what if i have a blog named what if?

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IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ! I AM SHIFTING!

I first chose Tumblr as my main blogging platform because I have fallen prey to its simplicity and ease of posting. However, I have been facing many issues with the structuring of my posts and lack of features. As my blog grew in content during the past month, I cannot continue to ignore the fact that Tumblr can no longer sustain the vision I have for my blog. "What if I have a blog named what if" is a blog title I really like, but for practical reasons, it is too lengthy for long-term usage.

Yesterday I made a devastating decision. I knew I needed change. It was terribly heart-wrenching to abandon my ridiculous blog title and the work I have put into my blog. But I know Tumblr is not going to work for me in the long run.

So here goes. I have migrated to Blogspot and changed my blog title. All the craziness are still intact, and I am working towards producing even better content each day.

Please hop on to Whiny Pencil from now on!

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Too much sodium is bad for you.

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Illustrations of quotes seem to be the big thing these days. What I have observed is that they are usually full of sunshine and happiness. Unfortunately I am unable to jump into that bandwagon to share my love and promote world peace. But do watch out for my own version of quotation prints coming to you soon from my Etsy store (hopefully up in a week)!

(P.S. Don't you just love the fat hen on my sidebar? If you do, click on it and order some food at Bistro Palooka!)

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Top 3 movies that impacted my life

#3 Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten) (1978)

I am a film junkie. I have watched plenty of movies that range from brilliant to mediocre to downright shameful. But there are only a small handful of movies that have carved such a deep impression in my memory that I think of frequently and re-watch them over and over again for years to come. Such a movie is "Autumn Sonata". What can one expect when it is directed by Ingmar Bergman- one of the finest directors of our time, working alongside with Liv Ullmann (my favorite actress of all time) and Ingrid Bergman?

The truth is, I expected it to be good, but not overwhelmingly so. For one, I am not drawn to movies that explore family relationships. In this case, Ingrid Bergman is a neglectful mother who visits her daughter for the first time after 7 years. 90% of the movie is set in an idyllic house surrounded by nature and starts off unassumingly, although at some point it is apparent that the masquerade of delightful reunion is about to be blown off by secret resentment.

There are brilliant actresses, and then there are Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Bergman, who are indeed a class of their own. These 2 actresses are able to put the entire Hollywood into shame. It is perfection and so much more. "Autumn Sonata" is highly recommended for anyone who appreciates acting at its highest form.

Please stay tuned for the other 2 movies that impacted my life!

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These are the top 3 literary writers whose books I kept as faithful companions through my teenage years into young adulthood. I used to pretend that I am into literature. I love beautifully constructed sentences, not just what it conveys, but also the sounds and aesthetics of word arrangements. The truth is, regardless the respect I have for certain writers, I have rarely managed to sit through an entire book of fiction.

I digress. Anyway, what I used to be obsessed with when I was younger, were writers' diaries or at the very least, semi-autobiographies.

#1 René Crevel

Whenever I think of the ultimate literature ever written, it would be the under-rated French writer- René Crevel's "My Body And I". It is a short semi-autobiography book narrating his disconnection with the world and his own body. It is a deliberately unstructured surrealist novel written with a burst of intense poetic energy. Not only is it written in concise perfection, I relate to it so much that at times I completely forgot that I did not write this book. There was a point in my life where I comprehended writing a book, but after reading this it seems unnecessary since he has already written what I always wanted to write, just a million times better than I ever can (plus I also lack a beautiful tragic setting such as Paris to base my story on). I loved this book so much that I got myself a French version hoping that I can read it one day in his original words.

#2 Sylvia Plath

"The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath" was literally glued to me during my adolescence years. I have a whole drawer filled to the brim with my diaries which I wrote faithfully everyday. After i got more internet savvy, I wrote on many secret blogs instead, many which I don't even recall anymore. I used to think that it is such an romantic notion to have your diaries read long after one has passed on. However, now that I am older and wiser, I realized a lot of my entries are written so sloppily that I pray nobody is ever going to read them (if you have not realized yet, I am a hardcore perfectionist).

#3 Fyodor Dostoevsky

Sometimes I have trouble choosing (hypothetically) between a beautiful tragedy (which is very French), or a gritty but intense suffering (which is very Eastern European- at least this is how I always imagined it to be). "Notes From Underground" is narrated by a nihilistic man who happens to loathe himself and the world. It is extremely powerful and raw in its execution. He portrays himself as the villain but yet is a victim of his own spite. I cannot help but imagine that it is not entirely fictional.

This is a much longer rant than I expected to be. Keep posted, I will touch on the 3 top movies that impacted my life soon.

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I am currently creating some kids' friendly illustrations.

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Dress by my newly discovered designer crush Yana Sergeenko. I love her simpler pieces and full length dresses- the models look like they just stepped out of a Russian fairytale! And those star hair clips from the Rodarte show are to die for. I meant that literally.

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This is self-explanatory.

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Secret project revealed!

I have opened a bistro as a side-project serving free food! You are all invited to my grand opening today! How wonderfully exciting! Please show support to Bistro Palooka by dropping in once in a while to dine with us. Orders are open now!

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Secret project.

I am currently working on a secret project which I will reveal very soon. I am extremely excited about it! A couple of hints- I think it is an ingenious idea, but it can also be viewed as completely childish, depending on how you look at it.

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I have had this image in my head for quite a while now. There are tons of food that I hate, and for a few years I actually kept a list of disgusting food and updated it once in a while (great idea for impending illustrations!). Raisins however, are permanently on the top of my list, not only because they look nasty and taste gross, but also because they invade a great variety of food. They appear practically everywhere- rice, couscous, cakes, muffins, chocolates, you name it. The worst part about it is that people do not warn you when you order food that comes with them, it is as though they want you to relish in this element of raisi-ny surprise.

If I ever have access to a time-machine, I will send a note to the inventor of raisins and tell him/her that I do not appreciate it at all.

Die, raisins, die.

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I have been so swamped recently that I started to miss creating my narcissistic self-indulgent "what if" drawings. So here goes. I resolve to post at least a few "what if" drawings each week. I have actually written down a number of "what if" situations to draw, but when I look back at them one week later, I realized I am unable to read my own handwriting. Don't be deceived by this website, for my natural handwriting is a train-wreck.

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One of the illustrations for a series of posters that I am currently creating for. You know what is the most enjoyable part about drawing human characters? You get to dress them up in pretty clothes. In case you are wondering, sometimes I dress them up in my actual clothes, and other times I find inspiration in the clothes that I would love to wear. (A great excuse to spend time on fashion blogs!)