Adrian's Microscope

Oh March, Aren’t Thou Mundane.

2010-03-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

What a bore this month has been, it did start off with me watching Placebo in concert, but since that day, nothing. Hell I can’t even think of one other significant moment. I need to do something, something out of the norm, anything. The past few weeks has felt like a monotonous nightmare, everyday the same as the last. Life is moving, but not going anywhere. It was once said that in order for man to find new oceans, he must first lose sight of the shore. And do I need to find a new ocean. Who cares if it’s a violent one, I rather swim in a violent ocean than continue this humdrum cruise. Here’s hoping I don’t lack the courage to do so.

Yogurt Romance

2010-02-20T03:53:00.000-08:00

Thus it expires, our yogurt romance. As gravity reclaims its dominance, and we’re no longer floating weightless in space. Falling, Picking up speed in our freefall towards the harsh reality. The once denied, inevitable outcome has, as it would, taken place. Fruitless are the questions that would begin with ‘What if’. What if time would slow and stretch? What if geographical factors were out of the equation? What if this could last? These questions would only increase the gravitational pull of our fall, and from gently landing, we may find ourselves crashing head first into the concrete road of life. For now, her touch still feels feasible, her taste still palatable, her smell still lingers in the air. But once the alcohol is drained out of our systems, once the cigarettes burns are buried under a new layer of skin, all that will remain is a memory, a memory and a black band around my wrist as a memento of the time. Holding a story shared by me and the milky-skinned space-girl. And if the band shall snap and get lost in some unforeseen chaos; and if the memory grows vague and fades; what would we have to remind us of the time shared? Like a dream you know accrued but can’t recollect. Blurry images, jumping from one to another, no linear line to follow, images of smiles and laughter, jumbled up in some twisted montage.

There is no way around this; this is just how it has to be. Maybe in some not-so-distant future we could meet again, far out in space. Some where above an expending galaxy, staring out at the infinite stars, trying to point out the Sun, because there Earth would be, the place of our first encounter, the place where our romance once expired.

Placebo in Malaysia

2010-01-30T23:09:00.000-08:00

Omg... Placebo is coming to Malaysia. We've (my friends and I) been talking about it for the whole of last year and then in 2010, BOOM!, they're coming down. This is it the last of the top 3 bands I need to watch before I die. The others included, Incubus, saw them in 2008 during Sunburst; Nine Inch Nails, saw them 2009 in Singapore during their Wave Goodbye tour; And finally Placebo is coming, March 16th 2010. Time to make a new list...
Hope the rest of 2010 kicks as much ass as the first quarter has. yes I know its only the end of January but screw it :)

MOON

2010-01-07T00:54:00.001-08:00

'Moon' is a freaking awesome movie. Sam Rockwell could quite possibly win an Oscar for best leading actor , I certainly found myself believing and caring for his character through out. And Clint Mansell really deserves an award for Film Score, as always, it was a beautiful score, really made me feel the deafening loneliness being experienced by Sam. So it’s hard to understand why Sony won’t support its campaign for the Oscars, under the pretext of, being afraid it will be pirated when the DVD is sent to the Oscar Community. Well first things first, It’s already been pirated, in fact there are two different versions, so a third version probably wouldn’t really hurt Sony’s pockets anyway. But then again this is coming from the CEO of Sony, the same person who said “NOTHING good has ever come from the internet.” So I’m not really hopeful. But I’m hoping Sony changes its mind and sends it in anyway; it really deserves the chance for nominations if nothing else.
An awesome movie. The entire atmosphere of it was stunning. I suggest to everyone, go watch it.

2010’s TOP 10 BLAH

2010-01-04T01:08:00.000-08:00

For sure there’s going to be tons of polls with the same pun implemented this year, ‘2010 top 10 blah blah blah.’ And I want to be the first to do this, well, at least the first that I know. So as pointless as this may be, here’s my 2010 top 10 list.

