meet simo & mood schula

Off Simo & Mood Schula EP:

Simo (시모) - Sliceslice

Mood Schula - Strict ft. DJ Soulscape, Qim Isle

Most definitely gonna grab their EP next week, along with some of Primary's stuff. I know I've been posting loads of music these days but that's all I've been doing since there have been lots of releases lately. It's my 2nd last day at work urgh...waiting is a pain. Alright, imma bob my head to Simo's beats and finish up the last of my work. I'm out!

meet 아침

Achime (아침) - 거짓말꽃 

catchy and addictive. love the clarity of his vocals. they caught my attention because the lead singer sounds like Fujifabric's late vocalist (whom I miss very much.)

On Friday night, I checked the letter box and found a letter from the university. So guess what?

I GOT ACCEPTED! I GOT WHAT I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF FOR SO LONG!!

I AM GOING TO MAJOR IN ENGLISH LITERATURE THIS FALL!! :D :D

With my heart finally at ease, I'll be able to truly enjoy my trip to Seoul next week. This is all so unfuckinbelievable. Man, *shakes head* I feel as if reality hasn't settled in yet because I had so longed for it that a part of me had convinced myself that it'd remain as a dream and I'd have to apply for a private university and study something unrelated. But, looks like I've finally found the light at the end of the tunnel!!

meet 김덕용

Artist: 김덕용 Kim Duck Yong

For viewing: Gallery Hyundai Gangnam - 20 April till 15 May

I came across 김덕용's (Kim Duck Yong) art while browsing Found Mag online. I was instantly captivated. Certainly, my bias for Audrey Kawasaki is at work here. (Have you caught on their obvious similarity?)The wood Kawasaki works with is usually polished and smooth. Kim however, intentionally applies the grainy and unique textures of old wood in his paintings. The imperfections of the wood and the sensitive captures of humble Korean folks in his painting evoke deep nostalgia and wonder. The grainy texture becomes the lady's skin, the roughness of the wood becomes her silk hanbok. Yet, the maturity of the wood does not deny her beauty thus Kim has effectively captured the meaning of timelessness in his composition. Through the women in his paintings, he expresses Korean beauty in its simplicity and consistency despite the passing of time. This is perhaps one of the biggest factors for the transcendence we feel when gazing upon his art. Collectively, his paintings tell a story. They are his sensitive snapshots of his visits to hanoks (traditional Korean houses), of modest village folk and animals, where Kim delves deep into his native roots. Individually, I cannot help but marvel at the sheer content each silent character in his artwork seem to be telling me. The children's features are plain yet their expressions linger in my mind, provoking an emotional reflection. It is very likely that I will visit Hyundai Gallery when I am in Seoul this May. I would love to study more closely and discover what the 2D displays on my computer screen have failed to convey. 

Kim Duck Yong's paintings breathe insight to the fleetingness of time and the many simple pleasures in life we have come to lose sight of. They remind us once again to hold true to our roots and to mature as these sturdy old wood have.

meet primary

27.4.2011

1. 요지경 (feat: Supreme Team, Yankie, Mellow)

2. Happy Ending (feat: 진실 of Mad Soul Child , Garie of Leessang)

3. 말이야 (feat: Garion)

Garion. Primary. Jinsil. Where do I even begin. It's past 3am and I have work in 4 hours but I'm still replaying track 2 and 3. That pretty darn says it all. Usually, I'd hype about a song featuring Yankie (love his delivery) but, the song kinda pales in comparison to the other two. It was a bit monotonous but the occasional 'Like a monkey!' is cute. (ok I gotta grab some sleep, peace out.)

meet 'delish'

source

meet tosokchon

source

behind its rustic wooden gates, lies my lovely bubbling pot of samgyetang

I have been planning my day-to-day activities in Seoul but it's been quite inconvenient as my partner-in-crime, Cai, is busy mugging for her Uni exams so I can't ask for her opinions for now. Our first day should be the easiest:  We touch down at 3plus and will need roughly 2 to 3 hours to hype and get dizzy with excitement, arrive at the guesthouse and check-in. Then it's time for our first meal in Seoul! Which I have already drooled decided on...Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)! Tosokchon Samgyetang, located approx 15 to 20 mins walk away from Anguk Station, is notably one of the best and most famous Samgyetang restaurants in Seoul. What a way to commemorate our Seoul adventure. The alternative (in the event Tosokchon ends up crammed with raving tourists) is Hwanggeumjong which serves Samgyupsal (Grilled bacon-like strips wrapped in lettuce with garnish). Hwanggeumjong is at most only 5 mins away from the guesthouse - an added bonus if we get carried away with soju. There's another 13 days to takeoff! But in 10 days, I will be jobless! The aspect of returning home from Seoul penniless and jobless is certainly daunting. Eevn so, knowing me, I'll prolly only figure out what to do when I'm back.

colourblind

왜 그렇게 복잡해? ㅜ_ㅜ

Trying to study Seoul's subway map. Thankfully, I can read Korean but it's still 10 times more complicated than my local metro map. My guesthouse is tucked away in the middle of the cultural 'old-meets-new' area of downtown Seoul. Which I love and have been before. I'll probably try to update this blog while in Seoul if the internet is friendly. I'm practically grinning as I type (I can't wait!). My only killjoy amidst all this anticipation - I haven't gotten a reply from the University. It seems waiting can be pretty toxic, y'know. I'm like a landmine these days. I don't know when I might explode.

