Friday, September 30, 2011

You're already home where you feel love

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Went near the seaside today, and of course it was lovely, as a sea after a storm
always is. There still remained a humid haze over the water, of course, and a line of
grey cloud that hadn't quite drifted away but underneath the thicket of cloud I could
see a patch of blue sky that was beginning to show. Well, the sun shone through this
gap and onto a small island and on the water, and there was this golden glow on
the sea, one of the things I love most about it.
Was good to be back.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

If you're vaguely attracted to rooftops

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Typhoon 8 today! Which means no school. Kind of disappointed, really, as today
is my favourite school day from our 12 day cycle (I know it's crazy).
Anyway, I watched Glee this morning, and it made me cry! Dianna Agron's acting
skills have improved a lot. And Finn is the cutest guy in the world. Artie and Kurt
too, haha!
Browsing around on the best-website-in-the-world now.
Wilco is going to have a new album, which is very exciting as I'd forgotten all about
them and assumed they vanished.
So, typhoons...
The wind was howling last night, and I was outdoors, too, shepherding parents around
for the Open House. My hair was tearing away from my scalp. My locks were throwing
themselves in all plausible directions. It was great.
I was on the seventh floor, so I had a brilliant view of the commotion below. The
trees were in a rage, an immense storm, hurling shadows on the pavements. All
in all, an incredibly windy night. Walking home, leaves were cutting through the air and
thick branches were strewn across the road -- dangerous, really, if you think about
it. I love it when the trees dance but last it was a bit like a riot.
Speaking of riot, listen to this:

Typhoons make me miss living by the sea dearly. When there were typhoons the sea
would be majestic and the clouds would roll in in great dark patches and shield
the sky.
I remember filming on camera a sight like that years ago...
it was a spectacle I'll never forget, as I told myself then and am telling myself now.
So it had just stopped pouring, and the air went all hazy and the mist crept in over
the whole sky. Then, from over the buildings on the right, a great black roll of cloud
was lumbering over.. my siblings and I were there in our pajamas, waiting for it to reach
the centerpiece of the sky, and when it did, we filmed it. It got darker as it came, so dark
that it contrasted shockingly with the rest of the humid sky. It rolled over the hazed white
of the sky until the entire vastness of it was one dark patch, and the sea began to thunder
and the waves were rolling and lapsing and crashing against everything they could reach.
Then, of course, the great fog eventually passed like all things do and the sky was left
as it was before, but with a tinge of change to it as if it had been unforgettably altered
somewhat. Even now, I can see that  great cloud rolling over the sea slowly and
patiently, as if savouring the journey. There are moments like that I'll never forget.
"There's a lot to be said for living near the sea, reminding you of timescales far more slow and enduring than your own."

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

My heart is a violence that I cannot dispel

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I love my new mixpod so much... it's insane.
http://www.indierockcafe.com/top-ten-songs/
Err, best website in the WORLD.
Next to blogger, of course (ha, ha, ha)!

Okay my lovelies, I'll get going now!

But seriously, my new mixpod is the jam.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

It's summer time fun, relax and stay young


Such a lovely, happy song.
I know the title looks bad, but it's wonderful!

Just one of those days, a blue, perfect wave
Come out, and join. You'll see.

Miffed at a couple things that are going on... going to keep them to myself for the moment because I don't want to pollute the purity of my blog!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Sprawl 2 (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

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A post dedicated to one of my favourite songs.

Rain may fall and wind may blow, and many miles be still to go, but under a tall tree I will lie, and let the clouds go sailing by.

Was reading Kafka last night and came across some rather lovely, albeit bitter passages. It was the bitterness that made it so lovely, though.

Anyway, my sister and I ended up playing with glow sticks. I can't remember the last time something made me so excited and curious! Epitomized in my love for the sun and morning, I find light is a beautiful and magical thing.
We curled the glow sticks and as they cracked the fluorescent liquid within glowed brighter until it shone. Light is lovely, precious, and omnipotent.
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For many times now, I've woken and though to myself, "the trees are dancing today." Maybe it's my inner dreamy hobbit or Narnian speaking, but truthfully, the leaves and branches are whipped around by the wind in a flurry of green against the still sky, and it's lovely.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go- We’ll eat you up-we love you so!” And Max said, “No!”

I'll be honest: The cinematography of Where the Wild Things Are was lovely, but I can't say the same about the story line. It progressed slowly, and was uncomfortable to view at times, being depressing and angry. Nevertheless, it held a spark of magic portrayed in Max's relationship with the Wild Things, the sturdy fort, the sea, sun and marigolds -- it was golden. It's special. Too bad 'Wake up' wasn't included. It is the perfect song for the film.

A is A

Finished it! Have taken away a fundamental lesson I will remember for life.
I've changed through this book. I've captured an essence of life I've never named but have always pursued. Best read of 2011. I've posted a lot of quotes below, but the truly meaningful sections come from the 60-page long speech.

