Recently my attention has been hard to capture and hold still to something for long periods of time.
So when I do find something that, in this fast-paced day and age, can grip me and make me want to finish every moment of it immediately (which I would do if I could), it's really something to take note of.
That said, what are the offending (or laudable, depending on where you stand) materials?
Mishima Yukio's Spring Snow ~ 三島 由紀夫 ・ 春の雪 It is a fascinating novel - and has really made me want to finish it, unlike Midnight's Children which is supposed to be another masterpiece but the arrogant way of narration in it has really turned me off.xP Although the main character in Spring Snow is probably equally self-absorbed and spoilt as hell, the beautiful aesthetic of the descriptions and writing have been reason enough to try to finish it.
I'm really interested in obtaining the rest of his Sea of Fertility series. [As it stands, besides the books for my classes, I have Soseki's Ten Nights of Dreams on my table, and more books in the mail... Maybe I should redirect my attentions to reading rather than surfing the internet diligently.]
There's also a movie (shown in that poster! xD) which I am dying to watch because I like both the leads =P
Ookamikakushi ~ おおかみかくし It's an anime that has been adapted from a game by Konami - and thus it probably isn't very good [like most game adaptation anime tend to be]. But I still gulped down all the episodes that were out at the point in one sitting. I still can't explain why - it doesn't have the most fascinating or original plot, the character design is not totally original (it's by Peach-Pit, who draws super pretty characters but they still aren't original...), and it's not like the animation is the best I've seen. Yet it has captured my attention. Inexplicable.
Kimi ni Todoke ~ 君に届け Shojo manga at it's best! The anime adaptation is awesome too, for reconnecting with those long-gone high school days of irritation, ignorance, and stupidity. =) High school love. Awww. If you aren't a fan of shojo manga though, I strongly suggest you skip this - it reeks of cliches and "sweet moments" that are nevertheless entertaining to read.
Finally, there's figure skating thanks to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver..
Kim Yuna, South Korea's champion and hope for a Gold Medal for the Winter Olympics in Women's Figure Skating. I've been drooling over her videos.. There's Asada Mao from Japan too but she doesn't impress me as much because she doesn't seem as natural as Kim Yuna. ^_^"
Thoughts for the day. Wee. Study for exam. Finish Spring Snow.
Although it's midterms season, we decided to take some time off to watch Our Town, a play set at the turn of the 20th century in a small town called Grovers Corners in New Hampshire. Written by Thornton Wilder, and performed by students from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan, it was a brilliant yet simple story of everyday life.
The play itself consists of 3 acts, with an omniscient narrator acting as the stage manager and providing constant commentary in the form of soliloquies or asides. [Ooh literature!] The title of each act reflects how mundane the play itself is, yet each and every one resonates with meaning and relation to our own lives.
Act One - Daily Life Essentially an introduction to the characters and their mundane lives in a small town in America that emerged not long before from civil war. The story focuses on two families who live beside each other along Main Street - the Gibbs' where the father is a doctor, and the Webbs whose patriarch runs the local newspaper. It is here that the audience bonds with each character, learns about what they each do when they are alone, or with others - their relationships, solo thoughts, and so on.
Act Two - Love and Marriage Awkward teenage love at its best! This act was funny, cute, and made you think about how you were when you were 17.
Act Three - Life and Death Reflecting upon life, or the lack thereof, and what we gain out of it. "take the least important day of your life, that will be important enough" It's not the special moments we should treasure the most - but also all those random mundane moments where we simply don't notice the people or things around us.
Basically, I feel like the play is trying to say: appreciate every moment and notice everything. That can really be the only motivation behind writing a play that holds nothing earth-shattering and reflects simply everyday life.
I suppose what really sets the whole play apart is the sparseness of the stage set which consists of chairs and tables, and nothing much else really. Objects are mimed, characters are for you to imagine, create, and impose upon the actors. The acting was brilliant however, being a student cast I wasn't expecting too much, but I wasn't expecting it to be terrible either. Instead, I was pretty much blown away by the actors on stage - I suppose our school's theatre department has some standards that I wasn't previously aware of =X
Living in a university town definitely has its perks. ^_^ And I'm glad XW prodded everyone into attending this play. It really makes me want to see Journey's End (cue Tanu's earnest War Lit face =P) in a play!!!
I miss literature. Haha... One of the best things I did in school in Singapore.^_^"
It's time for another Tuesday Special! (I'm doing accounting homework and it depresses me.) This time, it's featuring this super cool modern artist to whom I was introduced via youtube in my Psychology of Creativity class.^_^ I love classes like that - you learn loads and get exposed to lots of cool things!
First off,
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!
ABC's of Love - you'll notice that the images and words coincide and that the lyrics are going in ABC order...
A Moment
What's the moment that changed your life?
Influences
Who influenced you in your life?
I think these are great questions to reflect upon - just to think back and see what or who made you who you are (Chinese has a great saying for it: 饮水思源) as a person today. =) I had to write a paragraph for my Culture, Self, Brain class - because my teacher was trying to prove to us that our influences in life have taught us the cultural tasks that allow us to function "appropriately" in society today.
I guess when you think about the big things in life, all those little things don't matter so much anymore.^_^
As the week winds down... they decided to have a snowball fight in heaven
Hello
The fact that I'm blogging does not indicate that I am, by any means free, but it does mean that the hectic schedule of the weekend is drawing to a close [not really.. I still have an exam to study for.. =X]. Somehow. The weekend brought the Asia Business Conference, and the end of it brought a whole lot of work due today and tomorrow [still forgetting the exam here...]. Terrible. I like being busy but sometimes not having time to do anything except work can be pretty depressing.
I love this ad, it's so simple but it is really effective in indicating that Google is the search engine you should use for all your needs! ^_^
I just cooked dinner, after so long of being away from the kitchen [apart from doing things like cooking pao mian, boiling vegetables, or fetching water, which don't really count in my equation]. ^_^ It's so.. so.. 爽!!! I don't even know how to translate that appropriately into English. =X But making soup for a wintry day like today [the sky is basically throwing snow down on us], and a minced pork ... stir fry thing + stewed pumpkin & carrot with rice is ... wonderful for cold weather.=)
I'm all warm and fuzzy after dinner now.^_^ It definitely feels good to not be eating out, and not eating all that MSG-laden food. [Looks pointedly at CCH] ^_^
I don't really know the point of this update but... it's time to go back to .. accounting. =( Sigh.
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : calming music to match the calming snow] [mood : snowy] [food : Pumpkin Carrot Pork Rib Soup + Simmered Pumpkin & Carrot + Minced Pork with vegetable stir-fry ^_^~]
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!
