A Clockwork Orange - Action to the World

When I first got to know of the play I was so incredibly excited because A Clockwork Orange is my favourite book so far, and being the cultural idiot I am, I've not watched a professional play before.

My close friends are probably annoyed that I rave about the book at any chance I get!! I read it a few years back, before or after O Levels, read it again, and will definitely be re-visiting it (after I'm done with the pile of books which I HAVE NO TIME TO ATTEND TO)!

The novel follows the story of Alex DeLarge, obnoxious teen tyrant who terrorizes the society with his late night shenanigans with his droogs. While incarcerated, he volunteers himself for the "Ludovico's Technique", a brainchild of the government to ease the overcrowding issue in prison. Through classic conditioning, Alex develops negative responses to his innate evil inclinations, and this thereby compels him to 'do good'. I'm not gonna spoil the book because it's so worth reading and that I'm too lazy to write. One of the two things I adore about this book are concepts like the institution and the self, youth, and free will, which, to me are very huge concepts. It is how these ideas are sewn together in an arresting story plot that amazes me up till this day!

And of course, THE LANGUAGE. If Burgess were to use plain English, will this book still triumph, solely on it's plot? Definitely not. The novel is first person narrated in Nadsat, an argot in English peppered with Russian slovos. It's very funny how it is precisely this funky language thing that made me near give up on the book when I first read it. Out of context, these modified Russian words are gibberish to me and I couldn't get a clear picture of what was going on till a few chapters in.

Here is one of my favourite passages; Alex here was engaged in a gang fight:

I really love this passage!

"And my brothers, it was real satisfaction to me to waltz left two three, right two three - and carve left cheeky and right cheeky, so that like two curtains of blood seemed to pour out at the same time, one on either side of his fat filthy oily snout in the winter starlight." 

It's describing something so gruesome in such a rhythmic, beautiful prose, it's like you can practically feel how Alex is taking joy in the ol' ultraviolence. Love the contrast.

Love the hypocrisy here too!
To me, using Nadsat as some age-defined vernacular characterizes and isolates teens from the rest of the society. Against the backdrop of regular English dialogues from the institution and authorities, it creates this sense of "teenage identity" among them, such that Alex and his droogs exist in some independent, wayward, teen subculture. As you go along, you kinda get hooked on the language, like ponying every slovo little Alex boy govoreets (SORRY I CANNOT HELP IT), and understanding this esoteric "teenage vernacular" assimilates you into the story and soon enough you get SOOOOOOOOoooo attached to Alex. Because it's first-person narrated, there's always "O my brothers" in his narrative, like Alex is specifically addressing me so it's really engaging and I adore it so much omggggggg.

Ok enough of the book, here is a very good synopsis from the programme booklet

It was an all-male cast, so I thought it was interesting especially during scenes with women. Also, even more interesting were the theatrical dances and violence, shirtless.
Of course the play was not without censorship, of the depiction of Alex's attitude towards Christianity. I can write more about censorship but I don't wanna digress.

I thought the play was good; compared to the book and movie, there weren't that spectacular violent scenes (the play left out some) and therefore, it didn't fully develop Alex's predisposition to violence. Nonetheless the action, lights, music were great.

One of my favourite scenes was when the doctors unveiled the "reformed" Alex, and Davies (who played Alex) launched into a soliloquy starting with a (really, extremely) loud, anguished "ME! ME ME ME what about me? Am I just to be a ..... CLOCKWORK ORANGE?" (Or something to that effect - it was in the book as well).

And then there's the scene where Alex attempts to commit suicide by jumping off the window, and then the theatre went dark for dramatic effect and Beethoven's Symphony Number 9 still continued to blare on. Love the build up.

And the ending was amazing, with Alex just sitting on the table, talking to the audience (as in the book); it was as retrospective as how I love it to be, and when he delivered his rendition of the last few paragraphs of the book I was just like OMGGGGGGG DA FEELZ

I absolutely ADORE the last paragraph. Moving on, growing out of his teenage identity, the maturation and happy ending concludes the book beautifully, and this is what makes this book, to me, heartwarming, despite all the heinous deeds my little Alex boy has committed :'-)

"But where I itty now, O my brothers, is all on my oddy knocky, where you cannot go. Tomorrow is all like sweet flowers and the turning vonny earth and the stars and the old Luna up there and your old droog Alex all on his oddy knocky seeking like a mate. And all that cal. A terrible grahzny vonny world, really, O my brothers. And so farewell from your little droog. And to all others in this story profound shooms of lipmusic brrrrrr. And they can kiss my sharries. But you, O my brothers, remember sometimes thy little Alex that was. Amen. And all that cal."

Of course, that tenuous bit of immaturity still remains; "profound shrooms of lip-music brrrrrr" and OH MY THAT SASS IN 

"Amen. And all that cal." 

has GOT TO BE my favourite 5 words out of this entire novel.

The play immediately ended after Alex delivered an insane maniacal laughter, which completely confused me; like why would you want to destroy such a heartwarming paragraph (the above) with that seemingly unrepentant laughter WHY WHY WHY WHAT DOES THAT IMPLY???? The effect left me a little unsatisfied.

I don't have any basis for comparison to this play, but it was an enjoyable experience and it's definitely not going to be my last play. I guess nothing beats seeing real people and action on stage. REAL HORRORSHOW O MY BROTHERS!