Here is the complete verbose version, provided in the link below:
http://amberandchaos.com/?page_id=106

And a summarized 'mini' version:
http://www.working-minds.com/galtmini.htm

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The quotes:

"Nothing can make self-immolation proper. Nothing can give them the right to turn men into sacrificial animals. Nothing can make it moral to destroy the best. One can’t be punished for being good. One can’t be penalized for ability. If that is right, then we’d better start slaughtering one another, because there isn’t anything right at all in the world!"
There is no necessity for pain—why, then, is the worst pain reserved for those who will not accept its necessity?—we who hold the love and the secret of joy, to what punishment have we been sentenced for it, and by whom?
"I don't like people who speak or think in terms of gaining anybody's confidence. If one's actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others, only their rational perception. The person who craves a moral blank check of that kind, has dishonest intentions, whether he admits it to himself or not."
“Judgment to distinguish right and wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, integrity to stand by the good at any price. But where does one find it?”
"I'll give you a hint. Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong."
"Wasn't it evil to wish without moving- or to move without aim?"
"Don't ever get angry at a man for stating the truth."
"Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions--and you'll learn that man's mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth."
"But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made - before it can be looted or mooched - made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced."
"The man who damns money has obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it."
"Money demands that you sell, not your weakness to men's stupidity, but your talent to their reason; it demands that you buy, not the shoddiest they offer, but the best that your money can find. And when men live by trade--with reason, not force, as their final arbiter--it is the best product that wins, the best performance, the man of best judgment and highest ability--and the degree of a man's productiveness is the degree of his reward. This is the code of existence whose tool and symbol is money. Is this what you consider evil?"
"Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants; money will not give him a code of values, if he's evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he's evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool, or admiration for the coward, or respect for the incompetent. The man who attempts to purchase the brains of his superiors to serve him, with his money replacing his judgment, ends up becoming the victim of his inferiors. The men of intelligence desert him, but the cheats and the frauds come flocking to him, drawn by a law which he has not yet discovered; That no man may be smaller than his money. Is that the reason why you call it evil?"

Friday, September 16, 2011

The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.

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“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.”

Well, this is the quote that saved me.
Stayed up until 11:15 pm last night to finish reading the speech. Toughest read from Atlas Shrugged yet, but completely worth it. Found the passage at the end, and I almost cried. Certainly got a small lump in the back of my throat.
It seems like just yesterday I stumbled across it on the internet -- yes, that was a few years ago, and little did I realize the impotency of what it meant, or how much it would mean to me now. I had to reread it a couple times then, to capture the literal depiction of the words, but it means a world to me now. It represents an epitome of everything I want to achieve in life, the absolute of the happiness I yearn for. I'm making an oath by my life and my love of it that I will do whatever I can to achieve happiness in my life. This book has given me an entirely new perspective. Nothing like anything I've ever experienced, or considered, but deep down I know it's what I've always wanted.

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

She's only happy in the sun

Really should be working now, but the sun is streaming in through the gap next to the aircon and it's beautiful. It's shining on my worksheet, which is lovely. I glance at it causing my eyes to view the surroundings in a tinge of purplish grey for the next moment. Taking a second to soak it up, then will continue work.
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Sunday, September 11, 2011

Children, wake up

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Cant' stop singing this at the top of my lungs.
Favourite song.
I need to see them live!!
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Somethin' filled up
my heart with nothin',
someone told me not to cry.

But now that I'm older,
my heart's colder,
and I can see that it's a lie.

Children wake up,
hold your mistake up,
before they turn the summer into dust.

If the children don't grow up,
our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms turnin' every good thing to
rust.

I guess we'll just have to adjust.

With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
I can see where I am goin' to be
when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.

With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
I can see where I am goin’
With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
I can see where I am, go-go, where I am

You'd better look out below

Saturday, September 10, 2011

When you go, what you leave is a work of art


200 pages left for Atlas Shrugged! What a book! Bitter and beautiful.
Anyway, today officially marks my blog's second anniversary!
The first post was on September 10th, 2009.
I love my lovely blog.

"Rand is a writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind
and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly." -- Lorine Pruette

I'm planning on creating a collage of images for my desktop background.
Will take advantage of the long weekend to get the job done!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Trying out the new Blogger interface. It's rather nice.
300 pages to go for Atlas Shrugged, and about to read Dagny's epic speech.
Might post it up here like I did with Roark's.

A problem with the new interface is that I cannot alternate between my
current post and old drafts for when I need to collect pictures.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Super quick post


1. Cults -- Rave On, Never Saw the Point
2. The Vaccines -- Family Friend
3. Cold War Kids -- We Used to Vacation

Monday, September 5, 2011

Ayn Rand

Dedicating a post to Ayn Rand.


She's such an inspiration.
Every time I read so much as a passage from her books,
the power that flows through her writing connects with
me sensually.
She writes beautifully, yet bitterly.
I love it. Inspired.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Now I'm gold


Never forget.
Well, I've tacked up a couple more of my beloved quotes from beloved books.
About to go and read 60 more pages of Atlas Shrugged.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Some people think they're always right, others are quiet and uptight.

Loving my new skin!
There's another one I'm considering switching it to, but that's a challenge I'll undergo during the next set of holidays -- a lot of work will be needed!
Anyway, things are going alright.
The concept of 'School has begun" has settled in.
I've read almost half of Atlas Shrugged.
I also had a dream that I borrowed way too many books from the library and had to renew them.
Lastly, I'm VERY happy with my mixpod, very happy indeed!