My love is like to ice, and I to fire: How comes it then that this her cold so great Is not dissolved through my so hot desire, But harder grows the more I her entreat? Or how comes it that my exceeding heat Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold, But that I burn much more in boiling sweat, And feel my flames augmented manifold? What more miraculous thing may be told, That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice, And ice, which is congeal's with senseless cold, Should kindle fire by wonderful device? Such is the power of love in gentle mind, That it can alter all the course of kind.
Edmund Spenser
I discovered 10 (or so) fabulous things today: 1) There's going to be a game on the Nintendo DS by Studio Ghibli and Level 5! 2) I'm probably heading to New York for fall break! 3) Getting an internship at a luxury company is going to be tough (T_T) and getting an internship in general is going to be terrible. 4) I can cook really fast! 5) Staple Stable, one of the opening songs for Bakemonogatari, is out! 6) I LOVE LOVELOVE! the latest episode of Bakemonogatari because it is one awesomeness of an anime. （*｀▽´*）ｳﾋｮﾋｮ 7) After watching The Lost Boys of Sudan on 60 minutes in class, we are very lucky people ^_^v 8) Fall is like, totally disappearing without ever really showing up and winter is peeking out from behind the cover of sun and wind. 9) My internal laptop speakers work perfectly fine but when I plug in external speakers or headphones, my internal speakers continue to blare music as usual. 10) Poetry and lyrics are the best expressions of emotion ever~ ^_^
花火(,,・e・)pー━*＊※*⌒* I wanted to be able to play outside for a little while longer... X__X
Although Your Love Is Like To Ice, I hope the weather tomorrow is more to Fire.^_^"
And so ends this random post. Of... I don't know what else I REALLY wanted to post besides the poem! Haha...
Turning Japanese: International pop wars Thanks to the tension between the two countries, Japanese and Korean pop has developed in isolation. But all that is changing
J-poppers! Turning Japanese is sorry for having treated you for so long as little more than young, dumb starlets who squeal soppy, high-pitched sentiments over painfully crass Casio demo track ditties, designed solely to suck money from the pockets of teens too young to know any better. Little did we know that you pretty, pretty folks (and you really are all so very, very pretty) are at the frontline of a flourishing cultural exchange with your Korean K-pop counterparts.
Not that it's always been this way. Korean-Japanese relations have remained frayed since the second world war, as Japan has never officially apologised for its colonisation of the Korean peninsula between 1909 and 1945. As a form of cultural revitalisation after its liberation, Korea banned all cultural imports from Japan, and for decades the two countries' pop markets developed largely in isolation from one another, which created the roaring black market pop trade of illegal CD-Rs. (This is not, however, the only instance of people committing crimes for J-pop).
But in October 2004 the Korean government lifted the ban on Japanese cultural imports, and in the five years since, pop exchanges have flourished. When Japanese pop group Arashi turn up in Seoul for a press conference these days, 2,000 screaming fans are waiting for them at the airport. They can easily sell out week-long stints in arena-sized venues in Seoul, despite not speaking a word of Korean.
Even though Japanese labels don't tend to promote their bands as strongly in Korea, artists such as Gackt, Hyde, Namie Amuro, Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki have developed considerable Korean followings simply from internet buzz. And the favour has been returned; Korean pop princess BoA took the Japanese pop charts by storm and is always popping up in Tokyo – her most recent appearance being at the MTV awards. The singer has enjoyed a success in Japan she failed to emulate when she had a pop at America. Meanwhile, Korean boyband shapeshifters TVXQ are effectively two bands … going by the moniker TVXQ in Korea and Tohoshinki in Japan, for whom they record special versions of their songs in Japanese.
Of course, back and forth through all of this, it's important to remember that by and large the music in question is absolutely dreadful. But if it's improving cultural relations and making the world a more peaceful, understanding place … who am I to begrudge that?
Well well! I won't comment on the dreadful music part - I think that Asian singers can compete with everyone else but noooo they don't speak English.-_-" [Then again, we are talking about DBSK... Hmm..xP] But anyway, Omg! The UK knows about Gackt! And Hyde! And Utada Hikaru! Their music scene will be saved. I am sure of it!
Then again, most english-singing bands I like are from the UK, like Oasis and Coldplay.
What does that say about everyone else in the world? [Their internet buzz obviously needs more work...]
Now for word about the rest of Asia.^_^ With Japan leading the pack of course.=P
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : CAN YOU CELEBRATE 安室奈美恵 + 真夏の果実 サザンオールスターズ] [mood : it is cold.-_-"] [food : bulgogi!]
Words: visions of clarity...do as infinity Font: Online Brush: Can't remember.. Template: Fall 2009
I believe the image used is from my trip to Japan years ago when I was in Tokyo over fall/winter before going to Ann Arbor for the first time to visit my brother. And it's really old.. I made this image a long time ago.
