Tale n time

So long, fare thee well
The dancer and the dancing days have taken leave and fell
So turn down this bed of stone
Quench me with the deadly nightshade from the rose that you belong

The long December rain is falling now
Running down on streets to nowhere
Music is my life you're my sweetest nightingale
But I cant hear it here no more
And I go
I go

Hush now, don't shake or break
Words have fallen silent like soldiers to the grave
No matter what they do or say
Lay me on the sleepy meadow by the tracks upon your face

Oh Talentime. Was funny how Judy noticed that it actually spelt Tale n Time. And indeed it was a tale to tell. The scenes of throwing rubbers to guess answers made us laugh out loud as we remembered our own experiences with that. The Malaysian-ness of the speech just made us miss home all the more. The little mischievous jokes thrown in by the maestro Yasmin Ahmad, the heart-wrenching conversations between mother and son, brother and sister, the mute to the speaker, friend to friend and hatred to misunderstanding.

There were scenes that were hard to watch. Scenes where I had to attempt to hold the tears back because they touched me the same way her 3 minute CNY shots are able to make me burst into floods of tears by the end of it. It had that undeniable Yasmin Ahmad quality to it. The ability to remind us to appreciate family,  to tell ourselves again and again that family and friends are privileges, not rights. The ability to make us question our own inherent prejudices and hatreds that we all try to act we are above.

It reminded me of the conflict that many of us feel about our country. How we are so utterly in love with some aspects of it, yet are ashamed sometimes of what it is becoming. When overseas, we defend ourselves to others, seek to promote our cultures and who we are, but back home all we see are things that cause us to scorn our own country.

The movie might not have superb editing, superior visual effects or be anything close to the slick sci-fi multi-million dollar blockbusters. But it touched all of us by connecting us to experiences that we were familiar with, tapping into the raw emotions that make us human, in a setting that we called home. And that more than anything else is what makes this movie such a masterpiece.

Painted faces

I must admit that makeup has always been something I've had fun playing with. The very first item I bought was roll on glitter for the year 6 disco which progressed to lime green and baby blue shimmery loose eyeshadow powder.

KLASS days of The Body Shop's Vanilla scented perfume that every girl would spray on in the changing rooms after Friday games, resulting in an overwhelming stench of sweat and cloyingly sweet vanilla. I personally used impulse =). Lethal combinations but nothing compared to the disgusting macho-ness eminating from the boy's changing rooms. Men's deodorant sprays are freaking strong and not exactly pleasant to inhale. x50 guys and you have air that is more artificial scent than oxygen.

Makeup was of course forbidden but who followed rules? I personally never liked the strongly rimmed black eyeliner that every girl would apply, even before games. Now that I never understood.

Until I perfected the art of liquid black eyeliner. Boy have I come a long way. Makeup has always been subtle, age appropriate I guess. But who can resist the lined cat eyes and coloured lips? I think I need to progress to lipstick next. Nars Orgasm blush is on the list too.

With painted faces, there comes a confidence that isn't there when you're feeling shit and can't be arsed to do the makeup routine. But every little smudge and shimmer enhances what's good and diminishes what's bad. That's why makeup will be such an arsenal in the makeup of a female =). The neverending quest to find the eyeliner that will give you Penelope Cruz's smoky gaze. The Mascara that will give you Aishwarya Rai's sultry stare, or the Lipstick that evokes the screen sirens of the 60's.


All those particles, pigments and palettes, all that shading and defining – it’s physics, artistry and mystic rolled into one soothing remedial activity. And make-up is extraordinarily cost effective, too. No wonder it’s experiencing a major revival. In 2010, unabashed display is the modus operandi. Maybe it’s this gesture of self-regard that seems novel to a new generation.
It’s candy. It’s cheaper than shoes. And no one’s trying to pretend it’s anything other than gloriously frivolous artifice.
Have you noticed how reverential and grateful women become when discussing their favourite brand? The pursuit if the ultimate range is one of life’s most pleasurable duties.
Having been denounced as a demeaning waste of woman’s time, make-up and its application is now being appreciated for what it is: a companionable, confidence-boosting and extremely enjoyable way for women to steal back some precious time from frazzled schedule.
-Vogue 2010

Maybe our greatest fear is that one day when we slip away, it'll go unnoticed.
Yet another week gone, poof. Time likes to play tricks. Fire&Ice Festival this weekend, stoked!

