95th Street

Folks,

Before I start, I must say that it was definitely NOT easy for me to churn out this page. Well, in fact it was pretty difficult, considering that I still have a novel not read and that I am presenting on four texts to my professor tomorrow as well. The important thing is, that I do something for SKOOKUM! At least that is off my mind, for now. I don't want anyone to think that SKOOKUM! is stopping in any way, it will not stop till it reaches the end of the story.

The past two weeks had been particularly eventful, in a sense that it had robbed me of all time to catch a proper breather. Part of the delay of Page 95 was due to the Webcomic Telethon, which, thankfully has ended with a nice satisfying bang. There's so much I wanna share with you guys about, but time is working against me. All I can say now, is that, please don't lose hope in SKOOKUM! It may be slower now, but slowly and surely, the story will unfold, as it had already began unfolding. I will try my very very best to get a page up a week.

Till then. Thanks for reading - that itself is the greatest gift you have for me. Have a good one guys!

Ever Wondered about the Universe?

The above photo is taken from the NASA site, and explanation for the photo goes:

Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. A classic planetary nebula, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. Seen so clearly in this sharp Hubble Space Telescope image, the truly cosmic eye is over half a light-year across. Of course, gazing into the Cat's Eye, astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in about 5 billion years.

The one thing that came to my mind was that well, Earth's going to the pits in 5 billion years time. It's a long time. But what if they are wrong, and the sun goes down on us faster than our humble astronomers say it will - what will happen then? The Universe is so wide that it is so terribly hard to say what will happen next. So is this it? Human existence's all written in the stars?

But we don't think about it precisely because we feel so helpless against the unfathomable vastness of the Universe. However, somewhere in us, we KNOW that it is there, and we are at its mercy... well, most of the time, we have better things to think about. Leave the Unviverse to the Astronomers, Cosmologists and Physicist, and hopefully, they'll save up if the Universe do so much as hiccup on us.

Sigur Ros

This week had been hell of a week for me, as I tried to finish my paper. Topics for essays are getting increasingly hard, and it is now so much harder to impress and score - hence I need to put even more effort to impress my professors enough for them to give me a, well, pleasant grade. As you may realize that had been NO update at all this week, the update will come soon, trust me.

I have been watching quite a lot of music videos lately via iTunes. Other than the fact that I do enjoy watching music videos, I am actually looking for new artistes to buy. Yes, nothing excites me more than to discover a new genre or a new artiste that I may have missed. The awesome thing is, that I watched this video called "Hide and Seek" by the UK band Imogne Heap. This song was the exact same song used in the climatic season finale of The O.C Season 2. Imogen Heap had belongs to a rather new (and odd) genre known as Electronic. I cannot exactly tell you what does Electronic sounds like, but as the name suggests, it combines traditional music to merciless electronic manipulations.

The result? A fascinating blend of music that is haunting, strange, uncomfortable, and yet, beautiful and melancholic. All at the same time. The beauty of the genre and of the song emerges once you get the "inner" tune in which the entire song builds itself around. No, it's not like Bjork, it in fact is an easier listen compared to Bjork's abstract vision.

Of course, I couldn't find the band after making a trip down to HMV.... Yeah, I'm consumed with disgust, but not all's lost as I found a NEW band - Sigur Ros.

Sigur Ros (pronounced si-ur ROSE) is an Icelandic band based in the UK, and I must say I have never heard anything like their music. They are classified under Rock, but there is something unearthly about their music, strange movements from piano to a sudden surge of strong voices mixed with the powerful strum of guitar. No this is not Electronic either. As Sigur Ros says, they want to share the music complexity of Icelandic music with the world, and yes, they sing in Icelandic. The good thing is however, they offer Icelandic-English translations on their website, and even a factual page on how to speak Icelandic. You should check it out here:

http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/

Plus, of course FREE downloads of some of their most complex work; it is a great introduction to their work, though you really ought to star buying a copy or two of their albums. They do sound a lot like New Age, but they insist that they're Icelandic Rockers. Oh well, the debate of genres will never end.....

Webcomic Telethon II

Yes, my submission was accepted by Blank Comics' Webcomic Telethon. What you see above is my submission, and for my faithful readers, they will immediately know that it is a re-working of one of my pages in the Archive. You can read this page along with the other 1,289 comics at:

http://www.webcomictelethon.com/d/1279.html

As of now, the webcomic telethon raised a total of $27,800. That's right, TWENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND. That's the spirit of the webcomics community, and all in the name of charity.

The donation drive should be ending any time soon, and if you have not made a five-dollar donation, maybe it's a good idea to do it now.

Later guys!

The Webcomic Telethon by Blank Label Comics

For TWO days only The folks over at Blank Label Comics ( a webcomic group) have decided to run a charity drive with contributions from webcomics artists to raise as much money as possible for the American Red Cross in aid for the victims of Hurrican Katrina.

