1. I joined this community, runaway_tales, and it's really fun! I really recommend this to saya22 and arashic0804.

2. Guess what? Body 2 Body is going into its second printing already. Apparently it's selling well - I reserved 2 copies at Kino when a batch of 30 came in, but a week later I found out that they were the only two copies left so I put them back on the shelf. Unfortunate really, since I need to send copies to Eugene and Ms Rina.

3. I'll be back in KL by tomorrow evening. My orders from Kino have arrived (Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tale books in hardcover - because they're worth it, and two D&D supplements) so I can't wait to go book buying! Since I'm using my Daruma card on the D&D books, I'll be getting the Holly Black books first... finally, I get to reread Tithe! I have paperback copies of Valiant and Ironside, but I guess I'll give them to my cousin or something, with a brand new copy of Tithe. I think she would love it. It's funny that amongst my overly large family (my dad has about 8 siblings, and my mom 9 or 10... and each of them has the average of 4 kids) the one and only one that seem me-ish was adopted. Seriously, this cousin reminds me of myself in high school. Except she lives in Malacca, the land of no bookstores (except Popular, which really doesn't count since it's more of a stationary store). Which is where I come to the rescue.

...is the greatest mindfuck I've read, with the possible exception of Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff. It's not often that a book could completely screw me over, and this one did so magnificently. Just like Bad Monkeys, the entire book is set during an interview - Anax, the protagonist, was obsessed with Adam Forde, a legendary hero who had a hand in changing the world. She thought she knew everything there was to know about Adam, especially since he is the subject of her 4-hour examination to become a member of the Academy. This entire novella is set during the interview/examination, and reads a bit like a transcript.

What it is about:
Man vs. Machine. The definition of consciousness. The importance of language. The danger of ideas. What does it mean to be alive, to be human? Dystopian, post-apocalyptic societies. References to that other amazing work of science fiction, Huxley's Brave New World.

What it is:
Thought-provoking. Challenging. Mind-blowing. Short. More words & thoughts than action. Philosophical. Well-paced. Strongly written. YA. Common sci-fi themes.

Who might like it:
People who like any of the qualities mentioned above. People who like really good books. People who don't require big battles and lots of action sequences to enjoy a book. People who are comfortable with thinking. People who read and like Plato. People who read and like Aldous Huxley. People who read and like Fahrenheit 451, Ender's Game, The Man in the High Castle, etc.

Who might not:
People who aren't like the ones mentioned above? Plus literary snobs, since "because it's sci-fi then it must be rubbish. Right?" Although they might convince themselves that it's not sci-fi (not being familiar with sci-fi, it's easy to do. Look at Cormac McCarthy's The Road - classic sci-fi themes, and yet that fact didn't even register to the lit snobs. lol.) in which case there is a chance they might enjoy it.

Nothing plot related, really. Just funny stuff I like. So even non-Buffy fans could enjoy these:

( Welcome to the Hellmouth... )

Okay. It's still true that I might actually go straight for Dr. Spencer Reid, but I'd leave him for Penelope Garcia anytime. She's the coolest girl that has ever graced any TV series. Ever.

Oh, and introducing Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris from Buffy) as her romantic interest in the show? Fucking brilliant.

Edit: and episode "True Night" (season 3) was so good, it made me think of Buffy. (No, Nicholas Brendon wasn't in it. That guy who played Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle was, though.)

"Life is a hell of a thing to happen to a person." - Agent Rossi, Criminal Minds

Friends,
1. My short story "Pirate Girl" (the first draft of which was once in Super Fairy Animal #6) will be included in the anthology BODY 2 BODY. The launch of this anthology will be on the 15th August (Saturday) at the Annexe Gallery - if you're free please come!

Start Time: Saturday, August 15 at 4:00pm
End Time: Saturday, August 15 at 5:30pm
Where: The Annexe Gallery, Central Market Annexe


2. A UK distro wants #12 of SFA and #1 of Doris Ghost! Yay~

3. I ordered This Is Ivy League's s/t album and A Smile And A Ribbon's "The Boy I Wish I Never Met." I can't wait for them to arrive! Actually This Is Ivy League is a backorder so I don't know if it will arrive or not - it depends on whether more copies actually exist or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed cuz they are my favourite indiepop finds that are actually NEW bands!

