eBelle5 the bag blog post


Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Badminton Set
It’s Badminton Time - Louis Vuitton style.

The Badminton bag is dressed in the new spring checkered blue Azur coated canvas and trimmed with natural cowhide leather laid around the border of this bag. Additional features include the Louis Vuitton signature golden brass hardware, an interior lined with beige fabric which holds one slip pocket, and a long adjustable canvas strap that allows this badminton set to be carried over the shoulder or across the body. Is that is? Nope! This bag retails for mid-$2k and there’s more designer stuff included… Contents of the Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Badminton Bag: Two blue handled technical rackets made by a professional racket manufacturer and a matching Azur print detachable pouch with three shuttlecocks made with real feathers. Measurements of this Louis Vuitton Badminton racket cover is 28.3" length x 9.8" height x 1.3" width.

> The Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Badminton Set can be discovered at eluxury’s Louis Vuitton boutique where it retails for $2,400.


Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Key Holder Pouch
Who wants to tote around their wallet or lug around their handbag or purse? Go minimal with the Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Key Holder. This minimalist can hold 3 to 4 of your most important keys – you know, keys to the BMW, condo, and the security door fob - that's pretty much all this little purse can handle.

The pouch is decorated with the new light-blue spring Damier Azur coated canvas and features 4 polished brass key hooks. Measurements of this little guy are 4" length x 2" height - perfect mini-size to slide into your pocket or the Badminton bag.

> Discover the Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Key Holder Pouch at eluxury’s Louis Vuitton boutique carrying the price of $150.

Yep, that's right, I spent the last hours, weeks, months of my life on this. This one massive equation and guess what I come down to... the value of 1.0... O.o

Remembering Babylon (By David Malouf) – IgniteNotes! By TOD-The Online Devil (Reproduceable only with TOD next to title ^^)

Background information + Key incidents and meanings in each chapter:

Remembering Babylon records the myth of the fateful contact between white European ‘settlers’ and black Aborigines, the natives. The text portrays a perspective of how the Europeans were using unwelcoming force on the Australian land and the native Aborigines near the time of settlement in Queensland (~1840s). Even so, Malouf’s purpose does not seem to be focussed on the settlement itself but the interaction between humans and how people’s life change according to their environment (the land and people around them). This brings up the idea of ‘nature versus nurture’ which will be later discussed. Malouf also brings up a few questions with his text: what is the primary purpose of existence? What makes people who they are? And perhaps even what the meaning of life consists of. Malouf challenges the reader of their definition of bring human. These ideas arrive by the use of little plotline and a more concentrated focus on the ‘inner world’, the human mind where all thoughts take place. Some of these thoughts are spoken through language, but the majority of people seem to keep the most self-feared thoughts to themselves afraid that they might be different.

The title of the text Remembering Babylon along with the epigraph (by William Blake) and poem (By John Clare) at the start of the novel have little relationship with the plot. However, these all interconnect at a secondary level. The title Remembering Babylon is rather confusing as readers may find that the early plotline seem to in no way relate to Babylon. The Old Testament speaks of Babylon as one of the great cities of antiquity and nowadays referred to as one of the most important early civilisations. However, in the Judao-Christian tradition there is quite a damning association with Babylon. Babylonians under their leader (Nebuchadnezzar) destroyed temples of Jerusalem and captured Judah creating an evil to be implied in Babylon. Jerusalem’s inhabitants were left starving, children taken as slaves, the Jewish king forced to watch as his sons were put to death etc… The city is thus also referred to as the city of despair associated with exile and suffering. Jerusalem, on the other hand is the ‘holy city’ of three religious (Judaism, Islam and Christianity), representation the qualities of tolerance, perhaps love and peace too. The epigraph asks whether one is in Babylon or Jerusalem, that is, whether characters are living in a land of chaos or peace.

Also, Babylon is derived from the name Babel, related to the idea of confusion. Babel was both a city and a tower where humans were proud and wanted to build a tower reaching to the heavens. The ‘Lord’ sees the pride of human and decided to cut their way of communication by confusing their language so that they cannot understand each other. This story thus unites two ideas: the idea of domination in people believing that they can do anything and the idea of confused language cause misunderstanding.

Gemmy is the main character of the text, but some may argue Gemmy is the main representative character. Gemmy tells of the life in the forest with the natives but more importantly, Gemmy forces us, the readers, and the characters in the novel to confront about ourselves.

