Soooo my intention is for this blog to become some impressive account of my adventures in Australia (fondly known to Aussies as "Oz"). But in greater likelihood this will only scrape up to be a dilapidated shack in which I'll house my Oz-related thoughts--posts that'll get updated by whim and certainly not by any devotion.
But don't let that put you off, reader!!
But seriously, after reading other people's travelblogs from previous semesters I get the feeling that I will have none of their flair for travel writing. For one thing, I'm not much of a showsperson and I don't usually write to entertain. And for another thing, I lack the wanton narcissism it takes to document one's life for all to read :)
Oh well, here's my best attempt at shameless tell-all tales for your entertainment and my posterity, dear reader. And also for Thao, who will just have to live life vicariously until she lands in Paris and tastes sin for herself.
Enjoy!
December 29, 2008
December 28, 2008
slumdog millionaire
Not many movies inspire me to write, but I felt totally sucked into the narrative of Slumdog Millionaire and I can't get it out of my head. It might be that I just watched The Namesake again with my family on Christmas, but I feel such a particular kinship with Indian narratives as someone who has lived in China and then emigrated. Truly, when I see the ghettos of Mumbai in Slumdog or the uniquely immigrant struggles of the Gangulis in The Namesake, I feel like someone is knocking on the very door of my consciousness.
I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
For those of you who haven't seen the movie, Slumdog Millionaire is a story about a young man named Jamal who wins twenty million rupees, or the equivalent of one million US dollars, on India's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" show. He is accused of cheating on the show, but the movie unravels how he was able to answer the questions not by book smarts but by experiences he had in the ghettos.
A much better and more coherent teaser for the movie is here.
I loved that the narrative began from the present (as Jamal is being tortured and accused of cheating on the show) and then proceeds in flashbacks. The editing for the movie is incredibly well-done, and Mumbai just JUMPS off the screen with the vividness of all five senses. (One reviewer I read said that he could smell Mumbai from watching, and that's true for better or worse.)
I also especially loved how Jamal and his brother made a living as kids by ripping off American tourists--so, so, SO in tune with the tense relationship between "third world" citizens and the Western tourists who treat entire cultures as quaint vacations. And at first I thought that the emphasis on the love story would turn me off, but it actually made the movie much more charming--I was floored by Jamal's utter devotion for Latika even though time and different life experiences repeatedly tore them from each other's company.
Epic, and v. romantic.
Plus, Slumdog featured a remix of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," so 'nuff said.
I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
For those of you who haven't seen the movie, Slumdog Millionaire is a story about a young man named Jamal who wins twenty million rupees, or the equivalent of one million US dollars, on India's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" show. He is accused of cheating on the show, but the movie unravels how he was able to answer the questions not by book smarts but by experiences he had in the ghettos.
A much better and more coherent teaser for the movie is here.
I loved that the narrative began from the present (as Jamal is being tortured and accused of cheating on the show) and then proceeds in flashbacks. The editing for the movie is incredibly well-done, and Mumbai just JUMPS off the screen with the vividness of all five senses. (One reviewer I read said that he could smell Mumbai from watching, and that's true for better or worse.)
I also especially loved how Jamal and his brother made a living as kids by ripping off American tourists--so, so, SO in tune with the tense relationship between "third world" citizens and the Western tourists who treat entire cultures as quaint vacations. And at first I thought that the emphasis on the love story would turn me off, but it actually made the movie much more charming--I was floored by Jamal's utter devotion for Latika even though time and different life experiences repeatedly tore them from each other's company.
Epic, and v. romantic.
Plus, Slumdog featured a remix of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," so 'nuff said.
December 7, 2008
herro
herro everyone this is xu here
i am messing around with the layout and quickly realizing my complete ineptitude for anything html-related
epic fail
i am messing around with the layout and quickly realizing my complete ineptitude for anything html-related
epic fail
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