The Cake and the Apple.

Hey Ryloggers,

It's 7 in the morning and today is the day Ish and I randomly decided to write a poem together so I thought I'd post the little mess that was formed. It's based on the  the first eight words we could think of. ( four of hers and four of mine) Love, Life, Death, Cake, Prostitution, Prosecution, Madmen and Apple. So here you go:-

                             Apple of my eye, fallen from the sky
                     'lest you didn't know, I witnessed your downfall
                 Horizons are a delusionary, illusion for the sun to rise
           but I've seen life flash before my eyes, while I stood tall ( -  Ish.)

                          O darling, you talk about life and death,
                                 As if they are worlds apart,
             And yet, I see myself but inches from its cold embrace,
                         O darling, Your love, prickly as thorns,
                 And yet, many layered in its sweetness, like cake.
                  Was appealing enough, for me to throw my life,
                           And face death, like mates of old.
                               Never was I ready though,
                To dig deep in and live, savoring every bite. ( - Me )
                     
                      If the line between life and death is fine
                       The abyss between you and I is infinite
            I won't let you stand between what's rightfully mine
          I may be a madman but I'll prosecute thee tonight. ( - Ish )

                     I once did find beauty in your madness,
                               Like an apple half eaten,
                      Now all that I see in thine eyes, dark,
                              Is the reaper of my heart,
                                 All but too inclined,
               to make mine soul, thy personal prostitute. ( - Me )

It's completely bogus but I had to blog it. Aaiz out.

Fandom Kills Perks.

Initial Book Cover

Hi Ryloggers!

So since I am procrastinating anyway and not giving a damn about the work load still pending which possibly could and probably would come back to bite me in the ass, I thought I'd do a short 'Aaiz rant' on something which has been bugging me for a while.

So if you've followed this blog from before, you'd know that my favorite book has been 'The Perks of being a Wallflower' for quite some time. It is maybe one of the few books which had touched me on a deeper level than your regular reading and It's definitely meant much more to me than any other book has, ever. I guess I could relate to the book a lot on many different levels and it's more than a good read for me. There is this power behind Chbosky's words, his style of writing, his portrayal of Charlie that carried a certain elegance that made me incurably depressed and at the same time, lighter, more at peace. I still have this habit of reading Perks from time to time to be followed by a phase where I won't read any other book or watch any series, I guess to savor Perks in my head.

Anyway, I could go on with my dramatic narration of how much Perks mean to me but that's not the point of this article. I've already reviewed the book in an earlier article on this very blog. My point here would be that, back then I was happy with the 'fandom' Perks had. For those of you who don't know, a fandom is a new term used by fans of a certain book, book series, movie or tv series to depict basically all the internet forums etc which has been created where fans come together and discuss the particular book, movie etc or post fanart, fanfiction etc about it. You must have seen those pages in Facebook,  Harry Potter naturally has the biggest fandom.

So yea, I was happy with the small 'Perks' fandom that existed. I mean, it wasn't main stream. But there were a group of people who were genuinely affected by the book and they talked about it; about Charlie and about how his experiences related to theirs etc. It had a decent and enriching way about it. Then disaster struck.

Credits :- www.filmofilia.com

Stephen Chbosky decided to direct a Perks movie. And of all people, it starred Emma Watson and Logan Lerman, If I am not very much mistaken, it was Emma's first time starring in a major role after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Everyone went fanatic. I mean, I remember seeing the posts. All the talk was that Emma Watson, gorgeous Emma, brilliant Emma, Hermione freaking Granger was starring in this movie by this bloke called Stephen Chbosky. No one even knew what 'Perks' was. And I'm not complaining. I'm as much an Emma fan as the next guy and I was excited to see a film adaptation of Perks. I did worry that they might screw it up as they do so many movies but i figured it would be safe with Chbosky

And when it came, it was perfect. I can tell you that, it was amazing. Chbosky managed to bring the book to life in the movie and it was not like that it was verbatim from the book, there were changes and there was a nice elegance to these changes. Emma was an amazing Sam and Logan played Charlie very well. But Ezra Miller was the biggest hit for me. He took Patrick from the book where he was a good character and brought him to the screens as one of the best characters I've seen portrayed in a long time. You couldn't help but love Miller's acting. So, if it was so picture perfect, what is my problem, you ask?

