in love with - The Afters

I've decided to do away with the whole 'Squashed' thing, since well, i doubt i'll have much of me left to do mixes/lists. Or maybe 'squashed' is too much a reminder of how things are these days. I don't love music any less, that's for sure. I just think life is getting to be more of an uphill climb lately. One of those periods in life when u feel like nothing's going right.

But griping aside.

I stumbled upon this song by The Afters just a couple hours ago. Pretty simple song, but i like it anyways. I know i haven't written for some time (uhhm, i think blogspot has a major part to play. i kinda contemplated switching to some other self-publishing sites for a while), so here's a lil sth to bring those squashed memories back.

The Afters - Ocean Wide

You're my signal fire.

"The perfect words never crossed my mind
Cos there was nothin' in there but you
I felt every ounce of me screaming out
but the sound was trapped deep in me

.. In the confusion and the aftermath,
You are my signal fire."

-Snow Patrol, Signal Fire (From the soundtrack of Spiderman 3)

One of the most beautiful songs ever. Gets me everytime the credits roll.

The Post-Apocalyptic World - 'The Day of the Triffids'

This has got to be the best sci-fi i've ever, ever read in my entire life. John Wyndham is a genius!The entire story unravels before you with stunning impact, as if you're right in the middle of it, and i'm tellin ya, it would totally make for an awesome hollywood blockbuster today (they actually did make a movie outta it in the 60's, and then a tv series in the 80's). The post-apocalyptic world, survival of the fittest, fear and paranoia, reinvention and rebuilding, heightened self-interest and self-preservation, continuity - u get the idea. Amazing how life could be so easily wiped out at such a great scale, and so swiftly at that.

John Wyndham - The Day of the Triffids

Still can't believe how randomly i chanced upon this book in the library. 3 reasons - 1. it was brand-new (i love brandnews!) 2. i absolutely adore the jacket. if i had the means & if books never turn yellow, i would without doubt indulge myself in the collection of all these books. 3. it's a penguin!(translate: usually pretty good stuff)

To more Wyndham, penguins & aesthetically-superior book covers!

Hmm now what would you do if the world ended tomorrow?

Happy 2009!

Hooray to better luck this year. Bad luck is so '08. shoo away now u pesky lil unlucky charms.

A new year also means new new year resolutions. Reinvention. New things to look forward to. Lists, lists and more lists. Not that the day ever matters - i love lists.

But this year, it's gonna be different. Old friends shall take even more presidence; no more hefty time investments in those people who don't matter and never will. Home and little priceless comforts and cosy little chats, mainstays. And those bad feelings? I'll just shut them out, as easily as I'm gonna shut out anyone/anything i shouldn't be worrying about. The closet geek in me shall be unleashed in full force.

Thanks to all my dear friends who've always been around to make me sane. It's so so so easy being with you guys. No need for censorship, no embarrassment, we don't even need a plan. we'd just talk, chill, and love life. the world is suddenly so safe and..the world suddenly cares.

Happy 2009 to y'all!

Revisiting teenhood.

Oh wow, i felt 17 again.

You know that when you're squealing to watch a teen vampire flick on a monday night at midnight, just so u don't end up watching it last in the entire universe.

And to be honest, the plot was kinda blah. But some scenes really stood out. Like chillin on top of a huge tree with you lover in tow and showin absolutely no sign of acrophobia. i mean - how??!But i must add, it was awfully romantic.

Most of all, it's the prom dance scene that got me melting. Gushing. It made Rob Pattinson (Edward) seem so suave. Frankly that gave him the extra gloss, on top of the whole vampire persona. (That's why no one quite bothered about him when he was Cedric in Harry Potter. )You wonder if girls think he's good-looking because he really is, or because of the whole whitey cakey vampire make-up. Every girl wants a bad boy these days.

And henceforth, I'm in love.

With Iron & Wine's Flightless Bird, American Mouth played thruout the prom scene, that is. (i like that part about a 'fat house cat'.)Apparently it's all thanks to Bella and her ipod that convinced the directors to go with this number for the scene.



I couldn't stop replaying that on my winamp yesterday. It suited my whole girlish teenage mode very well. And it went exceptionally well with Sophie Kinsella's 'Remember Me?' - u should try it some time, too.



Especially with that scene with tons of sunflowers in the balcony. I couldn't find a better background song.

Best of 2008 - The Therapy

So those people always swear by 'best of ' lists - or whatever lists, for that matter. They say it's good for the soul, makes you focus on the good stuff and so the positive energy inside you would rise to a new high, and u'll forget about the present state of shit momentarily.

Ok prophets, let's try it.

(Well, considering that end-of-the-year's my fave period anyway, there is some sorta unfair positive bias inherent in this lil experiment already, don't you think? and you already know i'm gonna end this entry off with some sorta "omg this is so totally therapeutic" crap.)

Ok here goes:
(To round up my awesome 2008, i shall focus only on the good things that happen to me 0.543% of the time. Do those yeasayers some justice.)

Favorite guys (not in any particular order, i think. Such a chore to rank the good stuff, dont u think?):-
1. James Franco (and whoever resembles him)
2. Tommy the cat
3. Oscar Wilde/Jason Mraz/John Mayer/the whole My Chemical Romance gang
4. Orlando Bloom?Shayne Ward?
5. The penguins in "March of the Penguins"
6. A couple of french people
7. A particular mystery friend

Favorite songs this year
1. I' m Yours - Jason Mraz
2. Shit this is tough, uhh..entire of John Mayer's new album. Wait, make it all his albums
3. Gronlandic Edit - Of Montreal
4. Snails - The Format
5. (u'v perhaps come to realise that this section is totally redundant cos my taste in music changes every other day and my memory of each song i love lasts only as long as the track duration reflected on Winamp.)
6. Here without you - 3 doors down ... still. i don't think i can get over this song - ever!
7. Collide - Howie Day..this too.
8. Between the lines - Sara Bareilles
9. Geez, whoever suggested this list thing obviously didnt like many things!!!
10. Brink of disaster - Mae
11. Fall for u - 2ndhand serenade
12. So much love - the rocket summer
13. Qui je suis - Kyo (i've no idea why!i could go on forever with this one)
14. The haunting - Anberlin
15. Okay this list doesn't end. Just browse thru the history of this blog and u can get a vague idea of my constantly shifting taste. So - next!

Favorite place visited this year
France, bien sur!

Favorite new friends this year
My colleagues - mostly those in the chicken shit club. love yallll
See also #7 in first list.

Favorite distractions
Guitar french travel planning chattingyakking running&thenbustingmyknee musicmusicmusic readingnovels musicmusicmusic eat&getfat then running&thenbustingmyknee sundaymornings and rainynights packingmywardrobe and organisingmybooks. friends. sounding like a geek. doing weird things. doing new things. doing many things. doing rubbish at work. unfinished nat geog mags sitting on my table. sleeping. sleepppppppppppyyyy

Omg, this is so totally therapeutic. therapathetic.therapath, there a path to sleep. Goodnight, lists! Till we meet again!

Choosing lines.

It's a thin line between polar opposites. Haven't you felt so happy you ended up feeling bad? Then maybe you haven't been truly happy at all. Or maybe this form of happiness is just one of many, this form that takes the life out of you because you've got a quick glimpse of what could have been if you chose to live.

what if we love someone we cant be with, and choose to be with someone we cant love? What if miserable fragments of life are part of a not-so-miserable whole?

Could we perhaps feel so sad we end up feeling good?