Monday 27 February 2012

Seaward bound

Finally! I don't think I've been home for this long in a decade!

Back to Singapore for the first time since '08. A lot of unknowns, but life, it seems is not without a sense of irony, or should I say humour? The locations at least are going to be familiar :). Loyang offshore supply base. Man, that brings back memories.

Well, I guess I've been waiting for this long enough. Hopefully, photos of a very different seismic boat will follow :).

Currently: one foot through the doorway
Listening to: Adele - Don't you remember

Saturday 25 February 2012

Blue - Red - Gold - Green

The end of a long story is never easy I suppose. Any long story. There's so much to let go of. The inevitable urge to explain all. Thing about it though, it takes so much longer to write than to read! Years of effort yields days of engagement. Maybe less.

I should really get that reader before I run out of space in my book case :). In the mean time, I managed to get a hold of the last book of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. I suppose when you've read three books in a series you've kinda got to find out what happens next, haven't you? And as always, when reading such a terribly interconnected series the previous volumes require at least a cursory glance.

Wasn't too bad :). An active imagination helps no end. But I did cringe at the Avatar reference. I mean, it may totally not have been an Avatar reference, but since 2009 every time boy says to girl, "I see you" all meaningfully and what not, what else would anyone assume?! :)

While on my rather long search at the Book Cellar (aka book store under the escalator) I looked and looked, but couldn't find any sign of Ghosh's River of Smoke. Or of the last three Artemis Fowl books, although they had multiple copies of the first five. Of course :|. Instead, I managed to lay my hands on another Bryson! Notes on a Small Island, which not only have I heard good things about, but also carries on its front cover the following observation: 'Not a book that should be read in public, for fear of emitting loud snorts'! :D

Currently: considering unpacking and re-packing
Listening to: David Guetta - Repeat (feat. Jessie J)

Sunday 19 February 2012

Code name God

This time around, I do remember. When I last read a book in a single day that is. It was my birthday five years ago and I was cosied up in the living room couch in the Subi house. Incidentally, the coolest bit of space I've actually lived in, yet. And it was a book I'd been meaning to read for a long time.

This time was rather more accidental. A book I didn't even know existed, noticed it while visiting the neighbours and ended up reading most of it while basking in the afternoon sun hanging out of their balcony. The end result is, if anything, even more ambiguous than my response to Salinger! For, if you were to believe this guy, it would seem that if you ask the questions why or how enough times in a row about just about anything in this world (or out of it, for that matter) you'd end up with God as the plausible answer! I mean, seriously?!

But here's the thing, from chapters 14 through 17 (out of a total of 20), when he stops talking about God and/or Gandhi for a bit, things get really entertaining :). I suppose one should get through the rest of it as well, but there's a distinct divide between the aforementioned chapters and the rest. Good or bad depends on what you're looking for, I guess.

I know I'd normally keep from revealing such punchlines, but in this case I will make an exception. This seems to be the crux of the matter: if there was no one to see the universe, then would it still exist?! I imagine all in all this isn't exactly a brand new thought. But then the book did come out 7 years ago. It's still fun though, wading through science assisted reasoning that seems to lend credence to the fantasies of the wildest sci-fi buff. Non-fiction seems to be a bit of a stretch at times :).

Feeling: entertained :)
Listening to: Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

Thursday 16 February 2012

Undertones in grey

I haven't been watching films much, lately. Somehow TV shows seem more suitable, being both shorter and longer. I think I've been too fidgety the last several months, for one reason or another, to properly pay attention to detail, as is required when watching a film. Episodes, on the other hand, well...

But there's also the fact that of the ones I have been watching, nothing seemed to quite stand out. When thinking about describing them I'm left with stuff like well-made, or entertaining, or good fun. And that, of course only when they aren't, well, shit :). Okay, I'll admit Source Code would qualify as actually interesting, somewhat.

But then tonight I finally got around to watching Page Eight. And, clearly, felt moved enough to waste some virtual space actually writing about it :). I mean, this one really does stand out! This has that elusive mixture of awesome atmosphere and awesome acting.

Plus, always a personal favourite, there are no foregone conclusions. There is no obvious need for a happy ending. Despite being, in essence, a Brit spy movie, this thing is so far away from Bond as to not even invoke the slightest passing comparison :).

Trouble now of course is, what does one follow that up with? Hmm.

Currently: kicked :D
Listening to: David Guetta - Where them girls at (feat. Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj)

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Time/travel

My short 2 weeks-and-change break has now turned into a two month vacation! Yes, I'm still, somewhat incredibly, on break. Now you might think that's a good thing, and it is, in the pure lazy aimlessness of it all. But if you are the type to want to do something with the six months a year you get to live your life, the one day's notice at a time thing doesn't really do a whole lot of good.

Now that that's been said, I did go on a bit of a trip last week. I would have gone nuts sitting here any longer for one thing, and for another, the parents were headed out of town and refused to leave me to my own devices given the slightly homicidal turn my mood was beginning to take.

Something on that trip led me to a curious observation regarding the nature of time, or rather, the perception of it. And how denial and acceptance appear to be flip sides of the same coin. The past, once there's a fair bit of it, is hardly a linear affair. It flows in fits and starts. Bends sometimes, morphs into something entirely distinct from real life. Actually, that's probably true most of the time, to a greater or lesser extent. Then there is the need to make peace with it. Everyone feels the need to do so I guess. The difference lies in the degree of success.

Anyway, now I'm back in town again. After failed attempts at Angola and the US Gulf of Mexico, I am now supposed to head down to Myanmar! So I dutifully dropped off the passport at the local Consulate this morning. Who knows, third time might be the charm and I might actually make it to a boat some time soon! I don't think I'll be holding my breath.

Currently: oh well :)
Listening to: Train - Hey, soul sister