Enfant Terrible's mother and i went to watch S'kali at Cathay Cineleisure in Damansara (i don't know how long it's running though). the director is one Arivind Abraham, who happens to be the son of a friend of hers. she was quite excited about it and made sure everyone else knew it too.

ETM: my friend's son is the director!
ticket staff: Jason Lo? you mean Jason Lo? you know Jason Lo?
ETM: no, Arivind!
TS: Jason Lo?

Jason Lo is a local singer/director/music presenter/sticky hands. the guy isn't even listed in the main credits (he has about 5 minutes of screen time in which he displays great comic timing).

there was a crime in progress as well - there were only THREE people in a cinema that could seat about 100. sorry Arivind dude, the inter-racial couple in Sepet might have spoiled things for you. and for the four people who read this blog, not all malaysian indie movies are like Beautiful Washing Machine. sorry, i couldn't resist.

for all you kids out there, erm, i've finally found a good use for my student card.

anyway, on paper, the story about a year in the life of five young people who are coming of age may go the way of meh-ness, but people watched Friends for ten years, right? and there was Reality Bytes (no, i didn't crib from other reviews). the point is, the tale is in the telling.

for lack of actual review skills, i'll just say that while the movie was jarring in the beginning, it was only because i had to get over the disorientation of hearing my own accent (and that of fellow urbanites) emerge from the bloody loud speakers. product placements and name checks aside (Apple, Ikea, Freedom Film Festival... Dan Brown), it was a perfectly charming and natural movie.

i wish people would stop mentioning S'kali in the same sentence as Sepet though, because the latter was the story of an inter-racial couple while the former had an inter-racial couple in the story. there's also a very subtle difference there in that Yasmin Ahmad has a speaking role in S'kali that qualifies her for the award of Audio Book Reader of the Year, should she ever decide to do so.

now that you've emerged relatively unharmed, here is an actual, super-long review of S'kali, in which the reviewer delves into technical details that frighten me very much. however, you can't please everyone.

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16 September 2006 7:32 p.m.
confessions of a book sale nazi - possibly my lamest post to date

you're a stupidhead to dump your basket or box on top of the books on display - it damages books what with the weight already inside them, and it's gross cos you don't know where their bottoms have been. you're the person who lets elevator doors close on others and i wouldn't want to shake hands with you either.

books are not balls. you're not supposed to throw them down disdainfully if it's not the title you want (i think they stopped publishing Peter & Jane a long time ago). what are you doing at a book sale anyway, there's a reality tv show calling your name, so why don't you run along? twat(s).

book lovers, unite! search, identify and destroy these evil-doers! or maybe just root around under their baskets until they get the message. or hover around them in a disapproving manner.

was it me, or were there a lot of self-help books on sale?

i can still afford to eat for the rest of the month, lucky me!

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12 September 2006 12:37 p.m.
one girl's treasure

battling a head cold and surly, swotty types dragging, shoving and carting baskets and boxes of books around (and those were just the customers!), i found this at the Pay Less warehouse sale and knew it was a keeper - Creepy Susie and 13 other tragic tales for troubled children, by Angus Oblong.

who knew how long this gem had sat on its shelf, overlooked by those salivating over the cookbooks, pawing through the self-help books and tussling over the hardcovers (maybe i'm missing the point), awaiting my keen and discerning eye. i found a corner to gloat over my booty, and a little boy picked that moment to start screaming.

a visit to his website and 20 other websites later, i managed to determine that -

1. despite his name, he is not a cow.
2. he's no square either, hurhurhur.
3. he's a dude.

such are my reading skills.

this is my favourite drawing. ... what do you mean, "why?"?

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05 September 2006 1:55 p.m.
prattle

i used to be apathetic, but now i just don't care.

(it'll be alright, the sun will still rise and set.)

i have discovered wholemeal tortillas. i don't know if it's canon, but i'll certainly visit Carrefour more often from now on, and not just because the cashiers have to visit the glitter fairy before taking their places.

one thing you cannot fit into a tortilla is a one-eyed, half-grown kitten. i wish this was the beginning of some disgustingly soppy shojo manga/manga themed romance, complete with the shimmery hearts and flowers; in which the Mary Sue Main Character, i.e. moi, brings the feline home and is totally amazed, but not alarmed when it transforms into a dashing, handsome Hero-type fella (with a fetching eye-patch). naturally, he was bewitched by someone Evil and Wicked and totally blind to his infinite hotness (or maybe just jealous). naturally, the enchantment can only be broken by his One True Love.

but Enfant Terrible is horrifyingly jealous (calm down, darling, i was only telling the nice cashier my order!), so i left the kitten cowering where it was, on the steps leading to the electron microscopy department. seriously, i don't know what to do with little animals (and children), other than to look at them, pick them up, and put them back down.

Edgar knows what to do with children, especially yours.

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