Alive

There's a really strange shift in perspective as I go from my biology class to my geography class.
 

One microscopic cell in our body is just one of trillions. In it, there are organelles capable of complex processes such as anabolism, autophagy, phagocytosis, and copying of genetic material. A single flagella is made of nine doublets of microtubules, which are arranged in a ring and connected to a central pair by radical spokes. Dynein extends from one pair of microtubules to the next, and by using ATP, dynein arms slide past each other to move, thereby causing the flagella to bend. Dynein also carries substances through the cytoskeleton from one part of the cell to the other, such as a signal in a nerve cell. How fast does the signal travel from one side of the cell to the other, and through several thousand cells to our brain, if it takes us a fraction of a second to realize an object is hot to the touch? As I'm sitting here typing this, my brain is thinking, my blood is pumping, my heart is beating... My body is constantly working. And it's doing the same thing for you. And seven billion other people.

And then there are forces that can change the surface of the earth in a matter of minutes, forces that can wipe out entire cities and even split apart continents. They don't care about us, about any of us. An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 can shut a door at 700 miles per hour. An earthquake of magnitude 9.4 can drive a glass shard 5 inches deep into an oak desk. An earthquake of magnitude 9.8 can hurl the ground up and down for 2 and a half minutes, rising 30 feet each time with incredible speed. The Earth's crust can shift an inch at any given moment, and we can bid farewell to our dearly beloved, all our belongings, our hobbies, all that time we spent on absolutely anything, and all we've ever hoped for and dreamed of.

Life is so fragile. Take care of it.

American Horror Films

I don't remember laughing so hard in years xD

Welcome Home

Meanwhile, in Soviet Russia..

 

But seriously. This is happening today.

a simple man's advice.

"I think over the many years of dating and break-ups, if there’s anything I learnt about loving someone and being in a relationship, it’s patience.
It’s not about how sweet you can be, how many gifts you give, or even how much you’re willing to do for your loved one. It’s about how patient and understanding you can be when things aren’t going right, when someone does something that makes you angry, sad, or hurt.
If I think over every single argument I’ve had in the past, and the break ups, most of the time, if only one side could be more patient and understanding, everything could’ve been prevented.
It’s actually really easy to treat someone nicely, it’s easy to do a lot of sweet things for someone, it’s easy to shower someone with love and gifts. But it’s so hard, so hard, to be understanding and patient when things aren’t going the way you want. It took me so many years to try to learn this, and even now I can’t say it’s easy, but I know I’m trying.
In this relationship, I lose in almost every argument I have with my girlfriend. Not because I have no sense of principle or opinion. It’s because I think that for almost every argument, it’s not really important who wins, deep inside, most of us all know what’s right and wrong. It’s just at the heat of the moment, we become stubborn, or we let our emotions take over our logic and we argue. In the past, every time I win an argument, after it’s all over, I know deep inside who was right and who was wrong. If you care and love someone, try to just let little meaningless things go, sometimes even let the big things slide..."

- HJ Story

Love: what is it?

 

Heads Up!

A new page will soon be added to this blog, titled "HJ Story". It will consist of periodical updates of the most adorable little drawings I've ever seen, done by an amateur artist (no one knows his name). I came across them yesterday and gushed over the simple style and cute messages for hours. The page will be similar to that of Sungha Jung's on the blog.
He's like me - terrible with expressing his feelings through words. So he started drawing pictures for his long-time girlfriend (and now wife).
I hope you enjoy the cute pictures as much as I do, and please spread the word about this guy if you like him!
Check out the new addition, coming to you soon~

What am I listening to: Always Be Here (Sungha Jung)
What am I thinking of: nail polish
What I should be doing: going through my homework pile
What I want to do: nothing.. something's missing.

Love is Pain

 

Fingers burnt, shoulder strained, back cramped up...

I love playing guitar.

Dazzling World

I swear, I've been living in Narnia or something. I only found out about SHINee's new album 10 minutes ago! I need to get back on top of my game..
The album release date is October 10th, but people have already mixed the various teasers of Dazzling Girl (cover song) and put them together, so it sounds like the finished version. So upbeat! I love it, especially the dance~
I don't have much to say about the comeback style - nothing that grabs too much attention, but still doesn't blend into the background. One thing.. Key's teaser picture kinda freaks me out (left).
Most artists don't make too much of an effort with their international affairs, so SHINee didn't train so long to put together this Japanese album (which is fine with me, since I like their Korean songs better). I'm looking forward to the upcoming official release and the MV, it looks promising!

Official Dazzling Girl teaser

Faith in Humanity: Lost

"Without money, we'd all be rich."

 

 

PSY.cho

 "Right now, the entire world is fascinated

by a mad South Korean." 

- DRS 3, Switzerland National Radio

This guy is something unreal. He's taken the music industry by storm, appeared on numerous music hit shows as well as talk shows, stayed at the top of international music charts for several consecutive weeks, performed at festivals across the world, won the Most Viewed Youtube Video award for a K-pop song, and triggered at least fourteen flash mobs, most well over 800 people. Wow.
PSY has completely smashed the image of a typical K-pop idol - a handsome young man in his early 20s, not too slim but not too muscular, a hairstyle to die for, good dancer, always single. Pfft, forget it! Thirty-four years old, married, two daughters, named himself after "psycho", fined for inappropriate content on released CDs, once arrested for possession of marijuana, wiggled out of completing mandatory military service and re-drafted to serve second term, and known as the "Bizarre Singer" in his home country.
He's not one of my favorite idols, but I like Gangnam Style well enough. I applaud his weirdness.