2010’s TOP 10 WAYS TO WASTE 10 MINUTES.
10 - Stare blankly at a wall
9 – Clean your already clean room
8 – Update Facebook status
7 – Read Facebook status updates
6 – Tweet
5 – Read Tweets
4 – Watch something pointless on Youtube
3 – Google something pointless
2 – Think of 10 ways to waste 10 minutes
1 – Write it down in your blog

Yup, what a waste of 10 minutes. Time to stare blankly at a wall.

Here's to 2010

2010-01-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

So another year begins. There was no grand entry, no big bang, it just slipped in. 2009 went by so fast, that I never really took the time to stop and smell the ashes. All the coming and going, all the change (packed to the brim with change in fact) caught me off guard and I had to struggle to regain control. So this year I’m looking at the constants. The ever loving family, the ever loyal friends. For what ever that may present itself from around the bend, I’m not worried. For I know that as I slowly peer into the unknown, there’ll be someone right there beside me, anxiously waiting to see what comes next.

To my own amazement, I actually accomplished my 2009 new year’s resolution. In fact, I may have over done it. I have never read a single book for as far as I can remember and I promised that try to read at least 1 book. Now from 2009 to 2010 I’ve read 19 books, cover to cover. I have found a simple pleasure that I have missed out on for most of my life, and I can’t be more grateful to have found it, however late it is. The windows in my mind opened and the room enlightened.

Let’s start this new decade the best we can, and not falter along the way. Let’s head forth into the unforeseeable with heads held high. My best wishes go out to everyone on a quest. May you find whatever it is that you’re looking for and/or accomplish whatever it is you’ve set out to. Peace and love.

2012

2009-11-28T02:24:00.000-08:00

I've spent some many hours over the past year or so reading in to the whole Mayan prophecy and cross referencing it with this and that; from scientific predictions, religious predictions and Nostradamus' predictions. I found the whole thing quite interesting and intriguing, believe it or not, the concept is something to muse on. And boy, was I completely disappointed by the movie. In short my review would be 'It sucks.’ But if I were to be more analytical about it, I would say ‘It downright simply sucked.’ That’s about it, anything more constructive is not worth my time. The History Channel documentary on the issue was one hundred times more entertaining. Now I hope the world does end at 2012 so at least then I would be able to say “Well, at least this is better than the movie.”

1st November - Conversation with the Subconscious

2009-11-02T04:35:00.000-08:00

“Okay, what are you trying to tell me? Honestly I don't get it. I have been chipping away at that crack on the wall but it's not getting me anywhere.” I said to my subconscious. His name is Hadria, constantly changing its form some times familiar and other times not. He responded
“There’s a light seeping through is there not? You are getting somewhere.”
“Where, and would even benefit my conscious life? Or am I just wasting my time?”
“I’m not at liberty to say. Just keep chipping.”

So I did, I chipped away as he watched from over my shoulders. “You see it now?” Hadria said in enthusiasm. I told him that I see nothing. “But you do see it then, nothing?” he said.
“How can I see nothing?”
“Don’t contradict yourself.” His voice became harsh.
Baffled and frustrated I threw down the chisel he provided me with “you’re the one being contradicting!”
“Look again!”
I pressed my face against the wall and stared through the crack. White light burned and that was it, nothing else.
“Look closer” his voice now growing calm.
I felt my pupils slowly retracting as the burning light began lose its intensity. I saw a figure of a man, a silhouette mostly. “See it now?”
Details started to take shape, and I felt as if I was spying on someone, peeking through a crack on the wall.

More and more the man began to look familiar. “Is that…”I said.
“Yes, it’s you.” Said Hadria
“And you too.”
“No, just you.”
“But you’re me.”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s you too.”
“No, it’s just you. At this time in your life I did not exist yet. Technically I did, but I was asleep. Very deep sleep.”

The image now clear, I saw myself in my room on my computer, the screen was out of focus, just blur. I had long hair. Must be a year ago, I thought to myself.
“Yes, It is. One year ago today, I’m there too but fast asleep, in the depths of your mind. You had no need for me at this point.”