I was worried about being scared of vampires, reading The Strain when I'm home alone. (Dunno why I'd be scared of that, when I've been reading loads of vamp fiction since I was a kid, but I was scared of being scared, if that makes sense at all) What I should have worried about was a panic attack, though. Haven't had one in ages. Forgot how it felt. And the only people I could talk to about it are either in Japan, or depressed themselves. So I ran to the place I find most comforting, at least here in Malaysia - the bookstore.

I said that I didn't know why, but it really is probably because I've been so angry these past few weeks. Sometimes at specific people/things, sometimes for no reason. And I really can't handle anger very well. Not being able to express my anger completely doesn't help - it's like in that Barzak story, people may understand the language I speak but it doesn't mean they understand. I miss Akane.

On a lighter note, Ichigo put up a YouTube link to the KAT-TUN show with Hyde & Ken (of Laruku) and it was so fucking funny. I used to watch this, whenever I'm alone in my dorm room. Before I left for Japan, I watched Japanese shows about as much as English-language ones. In Japan I only watched Japanese variety shows and dramas, but the moment I came back I immediately stopped watching new dramas or show episodes. Too much I don't want to remember? I forgot how funny Hyde is, how watching these stupid shows (and they really do some REALLY STUPID STUFF on these shows) cheer me up so much.

Had a GREAT weekend, no thanks to KL Urbanscapes! Well, it was a good excuse to go out and meet up with friends anyway. Plus since it's an all-creative-arts event, I get to bump into friends that I've lost contact with ages and ages ago! Like Sharmaine, the girl I sat next to in lit class all through form 4 and form 5. She's doing exactly what she told me she wanted to do back then - performing in her own theatre group. Also bumped into Tania right at the end of the day, but as great as it was to meet her again, it was also kind of irritating, because of the whole twilightactiongirl thing. Ugh, do all DJs suck, or is it just Malaysia? Even crappy bands are better to listen to then our "good" DJs.

And yes, most of the bands were crappy. Well, not crappy really, but bland. Like Damn Dirty Apes, a band that was so promising and exciting when they first came out ages and ages ago. Then we saw them perform and it's like you can't really tell the difference between one song and another, and they're so abrasive and not melodic at all. I don't know why bands here are afraid of actually playing music. Gerhana Skacinta and Pure Vibracions were not bad, but not rad enough to actually get us crazy dancing, lah. (A lot of other people didn't think so and dance, so I guess our group are just picky listeners) Couple was decent, but that was to be expected. I do wonder if I am too tolerant of them, though - like I cut them a lot of slack because they're the only indiepop act here. I mean, if they're an overseas act I probably won't be as into them, since I would spend more time listening to The Field Mice and Heavenly and Dear Nora. We only caught half of the last song in Yuna's performance, but it was awesome.

I liked the whole setup, though. The artwork all over the place, and the street performances. The marketplace was awesome - too bad I didn't have a lot of cash! I bought a Melissa Etheridge album for RM15, and a pixelated cherry brooch to replace my broken one for RM5. I wish I could've bought some of the other accesories and bags for sale, they were just too cute. And it was very nice to just hang out there with friends, sitting on the grass at The Lawn and listening to loud music.

After we left, we separated - Amanda and I in Mils's car, Aina in Jun's - but after Amanda and Aina were dropped off Mils and Jun and I went for supper at Devi's Corner. Originally Mils was going to send me back, but we decided since it's so rare that I'm in the PJ area I will sleep over at her place and we'll meet for lunch the next day.

Mils's cat, Polat, is so cute! So needy and playful like Saru. As usual I woke up at 7-ish even though we went to bed at 3am-ish, and I re-read Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief and went through Mil's zine collection while waiting for her to wake up. Kinda feels like college again, since I'm always the first one up then, too. We met up with Jun for lunch, then went to Jun's place so that Jun could copy music from my iPod, then walked to IKEA. In the end I came back so late, but it was a lot of fun and totally made up for the fact that I had to listen to the cringy twilightactiongirl music at Urbanscapes.

Okay, I am feeling much, MUCH better. Still coughing a little and am rather dizzy and I have a toothache (non-flu related, that), but I CAN READ! Oh how I can't wait to read everything in sight!!!

