Sunday, January 26, 2014

I had to click on this because it was Mehdi Hasan and Russell Brand 
-- and oh my god, is this a brilliant one hour interview or what. Loved this!

It is rare to see Mehdi Hasan without a comeback, 
sitting with his hands over his face, laughing away 
and trying to gather his wits over this other genius of a man. 

It's true -- some of the smartest people in the world are the funny ones.



Knowing more about Russell Brand now makes me wonder 
how it all went down with Katy Perry in the end, haha. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

This year is starting out difficult.

But that gives me hope, because difficult starts are normally followed by smoother, happier slopes, insya Allah.



Anyway, happy Rabiul Anwar! it still is this wonderful month (I have recently scarily splurged on a white baju for Maulid celebrations -- a story I should not actually share because I feel guilty as frak); and I have a related video to share below. 


I like the analogy he shared at the end -- that curses and insults on an honourable character being like attempted spits at the moon. Everyone should aspire to this -- don't let bad words faze you because your true worth should be untouchable, just like how our beloved Prophet s.a.w. exemplified. Except of course, the Prophet s.a.w. is truly untouchable and exalted above all others.

It really is appalling how people can not know this amazing human being, and how much they are deprived when they insist on remaining ignorant and blind.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

happy night!

Exhausted like frak (my eyes feel super heavy -- omg, crazy sleep debt), my weekend schedule is already packed (with 1 million+ errands) -- but I feel happy. Inexplicable high moments like this make me wonder if it's the quick coffee I downed when I bumped into Datin Mini at the airport... But no, I think it's the being with people I love, and being able to step back and see how blessed my situation is. Really, not everyone is able to do this -- just step back and get out of your funk. Get out of whatever meddling problem your life is centered upon at the moment (because there will always be one that takes center stage), get a good perspective, and say Alhamdulillah.


---


A happy pic spam!


The SLT Annual Tea Party I got roped into planning last year -- small and sweet.
And two lovely friends that dropped by:




SLT Day at Scape where STs from various institutions connect with each other and the public
-- have I said how my classmates were awesome, 
and still are some of the most awesome people I know?





Old friends
-- aren't we glad for all that crazy history we have together? makes for so much fun.
only old friends know the true extent of crazy one has.
(btw, ridiculous cutlery in the foreground of this picture!)




Arabic class (:
I never want to miss a lesson 
-- because learning a language, and a heavenly one at that, is such a joy for me.
And more of a joy when you have amazing people around.




Good to have a sister with whom randomness is always welcome.
And with whom private jokes/references are golden.




May we all strive for the kind of beauty that God loves.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Tonight I will not be emo, but I will be a... fangirl!

Haven't been a full-fledged one in a while, have I.



I have been reeling from the happy-shock and overwhelming giddiness of having discovered a tiny Lymond fandom on tumblr -- tiny because I don't think it's more than the same 10-15 people or so blogging constantly. Yesterday, while passing time till my physiotherapy appointment (a story for another post, perhaps), I opened my Tumblr dashboard and was greeted by a Lymond discussion post. Which led me to track a lymond tag, and discovering a small but lively group of fans posting much love about it, in various forms.

For instance, there is incorrectlymondquotes, which attempts to write bits of canon dialogue or characterization into wacky, and blunt versions:


Adam Blacklock: I personally don't think it's possible to come up with a crazier plan.
Danny Hislop: We attack the Tartars with hummus.


Then there are others who discuss, about themes, and feminism, and plot movements. Some who envision fics to write, but acknowledge that any fic will never measure because the canon version is so beautifully written that no fic can ever attempt to match, and canon is so complete and rich so what's the point? This post is hilarious and brilliant, it has to be shared, where the author comes up with ideas for various fic genres, for instance:

Amnesiawhich is actually already canon jesus christ dorothy but maybe i can do something to hurt francis even more hahahhaha i mean Imagine if it were Philippa? Sometime after they’ve settled into being married, Philippa loses her memory? And doesn’t remmeber… most of what she’s experienced with Francis. YES OBVIOUSLY THIS IS HOLLYWOOD AMNESIA, SHHHHH She hates him, ahhhh hahahaha, she hates him SHE HATES HIM SO MUCH, and Francis would want her back, but I do not forone second believe he would do crappy romcom-style stuff like trying to ~make her remember.~ Literally the second she said ‘I don’t like you, get away from me’ he. would. back. off., but he also wouldn’t be able to just leave because they’re, well, they’ve built a life together, and it would just be awkward and painful and amazing and maybe she never gets her memories back ever oh my goooooood and he has to leave her forever because she never forms that new, positive opinion of him because they can’t go through everything they went through all over again and oh my goooooooood it would be the most agonizing thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