Webcomic artists contribute one page strips or comics in hope that it will motivate viewers and readers a like to make a minimum donation of $5. This is not the first time the webcomic community had stepped up to offer their help for a good cause.

The most memorable event occured no more than 4 months ago, when readers and creators of the webcomic community raised a startling total of $34,000 to save the debt stricken organisers of Connecticon. Let's hope the response will be as spectacular this time round.

As I type this a total of $2,300 have been raised over a period of 8 hours, to read the participating webcomics, or if you wish to make a $5 donation, please go to:

http://www.webcomictelethon.com/

Yes, readers, I TOO had contibuted a comic. HOWEVER, I was a little late in submitting it to BLC... so they may not have it up after all. That however, is not important, what's most important is that readers and viewers contribute generously for a good cause.

Later!

Michael Moore and the Katrina Aftermath

I have a confession to make, that I have always been intrigued by the Far-Leftist Michael Moore. It is hard to find another Bush hater like him around. What's more amazing is that all his crazed rantings make sense; well, most of the time.

The devastation of New Orleans, had inspired Michael Moore to forward this letter to all the voters of President Bush. While I know it is NOT RIGHT for me as a neutral webcomic artist to sorta participate in ANY political propaganda, I just thought it might be useful to think over what Moore has written. After all, it is just an opinion.

The excerpt below is taken from a fellow blogger at http://barkbarkwoofwoof.blogspot.com

Michael Moore says:

On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?

How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?

That's right. Horse shows.

I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.

I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.

Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?

When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?

When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?

Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?

Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?

With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?

Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.

That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.

It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the widow at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"

My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?

And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?

Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.

Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?

I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?

I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.

Yours,
Michael Moore

New Orleans after Katrina

Tennessee Williams once wrote, "....New Orleans.... is poor but unlike... other American cities, it has a raffish charm. The sky ... is a peculiarly white tender blue, almost turquoise, which invests the scene with a kind of lyricism and gracefully attenuates the atmosphere of decay."

The above quote is taken from Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which is set in New Orleans. Williams is attracted to the amazing charm the town possesses, but is also aware of the sense of decay that is present in under the facade of the town. A town of diversity and of soul. It's a place that can be deeply troubling for some, but that doesn't make it less a home for the spirited residents of New Orleans.

New Orleans have had its toll in of tough times in the past years, but that does not make it a less beautiful town; in fact it serves up some of the best food in the United States. This September, Hurrican Katrina took it apart, and had in drowned underwater.

Save New Orleans, save the people, save the culture. Please donate to the American Red Cross.

94th Street (persistence)

September 6th, 2005

It is time at last for another update! If you must know I had sacrificed an entire night’s sleep just do get all the proper coloring done. Things have been going rather tough lately, but I guess it will be all right as long as you guys enjoy the page. That, I think is what gives me the most satisfaction, and that too is what made me carry on.

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day as we were in discussion over our texts in the student lounge. He asked me if I am still carrying on my webcomic drawing. Of course I am (as all you guys can clearly see). He proceeded asking if it is wise at all to carry on drawing despite the fact that the semester had grown so much tougher. I was immediately on the defensive, but I chose to look at this argument in two ways. I replied that, even though I am drawing, I am drawing much less, and I will never compromise my schoolwork for my webcomic; even though both are objects of my passion.

My friend’s enquiry put me into a lot of doubt. For he has a point that the time used up for SKOOKUM! could definitely be used to read or re-read all the other readings I have for class. I may even read ahead and hence gain a better understanding of the lesson. Why do I have to struggle weekly just to balance both things? My friend is putting forth a clever suggestion that in sacrificing webcomic drawing, I may ultimately do much better for the Honors degree and gain a better chance to get into a better Graduate School.

Sounds logical.

The question remains then, why did I choose to continue on with SKOOKUM!? I understood the rationale of my friend’s proposition, and I think it is logical that I give SKOOKUM a time-out. However, I feel that I have a better reason why I should keep SKOOKUM! going. You see, I don’t want to graduate like 1000 other students with just a degree with Honors; and all that you got out of school life, summed up by the neat scroll in your hands. There is so much more to college life, and I don’t think a sterling degree is everything. I want to know that other than what I learnt, I have created something in the midst. I have the chance to create and to EXPRESS something, I have called my own, and best of all, I have had the opportunity to share it with the world. That is the kind of memory I wish to have, together with the neat scroll in my hands.

College is a time of opportunity, and if one does nothing but bury oneself in books and nothing else, one is basically losing the one important chance in life to find out what one is good at other than writing scholarly reports, and boasting to others. If the exploration is not done now, there may no longer be a better time.

Later guys!

Having a go at Islamic Culture

Ok, the truth is out, I am in the Islamic Culture studies class, partly for the university's requirement that I take a culture study of some sort. I was contemplating between Indian and Islamic studies, and finally went with the latter. There were several reasons in play here, but for now, let's just say that the conditions were perfect for me to take Islamic cultural studies.

