[ BUY MY BOOKS! Witch-Girl Season One | The Bridge Across the Sky (Amazon) (Kobo) (Goodreads) ][ Stories: Witch-Girl (Read from the bottom of the list), The Canon ] [ Poetry: All Poetry; ( ♥ ) ( ⚔ ) ]
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[ red_a02 ] Shuzhen – The first episode was a lot of fun, cos it had an interesting cocktail of sexual tension and smooth fight choreography. This episode is like the awkward aftermath...
27 Aquarius 13 18:13
[ vermilion_2 ] YAPX – I understand that most of your stories are dialogue-based and heavy on retorts and counter-retorts. This one felt unnecessarily circular. It starts with a cool premise: a killer/villain/vigilante uses Lent to swear off something that should be second nature to him (I suppose), and then talks about a story. The link between the two (giving up killing & the story) isn’t a 100% fit. Maybe instead of “let me tell you a story”, it could be “hey, you see I even passed a guy up for death today!” or equivalent. Something to drag Lorelei into the banter and the premise. // That’s my only complaint. I’m not a big fan of dialogue-based stories, but I can make a exception for this.
14 Aquarius 13 08:03
[ 130204 ] YAPX – Good pace, good characters, great dialogue. The thing I like best is a combination of the three: how you build up their pseudo-relationship through all that back-and-forth exchange. Somehow, you craft a unique, strange relationship: from any one point in the story, both of them are manipulative, victimised and hypocrites - though not all at once. // On word choices, I felt you could change the word “janitor” (“cleaner” or “uncle” would’ve given a different, but more acute local flavour to it). Mostly because, it’s connotes an added level of difference through: class. Whether or not you intended it, by portraying the “janitor” and “student” you bring out the fact that he’s stuck there socially in all sense of the word. It made the part where he says he reads books during weekends completely out-of-context and weird. // Also, there’s too much “sliding” in and out of the room. Not sure if that’s intentional repetition, or just a lack of other words. // I thought that the girl’s own background is pretty compelling. Even after everything, I can’t tell if she’s speaking the truth. Because I’m all for unreliable narrators and characters, I can still find her well-thought out. But other readers might lose patience or wonder at her sudden change of heart at the final moment.
04 Aquarius 13 08:48
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The Fat Lady Sings ♠ 20 A♈ies 2k9, Moon’s Day ♣ |  |
If you didn’t contribute to the 30 million views of Susan Boyle’s performance on YouTube, the Guardian has the story.
Lots of people have social media’d her performance, turning her viral, twittered and facebooked her into another insta-celebrity.
The thing about it is this; would she be so famous if she were pretty? Surely not, because the pretty and talented are common.
Would she be as famous if she had failed, if her voice was not that of an angel’s? If she had, like so many reality TeeVee contestants, overreached? Surely not, because the ugly and talentless are ever more common.
So, everyone who is spreading the word, passing the link, feeling your ♥s warmed by the ugly girl who surprised you – realise this: You are surprised because you think she’s ugly, and, thus, talentless. Your ♥ is warmed because you expected her to fail.
Possibly, you spread the link to feel less guilty. Possibly, you spread the link to gloss over your shame.
Susan Boyle is famous now because she is surprising. She is surprising because we expect those who have the temerity to go on Television to be beautiful. This is not an unfair expectation. We should not feel ashamed, this is the way the world works.
What is shameful is spreading the word, telling people how surprised you were, how unexpected this was, because what you are saying is this – “Be surprised, as I was, at this ugly girl who – surprise! – can really sing.”
Or do you spread the link because she inspires you? Are you impressed, perchance, because she “followed her dream”? And why shouldn’t she follow her dream? Oh, right, because she’s so obviously disadvantaged. It’s inspiring, isn’t it, when someone who doesn’t have the body to go with her talent pursues her talent anyway.
Shame on you, Internet.
The lesson you are pretending to learn is that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But, really, have you learnt it?
No, because you can’t learn it from Susan Boyle.
Will you listen the next time an aunty tries to tell you something? Of course not. Susan Boyle is a freak because she’s normal and talented, whereas the rest of the world is simply normal.
Your ♥ warms at the narrative. The narrative that says that every normal person is a Susan Boyle, with the voice of an angel, or the mind of a Sherlock, or can do something amazing like fly or turn invisible. But they’re not. Eastcoastlife isn’t going to wow you at Singapore Idol.
We know that normal people are just normal. Susan Boyle’s story only applies to Susan Boyle.
I’ve never liked laughing at people who don’t deserve it. And this isn’t something as trite as simply mockery, this is worse. This is worse because it’s closer to pity. A sort of smug superiority.
It has the air of say, being in school and making an effort to be friends with those kids who have no friends.
Look at me, it says, I’m the kind of person who looks past looks. But you don’t, do you? Because if Susan Boyle had the face of an angel, you wouldn’t spread the link, she’d be just another ingénue. Reverse prejudice.
Schadenfreude isn’t so bad because we know it’s wrong, it’s a guilty pleasure.
This is a sort of reverse schadenfreude, where people do bad things thinking they’re doing good. It’s like being proud you just called a gay dude a “faggot”, thinking you’re making him feel good about himself.
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“You are one of many fireflies dancing for a moment in the night, feeling at your brightest that you can illuminate the universe at will.
“I am a star.”
