The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

I have always wanted to watch The Kite Runner. I read the book last year. It was not easy reading beacuse it raised a lot of questions about morality.

The Kite Runner was about the friendship of two Afgan boys, Hassan and Amir. Hassan was a hazera, meaning flat-nosed, an inferior tribe. Hassan's father had been working for Amir's father for over forty years. Amir and Hassan were inseparable. Hassan was illiterate, so Amir always read to him and told him stories that he had made up.

Every year, there would be a kite flying tournamnent, and the last remaining kite in the air would be the winner. Hassan would always run for Amir's kites. He never disappointed Amir for he always knew where the kite would land. That year, Amir won and as usual Hassan ran after the kite that Amir had cut off as the trophy.

A couple of bullies were teasing Amir why he would hang out with a hazera. Hassan had always protected Amir when they were bullied. This time, the bullies cornered Hassan demanding the kite. Hassan refused to give them the kite because Amir had won it and out of his undying loyalty to Amir, he was raped by the bullies.

Amir hid behind the wall, saw everything, but he did not help or asked for help. One day, Hassan and his father Ali left. Then came the Russian invasion and both Amir and his father had to flee. Amir's father entrusted his house to his good friend, who incidentally encouraged Amir to write.

After they arrived in the U.S. Amir married and became a writer. One day, he received a call from his father's good friend and told him that "there is a way to be good again." Hassan and his wife were killed by the Taliban, leaving their son, Sohrab, in an orphanage in Kabul.

The secret and fact was Hassan and Amir were half brothers. Amir went back to Kabul to find his nephew. Hassan had learned to read and write. Not only did he not blame Amir, he wanted to be a good writer so he could write Amir a letter some day. The letter had all the blessings for Amir and a photograph of Hassan and his son.

Amir finally brought Sohrab back to the States and the final scene was Amir teaching Sohrab to fly a kite. After cutting the last kite, Amir ran after it, telling the reclusive and abused Sohrab that "for you, I'd run a thousand times", echoing what Hassan said to him all those years ago.

The film touched me the most when Amir read the labored letter of Hassan. Hassan felt he was not "good" enough compared to the literate Amir. In fact, it was Amir who was not "good" enough for Hassan, betraying their friendship. This is the irony of it all.

In the end, although the Amir could not undo the past, he could move on with lesser guilt. Through Hassan, he had journeyed through love, friendship, redemption, forgiveness and ultimately "be good again".

The movie is a very good rendition of the book.

Marcel Proust

It is often hard to bear the tears that we ourselves have caused.
~ Marcel Proust

A few months back, I began to read 'À la recherche du temps perdu' (In Search of Lost Time, also Remembrance of Things Past) by Marcel Proust. I had always wanted to read it, but it was daunting because each volume consisted of 600 pages or more of packed writing.

I almost fell asleep reading the first page. The words rambled on and on. The full stop was definitely a long way off from the first word. I reminded myself this was not a modern 21st century work, but from the 1800's. People wrote with more flair and sophistication back then.

I took a deep breath and regarded finishing at least one chapter as my "mission impossible" challenge. As I flipped through the contents page, I found that the second chapter was smack in the middle of the thick book! I read on, and as I made my way through the first book, 'The Way by Swann's', I was hooked. This was romance. Proust described every tiny detail in a way that filled you with a nebula of romantic longing.

The whole work was semi-autobiographical, but it was no doubt a romance. The romance was not of a modern day love story. The romance was in the the finesse that Proust described everything he encountered. The appreciation of nature, the clouds, the sea, the flowers, the setting sun, dawn and twilight. People, their gestures, their appearances, their demeanors, the gossips and their loves and hates. The music and the painting. The expanse and array of the subjects covered were breathtaking.

I finished two volumes and I am reading 'The Guermantes Way'. I am completely addicted to Proust's writing. People rarely write like this now, but I guess back in the 1800's, people were more leisurely. Who has the time and patience now to read a sentence that goes on half a page, just describing a flower? But to me, this is romance.

The whole work consists of 7 volumes. The Way by Swann's, Within a Budding Grove, The Guermantes Way, Sodome et Gomorrhe, The Captive, The Sweet Cheat Gone and The Past Recaptured

(Posy by Bonnie Wong)

Twilight

A few weeks ago, I read "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. It was entertaining, a teenage romance. The setting was high school, the main characters are all 17, well except the parents.....