I started on Andrew Lang & Robert Kirk's The Secret Commonwealth because really I need to finish 2 non-fictions by the 20th in order to totally win this year's Once Upon A Time reading challenge - since I completed all the quests but Quest the Fourth, I figure I might as well try to finish that one as well.

This afternoon, since I was feeling like I can walk straight lines and sit without falling asleep and all, I decided to take a trip to IKEA. I know a lot of my friends think that IKEA is not all that great, being assembly-line furniture and all, but I totally heart their stuff. I got a small heart-shaped mirror and a new picture frame for my room, as well as CD-organisers. I really need more of those...

I'm thinking of getting rid of my extra chair, so that I'd have space to get a new IKEA bookshelf. The problem is, if I do that, that's it. That's the last possible shelf space in my room. I guess I could always start putting shelves in my sister's room - it's not like she's here most of the time! She brings half of my books into her room when she's in the country anyway, reading all night. She could donate some room space for my books, hehe.

I received 2 postcards (1 postcrossing, 1 swap-bot) and a package from Magic Marker Records today! That's right - my orders for Dear Nora's The New Year EP and All Girl Summer Fun Band's Summer of '98 EP are in! I know, I have the mp3s already so it's not like I have new stuff to listen to, but I'm so so giddy just having the CDs in my hands. Also Curt of MMR actually wrote a little note torn from an illustrated poetry book (how cute is that?) saying "thanks for shopping at mmr, you rule!" There was also a sticker of the MMR logo, which I promptly stuck on my moleskine.

I seriously have no idea what's wrong. My fever has gone down for the most part - right now I only have slight fever. But my coughing and flu is still very bad. But the worst thing is the lethargy. I've been in and out of consciousness all day for the last two days. I don't even know what day it is. I usually am a light sleeper, and it takes me AGES to fall asleep. Right now I'm fighting to stay awake long enough to type. I can't even read, so I know it's kind of serious, because I ALWAYS can read, even when I'm having extreme high fever.

Really nned to go back to bed now.

Was going to post this earlier, but I got a fever/flu, and was in and out of consciousness most of yesterday. Today also, I'm getting really dizzy now, but at least I can think clearly. Sort of.

Last Wednesday happyichigo and I went to see Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll at Sg Wang. I was already sniffling and dizzy then (-_-) but we were both very trigger-happy:

( pictures here! )

1. I <3 my moleskines! Hehe... I've really been filling them up every day.

2. I'm going out with happyichigo tomorrow - we're going to see Hello Kitty and My Melody, and maybe eat at Papa John's Pizza later! Can't wait!

3. FRIDAY - after checking out this blog I really can't wait. haircat is making me broaden my shopaholic tendencies! XD

4. My internet connection was down the last couple of days, and now I forget what I usually do online... maybe I should just go and watch the CSI: NY Season 5 that I borrowed from Anusha...

5. I FINISHED FULL METAL ALCHEMIST! I'll write about it in a separate post later, right now I guess I just want to say (1) I LOVE IT even though it's not as awesome as Naruto (minus filler episodes; Naruto's fillers are dumb), and (2) wtf with the ending!?

6. I didn't know that STILA left/is leaving Malaysia! I work in KLCC and I didn't know! Shows how observant I am *(>_<) It'd be funny but I'm still not in the mood to laugh about this. They had a bargain/clearance sale in April and I didn't know about it! And now Stila is gone, never to return... (there's a rumour that it's going bankrupt in US?)

"news and ponderings" should probably be the title of this lj. ha.

1. haircat and i got cahier moleskines (well, really she bought me a set of three of the squared type and herself a set of the blank type, then we exchanged one from our sets with each other). we plan to fill it up within the six months until December, and exchange them when we're done.

2. we will be starting a zine distro! bringing in mostly zines sold at microcosm publishing, and a couple of others. hopefully it will get more people to write zines here that are not metal/punk zines.

3. Tash Aw is actually pretty brilliant. i think i have a brain crush. i also relate to what he said about having to be geographically separate than what he's writing about. i always could write more easily when i am not in the country. i am reading "The Silk Harmony Factory" and i have mixed feelings - being historical fiction about a time when i wasn't even born yet, i really do not relate to this book, and i am the kind of reader who needs to relate to something to be engaged. but i still enjoy reading it because of his writing style, which i like. so it's more of a matter that i can relate to Aw's voice, rather than his characters. he said that his next book will be in a contemporary setting so i will be looking forward to that!

