I am very glad it's the weekend.

Planning to read the MUJI book I've wanted for the longest time and finally bought on Thur night. And to go take some walks around places I've not been to in a while. And to take lots of pictures.

Here's to the precious weekend I wish would never end.

(Clockwise - Covers by Cath Kidston, Orla Kiely, Celia Birtwell and Barbara Hulanicki, founder of Biba)

A while back, on one of my weekly Kino pilgrimages, I saw this stack of very pretty books. It was a collection of eight hardbacks with covers by textile designers, done in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Virago Modern Classics.

I stood there for a while, staring at the prints and trying to match them to the designers' names. I wanted to buy one, simply because they were so gorgeous. But had to stop myself. I think I was rather broke then.

I still think of them from time to time. I think I will get one the next time there's a Kino member's discount, if they're still available.

I like the idea of matching prints to books. It makes me think of one of those random conversations I was having with the lawyer in Borders. Something along the lines of how you can decide which book, from the fixed set of books we like to buy as gifts, to buy a person based on the skincare brand she uses.

If she's using Chanel, Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence would do nicely. If she's a Clarins girl, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, maybe? And if she has a preference for Biotherm, perhaps Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex?

Well, truth is, I can't remember the examples we listed that night, but they sounded really apt at that time. So you get the idea.

Went to see 12 Lotus just now. I'm still digesting it but as of now, I think I sort of like it better than 881 but they're kind of different.

Anyway, saw the trailer for the Hollywood make of My Sassy Girl (you know, the Korean hit). I just want to say this again.

Can Hollywood STOP destroying Asian films? If they want to make things their own way, why can't they just come up with their own stuff? It's not that bad if they make a better version. But no, they just like to go around fucking things up.

Hollywood's take on My Sassy Girl? A trailer is supposed to contain the essence of a show. At the very least, weaker trailers compile all the best moments of the show into a mini movie. Going by this logic, this movie is going to be the most boring piece of crap ever.

The mother is going to Taiwan on Monday and she wants to take my toy cam cos it's cheaper than my digi cam and she won't be so worried about spoiling it.

...

對阿對阿 對阿對阿!

盧廣仲 is coming in September.

OMG!!!

Lunching at my desk because I need some quiet. Sometimes, it's just more enjoyable facing the wall and cyberspace than to entertain. It's probably true that while I'm not exactly completely anti-social, that streak runs very wide in me.

Finished one roll on the Holga but will not send it in till I do another one or two. Partly so I don't have to travel so many times and partly cos I would like to have more to anticipate. Plus, we have a mini exploration excursion coming up this Sun and I want to take more pictures. Can't wait to see them, really. I wonder what disasters and surprises are in store for me in that little dark canister.

In this digital age, do you remember anticipation?

After holding the toy cam for a day, I switched back to the normal digital cam and proceeded to press my nose to the screen. I read that you have to do something 21 times before it becomes a habit. I took 36 shots so I guess my mind registered it as a habit.

I've been very tired of work. Exhausted with it and because of it. Honestly, I can say the only thing keeping me going is that this is paying for my Tokyo trip and shopping.

I will survive the year. After that, we shall see.

My camera has arrived! Taking pictures with the Holga is a strange and very fun experience. The machine is essentially a block of plastic that feels like a toy you played with as a kid when you pretended to take pictures. I have to remember things like removing the lens cap and turning the film advance knob.

You get to hear cute sounds the camera makes. Like the click-click-click when you turn the advance film wheel, or the terk when you press the shutter release.

There is a great sense of anticipation and experimentation. For the first time in a really long time, I have to use a viewfinder to compose a shot. Pressing your nose to a camera, framing what you want to capture, clicking the button, and then wiping the shiny print of your nose from the camera while hoping for the best for that shot...

Quite cool. Can't wait to take more pictures tomorrow.

Still in office. PFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT.

On a better note, tickets for Camera Obscura went on sale today. Another something to look forward to.

Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken, for the benefit of funny girl, because I could not describe the music to her at all. I'm really bad at music description and classification. Probably cos I don't really care. Only two broad categories are important - I Like and I Don't Like.



If you're going to book tickets, go back from the shopping cart page and try to get a couple more seat options. My first try was row Q. Second was L. As usual, sistic's "Let the system assign best seat" fucks up. Like, what's new, right?

the chase

Read this entry on 隨意詩人 (undoubtedly, in Chinese) and it made me wonder. Were young people of the past constantly chasing their past, or were they too busy living their present, making their future and creating history, knowing that when long enough has passed, their time would become like a carnival that people would want to visit over and over again.