I turned back to face Hadria, who now looked like me a year ago “Why are you showing me this?” I asked, still not seeing his point.
“Change it.”
“What?”
“Change it. Your past, change it.”
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes, I do, because you want to, and I am you.”
“Can I really change it, and what about everything that’s happened over the past one year?”
“It won’t exist, you’ll start there, November 1st 2008, and from there you can progress to here, now. But it won’t be now, because this now will no longer exist.”
“Then would we ever meet?”
“No, you wouldn’t need me and I will be asleep.”
“What do I do?”
“Tear down the wall.”
Hadria handed a sledge hammer to me “Quickly, we’re running out of time.”
“But I don’t even know if I want to.”
“You do because I do. Now, tear it down, NOW!”
“Wait, I don’t know…”
“Now!” he yelled.
I swung hard against the pitch black wall in front of me. It rumbled so loud I felt as if my ears would bleed. Hadria kept yelling for me to hurry up. I swung harder and harder with each swing. And louder the rumble became, it was followed by a loud siren. The siren became so loud I had to drop the hammer to cover my ears. The pain was excruciating. My head felt like it was under an enormous amount of pressure. Hadria pushed me out of his way, and started to bash the wall with his own hands. His fists and forearms were bleeding, he was screaming something but I couldn’t hear over the sirens. I removed my hands from my ears to hear his screams. “We’re too late!” his screamed was followed by a loud screech, then silence. Infinite silence.

Stranded in KL at 4AM with RM4.00

2009-10-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

What a day it has been. First of all we finished work at 4am. On my journey home, to my bed, my car broke down, in the middle of Bukit Bintang. So Shiresh, who was with me as well, and I struggled to get the car to a side of the road. Where we were less of an obstruction to traffic. We managed to stop right outside of Federal Hotel. We waited out side of the lobby for my brother to come with some motor oil, which was the reason the car broke down. So we waited, and waited. And in that one and a half hours of waiting, we were relatively entertained, pretty girls with almost nothing on strolled on by, groups of drunkest stumbling around, wasted men puking all over the streets; (and right in front of the lobby where we sat), obvious drunk drivers, obvious gold diggers, obvious (I want to Fuck a white men) chicks, obvious escorts, obvious prostitutes and obviously weird people (i.e. topless fat dude with pants unbuckled and the shoeless morning wanderer). These are the true sights of KL. No Fancy building with a duplicate, no tall upside down gasing, no overly priced parking lots, no dancing lights (sorry Madaan.) but the essence of what made the city what it is, its inhabitants. The penthouse hoppers and the nomads, the sobers and the drunks, the ladies and the sluts, the locals and the foreigners alike, comprised of the very breath of this city’s life. There we sat in the heart of our country, stranded, on the sidewalk, with a bottle of coke, drinking water and some cigarettes, at 4 in the morning and with 4 ringgit in our pockets.

Our new world

2009-10-17T04:53:00.000-07:00

Dead is the new unambiguous. Bipolar is the new undecided. Heavily armed is the new born again. Bald is the new head... and the new crotch. Hairy is the new face. Sheepishly admitting to having an STD is the new flirting. Purell is the new face of fear. Finding the time that's right for you is the new impotence. The smiley-face emoticon is the new "sincerely yours." Smoking is the new outdoorsy lifestyle. Looking forward to insanely expensive private schooling, thousand dollar a week nannies and soccer is the new yuppie birth control. Misinformed is the new patriotic. Veganism is the new "tastes like chicken." Serotonin uptake inhibiting is the new crowd control. Texting is the new talking. Talking is the new singing. Singing is the new hubris. Gay marriage is the new "be careful what you wish for." oh progression, aren't thou interesting.