Chapters:

1. Right at the beginning of the text, three children meets Gemmy who had the look of a black but obvious to Lachlan Beattie that he was white. Gemmy’s first words were “Do not shoot, I am a B-b-british object!” suggests his loss of the British heritage even though he may have meant British subject. Gemmy was then brought back to the settlement where he was surrounded by whites. Mr Frazer, the minister, assumes responsibility for discovering Gemmy’s past. George Abbott, schoolmaster, is assigned to record whatever Gemmy can make of his past in their language. The rest, it seems, is made up by Mr. Frazer, carrying out one of his forceful nature as European.

2. In chapter 2, we are taken back to when Gemmy was wash up on the Queensland coat. He was taken as a non-human ever since then, seen as a half-child half-sea creature by the Aborigines. Even so, the Aborigines suggested no harm to Gemmy and even their first act was one of charity by offering him water. Gemmy is nurtured in the Aborigines culture ever since then and learn how to hunt and live off the Australian land.

3. In a cyclical structure, we are taken back to the current. Gemmy was provided a place to sleep and given work around the farm by the McIvors (Janet’s family). Gemmy grows to have a closer relationship with Lachlan, but the strength of this bond is not assured by Lachlan until he grows up.

4. Chapter 4 tells of George’s old life and that he does not, like many other settlers, feel a part of the community here in the settlement. His perspective of Gemmy is negative until when he becomes transformed by love for Leona Gonzales. George, in his last scene, finally shows understanding of Gemmy’s worth.

5. The cyclical nature of the novel brings us back to when Lachlan joins the McIvor family. More is told about the McIvor family and Lachlan. Janet, in particular, shows a distinct nature relying much on her imagination. Janet finds a new skin as she idly picks the scab on her knee. She feels “that if all the rough skin of her present self crusted and came off, what would be revealed, shining in sunlight, was this finer being that had somehow been covered up in her.”

6. The settlers soon become divided, some such as Ned Corcoran fears Gemmy to be a spy of the Aborigines who have supposedly raided other nearby settlements. Some such as Lachlan and Janet stand against that view and tries to protect Gemmy. Mr Frazer seems to be the neutral one with some European values but also tries to physically protect Gemmy has he is a source of much intelligence of the land.

7. Jock is put in a difficult position, struggling to defend Gemmy as he is still deciding what to think of Gemmy. However, he knows that “the chief thing he had against the man [Gemmy] was so unreasonable, he was ashamed of it.” Physical boundaries were put up between lands now that Gemmy is seen as a threat by people such as Barney Mason. Ellen McIvor is more rest assured than Jock at this stage as she defends Gemmy against comments of the neighbouring women.

8. This chapter sees George’s European self starting to transform as he enters the frivolous world created by the little group at Mrs. Hutchence’s house. In fact, as he leaves the place that day and as he walks past Gemmy on the way, “he would have greeted the fellow [Gemmy], and found he was disappointed when Gemmy kept his head lowered, and would not look up to receive the gesture he meant to make.” George’s impression of Gemmy is starting to change at this point as he is disappointed that he is unable to greet Gemmy.

9. Gemmy is visited by two aborigines. They talk for some time whilst all of it is observed by Andy McKillop from a faraway distance. Andy tells Barney about his sighting, but it is not taken seriously until Jim Sweetman appears and becomes impressed about the story. From this incident, Andy seems to be a person who seeks ease through verbal aggression and hatred, especially hatred for Gemmy.

10. Jock’s relationship with Barney is under threat as Jock continues to defend for Gemmy and Barney becomes more assertive by the people around him such as Andy and Jim. This pushes Jock to think about human nature and his priorities. Jock’s epiphany shows the climax of his continuous change, seeing the beauty of the natural world “extending his hand, palm downwards, over the backs of insects, all suspended in their tiny lives in a jewel-like glittering.” Jock feels more obligated about protecting Gemmy. Meanwhile, Gemmy’s existence also brings Jock and Ellen closer together.

11. Following Gemmy’s meeting with the aborigines, several disturbing incidents occurred. The killing of Ellen’s geese is a deliberate act of the people who hate Gemmy. It symbolises the cruelty on harmless, innocent creatures. These geese also have names and are family pets. Killing them is like an assault towards the family itself. These events portray the Babylon of human nature, even though the epigraph at the beginning suggests that it is the settlers who do not know whether they are in Babylon or Jerusalem. The incidents show that whilst humans are capable of ‘achieving Jerusalem’ through love and care, they are also capable of ‘achieving Babylon’ displaying violence and hatred.

