This is going to be my last blog entry for a while. Several things and changes are taking place. Good? Bad? C’est la vie. If you want to keep in touch, mail me at ijah@email.com. I leave you with an article from citynoise about a frozen cat. Warning: this is not for the squeamish. Or cat lovers. It will just upset you. Don’t say I didn’t try! See you in E3 2007 (16-18 May, 2007, City of Angels).
This is inspired by Oprah. I was watching the one where she has this guy showing how stuff works. Here’s the history of video games, for all you nerds out there who’d always wanted to know but were too afraid to ask: The History of Video Games
Yesterday, in my attempt to cook, I broke 2 ketchup bottles and a new bottle of mango chutney which I have been saving to eat for months (one of those impulsive buys that I never seem to grow out of). Total cleaning up time: 30mins, total time cooking: 0. Next time, I will stick to things that I can just stuff into the microwave or toaster. In the name of all things sacred, cooking is hazardous to my health.
I think I have paid all my sleep debts in full. Today, I washed my pillows. I think tomorrow I will attempt to fold my clothes and arrange them in a systematical manner but if that is too strenuous I will vegetate in front of the TV instead.
The latest season of Akademi Fantasia starts tonight. Let the madness begins!
DVD LIST
If you have the luxury of time (like I do), a working DVD player and enough Paypal credit to get these DVDs on eBay, watch:
Seven Samurai (Japanese) - my favourite movie of all time. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s violent, it’s human. It’s about 7 men hired to protect a village from thugs. Sounds so simple, na? My favourite character? Ha. Kyuzo, of course.
Amelie (French) - Audrey Tatou had a successful career before the Da Vinci Code, you know. I remember watching this with Awa and she solved the mystery of the photographs at the photo booths before it was revealed (I did a one up when I solved the Sassy Girl twist). Let me see if I can summarise the movie: it’s about a girl who goes about her daily life decoding/ interpreting the events happening around her whilst looking for love.
My Sassy Girl (Korean) - funny funny funny. It’s one of those childishly funny movies that you should watch with a group of friends so that you can laugh your heads off over the extreme silliness. Watch out for the marching scene in the subway. It’s about a boy who accidentally acquires a girlfriend in the subway, falls in love (of course), loses her, writes the story on the internet, makes a movie and gets the girl back.
Shaun of the Dead (English) - Actually, I saw this by accident. Oh! It. Is. So. Damn. Funny. Any movie that has a scene of a zombie playing PS2 gets two thumbs up from me. It’s about a group of people who is trying to outrun, outwit, outplay the zombies when they take over London one day. Their zombie impersonations are hilarious.
Love Letter (Japanese) - I can’t say enough how much I like this little movie. It is so sad. Ogenki desuka? Watashiwa genki desu! *shouting at the mountain*. It’s about a girl who writes a letter to her (deceased) fiance and received an unexpected reply in the mail. Is it a letter from the heavens? Has her love come back to be with her?
Run Lola Run (German) - Oh yeah, before The Bourne Identity, Franka Potente was the redhead running throughout the movie ‘Run Lola Run’. It’s about Lola who has 20 minutes to get a s***load amount of money to save her boyfriend’s a**. So, she runs.
High Fidelity (English) - adapted from Nick Hornby’s book of the same name. I love it. It is so true to the book. Jack Black’s character cracked me up. Of course it helps to have the (super) cute John Cusack in the lead. An insight into the male psyche. It’s about how a guy deals with the greatest breakup of his life, in the same way he deals with everything else, with pop music.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Japanese) - This is NOTHING like the joke that was Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within. You don’t have to be a Final Fantasy fan to enjoy this movie. Okay. Okay. So the plot can be a little bit complicated if you don’t understand the backstory (or if you have not played the game). The graphics are so next-gen console, you will believe that Cloud Strife is human. It’s about.. well.. good versus evil. A strange sickness is inflicting the world and it’s up to the brooding, non-smiling Cloud to save the day. Ok, so he has to deal with the ghost of his dead girlfriend and JENOVA (the alien form from which Cloud’s superpowers spawned) and the white-haired, impossibly cute Brothers. Zuruzuru. Of course Cloud wins. And he gets to endorse Panasonics’ camera-phone in the process. Yes, people. He’s a celebrity endorser. All’s well.
Constantine (English) - Any movie with Keanu Reeves is a no-brainer. Plot? What plot? I don’t watch these movies for their plots. What I like about Constantine is the anime-inspired camerawork (check out the scene where John throws away his cigarette as he is about the leave the taxi). The plot? You really need me to explain the plot?!
Children of Heaven (Iran) - Normally I stay away from movies starring kids coz I can’t stand the cuteness. This one is about a brother and a sister who share a pair of shoes to go to school. Go get it! It’ll teach you a thing or two about being wasteful.
