Moved!

Finally I have made the shift. To a place with free access in the land of great firewalls. 

http://orcahaven.typepad.com/

Byebye blogspot. 

Byebye blogspot, and hello, typepad!

Finally, I have moved.

Not for the physical self, but for the virtual haven I reside my mental self in.

I do like blogspot, for it is friendly and easy to use. However, the ban on blogspot doesn't seem to be winding down, and checks on proxy servers have been stepping up. Successful access to blogspot is now a feat, and doing editing work on it is even more challenging.

Thus, when the opportunity to set up a typepad account arose, I thought for some time and explored the settings. At first glance, it is a lot more intimidating than blogspot, with its many options. However, it is access-friendly in this country of great firewalls, and the server size and speed are quite impressive.

So, byebye blogspot, and hello, typepad!

Inception - complicating ambition

Watched Inception last night.

Yet, a tad later than others in catching this highly rated thriller movie of the moment. The IT show. Blame it on the slowness of foreign movie screenings in this gigantic country.

Highly rated and raved. Many of my peers in Singapore found it both thrilling and intriguing. “Hard to grasp all of the show” was the common phrase. And yes, I had to agree with that, but from a different angle. When the film went rolling to the snow-covered landscape, aka the third layer of dreams, I was also falling into sedation, or else termed the land of boredom.

Though not exactly a novel theme, the opening of Inception was interesting, intriguing enough to keep one’s apt attention on the subsequent developments. The crisp and razor-sharp jigsaw pieces blowing out from the architecturally realistic dreams were quite breathtaking and lingered in the mind for some time.

Nevertheless, as with most ambitious creators, Inception attempted another step further, deeper into the mysterious world of dreams, a dream within yet another two dreams. On paper, this might have read like a real thriller, gluing the readers’ eyes to the pages. However, on screen, it pans out quickly into a weak and forced extension of the first two layers of dreams. Apart from a different landscape, and more powerful cinematic effects, the plot and want for this layer does not seem to be strongly warranted for or essential to the development of the movie.

Inception has some good ideas budding from the age-old beauty of dreams and its veil of mystery and decent acting from its cast. If it was somehow simpler in its ambitions, it would have made for a stronger movie. 

Back in action

For some strange, unknown (technical) reasons, I kept floating in and out of my MSN Messenger. It just crashed at whim, with increasing frequency towards the last two weeks, and finally it threw in the towel and simply refused to work.


"Your account has been temporarily blocked."


Hotmail or MSN accounts already seem to have some of the most junk emails around, and now, they add in vulnerability to account security. How wonderful. 


Posting a query for assistance on the Windows Live solutions/forum (there is apparently no help desk around, or least not that I have managed to find) yielded zero results. In between searching for a solution and trying to maintain my connection to the rest of the world (alright, I am a tech slave in this sense.), I found some solace in reverting to the most primitive version of Messenger. Yes, it is basic, with no frills, but at least it works!


Finally, I have managed to resolve this unwarranted technical fault and I am back on MSN Messenger, minus all the crashes! 

My Place

Lately, I was posed this question: “Have you thought about settling in China?”

This is a question which has come across my path many a times during my stay in this dizzying and crowded city. I have never wavered away from my answer in this long chain of similar questions.

“No.”

Understanding the Chinese language and culture helps greatly in navigating this complex country, and makes adjusting to life an easier process. However, there is little connection, let alone sparks, between me and this city, be it culturally or spiritually. I like Shanghai, for its vitality, colourful history and gorgeous architecture from the past. However, I am not able to sense Shanghai or China within me; it is as if I am floating of the sphere, always peering in from outside.

I am here, but I do not belong here.

I do not have a sense of being to any particular place, yet. Born and bred in clean and organized Singapore, it is where my roots will always be, a place where there is a trove of memories in store for me. Physically, I know my way around the city, and the quirks of its people and culture, and I can blend in easily.  

Despite being away for the few years, I have always attempted to catch up with the ins and outs of this little red dot, and have not felt out of place till now. Nevertheless, an unknown sense of detachment links, or de-links me, to this city I have known so well. A feeling of loss somehow lurks within me, standing me and the tiny isle I have always known as my base. Like a friend I have always known, yet I never really know her. Like a place I am always in, but I am just looking in.  

Now, I need to look for the missing piece in my life puzzle. A place I can sink myself into.  

The first impression

What was your first impression of your best friend or other half? Can you still recall this vague first meeting you had?

First impressions last. Is that true?

I don’t buy into first impressions. No, I am not such a saint that I simply peer into the atmosphere behind a new acquaintance. Physical appearances have a weaker magnetic pull at me. A person can be physically attractive and that would usually lure lingering looks at his or her appearance, and I am no exception. Yet, what I bring back with me after that brief or first meeting would be a certain feel or thought about the person.

Laughingly, for all the rational being I am, I actually view a person based on hunches.

Some folks are charming and have great social skills, which puts everyone at ease when faced with the awkward first meeting and endears them to new friends. Some folks are simply tongue-tied and shy away into the background when propped up at the acquaintance table. At many times, don’t you wish you just had a magic wand to wave yourself into the air?

Yes, some people just put me on the pricks, and I feel like a one-legged bird constantly juggling the walk in the air. The comfort level is simply non-existent.

For some, the sense of distance just never narrows, either with time or more understanding (or an attempt to). So I may just as well be on the other side of the bubble peering into the party.

With a few people, there is distance, and there is time. Yet there is warmth and understanding. In a cramped world with little space and time, there is an impetus to expend the resources to know, understand, and share.

Perhaps we all have a certain bandwidth wired into us. All we need is to find the right frequency to tune in to. 

Touching or to be touched?

Ever cried recently like you did as a child? Was it over a touching movie or did a particular novel just tug at your heart, and thus your tear ducts?

It seems to be the season of touch and tears recently. The Chinese movie of the moment, The Tang Shan Earthquake, pulled, tugged and tore away at the hearts of many movie-goers. Amidst the pitch-darkness in the enclosed space for that two hour-slot, tears simply flowed freely for most.

I have yet to watch it. Yes, I am always a tad, one beat slow, when it comes to catching up with the latest movies. The goggle box somehow holds lesser appeal for me compared with the handy paperback or sleek computer screen (I am happily typing away now!). Yet, I doubt the rational being in me will tear or cry for a show.

Am I such a cold, heartless being? Perhaps so. Maybe not.

Perhaps so. Moving visuals are great impact on the vision and mind, creating a dramatic picture for the mind. And they will tend to stick in memory for a long time to come. Yet, all I can recall would merely be the colours and lines, and not the creation in its full essence.

Maybe not. Words have a far stronger grip on me. Lines of expression flowing away within the covers of a book or short prose of lyrics embedded in those lilting notes; these are medium by which I can be transported easily into an entirely different world by. A canvas without borders, a world without limits, endless scope for imagination and space for thoughts. The story or exact words may have escaped my failing memory with age, but the moment of pricking, the time of realization, and the seconds of thoughts.

So, yes, perhaps I will pick up Tang Shan and attempt to watch it though such movies are usually heavy for my liking. I wonder how it would go. Should I prepare more tissue packs?

The wonderland of words is still where I would prefer to shed my amour and seek my refuge in (L: it’s okay to be a crybaby!).