and god gave us memories so that we could have roses in december

Rylan – The National

dandelionwine — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:43:54 +0000

Rylan, you should try to get some sun.
You remind me of everyone.
Rylan, did you break your mother’s heart
Every time you tried to play your part?

Is it easy to keep so quiet?
Everybody loves a quiet child.
Is it easy to seem so grand?
Wanna be alone in la-la-life.

Rylan, you can take the quick way out.
You can turn blank white in a blank white house.
They say that you’re a pervert, you’re a vulture.
Don’t you wanna be popular culture?

Is it easy to keep so quiet?
Everybody loves a quiet child.
Is it easy to seem so grand?
Wanna be alone in la-la-life.

Is it easy to live inside the role?
All the little kids are high and hazy.
Everybody got nowhere to go,
Everybody wants to be amazing.

Rylan, California’s rotten.
Dressed like blue to be forgotten.
Each of the curls on Sunday morning.
Keep the conversations boring.
Stay with me among the strangers.
Change your mind and nothing changes.
Don’t let show any emotion
When you fly into the ocean.
Rylan, you should try to get some sun.
There’s a little bit of heaven in everyone.

Is it easy to keep so quiet?
Everybody loves a quiet child.
Is it easy to seem so grand?
Wanna be alone in la-la-life.

Is it easy to live inside the role?
All the little kids are high and hazy.
Everybody got nowhere to go,
Everybody wants to be amazing.

Rylan, you should try to get some sun.
You remind me of everyone.
Rylan, you should try to get some sun.
A little bit of heaven in everyone.
Rylan, you should try to get some sun.

reading ST’s poem on ST’s wall has a certain nostalgia of sorts; high school dreams, stories, friends, poetry, and everything seems to have dissipated along with time. you have probably become a better person pak shu hwa, but it’s not a good thing if all people are going to remember you by is your history.

Remember Me – British Sea Power

dandelionwine — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:21:58 +0000

2011 is over, 2012 is almost here, and while there are certain things (a lot of things actually) which i thought i could accomplish a lot more, i don’t think i can honestly say i regret it. i’ve made mistakes, i’ve learnt about the genesis of some of them, and that’s what life is about isn’t it, to continually learn about things, to be humble enough to know that we’re not infallible, and that fundamentally if anything occurs, the onus is usually upon ourselves, and to blame others for it represents a certain hubris of sorts.

i’m a terrible human being sometimes, so if there is anything which i would like to achieve this 2012, it’s to be a better son, a better friend, a better individual, to regain a certain poetry in my soul.

p.s. wordpress reminds me that this is the 2011th post i have written, and i am grateful

Keep it Upstairs – The National

dandelionwine — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:32:49 +0000

I was home entertaining some guests when I,
fell off the chair and cracked open my head.
Bees flew out and they flew up thier skirts and they,
cracked open the window and in came the ,
I was home entertaining some guests when I,
Bees flew out and they flew up thier skirts because they wanted,
to travel the world.

These are the kinds of things we should worry about.
These are the kinds of things we should worry about.

But I keep it upstairs,
I keep it upstairs.
I just keep it upstairs,
I keep it upstairs.

I was out looking in cars practicing smiles
for the grand finale.

I got all day
in Cadillac city.
I got all day
in Cadillac city.

I was out walking,looking at posters,
someone famous to kidnap and love.

But I keep it upstairs,
I keep it upstairs.
I just keep it upstairs,
I keep it upstairs.

My head is a three-star hotel, oh no,
I might be missing something.

My head is a three-star hotel, oh no,
killers are calling on me.

My head is a three-star hotel, oh no,
feathers are falling on my feet.

My head is a three-star hotel, oh no,
I might be missing something.

My head is a three-star hotel, oh no,
feathers are falling on my feet.

My head is a three-star hotel.

About Today – The National

dandelionwine — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:13:01 +0000

the national played on sunday and it was an absolutely incandescent and sublimely gorgeous performance. berninger was astrident across seats, in a circle with strangers, walking up aisles, whispering that the very best of us string ourselves up for love in an acoustic, unartificially amplified way which resonated across the hall, building up in a crescendo with everyone joining him.

there is certain honesty in that, and honesty seems to be my favourite word of the year this year, a time of symmetrical repeated digits.
————————-

two days before, waikit and i caught Warrior, and it was a brilliant story of anger, hate, fear, family, attempted redemption, loneliness, and love.
————————–

yesterday, walt frazier died, and i have never really liked boxing, because it was too cruel, too visceral, too mean, but there’s a certain resonance in the resilience of it all.

“Joe,” said his manager, Eddie Futch, “I’m going to stop it.”

“No, no, Eddie, ya can’t do that to me,” Frazier pleaded, his thick tongue barely getting the words out. He started to rise.