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

2009-09-13T04:31:00.000-07:00

We’re all in a constant state of fear, propagated by the media. Whether it be terrorism, war, economical collapse or the very publicized global warming. Michael Crichton states that there are always more sides to a story but only on side is told on a global standard. We are pawns in this game of media and politics and Crichton cries out for us to open our eyes. Don’t fall prey to mass media, do your own research, find every angle to the story, and you’ll find more often than not, we don’t really know what we’re talking about. Ice melting in a catastrophic proportion? Well, not really, an article from Geophysical Research Letter in fact states that the Antarctic sea ice has rising since 1979. Other studies show that ‘that both satellite data and ground stations show slight cooling over the last 20 years’. Along with many other varying studies, my point is why aren’t these papers publicly known, why don’t we know of any research that doesn’t support the theory of global warming? Simple it wouldn’t cause any fear, no fear to drive an economy, no fear to win votes, to fear to have control over citizens. Always look beyond what you’re told, may prove to be even more interesting.
Check out this documentary ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’ to basically get a second opinion. I won’t say I downright do not believe in global warming, it may or may not be happening, but why don’t we ever hear about the ‘may not be happening’ side? Ponder…

Hunabku

2009-09-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

…or Doomsday as we know it. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by the Hunabku predictions by the Mayans, the day the world ends. It’s always been lingering in the back of my mind. So I decided to finally dig in to it. It is truly fascinating how accurate a civilization can predict up to thousands of years into the future, our present day. 25 000 years on their calendar ending with Hunabku, which equates to 21st December 2012. Yes, there’s a movie coming out ‘2012’ not sure if its based on the Mayans prediction, because the same date has been prophecies as the end of the world by a few other individuals as well, one of them being Nostradamus. When the movie comes out there will probably a higher awareness in this subject, true or not, time will tell. But as something to speculate on here are a few videos that sum things up. Simply to intrigue the curious…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxQsLLOYC7Q
P.S: It's 3 parts

The Baader Meinhof Complex

2009-08-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

Taking place in

Germany

during the 70’s, the children of the Nazi generation are fighting a war with their government for the support of the imperialistic

America

. With a very anti-America, anti-government statement, at times it can feel like propagation. Opening up with a bang, with really intense scenes of terrorism and police brutality, then to a battle between Politics and the people. It’s an eye opening look into the world of our 21^st century terrorism. It’s only too bad that somewhere towards the end the pace begins to slack, and so does the intensity, leaving you wanting a little more. Also, turning away from the screen can be unforgiving; the information is placed in between the lines and can get pretty frustrating at times. All and all, a very real look into one of

Germany's

dark days, told through the eyes of the leaders of a terrorist group (Red Army Faction), unromantic and intense. FOUR-STARS to The Baader Meinhof Complex.

Gomez - A New Tide

2009-08-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not actually familiar with this band so I won't go on about how good there are, but the album itself... Came across their single (Airstream Driver) on Conan O'Brien, very catchy stuff, and if you're looking for something Poppy and catchy this album will serve you well. I do really like the vocals, two very distinctive style, mixing effortlessly and holding their own. Check it out. Nothing amazing, just some good ol' POP. THREE-STARS to A New Tide by Gomez
Top 3 Tracks - Airstream Driver, Natural Reaction, Other Plans.

District 9

2009-08-20T02:54:00.000-07:00

One of the most entertaining movies of 2009. District 9 may have just revelutionalised sci-fi for our current era, where, when it comes to aliens and motherships, you can't help but to think of a whole barrage of clichés like, Washington D.C, Green man, the ‘universal’ language English, Intelligent E.Ts and Military macho heroes. To my surprise, in a thick South African accent, District 9 said “f**k off you clichés”. With a giant immobilized floating garbage truck for mothership as the back drop in the skies of Johannesburg, yes, Johannesburg, and with an interesting style of switching between standard scene sequences to a documentary-like style, every now and then, it made for an almost believable environment(drake equation aside). Released a few months after the acclaimed Star Trek (2009), Sci-fi has been given a much needed breath of fresh air. FIVE-STARS to District 9.