RandomThots tries a Book Review - The Time Traveller's Wife

My eyes are red and raw and I've just finished The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Prompted by watching Benjamin Button, it was a book that Aaron said i JUST HAD TO READ and i'm so so very glad that i did.

It is possibly the most touching love story i have read. EVER. (well, i guess that's not saying much since my literary repertoire of late has included life in war-torn Sudan: What is the What by Dave Eggers, a fantasy world of a boy who lives among ghosts The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, the twisted and irony-clad life of a bomber Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and, i suppose, the closest thing to romance Marley and Me)


You may have gathered from the title that the Time Traveller's Wife is the story of a time traveller and his wife. (No duh) The catch is that he cannot control when and where he time travels and thus you can guess the backbone for a love story that really does transcend time and physicality (because i think that sounds more apt than space).

I stayed up too late too many nights not wanting to put the book down and grew extremely attached to the characters. I'm unashamed to admit that I was bawling at the end, wishing for some twist in the plot that would keep them safe forever. But i think that is the mark of a good book, no?

In any case, I think Audrey has really done an excellent job - weaving what is already a touching love story in with the rather foreign concept of time travel and balancing it with a touch of the everyday. So while the notion of a time travelling man is utterly fantastic, i think every reader can relate to it somehow.

I really do urge you to find the book and read it because I've come out of it with a new appreciation for mortality and the biting reality that time passed is not retrievable. You can't do it over again but you can do it good the one chance you have. (And don't worry, it doesn't get you all confused about how time travel works and all those abstract theories. You just have to read it and enjoy )

For the lazy, i've just found out that a movie version is due to be released this year. And it's starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. As with all movies though, i do urge you to read the book first.

Eric Bana does look quite delectable, though.

If i did stars, i'd probably give this book all of them for sheer emotive power. But i'm quite generous. So here's a generous heaping of thanks to Aaron for sharing the book with me. I promise that's not the reason why i love the book so! (well, maybe a teensy bit)

Acapella Mania!

Uh oh!
Motown Invasion! I'm going on an acapella binge!
Man, musicians last time were UBER TALENTED. I wish i could sing barbershop style too!


Absolutely love this song! Reminds me of impromptu sing-alongs. How sweet it is. Truly!


Ooo... check out the SUPER DEEP bass. And the fros in the picture! Maybe i'll try grow a fro one day...


Kid Michael Jackson has such a sweet voice. And the 'tude from way back when!


Here's one thrown in just so you can learn how 'the BOYBAND' moves evolved. (You'd recognise some of them, Eddie). 80s bands sing-off!

Dammit i think i was born a generation (or 2) too late. Oh well, there's always Boyz II Men (in Korea?)



And Naturally 7

UhMareYeeKen Eye-Derl

Okay, i admit it.

I follow American Idol.

I would make the excuse that my parents hog our one TV and i don't have a choice, but honestly I come home knowing 6 to 8 is Idol time and I do sit there shouting criticisms at the tv. *blush*

So i watched last night's Motown episode and i am totally in Motown Mode at the moment. Gosh, how could i not have known this song before last night?

Smokey Robinson is pretty awesome. But i have to say Adam Lambert (currently my bet for Idol winner) did it... too well. Like goosebumps on my skin well. Granted i'm a sucker for the acoustic set up (guitar, percussion on what looked like a box and cello). But considering he's usually some goth looking punk, i think he tidied up really really well! Oooo...

Okay, check it out (video not available cos of copyright, but the song is awesome enough)



And i also needed to check out the original - which is awesome in its own right.



*swooon*

p.s: i've heard them over a few times and i can't decide which one i like more


'cos i can't get enough of this song. It sounds great on the piano and on Gavin deGraw. *melting melting*

Thinking with the WRONG head can get you killed!

There are some times when my keyboard falls silent (not least because I spilled iced tea on it. But Lo! It has not electrocuted me yet!)
But there are some times when gems like this appear in the newspaper, and they are either too hilarious, or in this case too disgusting, tragic AND hilarious, not to share with the world.

Old Man's Bottle Mishap Leads to his Death

A 77-year old man died when he used a BOTTLE to masturbate.
Fact check? YES 77-year old. YES he died. YES a Bottle. To masturbate.

