I once again thrill at Blogger's scheduled posts function. xD
Today, I shall introduce the hilarious antics of Improv Everywhere, a New York based prank collective! From the website, here's more information about them:
Why do you do this?
Improv Everywhere is, at its core, about having fun. We’re big believers in “organized fun”. Our missions are a fun source of entertainment for the participants, those who happen to see us live, and those who read this website. We get satisfaction from coming up with an awesome idea and making it come to life. In the process we bring excitement to otherwise unexciting locales and give strangers a story they can tell for the rest of their lives. We’re out to prove that a prank doesn’t have to involve humiliation or embarrassment; it can simply be about making someone laugh, smile, or stop to notice the world around them.
Their videos are awesome. They're such fun to watch! Using agents, they go around doing hilarious things that are really a sight for someone who's just walking/passing by. It's really funny seeing people's confused looks. Haha.
Yesterday was great fun!! =D I love it when there's a break and everyone can let loose for a while before picking up work again to finish...
So as my twitter status says, I learnt to drive in a snowstorm [drove to Birch Run and back~], I also learnt how to play Rock Band [it's really fun!~], and I bought a down jacket!! And it was super cheap!! =D =D =D
Oh! And we also watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for our 2nd Auteur Theory screening.=D It's a really good movie if you ask me, although we did manage to find fault in certain areas. Haha.=P
So driving in snow? The whole slippery thing is tough but I think I did ok~... Hehe. It helped too, that 2 experienced drivers were sitting in the car with me.^_^ I didn't want my first experience of driving in snow to be alone because I think I would have freaked out if I started to drift unintentionally. On the roads, we saw several cars that got sent spinning into the side ditches, or otherwise needing some kind of rescue effort.. xP But thankfully, they were super prompt in clearing the roads so I had a much easier time.^_^
Birch Run Birch Run! Thank you for letting me find that uber cheap down jacket from Calvin Klein that was slashed down by more than 100%!!! I will take good care of it I promise, and I'll use it to the fullest in staying warm! =D
What else did I do. O yea! Learnt how to play Rock Band! And liked it! Haha.. I got assigned the vocalist role at first because you know, being the newbie there, they gave me the easiest part.=D But I also eventually learnt how to play the drums.^_^ Super fun~! Of course, knowing the snow helped a lot but errr when you're not singing, it's not that bad. ;) And even if I got thrown some random song I've never heard of in my life, it was just a matter of matching the pitch. Erm. Right? =P
Ok. Saturday fun is over!!! And today I will have to pack and write my application essays..xP Oh. And tonight, we're having the use-up-everything-in-the-fridge Spring Break Dinner Party!! Sounds fun huh. =P
Don: I know it's depressing. I studied it. What do you think?
Jiamin: Intellectual films that make you think are the best!! =D Haha.. And in the second last photo.. I don't think so. But yea. No idea who it is.=X And yes. I love the Dior outfit too!!!! Here are 2 more nice ones:
Fall 2008 Christian Dior Couture
Spring 2009 Christian Dior Couture
Maybe I should switch from wanting a Valentino gown to a Dior Couture gown. Hahaha.=P
I have just returned from my film class where today, we watched the documentary made by Hara Kazuo, ゆきゆきて、神軍 otherwise known as The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On.
Suffice to say, not only was I not expecting a documentary, I wasn't expecting this to be as... mmm how can I put it.. heavy as it was. From wikipedia:
The documentary centers on 62-year-old veteran of Japan's Second World War campaign in New Guinea, Kenzo Okuzaki, and follows him around as he searches out those responsible for the mysterious deaths of several soldiers in his old unit.
Though Okuzaki ultimately holds Emperor Hirohito accountable for all the suffering of the war, he painstakingly tracks down former military officers and accuses them of specific war crimes, often abusing them verbally and at times physically in the process.
We started off getting to know Okuzaki as a person a little, where he declared all the crimes he had committed in fighting the establishment that is the Japanese government and the monarchy. My first thoughts were, O____O!