12. Gemmy feels that he does not belong in the white society. “The land up there was his mother, the only one he had ever known. It belonged to him as he did to it; not by birth but by second birth…” By second birth shows that he chooses to live with the Aborigines, with the natural world. Also in this chapter, one of Gemmy’s nightmares falls to reality as he is captured and bullied by several settlers only to be saved by Jock’s arrival. This reflects on one of the key ideas in the text, which is the importance of imagination. This is covered in the themes section.

13. We are taken back to before the attempt to kill Gemmy. Jock wakes and goes to save Gemmy. By the time Jock reached the site of incidence, the culprits have gone. Jock brings Gemmy home and lie with him in Gemmy’s room with him. Jock’s act of pulling Gemmy closer to himself as they lie is a symbolic act of obligation to protect Gemmy. This is the second climax of Jock’s change as he takes a big jump – “did a thing he could not for his life have done a week, perhaps even an hour ago: he sat huddled close to him [Gemmy] in the dark.” Janet also sees a climax to her change here as she is drawn closer to her mother and experiences a moment of understanding.

14. This chapter tells of Mr. Frazer and his fondness of nature. This is a main reason why he cares for Gemmy and decides for the McIvors that Gemmy should be sent to Mrs. Hutchence’s. Mr. Frazer records all his findings and his views of the Australian continent. He sees what the other settlers have failed to see, that is, the richness of the land. If the settlers were to free themselves from thinking only of European food, they would discover how to live off the land around them. Where he writes “We have been wrong…” is a suggestion that perhaps the settlers should learn from the Aborigines and that it is possible to survive on this land alone.

15. Janet becomes more involved with the bees. Janet would look into the bees’ side of things in order to deal with them. Through this, she also survives the incidence in which she is covered with bees and then becomes their ‘bride’. This is another climax of her growing up as she sees a newer self emerge. Gemmy, too, sees the change as he established as a character who sees the inner self of people around him. For Janet, Gemmy sees her inner self emerge. (Also, bees are incidentally an ancient symbol of life itself)

16. Gemmy, having been beaten, is finally able to relive the experience when he was with Willett. Gemmy may have been, for all this time, seeking to live an analogy of his past and perhaps to reconcile whatever his mind would not let him settle on. Working for Jock is analogous to working for Willett and being beaten by the settlers is like the final beating by Willett. Except he sets fire to the house the first time, perhaps intuitively to pay revenge for his pains, he does not seek revenge this second time. Knowing that he himself can change so that he does not seek revenge, he is finally free to do and choose whatever he wants.

17. Lachlan suffers mockery by other children in the settlement as they make fun of Gemmy in front of Lachlan. Lachlan has the incentive to stand up for Gemmy but feels that the act would show femininity. When he visits Mrs. Hutchence’s house, he is amazed at the frivolity of the scene compared to what he had experienced in the past weeks. When he leaves the house with Gemmy, he promises to return but both know that he will not. As he walks away, “he looked back once and saw that Gemmy too had turned” but he did nothing else and walks away. He would later dream of having walked back up that road. He regrets having betrayed Gemmy by not standing up for him and misses his presence.

18. The Governor (Sir George Bowen) is introduced and Mr. Frazer is in Brisbane to confront the Governor of his concerns about the land of Australia. Mr. Frazer gives his report about how it is possible to live off the Australian land but the Governor does not understand his purpose. The Governor also displays a high degree of the European heritage and holds the arrogance of being European.

19. Gemmy decides to retrieve the sheets of paper which his life story was recorded on and thereby regaining his past – which is what partly defines who he is (see identity theme). George would have handed him the papers, but he did not have them, but to settle Gemmy’s desires, he passes him papers children’s schoolwork which he was marking. As Gemmy enters the forest, it starts raining. The black ink, symbolising black magic, is gradually washed away - the black magic of European civilisation.

