Bleach

For anyone still reading the Bleach manga, does anyone find that the fights in it are getting really repetitive and boring?

Every fight goes something like this:

Good Guy: "I taunt you."
Bad Guy: "I taunt you back."
Good Guy: "I taunt you again."
Bad Guy: "What's your name? Names are important."
Good Guy: "I don't give my name easily."
Swords are cross.
Bad Guy: "You say you are from (insert division number and seat)? So weak!"
Good Guy: "You are ugly."
Bad Guy: "I am pretty. You are uglier. You dress like a flower."
Good Guy: "Flowers are pretty. You have no taste."
Swords are cross.
Good guy almost lose. Then he suddenly unleashes some hidden power.
Bad Guy: "What the?!"
Good Guy: "I can only unleash this power when no one is looking. It makes no sense. But I rather die than let anyone see my power." or "I was just tricking you. Haha. You think I weak? You dumb."
Bad Guy: "..."
Good Guy: "What's your name? I'd like to know your name before I kill you, even though it is not important at all, because you were just introduced 2 pages before fighting me, and you have no characterisation or future development. Perhaps I will give you my name instead, so that you will know who's going to kill you. Har. Har."
Good Guy than kills Bad Guy.

*Repeat for every single battle*

Than, just as the good guys are winning, main bad guy comes out and says:
"You are ALL like ANTS! It's so hard to control myself from stepping too hard on ANTS! And you all have been TRICKED ONCE AGAIN! Because while you were busy fighting with characters just introduced 2 pages ago, I secretly did this and that to win! It is a twist in the boring story! har har!"

More insults are hurled than swords are crossed.
Taunts are usually about how each other look.
Names are VERY important when fighting someone you want to kill.
Fights goes on for 40 chapters. Than one chapter of "story development".
And then fights for another 40 chapters.

What happen Tite Kubo? Are you just making the story up as you go along?

Empathy

To quote Shakespeare,
"for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Sometimes I think I am gifted with the power of empathy.

I realise I like understanding how someone feels, how someone thinks, why someone does the thing he/she does, why someone is the way he/she is....and at times, I realised I am able to do all of the above fairly well...

However, being empathetic sometimes is scary. What happens when you are able to perceive from both sides of the line? The perpetrator of malevolence might see it as a necessary evil, while the good would deem it as asinine, uncalled for or selfish. Understanding the perspective of both sides, it sometimes becomes hard to find a firm footing either way. The world greys out. But even then, there are many shades of grey.

What which you once cannot stand, you might start to find it accepting....
It is scary.

Perhaps that is why I love my morale dilemmas in stories.

Anyway, today, while I was practising a little on my piano, I sneezed.
Which led me to wonder...

What happen if, during a performance of a fast piano piece, say, flight of the bumblebee? And in front of a large audience.... Heck, he won't even need to be playing a fast piece. So then, what happens if the pianist suddenly have this need to sneeze?

Hmmm......

In the case of an atomic bomb explosion...

...duck and cover.

That's right.

Duck and cover.



So I was watching Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel just now, and I suddenly realised how cool the Russian language is.

Yes, it was rather random.

In all the hundreds of different ways of saying goodbye in the different languages, I've always had one favourite, and it was in Russian - "Da Svindanya".

I now have a new favourite language. And the good part is, my name is actually Russian. Woooo~

Wanderers

He might be that ostentatious millionaire,
or that unkempt beggar.
Perhaps that beautiful socialite walking by you,
or that lonesome hermit sitting before you.
Maybe a brilliant physicist,
or a delinquent dropout.
Even a mother of two,
or a swinging bachelor.

But we are all merely wanderers.
Wanderers, each with our own goals, dreams and ambitions,
hidden deeply within our hearts,
grasping tightly unto it.

Passing each other,
wandering on on our way..........

Would you even know...?

Where's the identity?!

All it takes is a wasabi fillet-o-fish for MacDonald's to start sprouting "Arigato!", "Irrashaimase!" and "Konbanwa!" (At least the one at Khatib does it).

Okay, maybe asking where it's identity is isn't really appropriate, seeing as to how MacDonald's have penetrated and seeded itself so deeply in almost every culture and society.

But still...good grief.

erm..

My blog is not emo!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk is Cheap

I don't like to make promises except the very important ones, because it is already so difficult holding true to my own words...

Words, are words. But once spoken, it is thrown out there.

Too cheap, they are sometimes far too cheap.
Uttered without considerations.
Uttered just for the sake of uttering.

I used to think if one didn't care, then one won't even say "take care", "all the best" or "good luck".
Then I realise its all being taken granted for.