It was a day before the exams when I got to know that someone close to me has, all along, been a closet Christian. It shook me really badly and I spent the day being a weepy bitch. Because

1. No one should be so oppressed such that they cannot openly announce their faith. 
2. I'm immensely disappointed in myself that I didn't read all the signs, I didn't piece up the clues that were right infront of my nose because I'm so self-absorbed. I should have been there when that someone chose to join the Christian fellowship to support, caution, and affirm. 

I would be heartbroken if that someone got sucked into religion because at that point of time that someone couldn't find anyone to relate to, because I was always present and that person chose not to thrash it out to me. The relationship plays a central role in my life and I'm disappointed that in my capacity as someone close, I did not pay enough attention and show my affection and support. After my thoughts cleared up abit I immediately texted a pious close friend in hopes that he can shed some light on this issue.

In our lowest times of trials and tribulations, we seek solace and fall back on the same people and/or things, perhaps out of habit. To me, this devotion which spans across and takes on so many forms (in religion, a soulmate close friend family etc, binge-eating) is very interesting because we never seem to get sick of it. Like, out of so many things that make us happy, why do we persistently recognise a particular something as our number one solace?

EXAMS ARE OVER! So many problems to work on and showing abit of affirmation to that someone in an attempt at self-redemption is on the top of my list. It would take an amazing amount of tact and circumspection but I am confident I can get my message across. Problems like these keep me down-to-earth and headstrong, and I am almost proud to welcome them with open arms.
No more hoping that things would just die down - like what people advised me - with passivity and incessant, nervous waiting. It is uncharacteristic of a proactive person that is yours truly. - HAIR FLIP - I take the bull by its horns.

I cannot wait for next semester, but meanwhile, I'm going to take pleasure in doing things I like.
N.B. I caught A Clockwork Orange play (OMG!) this month and I'll be doing a review soon when I'm less overwhelmed by all the things I can do with copious amount free time.

Sometimes when you realise that big, bad things are happening to close people around you, the 4 page essay you have been fretting over seems pathetic. The perturbation of today's mistakes and how you often fumble infront of people dwarf in comparison to the emotional baggage some people have no choice but to lug. Upon introspection, you admonish yourself for being so insulated from the bigger, badder things that can happen to you.

Big, bad stuff happen to people around me all the time, and like waves, the realisation that you're privileged hits you, then it ebbs as you continue to look for an axe to grind.

I have to remind myself that these minute fusses that constantly irk me are CHOICES I choose to take on. It's either I take a look on the brighter side of things, or don't even bother about them at all.

Unfortunate incidences put things into perspective - you don't know what can go wrong when they don't go wrong. Also, how wrong is wrong? Sure I have my share of long-running bad stuff of proportions greater than myself. Sometimes, these things compel me to sleep it off, and sometimes it keeps me awake at night. But sympathy tells me that problems other people are facing are probably worse than mine. I don't know if these people feel a commensurate amount of sadness towards their problems as I to mine, but if I were in their shoes I would probably feel like shit.

I think I need constantly remind myself how each of us probably has their own demon to fend against. I have mine; dormant, tame. I'm not too sure for other people's, but I hope that everyone is doing well.

OCD - Neil Hilborn

I shared this on my Facebook page a few days ago, from a random page off the net but the title was "Man with OCD Perfectly Describes What It's Like to Love Someone When You Have a Disorder", which sounds so stupid and it doesn't do the poem any justice, so here I am.

I came across this video on tumblr, I think, many months back, and I loved it so much! A few days ago I had a lecture on psychological disorders which probably prompted me to revisit it.

I am not a poem-reading person because I don't quite understand and appreciate the beauty of it, like how does chopping up a sentence into different lines make a paragraph anymore beautiful? Poe's poems (which are the only poems I've ever read lol - I think 'The Bells' is quite enjoyable) are really good, but sometimes I can't understand because of his archaic expressions. I know Roald Dahl has alot and they're really funny, but they're for kids. Then you have Lang Leav, whoever she is, whose poems annoy the shit out of me because all about it is heartbreak and love and I construe this image of her as this weeping, whiny, overly-emotional lady (I really cannot help it) and even the cover seems insanely pretentious I cannot take it.

Moving on, I guess poetry slams are different, because in a soliloquy there's abit more expression. And YESSSSS 'OCD' was delivered beautifully! It has beauty, sadness, quirkiness - all in one short recital.

I've been exploring other of his poems and this one is really funny

" Remember always the hipster creed: “Why be efficient when you could be inefficient?”

" Remember always the hipster ideal: if you base your life around your possessions, make sure they are bizarre, inconvenient, and obsolete, for then no one can accuse you of being shallow. "

Diary of Anne Frank + Predestination (2014), Inside Out (2015),The Martian (2015)

Every time I look through one of those "Books to Read Before You Die" Lists, The Diary of Anne Frank pops up. I won't say the book is that amazing, but for sure reading a true life account of hiding in WWII is somewhat interesting. 

I get heavyhearted whenever Anne speaks about her hopes about the future after the war, her prospects as a journalist and a burgeoning writer. Knowing that towards the end she eventually dies bearing all these hopeful aspirations really makes me feel discontented at the lack of happy ending because such a bright young lady obviously deserves better. Anne's positivity in the face of war cannot be ignored. 

As with all teenage girls, a part of her diary was devoted to her development of affection for Peter, the strife between her and her mother, and her relationships and opinions on those who were in the Secret Annexe. Being cooped up in the hiding place obviously made her desperate for physical intimacy with Peter (who she then realises wasn't manly enough for her), and frustrated at the littlest interactions with her family. It got a bit dreary when she goes on about the internal conflict within herself, how despite the veneer of happiness and witticisms, she is in fact tender, sensitive and quiet, which is probably so common in the phase of pubescence. 

