anime review

Just completed: Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil)

Is Aku no Hana a story about teenage urges and desires gone awry or does it have a deeper meaning regarding teenage angst and ennui?

While we ponder on this, we have to watch the show move at a snail’s pace. Kasuga, the protagonist, fancies himself to be different from the rest. He thinks that by reading different/varied literature, he is a pioneer of sorts. Once, by mistake, he steals the gym clothes of his classmate Saeki, whom he worships as his femme fatale, his muse. Big words for someone in middle school. He is seen by the class oddball Nakamura, who then forces him into a contract.

What follows is a twisted and dark journey into teenage worries and anxiety. The under confident Kasuga, the all-embracing Saeki and the bullying yet needy Nakamura: the show revolves around these three and the only time we see the rest of the class is when they are commenting on these three.

But is it an over-reach? The manga is still on-going and the show’s first season spanned only 13 episodes. The story seemed to be going nowhere except spiralling through Kasuga’s worries and fears.
On the fence about it.

Who likes to work?

Points of observation, work-wise:

• Even though you may be away from work, structures and hierarchies never go away. 
• You may feel you are doing what you are supposed to do, but your bosses feel otherwise.
• You might be asked to tell how you feel, but, really, no one wants to hear it.
• The more breaks you take, the worse you feel.
• Everyone's grammar might make you feel like bursting but you still can't laugh or correct them, as you are in a team meeting!
• Counting down the days to your salary does not make you work harder for it.
• There will always be people who irk you just because of the way they are dressed.

I am sure there will be tons more in the small period I plan to work.

Drat!

Fighting crime from the ivory tower

I guess when you’re spending a lot of time marathoning The Closer and Law and Order, you also start to notice things like this. I’m not surprised the city isn’t safe – it’s not new. What I am surprised at is things like this:

I thought this was a known fact (or is it just because of television?).


C’mon paper! The headline sucks!! And apart from being sexist, are you saying that one day you’ll be able to say that the city is safe? Is there any city that is??

 

Of course everyone is out to get me!

Disorder | Rating
Paranoid: Very High
Schizoid: High
Schizotypal: High
Antisocial: Low
Borderline: Low
Histrionic: Low
Narcissistic: High
Avoidant: High
Dependent: Low
Obsessive-Compulsive: Moderate

I take these sort of tests once in a while and as I think, so I receive. Though I think there is some conspiracy here. I would say I’m extremely antisocial and dependent. But if I say I let other people make my important decisions, it’s an oxymoron, isn’t it?

URL of the test: http://www.4degreez.com/misc/personality_disorder_test.mv

Cavity: The tale of the lizard and the snake

They just disappeared in the darkness, somewhere
The lizard and the snake
Coming and leaving,
meeting and parting
Reunited, but fated to part.

The colour of the sky, they never saw
only the whiteness of the ceiling.
Never reached out to the brightness,
content to live within the confines.

Living to only die, was the lizard’s wish.
Dying was living, said the snake.
With glazed eyes and shaking limbs,
at the waterworks they parted,
the snake slithered and the lizard stayed.
Both wished to meet again, yet never again.

A fateful coupling, I whispered,
Releasing one and taming the other. 
Watching the snake glide,  wishing it would die,
watching the lizard petrified, wishing it would leave.

The sun in the darkness
the snake dies daily.
The darkness in the heart,
the lizard breaks itself, only to be born again.
Blood and black, craving and despair,
taint me again, today.

Rebels, or are we?

What a talk!

Speaking as someone without an opinion, boy, have I got an opinion. And what’s more it’s directed towards everyone.

And what’s more I even hate writing about it ‘cause I know others won’t have the same as mine.

But, for once and for many, I wish my opinion was a maxim. Or probably, the final stopping point… Something like..

BTW: Shinichi Kudo is never wrong. Why is that?

It’s changing. Probably. Someday

I miss writing.

