Summer 14.

What a great summer to look forward to,

We have,

The Amazing Spider Man,

II.




And this, wonderful. 2012 all over again, I'm glad it's the first match, let's just get it over with lads, at least one of them will go through, whatever.

Happy Birthday.

The previous post was all too sentimental, time for some real daily crap.

First of all, welcome to the world son, well not my real son but that's what people say right.

How I wish the Bridge was closer, I wish I wish. The guys at the counter were pretty baffled when I told them I'm a Chelsea, they all knew how difficult a decision this was, but what the hell, if I have to pick all over again, I would probably go for the Gunners. So there you go my boy Eli, grow up to be a good man, a healthy man, whether it's Arsenal or the Blues or whatnot, support the team till you die.

The first glance, what a terrible and stupid gift lol. But this thing turned out to be quite useful actually. Thank you and happy birthday to you too my friend, happy 30th, happy dying.

Ann.

It was supposed to be a chilly and yes, nice afternoon. I was on my way to the Emirates Stadium for the first time in my life, not that I'm a fan of the Gunners but there's something else I was rather excited about, not for myself but my beloved friend. I was in my standard daily attire, I wasn't listening to any music, I have rid of the habit completely when on the street as well as running on the road. I stood outside Highbury & Islington station, lit up that Mild Seven with a zippo from nine years back because all the lighters were lost, then I took out my phone ready to locate the stadium, and I saw this piece of news.

I didn't know how to respond. I made myself a bit of salad when returned and till this very minute, it's still incredibly hard to swallow. People come and people go, people move on and nothing lasts forever, all those fucking cliches had me agitated again. Focus on your breathing, and calm down, write something down, right, I ought to write some stuff down, it's Ann, despite how cheesy it may seem.

If Raf had the door opened, Ann paved the way, speaking from a very personal perspective, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing, I wouldn't have been listening to Patti, Nick nor PJ till this day, I probably wouldn't be who I am today, if it wasn't for her. Influence, that's what people call it. I once wrote,"...I'm buying from a person with integrity, a person I respected the most in this circus." It is respect, admiration and, probably too big of a word but I'm just going to say it anyway, yes, it is love darling. I once thought of fashion as the superficiality, the vanity, the same shit that recycles itself every now and then. It was the moment that I experienced her garments, examined her collections and read of her stories, that I learnt that we may, in fact look under the skin of the alphabet of fashion, that garments can be an extension of our inner-self. I learnt of integrity, from this woman, that such thing actually exists in this whole bloody circus that, if we stand our ground, things will come to fruition. Her dark romance, the serenity and austerity, the ethereal imperfection had once taken me so deep in a poetic and sombre dream, it's like a wet dream to be honest, and finally now, and obviously, wake up bitch. We have all gone through or have to go through a certain number of stages in our life, been through a certain number of things, and now this muse of mine, this heroine, this icon this figure whatever it is called, has surpassed this one stage and called it a farewell. What does it matter, Yohji went bankrupt, Raf left the house of Sander, Martin is nowhere to be found and Helmut is doing his mediocre art shit, where is Olivier again, and right, Jun went commercial, I couldn't give a toss, but Ann, you are different. Raf had my eyes wide open with his Spring/Summer 02 presentation (or was it 01?), this woman completely reshaped my understanding of fashion, the asymmetrical cut, the draping silhouette which is almost like fighting against gravity, emphasising on the femininity and yet a sense of masculine gravitas evolving, so fragile, so emotional, that's something planted forever in a kid's organs. Like with Ale, he was the reason I got into football, and without Ann, I wouldn't be here. So I thank you, I do, despite the disappointment, despite the loss of such kizuna, for bringing beauty to my eyes and the cloth on my skin, and once again, another chapter is needed to be closed, kudos Ann Demeulemeester.

Flipping through the old journal I did a fews ago I feel like getting stoned tonight. It's finished, done and dusted, let's move on suckers.

Untitled.

They just kept on talking.

Non-stop.

Opinions, they are sickening.

Don't just, talk. Endlessly, on and on and on, and on, about what they think, how they feel, speaking up their minds, like they were fucking told, it's that noise, almost nauseating. Do people actually listen, I asked once, the answers I received weren't of much help. But if you don't have anything worthy to say, how about just shut the fuck up.

The compulsion is getting worse, all I wanted now is one good night's sleep, and some miles on the road, and I'm getting neither. I'd never even realised claustrophobia would play its part until that bloody MRI, and now it's everywhere. I tell myself to calm down, calm the fuck down mate, I have to fight it, constantly, and every time it feels like something is unleashed, something fearful and it disgusts me, and it's frightening I want to puke again.

I'm only ordinary, unlike a lot of people, who tend to claim themselves crazy, or weird, or radical or, special, to distinguish, to separate themselves, 9.9 out of 10 it is only plain stupidity. Hitler was, not you darling, you are just fucking dumb. How desperate, please, show some class.

I've always prefer sake to whiskey, and let's just call this another chapter, I don't know how it began nor how it should end, just shut the fuck up, seriously, shut it.

