Bloody Truth

We wanted Stardust, but it was still on those awkwardly-timed sneak previews, so I said, "Let's ogle Jake Gyllenhaal then," which Eka didn't mind (I don't think she's in the fan club though).

That mission kind of failed, maybe because I was kind of expecting the Donnie Darko of six years past. He didn't shine, but other parts of the movie unexpectedly made up for it.

(Warning for SPOILERS below, by the way.)

Rendition was heavier than I was prepared for. The generally available synopsis led me to think it would be mostly a drama of Reese Witherspoon searching for her disappearing husband (Reese did well on her climactic scene, which affected me quite a bit), plus bits of moral issues that were Jake's share. It didn't register to me that such a theme would of course warrant some disturbing torture scenes.

In retrospect, even if I'd been aware of that, I might have overestimated my capacity to stomach them, considering my past exposure to some gruesome dark manga. I hadn't felt compelled to blog about this movie since I saw it two days ago, until just now in the shower when I was promptly reminded of the waterboarding scene. Static ink on paper surely pales in comparison to live action with a real person.

Throughout the story, the audience was led to conclude that Anwar (the suspect) had been wrongly accused. Never mind the breach to the 'innocent till proven guilty' principle; I went by feelings more than principles, and I sympathized with him just because I knew he wasn't the bad guy.

However, when he finally caved in and confessed, I thought for a moment that he might actually be involved after all, and that the torture had indeed brought out the truth. After all, we couldn't help but acknowledge that Abasi (the 'torturer', another great performance) did operate on fair assumptions when he laid out their findings before Anwar and asked, "Tell me, what do you want us to think?" (Not the exact quote, which I wish I remembered.)

As should have been obvious, though, we did find out later on that Anwar had given a false confession only to avoid further torture, and it was like, fiuh, but still.

You know those Knights and Knaves logical puzzles -- wouldn't it be handy if there were a provable way of determining if someone speaks the truth without a precondition to know what that truth is?

Is it the essence of detective work, after all? Lie detectors have the desirable property (context-free) but not the desirable result (provable). I suspect that in this case we might find these two qualities contradicting each other.

At this point I'm rather tempted to discuss a thought from Tokyo Babylon: "In most cases, we only know the reality of what happened. Not the truth behind it." The original context is an emotional treatment of the issue of manifestation versus motivation; throw in the matters of perspective and interpretation, and it's a whole different topic. Hence, I'll refrain for now.

遠い旅をしている... 君は

A sad news five months late: Sakai Izumi (of Zard) has passed away on 27 May 2007. May her music remain with us for a long time to come.

If not for all the tribute videos on YouTube, who knows when I would find out about this..

She was one of the earliest singers (if not the earliest) that I noticed in my first foray into J-pop, and I remembered sampling all the Zard songs I could find and collecting the translation to all her lyrics.

A pencil drawing of Sakai Izumi that I did at the start of my obsession.
She was definitely more beautiful than this, though..

I haven't been a dedicated fan, as I only care for a very limited subset of her discography, but learning about her death shook me enough to write about it all the same.

Musical-wise, it was her self-written touching, down-to-earth lyrics that I admire; but it was more her quiet kind of beauty and intriguingly modest image that earned my sort-of idolization, as I believe they also did for her many fans.

While the heart-wrenching Eien (as my long-time favourite) might be more fitting for the occasion, here is instead, the song from her latest album in 2005 (not counting compilations) that relived my adoration of her after quite a few years -- the definition being, one that had me scrambling all over trying to find upon seen on TV.

遠い旅をしているみたいに
別々の道を このまま...
二人もう 会えないのかな
もうサヨナラだね
君とのふれあい

Just like a long journey
On separate roads like this
The two of us will never meet again, will we?
It's the end to everything
The reunion with you

Kanji lyrics quoted from: http://www.videouncovered.com/lyrics/4705/1190/zard/kimi-to-no-fureai.html

Translation is my own attempt with help from the clip subtitles; correction will be much appreciated.