On a vaguely related note, this article in NYT really stumped me. It's about how Photoshop is being used to remove or include people in pictures. Wiping out the face of your ex-husband from all the pictures so you can display them without having to dwell on bad memories? Oookay, maybe it makes sense. Digitally imposing yourself into historical moments? Yeah, well, it's novelty and some people like that sort of thing. To photoshop faces of absent family members into pictures documenting important events, however, is something I can't get my head around.

I just don't get it. No picture can beat the actual experience and the point of an event picture is to spark off memories about that one one day, one moment in your life. What is the value of such an image then? A picture speaks a thousand words and with this, the phrase takes on new meaning. It's no longer a story about a part of your life, it's the story of your emotional and psychological mindset.

why funny girl is called funny girl

I should have written it down back when she told me but I didn't so I can't remember exactly what she said. Essentially though - and the essence is good enough - when two male interviewers asked how else she could contribute to the team apart from all her skills and knowledge mentioned, she told them she was uplifting.

So both were amused and one sniggered. But hey, she got the job. And she definitely proved on the spot that what she said was truthful.

I have not been posting pictures of things I want to buy or things I bought for a little while. It can probably be attributed to shopping fatigue. I am that sick of buying clothes, shoes, bags, and anything for wearing.

Lately, I've pretty much concentrated on only books, selected magazines, music and of course, the camera. Which is okay because I'm okay wanting these things. You really can never have enough reading and listening material.

As a rather extreme person, in order to get myself sick of something, I just have to do it one too many time. I can listen to one song on repeat anything from one hour to one week, till the opening strains of it give me a headache. Or eat chicken sausage linguine drenched with tabasco and chilli flakes over and over again, till the thought of pasta makes me want to throw up. Or go through a reading frenzy, a blogging frenzy. Shopping is one of those things I've been doing excessively for the past few months in view of getting a new wardrobe for the new job.

But then the job got old and I got tired of wearing heels and went back to dragging my feet around in flats (sneakers when I can) again.

On top of getting sick of the job, I simply got tired of wanting something all the time. So everything fashion blog-ish got deleted from my google reader, with the exception of Sartorialist, Face Hunter and Garance Dore. Because inspiration is vital. It's just that I could do without the OMG I want HER shoes! type of reactions for a while.

I suppose the difference between the above-mentioned street photog sites and blogs of individuals posting what they wear can somewhat be like the style vs fashion debate. The former is an accumulation of real (well, sort of) people who are interesting enough to have caught the photog's eye. Each photog has his own preferred style (Sartorialist tends to have that terribly chic vibe while Face Hunter has is kind of off centre, which I like), and each blog becomes a collective giant of a personality that has a core theme and yet is varied enough to keep things interesting. The unexpected can be expected from time to time to stun you in the head and launch a kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Blogs of individuals wearing what they wear, while I still go through one or two every now and then, can sometimes fuzz into a shopping catalogue for me. Probably because most of these people have very distinctive styles and while this bodes very well for them, the feeling you had when you first explored their blogs is lost. You lose the big picture, the perspective, and you start zooming in on their shoes, that bangle, that detail in their skirt. Trends keep changing, they keep buying new stuff, I keep looking at their new stuff, I keep wanting new stuff, and I keep getting new stuff. Vicious cycle of poverty.

That's the difference for me. I think more with the first and react more with the second.

That said, while I plan to not shop in the next 2+ months, I fully intend to indulge when in Tokyo. As I keep telling funny girl, OMG. I. Can't. Wait.

funny cat/girl tote from hello sparrow available at casualpoet. think miss k will like this, but you should just stick to carrying the longchamp that you never carry lah huh.

And the Holga 135BC has been bought (off online shop 8storeytree - love their name). Can't wait for it to arrive so I can start snapping this Sat at the Natsu Matsuri taking place at the Japanese Primary School in Changi.

Tickets to Tokyo have also been bought. Now November just has to hurry and roll along.

Plus, I need to know the launch date for Comme des Garcons X H&M collaboration. First looks have surfaced all over the net. Pictures below via Highsnobiety. BoF wrote about it as well.

In typical lightening speed, the blogosphere has been passing judgment and at first glance, it seems many CDG fans are underwhelmed by Kawakubo's efforts, while mainstream customers don't quite get it.

and

It makes one wonder why Kawakubo decided to do this collaboration at all. It was always going to be tough to translate CDG's directional, deconstructed aesthetic for mass market tastes. And, since the brand's many loyal fans are already willing to drop some serious money for a piece of Comme's coolness and since there are already more accessibly priced Comme des Garcons pieces available for those with tighter budgets, the target market for this collection is unclear.