Being a diary, there were alot of introspection which made me feel some sort of a connection with Anne herself when I was reading and I guess this is what makes The Diary of Anne Frank a perennial, posthumous favourite. 3.5/5 A very simple read, because you might have to dumb yourself down to understand the workings of a 14 year old. But this should not dilute Anne Frank's optimistic, soul-searching personality that thoroughly resonates throughout the book. 

There have also been a few books whose reviews I've been putting off. These I have completed before school started/just started, and I'll do a short condensed review:

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
4.5/5 
Go read it, you'll be enlightened by the first-person recount of a Indian servant-turned-entrepreneur. The book speaks to you, the words leap out and grab you; you'll feel that someone actually regales you with their success story with splashes of dark humour on the impossible social ladder in India. Why is this not made into a movie???

Between the Assassinations - Aravind Adiga
2.5/5
Thankfully I gave Adiga another shot as I chose to read The White Tiger. Between the Assassinations was a series of short stories leading no where, or rather, I couldn't dissect or discern the point Adiga was trying to make. About India's caste system and poverty.

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk 
4/5
The movie could succinctly summarise the book, and would probably be an ideal option for those who can't follow Palahniuk's style of writing (I tried my best). Despite the contemporary prose of the brilliant/trying-too-hard Palahniuk (I sit on the fence regarding this), Fight Club is shocking and refreshing, very characteristic of Palahniuk.

The Girl on the Train - I don't really care
2/5
Remember Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn? Something similar, but less mystery, because the main character blacks out very often and halfway through the book I'm so jaded by her mucking around and practically doing nothing but bathing herself in alcohol that I don't even bother to keep up with the mystery.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 
4/5
One of the Big 3 of dystopian novels, but very unfortunately I can't remember much of the story, perhaps because it did't strike me as much as it should. Set in the future where hedonism is ideal and is the key to peace, a savage from the Savage Reservation (think normal people with normal ideals - Shakespeare-appreciating, monogamous) forays into this utopic society and ends up being very conflicted with loving Lenina.

Predestination (2014)

- "Which came first - the chicken or the egg?"
- "The Rooster."

If you know me rather well you'd know that one of my least favourite book/movie genre is Sci-Fi but this 2014 Australian film did it. Lousy poster aside, this time-travelling movie has a pretty solid plot (and this probably says alot especially coming from someone who's ever so skeptical about science fiction). I was talking to Thien about how I like intelligent movies, and she brought this up and so we spent an evening being a pair of couch potatoes - despite being in a flurry of deadlines and events this week!

A man walks into a bar - 'man', in this case - Sarah Snook passed off as a convincing 'John' with her strong jaw which made her resemble Leonardo DiCaprio (lol). As her life story unfurls, the movie drags, but having her flashback occupying so much screentime means that it's obviously important. John reveals that "When she was a little girl...." - the bartender (Ethan Hawke) does a double-take - she was headstrong, and was bereft of social decorum and therefore friends. Magic happens when you realise the impossibly intricate relationship between 'John', his past female identity 'Jane', and the bartender.

These 3 identities are connected by the "Predestination Paradox" - which essentially loops the cause and effect relationship within a duration of time. If you have the chicken, mustn't it hatch from an egg? But doesn't the egg come from a chicken? Of course, I grappled with this idea even after the movie, but the movie is still really mind-blowing! It was adapted from the 1959 short story "'—All You Zombies—'" by Robert A. Heinlein, which I'll probably read and review it.

*** SPOILER***

How do you procreate yourself???? Just like what Thien said "This takes narcissism to a whole new level" oh dear. If there's any point in time where the Predestination Paradox perpetuates itself, it must be when 'John' decides to love 'Jane' in absence of contraception, dammit. This brings us to a plot hole, which is that Jane seemingly readily takes on masculinity after a traumatic birth (of herself...'cause PARADOX oh my) which changes her sex only. Anyway, it takes a hell lot of loneliness for someone to have sex with their opposite-sex-self while being FULLY AWARE that they are literally, THE SAME PERSON. Which isn't so far-fetched considering that the movie paid substantial amount of attention to how Jane couldn't click with any other people.

There is also an underlying subtlety in the response "The Rooster" to the Chicken-Egg question. Neither chicken or egg, The Rooster suggests a prominent figure that puts the Predestination Paradox into traction, which in this case, I feel is the secret time-travelling organisation whose mission is to prevent as many future crimes as possible. Throughout the movie Robertson seems to be egging 'John' to continue the loop - perhaps to retain him as one of his agents, since if 'John' does otherwise, he ceases to exist.

*** END *** 

Overall, a pretty brilliant movie, 8.7/10. I'm quite surprised that this wasn't released with much fanfare last year, because I first heard of it only when it was recommended. As with time-travelling, my tenses for this review are all over the place.

Inside Out (2015)

Inside Out was surprisingly good! It has been AGES since I last watched a Pixar movie [Monsters University (2013)] - again, not exactly a fan of animated movies. I really liked the personification of individual emotion because it is quite funny that each character-emotion displays their typical emotion-characteristics. During the movie I can't help but going back to whatever I've learnt in my Psychology Intro (the different theories of emotion, and how they differ from this movie, long/short term memories, and how personality is an agglomeration of experience-fueled traits). The only gripe is that the allusions to so much psych stuff makes Inside Out age-inappropriate. I mean, kids won't grasp the whole emotion-character thing. 7.7/10! Finally a refreshing idea after Monsters Inc. 

