I mentioned Nausicaä before - she's from Miyazaki's manga and film of the same name. I've recently gotten all seven volumes of the manga and can't put them down. I have had to ration my reading so that I don't finish it too quickly.
When I showed some friends the manga, I hadn't realized how confusing it would be if you're not used to reading graphic novels. Firstly, it's quite different from reading a normal novel. You don't just read words - you look at the entire picture drawn for you in the panel. Secondly, the manga has been translated from Japanese so the entire setup reads from right to left. Very disconcerting if you're not used to it. Some people might ask why bother if it's so different? It's the story of course.
Nausicaä's adventure's and mishaps through the poisonous forests come alive in the manga. I was sucked into each and every page and couldn't believe the amazing world I was being drawn into. Graphic novels and manga tell stories in a completely different way than conventional books or even comics could. The scale of the story across volumes is different as well as the pace. More often than not much more time is spent on the smallest details and this is what makes the worlds created so real.
Sometimes reading something different opens up a whole new view to you. It also keeps Alzheimer's at bay since your brain is working extra hard to figure out what's happening on and between pages ;-).
I only have one more volume left and can't decided whether to read it right now or drag it out for a bit!
My cinema calendar is a bit behind and I only got to see Bridesmaids today. What a fantastic movie! A breath of fresh air.
I first noticed Kristen Wigg with Ellen Page in Whip it! When I saw the trailers, I knew I couldn't miss it. Wigg wrote and stars in the film alongside Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly, Gilmore Girls). The 6 female leads are hilariously diverse which creates a story where I was laughing from beginning to end.
What made this film different for me was that it wasn't the typical romantic comedy with the damsel-in-distress female lead. All the characters have normal problems and issues. It didn't feel like a Hallmark card. I even started getting annoyed with the lead character at one point before she turns her life around. One quote from the film stood out for me (not verbatim):
"Stop blaming the world for your problems. You are your problem. But, you're also the solution."
Hopefully Hollywood keeps it coming with stories of real people and strong female leads. If you haven't seen it, get to your nearest cinema right now!
Quarks are elementary particles and are the building blocks of protons and neutrons which atoms are made of. I learnt this from Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. And no, I'm not bragging, the book isn't at all difficult to follow and makes you feel super intelligent since you're actually understanding it. Hawking writes so easily, as if he's having a conversation with you. The book is fascinating and covers scientific theories from The Big Bang to quantum mechanics and the very sought after Unified Theory.
There are many books that cover similar ground with a slightly different focus. E=mc2 is one of my favourites written by David Bodanis and not only explains Einstein's formulation of this famous theory, but also all the work done before him. But, my number one favourite is definitely the three Science of Discworld novels.
As seen in the picture, the wizards of the Unseen University accidentally create a world (most probably ours). This world is not flat, has no magic, contains something the wizards have named narrativium and has numerous physical laws like gravity. The books follow the start of this new world and cover many theories and what-if experiments. For example, what if Darwin had actually decided to carry on with his theological studies and not get on The Beagle? The books are divided into alternating chapters - one from the wizards perspective as they fiddle with the new world (Terry Pratchett) and the other are the more scientific chapters (Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen).
All of these books does make you wonder what the hell we're thinking. This is our one and only planet in our one and only life-sustaining (so far as we know) solar system - once we've polluted it to an uninhabitable state (which could be before, during or after we kill each other with weapons of mass destruction), we won't be able to simply fly to the next solar system and colonize Earth 2. Science and technology isn't progressing nearly fast enough for that to happen.
I don't want to be all doom and doom, but it does make me think that getting angry because your neighbour's praying to Buddha or because he wants to marry his boyfriend is such a waste of energy. We really need to start building a friggin' spaceship!
Working at a mine can be quite rough. The focus is on producing as much tonnages as possible while not injuring anyone. This does mean that people skills and normal working hours get thrown out the window when the pressure is on to produce.
The mining industry has slowly been changing over the past few decades to show more a caring attitude (i.e. less screaming) and to get a better work-life balance. This doesn't always work so well. If your section is standing because of a broken machine, you will be called out at whatever time of the night to get it right and get producing again. I'm lucky in that this mostly happens to my engineering colleagues. I am on standby, but have only been called out once in my entire career.
When you start out in mining, you start at the bottom. You work shifts, overtime and standby. The work is tough and tiring. When you complain, you're made to feel as if you can't handle real work. All the advice given is hang in there, it'll get better. The older generation tell stories of days without sleep and living at the mine. They become these war stories and honour badges that people share. And if you're not part of it, if you're not also working your butt off, you're seen as the wuss who couldn't cut it.
After all this, you start to think if it's really worth it. Do you really need this? What about your personal life? Do you leave and get another job - be the one who quits - or do you grit your teeth and stick it out? Where do you draw the line between seeing something through and choosing to have a better quality of life?
My friends and I have had this discussion numerous times. We've been through a lot and have really grown in our careers. But at what price? Is it fear that keeps me from trying something new? I've said that I'll work back my university bursary and then decide. Then I got rotated to a new position with more responsibility. It's a great opportunity, but my stress knots have multiplied like rabbits. I'm already in a small town which is quite homophobic and now I'm working so hard that I can't even get to the city to meet potential girlfriends. Is the awesome paycheck really enough?
At least I still have my sense of humour. One of the top managers is involved with a big project at our mine. Most people are a bit wary of him and somewhat scared to say anything out of line. He's getting on in years and in the one meeting couldn't recall an engineer's name he'd worked with before. I chipped in and guessed John. The manager slowly nodded and agreed. The other guys asked if I knew him and I said no, but 80% of the time it should be John - very common name. Everyone laughed - the top manager was not impressed :-).
I love dogs - big dogs, not those handbag ones which you can shoot out of a cannon (and probably should ;-). I grew up with Labradors and would love having one now. But, I live in a flat and am away from home quite often. I wouldn't be able to have a dog except if I could walk it every day, take it with me on holiday and give it a nice big garden to play in.
Apparently, it's good for one's emotional well-being to have a pet. So after little consideration I decided to get a hamster. Why? Because I was on holiday and my hairdresser had the cutest dwarf hamster. As I mentioned, very little consideration :-). I did the research (which means buying a tiny book on hamsters) and headed to the pet shop. I picked out the cage with all the tunnels and some extra toys. I've never had small furry animals as pets while I was growing up so this whole experience was hilarious. At the pet shop, while the owner was getting the hamster, I asked for a female and he hesitated. I assumed he thought I was being silly - what does the gender matter.
I took Buttercup home (named after my favourite Powerpuff Girl) and get her all sorted in her new home. After a week, I notice she's fat, but not like eating too much fat, more like wider and slow. Since I've done my research I realize that she's pregnant! That's why the pet shop dude hesitated - he probably knew he was losing more than one hamster.
Now I have all the Powerpuff Girls and they're hilariously cute. I must admit that my emotional well-being has taken a turn for the better. Pets really put things in perspective. After a day of some miner complaining that geology is always at fault and other managers agreeing, I come home and see Buttercup running around just being content with enough food and a little house. How can I still be angry or upset at some silly things at work?
I heard this just after I got my hamster(s) and couldn't stop laughing:
Dude 1: "I wasn't drunk!"
Dude 2: "You were so drunk you threw my hamster across the room and yelled - Pikachu I choose you!"
