All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken.
A light from the shadow shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

~J.R.R. Tolkien

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The one thing that bugs me my whole life

L  o  o  k  i  n  g . t  h  r  o  u  g  h . a . s  t  e  r  e  o  g  r  a  m.

It feels like there is another world out there that the whole population knows about but only you don't know or can't figure the hell out how to access it.

I know of the existence of stereogram when I saw one at my cousin's house when I was a kid. They are a pair of stereograms with repeated Buddhist motifs, one is said to hide a sitting Buddha, the other a sleeping Buddha (maybe). My cousins didn't even need one second before they could tell you "there it is", while it might take a century for me; in other words, I am still unable to see through those images even until today
(s e - r i o u s - s h i t, I used to stare at them for more than an hour) Somehow we obtained the exact same pair many years ago. I don't need to know what is inside the galaxy's black hole as the biggest mystery ever is just in my house.

I am sure it is some kind of hereditary deficiency that can't be cured. Together with sis, when we watched 3D movie in the cinema with 3D glasses on, we thought the effect was underwhelming. We thought it is due to the insufficient mastery of 3D graphic production, until my cousins commented that the 3D effect was fabulous. ...Well.

This is one of the few that I tried today:



I need a clue. Tell me what it is. Good! It did say what it is. A clock, but that is not enough! What kind of clock? Electronic? Analog? Grandfather clock? Dali's runny clock? Is it a pixelated image? A clear-cut image? A blurry one? Is it one clock or clocks all over the place or maybe just the profile of a clock? What time is it on the clock? Heck! I saw a monster staring back at me, but where is the clock? Are you sure it is not a mouse or Mickey Mouse that I just saw? (Real questions in my head)

Damn, I have too many questions I don't even know where to start looking. If someone come and tell me, "It is just there, just in front of you, as clear as the sky" I am gonna show my ugliest face ever. Yes yes, you don't have to look at it, you just have to look beyond. Someone, whoever, just sketch the damn outline out for me. I don't even know what to expect as I have never been really successful in seeing one of these things before.

How frustrating is that? It feels like people who can spot the image easily could achieve greater things in life and you are to be left sullen and sad at the lonely corner. "It must be because of my myopia, man, my eyes are already not perfect to begin with." Or maybe it is because of your specs, you know, with a barrier (albeit a transparent one) in front of your eyes, this stereogram thingy might not work anymore. When does "lying to your heart's content" ever work? Then, a thought pops in your mind, "Maybe I always have a vision like a chicken or a goose or a kiwi."





After endless time (I almost fell asleep) staring at one image after another without success, I resorted to learn the basic and IIIIIII, FINALLY, ohhhhh, am able to see that damn image within an image in this one.


I can almost write an inspirational essay about this achievement, on how every body is not without talent, he or she just used the wrong technique *cliche*. This is a real workout for me without even sweating a bit.

Stereograms should be used as wallpapers, so one day when you are staring blankly and beyooond your wall, images will start to appear in the serendipitous moment. You can also send your enemy a stereogram with the secret message: "You look like a broccoli".

My eyes kinda hurt now. This is literally ocular-inception.