Somehow, going through the wires each day and seeing political policies, crime and violence and just plain ol’ news, has made me jaded. It has also pushed me away from writing, something that I enjoyed occasionally.

So, now I’ve decided to do something about it. I will probably start writing reviews of things I see daily but am too lazy to post about. And these will be, of course, anime.

Watching these shows everyday, I have somehow managed to form an opinion about them (something I usually avoid). So, even though these reviews won’t be lengthy, they will have more screenshots and comments and less analysis (Which I was trying to do in my other blog…)

So, even though I can’t put a date on it, I’ll start soon. Probably. Someday. Soon.

In any case, I don’t feel too bad cause…

 

Pre-Emmy chatter

Listening to: Karunesh, Dr. Zeus, Punjabi MC. Sathiya

It's 3:10 a.m. and there is no sleep in sight. Michael Crichton's Terminal Man lies next to me, just ten pages or so in. Waiting for the Emmy is such a bore (NOT!)

There is no Indian award I'd wait for. Indian shows air a week or so later. There is no real-time excitement and they should realize this by now, after airing so many reality-tv programmes.

Just though I'd weigh in on my options before the drama/action/mystery begins in less than 3 hours. I'll also keep twittering in real-time HERE.

Outstanding Drama Series: I think Mad Men won this last year. There are some good nominations here, though nothing as hot as The Wire, which was never nominated. The only series I'll support here is Lost. Nothing can compare with the rush of excitement of this series.

The other one here that I've seen is Dexter, which is a pretty compelling watch, but not path-breaking stuff. House is interesting too, but only if you're interested in sado-masochistic antics of a delusional man.

The Comedies look good too. Here, I've heard 30 Rock or the Office dominates the scene (seen 5 minutes of a random episode. Don't like Tina Fey, is it? Ya her!). I'd vote for HIMYM (Go for Barney) but that has a slim chance of winning. Otherwise, Entourage. Nothing better than 4 guys with issues that we can make fun of.

Outstanding Actor (Drama): I think Hugh Laurie might take this one. He's portrayed House, MD with self-destructive accuracy and made ladies swoon with him, doc-style. But Mr. Mentalist-Baker is good too.

Outstanding Actress (Drama): I think Glenn Close from Damages is pretty good. Saw first season of the series and she was frightening.

Outstanding Actor (Comedy): Jim Parsons, Big Bang. I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who likes the series. But he has tough competition with Mr. Sheen and Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Carrell. And Mr. Tony Shaloub is also nominated this year, and this year being his last, no one knows where this will turn!

Outstanding Actress (Comedy): I'll say Julia Louis-Dreyfus cause I saw the Christine recently and she's awkward and silly but hilarious. But who knows, Tiny Fey-may-away with the booty!

OTHER OPINIONS:

Supporting actor (drama): Lost, baby! Emerson as Linus, who else! But just an observation here: But doesn't science fiction/fantasy make it to the big league? Will shows like Lost or True Blood always be sidelined?

Supporting Actor (comedy): NPH, Swarley, who else! No offense to Johny Drama, but who can play Barney better than NPH? and host the Emmy's to boot?

Speaking of which, I heard that no one watches the Emmy's anymore. Is the inclusion of NPH a strategy to pull crowds? Cause it's working mighty fine...

random-ness..and numbness

I didn't know that Charlie Chaplin's body was stolen from his grave and is now cemented...WTF?!!

News and Link-age!

1. For one day the Israeli paper was handled by poets and writers...and it led to amazing results. Read more HERE

2. Watching Naruto Shippuden. Like tall, quit-er Naruto, with the less-thick voice. Gaara is amazing as always. Apparently, animation is growing in India. From 2006 to 2008, it has grown 20.1%. I'm banking on less of cartoon network and more of AdultSwim coming to India.

3. Think True Blood is a scam.. Vampires=nice, but vampires in a socially compromising setting=bleh!

4. Guardian linkage on books again...here

More, later!