Tweet..

My sister has just spent an hour in the bathroom. That’s a new record! I swear I saw cobwebs forming. It’s surprising how she doesn’t look like a shriveled prune at the end of her shower… At this rate, it won’t be long before I find geological structures in my toilet! Potholes, rivers.. The Chua River Basin! lolx

vbec

M. Night Shyamalan.

I had a few wth moments with M. Night in these past few years. For instance, The Happening. Which was, more of a comedy than thriller. This guy is taking his “message” too seriously. Think about the consumers. Not some selfish vision. This time round, He’s decided to touch the (to me) sacrosanct avatar series, and touted that he was gna convey themes abt genocide and the balance of the world. Which are of course integral to the series to a certain extent (genocide of the air nomads, hence Avatar: The Last Air Bender). But he tends to add so much gravitas to his film that it teeters on being campy, and vulgar to the artform.

The core of my opprobrium, however, is directed against his casting decisions..

Paramount justified their decision by stating:
“Early casting includes an Indian actor, born in Mumbai and raised in the UK and the US; a Persian actor born in Tehran and raised in the UK, Switzerland and the US; a Maori actor born and raised in New Zealand; a Korean-American actor, born and raised in Chicago; an American actress of Italian, French and Mexican heritage; among several others of varied nationalities from around the world.The four nations represented in the film reflect not one community, but the world’s citizens. These societies will be cast from a diversity of all races and cultures. In particular, the Earth Kingdom will be cast with Asian, East Asian and Africans.”

To which the media action network for asian american replied:
“How can you, in good faith, say you are trying to honor the integrity of the television series by taking a story written with Asian themes, settings, characters, and populating it with white leads—especially when there are so few Asian roles available in Hollywood? You are continuing a generations-long practice of racial discrimination where the opportunity for actors of color to be heroes for a change is taken away (this time in the name of “diversity.”).”

aang-aint-white.livejournal.com:
We would like to take a moment, here, to speak briefly about the real world cultures represented within Avatar: The Last Airbender. The only written language represented is classical Chinese. The characters’ journey through the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation reveals a wide variety of distinctive East Asian cultures, including Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, Japanese and Vietnamese. The Water Tribe draws from Inuit, Yupik and Pacific Islander cultures. This world features astonishing diversity from all across the Asian continent and all along the Pacific Rim, which is a part of what made it so unique.

There are no equivalents to African or European cultures in the Avatar world. There are no medieval French castles. There are no Egyptian temples. There are no Viking long houses. There are no Malian mosques. Including African American extras in the Earth Kingdom was a deliberate decision, intended to mask the whitewashing of the principle cast.

I can understand why Night wants Dev Patel in his movie. But his facial expressions are often limited and isn’t he more in the goofy department. So shouldn’t he be cast as Sokka instead? And why is he, the second asian in the film, the bad guy? Many people are rooting for brandon soo hoo to be aang. But the role went to Noah Ringer, who looks like aang. But he’s got a belly. >.> Aang is lean. If the movie turns out great. I’ll be even more pissed, cuz it would’ve been a good opportunity for asian actors to play the good guys. It’s my favourite animated show, dun ruin it pls?

Unlike the usual fight scenes, the ones from the final episodes during sozen’s comet were more ostentatious and grand. But I like it.

asian persuasion.

I’ve become a fan of 几米. This illustrator/writer based in taipei. He wrote turn left turn right which was made into a movie, and stefanie sang the theme song. Recently though, he’s begun writing about anomie, and social problems, which I find even more interesting. When I feel an emotion, I often ask myself why. Why am I feeling groggy. Why am I feeling pissed. Why am I feeling bored. I realise it’s better to just take it as it is, and not treat every emotion as a symptomatic manifestation of some other entrenched psychological problem. I’ve tried to stop being so schizo in the way I think. It’s like I split my mind up into different people and each one takes a different side of an issue and argue. The result is inaction. Apparently blood type B people are more prone to neuroticism O.o. The theory that blood type determines personality is big in Japan and Korea. Largely inaccurate for me. Whistles~. Just read turn left turn right which i borrowed from tina. Love is a luxury. I like chinese songs cuz of the way they portray love. It’s valued more. It’s a commitment. Not just a lovegame. Thank you dad for being the best. Anw, in turn left turn right, a scene with the crestfallen lovers separated a new years eve made me remember this song: Arco, Happy New Year. (short snippet)

january sky like a slate wiped clean
and stillness of air where nothing has been
wait for your word as if to say
another last chance lives from today

happy new year – the world just keeps turning
day into night, night into day
holding on tight, millions all hoping
something like love will light up the way

Vbec

First Love

下过雨的
夏天傍晚
我都会期待
唱歌的蝉嘿
把星星都吵醒
月光晒了很凉快
就是这样回忆起来
第一次告白(初次告白)
尴尬的我看
爱装得很哲学的你其实
很可爱

Vbec

GMH

To see a different side of life as presented on fmylife.com, check out:

givesmehope.com, which is also now my homepage.

Vbec

Best I Ever Had

Yesterday I laughed so hard till my heart was aching. Not in a figurative sense.. It either means that bao and tina were too hilarious.. or time for exercise. I was mugging wit kevin, lisa and tim.. apparently they haven’t seen the cadbury eyebrow advertisement. Which goes to show how TVee deprived they are. lol. So here it is:

Idealism directed inwards can sometimes be destructive. In times of intense pressure you think thoughts that you KNOW would become silly in a day’s time. And being with my friends helps to dispel any build up of negativity in me. While I treasure the bliss of solitude, friends take it to another level. Also, I’ve been snooping ard my home of 15 yrs.. (I think) and trying to see my home from an outsider’s point of view which makes things rather interesting. I prefer my sister’s sun-drenched room, but wouldn’t give up my room’s spaciousness. Alth I can’t even switch off the lights in the morning. Otherwise it’d be too dark . It’s give and take. Life’s give and take. Opportunity cost. Tsk. The internet is the bomb.. can’t live w/o it. The immense possibility, the amount of information you can access through it, makes you wna cherish it more, and exploit it like never before .

Vbec

P.S. Uhm, the real song has crude lyrics. So.. just a heads up (for you kevin).

Dreamer

~~~

Have you grown callous from barren wonders?
Shed that thick unfeeling kernel that has become your mettle.
Plowing dimensions of the unmentioned.
And finding only decay.
Oh casanova,
Your deepest vendetta
Was cast against yourself.
Weather-beaten wayfarer,
Travelling incognito,
This you know:
Gravity is from within.
Love, also begins from within.

Vbec.

To myself lol: