that memoirs in the spotlight

yesterday i watched 'memoirs of a geisha' sneak preview show.

i read the book when the novel got some publicity when madonna decided to portray hatsumomo in her nothing really matters videoclips from her ray of light album, even donning full geisha costume in her grammy openings.

that was back in 1999.

i remember going from book shop to book shop to find this novel. i was still studying in japan at that time, and english novels were not exactly abundant in supply.

i've never heard of arthur golden before, and i'm not really a memoir fan 'coz let's face it non-fiction is 90% boring, but hey, the biggest celebrity not only read it, but influenced by it, so it must be good, right?

so when i heard stefen spielberg was going to turn this into film, i was excited. moreover, he has such a cool choice of actresses. i like zhang ziyi and michelle yeoh. i've lost count how many times i see they fight in crouching toger hidden dragon in that wooden house. as for gong li, never seen her on the big screen before but she does have this long-fingernailed-villain look in her.

ok back to the movie. the sceneries, from falling cherry blossoms to bustling streets of gion, were breathtaking. zhang ziyi and gong li are gorgeous donning geisha clothes and make ups. the moves and dances were delicate and simply beautiful. i can almost taste the culture out of my tongue tip. i heard they had to attend geisha lesson for six weeks, walking with thin slice of paper in between knees while balance sth on their head and i must say, it showed.

i like the scenes when zhang ziyi exchanged war of words with gong li in the tea house. ppl should learn that you know, a very feminin and classy way to bitch around. indeed words are sharper than swords when used affectively. though sometimes i couldn't but aware that the words were merely dialogues written for the movie when hearing zhang ziyi's cheeky lines, 'coz zhang ziyi and good command in english do not exactly go hand in hand.

the movie got a bit draggy at the end after the world war scenes but still in overall i'll give it 7 over 10.

a memoirs indeed.


...ed

resolution mess

one week plus into the new year, and i already have one more point to add up to my new year resolution.

that is, to not say anything that would risks backfire. more specifically, anything about marriage (hereby known as the M word) and ermm...babies.

i was casually chatting the other day about this colleague who had just became a father (my ex-housemate actually) when my stupid blabbermouth, as smooth as the flow of the water, innocently asked this other friend who got married like more than a year ago..' so when is your turn?'..

i should have known that this wasn't a thing that a guy with an overdue marriage plan, which in fact still as far beyond the horizon, should say. true enough, faster than you could ever say 'marriage', he asked me back, 'no, when is YOUR turn to get married then?'...

then he and the whole table members (we were having breakfast) started talking numbers, mentioning the evil 30 that is due coming for me this year, which if you asked me, was more harsh and inappropriate compared to the baby plan that i brought up, or even the marriage plan that they brought up. urghh.. like they have no other better topic to discuss.

i mean, what about discussing the building that collapsed in the holy city of Mecca last week, where the efforts to seek for survivors were being stopped after just 24 hrs? 24 hrs! ppl could stop their breath longer than that.

ok maybe not, but shouldn't it be like 3 days that ppl can survive without any food and water? Is it because it's a holy land, we should encourage death without sound efforts to rescue them?

or what about that recently-unpopular-decision-maker ariel sharon that conveniently 'wiped off' israel's political arena with a sudden massive stroke which apparently could be due to 'doctor error'? what about his family members then who were out of a sudden found themselves accused of bribery? time definitely not on their sides.

world affairs go in mysterious ways. human affairs do too. Else, how come week and a half in the new year i could find myself entangled in some 3 dimensional r/ships, which i never really had done before? i don't even have this in my new year list. in fact, this could very well enter my 'things to do before i'm 30' list.

although it's not actually 3 dimensional. it was me having both r/ships. they have no idea so i kinda like juggling the balls. gosh now i put it in words, it does sound a bit evil but in my defense, i don't love anybody less than before. love is indefinite so my love has grown if anything.

blame it to the fact that things are more adventourous when the r/ship is still green. there are many uncertainties or newfound things that keep my adrenaline going. it's human nature to 'hunt'. and have i mentioned about the killer body? i was in the meeting yesterday and that was all i could think about.

i mean, it's not like i'm dumping anybody anyway, and let's face it, ppl have affairs all the time. it's almost like the unwritten rule of humanity. life is short and we should do whatever it takes to make our life worth it. who knows when we'll be out of love? or when our parents decided to turn up in our doorsteps messing up with our current life affairs with unsaid orthodox restrictions?

just that actually i know when this catastrophe will occur. i went back kl last weekend taking advantage of long holiday to visit my folks. it was a normal trip, staying mostly at homes, stalling and eating a lot. but then they took the opportunity to ask me whether they could spend the long CNY break at my place, which spans a week.

not that i'm complaining. i love my parents, there's no doubt about it. sure i'll lose my privacy, or more importantly my long hours of sleep and doing nothing, and yeah, having sex before marriage is totally out of a question too but hey, it could be a different kind of excitement for me. we can chat and chat now that the swimming pool is under renovation which leaves us with nothing much to do.

and i must remember, not to bring up any matters that could prompt the 'M' word in their minds.

seriously.


...ed

promise of a new day

it has been raining the whole day today, the first day of 2006. i don't know whether this is a good sign or not. so uncertain on what this year could be.

for a start, i would not have predicted that i'd be in a foreign company when the clock striked 12, after spending the whole day together and half a night afterwards.

let's just say now i have new found respect for those ppl that found solace in other ppl's arm during the long absence of their loved ones. now before anybody gets judgemental, it isn't my fault that legal intimacy tends to get a bit cold after a while, and also the fact that some ppl just have a killer body compared to others.

and anyway, it's not like here's canada or sth...

it's just that now i'm not so sure how everything's gonna fit in my life anymore. i guess i'll just go with the flow and see where these things take me throughout the new year.

now that i'm on the topic, as cool as 'my new resolution this year is NOT to make any new resolutions' sounds, i'm still gonna tip sth in conjuction with the new year.

it's simple. i want to stay healthy, and be much happier and richer than what i am today. full stop.

oh and i also would love to master my guitar, and i'm hoping to take some classes to add in new skills too. i wish to possibly hook up with someone that ppl won't actually raised eyebrows to and could actually go somewhere, however impossible this may sound. i also wouldn't mind going for a tour, somewhere far far away, also i want to cherish whichever friends that i have, keep on my r/ship and maintain that a fling or two may just spell the beginning of sth wonderful.

after all, whoever knows if we had really reached the finished line?


"time over time what will change the world?
no one knows
so the only promise is a day to live, to give
and share with one another"


happy new year everyone!


...ed