Monday, July 17, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
She Was The Prize
A cute song from Gaelic Storm which my classmates from S6E will most probably identify with dearly, here to distract you while I write my Bintan Astronomy Camp Entry.
I've lived a long life, and now I'm looking back
It's the end of the road, the last stop on the track
And I smile as think of my true love once more...
The light of my life, the one I adore!
She...she was the prize!
The prettiest girl with the loveliest eyes
She...she was the prize!
Shiny black hair and those lovely... those lovely brown eyes
Well I met her one night at the Harvest Fair dance
I longed for a whisper, I hoped for a glance
Then she turned and she smiled and I melted away
And I knew I'd be with her 'til my dying day
We lay on the cliffs and we walked hand in hand
We threw stones in the waves, we drew hearts in the sand
When the warning clouds rolled in and blackened the sun
And when they roled out, my light, she was gone
I've shed all my tears and I've said my good-byes
Now I'll lay myself down where my pretty girl lies
When I awake I'll be on earth no more
I'll be dancing a jig with the girl I adore!
She...she was the prize!
The prettiest girl with the loveliest eyes
She...she was the prize!
Shiny black hair and those lovely... those lovely brown eyes
I've lived a long life, and now I'm looking back
It's the end of the road, the last stop on the track
And I smile as think of my true love once more...
The light of my life, the one I adore!
She...she was the prize!
The prettiest girl with the loveliest eyes
She...she was the prize!
Shiny black hair and those lovely... those lovely brown eyes
Well I met her one night at the Harvest Fair dance
I longed for a whisper, I hoped for a glance
Then she turned and she smiled and I melted away
And I knew I'd be with her 'til my dying day
We lay on the cliffs and we walked hand in hand
We threw stones in the waves, we drew hearts in the sand
When the warning clouds rolled in and blackened the sun
And when they roled out, my light, she was gone
I've shed all my tears and I've said my good-byes
Now I'll lay myself down where my pretty girl lies
When I awake I'll be on earth no more
I'll be dancing a jig with the girl I adore!
She...she was the prize!
The prettiest girl with the loveliest eyes
She...she was the prize!
Shiny black hair and those lovely... those lovely brown eyes
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Hallgrímskirkja
Hallgrímur's Church
Was in need of some research today, as part of the Great Fictional World Project, so I took this picture of the really imposing impressive church building and sketched it out on the first page of my new Holbein sketchpaddy. The church itself didn't take too long, but I had the most fun trying to sketch out the flying clouds. Just see for yourself; this thing is like whoa.
At 74.5 metres, The Hallgrímskirkja is the tallest building in Iceland. The church is named after an Icelandic poet and clergyman, Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 - 1674), who is best known in Iceland for his hymns.
It took 38 years to build the church; construction work began in 1948 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion. Situated in the city centre, it is visible throughout the city and has become one of Reykjavík's best known symbols.
The statue in front of the church represents Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red. It is somewhat older than the church itself, being a gift from the United States in occasion of the 1930 Althing Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tobermory - Capercaillie
Tobermory is a love song in Scottish Gaelic, which is nice for a change after the whole lot of English, Irish, Icelandic and Finnish songs playing in my blog for ten months. As usual, here are the lyrics, courtesy Celtic Lyrics Corner.
Tobermory - Capercaillie
Bheir mi sgriob do Thobar Mhoire
Far a bheil mo ghaol an comann
Chorus (after each verse; doesn't mean anything):
E o hi urabho o hi u
E o hao ri ri
E o hao ri sna bho hu o
E o hi urabho o hi u
Far a bheil mo ghaol an comann
Luchd nan leadan 's nan cul donna
Luchd nan leadan 's nan cul donna
Dh'oladh am fion dearg na thonnan
Bheir mi sgriob dhan Lochaidh luachrach
Far a bheil mo ghaol an t-uasal
Far a bheil mo ghaol an t-uasal
Gheibhinn cadal leat gun chluasag
Gheibhinn cadal leat gun chluasag
'S cul mo chinn am bac do ghuala
English Translation:
I'll journey to Tobermory
Where my love dwells
Where my love dwells midst
Men with pretty locks of brown hair
Men with pretty locks of brown hair
Who would drink the red wine in waves
I will journey to Lochy of the rushes
Where my love the noble one is
Where my love the noble one is
I would sleep with you without benefit of pillow
I would sleep with you without benefit of pillow
With the back of my head in the hollow of your shoulder
I had a dream last night.
No, not the apocalypse dream. I dreamt about taking a trip to Spitzbergen, in the frozen lands of Svalbard islands, a dependency of Norway. My family was there. And so was Alvin and Xie Huan. Spitzbergen looked something like this:
Longyearbyen Town, Svalbard. We were just walking about slowly in the town, while Xie Huan was overjoyed and ran everywhere (sorry!). And there was something about an abandoned zoo, and a scene in Google Earth where the viewport glided over the island's coastlines. For a moment, I felt like colouring Norway into my travel map. Then I woke up.
Tobermory - Capercaillie
Bheir mi sgriob do Thobar Mhoire
Far a bheil mo ghaol an comann
Chorus (after each verse; doesn't mean anything):
E o hi urabho o hi u
E o hao ri ri
E o hao ri sna bho hu o
E o hi urabho o hi u
Far a bheil mo ghaol an comann
Luchd nan leadan 's nan cul donna
Luchd nan leadan 's nan cul donna
Dh'oladh am fion dearg na thonnan
Bheir mi sgriob dhan Lochaidh luachrach
Far a bheil mo ghaol an t-uasal
Far a bheil mo ghaol an t-uasal
Gheibhinn cadal leat gun chluasag
Gheibhinn cadal leat gun chluasag
'S cul mo chinn am bac do ghuala
English Translation:
I'll journey to Tobermory
Where my love dwells
Where my love dwells midst
Men with pretty locks of brown hair
Men with pretty locks of brown hair
Who would drink the red wine in waves
I will journey to Lochy of the rushes
Where my love the noble one is
Where my love the noble one is
I would sleep with you without benefit of pillow
I would sleep with you without benefit of pillow
With the back of my head in the hollow of your shoulder
I had a dream last night.
No, not the apocalypse dream. I dreamt about taking a trip to Spitzbergen, in the frozen lands of Svalbard islands, a dependency of Norway. My family was there. And so was Alvin and Xie Huan. Spitzbergen looked something like this:
Longyearbyen Town, Svalbard. We were just walking about slowly in the town, while Xie Huan was overjoyed and ran everywhere (sorry!). And there was something about an abandoned zoo, and a scene in Google Earth where the viewport glided over the island's coastlines. For a moment, I felt like colouring Norway into my travel map. Then I woke up.
Friday, November 18, 2005
The Silent Apocalypse
Author's Foreword: Best write it down before it flies away. And fast.
Aidan woke up early this Thursday, it being the school holidays after all and he being free to wake up at whatever time he pleased. He looked out through the window, feeling weird. The sky was still there, along with the other apartment blocks, the shophouses, the railway, and the barracks on the hill. It was just... different.
I must be hopping mad, he thought, and slapped himself hard to see if he was really awake. Then he looked out again to see if the world was still there. It was.
He ambled lazily out into the living room and switched on the TV. A droning fizz of static greeted him. And even this static was dying out into the velvety blackness, bit by bit. Aidan was confused, not because that he didn't know what was going on. He did, of course, only he didn't expect it to happen to him. Not today.
"Not today," he muttered.
"The static's dying down. The forces of the universe, is going back to where it came from." a voice echoed through the room. It was Sarah. She had on her face a picture of sombreness, not terrifying nor depressed, just an angelic calm.
"You've woken up," she greeted calmly.
"Sarah," uttered Aidan, "I've just got this really weird dream."
"Yeah. Me too."
They stared blankly into nothing as the vision recollected itself in their minds.
"It all ends, yeah?" Aidan said.
"Yeah, today," Sarah chirped. "Let's go out."
Aidan nodded. It wasn't as if there were any better things to do. On his way to the door he unwittingly knocked a glass off the coffee table. It landed on the expensive Persian carpet, breaking its untimely fall, and sent half its capacity of flat Pepsi all over it. He stopped, glanced back at the forlornly tilted glass, and went out through the door without even bothering to lock.
The neighbourhood hadn't been blown away. The crumbling shophouses were still there, but absent. The dusty tar road was still there, but there was not a trickle of traffic. The apartment blocks were still there, but their presence didn't matter anymore. Aidan could see the local church standing alone on the hill, right behind the Block 25 which seemed to be fading away into the background.
Now he and Sarah are in the middle of a very large patch of grass, with the morning sun shining lovingly down at the millions of others in the land. The clear blue sky stretched out from one corner of Aidan's vision to the other.
Wicked, he thought. This is almost like New Zealand. You didn't see clear blue skies down in Singapore except on very hot days. And you never saw the full sky. And the landscape was never empty.
The concrete jungle had turned into a huge, spatious plain, populated by four million confused Singaporeans.