4. i am looking for REVIEWS for my current zine. favourite albums, books, film, etc. saya22, you owe me the review of the KL anthology! (^_^) if you haven't written it yet, it doesn't have to be long, you know. one or two paragraphs will do.

1. David Eddings have passed, apparently, at the age of 73 (I think?). Thankfully his last published book was in 2006 or so, and he had finished all the series he started before he passed away, unlike Robert Jordan, who frustrated so many Wheel of Time fans.

2. Tash Aw - to go or not to go? I kind of am curious, but I don't feel like going at 11:30am and staying until 3:30 which is when I'm meeting haircat. I suppose there will be stuff to do in KLCC (Kino is like a big playground) but I don't want to be spending the WHOLE DAY there~!

(BTW, I love my Buffy & Angel's wedding day icon! Can't believe it I found it among all the ridiculous Spuffy crap on the BtVS communities)

I finally finished watching Angel. It's like, the end. And - is that a short apocalypse or what? I guess I was used to Buffy, where the final battle was like long anticipated and got part of you all tense and thinking, can she really win this? and the other half thinking, come on, this is BUFFY. No way is Whedon going to let her die! and then the first half replying, hey, but this is JOSS WHEDON. You never know! There were lots of strategising, small battles they won and lost, etc, before the Big Bad finally happens.

With Angel, everything was kinda squished into two tiny episodes. Not even 2-hour-long episodes like the Firefly pilot. Regular-sized episodes meant to be stretched with lots of ad peppering.

So, it was short. And kinda felt under-directed in some scenes. But the body counts and the characters really make up for it. I love the part where they all have their day off before their Big Bad, because that's what we always ask each other, isn't it - if this was your last day on earth, what would you do? Wes, of course, spends time with Illyria-who-looks-like-Fred. Gunn goes back to see Annie, which I like, because Annie is one of my favourite characters in Buffyverse and I loved that I got to see how she was doing before the end. (Angel fans who don't watch Buffy, of course, will not realise who Annie was, why she fights the good fight, and why her name was Annie - clue: Buffy's full name is Buffy "Anne" Summers) I love how Whedon let his characters grow (most obvious in Annie and Cordy and Wes), because in most tv series they either stay who they are or start to fray around the edges and turn out very unlikable, ala Izzie in Grey's Anatomy and Jenny in The L Word. Angel, of course, makes plans, because the only time Angel actually loses sight of his mission (aka, the only thing that Angel cares about more than his mission) is when he's with Buffy. But the sweetest thing is Spike, who goes to a poetry slam. Awww. I've been wondering about that, because it seemed as though Spike lost his poetry after he became a vampire, but from this one thing I guess Whedon shows that Spike still thinks of himself as a poet. I love Spike. Some think I don't because I'm anti-Spuffy - but that's just because the idea of Spike and Buffy is just so... euww, not because I hate Spike.

Wesley's death scene was good, too. Not the actual death scene, which was one of those under-directed moments, but the part where Illyria-in-the-guise-of-Fred holds him as he dies. Like everything Wes had ever learned (the first thing a Watcher learns is to separate truth from lies) didn't matter in the end, and he wanted to be lied to as long as he got to see Fred.

The ending was excellent, if a little frustrating. Yeah, there is the part where you don't know who ends up dead and who ends up alive. You don't even know if Angel will win. (I do know he stays alive, though, at least long enough for the comic book series to exist, haha) But the point is not whether he wins or loses - but that he fought. The show is supposed to be about a "champion", and an ending where he goes fighting, probably to his death, 3 guys against a hoard of demons and a dragon, and all he says is, "dibs on the dragon", is just blardy brilliant.

Yessssss....... Angel is a good show. I'm glad it ended so brilliantly, I'm sad that I have no more to watch.

Bonus stuff from season 5, NOT from last episode:

1. The part where Angel and Spike goes to Rome to find Buffy. Now, Buffy followers will know that this person actually isn't Buffy at all, and is in fact one of the Slayers who look enough like Buffy to be one of the 2 or 3 (or more?) "Buffy Summers" decoys around the world. There's the party girl in Rome, and the girl who lives underground, so far. But the current storyline implies there might be more. So it's a good thing that neither Angel nor Spike actually catches up with her!