20. A big time jump occurs. Janet is now Sister Monica and Lachlan a lawyer. Lachlan faces trouble analogous to his childhood. This time he risks his life to stand up for a victimised German (Mr. Goetz), something he could not do for Gemmy. This can be seen as an act to relieve the sense of regret in not standing up for Gemmy for Lachlan. Lachlan also visits a set of aboriginal corpses as a result of a massacre and decides that in these corpses, one belongs to Gemmy’s to avoid searching for him for all his life. The same darkness of life is reappears at a different historical period. First Gemmy was a threat because he came from ‘the other side’ and now Mr Goetz because he is on ‘the other side’ of the war. Despite all the darkness, Janet reflects on the possibility of humans achieving ‘Jerusalem’, “As we approach prayer. As we approach knowledge. As we approach one another.” The optimistic view ends the text in suggesting that humans can ‘achieve Jerusalem’.

Themes:

Individual identity – Who are we? What makes us who we are?

Finding one’s true self is one of the most important and evident themes in the text. Gemmy serves as an agent in forcing us to confront ourselves and discover our inner selves just as he does to the settlers. He unleashes the Babylon that has existed in some of the settlers, meanwhile those who such as Janet, Jock and Lachlan, he reveals their Jerusalem. The care that they have provided Gemmy and the epiphanies that Janet and Jock encounter shows how their character is changed or, in the case of Janet, is revealed. Settlers have talked about “losing it” which refers to one’s identity. The irony is that in an attempt to secure “it”, some settlers lose it and unleash their bestial self. For others such as Janet, “it” is to be found rather than maintained.

It is ironic that when settlers find themselves answering the question “Who are you?” they are actually answering the question “Who am I?”. As in the case of Gemmy, when some settlers say that Gemmy is dangerous, it is evident that they themselves are the dangerous ones – capable of bringing up the Babylon of human nature.

Gemmy too, reflects on the struggle to find one’s identity. He has experienced all these events since childhood in order to find his real identity, whether it is in fact European or Aborigines.

Nature vs nurture – Our origin and our past vs our fateful destination and the current.

Nature as opposed to nurture relates to the identity theme. Malouf explores whether one is actually defined by one’s origin (i.e. birthplace) or is it the place which most nurtured one. In fact, Malouf seems to argue that identity is defined by both of these, that one’s identity has to be defined by one’s origin as well as where one was brought up. In the case of Gemmy, the question of “Who am I?” is answered by what one has experienced in the past and what environment one is in. Gemmy has the bones and bits of the European language; meanwhile, he has also got the knowledge of the Australian land from the Aborigines.

Language – A form of power, magic, understanding

The problems of language exist when people come together form different cultural backgrounds. Gemmy has difficulties communicating with the settlers with language. Even so, body gestures (body language) seem to be a way of communicating. Gemmy is cared for by those who understood him and hated by those who do not. People like Mr. Frazer would restrict understanding to language whilst the Janet would allow understanding to be done through what values one carry. Both these kinds of people care for Gemmy’s existence.

Fear/Faith

In order to survive, one must maintain little fear and obtain faith from others. Gemmy is unable to survive in the white societies as he has obtained little faith from all the people surrounding him and fear for most of them. Especially after the incidents of the attempted murder and the beating by Willett, Gemmy finds that he cannot survive by staying. He goes back to the Aboriginal culture where he would find Jerusalem to reside.

Settlers who possess Babylon also show fear. They fear that Gemmy would make them lose their identity, fear of “losing it”. They cannot survive with Gemmy’s existence and decide that they must get rid of him.

Imagination

The importance of imagination is shown in Remembering Babylon. What one imagines and seeks to achieve ultimately defines what kind of human one is. Those who have dark desires, wanting to destroy Gemmy, eventually turn their desires into a reality by kidnapping him and then drowning him. On the other hand, those such as Lachlan and Janet who have greater empathy for Gemmy imagines a better world. Lachlan imagines that he will one day travel the world with Gemmy as he provides him with knowledge about the world which will support his journey in search for Dr. Leichhardt. Janet imagines that there is a better inner self of which she is to explore and is seen when she becomes Sister Monica.

Imagination is important as a bond between people. Gemmy first recognises Lachlan’s stance and the stick masquerading as a gunman about to shoot. This creates a bond between them as they both recognise the imagination involved.

Boundaries

Boundaries are used for separation. There is a fence separating the Aboriginal world and the European settlement. It is a distinction put up by the settlers. Metaphorically, Gemmy crossing the fence shows his dual identity whilst the children being near the fence shows their still developing view of the world. They are still neutral in terms of deciding which side of the fence they belong to, that is to say, whether they should belong to the civilised Babylon side of human life or the Jerusalem side.