The Answer.

It's probably for the best Allen.

Good-bye.

Untitled.

It's been a year since I last purchased a CD so, I don't know, I just dug it out from the graveyard and wanted to see if it still works I guess. And unsurprisingly, this old pal from Akihabara (I think that's where I bought it from, the place was all geeky and stuff) still does, it must have been over a decade by now. Everyone in the dorm had one, so I guess I had to have one too, and hey, it was like the coolest shit back then, along with our Nikes and Reeboks and stuff, Adidas didn't seem to get much of our love, everyone was making fun of them Kobes, and Rick just put out something similar, after a decade, hmm.

Speaking of CDs, the other player, which is also the speaker, has this low-frequency humming sound when it's on, as one can probably imagine, it's annoying to say the least, it's worse than my old hardrive, I don't know why I never even bother to look for a new one. The last CD, before this one that I bought, was Nevermind by Nirvana. It's a remastered slash anniversary edition I think. When I first arrived in England, I bought CDs, it was like, the only shit I could think of spending my money on, and some KFCs maybe, weird how life pans out eh, hardly any KFCs now, and hardly any CDs, after a decade. I didn't shop for much clothes as far as I can remember, we were always hanging around those skate shops though, me and some other mates, we hardly bought anything. Hmm. Yeah, I feel like going back to Brighton now. I probably just wanna hop on a train that's all.

I'm pretty sure that's the moon. I think, it was taken a couple nights before the lunar festival. I wish I can just skip sleeping and have breakfast already, or some mooncakes, yes! Mooncakes would be nice. Hello, you only have it once in a year, duh. On top of that, I probably just wanna head back out on the road and start running again. There is this certain sense of jealousy within myself I detect, there we go, Hannya all over again, when you see all these nutcases out and running, in the night, wearing their fancy pants and them shiny reflective shoes, bragging about how they finish off a 5 kilo in 30 minutes, like it's the accomplishment of the bloody century. You gotta give it up to them. No, now I know what I need, I need a punch bag. But where the hell am I suppose to hang it.

Rick.

You gotta love the man, you gotta love him, if you don't, get the fuck out.

Hajime.

"Why Hannya?"

"I've always had a problem with jealousy and anger since young, as I age I'd learnt to confront and question myself and eradicate such emotions, not completely and that's precisely the reason."

"Welcome to the club."

It's a start, a good start if I may add and let's see where it leads.

Best.

Ichi.

"There's no love in your violence."

Paul.

You know they say there's a reason behind everything.

I never liked you Paul, and today I finally realised why!

You were in the 97 Dortmund squad!

Bayern.

Not these bitches again.

#9.

昨晚勞爾回歸Bernabéu, 忽然想起九爺.

Nike II.

After retiring the Asics now I'm officially running head-to-toe Nike. Kind of a tool if you ask me six months ago but these guys are taking the game to a whole new level and it's unbelievable with what they are doing, 'innovation' is simply not enough of a word to describe it anymore. As I'm growing more and more fond of the Frees, it would be just wrong not to consider the Flyknits.

The left knee is fucked again. Dear oh dear.






I'm eagerly anticipating the marriage between Chelsea and Nike.

為了世界和平.

 

你是永遠不能將'失望'這倆字與日本這個國度劃上等號的. 

這是在銀幕上所看到過最賤逼的一部電影. 

什麼Marvel, 什麼DC, 全部靠邊, 變態假面SAMA才是英雄電影的極致.

男主屌爆了的身材加上最二蛋的內心獨白, 再配上如此熱血的主題曲, 頓時感覺人生充滿了光明和希望.

"為了世界和平, 請將你的小褲褲, 交給我吧!"

Under Man.

"Fly, you fools."

Nattō.

Paying tribute. Taken a while ago, first one I had done in a long long while too. Is this the best thing in life or what.

Yay.

None.

I've never really enjoyed summer. Memories/fun/good times aside, I simply don't like the weather, maybe because I was born in autumn, maybe, my body is never used to the heat and consequently darling, we've got problems. The past couple days it has been soft and gentle, a few more weeks I hope I don't get to see the sun again, for at least a while.

隨記.

Shin splints, IT band syndrome, it's endless. It's frustrating when sometimes you get the feeling that you are not in control of your body as all these injuries and illnesses just keep on arising, I just want to run, really, I just want to run, it's frustrating, extremely.

These filters, they make me cringe.

"In Pursuit of Food and Travel", what a beautiful line, can't beat that can you. Speaking of magazines, it's almost like everyday a new title pops up from nowhere, so much for 'print is dead', though a lot of them carry no substance.

The present bores me, it's beginning to kick off now and I can't wait. Let's end tonight with a bit of Rose, welcome to the jungle darling, yes it's Axl Rose.

Nike.

這個勾啊. 應該是陪伴了不少男生從小到老的歲月.

Asics正式退休, 也就可以跟這雙Gyakusou說個再見了. 呃, 應該是第二次再見.

折騰了半天, Free 5.0總算入手. 長久以來脛骨前肌的毛病希望此鞋能帶來改善. Barefoot running到底是個什麼感覺, 很是期待明天.