My problem was the response from the public. We saw the old Perks fandom withering away. And I'm not even being dramatic here. The old pages in which we discussed the novel kind of disintegrated, to be replaced by a new fandom. Pages where you talk about how hot Emma was in the movie, how well Logan Lerman managed to shift from Percy Jackson to Charlie etc. And worse than that, there were these small small pictures, fanart that they uploaded with a quote here and there about the movie and then everyone got together and talked as if they deeply understood the novel while everything they are talking about is the face value you got from the movie and not the themes that Chbosky has brought forward. Everyone seems to be a Perks expert and I find few people who have actually grasped what it was about and fewer people who had actually read the book.

They acted like they knew everything there is to know about Perks just because Emma Watson starred in it, I mean you guys should see the Harry Potter pages where they like incessantly and murderously just kill this amazing novel in the sort of stuff they come up with about. I know that I sound like a little boy who has been asked to share my favorite toy with the whole world and I don't care. It is my favorite toy and I am sharing it with the world and they don't know how to play with it and in the process would end up breaking it. Perks went mainstream and it killed the meaning of it.

IF that wasn't bad  enough  a rather peculiar trend started. It was Just like how the LGBT movement made it cool for people to come out there and advocate homosexuality (And understand me here, I have no problem with that. what I'm saying is that LGBT created a trend where people just supported gay rights because it was the cool thing to do when they remained incessantly ignorant about related themes like gender based persecution, gender roles and their utter stupidity, you get my drift?), how feminism made it cool for women to consider every guy as the enemy who would discriminate you, how nerds were ostracized once upon a time and then it became cool to be a nerd and people who haven't touched a book in their entire life puts on big glasses take pictures and put it on FB and go, 'OMGEEE, kill me now I am such a nerd. hihihihaaa!' etc etc, you know how we humans have a tendency to associate with whatever is 'hot' at that time in order to get acceptance.

Anyway similarly, it became cool, a fashion statement to be socially awkward. Now, I don't know how many of you have actually read Perks and in case you haven't, I won't spoil it for you but more or less, it does talk about a boy who has, because of the events in life become socially awkward. I won't go more into that, but anyway, this was taken up by people posting stuff on facebook saying, 'I'm so socially awkward I could just....' 'It's cause I'm so so freaking socially awkward that I am...' 'OMG, you know me, so socially awkward..' And the funny part is if these people post these stuff early in the morning, at midnight there would be pictures of them being the life and soul of a party in some club. Excuse me, lovelies? Do you know the meaning of Socially awkward?

It is a very real problem for so many people and it's a huge slap on their faces and your foot down their throats when you make a mockery out of it just because you love a certain actor or actress and would like to associate with a fandom just because he or she is the star of it. So yes, these among other reasons are how the Perks fandom has killed, murdered, butchered and desecrated my favorite book for me. It was my personal escape and now I look at the book and I see all the nameless, faceless people of the fandom who are a global joke.

Until next time,
A.

My Short Review on Dan Brown's Inferno

"As of late, I haven't read any book that truly captivates and moves me into its realm..but by god, Dan Brown's Inferno has done it. In my opinion, transcending Da Vinci Code and one of my personal favorite books till now 'The Lost Symbol', Inferno proves that Dan Brown has no saturation point but it just keeps on getting better! From a profile of Dante Alighieri that leaves one with a passion and sense of deep curiosity about the poet to the enigmatic and brilliant Sienna Brooks and the eccentric genius Bertrand with a twisted sense of Philanthropy which you just have to sympathize with on so many levels, to call Inferno a complete wealth of information wouldn't be giving it justice. A beautiful novel that was both entertaining, thrilling and shocking deals with a lot of very real world issues as well as opens up a lot of amazing characters who are a profiler's dream. A genius in a category and a class of his own hail Dan Brown, whatever amount of #Respect dedicated towards you is not enough, as you continue to outdo yourself with every book." - Aaiz. {Facebook Status, 24th of June}