Structure:

The structure of Remembering Babylon is mostly cyclical as intermediate chapters visit events of the past after having gone past them. For example, chapter 12 puts the attempted murder in the view of Gemmy whilst chapter 13 puts murder in the view of Jock and then Janet. Jock and Janet’s views are separated by leaving a blank line. This distinguishes a jump from one view to another. This assures the readers that the scene is perceived in another person and will differ from previous ones.

The text is also cyclical since it goes back to times years before the time of the first chapter of the text such as to when Gemmy was washed up the shore and the time of him being Willett’s boy. The cyclical nature suggests that to become more Jerusalem people, one must take one step back in order to make two steps forward.

Narrative voice:

The narrative voice of Remembering Babylon is mainly omniscient as the narrator is able take the readers to any scene of any time. This allows the cyclical nature of the text. Meanwhile, the narrative voice can be third person at times. This is to give more personal views of individuals such as Gemmy, Lachlan and the McIvor family. Especially with Gemmy who cannot use verbal language to communicate, in order to understand him, readers must be brought closer to him by use of third person narrative.

Symbols:

The stick masquerading as a gun is a symbol to represent the dominance of the European culture and the use of force in order to gain control of situations which suggest no harm otherwise.

The pen and paper symbolise as magical items which can lock away one’s identity. To Gemmy, he sees that his life is being put onto the paper with black magic (black ink) and then put away. He sees that he is not whole unless he gets those papers back near the end.

The apples in chapter 20 have a biblical reference. In the garden, Lachlan cutting the apple in front of Janet is somewhat analogous to Adam and Eve eating the sinful apple in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are the beginning of mankind. Lachlan and Janet thus represent a new beginning to mankind, one with a new and Jerusalem perspective.

Personal view:

There is a feeling that nothing much really happens in terms of action in the novel, but I seem to have experienced a lot. This is most likely because Malouf explores individual characters’ world of thoughts more so than he does with what is happening on the surface of these people.

I love the sound of that storyline! And the gameplay itself seems awesome combined with some stunning graphics which I bet many Xbox360 games have not made use of yet.

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Eternal Sonata

Finally, there is an RPG on Xbox 360 that makes the console worthy of buying!

 

 

Eternal Sonata, otherwise known in Japan as Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream, is a game created by Tri-Crescendo - the developer of Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series. The story revolves around the piano composer, Frédéric Chopin, who died at the age of 39 due to tuberculosis. Three hours prior to his death, Chopin dreamed of a fairy-tale land, in which people with incurable diseases have great magical powers.

 

 

In the dream world, Chopin meets a young girl named Polka, who lives in the Village of Tenuto. Polka also has a terminal disease, and her boyfriend Allegretto is searching for ways to convert her magical power into a cure. There are many other playable characters, all named after musical objects like Beat, Viola, Salsa, March, Jitterbug, Falsetto, and Claves.

 

The battle system will be real-time based, featuring musical elements, special attacks, and light and darkness. The game will also utilise Xbox 360's graphic capabilities to generate high definition in-game environments. You can see some jaw-dropping visual samples here, here, here, here, here, and here. You can also see the official movie trailers here.

 

In addition, the pianist Stanislav Bunin will be responsible for the Chopin's compositions in the game, while the famous composer Motoi Sakuraba will handle the additional in-game music.

 

If the game is as good as what I have experienced in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, they can bet my money will be on their premium package on 14th of June.

 

 

Eternal Sonata Japanese Official Website: http://namco-ch.net/trusty_bell/

Eternal Sonata Xbox 360 Japan Official Website: http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/t/trustybell/

Eternal Sonata Official Movie Trailers: http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/t/trustybell/movie.htm

Tri-Cresendo Japanese Official Website: http://www.tri-crescendo.co.jp

mmm... cold pizzas

Passionfruit Cheesecake:

Though I must say I couldn't taste the strong cheese in nice cheesecakes and the passionfruit was a bit... weird. XD
BUT it was a massive dinner.

Hey guys, I realised some time ago that my birthday is on the same day as Jessica Alba - I must say she's pretty ugly (pugly) on the photos on Wikipedia. XD Here's a much better version of her, credits to Matt23219

A siggie dedicated to TOD reaching 9999 post count on SHINSENGUMI - http://z3.invisionfree.com/SHINSENGUMI/.

A siggie dedicated to TOD reaching 10000 post count on SHINSENGUMI - http://z3.invisionfree.com/SHINSENGUMI/.