Said old man got his member stuck in the bottle and only called for help after using soapy water and, supposedly, other lubricants to try to dislodge it.
Surgeons cut the bottle below the neck to try to ease his pain, but by that time the skin around his tool had become inflamed, and the poor man could not tinkle.
Other medical complications resulted and he finally died of heart failure.

I'm not really sure if i should laugh because it's disrespectful. But i imagine to be trying that at 77, he's got to be one of those people you'd laugh at if he was 20, or someone really really lonely.

My my, Colin Farrell, what a compromising pose you have found yourself in. With a bottle no less. *snigger*

Let that be a lesson to us all, sexual experimentation past the age of 70 should be with something safe, like another human being. Or melons (but watch for scalding when you microwave them). Or pie, i guess.

Oh right, and can i also highlight that he was SINGAPOREAN? What did NS do to all their men?

6-worded Recaps

It's a ridiculously hot Monday on what is sure to be the beginning of a ridiculously long week.

Despite the lack of update, my weekend has been very busy indeed. As i did not carry a camera, this will be a brief recap, 'cos things sound so much more boring without photos.

Let's make this more fun. Seeing as I've been reading 6-word memoirs, i'll recap in six words.

Friday - Live Monty Python in Japanese guise

Went to watch Conquest of the Galaxy: Mars by Condors, which is this Japanese dance troupe that does random skits and is absurd but very entertaining humour.

Saturday - Dough slapped, bread baked, buns heavy.

My buns didn't come out as nice as the ones in the class. Bread-making attempts continue...

Sunburst Music fest: Drink, dance, Korn-in-skirt.

The lineup definitely not as awesome as John Legend and Incubus the year before, but a music fest is usually fun atmosphere. I particularly liked Naturally 7 even though I had no idea who they were. Well worth checking out!

Sunday - Rolling round in large plastic ball also known as Zorbing: Land, Sky, Land, Sky... Headache

A bunch of 18 - my bro and his friends and I jumped into a giant plastic ball (2 at a time) and rolled down a slope in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. It gives you a bit of a headache after, but is such a cool experience! Definitely try it with water - you will appreciate what your clothes go through in the washing machine.

In other news, here's a great 6-worder that I am compelled to share:

'Lucky sperm club entrant wins life.'

~Steve Conlin

And since I am feeling some heat-induced lethargy, I thought i'd check out what movies are showing in the cinema. And then the Coming Soon listings, when i found

Bohsia: Jangan Masuk Jalan Hitam

Really? Not high on my viewing list. What will Malaysia come up with next?

And can I just gloat? Since my headache is partly caused by staying up to watch,

Liverpool has my vote to go on to win the BPL. 5-0 against Aston Villa. Watch your backs, Man U =) [Gerrard, you are a legend]

The best job in the world... is not deserved by me

So in the last week Aaron's actually updated his blog more than i have. That's pretty disgraceful seeing as he posted like 3 times last year. (-_-")

Guess i just don't have much to report. But thanks Weng Lum for bringing this to my attention!



I think he's awesome and i have no shame in saying i VOTED.
http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/Mitchell

Come on, he's cute, he's a nice guy, he can write songs, he has lots of friends who will do silly things for him and he has a nice voice. =) Although i personally want the job for myself, except i recently discovered i am scared of fish, i would definitely kowtow to him. Wouldn't be able to pull off anything the like. Check it out!

There's always a silver lining...

Well what do you know.
I think this is just an interesting article to pass by my radar.
And yes, there has been lots of rubbish in the Malaysian papers lately what with the whole comedy that is the Perak state government. But that's not my issue.

Wildlife in Chernobyl

Just a brief article about how wildlife are roaming freely in the evacuated villages surrounding Chernobyl (the world's worst nuclear plan fallout) and that in a cruel twist of irony, our misfortune may have just been the saving grace for such creatures as the lynx, some species of eagle and even wolves.

Can you imagine if and when we finally kill ourselves with our stupid war games and power struggles, that at least the animals will be free? Creepy and yet probably a deserved fate.

Now i am just thinking i hope those animals don't develop cancer.