Turns out, there are people in Japan who feel that the Japanese themselves have done little to admit to the acts they have committed during the war... whether they be against people other than themselves or people within their own army. The anger Okuzaki feels against the Emperor is not entirely clear, but from what I gather, he is angry that not only did he send them into the war, he also cared little for the people who were sent in and up till today [or at least, the "today" in the film] has done nothing about it.
The reticence of the old officers he confronts about the deaths of other soldiers in the army remind us of how human nature is like, where no one will admit their mistakes, and no one will willing admit to what they have done, especially when it's bad. I thought that after all those history lessons, I knew quite a bit about the Japanese Occupation in World War II. But it turns out, as victims, we tend to look at what the Japanese have done to us [us being Southeast Asia, China, and so on] but we certainly don't examine what had happened amongst the Japanese soldiers themselves.
Yes they might have done heinous things to people around them, but does that cruelty and mercilessness also carry on within their own ranks?
Since Okuzaki was one of the regiments in New Guinea, the tales of what had happened there are central to the movie. They spoke of cannabilism, unauthorized executions, and other things I really didn't want to hear about. This is one of the reasons I've been trying to avoid war-related matter, especially because of the overload of it during those long-gone days in AC where we studied war literature.
Although most of them [the people he interviewed] admitted that they classified cannabilism as an unlawful act, it happened anyway, especially since they had little food, everyone was starving, and they wanted to survive. I guess that's the main gist of it all: Survival. It's such an essential part of us that our instincts take over and we do whatever we can to survive. In this case, they ate クロブタ and シロブタ or Black Pig and White Pig respectively.
What this refers to however, is far from the delicious pork we eat nowadays but rather, クロブタ [black pig] refers to the Natives of New Guinea, and the latter White soliders or Japanese soldiers. From what I gathered, it makes it easier to swallow whatever was given to them if they just thought of it as pork. And if that's not bad enough, the fact that they had to resort to cannabilism to survive [in a strange and twisted kind of way, I can understand why they did it..] wasn't enough.
The mysterious deaths of the soldiers mentioned in the plot summary? They were probably victims of cannabilism - where others had to justify killing their comrades for survival. A pair of Privates were supposedly shot for deserting the army - but the order only arrived after the war had ended. Their sibilings discussed on camera, how they thought that it was easier for the officers to kill Privates for meat since they had such power over lower-ranking officials. All the officers involved either didn't admit it, or admitted it up to the point where they shot them for deserting even though they knew that it was illegal because the war was already over.
However, the 3rd guy mentioned was outrightly murdered by the others for cannabilism. In a struggle for survival, only one of the whole company [regiment? group? whatever it's called..] survived and he said they killed each other, and plotted to kill others for survival. Being the only one who emerged from the war to return to Japan alive, he said that they needed him - his skills in navigation were the best. People saved him from being killed, but then he had probably taken part in killing others for food.
I don't have much to express except ... shock maybe? Maybe I've been naive about human nature, but I do understand that in desperate circumstances, people can do a lot of things that they would never have dreamed of doing before. Still, to think of these men who died for their comrades or even friends...
See how this is a really heavy film.
One thing that really struck me in the film, as usual, was this one song that the mother of one of the man's dead comrades sang. It was about how a mother would go to the port everyday to wait for her loved one to return, however much in vain it might be. When they filmed her grave, as she had died while they were still constructing the film, the song played.. Poignant moment indeed.
My friend and I were discussing it after that, that it's probably a good thing that a guy like Okuzaki exists. He's the one who will stand up for others, and bring truths like this to light. The methods he might have used are rather deplorable to say the least, but he is standing up for something and wants to do something about it. This, perhaps, is what is most admirable. Everyone else "moved on" or rather, they pushed it all aside, and believed that what they had done was because they had no choice, it was orders if not, for survival - the funny thing is that no one ever said that this was all for the good of the country and for the Emperor. I guess in the end, it's each man for himself.
Still, Okuzaki got thrown into prison or sent to do hard labor several times and for long stretches so... I feel for his wife. A lot. =(
Ahhh. What a horribly heavy movie to start Spring Break!!! Ok, technically it hasn't started but this is my last movie for this class before spring break! xP Hopefully the next one won't deal with war, and will be a happier show.^_^ Beams.
I'm being too hopeful. I can feel it in my bones.