Your thoughts? I've to run now. My thoughts later, maybe.

So does anyone jump their sheep?

The morning after I asked about counting sheep, the friends and I had an engaging morning email conversation, which I need to record for posterity since it amused me so.

the lawyer:

ahhh pw! i "walk" sheep too!!!! albeit in a slightly different manner

cos i was too focused on making sure my cartoon sheep all clear the fence when they jump (the less athletic of them couldnt jump over the fence la) and obviously couldn't fall asleep sleep

u mean u dont have the same problem? not all humans are born equal, apparently, neither are the sheep

the mathematician:
i dun count sheep though... find that it doesn't put me to slp. but i picture real life ones.. but they just look... dirty lor.. and not very settling... so i went to singing alphabet song.. over and over.

and funny girl:

hmmm, i get too obsessed with counting them, which is obviously not sleep encouraging.

my usual is thinking of a black wall, which becomes blacker and blacker and blacker, which eventually becomes so black it becomes a big hole, then a big black space and then big black universe, then... usually i drift off into sleep somewhere along here so i don't rem where my black hole leads to.

I think I want to get the Holga 35mm camera.

Ah... my hair is flat once more. Feel like myself again.

Image found by baby girl or aunty eons ago during one of the playful days in the office.

Hmm.

Just a thought.

When you can't sleep, do you count sheep?

And when you count sheep, does it actually help you sleep?

And the sheep you count, what do they look like? Cute cartoon versions? Or real ones?

You know how the sheep in cartoons of people counting sheep are always cute and leaping over fences? There was this night when I decided that they were too hyper and instead of getting me sleepy, I was becoming awake from all their strenuous activity and their boing boing actions. Besides, they were grinning and too happy.

That night, I switched to walking sheep forever. I would imagine cartoon sheep that have the slightly mournful expressions of real sheep walking slowly past a fence. They would trail by slowly in a neat row, sometimes munching something equally lazily in their mouths. It's a more logical pace and scenario for encouraging sleepiness isn't it?

An article on NYT about people who pick their ice like they would pick their wine. My initial reaction was to laugh and wonder just how ridiculous people can be.

But then, I remembered how I stopped eating the ice kachang at Wisma food court when the ice was no longer as finely shaved and I thought, maybe it isn't totally totally ludicrous after all...

(No, seriously. The fineness of the ice shavings made hell of a lot of difference in that ice kachang. When it was very fine, the ice was powdery dissolve on your tongue soft. When the shavings were just bit bigger, you could feel the roughness in your mouth and some amount of chewing movements were required. It's back to finely shaved now though. Happy.)

Lazy Sunday

The lovely windows at casualpoet.

Spent the day hanging out at quaint little places. First up, casualpoet, where I had steaming tea with frothy milk and classic eggs and sausage breakfast. Love places that serve all-day breakfast and I think I would love to have a place that serves nothing but all sorts of brekkie all day long. Except, that would mean I would have to be awake in the morning. Which is the loophole in the plan.

Then popped over to Soon Lee for a look-see. More for chit chat than to buy anything, shopping ban and all. Although there was a bag that was quite cute, and funny girl did buy a nice pleatish sort of skirt.

Ended up at Lai Lai for dinner. Not exactly quaint since it's a fairly straightforward family restaurant with fuss-free decor that serves Taiwanese dishes. Honestly cheap and good, with friendly staff. The minced meat rice is kickass and the hot jasmine milk tea with pearl is the best thing ever outside of Taiwan, where you can find the best ever at Ten Ren.

Nice and lazy Sunday afternoon. If only all my days could be so.

Cloud picture while waiting for the bus.

If you're looking for something to watch...

The last Jap drama I watched was Osen, a show that revolves around Japanese cooking and is steeped heavily in Japanese culture and traditions. I finished in less than two days, cos I simply couldn't stop. Each episode's plot revolves around remarkably fascinating facts about Japanese cuisine, such as the episode about katsuobushi, the paper thin shavings scattered on top of takoyaki that I've always wondered about.

You can check out the dramawiki entry here, and a blow by blow account of the first two episodes, complete with screen captures, on memento here, or the official website (in Jap) here.

