mistressnaoko

It’s the beats in this song, the strong voices despite the heavy techno background, that gets to me. Here, have some lyrics and YouTube:

Performed by: Kalafina
Lyrics and music by: Yuki Kajiura
Composition/Arrangement: Yuki Kajiura
*Note: I’ve rearranged some of the English lyrics to make them read better. Yes it IS a point of contention for me.

Soredemo dareka wo shinjitai kimi no chiisana tameiki wa
Sekai no doko nimo todokazu kieta

Ame wa futari wo uchisuete boku wa hitomi wo togarasete
Nan-nimo dekinai kono te wo hanashita

Boku ni mienai mono ga kimi niwa miete itano
Taiyou ga noboru basho made mada tooi

Tamashii no naka ni aru ichijou no hikari wo shinjite
Sakebitai kotoba sae naikeredo tada sakendeiru
Sore ga boku no ongaku

Itsu owaruka nante wakaranai
Kitto owaru toki mo wakaranai
Dakara mou sukoshi,semete mou ippo

Doko e ikitaika wakaranai
Soredemo shitsukoku yobu koe ni
Arashi wo erande ikari wo ageru

Sakebu chikara mo tsukite sono kumo ga kieru koro
Hageshii yoake ga umi womo karasudarou

Tamashii ga hateru made ichijou no hikari wo shinjite
Nakinagara utaunda nemurenai yoru no mukou ni
Kitto kimi no ongaku

Ashita eno chikamichi ga doushitemo mitsukerarenai
Hitotsu zutsu ippo zutsu sonnano wakatteirukeredo
Taiyou ga noboru basho e

Soredemo shinjitsuduketai kimi no chiisana tameiki ga
Boku no mune wo fui ni tsuranuita

Kimi no te wo toru tameni yamikumo ni tada ai wo shinjite
Bokutachi wa tesaguri de jitabata to mada tabi no tochuu
Tamashii ga hateru made ichijou no hikari wo shinjite
Detarame na senritsu ga afuredasu yoru no mukou ni
Kitto boku no ongaku

Romanji and English under the cut as usual.

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Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

You know, I really, really shouldn’t be too surprised by the drivel that comes out of Utusan Malaysia, but this. This is just…

*shakes head*

Here’s the original Malay article. You can find parts of the article translated into English here.

Malay article under the cut:

Read the rest of this entry »

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

Quick list of things to do for the New Year:

• Clean up the Resume page and redirect it to the new subdomain
• Start on the Wikipedia entry for The Pixel Project
• Send off Queen of Daggers to Keichii
• Update and modify resume as needed

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

Hi the Guzu gang and the Fujoshi sentai (not same gang ka? )

Neon and Juufan were asking for an outing. I suggested we watch Sherlock Holmes on 2nd Jan 2010. Was planning for an early morning show but Neon says she can’t make it. She’s free Sat evening. What say you ladies?

Love
Naoko

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

I am Gemini. The one who disrobed Christ. Preparing him like a Lamb before the slaughter, to be nailed to the Cross. As we disrobed him, my green Twin and I, I see his wounds. His body glistens with sweat. The blood and flesh have mixed with the sweat. As we peel away the robe, he winces in pain.

My heart swells with desire to heal him. To spirit him away, and to cleanse his wounds. I know not who he is, nor what crime he has committed, only that he is innocent. Compassion, not pity, fill my heart. Would that I could spirit him away, to cleanse his wounds, to heal this man.

Yet I could not. Instead, I watched as they led him to the cross. I watched as they hammered the first nail into his hand. I flinched at his cry of pain. I could not stop them, stop them from killing a man I knew innocent of whatever they accused him.

I am the Red Twin, and I stand on the Left hand of God.

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

Pardon the incoherency. Reliving the movie makes me squee. Again and again.

Sherlock Holmes the 2009 film delights my heart like no other film can this year. The reason is simple; it plays to all my fangirl instincts. I grew up reading the actual books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and never really got into the various film incarnations.

Karcy mentioned that the film would appeal to those who loved the books rather than those who grew up on the movies, and I have to agree. They basically threw out the old stereotypes and made a much better tribute to Sir Doyle than I would have thought possible.