The Martian (2015)

I was really looking forward to this movie because its trailer was quite interesting and I was quite interested in seeing how being stranded in space would play out. Sadly other than the beginning and end the movie was a little boring and totally draggy and halfway through I just can't wait for him to go home. Plus I kinda realised that the scenes all consisted of Matt Damon, alot of Martian soil, spacecraft stuff which made the scenes so...unvaried. 5/10

I hate to admit this, but I really miss my friends :-(
I'm not too verbal or comfortable with mawkish feelings and corny dispositions, but recently hanging out with people who'd formed a large part of my secondary school life really contrasts with that of University. We touched on how the deepest friendships are usually forged when we were naive to whatever adulthood has in store for us, ignorant of the consequences that are contingent upon on our actions. We wore our hearts on our sleeves without any qualms because being young, sunny and dumb insulates us from things we cannot avoid upon hitting adulthood. Now that we are, presumably, mature, and fully aware of the enormity of adulthood, priorities start to kick in and the struggle for the head-start in life consumes the ambitious among us. I honestly feel very heartened to see people I hold dear to develop passion and belief in whatever they are doing, and how some of them have already hit their first few milestones in life! Invariably, I cannot help but compare myself to them, and fear that I'll be the odd one out still struggling in coming to terms with myself and the capricious future. But of course, I seek the assurance that it's totally fine!!! There's nothing wrong being 19 and not have a yellow brick road set in mind. Life to short to even care at all ohohoh oh ohhhhhh oh

On, like, Stuff

On my holidays:

As of now, I'm down to my last 4 days of holiday. A holiday, my holiday, that I can call a true, clean break from whatever frenetic mess that preceded it. Let's put this into perspective: never in my life I'll get another 8 months' worth of nothingness, except when I start receiving CPF payouts. It is pure remorse I did not do anything extraordinary or anything that I'm particularly proud of. 

On studying (again) and the future:

I'm one of those students that looks forward to the new school term because it provides sorta like a clean slate where I can carve out a name for myself through hardwork and stellar results and

Whatever. You know me. But I'm having this mid-mid-life crisis too; What do I want in life? How can a CAP of 5.0 help me achieve what I want in life? 

Oh hold on, I am acting on the assumption that the hardworking grubber still sees to the day. 

What if I get a CAP f 0.5 instead? 

The end goal in my time in secondary school and junior college was as clear - there was only one, study now, get as many A's, bonus if it's all A's, think later. Setting the ending goal now is completely futile without a clear vision in mind. And what ending goal? End of what? 

Small steps. Get as many A's, but think now. 

On new environment:

It's great to step into a new institution that offers a new environment and experience - the only perk to the sad realisation that once again, you are subjected to the unforgivable cycle of lectures, tutorials and the merciless/merciful bellcurve demon/deity. Participating in a separate academic program boasting of its own tight-knit community (oh, wonder why people label us exclusive and elitist) forces me to actually socialise lest I relapse into my chao mugger persona I have veneered for the past number of years. I hope I'll adapt well and form new relationships. 

On the past:

It doesn't matter! 

Hannibal Season 3: Antipasto

NBC Hannibal is back! I have been keeping tab on this series after Season 2 ended for its latest progress, and I'm so happy now that I finally have a weekly drama to look forward to. Season 2 left off with cliff hangers to the betrayal showdown between Will Graham and Hannibal, having culminated into a bloody melee in which Abigail Hobbs died (should have a long time ago), Alana Bloom was flung out of the window (no one cares), and poor Jack Crawford was trying to contain the projectile spurts of his artery. I'm pretty sure Jack had survived and will be making his appearance in this season. Oh, and Dr. Chilton too, who got shot in the face. And of course Will Graham, with a new addition of a scar on his stomach.

Season 2 finale also gave a prelude to the Hannibal-Bedelia relationship which, I predict, will be one of the focus of Season 3, judging by Antipasto. I used to dislike Bedelia Du Maurier in Season 2 because of her lazy weird accent, and that I couldn't quite put my finger on where her loyalties lay. In Antipasto, Bedelia's situation become the focus of this exciting premiere, a good break from the entire FBI-Will Graham-Hannibal triangle in Season 2.

I MUST RAVE about the cinematography of the Hannibal series. The past 2 seasons played with alot of CGI effects (which aren't too fake) especially when Will's nightmares haunt him, and from what I know, the humanoid stag will still be screwing with Will's mind this season. Season 3, judging from Antipasto, seems to take on more stylish effects. I don't know how to describe them using cinematographic jargons, but just note that Antipasto had alot of scenes of slow-mo cascading fluid, black and white scenes, and even changes in aspect ratio to frame flashbacks. I can't decide if these are too much to play with in one single espisode; it seems that the Hannibal cinematography is straddling between very-cool and trying-too-hard for this season. Sound effects and music were good. Of course, I'm not surprised.

A peek into Bedelia Du Maurier's past. Bedelia had been manipulated by Hannibal (reminiscent of poor Will Graham) and is indebted to the cannibal. Out of fear, she becomes an unwilling accomplice and is coerced into playing Hannibal's wife in Europe. Antipasto shows how Bedelia can't escape from Hannibal even though she'd end up on his menu either way.
There were a few flashback scenes of the quickly diminishing Abel Gideon (think limb by limb) dining on himself with master chef Hannibal. I'm still unsure of Gideon's fate, and how he'll play out this season, but he offers good insights on Hannibal's desires and intentions - ah, the proverbial "It takes one to know one".