50-50

On 14.4.11, I went for my most important interview yet. (I'm refusing to name the university I applied to in case my blog appears on Google search.) The undergraduate course I'm hoping to study is a four year direct honours Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. I breezed through the writing test but pretty much blanked out during the interview. The professor was pleasant and kept the interview casual but the questions he tossed at me were really intimidating. I knew he stalled to give me time to formulate the kind of answers he was looking out for and for that I was thankful. Still, it took me a long while to gather my shit together. It was a struggle to figure exactly what he was insinuating at while remaining sensible in my answers. I remember trying to be the most 'me' the entire time and especially the last part where I had a mini outburst about my passionate vision of myself in the future. It was rather embarrassing to be honest...I wish I could have been more eloquent and calm but...at the end of the day, the professor (to my delight disbelief) said "I'll put in a positive recommendation." I was so shocked, I just stared at him. Speechless. Everything after that happened in a blur. I shook his hand, thanked him, let slip another mini outburst (oh god) and....yeah.

Even now I'm still asking myself if this is really happening. If the professor truly meant what he said...I'll most likely be getting my letter of acceptance this week. After 6 letters of rejection last year...can something good really happen to me this time round?

Dance Dance Dance

*Note* This is a literary discussion, not a review of Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance.

So far I've read three of Murakami's works, that includes South of the Border West of the Sun, Kafka on the Shore and now Dance Dance Dance. I began to realise a trend in Murakami's writings. At the end of the day, you don't always fully understand what he is writing about. Because I feel that I am not of a deserving caliber to break down a literary piece as profound as Dance Dance Dance, initially, I was convinced that I could be the only ones who didn't get it. After sniffing around the internet, it sems that most people could draw out the significant themes and ideas, not necessarily having to understand the considerably absurd plot in order to do so. Was it a natural flair of Murakami's  or could it have been done on purpose to engage readers in such a disconnected reality? Perhaps such that it mirrors the protagonist's state of mind?

Unlike Kafka on the Shore, whose protagonist takes on a similar journey of self-discovery, the protagonist in Dance Dance Dance is unnamed. Though to be downright honest, it only occurred to me halfway into the novel when I failed to tell my mom about said protagonist's name. I would like to believe it was not my lack of observation but rather, the smooth and strangely hypnotic narration of the protagonist. I was drawn immediately into his quiet, disconnected world, so captivated by its mysteries that by the end of the first chapter, I had goosebumps. I suppose in remaining 'unnamed', it is easier for readers to relate with the narrator. He is such an ordinary being - no different from you and I - yet, his lack of desire to assimilate in Advanced Capitalist Japanese society, his detachment from the world itself makes him quite the subject of interest. Usually I'd find narration of everyday life to be dry past ten chapters. However Murakami has this genius ability to be (laugh-out-loud) humorous and eloquent while writing a murder mystery. By the end of Dance Dance Dance, I was once again, left in awe.

Here's a few pointers for discussion, most of which I have taken online:

Who is the 6th skeleton?
Likely to be the narrator. With regards to 'dance'. To accept death and start living. It is quite a chilling discovery for me when I read about the skeletons together in an apartment, looking quite like a family.

Importance of human connection?
Characters in Dance each carry a sort of emotional baggage of having been abandoned/neglected. It is clear that their sense of intense loneliness is perpetuated by society and even by the people who are close to them. The take away from the novel is  "Yougottadance. Aslongasthemusicplays. Yougotta dance." (The Sheep Man). Meaning, never stop seeking for a human connection. The narrator himself makes an effort to stay in touch with the receptionist. He also tries to encourage Yuki's mother to be more responsible. I guess the moment we stop trying, like Gotanda for example, "Starttothink, yourfeetstop. Yourfeetstop, wegetstuck. Wegetstuck, you’restuck." all that is left is a downward spiral into our demise.

The Sheep Man?
I did not know Dance was was a sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase. It was not stated in the copy of my Dance. I didn't mind though. I suppose if I had read A Wild Sheep Chase, the mysterious darkness wouldn't have unnerved me as much.

I read on an online review that the "...currents behind the scene hold deep resentment for the American cultural invasion that has left Japan a hollow, faceless player in the corporate mind games of the Western power structure....The mysticism of the East that's for so long been associated with Japan has all but vanished into the 'other world' of the Sheep Man..."
I question whether Murakami feels a 'deep resentment for the American cultural invasion'. The objective of Dance could have been a satire of Advanced Capitalist Japan, so the 'invasion' of American products and music pans a clearer picture of Japanese cultural emptiness. I think loss of individuality and values are what Murakami 'holds deep resentment for'. He was quoted, criticizing Israeli policies "Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to exploit us." (source) Superficiality, career-mindedness and rampant desire to consume are prevalent in Dance. Murakami's purpose was to criticize such mindsets of the Japanese people as a result of Japan's rapid development. Hence, I do not think Murakami is unwelcoming of Americanization. But this is merely my side of the argument.

You met me at a very strange time in my life.

“‎We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

^Tablo & Pe2ny make an incredible duo.

I'll be pretty pre-occupied this month - juggling a mindless day job, a new original experimental fiction 

(Love Is - only posted on Soompi Forums so far) and watching an exceptional number of Korean

variety videos and dramas in order to brush up on my Korean proficiency before I leave for Seoul in May. 

If you don't mind answering this question, may I ask for your age (or age range)? It's just that your writing is extremely mature and the words you use are one of the kind. It makes me curious. I apologize if this question comes across as offensive.

I am 20. I'm thankful that you took time to read what I've written. I honestly do not consider my words as 'one of a kind', I have much to learn when it comes to writing.

Leave a trail of gold dust:

Will you ever love someone ?

I don't know. I've never been in a steady relationship before, never been romantically involved with someone long enough to know if I have the capability to accept someone wholeheartedly. At this point I'm full of doubts but, who knows what the wind might blow in?

Leave a trail of gold dust: