Ma Vie FAQ v1.0
  1. What is this Ma Vie thing?

    2. Ma Vie is in French meaning 'My Life'. It is a story of romance, intrigue and disappointment in a poetic setting of 20 poems. It is made out of multi-voices meaning that there are multiple characters with their own lines of text. Basically it's a poetic dialogue. It is divided into 2 parts, the first being From Heaven To Hell and the second being From Zero To Infinity. Each poem is different from the other technically.
     

  2. How long did Ma Vie take to complete?

    3. The first poem written for Ma Vie is Hey You, Don't Be A Hero exactly at 9.10 am on the 4th of November 1997. The last poem Cadenza was written on the 8th of December 1997 causing Preview Release One to be released to the beta testing team. Preview Release Two was completed on the 10th of December 1997. Ma Vie is still in Preview Release 3 stages pending approval and bug reports from the beta testing team. The projection date for the final version of Ma Vie is early January 1998 pending design and layouts from their respective coordinators.
     

  3. How many people are involved in authoring Ma Vie?

    4. The author of Ma Vie is Cheaw Mun Wai. Additional technical assistance have been given by AC | Milan | and Loo Jia-Yi especially in the foreign language section. Other miscellaneous assistance has been rendered by the beta testing team.
     

  4. How many versions of Ma Vie are available?

    5. At this moment, there are 3 versions of Ma Vie, the first being the original Word 97 scripts. The second is in HTML format while the third is a printed draft, that being Preview Release 3, which is now with the Chief Graphic Designer for graphics. When Ma Vie has been finalised and ready for public viewing, there will be 3 versions as well, the first 2 being the same as the above and the 3rd in an A5 book form.
     

  5. What inspired the author to write Ma Vie?

    6. Self experience.
     

  6. Why is it called Ma Vie?

    7. The original title was Poetic Injustice, which was later changed to Ma Vlast ie due to certain factors. Ma Vlast was then changed to Ma Vie due to translation errors.
     

  7. How much does it cost to produce Ma Vie?

    8. Costs incurred are electricity, computer maintenance, stationery, ink, and photocopying charges. The actual cost has yet to be accounted.
     

  8. Do the people involved in Ma Vie especially the author derive any form of income?

    9. For the time being they do not. They do not earn a single sen from Ma Vie.
     

  9. If that's the case then why bother to do something which doesn't bring any money and on top of that having to spend money?

    10. Life is not about making money and besides, Ma Vie is done with self-improvement and self-enjoyment in mind. Monetary matters are not the main priority at the present moment. The rest of the team is doing their part for the same reason too. Ma Vie is also a holiday project to keep the author occupied during the holidays.
     

  10. Does Ma Vie have any external references to any other sources and does it draw any influence from any particular source?

    11. Yes it does. Ma Vie was written with The Smashing Pumpkins, Claude Debussy and any other people/things that are meaningful to the author. The atmosphere while writing a majority of the poems includes live and loud music of The Smashing Pumpkins blasting away.
     

  11. In what way did The Smashing Pumpkins and Claude Debussy influence the scripting of Ma Vie?

    12. If one were observant enough, one would find similar concepts and text to songs and albums of The Smashing Pumpkins. A majority of the fonts used in Ma Vie are also used in albums of The Smashing Pumpkins. Some of the poems contain a hint of songs from Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The concept of having 2 parts comes from the concept of having a double CD/tape album for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

    Claude Debussy has played a big role in influencing the musical part of the author. The author enjoys works by the late composer especially La Mer (The Sea) where the 3rd movement shares the same title as the 9th poem in Ma Vie, Dialogue Between Winds And Waves. The music of Claude Debussy are very poetic in nature, earning him a title of an ‘impressionist’ which in turn contributes to some of the poems in Ma Vie.
     

  12. While most of the characters in Ma Vie are real people in reality, the origin of The Dark Knight Decay 9M2DK and The Maelstrom Kayel 9M2KL remain a mystery to many. Who are they?

    13. The author of Ma Vie is a very weird person, so it comes to no surprise that some elements in Ma Vie are weird too. The author has gone through many phases and changes throughout his life, and Decay and Kayel represent the different personality changes. Batman comics had a profound effect on the author during his younger days. The Dark Knight was another name for Batman, which shows the Batman’s ominous nature. Back then, the author was a very demented person who later changed into a better person (or so he claims) and that change meant the end of The Dark Knight.