In Antipasto, our stupid unsuspecting lamb is Anthony Dimmond, who unfortunately, didn't make it out of this episode alive. Hannibal's big step out of his fugitive life was assuming the identity and job of a curator [which he argues that he'd "won by merit" (lol, seriously) evidently after emerging victor from his poetic showdown with the snobbish Professor Soglianto] (On a side note, we can also anticipate who'll end up on the menu #EatTheRude). Dimmond, being the assistant of the authentic Dr. Fell, only got to know of the identity heist after attending "Dr. Fell"'s lecture and was killed duh after a confrontation.

The only thing that irked me was how can someone NOT RECOGNISE a change in identity of a prominent curator and academic????? MAJOR friable storyplot but it's ok I forgive because the drama is too irresistable.

Hands down, the best scene - Unsuspecting lamb Dimmond, still unaware of Hannibal's new identity, taking the dinner-time sexual banter too figuratively:

Dimmond: You avoiding meats?
Bedelia: I'm trying not to eat anything with a central nervous system.
Dimmond: Oysters, acorns and marsala. That's what ancient Romans would feed animals to improve their flavour.  

Bedelia looks unsettled and glances at Hannibal 

Hannibal, chewing, looks at back at her with a subtle knowing smile 

Bedelia: My husband has a very sophisticated palate. He's very particular about how I taste. 

Dimmond pleasantly surprised with the innuendo, stares at Bedelia incredulousy, then at Hannibal

Hannibal averts his smile from Bedelia to Dimmond

Dimmond: -to Bedelia- Is it that kind of party? 

Hannibal: looking at Bedelia, who is uncomfortable, smiles- It's not that kind of party
Bedelia: No. It really isn't. 
Dimmond: Shame. You were both suddenly so fascinating.  

Bedelia and Hannibal, who is beaming, both take a sip of wine 

I also like dialogues in the Hannibal series. To complement its dark theme, The dialogues between characters, especially Hannibal's, are quite profound and implicit and you'd have to think it through for better understanding. Which sometimes can be abit of a bother when I just wanna have abit of brainless entertainment.

Will Graham has yet to make an appearance in Season 3 and I'm definitely looking forward to him flirting with the devil.

Dimmond: “Clearly you found him as distasteful as I did.”  

Hannibal: “Quite the contrary"

Bonsoir. 

Horrorstör - Grady Hendrix

Pardon me, I might be slow, but what the hell are book trailers? I just came across this Horrorstör 'book trailer' on YouTube while finding photos of its book so I can rave about its design but now, chancing upon this weird trend that I not know of, I have this sudden stroke of epiphany.

Just like movie trailers, book trailers seem to function as a visual expectation of the piece of media. While movie trailers are constructed of spliced scenes from the actual movie itself, and therefore giving the viewer an accurate pre-show, book trailers on the other hand leave little room for the reader's imagination because all these scenes serve as spoonfed visual expectations. I mean, just think about it; I watched the Harry Potter movies before starting on the book series, and now whenever I pick up any of its books, I immediately construe corresponding scenes from the movies to aid my imagination, mapping the movie stars' faces onto the characters'. Thinking about it, there's actually nothing wrong with that, but don't you lose that element of visual creation and imagination that books offer?
But thankfully, the book trailers I've clicked around on YouTube so far like this and this are of such sub-par quality, they defeat their original purpose of advertising. Maybe they appeal to a younger audience? I don't know.

Absolutely love the design concept. From the covers, to a few pages into the book where they state their terms and policies and Orsk's motto (just like IKEA catalogues), and to chapter covers. Fine parody.

Actually, Horrorstör is my first horror novel. I mean, I've read Poe's short tales (which can be REALLY creepy if you use your imagination well), but never a book cataloged under the horror genre. [One of my favourite Poe tales: here.] I was curious how the author would try to sustain the feeling of fear within the reader for the entire course of the book, but I'm just dismayed because Horrorstör wasn't creepy, nor frightening. To "get in the mood" I went as far as to turning off the lights and searching "creepy music" on YouTube. Urgh, very lame, but all in vain.

The central theme of this 246 paged book is the inevitability of the daily grind that pawns of the economy, like us, subscribe ourselves to. So you have the skeptical Amy, a mere college drop-out, making both ends meet with her less than satisfactory work at Orsk, and Basil, who has already been insidiously indoctrinated by Orsk's phony taglines like "Approachable And Agreeable Attitude" to become a "Shop Responsible" store manager. I really can't help but have those "I KNOW RIGHT" moments and feel empathetic towards Amy when reading her private thoughts. Like you know you're not in line for customer service when you choose to display anti-social behaviour at work in bleak hope of scaring customers to seek help from your partner instead. And I'm not talking about Amy.

Back to the book. Think Running Man in Ikea (people chasing people), but in a horror setting. Someone is possessed, relinquishing an army of not-so-scary penitents who had similarly undergone mundane work. There were a few other characters in the book that seemed so convenient to exist that you realise that their presence is just a function for a gore spectacle - a horror story, some people just must die or get hurt or disappear. The book was bereft of emotion, or maybe I was, because Amy (or I) didn't have a deep enough connection with the aforementioned expendables.

Something I gleaned from the book was the ingenious purpose of IKEA's Orsk's showroom layout. Think about it! A maze of furniture in Swedish drag in an expanse of land, no windows or doors to suggest the time of the day. You don't get lost, though, because the handy directory will guide you through every section of the marketfloor even if you're in search of a pillow. You don't take the shortcuts because you cannot resist looking at those iconic showrooms brimming of cheap but stylish Swedish flair.