“You couldn’t see in the last two rounds,” said Futch. “What makes ya think ya gonna see in the 15th?”

“I want him, boss,” said Frazier.

“Sit down, son,” said Futch, pressing his hand on Frazier’s shoulder. “It’s all over. No one will ever forget what you did here today.”

and there is a final sense of maudlinity here, because there is not once, ever, that a fighter with such a massive heart would ever want to throw in the towel and to be coerced to do so, and then be reminded of it for 36 years, may seem like eternal agony.
—————————–

the best way to end this post wouldn’t be a quote from ali, but rather george foreman, because Smokin Joe deserves to move on. And so, “Good night Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend.”

1957 – Milo Greene

dandelionwine — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:10:10 +0000

this evening i watched a 60 year old aunty prep up my chicken rice at empress food centre and while it wasn’t the best chicken rice in the world, it tasted exactly like the one i used to have when i was in pei tong primary school (we look ahead, said the motto, engraved under a p and t). no sesame oil, no blend of herbs, sauces and spices, just grains, chicken stock, and steamed chicken chilled in a cold bath.

there was something wonderfully nostalgic in its simplicity.
————

jac admonished me countless times for not being able to comprehend the intricacies of a game, and i am inclined to agree with her, because it’s something which completely eludes me; i just simply can’t do it. i would say more, but it’s a tired topic.

————

i normally don’t repeat blog posts with the same title back to back, but there was something apt about a band named after a canned chocolate powder that formed the base of childhood treats. and so i shall.

1957 – Milo Greene

dandelionwine — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:24:09 +0000

pak shu hwa, you should be a better person, and if not that, most certainly wiser because more often than not you have been tactless, callous, feckless.
——————–

there has been a certain amount of existentialist angst this year, more so than last, but at least having the capacity to do so is better than the alternative. a year older, a year wiser? but let’s not make it a wasted year because that would be truly foolish.

keep learning you young old man, you should never stop at it.

Mary Anne Hobbs Mix 2 – Tokimonsta

dandelionwine — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:48:14 +0000

there is something about weddings that foments a concatenation of emotions that can’t be easily explained; a certain sense of joy, a certain sense of salient hope, and yet an uncertain sense of affirmation and commitment. maybe it’s simply because i have not crossed that particular bridge yet, or maybe it’s because there’s a particular lack of emotional ballast, but there is a certain sense of altruism which constantly eludes me that, for all my romantic worth, i am simply unable to grasp.

it is 1.30 in the morning, i am exhausted and i shall sleep.

————————–

in retrospect, if there is anything which i am truly unable to comprehend, it’s the capacity to know the best way to react to situations. a right klutz you are, pak shu hwa, a right klutz you are.

————————-

and at 2.47 it rained, and while prudence dictates that i crash and wake for work in 5 hours time, there is something utterly compelling about the sound and smell of it all, that all is well, that all is right, that everything is right as rain.

How Come You Never Go There – Feist

dandelionwine — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:13:14 +0000

i think i am fundamentally a simple guy who may just be too simple for his own good but there is a certain sense of foolish romanticism in stereotyping self-pitying one liners like that which condemn you into believing it even more even though it may not necessarily be true.

you need a certain sense of culpability pak, a certain sense understanding of what people want, and expect, but then again you always knew that that was your hamartia.
———————-

these days there’s these overwhelming recurrences of deja vu where everything just aligns itself with the present, but for some inexplicable reason i can’t recall how the future will end, and that is something which terrifies me.

This World is Ours – Tokimonsta

dandelionwine — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:59:12 +0000

this world is ours, because there is an finite capacity to withhold an almost infinite expanse of wants, desires and determination. but what happens if there is nothing else which you want, other than love? what represents you in that case, the things you do, the people you love, the words you say, the words you don’t say?

these days life swings on a pendulum of immense ennui and occasional sparks of passion, and i tell myself that it’s all part and parcel of growing up. i have to be patient, i have to be humble, it may all be nugatory (as a lady who painted a Vietnamese tree taught me), but i have to persevere, because that in all likelihood, is my single-most defining characteristic.

yesterday, two days ago, pep guardiola taught me about passion, and i envy him for having the mental clarity to set obstacles aside and to move assiduously on. but then again we all need our minor epiphanies to constantly remind ourselves of who we are.

Die on the Floor – Franz Ferdinand

dandelionwine — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 04:44:00 +0000

if asked to identify what my greatest character weakness would be, it will probably be an overwhelming sense of inertia, that all will be well, all will be fine, all will be right as day. but things in life don’t really work out that way do they, so one have to learn, has to strive, has to thrive in the face of adversity, instead of walling things up and hoping that they go away.

there are many things that should be better, but they should never be ignored.