Some of them were on their knees praying reverently. Some of them sat down with their heads between arms. Others were singing energetically. St. Joseph's Church was packed, with Christians and non-Christians alike, and so were other places of worship across the island. Mosques, shrines, synagogues and temples. By a subconscious consensus, the faiths were reconciled.
Aidan saw Alvin, his schoolmate and a recent convert. His face was an image of solemn piety as he slapped Aidan heftily on the shoulders.
“If this is God's will, then let it happen,” Alvin declared.
Aidan smiled. He wouldn't dispute that.
“See you in heaven, mate.”
A large figure passed them by. It was Beng Teck, the school thug. When he saw Aidan he gasped.
"Aidan!" he screamed, "I've been searching for you the whole night!" he gave Aidan a bear-hug, beating the breath out of his lungs, “I'm sorry for whatever I've done to you! I'm sorry for pulling your pants off last Wednesday after school! And I've got to tell you that the guy who's stolen your iPod was ME—"
“You did?” Aidan gasped, more out of breath than out of surprise.
Beng Teck let go, and proceeded with newfound honesty.
“Yes,” he reddened like a beet. “And sorry for being a jerk, too.”
“I'm sorry for taunting you those days,” panted Aidan, “but it doesn't matter now, does it? Did you have the dream?”
He stopped, knowing that he had asked a question he had already known the answers to. Beng Teck seemed to go torpid.
“Yes.” He smiled soppily, (or from Aidan's point of view, grinned stupidly) and stared off to the distance.
They left him standing there and to a place where they could see the sky clearly. The sky was in various shades of blue. Light tints near the horizon (they could see the horizon!) and darker towards the zenith. The sounds of Heaven spiralled down towards Aidan and Sarah in light wisps, like a hand extending from the deepest reaches of the Kingdom in the Sky.
He felt Sarah's head land on his shoulder.
“I'm so happy.”
“Glad to hear you say that.”
“It's not what you think, Aidan.” Sarah sighed. “Really happy. First time, too.”
The wisps of pure goodness grew more, and touched the hearts of the Four Million People all over the huge plain. Aidan felt an overwhelming rush of blood to his head, seeing bright lights all over when one tendril landed on his forehead. For a moment, he was seeing the truth. The answer to Life, The Universe, And Everything.
He found it quite hard to describe in words when he thought about it later on, for which he settled with “TRUTH” in block letters. Or maybe the number 42. But right now, he was basking in this wondrous certainty, the vindication of everything he believed in.
All around him, divine inspiration entered the spirits of every living thing. Sarah. Beng Teck. The cranky old man with the cat, and of course the cat. The chickens in the coop, and the lallang growing by the railway. Let good rain from the heavens, Aidan thought. Let them flush out from creation, the… those… other things.
His head landed on Sarah's.
“I'm so happy!” He squealed.
The bells in St. Joseph's tolled. Tolled its last before the Second Coming. Which is, incidentally, soon. The biological clock tuned up in the minds of everyone for the final countdown. Every living being in this world.
The end is nigh. Everyone thought.
“Sarah,” uttered Aidan.
SEVEN, it boomed.
“Hmm?”
“Well I—”
SIX
“What is it?”
“I've got… something to tell you…”
FIVE
“It won't take long, Sarah. Just three words.”
FOUR
“Just go on, Aidan. It's not as if we've got much time left.”
Aidan said it.
THREE
Aidan woke up early this Thursday, it being the school holidays after all and he being free to wake up at whatever time he pleased. He looked out through the window, feeling weird. The sky was still there, along with the other apartment blocks, the shophouses, the railway, and the barracks on the hill. It was just... different.
I must be hopping mad, he thought, and slapped himself hard to see if he was really awake. Then he looked out again to see if the world was still there. It was.
He ambled lazily out into the living room and switched on the TV. A droning fizz of static greeted him. And even this static was dying out into the velvety blackness, bit by bit. Aidan was confused, not because that he didn't know what was going on. He did, of course, only he didn't expect it to happen to him. Not today.
"Not today," he muttered.
"The static's dying down. The forces of the universe, is going back to where it came from." a voice echoed through the room. It was Sarah. She had on her face a picture of sombreness, not terrifying nor depressed, just an angelic calm.
"You've woken up," she greeted calmly.
"Sarah," uttered Aidan, "I've just got this really weird dream."
"Yeah. Me too."
They stared blankly into nothing as the vision recollected itself in their minds.
"It all ends, yeah?" Aidan said.
"Yeah, today," Sarah chirped. "Let's go out."
