A Monday Afternoon Deciding that “Your name reminds me of the elephant—it’s actually the monkey—from Barbie as the Island Princess” would be the first thing I’d say to someone, in hindsight, was not a particularly smart idea. But as it turned out, all our friends said the two of us clicked the fastest among everyone. …
Tiptoeing along the dreamtime state between cognisance and drowsiness, the silhouette of a hand appears on the window beside me. Adrenaline bursts through my veins, leaving me gasping, heart thudding like a trapped mockingbird. But as I focus my vision, the image blurs and fades, just the nocturnal breeze in the leaves outside. …
“I feel so fat, I need to lose weight, I’m on a diet, I’m skipping breakfast, I’m counting my calories, my macros, my steps—”. We’ve all heard these statements at least once in our lives, and some reading may even be guilty of saying them. While gaining wealth or knowledge is applauded, weight tends to…
Ever since its invention, plastic surgery has always been stigmatized in society, especially in Asian countries. Young girls and boys look toward impossible standards in beauty and their impressionable, innocent minds are molded to believe that anything outside of those standards is undesirable. When they achieve those standards, in a way ‘cheating’ the system, society…
Red, red, red. We rarely feel like it’s about “bloody time” when it comes to periods. Periods are a huge struggle, just like men—both of which would be better living without (I’m kidding). In my experience, Aunt Flo is quite the hassle when she comes knocking. Usually, on the first day of my period, I…
“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” —George R.R. Martin Censorship is an issue that has become more and more prevalent to Malaysians with the rise of the internet. Through sites such as Instagram and Twitter,…
It’s the 21st century: the talk of rocket launches and space travel has gone from historical events for humankind to over a hundred rocket launches every single year. This “Billionaire Spare Race” generally refers to the largest three competitors: SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin. Sound familiar? Chances are you’ve heard these names mentioned across…
A scurry of footsteps collided against the fragile wooden floor, every press of their feet evoking a strained creak: a subtle implication to its antiquity. Farah’s house stirred awake. She was greeted by the sun’s rays as they stretched across the foliage surrounding the vernacular house, dashes of light seeping through openings of window gaps,…
My body is a museum. A grand, architectural building bricked and buttressed to be beautiful in a way that only certain people can appreciate. It houses my beauty and my suffering, for I have been told that is what humans are ultimately reduced to (in the non-scientific sense). And for those brave-hearted tourists who dare…
Kien-Ling Liem · Essay, Review
TW: Mentions of sexual assault.This article includes spoilers regarding the film Moxie. Directed by famous comedian and actress Amy Poehler, Moxie (2021) is a comedy-drama film focused on ‘riot grrrl’ feminism at an American high school. The main character, Vivian, is inspired by her rebel mother, Lisa, and starts a feminist revolution at her school,…
I don’t get much time to think during the day. When I speak of ‘thinking’ I don’t mean surface-level thinking; I mean thinking with the heart. My days are mostly swamped with tasks and boxes to check, work and projects, running somebody else’s errands, easing somebody else’s life. My brain thrives on turbo mode, but…
Kien-Ling Liem · Essay, Review
TW: mention of violence, substance abuse and mental disorders. This article includes spoilers from Season 1 to 3 of BoJack Horseman. Sarah Lynn’s last words were “I wanna be an architect”. She never got what she wanted. Perhaps one of the most conflicting yet similar pairs of characters in the animated sitcom BoJack Horseman is BoJack…