Buried

Note: Also written in my self imposed Exile from blogspot. Partially inspired by Terrible Things - Mayday Parade so give that a listen! Here you go; I call it

BURIED

Off in the shoreline,
I see you stand,
Lost to the world,
Unwilling to be found,
You look at me and,
I look away,
Maybe, if our eyes meet,
You might disappear,
Maybe if our eyes meet,
Maybe you'd know,
That we were so right,
It was wrong.

You call my name and,
I turn around,
Frozen to the spot,
Unable to move,
Your voice holding
Every inch of my body

You smile at me,
Sending waves of bliss
To the entire pinnacle of my being,
I walk towards you,
Guided by a force,
My lips cannot mention
And my pen cannot explain,

You stand an inch away,
Your beautiful face glowing,
Your smile vibrant,
I can almost smell your fragrance,
Flowery smell of lilies,
That could belong to no one but you,
I reach out my hand to touch your face,
But how could I?
When these hands buried you,
Not so long ago.
                                                ~ Aaiz A.

Friend of Stars, Not of men.

Note: This is a poem I wrote during my 'exile' from Blogger. Thought I'd post it here. Also found at Plumcakes and cigarettes
Fiddling a fiddle,
as fickle as life,
He walks amongst women and men,
Not their kin, never their lover,
The great stars, his only mate,
Those sparkling planets, that held his fate,
His lonely eyes on the road,
His bare feet a carving zone,
for rocks and stones,
old and new, jagged and blunt,

He heard them say,
Away with him, that desperate soul,
He who lives in our midst,
but is neither our kin, nor our lover,
He heard them say,
Frown your nose, turn your face,
Don't lose yourselves,
He is neither your kin nor your lover,
Turn away, that desperate begger,

On the crossroads,
He wipes his cheek,
Dries his eyes,
He looks not back,
He who lived,
In their midst,
He who never were their kin
Nor their lover,

Off he sets on his path,
Blazed by stars,
His eternal mates,
That lonely soul,
On his road,
seeking home,
where can he go,
That hermit soul,
Who had no brother,
And knew no lover,
lost in the abyss,
Of shattered dreams.                                                                               - Aaiz A.

Aaaand Back!

So Hi!
It's definitely been really long since I blogged. I have remained in touch with writing but haven't really published anything. But as those of you (If any still read this) who have known me for long obviously knew, I never could stay away for long from the world of blogging. I mean they say a criminal always returns to the scene of crime and It's not like Aaiz can stay away from Aaizivia, is it?

So for all extents and purposes I'm back and you'd see more posts soon enough. Only thing is, you might notice a change in the direction of my writing. For long I've focused on political and nationalistic themes, but from here on forth, this blog would be more personal and a few social issues here and there but mostly, not a lot of political writing would be here.

It's good to be back and if you've stuck with me till now, <3.
A.

Decide Maldives 2013

DECIDE MALDIVES 2013.

                    As the second multi party democratic election in Maldives fast approaches, it was a disheartening realization how uninformed the average voter is in making this very important decision, discharging this very vital right and duty as a citizen of Maldives. Our voters are often fueled with narrow minded hate-feeling that disables their ability to stop and consider that some of the candidates that they do hate, actually have pros to them, there are reasons why they might make good leaders. And as for the other extreme those of us fueled by adoration to a certain figure, fails to realize the possible repercussions of the Presidency of this respective candidate. So we attempt to completely profile each candidate and bring to you all his contributions and exploits alike, in one document for the voter to be better informed in discharging their duty.

                  Another very important thing, we failed to realize in the 2008 elections, is the importance of the running mate or the potential vice president.  It is not just the candidate who is contesting in the election and it is not just for the candidate that you are casting your vote. You are casting that vote for the running mate as well. Recent events had shown us, how much of a possibility it is for the vice president of the nation to assume the top office, in different events; in the event of death, resignation or disability of the President. And even if this won’t be the case, the Vice President is one of the most important political posts in a nation and only a capable leader should be declared VP. That being said, we would also be profiling the lives of our running mates, this time around.

