This Can't Be Life

Currently Listening To :: The Scientist :: Coldplay

Beauty. Moments of absolute beauty, both physical, metaphorical. Celluloid and paper. Binary and plastic.

The flow of events, touching in ways that are unique to me on the inside. Yet I'm sure I'm not the only one. I can't be the only one. Can I be the only one?

Pinot Noir. Abstinence. Gorging myself on lines to feed a hunger that leaves me with a headspin. Characters that are larger then life, but not so far removed that I can't see myself in their shoes. Or at least their socks.

Finding a connection with someone else. Trying to linger in a frame on screen, a frame of mind when everything else seems to push and pull me away. I won't leave...where would I go?

Wandering, wondering if connections really do last. Clinging, fighting, hanging on to the edge of a memory when things were unbelievable and the moon was always full; of promise. I feel an age pass me, nothing more then a light brush, leaving scars, marks, momentos.

The total despair when what seemed within your grasp is nothing more then clenched air. A downpour of emotion. Rewind, please; this isn't the way I remembered it to be. Not the way I want to remember it ending.

Focus. That's better. A happy ending will happen; you just have to keep watching.

Wild and Wilder

Currently Listening To :: Secret :: Maroon 5

VAN: "Taj, I learned a long time ago that worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. Write that down."

Sometimes I forget just how much American teen movies can make me smile.

TAJ: "I have a date with Naomi tomorrow night, and I just wanted to bring my 'A' game."
VAN: "Taj, come on, look, that's what I'm here for. Alright? Now, follow my foolproof plan, and I'm going to help you put the bang in Banglapur. All you need are the three fundamentals: Scented candles, massage oil, and Barry White. Write that down...Hey, no cock pump."
TAJ: "No cock pump. Barry white."

What's your favourite American Teen flick quote?

I Said I Wasn't Done Yet!

Currently Listening To :: What Can I Say :: Van Hunt

To revisit the last paragraph from my last post, I was alluding to the fact that despite once the hype is gone, said "thing" is up for inspection. That way I don't get caught up in the bells and whistles of advertising, the overtly evil editorial mentions and store recommendations designed to move units. I speak with an increased sense of ambivalence in the hope this will make me immune to boring marketing campaigns which simply put products in front of you and believe that somehow more features, longer lifespan or "magical ingredients" will make me whip out the Visa and go, me too!

Let's do a simple case study.

When the emergence of the buzzword "metrosexual" appeared on the mass-cultural landscape, there was a groundswell of activity. Grooming content in magazines jumped, sport stars appeared on TV openly discussing fashion, while the words "double digit growth" was on the lips of every marketeer and retailer.

In the words of it's definer Mark Simpson: "The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis — because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference." While written in 2002, his article "Here come the mirror men," from The Independent, November 15, 1994 was the first mention of the word.

Well, being the young, well-off, dapper dresser and faultless groomer that I am, naturally people were going to dub me metrosexual. However, to be honest, I just wasn't that into me. Sure there's a three step process. Matching colours does make for a better outfit. And of course, having a style director and colour technician handle my hair is worth the extra money over just your run-of-the-mill stylist (but then, Toni&Guy is, like, so this morning.)

*Ahem*. That's right; technically, this laziness combined with my overt lack of narssistic behaviour regarding my overall appearence makes me fall outside the definitive metrosexual. BUT, even more so, what irked me was the hype surrounding that word.

With the hype having died around mens grooming et al, it's now safe to crawl out from under my anti-hype bunker and finally buy my Clarins for Men face care products. But a step process? Everyday? You have to be kidding me.

For the record, I'm momentarily adopting the term retrosexual. Watch this space.

Affinity

Currently Listening To :: Play That Funky Music :: Wild Cherry

Here’s a pop quiz. A) Put your hands up if you’ve heard of a book called The Da Vinci Code. Now, B) put both hands up if you’re reading or have read The Da Vinci Code, or, for that matter, any book by author Dan Brown (BUT, only if you read The Da Vinci Code first). While this blog will take me longer to write with one hand in the air, the very fact that you’re reading this means that I haven’t done one of A) or B). Since I’m writing about a book called The Da Vinci Code, I’ll give you 3 seconds. Got it? Okay, good.

You can put them down again.

Yes, I’ll admit it. I haven’t read the worldwide, best-selling, Amazon.com chart-topping book, The Da Vinci Code. This may seem strange, considering I’m such a “book person”. But I’ve heard a lot about it. I’ve seen a lot of people reading it. Hell, my cousins were even contemplating a lunch just to discuss the book and its meanings.

Now before any Dan Brown disciple puts their collection in a Borders bag and beats me down with it like a sack of bricks, let me iterate this isn’t a broadside on your book selection. For all we know, I might even like The Da Vinci Code. But chances are, I’ll never give it a chance. Ironic coming from someone whose job it is to sell products by the tonne, but it’s the hype.

Hype anything enough, make it popular enough, and chances are I’ll ignore it until the hype is a memory. Call it a knee-jerk reaction, but I’ve often made it a point to be one step ahead or at least three steps behind what’s in. This explains behaviour like my instant rejection at any hint of the word metrosexual and my love for Low-End Theory Era (and Kanye West) hip-hop. I remember a time when people laughed when I wore three-quarter pants. They’re all eating their regular length shorts right now.

I can give countless instances of styles, books, and music that I’ve initially liked but ignored purely based on the fact that someone recommended it to me, not to mention it popping up everywhere like Nokia 5110s in the mid-1990s. Call me a cultural snob, but jumping on the bandwagon irks me.

Maybe I’m that kid who played it too safe, did all the right things, and fitted in seamlessly during school. I flew under the radar. And while I haven’t decided to start braiding my hair, throwing out all my striped shirts and wearing clothing made from hemp, or worse, from The Tree of Life, I’m definitely not averse to the thought of using moisturiser, burning incense sticks to calm my mood and listening to Prince.

But hype or not, if it feels right, I'm going to do it. Reaching the advanced age that I find myself in, individuality (or the pretense of said trait) is quite high up in my hierarchy of needs. Finding an affinity with people, trends, styles, sounds and visuals is something akin to a flash of light that reveals a hidden treasure, another section of the patchwork quilt that makes me, well, me.

We're not done here.

The Return Of The (Jook) Bowl

Currently Listening To :: Girls, Girls, Girls :: Jay-Z

Those Congee-Men are at it again...to all those suffering from post-holiday depression (or even if you're not), if you're in Sydney on the 7th Jan, your partying problems are solved!

*** Jook - Quarter Century Egg ***

The same friendly crowd, same hip music, same 'good-time' atmosphere and same dirty dancing; all just a few years more "grown-up" than before!

When: Friday, January 7th, 2005. From 9pm 'til late

Where: Castles on Castlereagh, 114 Castlereagh Street

DJs: DJ Optix + Guests

Tickets: $10 on the door

Limited capacity (it's at Castles!), so please don't come too late...

Dress code: Stylish

Hope to see you all there!