    Being a scout, the author went to a jamboree in 1996. One of the activities was communicating with other scouts around the globe through amateur radio. That year’s station identifier was 9M2KL, in phonetic codes meaning Nine Mike Two Kilo Lima. The author found that identifier a very interesting sequence of numbers and alphabets and adopted it to his IRC nick name. Being under the shadow of The Dark Knight, KL was replaced with DK resulting in 9M2DK.

    The Maelstrom is a whirlpool northeast off the Lofoten Islands in Norway. That whirlpool is noted in Norwegian literature in the same way as The Bermuda Triangle. The Maelstrom used together with 9M2KL results in The Maelstrom 9M2KL, a new personality that the author has changed into. A new personality which is claimed to have made the author a better person. That claim has not been proven yet.

    Decay comes from DK while Kayel comes from KL. In Ma Vie, Pyrotofiev killed Decay, which in a way was good as no one liked Decay and the world was better off without him. Kayel was introduced in Strontium Dogs as a contrast to Decay’s evil ways. Kayel in a defensive maneuver ends Pyrotofiev’s presence although Guy de Sonnar gave the green light to allow Pyrotofiev to live.

    9M2KL is now used as one of the author’s nicks on IRC as well as an extension to his name. The reason? "It sounds nice," in the author’s words. In a nutshell, the author is a very complicated and weird guy and that is the same for his poems. Sad case.
     

  13. Will there be anymore similar projects in the near future by the author?

    14. Behind the scenes, Geist is in production, albeit at a snail’s pace as priority is given to Ma Vie. Geist is a compilation of previously unreleased poems, b-sides, and other miscellaneous stuffs. Bears resemblance to Pieces Iscariot, another album by The Smashing Pumpkins with the same concept. Projected release date is March 1998.
     

  14. In that case, will the author be collaborating with the same people in Ma Vie?

    15. It depends on the situation and the people themselves.
     

  15. Does Ma Vie have anything to do with the author’s life in reality?

    16. Some questions are best left unanswered.
     

  16. So far, has the author received any severe criticisms regarding Ma Vie?

    17. Yes, but it is best their identities be left alone.
     

  17. In the credits page, the author gives a special thank you to some funny names together with some hugs and kisses regarding a ‘you-know-what’. What is that you-know-what?

    18. As stated earlier, some questions are best left unanswered.
     

  18. Is Ma Vie going to be published and sold to the masses?

    19. It depends on the situation and the reception of the masses. Let’s face it, do you think anyone would like to read low-quality stuff from an unknown E grade poet?
     

  19. In the credits page and the forward message, there is a certain AC | Milan |. Who is that?

    20. AC | Milan | is a foreigner whom the author befriended on the IRC. His real name is unknown to the author the same way as the real name of the author is unknown to him. That explains why AC | Milan | refers to the author as X[Hmmph]. AC | Milan | has contributed much to the technical and foreign language aspect of Ma Vie. AC | Milan | contributed a whole stanza of foreign languages in Sous la Pluie.
     

  20. Ma Vie has a lot of abstract phrases, words and concepts. How are we supposed to find out apart from asking the author directly?

    21. Refer to Ma Vie Unravelled. It contains entire definitions and meanings of Ma Vie in prose form and plain English, well not entirely.
     

  21. What are the author’s plans in the future?

    22. To finish up Geist and lead a more normal and average life.
     

  22. Where did the author find time to write Ma Vie?

    23. In scripting Ma Vie, the author had to sacrifice other pastimes to meet a dateline. At times, the author doubled production up to 3 poems a day. Anyway, it was scripted during the holidays so it wasn't that bad.
     

  23. Wowee! The author can write poems, play the piano and guitar, compose songs for piano and guitar and all others. He must be really talented and too good to be true!

    24. No he is not. He can't draw and he did not do the above all on his own. So we can rule out the fact that the author is such a unbelievable person. Which is what he is, unbelievable. We just can't believe that he is such a person. Because he isn't.
     

  24. Well, who cares? Such a guy must score very easily with girls. I'm sure he has lots of admirers.

    25. Au contraire. That is just a myth. Being a poet doesn't mean that you can score easily with girls and vice-versa. Who would want a wierd and delusionised person?