The Dark Balloon

A weblog by Hao Lian.
A journey into the soft of night.
A terrible secret guarded by golems.

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They are shaping me into someone who exercises regularly.

They called me insane. They explain the adjective has been chosen for me for the ominous associations it will raise in America’s psychologists.

[(2009 March 9) .]

Recent comments (HAO, Jammies.) • (Tim, Jammies.) • (Prashanth, Wedding.) • (Hao, Hands.) • (Prashanth, Hands.).

Recent posts (03/18, The Daily Show: Oscar Romero and textbooks.) • (02/03, Butter-related greetings.) • (01/18, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. day.) • (01/18, Chances, part one.) • (01/02, Jammies.).

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I know it’s real because there are user testimonials.

Congratulations. You have selected to register for your free Nintendo Wii. Though everybody else knows that these “points and referral” systems are horse poo, you stuck it out because you’re brave. Because heard to our aggressive internet talking advertisement roll-out, and you didn’t feel like closing the tab. But, most of all, because you’re gullible. The internet is your oyster, and your wallet is ours. So what are you waiting for? Click onward, young trailblazer.

And, remember: Congratulations.

[(2008 November 25) .]

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All Music Guide reviews Total Blowhards’ newest release, a big bowl of crap.

When Total Blowhards released a decaying corpse onto the music scene in 2006, it was a turning point for the band whose outlandish cult following had finally transgressed into a mainstream pop success. Their stylish, in-your-face attitude in releasing old-school, physical excrement as music proved to be a fruitful new middle ground in the long-standing divide between the sculptural and the aural arts. Total Blowhards aren’t afraid to emotionally experiment with the tastes and nuances of modern music culture despite their limited success in 2004 with their EP, a bowl of toenails. It’s no surprise that many critics have compared their Coldplay-like arrangement of poo and corn to 1970s excrement disco band I’m a Hardened Criminal or prog digesters Gets Away with Felonies. The strange physical texture of their bowl of crap is the most self-confident and enjoyable album yet. It kicks off with a refined yet lo-fi “awful smell” and using a discomforting yet yearning guitar solo to take the listener to “bacterial disease.” With a big-budget production like this bowl of crap, Total Blowhards risked the edge between cool and commercial but they’re not afraid to display their accessibility with the entry “stiff brown thing.” Joe Fyou has a knack for pushing out the best albums on the scene today. They end up grandiose, wry, sharp, experimental, focused, refined, goodly mannered, extravagant soundscapes that explore the very limits of music itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[(2008 October 3) .]

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The dream is fading.

I spend too much time on Reddit.

from eukaryota.animalia.chordata.mammalia.primates.hominidae.homo import sapiens
from song.objects import *
import __main__

class Me(sapiens.Sapiens):
      def __init__(self):
            self.made_for = You()

      def love(self, receiver): ...
      def find(self, receiver): ...
      def adore(self, receiver): ...

      def receive_love(self, giver):
          if not given == self.made_for: raise Exception()
          ...

      def stare_at(self, object): ...
      def feet_hit(self, object): ...
      def check(self, object): ...

I = Me()
I.stare_at(Door())
I.feet_hit(Floor(cold = True))
I.check(Reflection(I))

mystery = False

for var in dir(__main__):
    if type(var) == Passion: print 'Found passion'
    if type(var) == Flame:
       if var.creates_more_feeling(I): print 'Found flame'

assert type(I.made_for) == You
I.love(I.made_for)
I.find(I.made_for)
I.adore(I.made_for)
I.receive_love(I.made_for)
[(2008 June 25) .]

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Heresy is the sincerest form of flattery.

  • Ethane: the diarrhea’s in the details
  • Ethane: that’s the saying, right?
  • Me: Sure, I pray to Diarrhea all the time.

“Wipe us, O Diarrhea, and these, Thy Shits, which we are about to receive from Thy bowels. Through Nausea, our succubus. Achoo.”

[(2008 June 20, 4!) .]

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I review Look Around You, quickly.

So I just discovered, via reddit, Look Around You, the most delicious and spot-on parody (of educational films) television series. It’s absolutely velvety: “What are birds? We just don’t know. / Thanks, ants. Thants. / Water, what hast thou done?” For a start, view the Maths module or, better yet, the Music module. In summary, not having BBC is like not holding hands: You miss out on a lot of good stuff.

[(2008 January 15, 2!) .]