               Lastly and maybe most importantly, we would be writing respective pieces on the manifesto of the candidates. For democracy to prevail in Maldives, we must all envision a day where voters vote on the basis of the manifestos as well, not just the party spirit. A manifesto is a mirror image of what each candidate hopes to bring to the nation and hence, it is vital for us to select which of these public policies is most feasible for our nation while doing our constitutional duty of voting. And in this spirit, we bring to you ‘Decide Maldives 2013,’ a series of articles about the candidates, running mates and their respective manifestos. We realize, that we may not be able to make such a large imprint with these articles, but even if one person reads them and looks at these elections more broad mindedly and choose objectively, we would consider it a victory.

               We believe something very important that the average Maldivian should realize by now for us to progress as a democracy is that leaders are first among equals, yes but they are not the be all and end all of our system. Sure, President of the Republic is a very important figure, maybe the most important figure and hence, we have chosen to profile the potential future Presidents, but it is important for us to realize not to go to extremities in our love or hate for our Presidents. A President doesn’t make the system or the people; we the people make the system and it is also us who makes the President and hence it is in our hands, to make or break our country. A president ideally is just someone who we have elected as our representative to govern as we wish.

                Another very prominent feature of Maldivian democracy is the mischief of the party spirit. In saying this, we do not mean that being loyal to your party is wrong; one must be strong in their conviction or political ideology, hence their political party, but when the time comes one must have that individuality within them to think beyond their party and put their country first. It may be your party, but it is made of humans and we humans are prone to mistakes. So your party is not above making mistakes either, it is up to us the people to correct them when they go wrong.

                It is possible for one to be impartial in their views, but not completely neutral. Neutrality in essence, is a difficult feat to achieve and in our opinion sometimes it may also be equated with indifference. One can only plead complete neutrality if he is detached, removed from the affairs of the country but to be involved brings out a passion and a sense of what we believe to be right or wrong and this dismembers this neutrality. But in the writing of these articles, we do attempt to be as unbiased and as impartial as humanly possible. Not all the views that are expressed are our own personal convictions, but both sides, both takes to a matter or a person has been included. Despite this, we do realize that we may be accused of partiality from both sides and that’s just the way it would be. We are not perfect, we too have our own political opinions and it is quite probable that despite our best efforts, some of these opinions might have crept into these writings.

              Another important thing, the readers of Decide Maldives must understand is, as it is evident to an informed reader, the functioning of the Maldivian Judicial System, is very much far from optimum and disease has plagued it for many years. Hence, if we were to only take proven allegations against our candidates and running mates, we would have petty little to work with. And that is why, we have included at times even the unproven strong allegations and rumors which we believe to have an impact on the political life of the person and political scenario in Maldives, at large.

            Before we conclude, as we approach our elections, we feel it’s necessary to mention the vast number of people who maybe have already decided they would not vote. Disheartened by the previous leaders they have elected, maybe they have lost faith in democratic Maldives. But it is important we realize every country goes through this phase, where we are forced to elect the lesser devil. This time is no different, but not voting is not a solution. It’s our right to vote, it’s our duty to vote, even if it is to the lesser devil, so to speak. We must not give up on Maldives, she is our country, she is our motherland, and she has made us the people we are today. She is diseased yes, but we must heal her one step at a time. So, we must vote, we must make our public opinion heard, we must even contest to important legislative or administrative posts (councilors) and take the fate of our country into our hands. Be the change you want to see, together you and me, we will save Maldives. Maybe not through this election, maybe not through the next but slowly and surely we can and we will. In this spirit, we bring to you ‘Decide Maldives 2013’ and all we ask is for you to read and to read again and to decide, objectively.

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TEAM DECIDE MALDIVES
Hussain Mohamed Haneef.
Aaiz Ahmed.
Aishath Saleem.