As a novel in the vampire genre, it really differed from Anne Rice. There were no gory details, no preying and not a lot of blood. However, there was also not a whole lot of mystery and suspense that made your heart pulsate.

Despite that, I was still anticipating the adapted movie to be released in DVD coz there was a lot of hype over how good looking "Edward Cullen" was. He was good looking, but that was it. The movie was a disappointment. It took the last bit of suspense away from the book. The movie was also cut into different scenes taken from the book, but it was so piecemeal the movie was not fluid at all. I guess the biggest disappointment of all was the absence of chemistry between the main characters. It's a romance after all.

If you have time on your hands and reminiscent of your high school years, you might want to watch it, but the book is definitely better than the movie.

(photo: www.barnesandnobles.com)

The Wedding Cake

A wonderful Book on Wedding Cakes


Lovely designs with Step by step Guide

A book that gives you lots of ideas and step by step guides to making your perfect wedding cake. The pictures are breathtakingly beautiful. The author breaks down the steps into miniature ones, which makes you think that you might master the skills to making "the Cake".

The author also gives you tips on how to make life-like sugar flowers and leaves. A little curve here and a little dip there and a sugar dough becomes a delicate rose bloom. It's a real light reading but also manages to wow you with the author's skill. It's a delight to browse through the pages.

Marianne Williamson

I have just finished reading "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson. The book mainly revolves around the principles in "A Course in Miracles" and that the main reason behind negative things happening in our lives is that we have deviated from the path of love into a path of fear.

The healing comes when we return to Love and return to God, because God is Love.

The book that I turn to when I feel down is a more recent book by Williamson. "Everyday Grace". I am particularly drawn to the concept that all of us can use "magical wands" to change our lives. Everyone is endowed with these wands.

We suffer because we have lost sight of the "magic" in every day miracles.

Everyday is a miracle, if we choose to let go and let God. :)

God has planted Angels around us to hear our prayers and protect us.

(Photos : http://www.mydreamwedding.ca/uploads/Image/Kyla/8111.jpg)

The Artist Within

This is the most leafed-through book on my book shelf. It's called "A Year of Living Consciously" by Gay Hendricks. The author has an inspirational quote and musing, for each day of the year. It is a book I live by. Some days, I will find the entry has no relation to what I am going through. Most days though, I would have an "ah-ha "moment with the particular entry and I would carry that thought with me for the whole day.

Today's entry is titled "The Artist Within". I will include an excerpt here.

"Everyone has an artist in their heart. Perhaps the artist shows his or her spirit in a visual art-painting, writing, photography-or maybe in another form, such as cooking, child-rearing, or teaching. The possibilities are endless. What are you doing to indulge your artist within, to give voice to your creative self?"

"If your artist within is starving, then your spirit is starving. You cannot cut off a true part of yourself-and everyone has an artist in his or her heart-without doing damage to the rest of who you are."

People ask me why I have ditched my hated job and chose to "indulge" myself in making greeting cards. Perhaps it's plain laziness on my part to find another job. Usually this is the only reason they have come to.

A good friend, Josephine, whom I have known for 10 years, came over for dinner last night. We started chatting after she greeted my pets, or after they have crowded around to greet her. We proceeded to update each other with the latest news . I told her about my new venture, and after seeing my portfolio of cards, she asked if I could show her how to make a Pastel b. card from scratch.

What she said afterwards was the total sum of my thoughts and feelings. She said that she has never seen me so calm and peaceful in all the years she has known me. The most miraculous thing is that I could now face the ridiculousness of my dysfunctional family with a laugh. This was not imaginable before.

I was so happy to hear her comment. I guess I have really starved myself of my creativity for too long. Aside from making Pastel b. cards, I have also become hermetic in a way. I spend most days reading, bonding with my pets, writing and enjoying the simple pleasures in life, rather than crowd myself with activities.

I have also made a very wise decision in distancing myself from the toxic relationships (friend, colleague and family-wise) around me. It sounds a bit drastic, but after so many years of exposing myself to the "pollution" in my life, I really needed this period of detox. Now, I have the freshness and purity of true friends, to embark on a new journey in life. How refreshing!!