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Missing Gackt] [mood : (T_T)] [food : cabbage with tofu and mifen!]
I have the perfect piece to listen to when you wish to contemplate and meditate and essentially, think about being.
Aldo Ciccolini plays Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 (click!) Sadly, I can't embed the video.=( You'll just have to rely on Youtube won't you? And I suggest turning up your volume a little, I think it's a pretty old recording...
Anyway, what's up with the whole meditation thing?
For class, I just finished reading Okakuro Kakuzo's (岡倉覚三) The Book of Tea. In it, he attempts to explain the Japanese aesthetic through the principles of Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, and above all, tea. He encourages you to embrace Zen, where you can attain self-realization through a worship of relativity. [I'm borrowing phrases from him by the way, no way could I come up with that kind of stuff..]
He divides the book up into several chapters: The Cup of Humanity The Schools of Tea Taoism and Zennism The Tearoom Art Appreciation Flowers Tea Masters
His books is full of quotable quotes; literally every single line is a quotable quote if you ask me. It amazes me how someone could have written this in 1906, and in English no less! Of course, being the uncultivated barbarian that I am, I couldn't help but snigger at some of the stuff he was talking about, namely about meditation and whatnot. That being said though, I guess I can kind of see his point about all this. The simplicity that accompanies Asian culture is unique in and of itself, and many principles have been condensed and included in the tea ceremony - embodying many things that the Zen masters had wanted to share.
There are some very cute stories about Chuang-Tzu and all the other Taoist masters, as well as the Zen masters.
Here's one:
One day Soshi (Chuang-tzu) was walking on the bank of a river with a friend. "How delightfully the fishes are enjoying themselves in the water!" exclaimed Soshi. His friend spake to him thus: "You are not a fish; how do you know that the fishes are enjoying themselves?" "You are not myself," returned Soshi; "how do you know that I do not know that the fishes are enjoying themselves?"
This story sent me into giggles. It's actually pretty funny. Haha. Ahem. Immaturity aside, Okakura says that this embodies the principle of how "nothing is real except that which concerns the working of our own minds." Like how if the wind rustles through the trees, it's not whether the wind is moving or if the trees are moving, but rather it is all a construct of our minds.
See. Total meditation material right there.
But I guess it was an interesting read, and really short too. I really liked it though and it has been one of the more enjoyable readings of this class.=D I might not have fully understood it of course, I think it takes more than just one reading to get what he's talking about, but this certainly leaves room for further contemplation.
Want to contemplate over a cup of tea sometime?
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Gymnopédie No. 1 Erik Satie] [mood : zen~] [food : soy-braised tofu and chicken!]
Sam: Ganbatte!! ^_^ I'll be studying too..
YX: Haha.. I think somehow song lyrics can reflect a person's state of mind very well...
It's a very sad sounding song. But somehow it keeps playing in my head now while studying... Other songs that have been plaguing my study time lately?
梁静如 - 丝路，分手快乐 陈奕讯 - 富士山下，K歌之王 Gackt - Missing, Love Letter, Last Song (unplugged) 秋川雅史×手嶌葵 - テルーの唄 and もののけ姫 Coldplay - Life in Technicolor, Clocks, The Scientist 平原綾香 - Jupiter, いのちの名前
When Spring Break begins, you could not hear a louder cheer.
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : 十年 陈奕迅 + Life in Technicolor Coldplay] [mood : grumpily studying] [food : Zas' pizza and garlic bread!]
Zeelei: Of course not! That's AT the Burberry show.. Hahahaha. Twitter is brilliant as you can see from my updates every few hours. Or minutes. Or something.=P
I'm taking a break from staring hard at this clip of a movie that I'm supposed to write a sequence-by-sequence, movement-by-movement, shot-by-shot analysis of. O__O! Seriously. I have deep respect for film critics and any expert in any field whatsoever. Learning all those terms and actually using them correctly takes a great deal of patience [and memory work]...
So! I shall now drool over photos off The Sartorialist!!! [Never heard of him? Shame on you!]
I'm doing this, mainly, because the Spring 2009 collections are so uninspiring I can cry. Does that mean the clothes I can afford [ie: Forever 21] will be equally uninspired? I shudder at the thought.