How does one describe a detective movie that makes a book fangirl squee? I see so many familiar faces here. Irene Adler. Professor Moriarty. Mrs Hudson. Lestrade. Mary Morstan. 221 B Baker Street.

Each of these characters were brought to life convincingly. They were no weaklings to Holmes and Watson; each were strong and commanding in their own way. Mrs Hudson, in the short scene she appeared, was a wonderful portrayal of a housekeeper who had tenants she rolled her eyes at.

Mary Morstan was fantastic as the governess set to marry Watson. She had grace, poise and the proper air of “Englishness” about her. Irene Adler… well this American temptress was played to the hilt. Each smile, each gesture, the steel in her spine. She was a woman who would shock Victorian England with her daring and that was just what she did.

Lestrade… is not that bumbling. He’s rather competent and quite his own man, even if he is far too conventional. Yes, they are faithful to Sir Doyle’s portrayals. Moriarty is, at this moment, an unknown. An enigma. We saw his hand. We heard his voice. But we did not see the man personally.

I want a sequel for that alone.

But what makes Sherlock Holmes such a squee-worthy movie is the chemistry. There’s actual chemistry between the main cast. The interaction between Holmes and Watson has to be seen to be believed, especially with a jealous Holmes (yes Karcy, it is cute!). Mary Morstan and Watson are the perfect middle-class pair. Adler and Holmes… well, let’s just say that sparks fly.

There’s a bit too many explosions and fighting scenes for my liking (the whole pit fight was one of them) but overall, they add to the story rather than detract. The film does go over the top at times, but at least it’s not an-explosion-a-minute like Michael Bay. You get the feeling that at least Guy Ritchie respects and has some form of admiration for Sir Doyle’s works, but Bay? Has none of that.

Hey Michael Bay, go take some lessons in class, why don’t you?

Ok time to download some e-books.

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

Play: A Light in KL City
Produced by: Electric Minds Project
Staged: Pentas 2, KLPac
Runs: Refer here.

A young woman runs to the motel, banging on the door, begging to be let in. She clutches her used panties in her hand, screaming at her pursuer, defiant to the last. The two men sleeping in the lobby awakens. Darshan, the receptionist, sleepily opens the door. She comes in, an angry customer, no longer fearful of what chased her on the street.

A Feng Shui “master” and a young man with “visions” of Malaysia’s architectural future clash over the new decor. A Dato comes down the stairs with a scantily-clad beautiful woman, the euphoria of last night’s sex clinging to both visibly.

A beautiful songstress courts two men, unable to part with both. A cold woman who betrays her boss’ lover for money to feed her family.

It’s all about the money. Money to feed the children. Money to fuel development in Malaysia. Throwing away those who are idealistic, but cannot make the cold-hearted decisions to survive.

The light goes out. The machinery moves in. And within, at midnight, the residents who call Chahaya Inn home, huddle together, one last time.

A Light in KL City, the flyer says, tells us of things thrown away. Of the people, the history, the things we throw away or take for granted. Chahaya Inn, like many other buildings in KL, is full of history. The story of Anita, her Captain, and Aziz illustrates wonderfully Malaya’s ultimate choice to spurn the Communist ideology for the British “peaceful” transition.

Like many buildings in Kuala Lumpur, within such an old and historic building, are those whom society has forgotten. Whom we have “thrown away” because they don’t fit. From the old film star, to the runaway girl, to the mature sex worker, to illegal immigrant, to a “gweilo” singing on the streets. Their home is demolished to make way for a new hotel. One that promises to be chic, sophisticated and with a minimalist design.

I watched A Light in KL City with some friends. Each walked away with differing opinions of the show. One said that it was during the first half of the show that she could sympathise most with the characters, because they felt alive to her. Another found it interesting. My brother could understand it.

Me, I found it poignant. Devastating in some scenes. Heartbreaking in others. I keep referring to it as a film rather than as a play, because it felt that much real to me. In fact, it watches that much better than some movies I’ve watched. As Swing says, it’s better to shell out RM30 (normal price) for A Light in KL City than RM 10 for a movie you don’t want to watch.

