arma et virumque cano - That is What I Kept Saying In My Head at the Airport

I started reading the Penguin Classics copy of Virgil's Aeneid, which is translated by W. F. Jackson Knight.  I'm pretty in love with it.  It's given me a new dream.  I've got to get good at translating the Aeneid.  Translating Latin is going to be my new talent.  At present, I have not been maintaining any talents, unless you call blogging a talent.

I might also pretend that I am Aeneas on my travels.  I'm not actually a fan or anything of the bloke, but I like to think that maybe someone like the Gods cares for me.  If that even makes sense.

I have been in Singapore for more than twenty-four hours now.  I had a turbulent flight.  But don't worry, it turned out okay and I didn't throw up even though I was stuck in my seat for three quarters of an hour with a painful bladder and a tray of cookies and cream mousse and lamb in cream sauce.  I'd like to be cryptic, or should I say "kryptik", and leave it to you to decide whether the A380 is Indie or not.  It's not that I'm a country turtle or anything, but I had the time of my life because the INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT WORKED.  Even during turbulence, take-off and landing, and other times.  I watched Gosford Park and I recommend it.  Indies are culturally aware and I think satirical movies about the English class-system in 1935 should be high on your agenda.  Like, one must get the staples watched, but it's really rather more important to digest the unmainstream Indie works.  I'm just saying.  But if you still wanna keep up with the Jones or the Jonas brothers or whatevs, fine, go ahead, waste your days away watching Woody Allen films until you feel you could respond to any situation as Woody Allen.  And it had a stunner cast!  Then I actually had a sleep.

Look at this cool thing from the aeroplane.  If you look hard, you will see that there is some bird crap with a feather in it stuck to the camera.

I went to Orchard Road today.  I walked up and down a million times, but one could count on one hand the number of shops I entered.  And the shop I wanted to go to was not even open.

Here are some things I have eaten today.  But I will spare you the details so I will not talk about the chuee kway, the apple or the curry puff, none of which I have photographed.

Note:  Above are two photos of one fish.  I didn't eat two, incase you know, you thought that.

I cannot remember a time when I ever went to Singapore and didn't go to Takashimaya to get a pancake filled with chocolate and in the shape of a fish.

Then I decided it would be cool to go to the mall for young people.  Unfortunately only the food places were open.  I took these photos of the closed clothes shops.  Most, I think, were hipster men's shops, but I imagined myself going in and buying something without realising they were for men.  Then I walked around the park and went to the 'underground' cool young people market.  I considered getting this coloured chalk pastels for hair.  Maybe when I go back.  All sorts of colours.  There was a picture of it's effect...on blonde hair.  So hmmm...

Naturally I came first, as  the mall was almost a ghost town.  But don't worry, I didn't get creeped out by the idea that people might pop out from around corners in hats like these:

That is class - using fonts which really speak to the niche.

The age old tradition cool young skaters have of buying hydroponic basil under the awning of an old red bus.

I think Maccas Mans has a competitor for Indiest outlet.

My lunch - Penang Char Kway Teow!

Saw some Indie people, too.  Shall I ask people if I can photograph them?

Also, I bought my brother a Gangnam Style t-shirt.  Good job Billie!

What's Up?

Play 

Pottermore.com. This is where all the cool kids are. The illustrations are beautiful and there is EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. I would say it's pretty much perfect, but I wish to be able change my avatar. You see, I didn't realise there were two pages at the pet store and if I had seen page two, I would have bought a TOAD - because that would have been INDIE. 

I would like to publicly tell the world how lame I am - dude, I had to get a WALKTHROUGH in order to find my shopping list and to cast a spell. But then after I finished the Philosopher's Stone, I went back to the beginning with expert knowledge. 

I would also like to tell y'all about one of those moments Indies find themselves in ALL THE TIME. So I went to my friend's house right and I was excitedly telling her about Pottermore as though she wouldn't be knowing about it. And she was like, Yeah, I've been on for, like, a year (id est) as part of the BETA.

Watch

Sliding Doors, starring Gwyneth Paltrow whom my above friend is not a fan of just because she's not a fan of the movie Emma, just because she is not a fan of Jane Austen. 

So in this movie, the main character is called Helen and she's having a bad day and then she's wanting to catch the underground. And the theme is WHAT IF she had or had not been able to catch it. But the flicking back and forth between the two Helens is not at all confusing because of her HAIRCUT TRANSFORMATION. There's a cheesy hospital scene, but there are some really good QUOTE WORTHY lines and there is a TWIST at the end.

GROW

Usually when I buy plants to cultivate, they end up dying.

READ

The Tao of Physics (An exploration of the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism) by Fritjof Capra 1975/1983. Seeing as it goes into relativity theory and quantum theory, this book should be quite difficult reading. However, the font in the copy I am reading makes me read faster than I normally do, and I would have to say it's the best font I've ever encountered for a regular sized book. 

(And on an aside, I think that these days books are made too big/ too small. I wish all books were the size of the Penguin Classics with the BLACK background!) 

I haven't yet gotten to the part of the book that talks about the serious parallels, but what I've learned so far is that one of the similarities between the two is that the deepest concepts have to be EXPERIENCED and cannot be expressed through words. 

And in this book there are lots of quotes by Lao Tzu. 

I picked this book off the school library shelf a) in the hope it would make the "penny drop" for physics, and b) because I wanted to be able to judge how hippy my ideas about the way the world works are.

The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami is actually a novel I will study this term for World Literature. It's quite a strange book and it's made up of all these short stories (all by the author) which are snippets into someone's life where a bizarre/unusual occurrence occurs. In this way, the author is QUESTIONING NORMALCY. Yeah. And there was this super short 4-5 page story called 'The Little Green Monster' and I had NIGHTMARES for two night.

But anyway, if you like beer (which you probably do because you're an Indie), you'll like this book.

EAT

I'm in search of the perfect ANZAC biscuit.

Also, congratulations to the Simpson Prize winning students who spoke at the ANZAC Day service at Lone Pine. Phyllida Behm, you are officially an Indie Icon. To use an expression, you rock a certain style.

And that's because I say so.

And from my television at home, the dawn service at ANZAC Cove and the Lone Pine service looked UNREAL.

Get Into

Okay, everyone's sad because Sammy died and now Dance Academy Season Two is over. But SERIOUSLY, GUYS, you've got to get into Young Dracula Season Three. 

The seriously ANGSTY Vladimir Dracula is a little bit older and he's out to save the world. One of the things I love about this show is how the crudeness of the vampire world is meant to be funny but the humour is not crude. Do you get what I mean? No, you don't. Anyway, Vladimir's now got all these cool powers and the moral of the story is that love conquers all. 

Also, while I was watching the first episode, I was eating this really great sandwich which was of fresh sourdough baguette spread with harissa and filled with halloumi and rocket.

Argh! My holidays are over! I go back to school tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with Young Dracula. Maybe I'll have to watch it on iview in the library during lunch/in my free periods.