GUESS THE POOP

Okay here's the story....Behind my house is a kind of forest as well as housing for military personnel....The other day my wife saw a monkey in our backyard....There have also been large monitor lizards sighted as well as stray cats.

Some animal left something for us but we are not sure which animal....The photo attached is the mystery poop....It was up about four feet off the ground....Our guess is monkey but open to any other ideas.

Maybe I should give a prize perhaps a free bag of this poop???

THE PAPER DOOR AND OTHER STORIES BY NAOYA SHIGA

My favorite story in Naoya Shiga’s collection THE PAPER DOOR AND OTHER STORIES is INCIDENT ON NOVEMBER THIRD which makes the comparison between a wild duck the narrator has caught and soldiers on maneuvers nearby so tired and exhausted by the training exercises they have been put through that they cannot go any further (Think pre-WWII Japanese army fanaticism).

I find AT KINOSAKI and THE HOUSE BY THE MOAT to be effective thought provoking musings on mortality and existence….Less stories as a series of thoughts and observations linked by one seemingly trivial event.

Both of these stories, like many of the stories in this book, use the natural world and animals as a comparison or sign of what humans should or shouldn’t do….It’s as if primitive superstition or the anthropologist’s definition of it is lurking behind every incident no matter how small.

A GRAY MOON presents us in four short pages a moving portrait of post-WWII deprivations in Japan as well as the failure of human beings to be much help to each other.

RAIN FROGS has a novel theme….Educating yourself will lead someone who isn’t used to that into infidelity and perhaps worse….The ending wherein the hero burns all of his books because he blames knowledge for his simple wife’s one night stand with another man is really fascinating and I imagine could be debated endlessly.

The three other stories dealing with infidelity are remarkable for two reasons….The description of the wife waiting in the snow in INFATUATION is unforgettable and the main idea of KUNIKO which is that too much peaceful living and security is bad for a writer or an artist of any kind and that turmoil is needed to produce any good work is one I have struggled with myself.

This is the second book I’ve read by Shiga….The other was his novel A DARK NIGHT’S PASSING which I discussed here…. http://rgdinmalaysia.xanga.com/683144922/a-dark-nights-passing-by-naoya-shiga/    He truly is a writer with much insight into the twisted and peculiar variations of the human psyche.

OSAMU DAZAI - THE SETTING SUN AND NO LONGER HUMAN

I’m not sure why I like Osamu Dazai’s writing so much….At times, I would say he is my second favorite Japanese writer after Yasunari Kawabata….Two dominant themes of his work go against core beliefs of mine ….1.) I believe in free will and Dazai’s books have a hysterical form of Japanese fatalism that seems pre-determined….No point struggling against it 2.) That fatalism also takes the form of an infatuation with suicide and the sense that nothing will ever get better….I also reject this as hope is all we have and I feel you just have to try your best in everything you do.

Yet I think his two main works THE SETTING SUN and NO LONGER HUMAN are both extraordinary….SUN is about the decay and fall of a once prosperous old lineage Japanese family in the days immediately following World War II….HUMAN is a largely autobiographical story about a narrator who I believe is Osamu Dazai….It’s one of the darkest books in tone I’ve ever read.

Still, while it is true that Dazai has an unrelenting negaitivty that runs rampant but he is also witty especially in his description of other people….He reminds me of Celine in the way he builds scenes that cascade into even worse situations all the while injecting some black humor….He has a savage apathy towards life but also an apathy to a commitment to an action as strong as suicide.

Yeas, he’s weak but a hell of a writer!

WHY I LIKE THE FINAL DESTINATION FILMS....

I must admit that I greatly enjoy the FINAL DESTINATION films especially the first one which was a clever horror film relying less on blood and gore and psycho killers and more on dread and mystery and suspense….It reminded me of the Val Lewton horror films of the 1940’s where atmosphere and plot twists gave audiences a sense of unease rather than special effects or other obvious horror movie trickery.

Today I saw the fourth FINAL DESTINATION film and found it to be pretty good….Not as good as the first one but certainly better than the third one…. About the same as the second one.

One thing I liked about Part 4 was the ending which was bigger and better than any of the previous FINAL DESTINATION FILMS.

Why do I like this series? Well a sense of inescapable fatalism is really created well as is the existentialist dilemma posed by being next in line for death….The idea of postponing death but never fully getting away from it is a philosophical puzzle that is fun to wrap your head around.