Don't say it if you don't mean it.
Don't say it if you mean it only half heartedly.
Say it only if you truly mean it.

It isn't easy.

My Playlist

So SOMEBODY just complained about the music that is playing on my blog recently. That SOMEBODY then told me to take it off. Apparently, the world revolves around that SOMEBODY.

Heh.

Anyway, I kinda actually find music that plays on blogs a little irritating too. So why have I included it then?

For one, the music one listens to offers a little insight to their character, their likes and their dislikes. Secondly, and more importantly, I like to share music that I like with others. I could have included this playlist, but then scripted it to not play automatically. But nope. I want people to listen to the songs that I like, and hopefully get them to like these songs as well. Hur hur hur.

With that being said, the songs on my playlist are probably not going to be the newest songs. More of the rather obscured ones (actually not really), that I think most of my friends won't have listen to or know of before. What is the point of introducing a nice popular song to everyone, when sooner or later everyone will hear of it. And hence, I find myself starting to like indie music or any music that is away from the mainstream. There is something cool about discovering wonderful music/songs that almost no one knows about.

Anyway, the songs in the playlist right now are songs that kind of melt me - at least to a certain extend. Who needs chocolates? Easy listening best suited for the quiet night.
1) Tizzy Bac - You'll see. By a Taiwanese indie group. Most of their songs are kinda like electronica. But I really like this version, the live version because of the superb piano accompaniment. She reminds me why I am learning the piano. Really gotta thank the person who introduced this song to me. My fave at the moment. That's why its at the top.
2) Olivia Ong - Fall in love - Koini Ochite. By a Singaporean singer! Just discovered her recently. Very nice, sultry voice I must add. Interestingly, she started off in some Japanese pop group. Nice melody.
3) Olivia Ong - It's Real. See (2).
4) Jay Chou - Secret. From the movie, Secret. I am currently learning to play this on the piano. But this version is crazy fast. Totally entangles the fingers of my right hand. But a very fun piece to play.
5) Ayumi Hamasaki - Heaven. I don't like the original version. Much prefer this quiet version. Sounds more sincere. Also shows how a simple song can sound beautiful.
6) The Corrs - Runaway. Violin, Violin, Violin. (Or Viola?). Plus its kinda celtic. I like celtic.
7) Shimokawa Mikuni - Hajimari. I love the melody. And sweet voice.
8) Taro Hakase - To Love You More. Actually a song sang by Celine Dion. I realise how sappy it sounds. But heck. It's the violin! (or viola? How to tell the difference on how they sound???)

So why have I introduced my entire playlist? Because I am bored.

And to that SOMEBODY, the stop/pause button is immediately to the right of the newest blog entry. Very easy and convenient to turn it off. =)

Nerd

Recently, I've been realising how much of a nerd I am becoming. No wait. I think I might have been a closeted nerd all along. Actually, I hate being called a nerd...

Anyway, let's count the ways:

1) I plowed through every chapter of the web comic, xkcd in like 2 days.
2) I just finished watching the first season of the The Big Bang Theory in about 3 days.
3) I love the Mythbusters, and I wish Adam Savage is my science teacher.
4) I love having discussions pertaining to cosmology and modern physics.

In other non-related news, I realised I have been asked alot lately about the kind of girl that I like.

In a realistic scenario, nothing else matters - being able to click is the most important thing. Truly. But everyone - and I do not know why - always give me the "yeah right!" look.

But if I were to discuss my ideal one and if I were allowed to be fussy. Well, I have thought about it. And to keep things short, I realised that she would probably need multiple personalities.

That sounds like a psychopath.

Then again, each of us portray a different self to the different situations we face each day. A self-deprecating person to his friends might suddenly exude confidence and responsibility were he to come under charge of something important. A quiet, unassuming mother might turn aggressive and powerful were her child to come into danger.

Perhaps I just need someone adaptable.

Or it's simply being fussy...

今夜月の見える丘に (cello & piano version)

Konya tsuki no mieru oka ni, for those who don't know how to pronounce it.

I have a friend, whom whenever we talk over the phone, and when she hears a song that she loves on the radio, would say to me that the song is making her melt.

Well, I have a piece of music that makes me melt too.

And that is its title.

It is actually from the J-drama, Beautiful Life - if anyone can actually remember. A song by B'z. The song itself is okay, but I much prefer this cello & piano version.

I love the piano, and I love the violin/viola/cello. So a combination of a piano and cello is auto-win for me.

I've actually forgotten entirely about it until recently when I chatted with someone. That sparked of the search for it, and yup, I finally found it again.

The soft tinkle of the piano keys and the wailing of the cello strings....

Sigh.......

*Melts into a puddle of goo*