Writing to reach you

Because my inside is outside, my right side's on the left side

'Cos I'm writing to reach you, but I might never reach you

-Travis

Here's a little secret. I don't like to advertise my blog. I don't mind if people link me, in fact I find it rather flattering, but I wouldn't go around asking for it. I don't tell people about Introspection because it feels too self-promotional, too presumptuous that my self-absorbed posts here would interest other people.

But this blue little corner of the internet is terribly important to me, and it is terribly important to me if the people I know and care about read it. And most of them don't, because of the reason above. Clearly, this is one manifestation of my funny habit of not talking much about the things that are close to my heart. It's a form of self-protection. But like a hermit crab that has outgrown its shell, it's beginning to feel increasingly constrictive. Or is it isolated?

At any rate, this feels like a vain attempt to stem the tide of dislocation I feel.

HOT HOT RED

I imagine that this is good practice for the feeling I'll get when I decide to have a kid.

I bought a car today.

Simple addition

Fergus: anyways, i told adeline that i'm 50-50 and you are also 50-50 and that no
matter what kind of maths she does, it still does not add up to one person confirmed
Athalia: ya, you're right. if one person is 50-50, and the other person is also 50-50, that means it's 100-100
ie both can go

Barcelona v Man U through the lenses of Wong Kar Wai

"For the uninitiated, Wong's films seem pointless and dull, which is reinforced by the director's trademark cinematic indulgences, laggard pacing and minimalist plotting. However, upon closer inspection, it is easy to become intrigued by the rampant symbolism, the metaphor-laden dialogue, and the philosophical underpinnings of his films. The exhilaration of watching one of his films comes from fitting together the seemingly disparate pieces of a ninety-minute intellectual puzzle, with each subsequent viewing revealing new interpretations and nuances."

That's an extract from an analytical essay about the dominant themes in Kar Wai's first four movies. It's an insightful one and worth a read, but how does it tie in with football? Well, I joined Fergs and Tim for the second half of yesterday's Champions League semi-final tie, and together we came to the conclusion that Kar Wai must have directed Barca's game. Seriously.

It's because of their slow, graceful game of repetitive passes. Very patient football. Even in the last third of the field where attacks normally pick up momentum, they were content with keeping things at a suffocating boil. So time and time again, we saw the team move forward unhurriedly with the ball and then pass it to and fro in front of the goal mouth while the Man U defenders tried to win it back.

See? Skillful, arty repetition, stifling pace. Kar Wai trademarks.

Once we had that figured out, we could interpreted the game better. Barca passing the ball back and forth represents the passing of time and the impermanent nature of existence. Fergus said with some authority that Barca's close control game and Man U's compact man-marking system is reminiscent of the cloistered cinematography of Kar Wai's films. United were mostly forced to play deep in their own half, leaving Ronaldo and Rooney alone up front to make a charge when ever the ball came their way. That's a powerful illustration of isolation and solitude. Finally, the goalless draw represents frustration and unfulfillment. 90 minutes of art house brilliance!

I enjoyed myself, but Fergs said he couldn't stand more than 60 minutes at a time. So much for calling himself a Kar Wai fan.

A fan girl's findings: insights into MA

"To say that this movie is historically irresponsible or politically suspect is both to state the obvious and to miss the point...beneath its highly decorated surface is an examination, touched with melancholy as well as delight, of what it means to live in a world governed by rituals of acquisition and display."

"We know how this story ends, and Ms. Coppola refrains from showing us the violent particulars, or from sentimentalizing her heroine’s fate, preferring to conclude on a quiet, restrained note that registers the loss of Marie’s world as touchingly as the rest of the film has acknowledged her folly, her confusion and her humanity."

A lonely petit four of a queen (NY Times review)

"Drift and dislocation are second nature to Coppola. They were the main themes of her previous films, The Virgin Suicides (also starring Dunst) and Lost in Translation.... Whatever the film's structural failings and historical gaps, it's great to see such a distinctive directorial vision coming out of Hollywood.... Few directors, of either sex, are capable of making a costume drama about 18th-century monarchs that feels so exasperatingly contemporary."

There’s something about Marie (Telegraph review)

"Coppola has created one of the most compellingly watchable historical dramas in recent cinema precisely by doing what her critics accuse her of doing; playing loose with the historical and temporal facts for the sake of making a good movie.... Coppola does what a good storyteller should do; She stays true to her subject as an artist by filtering the story through her own sensibility."

"Coppola does what any director in her right mind must do to make a very good movie; She empathizes deeply with her protagonist, finds a way to bring her audience into the queen's gilded cage and allows us to look into her unknowable heart."

