Didn’t mean to buy so many books but I could not help myself when I went to my regular secondhand bookstore.
If I didn’t stop myself, I would have bought more. And a few more old issues of the O magazine by Oprah. And In-Style, too.
One of the most exciting finds was this tiny booklet by Gustav Verbeek, a comic artist who lived at the turn of the old century (he died in 1937).
What’s interesting is he only drew 6-panel comics. If you read it one way, you get half the story.
If you read the comic panels the upside down way, you get the other half of the story!
His comics are mainly about the silly adventures of two characters called Lovekins and Muffarroo. Both are odd in their own way. But it is simply amazing how creative Verbeek is because once you turn the picture upside down, a totally new ‘scene’ appears!
You can take a look at what I mean by looking at this drawing of his. First you see how Muffaroo is attacked by a big fish in his canoe but when you turn the comic upside down, you see Lovekins being caught by a giant bird. How amazing is that!
And the story does make sense. And this Dutch-American man did this type of comic every week for the 64 weeks that he was drawing for The New York Herald newspaper.
It’s like the ambigrams made famous by Dan Brown in Angels & Demons. Ambigrams are graphic art where the word reads the same both ways!
Of course, Verbeek’s booklet of 6 stories were a complete steal at RM1.50. I don’t think you can get it anywhere even if you had pots of money.
The things one can get at the secondhand bookstore!
Creative
What Makes a Good Writer?
I wrote ‘What Makes a Good Writer’ over at the business blog before I realized it’s also quite relevant for this blog.
Check it out and let me know your thoughts, particularly if you are a fellow writer.
Putting You In A Great Mood
I love classical music but this has to be one of my personal favourites.
For a quiet, undemanding Sunday of Internet surfing. For a good deep breath. For a great way to relax without doing the retail therapy grind (which I have been doing for the past few days and eating myself a bit silly).
For a delicious way to wind down the year and get ready for the new one.
Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major – absolute heaven. Enjoy your Sunday!
12 Money Saving Tips… Add On Yours?
I emailed this over to a writer friend as she was preparing for a magazine article. Little did I know I missed her deadline! And as always, she only asked for one money-saving tip but I gave her 12. I know, I am a bit over-lah!
So instead of throwing it all away, I am sharing them here with you. Feel free to add on with your own tips.
Lots of people (OK, let me qualify that…lots of Malaysians) seem to have this impending fear of the global recession. Call me dumb or overly naive or too optimistic, but I think that we can all overcome this fear. I call it fear because that’s what it is. Everyone scaring everyone even BEFORE that recession hits, if it hits lah.
Prose and Poetry in Cat City
This is quite late a post but I have very limited Internet access in Kuching. Don’t ask me why. It’s either some bloody dial-up (which works not) or have to go to a cafe with wifi access. Going to Kuching can be quite trying for me, at times. I wrote this post on 3 Aug which was the day the event was held, so read on (I shall stop being so grumpy today).
Stories about Backstreet Boys, a sea witch who seeks to break her own spell, corny love poems, Freddy and his 3-horned, 8-legged monster of a cow, the anguish of waiting for a love that never comes and the story of a wild boar piglet called Pumba reared in suburban Kuching – these and more were the creative expressions of a bunch of Kuchingites who shared on a Sunday afternoon at Bing, a coffee place in the heart of Kuching’s Chinatown (also known as Padungan).
120 Malaysians, 1 Hope, 0 Money
Among all the artistes in this video, Ning’s my fave. But then again, I’ve always liked her vocal power. The lyrics are kind of strange but the chorus gets my nod for being the right sort. The sort which sticks in your head and plays itself over and over.
March 8, 2008 has changed Malaysians in such gratifying ways. We’re much more hopeful of a better, more vibrant, more transparent Malaysia for Malaysians.
And yes, this song sings of our newfound hope.
120 Malaysian artistes who gave their time to sing this song and pro bono too.
“Here in my home….I tell you what it’s all about…” Sing on, Malaysia!
Cursed Brilliance
While I try to keep my blog lighthearted and full of fun banter, it’s sometimes difficult to be like that when I read news about brilliance coming to nought.
This morning, I read about Math prodigy Sufiah Yusof whom according to a report, has now turned to prostitution. What saddened me most was the last line in the report “…her gift has been a curse”.
When I turned to tell Nic this, he simply said that being gifted and being a genius was as bad as being on the other extreme of the intellectual scale. It is an abnormality because having a high IQ doesn’t mean one automatically becomes great in all spheres of life. Life is truly tough for those whose intellectual giftedness borders on superhuman ability.
Can You Chip In?
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for sometime, you would know that I’m one of the two founding members of WomenBizSENSE, a business ladies’ networking group in Penang.
You can find out more about our growing group of business ladies from our website at www.WomenBizSense.com
Anyway, we’re having our Christmas lunch early this December. We usually have it nice and early because Christmas/December is a very busy time for many of us in business. The holiday season and end of the year always makes businesses extra active and we’re all on ‘go’ most times.
This year, we’re combining our Christmas lunch with a meaningful event – we’re raising money for the Malaysian SLE Association. The idea came about during one lunch with Nancy, one of our members, who helps out with this association for lupus patients.
A Deft Hand with Postcards?
I got the email from Josephine of DIGI so I thought I’d be kind to help pass the word around (since ahem, madame moi was a finalist of the DIGI Short Short Story Competition although they just gave me some RM50 worth of reload cards and a bulky framed version of my 16-word short story.)
POSTCARDS is the 2nd programme of DIGI’s which sounds like something fun. I probably will take part, just for the heck of it. It appeals to the artsy-fartsy side of me.
This time, you don’t have to be a wordsmith though.
The Art of Travel Writing
I’m the most undisciplined person when it comes to writing. Oh I have mad dreams of making it one day as a fiction writer (now that’s embarrassing to admit) but that big story yet untold is hibernating in my head. OK, maybe it’s more than hibernating. It’s probably in some coma.
But signed up I did for Beth Yahp’s travel writing workshop. In fact, I believe I could have been one of the very first eager beavers to send her a cheque.
The first workshop began last Saturday, with another happening tomorrow. Held at the YMCA, the course brought an eclectic bunch of us wannabe writers together – a doctor, a paratrooper-turned-engineer, a retiree, engineers from a local MNC, a business consultant and two entrepreneurs. We were there because we loved writing and wanted to learn how to tell a better story.