Bodyswap: well, Francis and Richard going all Freaky Friday is almost too good to pass up, lbrh. But that would be comic relief. The real disaster would be Francis and Gabriel switching places. Which, obviously, is the road I’d want to see this sort of story go down. (You can even have an HP AU version: “You didn’t really believe polyjuice was the only way to accomplish this, did you?”) I guess I’d be interested in either a non-HP curse/magic one, or a future!science brain swap one. The only thing these ideas have in common for me is that Philippa knows Francis isn’t Francis fucking immediately. Or rather, it’s not that she knows first, it’s just that she is willing to admit to herself that what she knows is true before anyone else is willing to admit it to themselves. So she knows, and even though she doesn’t like him at the start, she likes Gabriel a whole lot less (isn’t this kind of the plot of the novels?), so she helps fix it, somehow. In the magic one, Gaultier and Marthe are the sorcerer and his apprentice who make the switch happen. In the science one, Gaultier and Marthe are the doctor and assistant who make it happen. So, I guess these two half-baked notions have Gaultier and Marthe in common as well. That’s all I’ve got.

(And ohgod, what's wrong with me, I can't recall -- who on earth in canon had amnesia? Are we referring to Lymond's bout of headaches that render him unconscious?)

And then there is the ever-constant undercurrent of why is Lymond not more well-known and made into a TV show? If they could make a decent Game of Thrones adaptation, a decent Lymond series is not impossible. I think it'd need less prop and CG effects and therefore less capital. I know it may end up just terrible-beyond-terrible, but a film adaptation is fundamentally a tribute to the greatness of a story, and hello, this series is one heck of a story that so many are missing out on. It needs to be made.

And besides, we have a suitable candidate again I think, now that Peter O'Toole (who was Dunnett's choice) is no more -- that is, Tom Hiddleston -- who is awesome in many ways and can possibly pull off Lymond, though maybe not as pretty. Please, before Hiddleston too gets waaaay too old to be casted (he is already way older that Lymond was in Game of Kings!).




People are spreading the love:




It reminds me of my own early days of Lymond. I distinctly recall having to go sit for CTs (i.e. common tests back in JC) but wishing the whole time I could read ("THERE ARE WORDS THAT NEED READING" indeed) instead of sit in an exam hall, and what was the point anyway -- I was so screwed grade-wise cause I was up all night reading Lymond instead of studying, haha! 

God, how on earth did I manage to survive A-levels like that?

I started reading Lymond when I was 16, and finished the last book, I think just after I turned 18. After which I roped my best friends into it (with some success!) -- and birds, if you're reading this, do you guys have any idea how easy it is to google our old forums??? They are no longer private -- I repeat, they are NOT PRIVATE. There are quite incriminating things there -- DUCK, do something.


I laugh so hard reading our old posts, Lymond-related or not:

And I don't think Pige's gonna read Lymond. Seeing how Eunice's brain almost exploded from reading Lymond, think Pige'll sort of become discouraged.






Okay, I have decided -- that's it! Tomorrow, will be an uphill climb out of this emotional pit.
I didn't realise I'd fallen into one.

Friday, January 10, 2014

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Monday, January 06, 2014

Overheard a bollywood song on tv, and my own nostalgia came back.

Here's one of the saddest love stories ever made
(and ripped from an old Hollywood movie, but who cares 
cause bollywood multiplies the emo by a million and makes you cry a bucket of tears)


It bears happiness and sadness
Still, it remains silent
No one has yet learned
What life is saying

They don't seem to make Bollywood movies like this anymore. I know some can be tacky, but they were fun and fairytale-like. And very indulgently emo.




And speaking of emo -- I want to headdesk. No, seriously. Seriously.

How is it that people become so clouded by emotion that they cannot be objective anymore. I know I'm one to talk, being a very emotional creature, I admit -- but I think I try very hard not to let my biases or feelings about a person cloud my intellectual judgement regarding a situation. In fact, I normally try to counter my emotions so much that I think I may be too harsh on myself.

What was it -- have emotions, but don't be emotional? Recognise how angry you are, how upset you are, how hurt you are, how moved you are, but then move a step back and take control of those feelings; put them aside, and think clearly. People, please.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

hahaha!



Already working for a year but it still feels I have so much to study and so little time to learn it all.

And still not having enough time to read all the books I want to read!

Friday, January 03, 2014

First post of 2014.


Look at the number of years. How long this blog has been.

And how long I've battled you, maybe all in my head. Regardless, I am so terribly tired, you have no idea.