(blog entry on The Back Row Manifesto.)

Marie Antoinette (2006)

Director: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Kristen Dunst
Length: 123 mins
Tagline: Let them eat cake

Oh Marie! Tragic, beautiful Marie. What a gripping life story you have! Its entanglements, scope and obscuring libelles would make it a daunting task to film. Yet, Sofia Coppola has done very well in humanising this much maligned queen, and she does so with a unique, feminine grace and vision.

The resulting movie is a bold, innovative one and like Marie, the director attracts both passionate haters and defenders. Because of Coppola's membership in a privileged, film-dynastic family, some critics have gone so far as to dismiss her interpretation as a quasi-autobiographical one, while others have likened it to an extended music video or fluffy coming-of-age teen movie. But while it's true that you wouldn't be able to pass a history test after watching this movie, that's because it was never meant to be a rigid, historical period piece. Besides, you should be studying your textbooks instead of watching movies if you want to pass that test.

What this movie does is to bring us into the beautiful, cocooned world of Versailles, where the outside world has little presence. Each shot is filled with eye candy for the viewers to feast on - exquisite fashion, flamboyant architecture and gorgeous confectioneries flit in and out of the frame against a contemporary soundtrack that makes it all feel refreshingly relatable. Yet, despite its glittering, glamourous surface, the movie is far from being superficial. It succeeds in rising above being a mere poor little rich girl tale by giving Marie Antoinette more dignity than that. Ultimately, it is about a young woman living in a gilded cage of suffocating protocol and restrictions trying to cope in the only way she knows how to. Yes, her life may revolve around the superficial pursuit of temporal pleasure, but she is shown to go about it in a poignant and sympathetic light.

There are some controversial decisions that are worth mentioning: the director's decision to use a multi-national cast and have them keep their accents is a bold one that works out well most of the time, but occasionally I found Kristen Dunst's very, very American twang to be jarring. Man, I can almost swear that some times she sounded like she was playing it up.

Another controversial aspect involves the film's historical inaccuracies. Now, I would be prepared to close one eye to most of them - the wrong champagne glass shape, a ball in a venue that wasn't built at that time, a fourth child of Marie's that was left out, the wrong sister-in-law gives birth and etc. However, her affair with a certain Count Fersen has never been supported by most historians, and I feel that it should have been left out as it gives a significant but misguided impression of the queen. Perhaps Coppola put it in because she wanted to show that Marie wasn't frigid and wanted to experience a greater emotional and sexual intimacy than what her curiously asexual husband could provide.

Oh well. It's just a comment, not a complaint. Marie Antoinette is a wistful, delightful and personal portrait of the doomed queen of France and her glorious heydays and to borrow the words of AO Scott, this is a movie that I am perfectly happy to lose my head over.

Watched Tuesday, 15 April

Surfing highlight: Tuesday, 15 Feb 2008

Vintage pyrex on d*s. Where else do I find such things? I've had this post bookmarked for me to return to look at properly for a few days, which I did today. The patterns are eye-catching enough for me to check out one of the sites it links:

Pyrex Love a wonderful pattern fix and resource on all things Pyrex-related. The pattern guide is excellent because most pics link you to a page with a write-up about that particular pattern and an ebay list of items from that line on sale. When I get married, I want this to go on my gift registry. In the mean time I wonder if such gems can be unearthed in thrift shops over here.

What knocked my socks off was finding out that the patterns shown in the picture here are vintage pyrex. I grew up with these in our kitchen! It was incredibly nostalgic to look at them - I haven't seen the Spice of Life casseroles in use of late and now I can't wait to go home, hunt them down and caress them.

[update: Fergs said that the butterfly gold 1 and 2 pattern is in his Muar home. I might just kneel over now, it's one of my favs!]

Loretta Lux and the case of sheep mode

I've attended a fair number of cells/home fellowships in my lifetime, both as a member and just to visit. While you have different programs methods and structures, I recently noticed that there is one common factor to be found in all of them. That is, regardless of how rousing the ice-breaker or intense worship is, once the Bible and lesson sheets come out everyone turns into spiritual beings. They're technically present but pretty much impossible to hold any sort of sustained, meaningful conversation with.

I've heard the terms micro-sleep and zoned-out mode being bandied about, but I prefer to call it "sheep mode" or "blind listening". Because that's what this woolly phenomenon is. They're paying attention in a sort of obedient, passive mode, without really examining what is being put forth before them. They know that they're going to be steered into a predetermined conclusion by the leader at the end anyway, usually called "wrapping up" or "issuing a challenge". It's the equivalent to vegging out in front of the TV, except that because this is church-related and has God in it, it must be good for you. Which I guess it is.