2. Angel still keeps tabs on Buffy. Sure it's creepy and stalker-y. But his explanation - "It's Buffy", like it explains everything, is just so cute. His spy must not be that good, though, because he didn't figure out that the Rome Buffy is a decoy. But that's a good thing cuz the real (and dateless) Buffy needs those decoys.

3. Angel is still holding out for Buffy, even though he is in a sort of relationship with Nina. His reaction to the idea that Buffy was dating the Immortal - "but she's not done baking. I have to wait until she's done baking, and the Immortal gets to eat COOKIE DOUGH?" which refers to the last ep of Buffy, is just cute.


Oh, how glorious. I will miss my funny, ironic tv now that I'm done with Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. I've got to get my hands on Dollhouse, but maybe later, because it's nice to know there's still ONE Whedon show I haven't watched. Plus I've got the BtVS Season Eight comics (just finished volume three and it was AWESOME - I love Dracula!!!) and maybe the Angel: After the Fall comics to get me through my Buffyverse withdrawal.

After I'm done with those, I guess I'll have to go through non-canon stuff like the other comics and the books. Ugh, the thought of reading the books is kinda off-putting, but if I get serious withdrawals it's either that or re-watch the whole series again, which I don't mind but might just drive my family crazy.

I had a major customer WTF!? moment - someone actually rang in to ask how much the shipping cost is for Amazon.com. I was really close to banging my head on the computer screen. Worse than a customer suck, though (although lately the suckage is pretty tolerable), is a co-worker suck. I love my unit and most of the time I have nothing to complain (except maybe about the girl who doesn't know Enid Blyton or J.K. Rowling... the horror! I feel so embarrassed to admit that she works in the store, okay?) but today I was asked to help out at a different unit, just for a couple of minutes or so. Fine. I don't usually mind this. But while I was helping customers at this unit's counter, a colleague from the unit came in and sat at one of the terminals. A customer came up to him and asked for assistance. He didn't say anything, and just nodded to indicate that he was listening. Since he was doing a book search, I thought he was helping her out, so I continued helping the customer that came first. It was only later that I found out that he was searching for something else, and didn't even bother to tell the woman that he was busy or asking if she could wait while he finished whatever it was he was doing. He was completely ignoring her, so I had to ask her to wait until I finished assisting the first customer. I was so mad at him, and felt so bad for the woman that I tried to be extra-nice to the next couple of customers that came by. I guess things really are different at the non-fiction counters!

The ironic epiphany - things fall apart.

I just cleaned up my LJ, friends-locked a few posts I've forgotten to lock, left a LOT of communities I no longer really read or participate in, and deleted some people off my friends list - mostly people that haven't been on LJ in awhile, so I don't think anyone will notice :) But I'm leaving this post unlocked in case you find yourself suddenly unable to read older posts.

This LJ used to be very personal, but now i'm in the process of (very slowly) moving the personal content to a blogger account, while keeping this LJ for literary/folklore stuff. it's custom-friends only for my friends group "litfolklore".

If you'd like to see scans from fairy tale books and/or read my thoughts/rants/first drafts of essays on children's literature and fairy tales, then ask me to add you. Otherwise, you're better off reading my public blogs on blogger.

Personal stuff will still appear here now and then, but those will probably be readable to two or three people, so it doesn't matter. If I don't know you in real life, chances are you won't be seeing any of the personal posts. :)

06 Sahabat
07 Aku & Bintang
08 Mungkin Nanti
09 Di Belakangku
10 Langit Tak Mendengar

Langit Tak Mendengar

Jalan hidup telah memilih
Menurunkan aku ke bumi
Hari berganti dan berganti
Aku diam tak memahami

Mengapa hidup begitu sepi
Apakah hidup seperti ini
Mengapa ku selalu sendiri
Apakah hidupku tak berarti

Coba bertanya pada manusia
Tak ada jawabnya
Aku bertanya pada langit tua
Langit tak mendengar

first half of the soundtrack by Peterpan:

01 Tak Bisakah

02 Jauh Mimpiku

03 Membebaniku

04 Menunggu Pagi

05 Ku Katakan Dengan Indah