Aidan nodded. It wasn't as if there were any better things to do. On his way to the door he unwittingly knocked a glass off the coffee table. It landed on the expensive Persian carpet, breaking its untimely fall, and sent half its capacity of flat Pepsi all over it. He stopped, glanced back at the forlornly tilted glass, and went out through the door without even bothering to lock.
The neighbourhood hadn't been blown away. The crumbling shophouses were still there, but absent. The dusty tar road was still there, but there was not a trickle of traffic. The apartment blocks were still there, but their presence didn't matter anymore. Aidan could see the local church standing alone on the hill, right behind the Block 25 which seemed to be fading away into the background.
Now he and Sarah are in the middle of a very large patch of grass, with the morning sun shining lovingly down at the millions of others in the land. The clear blue sky stretched out from one corner of Aidan's vision to the other.
Wicked, he thought. This is almost like New Zealand. You didn't see clear blue skies down in Singapore except on very hot days. And you never saw the full sky. And the landscape was never empty.
The concrete jungle had turned into a huge, spatious plain, populated by four million confused Singaporeans.
Some of them were on their knees praying reverently. Some of them sat down with their heads between arms. Others were singing energetically. St. Joseph's Church was packed, with Christians and non-Christians alike, and so were other places of worship across the island. Mosques, shrines, synagogues and temples. By a subconscious consensus, the faiths were reconciled.
Aidan saw Alvin, his schoolmate and a recent convert. His face was an image of solemn piety as he slapped Aidan heftily on the shoulders.
“If this is God's will, then let it happen,” Alvin declared.
Aidan smiled. He wouldn't dispute that.
“See you in heaven, mate.”
A large figure passed them by. It was Beng Teck, the school thug. When he saw Aidan he gasped.
"Aidan!" he screamed, "I've been searching for you the whole night!" he gave Aidan a bear-hug, beating the breath out of his lungs, “I'm sorry for whatever I've done to you! I'm sorry for pulling your pants off last Wednesday after school! And I've got to tell you that the guy who's stolen your iPod was ME—"
“You did?” Aidan gasped, more out of breath than out of surprise.
Beng Teck let go, and proceeded with newfound honesty.
“Yes,” he reddened like a beet. “And sorry for being a jerk, too.”
“I'm sorry for taunting you those days,” panted Aidan, “but it doesn't matter now, does it? Did you have the dream?”
He stopped, knowing that he had asked a question he had already known the answers to. Beng Teck seemed to go torpid.
“Yes.” He smiled soppily, (or from Aidan's point of view, grinned stupidly) and stared off to the distance.
They left him standing there and to a place where they could see the sky clearly. The sky was in various shades of blue. Light tints near the horizon (they could see the horizon!) and darker towards the zenith. The sounds of Heaven spiralled down towards Aidan and Sarah in light wisps, like a hand extending from the deepest reaches of the Kingdom in the Sky.
He felt Sarah's head land on his shoulder.
“I'm so happy.”
“Glad to hear you say that.”
“It's not what you think, Aidan.” Sarah sighed. “Really happy. First time, too.”
The wisps of pure goodness grew more, and touched the hearts of the Four Million People all over the huge plain. Aidan felt an overwhelming rush of blood to his head, seeing bright lights all over when one tendril landed on his forehead. For a moment, he was seeing the truth. The answer to Life, The Universe, And Everything.
He found it quite hard to describe in words when he thought about it later on, for which he settled with “TRUTH” in block letters. Or maybe the number 42. But right now, he was basking in this wondrous certainty, the vindication of everything he believed in.
All around him, divine inspiration entered the spirits of every living thing. Sarah. Beng Teck. The cranky old man with the cat, and of course the cat. The chickens in the coop, and the lallang growing by the railway. Let good rain from the heavens, Aidan thought. Let them flush out from creation, the… those… other things.
His head landed on Sarah's.
“I'm so happy!” He squealed.
The bells in St. Joseph's tolled. Tolled its last before the Second Coming. Which is, incidentally, soon. The biological clock tuned up in the minds of everyone for the final countdown. Every living being in this world.
The end is nigh. Everyone thought.
“Sarah,” uttered Aidan.
SEVEN, it boomed.
“Hmm?”
“Well I—”
SIX
“What is it?”
“I've got… something to tell you…”
FIVE
“It won't take long, Sarah. Just three words.”
FOUR
“Just go on, Aidan. It's not as if we've got much time left.”
Aidan said it.
THREE
"Thanks, that was really nice."
TWO
"Just one more question, Sarah?"
"Hmm?"
ONE
"How did you get into my apartment?" Aidan sputtered.
And the world around them exploded in colours.
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