But I'll save my comments on how sheep-like, anti-intellectualism behaviour is in vogue for another time. Right now I want to talk about the works of Loretta Lux, which I came across yesterday. She's a successful fine art photographer known for her surreal portraits of young children. Basically, she takes charming pictures of small 'uns and photoshops them into cold, emotionless shells. And they sell like hot cakes.

Don't they look like they're in cell?

Meow!

According to good 'ole Wikipedia, sashimi means "pierced body", from the traditional method of harvesting sashimi grade fish, where the brain is pierced with a sharp spike to kill it instantly. This way the flesh contains minimal lactic acid from the fish dying slowly, which keeps it fresh for a longer time.

Oh, and salmon is not a part of traditional Japanese cuisine. Didn't know that.

I can't wait for tomorrow! *Shiver*

My Blueberry Nights (2007)

Director: Wong Kar Wai
Starring: Norah Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weiz & Natalie Portman
Length: 90 mins

"At the end of every night, the cheesecake and the apple pie are always completely gone, the peach cobbler and the chocolate mousse cake are nearly finished, but there's always a whole blueberry pie left untouched."

"So what's wrong with the blueberry pie?"

"There's nothing wrong with the blueberry pie, just people make other choices. You can't blame the blueberry pie, it's just... no one wants it."

But shrugging off the rejection of a loved one is not as simple as that, is it? So Elizabeth, our heroine, goes on a road trip from New York, to Memphis, Las Vegas and then back to New York after having her heart broken. At each stop she meets people whose stories illustrate the brittle, painful side of love - the cafe owner who is still waiting for the woman who walked out his life to come back, the alcoholic cop and his beautiful wife who yearns to be freed from her intense love-hate relationship but is terribly torn by the price of her freedom, and finally the hard, confident gambler who has her carefully-constructed front torn down by the finality of death.

Easily the most accessible of Kar Wai's films, My Blueberry Nights is like the dessert it features - sweet, visually appealing and a satisfying fix. And as the movie ends on a hopeful note with Lizzie back in the little New York cafe she started out from, you can't help but believe in second chances.

Watched: Wednesday, 27 March

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Director: Wong Kar Wai
Starring: Tony Leung & Maggie Cheung
Length: 98 minutes

The end title reads "That era has passed. Nothing that belongs to it exists anymore." And so it has, leaving behind the scent of loss in it's wake, much like the original Chinese title, "Our Glorious Years Have Passed Like Flowers".

Elusive and bittersweet, this wistful movie mourns for the past, immortalising single moments through lingering, repetitive shots, much like a lover reliving cherished memories. This allows the viewer to be immersed into the agonised, repressed world of the leads, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, who play neighbours who after being driven to seek solace in each other, disallow themselves from falling in love with each other.

This film, being mood-driven, as opposed to plot-driven, has sparse, restrained dailogue and long periods quiet, which requires effort on the viewer's part to meet it on it's own terms instead of being led by the hand to a predetermined conclusion. Some will find this task a strange and somewhat formidable one. But the experiential payoff is well worth it.

Watched: Thursday, 21 March

Eight for ole eight: Quarter 1 review

At the beginning of the year I optimistically banged out 8 to-do things this year. One quarter later and the numbers aren't looking good. However, there have been other accomplishments, the most noticeable being finally getting around to putting up a banner on Introspection (which I didn't even design). Which makes it a not very accomplishing accomplishment. Anyway, the picture's "They are leaning out for love" by Alena Hennessey.

Here's how I've done so far.

1. Family + attachments trip to a beach: Pending Chong's return for the summer holidays. Unless he decides not to return (unlikely).

2. Hold 2 BBQs: 1 down, one more to go.

3. Read 8 new books and blog about them: I've only read 1 new book, and I haven't blogged about it. It isn't that bloggable a book anyway.

4. Paint 4 pictures: 0 completed. But after visiting a gallery in The Garden's last Friday I think I am inspired.

5. Go for road trip to Ipoh: 0 progress. I'm questioning this one. Ipoh??

6. Write two plays: 0 completed. Not. A. Single. Word.

7. Learn how to use photoshop: 0 progress. But, I did very painstakingly put together the "My Blueberry Nights" collage below on Primitive Ms Paint and I am IMMENSELY PROUD OF IT because using Primitive Ms tools I doctored two of the photos so that they'll line up neatly.

[edit: I was just reminded that I helped to cut out the Wolverine figure for The Geek's birthday poster on Photoshop but I think that doesn't count because I just blindly did what I was told to for all of 5 minutes.]

8. Attend 1 MPO concert and 1 theater show that is not a musical: 0 progress