Clause of concession

Alright. So after watching these two films:


My verdict is that not all anime sucks.

Only last week I'd have been shocked to hear myself say so, but there it is. Funny how that works. 'Spirited Away' won an academy award and is listed along with 'Princess Mononoke' as being among the best animated films ever. Critical reception notwithstanding, my personal opinion is that I'd place these two right up there with the Disney classics like 'The Lion King', 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', etc...I found the music to be very moving, something which rarely happens in the kind of animated films we get these days, 'How to Train Your Dragon' being a notable exception. The protagonists are, in my opinion, every bit as charming with 'full as much heart' as their english counterparts, as I'm sure most people would see if but they could get over their bias against anything other than what they are normally accustomed to. To be sure, it is rather different in style as well as language, but that shouldn't blind one to the merits of any film, as I've come to realize. You roll your eyes, and maybe I'm stating the obvious here, but it's one thing to vaguely comprehend the concept of impartiality and another to come to your own understanding of it, or 'too see with eyes unclouded' as it were.

Notice how 'to see' is synonymous with 'to understand'. This is what we call a dead metaphor- one that has become so commonplace that it has been incorporated into everyday language to the extent of ceasing to be viewed as a metaphor. In any case, it perfectly illustrates what I'm trying to say here. So to anyone who discriminates baldly against anime, go and 'see' Hayao Miyazaki's films and hopefully, understand.

Don't need reason, don't need rhyme

Late I sat down last night,
by request a poem to compose.
Aught but a lamp for light
to spin a tale, and shun repose.

Long and hard was the fight
for words of wisdom- words to move
while away ticked the night,
and with each tick- a sharp reproof.

And with growing ire,
for all my efforts were in vain
I knelt down in prayer
To alleviate the strain.

Lord, said I in earnest-
bless thy servant with clarity
to write- which is dearest-
of precious sacred maternity.

Softly and tenderly,
that still small voice at last did speak.
Only look within, said he
and you will find what you seek.

I did as I was told
and plumbed the depths of memory
-and found worth more than gold
the toil of a mother's charity.

Patience to her ascribe,
fourth of the fruit of the spirit.
boundless her love is described-
love, I hardly merit

Love to purchase pardon
for my every indemnity-
and thus freely given,
her love derives it's sanctity.

Here is a hand, upon which
one might, without fear, surely rely.
A hand that stayed the switch,
-a father's waxing wrath defy.

As I sit here, lonely-
accompanied by solitude,
it occurs to me, how I'd
oft repaid love with ingratitude.

So I, with a full heart,
and mindful of our Lord's statutes,
remember with what art
He bid us act, as men of good repute.

And as in time to come,
When she grows old and her voice falters,
I'll repay her some,
of the love that on me she now showers.

Love will shoulder the debt,
I shall defy conformity.
Mine to give, hers to accept,
out of love, with cheerful gravity.

And even if I should fail,
fail,even at my filial duty,
She goes to one above,
who rewards her for all eternity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFhSogGnu4I

Extraordinarily bad. I lack even the vocabulary to belabour it soundly enough. Where do you get this shit, Chen Yi?!?

Hey Joe

SPM results are out. No surprise then, that I am disposed to be rather more communicative today than I have been as of late, especially considering the way in which this event concerns myself. My results are as follows:

BM: B+ (surprisingly)
Bible Knowledge: B+ (to my eternal shame)
Moral: B (much wasted effort here)
Sejarah: C (again, a surprise as I'd expected an E at most)

Bio:A-
Chem:A-
Physics:A
English: A+ (I'd probably have self-harmed if I'd gotten any less)
Mod Math: A

aaaand.....

Addmaths: A-

I know. Those of you who've gotten an A or higher for addmaths will be wondering what all the fuss is about, but us lesser mortals are disposed to be quite content -happy even- with an A-. Especially in view of the fact that I failed addmaths in my trials.

So screw you Additional Mathematics. I WIN.

Also....a post I found on a friend's blog.

To all who read, apply this to your own situation

"To any student who thinks its the end of the world coz of a low TER, you missed the point of CAE. You have 2 choices:

1) Pity yourself

OR

2) WAKE UP

I didn't train any of you to become the typical man with their "Die la, die la" nonsense. RISE above your challenges. Look for ALTERNATIVES. Champions are MOULDED by HARD... KNOCKS. There are no problems in life, just solutions waiting to be applied."

~A Wise Lecturer

Twilight. It's that gay.

Hail.

It feels like a long time since my last post- I'd yet to start college back then. The past few weeks have been...interesting, to say the least. So far college is everything I'd hoped it would be, except maybe for the compulsory community service.

Lit class in particular is something I enjoy. Not just for the literature, but for the society as well. It has been a blessing in that respect: for some reason, I take to my fellow literature students more easily than others. Probably because the only people who take English Lit. are people like myself. It's been quite humbling as well. I was used to being one of the best in English back in secondary school but that is no longer the case. At best, I'm amongst equals. Also...10 marks out of 20 for poem analysis?!? I thought I was pretty good before, but the marks don't seem to agree. Maybe you could give me some lessons, Weng Yee? :p

And oh yes. My Bio teacher definitely deserves a mention. Very good teacher, with a wicked sense of humour.

Also, to my friends: Dann, Sze and Zhi Yan, it's been a pleasure. Loathe as I am to admit it, I'll miss you crazy people.

Other things that have happened in the intervening weeks include:

Book list for English Lit.

1.Jane Eyre!
2.Wide Sargasso Sea
3.The Oxford Anthology of English Poetry Volume II: Blake to Heaney
4.King Lear
5.Hamlet
6.Great Expectations
7.Life of Pi
8.The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

This ought to be interesting. Don't know anything about 2 and 8 but I approve of 1 and 7! Not least because I've already read them and I like! Especially 1. :) Then there's Dickens, Shakespeare and poetry...Not sure what to think of those yet.