Finally. I'm using it. =P
I don't have much time now though, so just a quick update...
I went for the game against Indiana today with Chenli!! It was actually really fun!!! =D Haha... I enjoyed myself a lot... Particularly because I think I've finally grasped the fundamentals of football that help you understand what was going on.^_^" And it was an incredibly exciting game where Michigan and Indiana were pitted against each other at possibly very similar skill levels because we'd just keep one-upping each other. Finally though, Michigan triumphed!
Are you all in for Michigan?
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Hail to the Victors!] [mood : ^_^] [food : Mediterranean!]
To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour. A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all heaven in a rage. A dove-house filled with doves and pigeons Shudders hell through all its regions. A dog starved at his master's gate Predicts the ruin of the state. A horse misused upon the road Calls to heaven for human blood. Each outcry of the hunted hare A fibre from the brain does tear. A skylark wounded in the wing, A cherubim does cease to sing. The game-cock clipped and armed for fight Does the rising sun affright. Every wolf's and lion's howl Raises from hell a human soul. The wild deer wandering here and there Keeps the human soul from care. The lamb misused breeds public strife, And yet forgives the butcher's knife. The bat that flits at close of eve Has left the brain that won't believe. The owl that calls upon the night Speaks the unbeliever's fright. He who shall hurt the little wren Shall never be beloved by men. He who the ox to wrath has moved Shall never be by woman loved. The wanton boy that kills the fly Shall feel the spider's enmity. He who torments the chafer's sprite Weaves a bower in endless night. The caterpillar on the leaf Repeats to thee thy mother's grief. Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgment draweth nigh. He who shall train the horse to war Shall never pass the polar bar. The beggar's dog and widow's cat, Feed them, and thou wilt grow fat. The gnat that sings his summer's song Poison gets from Slander's tongue. The poison of the snake and newt Is the sweat of Envy's foot. The poison of the honey-bee Is the artist's jealousy. The prince's robes and beggar's rags Are toadstools on the miser's bags. A truth that's told with bad intent Beats all the lies you can invent. It is right it should be so: Man was made for joy and woe; And when this we rightly know Through the world we safely go. Joy and woe are woven fine, A clothing for the soul divine. Under every grief and pine Runs a joy with silken twine. The babe is more than swaddling bands, Throughout all these human lands; Tools were made and born were hands, Every farmer understands. Every tear from every eye Becomes a babe in eternity; This is caught by females bright And returned to its own delight. The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar Are waves that beat on heaven's shore. The babe that weeps the rod beneath Writes Revenge! in realms of death. The beggar's rags fluttering in air Does to rags the heavens tear. The soldier armed with sword and gun Palsied strikes the summer's sun. The poor man's farthing is worth more Than all the gold on Afric's shore. One mite wrung from the labourer's hands Shall buy and sell the miser's lands, Or if protected from on high Does that whole nation sell and buy. He who mocks the infant's faith Shall be mocked in age and death. He who shall teach the child to doubt The rotting grave shall ne'er get out. He who respects the infant's faith Triumphs over hell and death. The child's toys and the old man's reasons Are the fruits of the two seasons. The questioner who sits so sly Shall never know how to reply. He who replies to words of doubt Doth put the light of knowledge out. The strongest poison ever known Came from Caesar's laurel crown. Nought can deform the human race Like to the armour's iron brace. When gold and gems adorn the plough To peaceful arts shall Envy bow. A riddle or the cricket's cry Is to doubt a fit reply. The emmet's inch and eagle's mile Make lame philosophy to smile. He who doubts from what he sees Will ne'er believe, do what you please. If the sun and moon should doubt, They'd immediately go out. To be in a passion you good may do, But no good if a passion is in you. The whore and gambler, by the state Licensed, build that nation's fate. The harlot's cry from street to street Shall weave old England's winding sheet. The winner's shout, the loser's curse, Dance before dead England's hearse. Every night and every morn Some to misery are born. Every morn and every night Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to endless night. We are led to believe a lie When we see not through the eye Which was born in a night to perish in a night, When the soul slept in beams of light. God appears, and God is light To those poor souls who dwell in night, But does a human form display To those who dwell in realms of day.
William Blake
I think I must posted this poem thousands of times but every time I read it, it seems like I discover something new and something I can relate to in my life... I guess that's what it means to write a great piece of poetry - no matter what age you read it in, it's meaning will remain and last forever.
It's really long though, and with no breaks into stanzas, the poem is a little hard to read.xP That's my only complaint... But the first 4 lines have always, always stuck with me, since the first time I saw them in ... Chapters in Vancouver I believe.^_^"
Anyway, this reading this time emerged when a couplet from it emerged in my positive psych readings.=)
Under every grief and pine Runs a joy with silken twine.