At Chloe. Ahh isn't this gorgeous? Firstly, the dress is beautiful! [And she's carrying a 2.55 which is always stylish in my opinion..] Secondly, I love the movement in the image~ How can one look so stylish while walking? Sigh...
At Lanvin. I just really like this photo.=) Somehow, Mr Sartorialist can capture people's emotions really well...
At Fendi. The man himself!!! I actually think the fact that he always wears his signature clothing somewhat cool.. Plus I like the high collar.=P
At Burberry. Step one: Attend Scarf Tying Mastery Classes. Step Two: Get Job. Step Three: Purchase Hermes/Ferragamo/Pucci/... scarf. Step Four: Drape/Tie/Weave it fashionably around self. Step Five: Let it see the world!
In the rain in NYC. Now, if only I could have looked like that today!
Most of the photos have very drool-worthy bags. xD And gorgeous, gorgeous people.
By Christian Dior Couture. I think the first thing that caught my eye was how the model's face fit the outfit so well!!!~ And I love the style.=D Hehe. Plus the hats in this couture collection are gorgeous! ^_^
Ahh the rain outside is making it such a gloomy day~ Even snow is better than this! At least they are all キラキラ～ after they fall to the ground. Rain? It just sloshes everywhere and ruins my shoes.-_-" Sigh. I don't like rain!
Ok. Relaxation time is over! It is time to return to scanning the Yale Film Analysis guide [it's really good!] and trying to desperately find terms that match what I think I'm seeing...
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : American Boy Estelle feat. Kanye West] [mood : gloom...] [food : ハンバーグ！+ Pizza!]
A very cool video on the change that will happen in this world.=) Definitely worth your 5 minutes! Created by trusted sources and researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman.
I'm touched!!! So it's that easy~ I'm still thinking noooo but Gackt's words are really... touching.
Energy What would Gackt's source of energy be?
A person's/People's face(s) filled with joy. Well, this is really what creates (my) energy. For myself, I wish that everyone's face can be filled with joy, and that's really what I feel. I love smiles. If there is someone nearby who will smile for me, just that would make me feel happy/lucky.
Spirit To Gackt, what is spirit?
I guess it is not running away/escaping [from something]. No matter what happens/No matter what you face, not escaping. No matter what it is, face it. - That would be, showing how you live/are alive (?)
From Arena 37C, January 2009, the letters interview with Gackt.=)
Err. I'm not too sure about the last line. 生きざま?? Mr Life?? And there are bound to be a TON of errors/inaccuracies because I just translated it off the cuff with no one to check it... =X
But I've been on a Gackt kick lately. =) And somehow I feel like, I'm actually progressing somewhere in Japanese since I'm able to read and kindasorta understand what these magazine interviews are saying!! *feels accomplished* Of course, I have a long way to go, but I'm not even an actual adult yet so I still have time. Right? =D
I need to get around to writing up those application essays which are languishing somewhere.
Also, I've added TWITTER! =D
And I need to finish this particular reading, which is the most boring one in this class so far. And it's long too, what torture!
I finally decided to change the template because I got a flash of inspiration to create this totally erm. Uncluttered image. And I know I as thinking of doing something nicer and changing the template entirely but school and life got in the way, besides. No one reads a blog for the template... Right? =X
Without further ado, here I present the Winter 2009 template!!!
Words: quasi una fantasia - inspired by Beethoven. Font: Online Brush: Can't remember.. Template: Winter 2009
Once again.. Maybe I should just adopt the theme of zen. Haha..
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Moonlight Sonata Mvt 1 Beethoven + 君に逢いたくて Gackt] [mood : puzzled by my readings] [food : French Toast and Iced Tea!]
Today I attended the 19th Annual Asia Business Conference, organized by the Michigan Ross School of Business held at the brand-new Business school building.=) It was a whole-day affair, starting in the morning and ending in the afternoon. Some panels bored me to death, others were extremely interesting and made me think more about those issues.