I can’t resist. Linked here for all eternity: Ten Things I Hate About Job
One day I turned on the GBA and saw the someone had completed the Zelda game under the handle ‘Rain’. Very annoyed, I exclaimed ‘Who played this?’. And my sister Aning said, oi that was MY handle, not yours. I protested and she protested and that was when I discovered that there is this young korean popstar by the name Rain who is all the rage and of course, me being outdated and all, had no clue who this guy is.
In my defense, I have always liked rain. I mean the water drops falling from the sky. It’s my favourite kind of weather. I have written four short stories with the name Rain as the protagonist. That is why, London and I got on like a house on fire. Special shoutout of thanks to Maddy and her room mates at Macready’s House and Miss Awa for taking care of all the tabs (but you stole my jellybeans!) while I was broke, but happy, in London.
To be fair, if you do Kuching, you have to do KK. I have fond memories of the place. No men in skimpy clothing but we had 2 Japanese girls instead! You know the plug, go to Cuti-Cuti if you need assistance to plan for your trip. We stayed at the Hyatt (because that’s where the MAS flight attendants were staying) and Sutera Harbour Resort and Spa. The guide who brought us to the tamu at Kota Belud was hilarious. I forgot his name… vaguely remember it starts with an A but I can’t remember beyond that. We ended up spending the whole day going from one tamu to another. The salted fish was to die for.
I am going to go blog crazy while I have the luxury of time to do so.
This is the travelogue from my fantastic, fantastic trip to Kuching. Click on the photos to read the enlarged, readable version (they’re just 2 photos so you don’t have to click everything). If you wanna visit Kuching, book your holiday with Cuti-Cuti. Great little website with great prices. Oh I should get a commission!
(left: Sir Cecil Harvey as the Dark Knight). I spent the last few days doing absolutely nothing but watching TV and playing Final Fantasy IV on the GBA SP Advance. I barely ate, not because I was so engrossed in the game but because there was nothing to eat (well, there was but I was too lazy… cooking takes too much time and I did that only when I could no longer stand the hunger pangs). Who knew lounging in the living room like a vegetable could be so taxing. *sigh*
Last night we went to Zeta Bar. Bibi thought the bartender was cute. I could not see so I started to point all the bartenders one by one, making each of them nervous and self conscious.
On our way to the car, I saw a guy coming down the elevator. I smiled and he did too. Then he walked to his car, I couldn’t see what it was coz it was behind me. As he started the engine, I moved out of the way to let his car pass, he slowed down almost to a stop and then deliberately waved to catch my eye. Men! He didn’t want to pick me up. He just wanted to make sure I know he was driving a BMW.
I saw Amir Yussof at Zeta.
I think I read somehere that he is now managing the joint, but I could be wrong. When he saw me (and I saw him) I said Hey and he waved. We don’t know each other. I mean, we recognise each other and have exchanged pleasantries before but it’s not like we are friends. I am not friends with rockstars. Anymore. When he performed at No Black Tie a few years back (make that about 4-5 years back), I used his guitar to sing at the open mic. Here’s the song that I played, in MP3 format —-> Phase 2. It is part of my Phases trilogy… 1 is about wanting to be with someone and hating yourself for doing so, 3 is about moving on with life. I let you figure out what 2 is. For other stuff that I wrote and poorly recorded, go to Ijah’s Song Archive.
Phase 2
————-
You think I can change the world
That I can move mountains
That I am an inspiration
And you think I light up the room
There’s nothing I can’t do
You’re wrong
Coz this is me
Stop seeing me as something I’m not
Look at me with open eyes
And you’ll realise
Chorus:
I get angry, get tired
Get nervous, get broken down
I get scared
Like anyone else
Get jaded, get weak
Get bitter, I get ugly
I get to be real
You think I can do no wrong
All I touch turn to gold
Fill your heart with love and joy
Somehow you edit all my flaws
You edit all my weaknesses
But they are here
and they are real
Stop seeing me as something I’m not
Look at me with open eyes
And you’ll realise
Bridge:
When I cease to be a mystery
When you’ve seen all sides of me
You’ll realise
Please tell me will you still be here
When you realise that I am
only human?
I am listening to To Zanarkand as I am typing this. Ah. I have such great memories playing this game. Just listening to the soundtrack reminds me of the various boss fights, various cut scenes, FMVs. Such a shame I don’t have the willpower to re-play the game again because it takes so much time. Now that I have time in my hands, maybe I should.
The V-Malaysia was done, wrapped and stored away a couple of days ago. I am done with my goodbyes, just a few more to get over with before I pack my bags and leave this joint. C’est la vie. How did the Motley Crue song go? Girl, don’t go away mad. Girl, just go away.
I found out that Maman is working on a new album. Will I be in the liner notes somewhere? Cut off my left arm if I am not.
I say my goodbyes now with Remember by Christina Rosetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann’d:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