Seriously, read more here. To be honest, I feel a little stupid now that I realise I've been a tried and tested specimen in a psychologically manipulative retail machination. The worst thing is that I still really like the IKEA showrooms??? Horrorstör was just okay, 2.5/5, ok maybe 2.9 for its design. And didactic sidetrack to pull me out of today's voracious consumerism.

Unfriended + Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

Urgh, one of the worst horror movies ever. Actually, I have my reservations calling it a horror movie because it was NOT scary. It got really boring from the start because Unfriended is basically a  movie filmed through continuous screen video of a series of intermittent Skype chats, Facebook messaging, YouTube and music playlists. The entire portion of the movie was dedicated to just watching the faces of 5 people through low-resolution, occasional-freezing webcams. I understand they're trying to recreate a new horror concept, but nope, not working well. 

Speaking of new horror concept, I'm currently reading Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix. Unfortunately, because I've downloaded it into my Kindle, I'm unable to feel for myself its unique presentation conceptualised from the all-too-famous Ikea catalogues. The preface, chapter covers, design etc are modeled from the yearly thin-paper spreads. I chanced upon its cover while clicking around on Goodreads and did a double take, thinking no way a book can be based on, and/or parody the Swedish furniture retailer. 

Back to Unfriended. Basically the above is like 80% of what you'll see during the movie. Urgh, think ABC's Pretty Little Liars mated with Paranormal Activity Number Something (the one with the girl and webcam). Minus the scare factor, amp up sound effects during jump scares. There was hardly any supernatural involvement. It was more about betrayals and alot of screaming and crying. Annoying. 

Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

I'm only embarking the Hannibal book series seriously after reading one hit novel The Silence of the Lambs a few years ago. I was really quite interested in a cannibalistic psychiatrist manipulating another mentally unsound savant-sleuth, but realised that was the backstory and the prelude to The Silence of the Lambs, which was inspired by infamous Ed Gein murders. I then got sucked into the NBC drama Hannibal, WHOSE SEASON 3 WILL BE OUT ON JUNE 4 Yay omg will definitely update more on the Hannibal series!!! Can't get enough of my psychotic classy cannibal-psychiatrist turned fugitive. 

Red Dragon was good. Other than the title and book cover that may mislead people into thinking it's a disgusting spin-off of the YA series Inheritance Cycle (really don't know what it's all about. Except dragons), this crime thriller was appropriately paced - not too draggy, good sneak peak into the childhood of the serial killer to evoke just abit of sympathy. Amazing revelation at the end to shock readers. But I disliked the different locations of the crime investigation bureaus/forensic labs whatever which confused me a little because I'm not too well-versed with the different American states. Just like The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon puts Hannibal Lecter and his complex relationship with Graham as a secondary plot appendaged to the cat-and-mouse hunt of the psychotic killer. Red Dragon is the first of the Hannibal novel series, and I'll definitely be continuing it. As with the drama, of course.  

It's the end of May soon, and thinking about how my 7 or 8 month holiday is coming to an end before I get sucked back into the vortex of assignments, learning, grades, whatever, in the all-too-familiar system while upholding the demands of a $50K investment is terrifyingly exciting. Terrifying due to the onslaught of academic demands that I am confident in surmounting (as of now, lol, it may be too early to say), exciting because there's so many NEW opportunities and experience! The amount of positivity I have with regards to the future right now is not in line with my pessimistic, skeptical nature. I guess it says alot about my expectations of university life too. I guess I'll do up a proper update when I really mourn for the loss of my 8 months holiday when university officially starts.

The Lazarus Effect

One thing I hate more than cheap, expected scare tactics in horror movies is wishy-washy, weak supernatural backstory. The Lazarus Effect was a good sci-fi horror movie, but not without its blandly predictable, timely jumpscares and typical suspense scenes. I really liked the plot of this movie and it's very rare that I would like an angmoh horror movie. PLUS, omg it's rated PG 13 only.

According to Wikipedia, the "Lazarus Phenomenon" is the medical nomenclature for a "spontaneous resuscitation" - due to unknown causes - after a cardiac failure. Basically in layman's words, you die for a moment, then you resuscitate.

The movie was about a team of scientists working on a promising project using what they have extracted "Lazarus serum". Injecting it into the brain they end up resurrecting a dog which subsequently developed aggressive inclinations due to its heightened brain functions. To protect the authenticity and profits of their brainchild from the corporate world, they decide to replicate their experiment, only to electrocute one of the scientists, Zoe by accident.

After a series of jarring decision making in complete abandonment of ethics and scientific code of conduct, Frank resurrected "Zoe", pulling her out of her purgatory that was self-constructed upon a traumatic childhood remorse, thereby unleashing this weird demonic version of Zoe into their lab.I thought that the backstory and explanation of the movie plot was amazingly cogent, given that it's a supernatural horror story. Perhaps the sciency part about this medical resurrection which the movie centered around injected a bit of logic that is ever absent in horror films. I guess this was the number one thing which made the film stood out and be sadly underrated.

My only gripe about this movie is how terribly predictable the scenes were. Basic horror film tactics like flickering lights, perpetually dark hallways, sweeping your flashlights here and there... Well they do add suspense but they aren't original. For horror, it's really just those basic jumpscares which you can clearly foresee especially with the typical suspenseful buildup as mentioned. Nothing new. But that doesn't discredit the scare of the movie. I thought it was quite scary? Not the scariest, but it still qualifies as a horror.