"To excel in any profession, in which few arrive at mediocrity, is the most decisive mark of what is called genius or superior talents." ~Adam Smith

I believe that when any GCSE student picks up Economics for the first time, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nation Reading should be the very first thing they read. Readable and oh so relevant, what a difference from most Economics nowadays (involving graphs!).

Let’s dance in style,
Let’s dance for a while,
Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst,
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young or let us live forever,
We don’t have the power but we never say never,
Sitting in a sandpit,
Life is a short trip,
The music’s for the sad man, 

Kenbe La

I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to study for 461. Developmental economics is so wrought with our own experiences of what it's like to have been in a developing country and calling it home. Granted, I do not live the life of an average Malaysian person, far from it, but does that give me less dibs in calling Malaysia home too?

Haiti fundraising on Monday, I think universities are amazing hotspots to get aid. A natural cluster of well off individuals who are still more likely to give, because we're still less jaded about the world (just slightly so). At least we're more idealistic than anything else, and vast majority are still supported by our families. So why not?

Farni

The term for a set of 3-4songs that is danced to in a Milonga is "tandas".

Try that in Malay.

I shall be productive today! But exercising has just put me in the frame of mind that I shall not Shisha because Shisha is bad. And I just sweated for an hour in my attempted investment into my health. Gr.

Developmental Economics is deep. Like 4 real deep, ya know? Off to Cancun for Spring Break anyhow, sunshine and sea here I come!

It is only too human to tell yourself that you do not want the things you cannot have

You'd think that by now, us students would just know how to do our work. But its amazing how much we are still spoon fed. So when classes come along where homework sets are not needed to be handed in, it throws us off our guard. We get highly confused.

You should know by now how long a short essay should be. As long as you think you'd need it to be to get your grade. Blank sheet of paper now. Single spaced? Or double. Still up to you isn't it? No boundaries, set your own. Gone from condensing 7000 words into restricted 4-5 page essays. In the 3 years I've been here the longest essay I've written was prob 7 pages. Double spaced. What a change.

There once was love thrown into your room
But you never knew
A calendar of days just for you
But you never knew, never knew no
And the truth that you'll find will always be
The truth you hide

So how do you love, how do you love
When your angels can't sing, and your world is still
Lacking of me

There once were eyes that only saw you
But you never knew
A portrait of a flower in full bloom
But you never knew, never knew no
And the words that you fear will always be
The words you hear

This space where you've been living
Has gifts you've never given
That's the face you always show
Ask me for words of wisdom
Tell me of your condition
I don't know, I don't
I don't know

And the truth that you'll find will always be
The truth you hide 

~Collective Soul: How do you Love?

Equilibrium

I know I dreamt you a sin and a lie
And I have my freedom, but I don't have much time
Fate has been suffered and tears must be cried
So let's do some living after we die
Wild horses, couldn't drag me away
But wild horses, couldn't drag me away

Wounds heal, laptops get new power, the bruise at the side of my head has mysteriously disappeared and I've had the most indulgent weekends in...forever.

Bought new Shisha tobacco which gives amazing flavour. God I'm so addicted. This is bad. I got my Nine Soundtrack and Susan Boyle CD which is decent. The only really amazing song on hers is probably Wild Horses which is sung sooo heart wrenchingly.

Went to lunch with some of the girls for Main Street Food Week so it was 6 bucks for a BBQ pulled pork sandwich and soup at Connor O'Neill which is a rather quaint wannabe Irish Pub. Thursday night spent at the Black Pearl attempting to see whether Lulu or Jin was more innocent. Spent Friday back at 3 hours of Tango reminding myself why I love this dance. Milonga in an hour, woot. Said bye to Ahmed with raucous game of Taboo which we totally rocked at.

And no class on Monday. Why can't life always be this perfect? Are you done playing games with me now, Lady luck? Fate?

Someone made me kinda happy =). Funny how small talk can really lift your spirits.