(photo http://www.seamuskiel.com/photo_images/Peony-66e.jpg)

Books, Art, Coffee Inc.

The Baci Lounge is a concept bookstore located in Auckland, New Zealand, and is the brainstorm of Sharad Paul. Paul is foremost a surgeon in Auckland, but doubles as an author as well. "Baci" means "Kiss" in Italian, and he wanted the Baci Lounge to be a place where you can read leisurely with a good cup of coffee or wine.

The decor is inviting to young writers and book lovers alike. There are comfortable armchairs, tables and booths to read to your heart's delight. There is a wide range of books, with a section devoted to Indian literature, where Paul spent some years in. If you visit the site http://www.baci.co.nz/, you will find that a part of the profits will be dedicated to literacy programs. Beisdes being a cool place to hang out, you will be doing a good cause to promote literacy. What a double delight!!

Bridal Flowers

Bridal bouquets is a beautiful book I got at at a book sale. It is a collaboration between florist Jane Durbridge, writer Antonia Swinson and photographer Craig Fordham. The result is a rare peice of jewel that will grace your coffee table and one that you will relish to leaf through for years to come.

Jane is a celebrated florist who works with a lot of boutique hotels and has an impressive list of private clients. You could see why she is so sought after, while you are admiring the lovely and creative bouquets in the book.

Bridal bouquets is mainly organized into color themes. Jane brilliantly takes you through a journey of the palette, from white and cream to pink, purple, red, orange, green, yellow and blue. She would suggest flower themes to go along with the wedding style and choice of dress. The full dress calls for a grand bouquet and the sleek dress would be perfect with a simple and chic posy.

To complement the bride's bouquet, Jane would suggest flowers for the bride's head dress, as well as posies, garlands, baskets for the bridesmaids. You would marvel at the Jane's overall thoroughness.

I think that the defining moment of the book is Jane's sensitivity to the seasons. Jane is a fan of using seasonal flowers. Flowers in season being more abundant and therefore less pricey.

Jane then points out that spring flowers like lily of the valley and snow white pansies, best complements the soft light in spring. The color scheme of yellow with white and green suggests a summer meadow, with daffodils, marigolds and yellow roses. The spectrum of orange hue sweet peas from peach, apricot, tangerine, vermilion to burnt orange is suited for autumn. Bluish tint red roses and dark, regal purple tulips would stand out in the cool, thin light in winter.

Jane has touched on many aspects of designing a bouquet, from the colors to the texture, to the foliage and her use of sumptuous ribbons to bring out the best in the flowers. Besides being a guidebook for brides in choosing a bouquet, this book has managed to transcend the boundaries of being a wedding book. All in all, this is a book that every flower lover would love.

(Photo Barnes & Nobles)

The Boleyn legacy lives on

I just finished reading 'The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. Although there are some harsh criticsms concerning the accuracy and the historical facts presented in the book, it is an entertaining read. A best seller, but lashed by critics. Does "Da Vinci Code" and "Harry Potter" ring a bell?

The widely popular "Da Vinci Code" was said to be blasphemous and anti-Catholicsm. The "Harry Potter" series were criticized as promoting withcraft and JK Rowling is a practicing witch. Despite all these vicious attacks, these books still manage to draw huge readerships, and have been so popular they are adapted into movies.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" mainly revolves the court of HenryVIII and the rise and fall of the Boleyn and Howard clan. Mary and Anne Boleyn were thrust to the arms of King Henry by their family to secure their power and wealth in the court. Mary was the docile one, whereas Anne was the ambitious and reckless one who wanted it all.

Anne Boleyn was finally crowned the Queen of England after successfully eliminating King Henry's wife, Queen Katherine. However, she only reigned for 3 years before she was beheaded for treason, for going too far to get what she wanted. In the end, she had no friends, ignored by her family and jilted by King Henry.

The book is entertaining because it describes human behavior, you could ascribe the different characters to people around you. I guess we haven't evolved as much as we like to believe behavior wise, coz the Anne Boleyn, King Henry and the courtiers of the 1500's, still lives on today. Read the book if you have time, you would certainly find someone you know.