喬丹的球鞋, 相信是個男的都該有一雙, 你沒有, 你就不是個男的. 喬三後購入的喬四, 與其並無太多的故事. 前不久剛發行的喬1復刻紅白配色, 不用多說了吧?

隨記.

自20世紀少年後, 一擱置就擱了整整5年..

浦澤直樹, Monster. 

主要畫風問題, 並不十分對口, 閒暇時間內總算讀完. 故事情節頗為有趣吸引, 就是一直會有往下翻的衝動. 至於人物心理陰暗面描述 愛與希望 政治云云就不多費口舌, 似乎不少青年漫畫都愛在此着墨. 幾個詬病, 浦澤桑對'懸疑'的過分渲染實在是讓有翻桌的衝動, 牽涉人事物過廣的關係導致很多支線配角成為拖篇幅目的, 路人搖變大內高手又感覺很古龍, 人設方面不少人物又長得過分相像 (似乎青漫也都會存在的現象), 就像在讀火鳳燎原過程中經常會發生 '呃, 哪位?' 的困擾... 某些重點處也並未作深入刻畫, 就只能想象為作者為讀者留下了空間自由發揮. 尤其應用到路西法效應, 整體講, 算是很優秀的作品暸, 幾次夜晚在讀過程中稍聽到屋內有聲音都還要提心吊膽地去檢查一番 囧. 接下來就是Pluto了!

筒井哲也, Manhole. 三卷, 讀起來快速輕鬆簡單. 又輪到慾望了, 日本佬都似乎很愛玩這套, 囧. 也是一部好作品.

Confederations Cup.

似乎是今年開始才對此杯關注, 往年的比賽一點印象都沒有, 不知道為什麼.

意大利2-4被東道主宰了. 接下來半決賽又他媽是西班牙.. 西班牙.. 西班牙.. 西班牙.. 去年夏天的四比零是歷歷在目, 衣服估計是沒機會扒了..  往後10年估計也沒戲. 看是意大利拼命拽拽得過癮 還是西班牙往地上摔摔得起勁.. 在U21也剛被 西 班 牙 痛扁了一頓後這次半決我還是盡量爭取努力不要抱希望.. 但為什麼連這種比賽還要看到一個在拜仁的傻逼進球.. 真是無解.. 真不願看到這一幕, 但實在話, 布馮老大爺您真可以退了, 這守門都二流了.

日本隊三場小組賽後積0分, 負 好像是5個淨勝球, 跟杯賽說拜拜. 速度與歐洲南美列強相比還是差了一些, 處理球不夠迅速果斷也是個毛病. 但是相信很多人都看到了這支日本隊的能耐, 與意大利的比賽更是看得心臟都快跳到嘴巴里了. 本田 香川 期待明年夏天你們這幫日本佬能在巴西有更好的發揮, 走得更遠. 加油.

五日後, 意大利 西班牙.

媽逼. 求輕虐啊..

David.

Good-bye darling.

Europa.

Well done boys, well done. You made us proud, well done Chelsea.

And a special thank you goes out to our interim manager Rafael Benitez. We all had our doubts, but the guy managed to pull it off, let's raise our glass, thank you Rafael.

A Short Moment of Football.

I shouldn't even be sitting here and typing this right now but football, okay let's talk about football. What about, football?

Bill Shankly said, quote:"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

Obviously I'm not quite there yet, I'm not technically in the game but you get the idea. The beautiful game of football, watched and enjoyed by billions, it is like religion, to some of us. It's childhood, it's belief, it's good memories, it's bad memories, it's joy and tear, it's love and hate, it's jubilation and sadness, the list goes on, and by now, you probably get the whole picture, football, it's fucking life.

And today, we witnessed perhaps one of the biggest events in the past I-don't-know-how-many years, Sir Alex Ferguson, announced his retirement from the manager of Manchester United, if I may add, one of the greatest football clubs in history. It's not as heart-breaking as when I heard of the departure of Ale from Juventus, miles off. A few members of my family are in fact, supporters of the United, I myself had been to Old Trafford, owned a few shirts, read a few books, though I never even became closed to what you would call a fan of the United. But ever since I learnt of football, the name has been there, Alex Ferguson, hell my family literally named me Alex at the very beginning because of this dude, despite the little 'personalisation' afterwards. It was shocking, as one would never ever be possibly prepared for such news, but hey, what can you do about it, and what can I say, it's been a great ride, for the past 17 years, so here I am, wishing you all the very best Mr. Fergie, please enjoy your retirement, the game wouldn't be the same without you.

Hats off Sir. Salute.

Now here comes Chelsea. A draw with a team tonight led by a manager whom left, or sacked by the club not so long ago, it's a bit sentimental all around, but it wasn't all bad.

It's only been a year but it seemed like forever ago, the Kings of Europe, jesus.

Exactly seven days from now, the team is facing a Portuguese side in Amsterdam, now come on boys, let's do it. Let's play some football and win some trophies. Come on Chelsea.