Catch A Light in KL City. You won’t be disappointed.

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

mistressnaoko

Everything written here are all my own thoughts. Because I’m too lazy to do a coherent post (and am waiting for Ubuntu to update) here’s a rundown on thoughts about Comic Fiesta:

No one kicks ass like our attendees


Seriously, no one does. The community who bothers to show up on the Forum, IRC, blog, Twitter and so many others REALLY make the event worth dying for. Every time I read the comments, check out the updates and join the chat, I realise that the community is really something unique. Thanks guys. You make all the aches and pains of goodie bags, the drama of the weeks before and the headache of replying to some inane comments worth. Every. Single. Heartbreak.

Also, we had INTERNATIONAL visitors and booths. The Thai booth that was selling badges rocked so hard. I should have bought more badges from them. The Australian cosplayers were nothing short of epic. And the crazy Canadian and Aussie who walked from the KTM station all the way to Sunway Pyramid have my respect! Also, I was surprised when Narmi came looking for me to say thanks for showing him how to get to CF. That was nice.

Then there’s also the crossing of Internet cultures. One of the most uplifting projects on the Net is Project “You Are Beautiful” where people randomly post notes in bathroom and other places reminding people that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. We had attendees who took it a step further. They did this out of sheer boredom and turned it into one of the most uplifting themes of Comic Fiesta 2009. Did I also mention that our Busking slots were popular? Gan told me that people took his idea and ran away with it; we had buskers WITHIN and WITHOUT the hall.

Lack of cosplayers


I actually liked that there were less cosplayers but who were epic in their own way this year. There were a LOT of cosplayers on Day 1, and not too many on Day 2. However, the quality of cosplayers shot up. Man you guys were awesome! Special highlight goes out to Deidara: you may not have won, but damnit you were epic!

We’re not a government organisation
The day before Comic Fiesta, Sunway Convention Hall had this. Now, on both Saturday and Sunday, we had random people coming up to the Ticketing counter asking us if we knew where that particular programme was being held. They all knew that the programme was on Friday, but decided to come on Saturday and Sunday for some weird reason. One pair decided to buy tickets to check us out on Day 2 (they came on Saturday) but the second pair was simply WTF. They asked us if we had any brochures/flyers regarding the programme which might have been “left behind.”

Um… no?

Our helpers kick ass and take no names
They’re far more dedicated than I ever thought anyone could be. Some came to Comic Fiesta in the middle of exams. Others came, helped out, then went into full costume mode. Yes, that Master Chief cosplayed AND did his helper duties. MMU kids had exams (ON A FREAKING SUNDAY AFTERNOON NO LESS) and yet managed to spare time to come and help us.

Seriously, you guys rock. I, for one, am humbled and really grateful you guys came to help.

Committee Woes
My legs died from standing too long at the Ticketing counter LOL! And from moving around like crazy for the assembly line. :p Kidding. I salute my fellow committee members for this insane endeavour. Some have been doing this for more than 3 years; I think it’s official to say that our lives revolve around this now.

Awesome friends are awesome
They make attending CF a joy, for keeping me company and preventing me from going insane and being understanding when I have to literally disappear to do CF stuff. This year also marks the last year Deidara and Deru will be joining Comic Fiesta for the next 2 years. If all goes as planned, it will be my last too. But I don’t have any regrets. Comic Fiesta brought me some of the best friends I’ll ever know, and gave me a home away from home.

Of course, I admit that I was evil to some (no I am not SORRY at all for making you drive like mad to Sunway Pyramid, Shoji, for the YUA group). But I am glad for friends who let me randomly drag them out for lunch, for looking after my food, for bearing with my madcap antics, for making the effort to attend CF, for random hugs, for being patient, for smacking me on the head, and most of all:

Thank you for being my friends and family. You guys know who you are.

To sign off
THANK YOU FOR MAKING COMIC FIESTA 2009 THE BEST! <333 LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010 WHERE MORE EPICNESS AWAITS!

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.