Here is Evan Peters dying prematurely. NOOOOOO

Considering I felt a little need to relieve my bladder throughout the movie but still stayed on because I couldn't find a boring opportunity to do so, The Lazarus Effect is definitely something I'd recommend for anyone who seeks well explained sci-fi horror.

Haunted - Chuck Palaniuk

Tsk, doing a review on Chuck Palaniuk's Haunted is very difficult because I've never had so much mixed feelings for a book. It's either a provocative masterpiece, or a disgustingly showy story. I decided to give Chuck Palaniuk a go because I keep seeing his books around. 

Provocative because of its storyline; a "Writers' Retreat" promising 23 participants 3 months of hermitic living where they will write their next best-selling books. Food and shelter as promised, but these 23 people find themselves confined in a grand theatre, hermetically sealed from the outside world.

Structure-wise, the main story (about the happenings between the 23 people) is interspersed with poems and a short stories of each of the participants. You get to know the story behind nicknames the 23 people identify themselves as. 

The first short story, Guts, was on Saint Gut-Free, and after reading it, I initially thought this might be the most exciting book, ever. Though it's highly sexually explicit, it keeps you on your toes, it makes you uncomfortable, yet it urges you to pursue the next page and the page after. 

You can read Guts here.

I guess it speaks volumes for Palaniuk who has the guts (haha) to publish such a disgusting piece of text, because it's one of those things people would either love or condemn. The fact that the short story can evoke feelings of disgust and sympathy for the character takes it to a new level, in my opinion. Digging deeper into my reaction, I suppose the mark of good author is his ability to churn emotions from words, and on retrospection, I realise my favourite books are those that made me think and feel alot. While I do not fancy the detailed expository on "getting off", the amount of dark humor in the Guts is amazing.

I personally feel that Guts was the opening gambit to draw readers into reading Haunted. Sadly, the rest of the short stories fall short of expectations. They were dark and interesting, some were okay, but not as good.

Some good short stories:

Something's Got to Give by Countess Foresight

Dog Years by Mr Whittier

Exodus by Director Denial

The main reason I have mixed feeling for this novel is because of the amount of gross shit it has. Getting your guts sucked out, pulling your fingernails, eating a cat, ok fine, it's provocative, it's good. I felt things were spiraling out of hand in the later part with self-castration, hacking fingers and toes, and slicing a hunk of ass from a live being. That's not provocative, that's just trying too hard, it's bordering on perverse. But looking at the bigger picture, Haunted by Chuck Palaniuk is an excellent satire on human selfishness and greed. These people are resorting to self-mutilation because they want to frame themselves as victims under Mr Whitter's evil machination guised under a "Writers' Retreat", so that their next bestselling book would be about their 3 months torture. Omg, yes take a moment to soak up the insanity of it all.  

From reading reviews on Goodreads, it is said that Haunted defintiely loses out to Palaniuk's other works. Would absolutely try Fight Club. I would give Haunted a 3.5/5. 

Being a model student I am, I gave my brother's POP a miss 2 years ago because I didn't want to skip school or CCA (I can't remember which), LOL I'm not kidding. I was rather looking forward to seeing a collective group of men celebrating their first 2 months of service but when I was walking up to the seats on the platform I felt like I was gonna faint from the bloody smelly fumes emanating from the guys. I honestly had reservations on putting my arm around my army friends because they were so sweaty and smelly and disgusting but after awhile of walking under the sun, looking for people while clad in semi-long sleeves (such a genius) I think I had soaked up the smelliness of it all. But smelly guys are ok ah, at least to Thien who was eyecandying anyone in green. To quote: "You look in this direction, I look in that, we see got any good looking sergeants."

My friend HW, who didn't march at all but still as sweaty yuck

Congrats to all who have 22 more months to serve! :-)

Last Party - MIKA

The Lucifer Effect - Philip Zimbardo

It was my first time actually completing a non-fiction book. A few months back I was reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell but it was so damn dry and factual I just gave up halfway. I never liked giving up on books (and that was what made me toil through Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens a few years back, and I haven't touched a classic since), but non-fiction books are really not my thing. 

I deserve a pat on my back for finishing The Lucifer Effect by Dr. Philip Zimbardo. There were some parts where I skimmed through (will get to that) but I still made it to the end of the 500 plus pages YAY. 

The infamous Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in 1971, at Stanford University. Actually, I feel this connection with this controversial psychology experiment because I had actually stood outside Jordan Hall (whose basement the SPE was situated at) back a few years ago on a school trip to SFO. 

I'm not gonna elaborate on the SPE itself because I assume everyone should have some knowledge of it. The Lucifer Effect details out the SPE through a day-by-day account, and then extrapolates its findings onto real-life prisons. It then attempts to explain the atrocities of the Abu Ghraib Prison (Iraq 2003) whose leaked photos of torture shook the world. The central theme of Dr. Z's magnum opus is that anyone can have the propensity to do evil ("Banality of evil") even if we think it's completely besides ourselves. But on the flipside, it also means that we are intrinsic heroes.

  

One main takeaway from this book is that we must be circumspect when making 'dispositional' judgement on someone (meaning that you see someone completely culpable for his actions, disregarding the environment, or 'situational' forces acting upon him). Like the apple analogy that Dr. Z uses throughout: Do bad apples exist because they are inherently bad , or because the barrel in which they reside in is bad? We like to use the former in judgement making because we like to believe that we have the willpower to resist any external situational forces that can alter our perceived "born good"-ness, and that bad apples are just one or two outliers that prove that oops, He makes mistakes too. 

