything in its path and only ambition itself remained - without purpose, without meaning, with only the energy of its need to exist.
I've long told myself that I did all I did without craving wealth, or fame, or power, or money. I did what I did merely because. It is now the fact of the fire of because that eats me as I realises what it is that I've become. A victim of momentum, moving forward even though all understanding of why "forward" was the right direction has been lost.
Why should I be surprised that I have only filled the days of loved ones with misery, and had taught to ignorant men most violent ways?
little fish was right - perhaps this is the description of a contemporary woman, and thence my only excuse - that I am merely a product of my time and my age. Helen was Helen, she acted as it was in her nature to do so, and perhaps woman as woman cannot be any different from my namesake. One does not ask, "Wherefore am I?" so why should I?
Society has put power in the hands of the contemporary woman, power like a tightened bow. She has not yet learnt to grasp or wield the weapon that is in her hand, not yet learnt the ways of bearing the yoke that man has borne for centuries. We can but pretend and pray, that there is no second Troy for us to burn.
No Second Troy by W.B. Yeats
Why should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery, or that she would of late
Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,
Or hurled the little streets upon the great,
Had they but courage equal to desire?
What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this,
Being high and solitary and most stern?
Why, what could she have done, being as she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?
It was almost as if, at that point, my image in the mirror had caught fire and I recognized, in a single blow, that it was exactly who I was, with a mind that nobleness made simple as a fire. The destructive energy of desire and ambition suddenly culminated in that recognition, coalescing like fire, in a single, sudden, all encompassing thought. My ambition no longer burnt for desire. For there was no desire for anything except to burn, the fire consuming itself, burning until it can go on no longer, until it had consumed and destroyed everything in its path and only ambition itself remained - without purpose, without meaning, with only the energy of its need to exist.
I've long told myself that I did all I did without craving wealth, or fame, or power, or money. I did what I did merely because. It is now the fact of the fire of because that eats me as I realises what it is that I've become. A victim of momentum, moving forward even though all understanding of why "forward" was the right direction has been lost.
Why should I be surprised that I have only filled the days of loved ones with misery, and had taught to ignorant men most violent ways?
little fish was right - perhaps this is the description of a contemporary woman, and thence my only excuse - that I am merely a product of my time and my age. Helen was Helen, she acted as it was in her nature to do so, and perhaps woman as woman cannot be any different from my namesake. One does not ask, "Wherefore am I?" so why should I?
Society has put power in the hands of the contemporary woman, power like a tightened bow. She has not yet learnt to grasp or wield the weapon that is in her hand, not yet learnt the ways of bearing the yoke that man has borne for centuries. We can but pretend and pray, that there is no second Troy for us to burn.
Food Hack - Chinese Mushrooms in Water
For some reason I just thought to write this down before I forget: The food hack my dad taught me - soak Chinese mushrooms in water and keep them in a jam jar for future use.
I keep failing to use my mushrooms because every time I think of using them, they are still in their dessicated form for my lack of preparation. So what my dad does is to keep a jar of Chinese mushrooms pre-soaked in water, topping the jar up when they are used.
Presto, instant soft mushrooms.
Trip #5, the Lost in Translation experience
Continuing on the travel experiences, Lost in Translation was on TV today, and it made me realise that one of the enduring experiences of my life, was travelling to Tokyo on my own, and having that Lost in Translation experience.
Wandering around the streets of Shinjuku not really speaking that much of the language, sleeping alone in a Japanese style business hotel, watching television programs that were all in Japanese and getting immersed in a culture at once alien but reassuringly human. It is as though Japan puts a spin on every normal experience and makes it their own, translating my human experiences into another language I cannot understand.
The simplest things that we usually take for granted fascinate me in Japan, because it is so different. It's the nearly self cleaning toilets to the waist deep bathtubs I love so much. It's the flashing street lights and billboards on buildings and ramen stores tucked up narrow flights of staircases serving the best noodles I've ever tasted. It's the sunshine, walking in the university smiling like a schoolgirl, riding on the back of a Japanese styled bicycle like in a Miyazaki film.
We take for granted the simplest things of our realities for granted, until we walk into another place that turns everything on its head, and begin to realize what we have. I guess that's what culture shock feels like.