Also, I like Yu Aoi, who plays the main character. You should definitely also watch Hana & Alice, which she also stars in, and which is one of the best movies ever.

An article about toe socks on IHT, which I'm sure funny girl will enjoy.

I can never stop myself from buying socks when I visit Daiso. While I'm not obsessed about toe socks like funny girl is, the abundance of adorable socks that sit low on the ankle, with all their stripes and polka dots and what-not, is just too damn hard to resist.

Also about the Japanese, an article on BoF about the changing buying patterns. Reading about the retail patterns of the Japanese never fail to fascinate me.

Read a fascinating article on New Yorker about Frédéric Bourdin, who was basically a serial imposter. Rather long, but very amazing. An excerpt below. For a condensed version of who this guy is, wiki entry here.

On June 8th, an administrator rushed into the principal’s office. She said that she had been watching a television program the other night about one of the world’s most infamous impostors: Frédéric Bourdin, a thirty-year-old Frenchman who serially impersonated children. “I swear to God, Bourdin looks exactly like Francisco Hernandez Fernandez,” the administrator said.

Chadourne was incredulous: thirty would make Francisco older than some of her teachers. She did a quick Internet search for “Frédéric Bourdin.” Hundreds of news items came up about the “king of impostors” and the “master of new identities,” who, like Peter Pan, “didn’t want to grow up.” A photograph of Bourdin closely resembled Francisco—there was the same formidable chin, the same gap between the front teeth. Chadourne called the police.

“Are you sure it’s him?” an officer asked.

“No, but I have this strange feeling.”

When the police arrived, Chadourne sent the assistant principal to summon Francisco from class. As Francisco entered Chadourne’s office, the police seized him and thrust him against the wall, causing her to panic: what if he really was an abused orphan? Then, while handcuffing Bourdin, the police removed his baseball cap. There were no scars on his head; rather, he was going bald. “I want a lawyer,” he said, his voice suddenly dropping to that of a man.

Hanging with a whole bunch of stinky, red people

Yeah, cos you know, at the end of it all, there were a lot of funny odours everywhere. Nonetheless, everyone should go for NDP once in their lives, cos it's pretty fun.

Obviously, it's a whole lot different from watching on TV, which I don't even do anymore ever since I started falling asleep at march past which is pretty much initial minutes of the whole thing. But then, that format is a thing of the past and the whole thing is done with more consideration for entertainment value. Things like zooming planes and parachuters only make sense when it's happening in front of you. On TV, it's just super boring.

Do hope they can spend a bit more effort on the multimedia bits though. Some of the video intros look like primary school powerpoint presentations with their straitlaced fonts and microsoft effects.

But still, pretty entertaining. And it was the first time in years that I sang the national anthem and said the pledge.

Sea of red and even the SG Flyer was lit up in red and white.



Parachuters spiralling down and other sights in the sky.




These bobbling lanterns reminded me of Pikachu.

I like these fireworks against the dying sky.

A pair of inflatable Merlions suddenly appeared by the sides of the stage and they were funny cos they were grinning and had this Oh dear, what is happening to me looks on their faces as they rose to life.

The best part? The guys pulling the Merlion by rope from side to side so it looks like it's swaying to the community songs. Super funny.

Grand finale fireworks which, needless to say, look much more amazing happening in front of your own eyes.

All in all, don't know if I will do this again, but quite fun.

happy birthday to the lawyer!

here's a song for you to begin with. 無敵鐵金剛 from 盧廣仲, super adorable.

so we had dinner at palais ps as a sort of celebration. i say sort of cos we're rather subdued with our birthday get togethers. anyhow, the food was not bad but still, way overpriced. of course, we only realised how much we had ordered when 1) the bill arrived and 2) we felt our stomachs bursting.

other than buying us dinner, lawyer also got us little gifts. tweezerman tweezers from aforementioned hk shopping list! i also got my much coveted corner lash curler. very exciting!

now, just to find the watch sorter she asked for. well, basically a jewellery box for watches, since she has tonnes of watches. yes, we were stumped and did look quizzically at one another for a moment cos that is one thing we definitely had never spent time looking at. got a couple of suggestions from the lawyer herself about where to go, but any other ideas would be helpful.

i want

apparently "exclusively available outside of Japan from [audiocubes.com]". usd 65.99 but it's so pretty.

i'm on a self-imposed shopping ban. i'm not allowed to buy clothes or shoes or bags, but books, mags and CDs are okay. not that it's hard, cos the hard core shopping from last month is still weighing on my mind. besides, the more i save, the more i can spend in tokyo.

yes, i'm that close to tokyo. please sign my leave form soon so i can book tickets!

then i'll get the zumreed headphones. hopefully cheaper.