Because the killer is really death himself who is totally invisible and never seen physically except in the form of the horrible yet creative accidents that happen to the various hapless victims, there is a healthier tone to these films unlike the current wave of films that are long on all manner of mentally ill psychopaths committing torture and the like.

I look forward to Part 5….

ART BRUT VS SATAN PLUS REMEMBERING THE GREAT MUSIC OF THE UNDERTONES

The best moment on ART BRUT VS SATAN the third cd from the band Art Brut is on the song DEMONS OUT! when the difference is noted between pop success and music of artistic quality “The record buying public shouldn’t be voting” bellows lead singer Eddie Argos before defining the struggle to get something of perceived artistic merit on the airwaves as a struggle with the devil himself “It’s Art Burt vs. Satan….Don’t worry we can take him”.

The good news about ART BRUT VS SATAN is this is their best cd lyrically….They have gradually grown in confidence until they can craft a song like DC COMICS AND CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKES about still enjoying childish things as an adult or THE PASSENGER about the joys of public transport.

The bad news is Frank Black’s fast production of this cd which gives it a rough punk buzz is not equal to their last cd which featured better sounding arrangements and songs with better verse chorus structures.

Art Brut is one of those bands that really are not going to change a lot and in their case that might be a good thing.

Art Brut has been lumped in with a number of other British bands including the Arctic Monkeys which is like comparing a monkey with an eagle….One band in attitude and execution from the late 70’s and the 80’s that Art Brut does remind me of and perhaps was influenced by was The Undertones.

These five Irish lads had great funny songs full of tales of adolescence that sadly many of us could probably relate to….Perfect cousins, driving lessons gone wrong, and girls that don’t talk at all were among the subject that were covered….The two guitar attack was the perfect foil for Feargal Sharkey’s fantastic voice part opera singer part choral master and it in no way suited the music which made for a fascinating dichotomy.

One detail that was front and center in the Undertones songs and which Art Brut could work on was catchy songs structures with middle 8’s and all the other necessary parts of what makes a classic song.

The Undertones made four cds….THE UNDERTONES, HYPNOTIZED, PERFECT TOUCH, and THE SIN OF PRIDE….THE UNDERTONES is pretty good but HYPNOTIZED is a classic, their masterpiece….PERFECT TOUCH is a good record that shows some musical experimentation….THE SIN OF PRIDE is swamped by strings and brass and gets way too far from their original sound.

By the way, the new version of The Undertones that is currently touring around doesn’t include Feargal Sharkey and IMO is best avoided.

THERE ARE WORSE TYPES OF ENGLISH THAN MANGLISH....

One of my students gave me the box a Mosquito killing device came in….I believe it was manufactured in China….The English instructions are hilarious….These are direct quotes (spelling, capitalizations, spacing)….

Using Limits and the Last Using method
The killer can be used in bed-room,hall,hoslal,,office,chicken farm,animal huslardry,and any other places where needs killing mosquitos. The effective killing spaceof a killer is 16 m, without anything to obstract the killer’s lights.
The killer is designed with power saving,decorating, so it should be used in a place without strong lights. Using the killer correctly or not would affect the killing effect. For example, using the killer in bed-room without turning on any other lights for 10-20 minutes, or put the killer in the darkness under a table while working studying, are all the good ways to use the killer.
Suggested Using Height:0.8-1.2M, and the distance to wall should over 0.3m. The best way is to put the killer before a door, a window, or any other places where easy to kill mosquitos.
We suggest to use the killer 24 hours continually to extend the using limits of the fluroscent tube.
In daytime, put some suitable Lait in the killer’s chassis and it can be used to kill fly.
To improve the killer’s killing effect, it is necessary to clean the dead bodies of mosquitoes on the wire net regularly. While cleaning, turn off the power, open the chassis, and sweep the wire net with soft brush.
Thank you for using CHUANGJI electronic mosquito.
If the power cable is broken, please replace repair place designed by manufactory.