If you haven't seen the music video yet.. You're a little slow.

Opinion: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This movie should be renamed to Extremely Beautiful and Incredibly Uplifting. With some fantastic acting from the young Thomas Horn and a wonderfully fitting soundtrack, it had me wipe away more than a few tears. I award this Friday's Movie-Night experience 8.5/10.
The story was not complex to understand and the plot was simple to follow - a ten year old boy with a relentlessly active mind searches New York City to find the final message his dad left him before his death in the 9/11 attacks. Although it is a false hope that 427 people in New York City would open their front door to a child and answer a multitude of questions, it was necessary for the story to move forward.
The acting of Thomas Horn completely surprised me. I wasn't expecting such an earnest and touching performance from a young newcomer. I don't think many adult actors could have done it better. I don't even need to comment on Sandra Bullock's work because we all know she was unbeatable, as was Tom Hanks.
The set design was pleasing to the eye in the sense that it was tastefully coloured, with lots of attention to detail. The handling, position, and angle of the camera were reasonably solid, as it didn't distract the viewer. The soundtrack.. Ah, a wonderful aspect of the movie for music maniacs like me. This was one of the best-suited OSTs I've heard, with light melodies of the heavy heartbreak.
I attempted to read the novel several months ago, but gave up several chapters through due to its long talks about nothing. Now that I understand the movie, it may be time to crack the spine of the book and keep going with the stirring story.

Zelda's Theme

Dedicated to Anne!

Opinion: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo turned out to be exactly what I had expected based on the reviews: terrific. Dark, brutal, and intriguing, it's a page-turner. There is absolutely nothing negative I can say about it. In addition to the novel, I wrapped up my journey to Sweden by watching the American film, which I also review below. Complex and captivating, the interpretation of the fantastic novel received 8.5/10 stars from me.

First, about the novel. I'm going to be honest here and say that I reluctantly started reading because of a recommendation, and had to bully myself into finishing the first few chapters. Maybe because I don't care much about business (the first chapters), or maybe due to other factors. It wasn't dry and the story kept moving, but it did not capture my attention until about a quarter way through, when the mystery got underway. I couldn't put the book down after I dived in.
As expected, my favorite character was Lisbeth Salander, the pierced and tattooed social outcast aiding Mikael Blomkvist. I must say that I idolize her quick and innovative mind, as I would have called the case dead closed right from the start. The writing style was praiseworthy, and the author patiently explained the important aspects without boring the reader, as well as planting the incredible twists right where they would have the most impact. It wasn't an easy case to crack.
Now to the movie, which, in the amount of time permitted, retold the story quite well. The acting was some of the most believable I've seen in a long time. Warning: contains various disturbing scenes, ranging from blue-lipped torture to pornography. Nothing wrong with the soundtrack, although in my opinion it could have been a bit better suited. The movie was unavoidably shortened and therefore did not include many aspects, including allowing the viewer to become one with the Vanger family, as in the novel. One fairly important piece that downgraded the movie was the interpretation of Salander. I felt like I read about one person and watched another one on the screen. The novel and film described two different individuals, which was unfortunate.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo left a mark with its ruthless and troubling nature, and landed a spot in my favorite novels list. A fresh and ingenious mystery to thrill all.

English

Let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant or ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England or french fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, two geese. So, one moose, two meese? One index, two indices? Is cheese the plural of choose? If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways? How can a "slim chance" and a "fat chance" be the same, while a "wise man" and a "wise guy" are opposites? How can the weather be "hot as hell" one day an "cold as hell" another? When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm clock goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That's why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it?

Now I know why I flunked my English. It’s not my fault; the silly language doesn’t quite know whether it’s coming or going.

U.S. author, speaker, and teacher Richard Lederer

I'm such a kid.

Yesterday, a wave of nostalgia slapped me in the face so I played on my Nintendo DS for the sake of my happy childhood days. I picked my favorite game from grade 6, Animal Crossing: Wild World.
Oh man, did I love that thing or what. I have so many memories with this game, virtual and real. I asked for it as a Christmas present because my friends couldn't shut up about it. After that, all hell broke loose with me playing all day and waking up before school to fit in a few hours. I was only in grade 6! Maybe that's why I didn't do so well in school back then.. I mean, who in their right mind would want to do math equations rather than run around talking to their pixel neighbors?
I have to hand it to Nintendo, they made a great game. For the year and some that I've played it, I haven't had one repeating town and haven't met all the animals. With always something to do day and night, I didn't get bored. There were tons of options to nearly everything and I could directly affect many aspects of town life. Plant trees, cut down trees; add to my house, remove from my house; shoot down presents from the sky, recklessly spend my cash.. Yup, those were the good days. I also credit Animal Crossing to my extensive knowledge of insects and fish as I had to catch them to fill the museum exhibits.
Sadly now that I'm older, I quickly got bored and the game seemed slightly repetitive and I wished I could do more things my way. Like speeding up the expansion of the goddamned store.

 

 

Umm... Why did I write about this again?.. Sorry.

Sh*t

I get to see a lot of this at my friends' houses, and even some at home from my own mom  ^_^

 

 

R.I.P. summer 2012

Well, here we are at the end of the summer. What can I say, it's been a good one! Lots of crazy, silly fun.
Let's make the school year just as great, hmm? Good luck everyone  ^_^

Waikiki Beach, Oahu.

We don't need your post cards. We make our own.

 

 

Note: all photos taken by me between August 24th and August 31 at Waikiki Beach and Polynesian Cultural Centre contain no edited material.