Wandering around the streets of Shinjuku not really speaking that much of the language, sleeping alone in a Japanese style business hotel, watching television programs that were all in Japanese and getting immersed in a culture at once alien but reassuringly human. It is as though Japan puts a spin on every normal experience and makes it their own, translating my human experiences into another language I cannot understand.
The simplest things that we usually take for granted fascinate me in Japan, because it is so different. It's the nearly self cleaning toilets to the waist deep bathtubs I love so much. It's the flashing street lights and billboards on buildings and ramen stores tucked up narrow flights of staircases serving the best noodles I've ever tasted. It's the sunshine, walking in the university smiling like a schoolgirl, riding on the back of a Japanese styled bicycle like in a Miyazaki film.
We take for granted the simplest things of our realities for granted, until we walk into another place that turns everything on its head, and begin to realize what we have. I guess that's what culture shock feels like.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Dream Holidays
Had a conversation about how holidays should be like - and everyone's probably had experiences of good holidays, bad holidays, holidays with friends who stop being friends after the vacation is over simply because you had different ideas on what the holiday should be like... so I have decided that holidays and how to spend them is a distinctly personal thing.
I realised that I have actually a very definite idea in my head on how I want my holidays to be like, and in my spare time, think about the holidays that I'd like to have.
Trip #1: The Cruise to Alaska/Greenland or Norway/Iceland/Scandinavia
A 2 week cruise to see the glaciers of Greenland and come on land to ski, snowboard, hike, or alternatively in another part of the world, see the fjords in Norway, come to land to play with Huskies in the snow, live in an ice hotel in Iceland and go tobogganning.
Recommendations, do this when you've just come from a not-so-warm climate, otherwise the climate changes will probably kill you. Tip 2, also be prepared with lots of fashionable winter wear and hot drinks.
Reserve cruises for honeymoons. There's nothing better than being stuck with your apparently most loved one for two weeks or a month in a large ship (worse case scenario, it'll be like Rose and Jack in the Titanic *haha*) and stopping over at various lovely European ports of call without having to plan where to go because the captain decides.
Trip #2: The Orient Express from Asia to Siberia
This is one of my lifelong dreams. I've been thinking of going on the train on this route since I was eleven and started having a fascination with trains.
I think the alternative is to take train rides across all of Europe, from London to Paris, to Italy, to Germany, to eastern Europe... as far as trains can go.
Trip #3: The car ride to the midlands... with a Westie
Taking a car ride then long walks and hikes in British countryside with my favourite West Highland White Terrier. What could possibly be better than walking the dog where she genetically came from?
Trip #4: The Spa - Sea - Spa Experience
2 weeks of non-stop spa, beach, sun-tanning, spa, beach... you get the idea, in the Maldives or somewhere where snorkelling is still an option and you see fish.
I realised that I have actually a very definite idea in my head on how I want my holidays to be like, and in my spare time, think about the holidays that I'd like to have.
Trip #1: The Cruise to Alaska/Greenland or Norway/Iceland/Scandinavia
A 2 week cruise to see the glaciers of Greenland and come on land to ski, snowboard, hike, or alternatively in another part of the world, see the fjords in Norway, come to land to play with Huskies in the snow, live in an ice hotel in Iceland and go tobogganning.
Recommendations, do this when you've just come from a not-so-warm climate, otherwise the climate changes will probably kill you. Tip 2, also be prepared with lots of fashionable winter wear and hot drinks.
Reserve cruises for honeymoons. There's nothing better than being stuck with your apparently most loved one for two weeks or a month in a large ship (worse case scenario, it'll be like Rose and Jack in the Titanic *haha*) and stopping over at various lovely European ports of call without having to plan where to go because the captain decides.
Trip #2: The Orient Express from Asia to Siberia
This is one of my lifelong dreams. I've been thinking of going on the train on this route since I was eleven and started having a fascination with trains.
I think the alternative is to take train rides across all of Europe, from London to Paris, to Italy, to Germany, to eastern Europe... as far as trains can go.
Trip #3: The car ride to the midlands... with a Westie
Taking a car ride then long walks and hikes in British countryside with my favourite West Highland White Terrier. What could possibly be better than walking the dog where she genetically came from?
Trip #4: The Spa - Sea - Spa Experience
2 weeks of non-stop spa, beach, sun-tanning, spa, beach... you get the idea, in the Maldives or somewhere where snorkelling is still an option and you see fish.
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