RIP NORMAN BOURLAG PLUS I PLAY DEVILS ADVOCATE

Today at my school during morning assembly one of the principals made an excellent point about how the global showbiz culture values celebrity over achievement ….He brought up the endless media hype about the death of Michael Jackson (someone relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things) and compared them to lesser stories about people who also passed away recently but were much more important to our daily lives. I’ve blogged about this before….

http://rgdinmalaysia.xanga.com/661320045/what-is-achievement-princess-diana-vs-dr-jonas-salk-and-dr-salk-wins/

Case in point was Norman Bourlag the scientists credited with the Green Revolution….Bourlag in his life was probably responsible for saving a billion people from starvation….More about Bourlag’s accomplishments here

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/sci-tech/09-borlaug-father-of-green-revolution-dead--szh-04

To me this is the definition of greatness not entertainment but something that actually benefits the world.

But debate season is coming up so let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment….Overpopulation is going to destroy the world one day through global warming and other manmade catastrophes linked to too many human beings and not being able source for food is part of how evolution thins animal populations….Did Bourlag and co. prevent natural selection and therefore doom the earth?....Are more people living in overcrowded abysmal poverty really a good thing? Or this the talk of anti-humanist luddite primitives who don’t understand the value of human life

Interesting question….I actually saw people debate this topic years ago when I was in high school and the anti_Borlaug people actually had the better argument that day and won the debate.

I don’t agree….Any advancement like this that doesn’t artificially prolong life but simply gives poor people a way to fight against their environment is a duty to humanity.

RIP Norman Bourlag….A great man

MY TOP TEN FAVORITE OASIS SONGS PLUS ONE

I’ve blogged about Oasis before and my mixed feelings about them as well as some credit they are deserved for helping launch the whole Britpop thing http://rgdinmalaysia.xanga.com/682320182/two-reasons-why-discerning-music-lovers-shouldnt-hate-oasis/….Now that they have allegedly broken up (and I have heard this before….I’m sure we will be hearing more Oasis in the future), everyone’s got a list of their favorite Oasis tunes, here’s mine….


11.) THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHTNING
The leadoff single from what could be their last release couples recycled but still awesome Beatles riffs with a trademark big sound

10.) ALL AROUND THE WORLD
I know it’s a total rip-off but I love the lalala ending and the guitar solo….Hard to resist

9.) UNDERNEATH THE SKY
A B-side with a tremendously snappy chorus and propulsive retro beat

8.) I CAN SEE A LIAR
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS is Oasis most underrated release and this Badfinger rocker comes with a wonderful snarl courtesy of Liam Gallagher

7.) HEY NOW
I have always felt that this was the foundation song on their breakthrough WHAT’S THE STORY, MORNING GLORY?

6.) GAS PANIC
Oasis most interesting and experimental song

5.) SOME MIGHT SAY
A near perfect single better than WONDERWALL IMO

4.) THE HINDU TIMES
Should have been a bigger hit but off a genuinely bad release….The chorus is transcendant

3.) DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Noel Gallagher’s best vocal effortlessly treads over John Lennon, Glam Rock, and The Verve

2.) WHO FEELS LOVE
Strawberry Fields Forever meets The Stone Roses

1.) SUPERSONIC
The quintessential Oasis song-nonsense lyrics, huge guitar, wonderful surly vocals….The guitar solo at the end is my favorite Oasis moment

THE GLORY PLACE PART 2-WHEN RELIGIOUS PEOPLE INVADE!!!!

I blogged last week about the church-like structure next door and the people there.

Today I was listening to music when I was disturbed by all the dogs in my neighborhood barking….There have been some burglaries recently so I went out to look and found a large group of people from the Glory Place wandering the streets.

The women were dressed in long baggy dresses and kneelength socks….They were carrying literature of some sort which they were buzzing doorbells and offering to all the people on my block….And oh yeah they were also all carrying open umbrellas which was weird because it wasn’t raining and neither was there bright sun.

A couple came to my gate but I didn’t let them in as I wasn’t wearing a shirt and had no interest in talking to them.

It is rare to see Christians proselytizing like this in Malaysia as it is basically against the law I believe although that didn’t stop a couple of Seventh Day Adventists who reeked of too much aftershave from hassling me at the Paser Seni LRT station in Kuala Lumpur a few years ago.

An indelible image from this afternoon for me was an old man in a red shirt who had sweated all the way through….He was clearly uncomfortable but his vision of a salesman God pushed him on.

MUSICAL ROUND-UP- WHAT I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY

What I’ve been listening to lately….I originally posted most of this on a music forum I contribute to.


THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS - THE AGE OF UNDERSTATEMENT
This cd actually came out in 2008 but I only recently heard it....Love the Merseybeat influence and the strings and the harmonies....Maybe its revisionism but its very good revisionism....Some of the faster songs even bring up The Divine Comedy at times.... Irresistible listening....I like The Arctic Monkeys but think that there needs to be more dimension to their music....It's good to see that Alex Turner is capable of something like this ....In fact, Alex Turner is beginning to remind me more and more of Paul Weller in his career and to me that's a good thing....

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART-THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
I really like what these guys are trying to do which is filter a Talking Heads sensibility circa 77 or MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD through both My Bloody Valentine/Slowdive and The Smith….The male/female vocal interplay, the layered guitars, and the college intellectual culture songwriting style are all great but I do think that these songs cry out for a middle 8….They are basically just verse-chorus-verse-chorus….I really look forward to their second cd.

ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS- THE CRYING LIGHT
You really have to be in a certain mood to get into this although no one can deny the power of the unique angelic vocals….At times, I am reminded of Bryan Ferry with his balls chopped off….Not a huge difference between this and NOW I’M A BIRD but I do like it….Actually my favorite song by ATJ is THE LAKE which is from an ep of the same name.

THE ARCTIC MONKEYS – HUMBUG
Heard this yesterday for the first time and my first impression is this is exactly what they needed to do and what I hoped they would do which is make advancements in their music without sacrificing what made them so popular to begin with-youthful energy, fresh take on a traditional sound, and funny story lyrics….This isn’t SGT PEPPER but it isn’t BE HERE NOW either….The Arctic Monkeys are a band that I find impossible to dislike….So far only one song has imbedded itself in my subconscious DANCE LITTLE LIAR but I know that will change….First impression-every song is good!!!

ST. VINCENT – ACTOR
Heard this due to the recommendation back in the US who loves this cd….My thoughts are the fast songs are great(such as LAUGHING WITH A MOUTH OF BLOOD) but the slow songs kind of boring(such as THE BED)….A good cd not a great one….I think they got a bit carried away in the studio and some of the songs really feel cluttered with unnecessary instruments and arrangements.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE- LUNGS
Compare this to St Vincent and this is much better….Heavy Kate Bush influence(SWIMMING is basically a rewrite of CLOUDBUSTING) here but better than anything she has done in awhile….Liking this more and more….Favorite songs are DOG DAYS ARE OVER, I’M NOT CALLING YOU A LIAR and COSMIC LOVE.

PHOENIX- WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX
I don’t get into this at all….Sloppy uninteresting music….At times reminds me of the Lo-Fi scene of the early 90’s particularly Pavement a band I truly detest….I believe these guys are French and I am reminded of the saying “In France, they think Jerry Lewis is a genius”.

WOLFSHEIM – SELF-MADE COMPILATION
Synth pop is a guilty pleasure of mine and when you have a soulful front man or woman and a catchy hook, it can be sublime….Never heard of these two guys from Germany until I moved to Malaysia but apparently they have been around since the late 80’s….While the overly dramatic Teutonic Sprockets type vocals can border on the ridiculous at times, the melodies are often memorable for example: ONCE IN A LIFETIME….Good club music with the inevitable re-mixes and also for the 80’s nostalgias buff (such as myself).

RETURN TO STREAMYX

If one goes to my other blog www.xanga.com/rgdinmalaysia and checks out the entries for April, May, and June 2008 they will find a number of posts critical of the service I received from Streamyx and also documenting all the problems and poor customer service I received from them culminating in my termination of their service.

Well as I seem to be staying in Ipoh for awhile and also have a number of projects I’m working on that require Internet access, I have no option but to give Streamyx another chance….Celcom and Maxis just don’t have the bandwidth and I’ve heard many complaints about their speed.

I called the woman who tried to convert me back to Streamyx last year (her name was Puan Puan) and she has arranged it for me….The phone people were here last week and the line has been installed.

Now here’s the first test….Streamyx has promised to come tomorrow (Tuesday) to set up my Internet connection….Let’s see if they follow through on this.

I will keep you posted….

THE GLORY PLACE

Next door is a church of sorts….People come and go carrying Bibles and sometimes the sound of singing voices can be heard….I’ve posted two photos.

One night, I came back from dinner to find one of this congregation had blocked my driveway with their car so I went to tell them to move it….The door was open and I knocked before entering but no one answered….I finally just walked in….In a large front room were a group of the faithful sitting on the floor hands raised eyes closed lost in their worship….One guy was playing guitar….There was an older woman laying on the floor writhing about but not violently in a very gentle undulating motion….They snapped out of their collective trance with disappointment (as if they did not want to come back to this wretched ungodly world) when I clapped my hands together and loudly announced that one of them was blocking my driveway.

