Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

If you are like me, you probably love reading Arthurian novels. I can't explain why, but I find the chivalric period to be full of bravery, courage and romance. Alas, as with almost everything that occurs in my life, I discover this love somewhat late (why did this fascination not occur in my college years?).

Anyway, this past weekend I picked up a little book called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and was totally enchanted by it. Told in the tradition of old English alliterative style, this novel may be hard for some who used to read in the traditional prose style - although, IMHO, it is way easier than Beowulf.

Sir Gawain opens with a feast on New Year's Day at King Arthur's court. Suddenly, a mysterious green knight enters the hall and challenge anyone to hit him with an axe - on a condition that a year from now, that same person has to endure a similar stroke from him. Well, Sir Gawain got up (really, after King Arthur himself was going to accept the knight's challenge) and with one stroke, slashed the green knight's neck so that his head rolls around on the floor.

Not to be deterred by this minor incident (of having no head!), the green knight walks over, picks up his head, hops on his horse, and with his head still in one hand, said to Sir Gawain that he looks forward to their meeting in the next year at a place called the Green Castle.

What follows are some of the most tantalizing events from Sir Gawain's journey to his stay at one of the castles to the king's wife seducing Sir Gawain. The author's description of the hunting scenes, the feasts and even the encounters between King's wife and Sir Gawain are most enjoyable to read. Particular the hunting of the deer - or shall I say, the cutting up of the deer is quite detailed - so this was how they hunt in the 1300s.

The book is relatively short - so nothing like Homer's epic - and one can finish within a day and reread it again!

Sir Gawain is not just a pleasurable read - at the end of the book, it also explores questions about chivalric code, what it means to be a knight...lest what it means to be an honorable person at that period.

At last, I wholeheartedly endorse this book if you are interested in a) Arthurian romance or b) just looking for a good, magic filled book.

La Vie en Rose

Non, Rien De Rien,
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Ni Le Bien Qu`on M`a Fait,
Ni Le Mal
Tout Ca M`est Bien Egal
Non, Rien De Rien,
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
C`est Paye, Balaye, Oublie,
Je Me Fous Du Passe

Those are the words to the song, Non Je ne regrette rien, sung by Edith Piaf. It is also one of her most famous - others include La Vie en Rose, Milord, L'hymne a l'amour - songs performed by Edith just before her death. And, of course, if you've seen the movie, this is the last song performed by Paif.

This past weekend saw me watching most of the Oscar nominated Best Pictures movies from Michael Clayton to There Will Be Blood. But, the movie that I was really looking forward to seeing was La Vie en Rose. And it's not the movie itself that I wanted to see, but the acting performance of Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf.

Why? I was listening to a podcast of my favorite radio talk show and one of the guests, though not a movie critic but have seen just about every movies every year - American and foreign - said that Cotillard gave the greatest single acting performance, male or female, he has ever seen. Yep, that was enough to persuade me.

And, oh, what a performance.

Good thing that she won an Oscar too because it would be sacrileged if she hadn't. And speaking of post Oscar, I was listening to a certain movie critic, Arch Campbell, rambling about how he was still trying to figure out why "a French film won Best Actress". Really, Arch can you just be a bit more americanphile? Because I don't think there are enough American haters out there in the world. IMHO, the award should be given to those who deserve it the most; what does it matter if the film is French, English or Mongolian. I don't see British critics calling for heads when she picked up the BAFTA. Geez...

But, let's get back to the movie


The movie is pretty difficult to follow through its non linear storytelling. I didn't know who Edith Piaf was (and let's face it, few people under the age of forty would know who she was)so it took me a while to actually follow the story. In sum: La Vie en Rose is a movie about the tragic, yet triump life of Edith Piaf.

She was abandoned by her mother when she was young. Brought up in a brothel, following her father in a circus and living on a street, supporting herself by singing. A locally famous cabaret owner spotted her talent and things grew from there (though not without problems). She came to New York to perform and at the zenith of her career, became the highest paid entertainer in America. All of these triumphs, of course, are entwined by series of unfortunate events, which I won't go into details.


But, La Vie en Rose is all about Cotillard's performance covering Piaf life span from 20 to 40s (though she looked like a 60 year old woman). You wouldn't think much of it until you see a picture of Cotillard. She's tall, beautiful and healthy looking whereas Edith Piaf was small, oddly looking and a fragile person. That's when it hit me how hard it must be to play her and convince the audience that they are she is Piaf. So, double kudos to the make up artist as well (and he did win an Oscar for it). My favorite scene is when she found out about the death of Marcel and she completely broke down. Heartwrenching. (Reality: Piaf did not even cancel her performance that night!).