It's not my favorite couplet but it did link up very well within the context of the article.^_^" And I really enjoy the positive psych classes that I'm taking now.^_^ We learn what happiness is all about, and about how researchers now are delving deep into happiness - and to further the questions that are starting to arise, like why are we happy and how does happiness result? It helps you put things in perspective and appreciate a lot more of what you have.
Not that you can't be materialistic, just that if materialism is the entire philosophy of your life, you probably wouldn't be very happy. And although economic status and happiness is related, it eventually tapers off because after people have achieved a certain amount of money, and their basic needs are taken care of, generally more money doesn't serve to make them happier.
See. Positive Psych is such an awesome class. But you know, even if money can't buy you happiness, poverty can't buy you anything.
We need more evocative poems like this. =) But isn't it ironic how poets are some of the most depressed people in the world, but they can write such beautiful things?
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : 真夏の果実 サザーンオルスターズ 听海 张惠妹] [mood : the weather is horrible *grump*] [food : I smell pizza!]
Once again, it's time for those O___O?! advertisements from Japan, only this time, we have KimuTaku's hotness to contemplate and a lot of randomness behind cup noodles. xD
I'm reading Saveur's September issue right now and I like how it's different from Gourmet in the sense that the articles aren't as lengthy but they are equally well-written and researched. Plus even though I used to think that essentially most food and fashion magazines went around the same things [you know, seasonally this is in now, and it'll return in another cycle some day], I always discover new things when I read these magazines.
Gourmet and Saveur are different from say, Bon Appetit and Donna Hay Magazine. While each has their own perks, Bon Appetit has accessible recipes that are easy to prepare, DHM has gorgeous styling and food photography, Gourmet has interesting articles and the latest of food trends in America, and Saveur has well-written articles and reveals new things all the time, they all make a whole in creating for you a world in food magazines. By offering so many different components [and they have to anyway, to remain competitive in the market], it makes sense to read different magazines to absorb different things from each.
But what has really struck me recently [also when I watched The Godfather... it's influenced me more than I thought it would! O__O] is how in just one section, paragraph, 15 minutes, you can present a person's entire philosophy on life and how they deal with it. With regards to food, I think it's important to understand the philosophy of the chef. What motivates the chef to cook in the way that he/she does? Are there beliefs and ways of thinking behind buying and preparing the ingredients? And so on.
What brought all this up?
From Saveur, September 2009 Native Soul by Harris Salat
After each patron had eaten the last of the dozen or so courses, the chef delivered a simple epilogue: plain white rice and grilled anchovies - the ingredients I'd seen cooking on the clay oven earlier. He crowned each bowl with a crunchy piece of the golden, caramelized rice from the bottom of the stoneware pot. After finishing his bowl, a silver-haired man at the end of the counter asked for more of the crunchy rice, and the chef obliged him; the other customers did the same. Thirteen dishes and two and a half hours after I arrived, I was ready my for finale, too. That dish, like all the others, came with an explanation from the chef, albeit a brief one. "This is the main course" is all Nakahigashi said to me as he handed me my bowl.
I lingered over green tea for a while after my dinner, reflecting on the things I'd just eaten. The question foremost in my mind was why a humble bowl of rice would be considered the centerpiece of a meal that had so many bold flourishes. When Nakahigashi bade me farewell at the door, I asked him.
"We never get tired of white rice," the chef said matter-of-factly. He told me that he considered the other dishes to be a journey. "Why do you enjoy travelling?" he asked rhetorically. "Because you have a home to come back to. When we eat white rice we go back to the origins of Japanese cooking. It's like coming home."
A lot of people think that to enjoy good food you need a lot of money. But to me, that isn't necessarily true. Sure, the best chefs charge a lot for their food but when it comes down to it, they also have to pay a fair share for their ingredients and for the training that comes with their cooking. In the end though, you can cook your own food, and as long as you use really good ingredients [fresh I mean] I'm pretty sure most things will taste good.=)
There was a group of elderly gentlemen in Japan who would meet to exchange news and drink tea. One of their diversions was to search for costly varieties of tea and create new blends that would delight the palate.
When it was the turn of the oldest member of the group to entertain the others, he served tea with the greatest ceremony, measuring out the leaves from a golden container. Everyone had the highest praise for the tea and demanded to know by what particular combination he had arrived at this exquisite blend.
The old man smiled and said, “Gentlemen, the tea that you find so delightful is the one that is drunk by the peasants on my farm. The finest things in life are neither costly nor hard to find.”
It's a day of quotes! And a rainy, gloomy day too. Which, I suppose, is the best time to make you reflect on things.^_^
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : High Society Classical Lounge] [mood : --] [food : pizza~]
If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Rupert Brooke
The other day, I was just telling XY about the war literature I studied in AC, and what do you know! The Poem of the Day just popped up with this fantastic poem that I studied back in those days. [I sound so old I know (T_T)] ^_^ It's a sad poem but at the same time, it somehow contains within it some kind of nostalgic happiness.