No. The SPE shows that normal people can morph into sadistic, violent beings with just a flick of environmental switches. Authority, autonomy, appearance, duty etc. It's actually very, very scary to think about it. Like I know I'm not a sadist nor tyrant, but being aware that deep within my psyche lies a sleeping giant that may be aroused by things I do not have control over is really very scary. 

After the part on SPE was the extension to Abu Ghraib. I skipped the reports because there were too much military names to get mix up with. The photos (go google it) are really sickening, what with unnecessary thumbs-up and grins over  flagrant torture and abuse. Dr. Z highlights that though situational forces lies beyond the forces of our control, it cannot be used as excuses for our metamorphosis for the worse. 

Evil of inaction is something I always believe in. It's a reminder to not remain passive when you see something wrong.

And of course, if Man can fall from grace like Lucifer to Satan, we also can rise up to be one of those unsung heroes, because of "the Banality of Heroism". I loved how the book ended with a succinct quote from The Gulag Archipelago (whatever that is, idk, I just like the quote): 

"The line between good and evil is in the center of every human heart."

And yeah, reading this 500 paged non-fiction within a month is made possibly with my lovely piece of electronic. It's just really really convenient to bring my kindle around; on the bus, during work as opposed to the book (borrowed from the library prior to buying my Kindle).

I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted now. This page near made me choke on coffee: 

Kindle + Skios - Michael Frayn

I used to promise myself to never get one of those Ebooks because I prefer to identify myself as a no-frills, pen-and-paper person. Now that reading off a slab of electronic constitutes one of my daily tasks, I'm re-evaluating the merits of the Ebook. Expectantly, I had been too quick to disparage the worthiness of this gadget in the past and now I'm starting to regret why I have not given it a try earlier.

I got a Kindle 7th Generation!!! I didn't get Paperwhite or Voyage because I think the functions of the basic Kindle suffices.

I like the entire E-Ink thing, which, in layman's terms, is like one of those kid play toys which you draw/doodle on, and with a swipe, your screen becomes clean (idk what it's called). Basically, whatever print you see on the Kindle doesn't require additional battery or power to remain there. Each pixel has the ability to display varied shades of grey, and so concertedly, they conjure a letter, or a greyscale image, etc whatever.

Screen-Saver mode

The Lucifer Effect - Philip Zimbardo

The Kindle also automatically reloads where you last left off upon hitting the screen-saver button again. I don't off my Kindle because according to other readers on the net, repeated on and offing will deplete the battery more than how prolonged screen-saver mode does. The battery of the Kindle sustains for a protracted amount of time, so running out of juice is something I don't really have to worry about. 

I'm currently only 31% through The Lucifer Effect, and I'm determined it'll be the first non-fiction book that I'll ever finish!!!

Another great function is the highlighting of text so you can revisit your favourite excerpt. I would highlight actual books with a fluorescent Stabilo highlighter but I'd be defacing the book. Also, the best thing that the Kindle provides is probably the in-built Oxford dictionary; so with just a tap and hold, definitions will appear. Very, extremely, utterly suitable for lazy people like me who sometimes can't bother to lift my arms to reach for my phone's dictionary. Plus, the Kindle also automatically stores and compiles all your searched words in a Vocab list so you can review them as and when you like.

Upon receiving my Kindle, I fed it with all the Roald Dahl books that I have missed, a few of Hubert Selby Jr.'s to try out, and also Books 1 to 11 of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Recently, I picked up The Penultimate Peril (Book 12)(Only book 12 and 13 are in my possession) to resume the grim series but I can only vaguely remember Books 1 to 11 from my PRIMARY school days. I'm pretty bent on completing this series because it's so morbidly captivating, and the persona of Lemony Snicket that the author constructed through bits and pieces at the end of each book is very enigmatic and compelling. I love the narrative style of this series, it's like you're a part of the Baudelaires' dark and whimsical journey.

The Kindle also has Wi-fi to allow connection to Amazon and online dictionaries. But oddly, it doesn't have an "Off Wi-fi" option, so the alternative is to switch on Airplane mode. 

Great piece of gizmo, idiot-proof and straightforward. In addition, I can finally read really thick and heavy books while commuting to work, and DURING work. I mean, well, the company contract states that the phone is strictly forbidden, but it has no bearing on books and EBooks what. Plus my immediate supervisor turns a blind eye to phones so I presume it extends to other forms of gadgets ah. (Great working attitude, way to go NX)

I think it'll probably take me many months to finish all my EBooks (34, LOL), and I still have approx. 10 plus paperbacks in my cupboard. 

Skios - Michael Frayn 

Skios was an easy read. It's one of those light-reading stories that takes your mind off things, that sucks you into ludicrous situations. An eccentric man with a taste for risks switches identity with an academic in some sort of mid-career crisis spells an entirely impossible but funny plot, with dashes of screwball humour which makes it quite unforgettable. A messy cocktail of lost identities, lost luggages and fish-out-of-water experiences in a fictional Greek island, Skios.

Towards the end of the book there were many things going on at once - the activities of the 2 main characters and their tangled network of acquaintances (who played minor roles) - culminating to a very, very lackluster ending. I mean, since there were so many things going on, I expected the story to kind of end of with a bang, but I was sorely disappointed as it kinda left it hanging. 

But overall, an enjoyable read, purely for laughs, one of those books that seems to be written for a comedy adaptation.