Other than Cotillard's performance, the thing that I love most about this movie involves a scene where Raymond is teaching Piaf how to sing. Pronunciate...nobody can understand the song if you are mumbling the words. Seriously, somebody should tell most of the singers nowaday that NOBODY can understand a word they are singing. I mean, if all one has to do is mumble (and have no vocal range), then I can be a singer. Art? No, it's craptastic. And that is one thing La Vie en Rose is not.

Translation:
No, nothing of nothing
No! I don't feel sorry about anything
Not the good things people have done to me
Not the bad things, it's all the same to me.

No, nothing of nothing
No! I don't feel sorry about anything
It's paid for, removed, forgotten,
I'm happy of the past

Boy Trai

Last Tuesday night, we went to Boy Trai concert at Shoo Bee Doo Bar. We got there around 8pm, eat some food, drink some liquer and waited for P'Boy to show up (which he did at 10:30pm).

Anyway the concert was sponsored by Red Label, so of course, we ordered Sang Som as our rum of choice.

The concert was pretty good - I only know one song by him so I can't profess to be his biggest fan. But, one of my friends is. And during the concert, she was either backstage (to get a good look of P'Boy) or singing along to his songs.

As the concert wore on, some of us were beginning to feel restless and couldn't resist to dance. All in all, a happy, fun evening.

One Night in Bangkok

On Monday night, I went to take photos of Sathorn & Narathiwat road. Since there is nothing but buildings and traffic, these two elements basically constitute my photos.

Rather than just take pictures of buildings, which are pretty much static, I decided to rotate the lens while it was capturing pictures (see these two photos of the same building).





At another shot, I tried to capture the streaming traffic at a busy intersection. I also want to get a picture of a BTS, but couldn't manage a successful result.



Finally, I take a picture of a lamp hanging from the BTS - don't know why really, but I like to take pictures of street lamp...

One Special Teacher

This is a post dedicated to my art professor, who on this day, retired from teaching at the age of 62. I learned about his retirement through the alumni newsletter.

I can still remember the first day I met Prof. Thom. It was my freshman year - first class of the semester. Prof. Thom came into the room and probably seeing some doubts in our eyes (or was it because it was so early in the morning most of us weren't awake yet), he said 'All of you are special.' Okay, I thought. Totally weird.

I breezed through Freshman year and Prof. Thom's class. I didn't talk to him again until my senior year (because he mainly teaches introductory class) - when I was struggling through my senior projects. Much have passed during those three years and more doubts crept in - doubts about my ability as a designer, a painter and in general as a college student.

I met Prof. Thom by chance while he was smoking and I was lamenting about my senior projects. He came towards me, asked me how I was (terrible, can't you see from my facial expression?) told me he was assigned to be my advisor (really?) and told me that I would turn out to be something special (hangover again, prof?). Throughout that semester, he would made comments on my projects in detail as if he were analyzing the Sistine Chapel. By listening to his comments, I learn how to draw.

I wish I could go back in time and relive the experience again. Most of all, I wish I were back sitting on a bench in front of the Art building so that I could hear him tell me, one more time, that I was something special.

In Love With...La Féerie

La Féerie is a French word meaning 'enchantment' and that was my first thought when I entered this little spa. It is located just across from Thonglor 23 - many people have missed the place because it is just a little house located between My Place restaurant and Ducati motorcycle shop. (Speaking of which, can somebody move this irritating shop...like to other province? Seriously, what kind of person would buy a 2 million Baht motorcycle)

Anyway, La Féerie is a small, cozy spa, specializes in manicure and pedicure. Massage is currently available only on Wednesdays - until they find a permanent masseuse.


What I like about this place is not only the services, but also the atmosphere - it's very homelike - since the place is small, it has that intimate quality that big spa lacks. People often complain about the high price, but if you consider where it's situated and the quality of the products, you have nothing to complain about. (IMHO, taken in the atmosphere and services, it's worth dishing out the cash).


But, what I like most about this place is that 90% of the time, I get to spend time with two of my favorite people in the world - and there are not that many. They are that type of people that once you left their company, you feel like you are the most special person in the world. All in all, La Féerie is not just a place that I go when I want to relax, it's a place that I go when I feel tired, when I need life/career advice and whenever I feel down.

Without A Tripod

How would your picture comes out if you shoot it at night without a tripod? Check these out.

I took these pictures at Siam BTS. Set your shutter speed at about 1/20 and F stop at 16. After pressing the shutter try adjusting the lens. You will get some 'electrified' results.