To take Islamic studies is to put suddenly put in a awkward and terrible light. My own mother almost fainted when she heard about my decision - thinking I have suddenly decided to become a radical and start gunning people down. It is HARD not to associate Islam with terrorism, and that is what I am trying not to do. I want to believe that I still have a liberal mind to accept that everything, including Islam has two faces and two sides, that not all Muslims are terrorists.

As part of the Islamic class, we were all invited to have dinner at a renowned Arabic cafe, where Arabic music would be played live. Of course, we will have to write a paper on our thoughts about the food, music and so on, but I am always open to new expereinces, and this IS my first time entering an Arabic cafe.

We were ushered to the second level of the café, upon our arrival at the café by the waiters. What greeted us was a room soaked in hues of red, there were circular tables laid and there the perimeter of the room was filled with cushions. These are not the normal kinds of cushions for they come with backings and mobile armrests. Arabic music was playing continuously at the background, which, if anything really helped enhanced the mood of the room. The beauty of this room is that upon entry and settling upon on the many comfortable cushions, one feels transported, transported into a culture of the exotic.

It was not long when dinnertime was ready, and the spread was at once familiar and unfamiliar. For there was a particular dish that looked suspiciously like tuna, but turned out to taste otherwise. There were several other foods that looked familiar, but at the same time I had a hard time exactly making out what the foods were. The desert, which came in the form of a rectangular cake with a nut in the center, got to be my favorite for the night. Sure it was really sweet, but the sweetness does not cause upset to either the tongue or the stomach, in fact it was a kind of lingering sweetness that has a very slight hint of jasmine in it. No, I do not what it is called, but I do know I did have quite a number of that.

I always have had an impression that Arabic music is somewhat mystical, profound and, well, quiet and calming. This is the first time I have seen a live performance by a group of Arabic musicians, and they showed an extremely energetic and spirited side of Arabic music. I was surprised to see the violin and a synthesizer being used, and I think this is partly due to my own stereotype of what instruments Arabic music utilizes. In addition to the fast booming music, there were four male dancers who danced to the pounding rhythm of the music. I cannot tell the significance of the dance movements in relation to the music and the lyrics, and it would have been awesome if I did; for apparently there is something going on between the dancers, as if they are re-enacting a story or a festival.

There best was yet to come when we were treated to have a try at shisha, a traditional Middle-Eastern smoking contraption, also known as Hookahs in the United States. Unlike cigarettes, shishas have a pleasant fruity fragrance to it; that which I can never really make out the reasons why. I was never a smoker, but I was tempted to have a go at it. Being utterly inexperienced, my first draw of smoke ended in an embarrassing fit of cough. That, however, did not deter me from having further tries. The smoke made my throat feel coarse and dry after each draw, but I enjoy having the fruity aftertaste in my mouth. I agree with my friends that shisha smoking is great way to bond with people. Four or more people sharing a shisha pipe and challenging one another to exhale as much smoke as possible after each draw from the shisha pipe. This is definitely a great way to spend this evening, and any evening. The surprising thing is a wave of calm seems to sweep over me with the as I smoked. I was unsure if this is the effect of the shisha or is my brain just playing its usual mind games with me.

The evening had been truly and utterly awesome. I have learnt and seen so much in one single day. I have tasted Arabic food, seen and heard Arabic music and had a chance to inhale shisha. What can I say other than that it had been an intense ride for all of my senses.

Wordsworth...

There will be times when I will go online and read some great poetry, and one of my favorite poets online is Willliam Wordsworth. If you don't know (and I guess you won't know) Wordsworth is a Romantic Poet, and by Romantic, I DO NOT mean he is all lovey-doey. In English Literature, Romantic and Romanticism is a characteristic period in the various form and movement of English Literature.

Here is one of my favorite sonnets:


CALM is all nature as a resting wheel.
The kine are couched upon the dewy grass;
The horse alone, seen dimly as I pass,
Is cropping audibly his later meal:
Dark is the ground; a slumber seems to steal
O'er vale, and mountain, and the starless sky.
Now, in this blank of things, a harmony,
Home-felt, and home-created, comes to heal
That grief for which the senses still supply
Fresh food; for only then, when memory
Is hushed, am I at rest. My Friends! restrain
Those busy cares that would allay my pain;
Oh! leave me to myself, nor let me feel
The officious touch that makes me droop again.

In simple terms, I think you can tell that Wordsworth is reflecting on the idea of calmness in pastoral England, considering that he lived in Lake Country as he wrote the bulk of his poems, the near idyllic image of clam nature, or horses grazing, must have been a common sight.

What strikes me is that he is able to translate the "calmness" he feels onto paper, and I feel calm even I read his sonnet. That feeling roused principly in the choice of words like "dimly", "blank" and "heal". All these words associated with level of comfort, of emptiness minus the complications and something that ultimately seeks to heal, to dress and recover, possibly the soul.

Beautiful, beautiful poem