I should say they were very polite though and the driver of the offending vehicle (a family van) was quick to move it and apologetic.

The background and the denomination of this group I know nothing about….They seem to be good neighbors and until they start practicing animal or human sacrifice and/or invoking demonic entities they are fine by me.

SIMILARITIES NOTED BETWEEN WUTHERING HEIGHTS BY EMILY BRONTE AND BRIGHTON ROCK BY GRAHAM GREENE

Looking forward to starting my Year 10 and 11 Literature classes next week and really looking forward to teaching WUTHERING HEIGHTS as the text for Year 10.

I’ve blogged about WUTHERING HEIGHTS before http://rgdinmalaysia.xanga.com/688423669/the-literary-perfection-of-wuthering-heights/ and also BRIGHTON ROCK by Graham Greene http://rgdinmalaysia.xanga.com/673658247/the-year-10-reading-list-plus-graham-greene-gets-down-to-earth/ and this weekend while preparing for the lit class, I noticed some similarities between the two (as strange as that may sound).

Probably the biggest one is they both take place in self-contained universes….The netherworld that exists both in and between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange is totally from the author’s imagination and while it is very easy to picture mentally the geography and scene of events, it’s very hard to picture it as a real place that would ever exist in the material sense.

The Brighton in BRIGHTON ROCK while a real city whose landmarks and attractions are mentioned in the novel also seems like an alien land, a place of desperate lowlifes, bookies, pimps, and of course gangsters who live in cheap rented rooms not far from the carnival like atmosphere of Brighton Pier making for a stunning contrast.

The heroes of both novels, Heathcliff and Pinkie are men who use women as pawns in furthering their agenda whether the complicated plan for spiteful revenge from WUTHERING HEIGHTS or stopping a witness from testifying in this case by marrying her from BRIGHTON ROCK.

They are both anti-heroes….Heathcliff attempts to use his money and scheming to win Catherine and when she passes away, in effect to own her memory while Pinkie uses a woman in an attempt to dodge criminal prosecution all the while pursuing his desire to be a top gangster.

Neither are successful IMO although Heathcliff comes closer as Catherine clearly loves him and is a more sympathetic character as we know more about what was done to him and what made him the way he is.

FIVE GREAT GRADE B HORROR FILMS FROM THE 1970'S AND 1980'S

One of my guilty pleasures is horror films….In particular B or Z grade horror films….There is nothing wrong with unintentional laughter and the worst crime a movie can commit is to be boring….Here are five of my favorites from the 1970’s and 1980’s….


KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

The premise of this film is a winner ….Aliens who look exactly like clowns land near a small town in a spaceship that looks exactly like a circus big top tent they then proceed to use great weaponry such as deadly cotton candy, monster balloon animals and the like to capture the town people whom they convert to a sort of jelly then drink with a crazy straw….Has to be seen to be believed and yet is very suspenseful in some places, gory in others, and surprisingly well made.

THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN

Another one that starts with an awesome premise….The first astronaut to orbit Saturn returns with a sort of advanced space leprosy-he begins to melt!….However, he finds this condition is postponed by devouring human flesh so he escapes from the government facility he is being treated at and turns into a melting cannibal monster….A great ending where the monster just kind of sits down and melts away….Again, it sounds silly but is scary in a few scenes.

THE CHILDREN

A busload of children going home from school in a small town passes through a toxic waste cloud which turns them into pale creatures with black rings under their hands whose touch burns people to death….They are also indestructible except if you cut off their hands….Sick premise but well paced and it is a very creepy idea.

BLUE SUNSHINE

Former hippies who have grown up and moved on discover that a potent form of LSD a number of them took back in the 1960’s has the delayed effect of making all their fall out suddenly and turning them into psychopathic murderers….A fun part of this movie is watching the hero track people down and trying to figure out who the next person to turn into a psychotic Uncle Fester will be.

LIFEFORCE

This sci-fi horror mash-up about energy draining space vampires is mostly famous for the first 45 minutes wherein the beautiful Mathilda May walks around completely naked….Directed by Tobe Hooper of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE fame (the original) and while it peters out at the end there are some scares to recommend it(not just the nakedness).