Although I am not as fond of war literature anymore as a result of overexposure in AC, somehow war themes pop up everywhere. 1) What's the point of our existence? [In war lit, people tend to question themselves when they realize the pointlessness of the fighting...] 2) What does it mean to continue on? [When the pointlessness has been realized, is there any more point in carrying on...?] 3) Why did we start in the first place? [Questioning the initial point of why all this is happening is another common occurence...] And so on.
I didn't think of this at first, and it wasn't initially related to my elation at rediscovering this poem, but after I found the pre-order for Gackt's latest live DVD [yatta!], I was reflecting upon the war themes he also utilizes in his tour. Which part of German army, uniforms, weapons of destruction, and death does NOT point to war and it's meaninglessness? And after watching The Godfather, you always wonder why people think killing each other solves anything... And in Genji Monogatari, Murasaki just died! (T_T) She's supposed to be the epitome of what a woman should be... A totally sexist point of view but hey whatever. It was the Heian period and they thought that way.
Anthem for Doomed Youth
What passing bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Wilfred Owen
2 famous poems. Both about war. ^_^"
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Gackt's Requiem et Reminiscence II Tour Set List] [mood : ^_^"] [food : CL's amazing pumpkin dumplings!!!]
Jiamin: YOU ARE MY SENSEI with regards to all things skinny and beautiful. Hahaha.
AT last she comes, O never more In this dear patience of my pain To leave me lonely as before, Or leave my soul alone again.
Robert Louis Stevenson
I have spent the past few days feeling like I accomplished many things and accomplished nothing all at the same time.
For example, today alone (!) I finished my Japanese homework [erm, totally required], changed my auto insurance [saved tons of money!], and did up my resume [yay it looks a bit more presentable now]. And later, I have a mass meeting for an event I'm interested in doing, Zumba class, AND a consulting workshop. And yesterday, I went for the Luxury Goods and Retail Club mass meeting [super fun, I am totally joining], a Blackrock Solutions info session [convinced me for real that I am not interested in finance no matter how much money it promises], and cooked a 5 course dinner [I personally think it was a 3 course dinner but everyone else counted each component as one course.O__o Go figure.] in less than one hour. I feel so accomplished!!! And it sounds like I did a lot of things [to me anyway, obviously I am of the slacker variety] but in the end, I didn't really do anything.
Not to me anyway.
Like for example, I have a paper due tomorrow that I have only written the THESIS STATEMENT for. -_-" And I have readings due too. X__X Schoolwork schoolwork. Bane of my existence!
However, on top of these required things [like schoolwork, eating, exercising], I also have to start that internship hunt! Like everyone else! That's why all the companies are coming down now [I love my B-school-related friends for telling me about them all the time.^_^] and people keep attending info sessions.
Did I mention I was totally and completely under-dressed at the Blackrock info session yesterday? Everyone was in a SUIT and because I came from class, I was in JEANS. I died from embarrassment trust me. Thank goodness I don't intend to apply, and I've realized that working in an environment when everyone dresses uniformly is er.. pretty boring. The only exciting parts of their outfits are accessories [maybe].
So I'm worried for the consulting workshop today.-_-" But whatever. I'm wearing jeans SO THERE. xP [But I will still shrivel if I discover that I am under-dressed later on. *hangs head* So much for that bravado 2 seconds ago...]
I suppose this kind of makes up for being MIA the past week or so.=)
Thanks to the bad influence of dinoroy, who showed me these F My Life stories, I have to share them too.=D
From fmylife.com
Number One Today, I was driving my new car home when I came around a sharp turn to see a groundhog in the road. I kindly stopped and allowed it to cross when all of the sudden a car slammed into the back of mine. Then, another car went flying around us. That car hit and killed the groundhog. FML
This is funny because today I ignored Roy when he was trying to point out a giant animal beside his car.=P
Number Two Today I was driving in the left lane and was suddenly hit by a woman who was in the right lane. It ran me off the road, I took out a fence and totaled my car. When the cops asked the woman what happened she responded.."my tom-tom told me to turn left." FML
And I love this because I love my tom-tom!
Number Three Today, I left on my honeymoon with my wife who is terrified of flying. The pilot announces incoming storms in the flight path, and the man next to me starts saying it's "probably fate" and "we all have to go sometime" and my wife goes into a full panic attack. We haven't even left the ground yet. FML
HAHA.
I think when F My Life comes around every now and then, it makes life a lot brighter. And it suddenly makes you think that your life ain't so bad after all.
And today, we went for the free session of Zumba which is like this super fun exercise class where you're essentially dancing to clubbing music but getting hell of a workout at the same time. I've already signed up. xD
Let's hope the money I'm spending on this will cancel out all those calories from the past!!!
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!
