Love Song Requiem

Thursday, August 26, 2010

It is a first for me working on a layout without my usual solid black or monochrome colors, or the usual use of heavy textures for my design. I had chanced upon a png render of Kaito a Vocaloid character on planetrenders.net and was overwhelmed by an inspiration to design using bright colors, so I had grasped the opportunity to move out of my comfort zone and try something new.

After critically assessing my design, I can honestly say with every intent at self-disparagement my aptitude for designing is severely lacking and it was a wise decision to discard my prior, youthful aspiration as a web designer or an arts illustrator.

On a different vein, I have recently stumbled upon on a beautiful, tear-jerking song called 'Love Song Requiem' by an old band Trading Yesterday (currently known as Age of Information), I thus wish to share this song with those out there who have/had lost a loved one.

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posted at 10:08 PM

Phone Post!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Before I dedicate the remaining hours of the day to a life of a historian (I use this term very loosely for reading zealously has impressed upon me as an innate, fundamental nature of a Historian.), I have decided to exercise liberty with regards to the personal indulgence which for the past week has been denied to me owing to the constrains of both time and personal matters that needed attending to.

I have but 2 thick readings, for both my History exposure module and Japanese General Education Module, piled neatly on top of my desk, waiting for the pages to be flipped, waiting to be read. By god, will I ever be able to sleep tonight?

But self-lamenting over my bad time management has to be put aside for now (I dare think 99.9% of my blog posts are concerned most predominantly by my academic issues.) for I have designed a new method to complement/substitute the incessant ramblings which I had ungraciously poured onto this blog. I call it the 'Phone Post!' xD

For boredom pervaded my being and I, restless at having waited long for the inconsistent arrival of my bus, typed into my phone a little story, a drabble if you may wish to call it.

So this is my first drabble.
I love you but you are not mine, I will hold you in my prison regardless for your absence will be my undoing. Run. Run. Relentlessly will I pursue and hound your every footsteps till your last breath of resistance and hatred fades into the countenance of the dark sky. Finale. A fine work of art you are; a beauty discolored first by the blade which has your eyes reflect of a perpetual fear, bathed next in your pool of crimson freshness. I love you.. now you are mine... And now, you are mine.

And then my bus came swerving around the bend!

I did a little image search on a Japanese tragic hero, Minamoto No Yoshitsune, having been enthralled by my Japanese readings' (Nobility of Failure by Ivan Morris) glorifying depiction of this Samurai warrior as an "effeminate beauty, slender figure and beautiful, feminine features."



It is quite apparent of which, in a sane person's perception, images above contains a higher level of realism and resemblance to the actual hero himself. But for the sake of bringing greater love and entertainment to my study of the Japanese Heian Period, I shall very obstinately stick to the former's depiction of Yoshitsune. xD

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posted at 7:03 PM

Kuroshitsuji Season 2

Sunday, August 22, 2010

I was doing a little research on my favorite anime, Black Butler (黒執事, Kuroshitsuji), and was euphoric to receive news of a second season – a sequel to the original series. Just recently, July 1st to be precise, was Season 2 of Black Butler released by Japan TV MBS production and is scheduled to span a total of 13 episodes.



Season 2 has the potential to overtake its predecessor with the introduction of talented voice actors Nana Mizuki (Hinata Hyuga in Naruto & Utau Hoshina in Shougo Chara!) and Sakurai Takahiro (Yuu Kanda in D.Gray Man & Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy) voice-acting lead roles Earl Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus respectively.

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posted at 10:41 PM

The Idea of Japan?

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I am currently reading 'The Idea of Japan - Western Images, Western Myths' by Ian Littlewood. I couldn't help but sneak a smile at the image of Japan the Europeans had constructed since the eighteen century. What they had created by simplifying the complexities involved in Japan's social institutions were by no means palatable images but to some degree carried a certain measure of truth in and of itself.

I quote from Homer Lea, 'The Valor of Ignorance', "..Japan is pregnant with the spirit of militarism." and Harcourt-Smith "murderous perfidy" of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The chapter, Samurai - A Streak of Violence, subsequently surmises the Japanese as wearing veneers of "post-war friendliness".

I found it particularly hilarious, despite the severity and fury in content, for the West could construct the image of Japan as a country innate with belligerence and aggression, but none could ever deny the celerity and wits the Japanese possess. ;)

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posted at 8:44 PM

Day 1 of University Life

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The first day of my university life officially started today at 8 am sharp. I learned a couple of interesting facts which originated from the standardized conception of the Samurai image. I must admit to taking up this module with an ulterior motive. xD

Like any other Otaku, I would love for nothing more than to comprehend the complexities involved in the underlying roots of the Japanese society - how stereotypes came into being, and the culture icons which has in long years given Japan the 'image' it has today.

That was basically the gist of my Japanese lecture today. My history lecture was pretty amusing, I was lucky to have a hilarious lecturer. :) I must say though, the readings for both my Japanese GEM and History exposure module are sure to consume a good portion of my life.

On another note, I decided to give myself another holiday and got hold of 2 new NDS games. Atelier Annie - Alchemist of Sera Island (RPG) and Will O' Wisp (Simulation)

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posted at 12:10 AM

A poignant aftertaste

Thursday, August 5, 2010

An overwhelming urge to cry washed over me, thus I decided to pen down these beautiful, ephemeral emotions before I lose its essence. Do not be fooled by the structure, I have written, not a poem, but a prose - writing in my stream of consciousness would be a more apt description. In other words, it contains no literacy value. So read on, enjoy and be bewildered in trying to establish some sense from it.

My heart, it shivers,
searing from the core, bellows
to be released from the skeleton fingers
It clutches. Stifling me of breath,
of words left sealed in my throat.
Tears do not find me.
They fell from within.
From my inside do they drown
the remnant fragments of my soul.


At times was I possessed by a sudden urge to scream, to cry, or to close my eyes forever that I simply could not disregard the poignant aftertaste it had left me. The pain, the worry, the pressure - pieces of these emotions would remain. A thought hence ran through my mind.

While on the brink of unconsciousness, one usually calls slumber, have you ever closed your eyes and wondered 'What if I cease to open my eyes, would this darkness be of an eternal dimension to me?'

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posted at 5:12 PM

The self-proclaimed Hermit

Sunday, August 1, 2010

I'm planning to be a recluse, whether in the future or the present, so part me not from my computer but from the world around me!

My parents have been incessantly grumbling of my blatant disregard for interpersonal relationships and of course, the necessity of forming such relations. I had vehemently opposed to partake in my University's camps and socializing parties, choosing instead to bond with my fictional written characters on my computer screen.

They spoke to me! "Discard us not for our lives are shallow! We will die! We will die!" Or something to that effect.

My parents are convinced that there's a screw loose in my brain. In the nutshell, they believed me to be insane. "You're crazy la, so free to write stories!"

And I had told them levelly that should there be an earthquake outside our flat, I would still choose to pen down my ideas, thoughts and characters into Microsoft Word, because I quite plainly love writing.

Nonsensical, or not.

And no, I didn't retort to that statement of me being 'crazy'.

Alas! The sands of time has run out for the recluse! I must part, tomorrow, from my shell and SOCIALIZE with REAL people! Fast dread fills me! I tremble! (Actually, I'm only attending my FASS Orientation with my friends tomorrow. That is all. But I will let you know if anything terrifying happens to me.)

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posted at 11:38 PM