Teman Seperjalanan

It was a long ride to Changi, and I didn't remember to bring something to read nor my mp3 player. Caught glimpses of Scar and Colonel Mustang on what a schoolboy standing beside me was reading, but from my position I couldn't tumpang read without being obvious, and it was a crowded train. Staring would be rude, wouldn't it?

But I started to think that perhaps some people actually wouldn't mind. If I were the one reading my favourite comic book in a public place, strangers would indeed be very welcome to preview. (We folks who aim for world domination are eager to share like that. To think other people need to pay to advertise, eh.)

Of course, as long as they don't invade my personal space lah. Otherwise can get quite scary.

As it was on my ride back, when I managed to get a seat. A guy sat down beside me with a bag on his lap, and proceeded to sleep. After a while there was a movement inside his bag, at the side that was facing me. It made a scratching sound as whatever it was came into contact with the fabric.

Somebody's phone happened to be ringing at that time, so at first I thought it was his cell phone vibrating, but then I saw more movements at another region, so that couldn't be it. The thing wriggled for a while, stopped for some time, then started again. I kept eyeing the bag every time that happened, while the guy continued to sleep.

Could there be an animal inside? Maybe he just returned from taking his puppy for a walk? Kaypo lah, I know, but somehow I felt quite intimidated mah.

Anyway, I finally alighted with relief and walked home. Another person caught up with me near the red light crossing, when his phone started ringing -- definitely was a ringtone this time, and whaddya know, I heard, "Di daun yang ikut... mengalir lembut..."

Ola, I know that song heh. I turned to look at him (this one without bothering to be discreet) but couldn't be sure if he was an Indonesian or not, and I didn't catch what he said into the phone. (Now that would surely be rude.)

Maybe I was overreacting ah? Many Indonesians here, what. And as we could see from the various local talent shows that I no longer take interest in, many non-Indonesians also know Indonesian songs, rite (this spoken -- or rather, written -- with rare nationalism).

Ah well. There wasn't really a point in my relating these encounters, just that it has been an amusing journey after all. ^__^

Orange Coffee

The taste of orange from the orange coffee
still resides below my throat
to jump up at the push of air
and spread the fragrance inside my mouth.

As it is with my attachment to you
that subsides in favor of many things else
yet far away from being forgotten
catches me indulging in these secret smiles.


Image source: indianetzone

Force of Nature

For all the means of connectivity in this age
there are so many broken channels between us
How far would I go for this friendship
when the distance gets more than physical?

It all comes down to the depth of concern
that should've been able to cross
more oceans than just this one

Yet days lost are days not shared
An empty chair is hardly a place in the heart
Not that circumstances are above us
Rather that we don't see the need to fight.

秋去夏來

Having escaped the chilly Beijing autumn, now back in hot, hot Singapore. =) Sore, dry throat is unfortunately carried over, but water and fruits should solve that soon.

First day in once-again unfamiliar SoC @ Law Link (nope, we didn't get the permission to change the road name), I kept turning my head at people who looked like any of my friends back there. Parting is such sweet sorrow, ah?

In some ways my time in China has made me more aware of my "roots" -- the social connectivity that my parents put a lot of emphasis in, really is a very important matter for Chinese. Most of our generation tend to put pragmatism first and favor low-maintenance relationships. It is convenient, it is pressure-free, and it is acceptable in our environment.

But having been in a stranger country and braced myself for the loneliness, yet didn't feel it for long... the warm friendliness of the people I just got to know really moved me. I could imagine myself in their shoes wouldn't have done so much.

Of course, as I realized in a recent conversation with dish, it also takes sincerity for that to work out. Still I think in most cases the connection first started with a sense of social duty: to get to know the ones you sit with, to take care of a junior -- before developing into a real friendship.

I guess in my awkwardness I didn't return their hospitality as much as I should have.. but I am quite resolved to pay better attention to the people around me, now. =) My roommates and I talked so much while I was there, that I found myself much more talkative these days.

Ah well, have lined up catching-up dinners and repeated stories throughout this week, while I'm still settling down for work. =D Next week, will have to dive into hard work again. ^^;