***
discovered indievox.com the other day. you can buy mp3s off them and it's really cheap. there's a selection of taiwanese indie bands like my fave tizzy bac, The Shine&Shine&Shine&Shine who're coming for baybeats and 熊寶貝 from which i bought a song for around a dollar.

of course, you don't get the lovely feeling of unwrapping a CD, but it's great if you just want to try out a few tracks from a band, to put it into your ipod and live with it for a few days and see how it gels with your life.

More 盧廣仲

If I sound obsessed, it's because I am.

You have no choice but to smile watching or listening to 早安, 晨之美. And it makes me really, really want to have breakfast.

Also, a video from last Apr, when he didn't look so goofy. Watch and marvel at charismatic geekyness and amazing performance - 我愛妳.



I really like how they've packaged him. Managing to retain his essence and amplifying what sets him apart from other people without making him seem a freak or worse, a cliche.

My bedsheets are currently bright yellow and orange, with a hint of fade after countless washes. I have a huge window, at least 1.2m tall and more than 2m across, and it's completely shut.

The panes are heavy, thick frosted patterned glass, and I can only see silhouette when neighbours walk by along the corridor outside.

I like darkness more than light. But when I do like light, I like the quality of light that streams into my room on a bright, sunny day at 5pm. It's like a polaroid.

The time now is 5.40pm. I spent the last 40 minutes listening to 100 種生活 and reading the casualpoet blog.

I spend my life wanting it to become brightly coloured bathed in soft light. This is probably the closest it's been.

Latest Music Crush

盧廣仲 - 我愛你

Also check out 100 種生活





He's so goofy that it should be ridiculous but what's ridiculous is the amount of charisma he has, because he manages to pull the whole thing off so well, from the hair to the above-knee shorts to the mid calf socks. I'm not equipped to wax lyrical about his music but really, it's brilliant and you just have to hear it yourself if you haven't already.

He's pretty big in Taiwan now. Not in a Jay Chou way, more like a Cheer Chen manner. I don't think his CDs would be easy to find here yet so I dropped causualpoet an email and yes! they'll be arriving in the shop soon! Happy.

IN THE MEANWHILE, ABOUT OTHER MUSIC CRUSHES...

Camera Obscura is coming to SG! They'll be performing at the Esplanade at the end of October. The link to ticket purchases is not up yet but this is apparently definitely happening.

Also, check out the lineup for Baybeats 2008. Am not familiar with most of them, honestly, but am excited about My Little Airport coming! Their gig happening on 31 Aug at 9pm.

And, and. Sodagreen concert tomorrow night. Definitely looking forward to that.

蘇打綠 - 陪我歌唱

Excuse me while I ramble meaninglessly about my life

#1
I'm not sure what it is, maybe July was just a bad month for me. For the entire month, my energy level has been very low and I've been rather down. It started around the time I was handed my confirmation letter. Suddenly, I was sick of the job and moping, cos I had nothing to prove anymore, at least in the short term. Everything spiraled down from there, cumulating in the worst weekend of 2008.

Today, it was as if the cloud lifted. Maybe it's because there's a potential client I'm VERY excited about. Maybe it's because my stomach churned after lunch and I puked out half my chicken casserole. A sudden spurt of energy had me completing a few things I've been procrastinating on. I finished up some work stuff, packed the 6 books people have mooched from me in the last couple of months to be sent out tomorrow, and cleared about 1,300 emails from my gmail account.

Sometimes, I guess you just have to let the lethargy and depression run its course. Your mind and body gets tired of being tired and you just bounce back to a more normal semblance of yourself.

#2
Stepped into Topshop Wisma for the last time on Saturday. I've been traipsing around in there on a weekly (very often, more) basis for so long that it feels strange that I'm not more upset by the closure. I suppose this is a good time to rein in the spending, after the multiple pairs of shoes last month.

#3
August seems to be a good month, at least for the first half. After all, the first is on a Friday. Sodagreen concert will happen this Saturday. The lawyer's birthday calls for a celebration because celebrations are always fun, plus 9 Aug is not just her birthday but also the nation's. And I will be attending the first NDP of my life. Although I am peeved that it falls on a Sat, cheating me of one public holiday. I've also blocked off my leave for Oct and Nov and I will remember to submit the leave forms tomorrow in an attempt to officiate them asap.