Sunday, March 22, 2009

BeBook

Chronicles of my eReader saga

- Amazon ignored my enthusiastic email about the Kindle
- B&H cancelled my order for my Sony eReader
- then, suddenly, a package arrived with 3 days.

I am astonished by the speed, and would like to thank Fedex for the speedy delivery. after some disappointment and setbacks, I am happy to say that I, masterofboots, am finally now a proud owner of Hanlin V3, aka Bebooks.

It isn't as stylish as the Sony eReader, and can't read books from Amazon. BUT, it is MINE, and I am happy to say that I have been busy trying to load all my favourite books, like Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and and James Herriot. Yes, friends, you've heard me right. HAHAHA, what else did you think I was going to do with the eReader? I know, it seems a pity getting such a fancy gadget just to read these trivial stuff, but you see, my old copies of these books are already fading with age, and becoming increasingly moldy too.

I just spent 2 hours sweating over the software, trying to download books from mobipocket. After much effort, I finally succeeded. hmmm, this is going to take some getting use to.

The dreadful thought refuses to go away. Does it mean that i am never going to have an excuse to go into bookshops again? Yun just reminded me that Borders has a special sales, but, will this ever mean anything to me now? This is a lifestyle dilemma. How ambivalent I feel now about this device people invented! What if ... we destroy the very existence of the books we love?

*** ***
The Wedding Helper

I am not sure why, but time and again, I find myself performing at people's weddings, like, singing for my supper. Yesterday it happened again. This time, I had to be the emcee. One hour before the event, I looked at my script, and wondered...am I the Chinese or English emcee?

Then I went to the hotel restaurant, and demanded to report. 'But, I am the emcee! You've got to let me go in.'

They looked at me and said, 'Miss, I think your event is next door. This place is holding two dinners tonight.' I fled without even apologising. How would I know there were two wedding dinners, side by side?

Little hiccups aside, everything else ran quite smoothly. I wouldn't even think that I was doing an emcee's job. I was just reading from the script and I can do that quite well you know, haha. I gave Boon One special instructions to make sure that I had big helpings of my favourite dishes.

The good thing was, I wasn't nervous at all. Anyway, I knew that no one was listening. The couple made their speeches, and people continued to chat. How rude people can be! Of course, you'll tell me, that's normal at a Chinese wedding dinner. But why should it be? >:1

Monday, March 09, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire

Do not watch Slumdog Millionaire unless you are prepared to be
Appalled by the cruelty dished out casually
Outraged by the social injustice that is part of life
Saddened by daily tragedies and
Exhausted after an emotional rollercoaster ride.

There isn’t a moment of respite for the audience, the story lurches from one tragedy to another. I watched the movie with my eyes shut half the time, and my mouth wide open in one long silent scream.

A destitute, illiterate boy enters the greatest game show in his world, and by astonishing chance, happens to know all the answers asked. How did this boy, he who cannot read, come to know answers that eluded even lawyers and doctors? As the drama unfolds, it emerges that he never went to school, and each nugget of information, trivia to the rest of us, is accidentally discovered through the various tragedies n his life. They are lessons dearly paid for with blood and tears.

It is heartbreaking, not uplifting, to see the resilience exhibited. People don’t simply roll over and die. Even children can become impervious to pain, and find ways to make a living for themselves. So Jamal and his brother became expert at fleecing and stealing from tourists. In a acidly ironic moment, Jamal tells the American tourists, ‘You want to see the real India? This is real India.’ It is not Taj Mahal or exotic festivals.

It gives me some relief to see the obligatory final song and dance because it is a reminder that we are just watching a movie. Yet at the same time, this is the depressing truth - that Jamal and his sweetheart find salvation because they are fiction. The slums are still there, though we leave them behind in the theatre. So why should we feel any more virtuous just because we watched a movie with more depth than usual?