Monday, September 14, 2015

Tales of the Supernatural #4: Go Bump in the Night

Have you got an attic in your house? If you do, and you get scared easily, you might want to avoid this story...

I live in an apartment in Malaysia, on the top floor of our block. Above our flat, there is a large empty space, just below the roof, where the reserve water tanks for the whole building is stored. There is nothing else in this space, just the occasional bird nest and lots of spiders and cobwebs. The only way to access this "attic" space is by climbing up a ladder and going through one of the loose ceiling panels above my balcony.

One night, a typhoon was raging outside in full frenzy, rain lashing against my windows. I was just lying in bed, revising some History for exams (yes, I study in bed, and yes I know it's an awful habit). I was getting increasingly bored (sorry, History teachers!) and as it was getting late, my eyelids were starting to droop.

Suddenly, I heard the sound. It was a deep thundering sound, and initially I thought it was just thunder. Then I heard it again. It sounded like something really big and heavy was rolling on the floor...no, on the ceiling. I stared up at the ceiling, but of course without any X-ray vision I could tell if there was something in the attic space above my room. I listened intently for a few minutes, but there was only silence. I turned back to my book, trying to finish the chapter.

I heard it again, this time for a much longer duration. I could clearly discern that the sound seemed to be moving, like something was rolling from one end of the ceiling to the other. The logical part of my brain took over as I realized that there were large water tanks up there. Fearing that one may have toppled over due to the strong winds, I went to find my dad. Obviously I didn't want a mini flood to happen in the attic and leak down my ceiling.

Dad took a flashlight, climbed up the ladder and opened the panel. Shining the light around and giving the attic a quick scan, he found nothing amiss. All 4 tanks were there, and all were upright, and there was nothing else there. Satisfied, I went back to my room. By this time, the storm had subsided, and the rain was slowing to a gentle drizzle. I turned off the lights, went under my covers, and settled to sleep.

My eyelids flew open. There's the sound again. Louder, and much longer now. It's rolling from one corner to the other, going faster and faster and faster. In the dark, I stared at the ceiling, my heart in my mouth. Squeezing my eyes tightly closed, I started reciting prayers. I could hear the rolling getting even faster now, and so loud I'm surprised the whole house didn't wake up. As I neared the end of my prayers, it suddenly slowed down, and when I finished it stopped abruptly. The sudden silence was deafening. Whatever "it" was, it stopped.

I never found out what "it" was (probably never would), and to this day I have never had such an experience again. But I'm glad "it" chose to stay in the attic instead of visiting me in my room...






Friday, September 11, 2015

The Magic of Ghibli and the Tortured Genius

If you know me, you'd know than I am a major anime fan. And of course, a major Ghibli fan. For those of you who don't know (gasp!) Studio Ghibli is an animation studio that have released countless animation films that have won accolades and hearts all over the world, and their biggest star is director, Miyazaki Hayao. If you have never watched a Ghibli movie or assume that animation films are only for kids, you are losing out on a magical world that will make such a deep impact on you. Give it a try, and I'd suggest either Spirited Away or My Neighbour Totoro as a start.

Anywhooo, I just watch a documentary about Miyazaki Hayao, focusing on him and Studio Ghibli as he makes his final feature film, The Wind Rises. It's a very special sneak peek into the mind of a creative genius whom one could say is the greatest living animator, and into the process that goes into a Ghibli film. This documentary, called The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, is a work of art on it's own.

As one review put it: "it’s an emotional gut punch on par with anything from the director himself. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness should be considered essential viewing for any Studio Ghibli fan, for whom it will stand alone as a captivating work in its own right."

 I'm not going to talk much about the documentary, as it is best enjoyed by watching it. But I am going to share some thoughts that Miyazaki shared, which have struck a deep chord within me.

"We're born with infinite possibilities, only to give up on one after another. To choose one thing means to give up on another. That's inevitable. But what can you do? That's what it is to live."

I think a lot of dilemmas we have, especially in our adolescent years, is the struggle to choose a path knowing that we have to give up on all the other paths, and the insecurity and doubt of not knowing whether the path we've chosen is the right path, because we've given up on the others. But as Miyazaki put it, that's what life is. You make a choice, never knowing what the future holds, and hoping that what you've chosen is what's right for you. Then you put your faith in God, and that He will give you what's best for you. That's how we live.

"Today, all of humanity's dreams are cursed somehow. Beautiful yet cursed dreams."

This gave me chills, because I could feel the steel of truth beneath the words. Here, Miyazaki was talking about how people who design planes and stuff with the best intentions, yet those planes are used as tools for industrial civilization, or worse, for war. (watch The Wind Rises and you'll get the war plane reference :P) So even the best intentions and dreams are cursed because they are vulnerable to being polluted and manipulated for the worst purposes and outcomes. Like dynamite, like electricity, heck, like the internet, tools are double-edged swords that can be used for good or evil. It's the curse of humanity, perhaps, as long as we are capable to be good or evil, to forever be caught between these opposing sides.

You hear the phrase "tortured genius", and I wondered why that phrase came into existence. Watching Miyazaki though, I think I understand. His colleagues call him an idealist, that he asks for the impossible from his staff. A genius' talent probably allows them to see a completely different world, and they see how perfection can be achieved. But because we're only human, that perfection will always be just out of reach. Despite reaching great heights far beyond others, they will never be satisfied or happy with it, because they can see what could be, they know there are greater heights. Yet they continue to struggle and strive for it,  and so end up a tortured genius. I'm no genius so I don't know if this is true, but it's what I felt when listening to Miyazaki talk about his work.

Ok, my feverish ravings will stop here. Just some thoughts I wanted to share. Now I shall go have a cup of tea while I contemplate these pearls of wisdom (?) and unravel the ball of jumbled up emotions this documentary has made in me.