Somehow regional panels were less interesting than topical panels - is there some kind of correlation? *research~*
Since it was my first conference and all, I was kind of interested in how it was all going to go. And considering it's a student-run operation, I was suitably impressed on the most part [some parts were just.. =S] and I'm actually kind of interested in looking at more of such things I can take part in or even help organize.. I think the exposure would be amazing! =) It's all done very professionally and I think there's a lot I need to learn in this particular area.
Some things that seem to plague student-run operations:
- Things aren't set up on time. They announced that registration was at 8.45am but we arrived there then and they weren't done setting up. Terrible. But for everything else, it ran like clockwork - panels started and ended on time. =)
- During lunch, they announced that we shouldn't take more than we could eat because they only catered for the number of people who signed up and if people don't get food, they will hate choo! Very unprofessional if you ask me. I wonder how else it could have been done, since it was a buffet style thing... Hmm..
Anyway, everything else was run very well if you ask me. Impressive!~
I attended 4 panels in all: - Energy - China - CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) - ASEAN
I really enjoyed the Energy and CSR panels; especially the CSR panel!
The Energy panel delved into the fuzzy world of renewable energy and how it can be used, installed, and potentially become a viable source of energy for the world. There are no hard and fast rules as usual, since everything is very much in a gray area at the moment - renewable energy is expensive to obtain and in order to disseminate the energy to the regular power grids, new infrastructure will need to be built. Also, the world is still very much dependent on coal and oil [fossil fuels] for its energy needs and to do a complete overhaul won't be easy or quick to achieve. However, the future can be seen in (plug-in or not) hybrid cars, solar panels, wind farms, etc.
What will the state of energy be like in 30 years? I'm excited to find out.
The panel I enjoyed the most though, was on CSR, another fuzzy topic that is full of gray areas. [I seem to enjoy uncertainty and discussion. Haha.] Corporate Social Responsibility. I shall borrow wikipedia's explanation: a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large.
It's an incredibly interesting topic, and one that I feel will grow in importance in future. Right now, the market for it is tiny, with only about 150 jobs in the CSR department in the whole of the US right now. However, with ethics and company-consumer trust very much in shambles at the moment, I feel that this particular topic will become something that more companies will think about in future. All the panelists stressed that much of it is really individual choice rather than a corporate culture because even squirreling away money and whatnot are individual choices. Ethics can become a norm but in the end, it is what you choose that counts and not what the company wants you to choose.
I felt that this was really interesting because it made you think about a company's position. On one hand they need to show shareholders results and on the other, there's this whole "social responsibility" thing. It's very important for their image, and also for the ethical issues that abound.
If possible, I would definitely want to learn more about this field. And we had Singapore representation in the panel!! One of the speakers is a Singaporean based in the US, working for some.. pipe company or something.X__X Oops.
Should you ever encounter a busines conference that might possibly interest you, I urge you to go for it. It's good exposure, it gives you information you might not have gotten on your own, it gives you a sort-of preparation for what will be ahead of you when you work, and best of all, it gives you the opportunity to pull your dusty suit out of the closet.=P
With that, I need to return to my readings. They have been severely neglected and I've finally found a bunch of interesting readings. Yes! cheers *[-witchstone-]*
Haha. I was going to translate this whole entry but omg! It'll KILL me!! So maybe not.=P Practice your Japanese [and help me correct mine!] and read what I wrote above.=D HEE.
And lately I've been listening to a lot a LOT of Gackt again.=) I miss his voice!!! OMG. And I've been trying to catch up on his news.. Let's not even talk about trying to catch up with alice nine. ... X__X!
Ok. Time to resume studying for my Japanese exam. Technically, I managed to practice some grammar forms up there so I was kindasorta studying... right? =D
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : I Can See Clearly Now Jimmy Cliff + 希望のカケラ 北出奈菜 + 哀 戦士 Gackt] [mood : boppy] [food : cod!]
PS: I've realized that alice nine. concert playlists are great at the gym! =D And yes. I've started going to the gym. What a shock!
YX: I'm still thinking about it.=( Something my friend said made me think more... AHH!
Sam: Have you done it yet? Hahaha.
Wendaye: SSA = Singapore Students Association. And since Joyce keeps saying singsoc, I guess it's similar? Haha.=P
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
