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Eversince I was a child, I imagined drawing chronicles of the endeavors and phases I go through in life. The first inspirational ignition was from Calvin and Hobbes when I read them as a child, which tells the highly imaginative days of Calvin and his tiger friend Hobbes, which is actually a stuffed toy. Then when I moved back to Malaysian shores it was Mohammad Nor Khalid's(more commonly known as Lat) Kampung Boy, an autobiography of his earlier life as a child living in a traditional Malaysian kampung. When I reached my teens I watched American Splendor, where Paul Giamatti portrayed Harvey Pekar, who writes an autobiographical underground comic book by the same title as the movie.
And now, on the verge of turning 19, my last year of wild nights and constant procrastination before I hit the big double O and all this teenage illusion of security will be shattered by life's cold harsh reality, I finished Blankets; a book I've been meaning to read since the first time I laid eyes on it at Izzy's place a few years ago. Blankets is an illustrated novel by Craig Thompson, a coming-of-age autobiography.
Thompson has said that the novel grew out of a simple idea: "to describe what it feels like to sleep next to someone for the first time". It is named as one of the Top Ten Graphic Novels of All Time by Time Magazine. Indeed it is as good as Izzy's hype about it. It's around 500 pages plus long but it's actually a short read, almost only half as long as The Perks of Being A Wallflower if this book was written in text. In fact I finished it in around two hours plus. But the illustration in this book is just amazing, in my opinion.
And the messages it gives to the readers, some direct, some metaphorical, some just blindingly beautiful. After reaching the last page, I was even more determined to do my own Calvin and Hobbes, Kampung Boy, American Splendor and Blankets one day. In the meantime...
And perhaps the day might come, when I'll draw my own Blankets.
When a horse falls, foam comes out of it's mouth. When it falls, the legs of the horse thrash, and the horse is no good, so somebody shoots it. The horse turns into glue. A machine puts the glue into bottles and children squeeze the bottles to get the glue out and stick bits of paper onto cards. Glue gets on the children's hands, and the children eat the glue....and the children become the horse.
- Tracey Burkowitz
Who are you dying to see in concert?
I've bought this book like ages ago after a friend, recommended it. I've read a few pages but I somehow got distracted by other books. So, it's been resting on my shelf ever since. But a few months ago, I tried to start reading it again.
Yeah, the first chapter is a bit slow. Most readers would stop there and read something else. But when you reach a certain point in the book you just get hooked. There are minor use of drugs like acid and pot, which is cute, haha. You follow Charlie, a full time wallflower teenager. A Holden from The Catcher In The Rye of sort. Both make weird social decisions and don't seem to see things or think as normal people would. But he isn't autistic or as drastic like Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
Though there's some civil war out there between the book and Catcher In The Rye. But I'd say why compare and bitch about it. And I'm not talking about the normal book club debate where Margaret objects Bill's opinions, but more like ghetto street gang fight debates where the F word is used without any regard and most of the words are all in capital letters. It's a stupid thing to do since everyone has their own opinion of things and one should just respect the other instead of forcing one's opinion onto another. Hmm, did that make any humane sense?
But back to the book. It's a teenage book really, but still it's a great book. One thing I love about the book is that it is written in letters directed to you, the reader. It's as if Charlie is writing to you every few days or so, updating you on what's going on in his life. This is a book that got me waking up in the morning and wondering what happens next. It's a good read and I recommend it. (y)
Lot's of shite is/has been/will be comin' down. Brother's back from college. Let the turf war begin. And my constant nocturnalism is seriously getting on me nerves though. Still, at certain nights I head down to MacLaren's with Izzy for last calls. The sorting of my External Hard Drives is still at 3% or so but I guess it's safe to say that it's no task for a mere mortal. D: There was also a cyberjaya visit that turned out to be great and disappointing at the same time (more on the latter). Leaving for the land below the winds this saturday (nahh, don't think anyone would notice I'd be gone). Here's an update list of two of my part time-full time obsessions.
New Albums -
New Films -
- Malajube - Labyrinthes [play]
- Rx Bandits - Mandala
- Röyksopp - The Understanding
- The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Fruit [play - live]
- Devendra Banhart Discography [play]
- The Decemberists Discography [play] [playII]
- The Smiths Discography [play]
- Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control [play]
- Kings of Convenience - Quiet Is The New Loud & Riot On An Empty Street
- Dark Was The Night (a compilation by RHO, an organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture)
- Into The Wild [trailer]
- 2 Days In Paris [trailer]
- Being John Malkovich (y) [movie clip]
- Run Fatboy Run [trailer]
- How To Lose Friends And Alienate People (n) [trailer]
ps; i'll try my best to focus on the license I've been delaying for almost two years now. a friend has offered a few lessons around town, booyah! till then. arrivederci.
I need to focus on sketching and sketching alone.
I'm not sure myself how this slipped through me but apparently Noah And The Whale released their second album late August this year. I've just acquired the album myself just now. And I must say, the guys sure have grown up, music wise. This time around, compared to their debut album, Peaceful, As The World Lays Me Down, features no female vocals. Yeah, no more Laura Marling. :( Oh, ps; she's working on her own second album. :D
But still, the album has it's own different new quality to it. And the biggest change of the album compared to it's predecessor is that it has a narrative running through the entirety of a break-up of a relationship. Think it like a DT album or something. But more folk-ish and instead of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence it's about, well, a break up and moving on; yeah, I know, sounds a bit teenage corny but believe me, it's an uplifting compilation. Other than that, it is also an album/film. Yeap, this is what's really special about this project by these Indie Folk band from Twickenham, because it's actually called The First Days of Spring - A Film and Album By Noah And The Whale.
I still haven't found a copy of the film yet so I guess I'll share it with you later on. That is, if I actually had any readers. :/ Ooh, also, apparently Charlie Fink stated he will be leaving the band to pursue a career in medicine a few days before the imminent release of the album. So does it mean that this album is their au revoir? Or perhaps they will only be on hiatus? Or perhaps the band will live on with a different frontman? But no Charlie Fink? But that's like Arcade Fire without Win Butler, or Joy Division without Ian Curtis, you know, those vocals that kind of defines the sound of the band. But anyhow, this album/film deserves a listen/screening for those who love indie folk and cinematography. Do check it out. You can view the short trailer of the film here. You can also check out their website/blog here. And here's the longer Blue Skies trailer for your viewing pleasure. :)
