Of death and bento

I first heard about Cory Aquino's death through Facebook status updates. I was quite busy tending to online duties because I was set to go home to Pangasinan that day. the news kinda surprised me, but not to the point to incite grief in me as yet. Maybe it's because of the things that Kuya Carl said happened in the past. Here at home, my mom has been constantly tuning in to the TV coverage of the wake. And somehow, you realize that even if that person wasn't the greatest person there ever was, you just have to look at his/her family and how much they love him and you'll have no doubt that in spite of the bad things that he/she may have done, his family needing him/her is enough to at least set aside any animosity and feel genuine grief.

Cory Aquino has been an important figure in the Philippine history. Though as of the moment, events from 20+ years past are quite sketchy for me because of recent information, I still believe that Cory Aquino has been very influential in the country's state of affairs. Kris' outpouring the other day also showed that besides being a dedicated public servant, she also tried to be the best mother that she can be.

For that, I pray that Cory Aquino rest in a more comfortable place while still looking out for our beloved country.



* * *

2009 is becoming a landmark year for deaths of people who have had an influence, direct or otherwise, on me. Francis M died in March after proudly showing to the Filipinos that we have something to be proud of. My Uncle Bert died in May, leaving behind a his loving wife, four kids and four grandchildren. Then Michael Jackson, musical genius, left to stay somewhere better the following month. This month, it's the former president's turn to say goodbye.

This is just the thing with growing up: as you grow older, you eventually have to say goodbye to the people you know. If you were younger, they were already old, then you'll just have to expect that they'll die out before you do the same.


* * *

I've been meaning to post this since the other Friday, but busy-ness and lack of internet access have prevented me. Anyway, this photo was taken by my student Chiro-san of his friend's bento. I'm sharing this because it just looked soo kawaii!!



According to Chiro-san, the characters in the bento are three famous characters among/for Japanese kids. He was quite surprised that I knew about Hello Kitty. Anyway, isn't it just so cute? And there seems to be a variety of food in each of the bento (Japanese for lunchbox; something that girlfriends/wives make for their boyfriends/husbands), unlike the lunchboxes here in the Philippines which usually consist of rice and the viand. The image just makes me go yum :)

Rundown of events of the past month (and some things I want to remember)

March 14 (5 am) to March 15 (6 am) - Marj Darunday's thesis shoot - was part of the PD team, got to do clapper roles, as well as edit log notetaking, jao mapa was there, and there was a highly-charged scene that proves how actors can be so talented

March 28 – futsal tournament at DA – 3rd out of some teams

March 29 – Weekend Futbol League – FC Sikad vs. Oscariz FC; played D during 2nd half

Apr 1 – Macel and her nephew Gabe played with us at Sunken; afterwards went with Macel and Joyce to Gabe’s grad party and his grandma’s bday party at their place in Loyola Hts – love the baked seafood dish and the mango cake (which joyce said she preferred less, but which she ate with relish over the strawberry cake nonetheless)

Apr 5 – UP ORG Batch Party – appeared as Katja, the original Palaboy (haha), met Romeo Lee and saw other mems go gaga over the videoke and what-have-yous

Apr 7 – enrolment for summer

Apr 10 – went home

Apr 14 – came back to UP for urgent talk with thesis adviser

Apr 17 – Jack Daniel’s Music Tour Philippine Leg at NBC Tent with the killer collaboration of Cynthia Alexander and Nyko Maca – great performances from other bands including Corporate Lo-Fi (new favorite), Razorback and Urbandub (yes!); also ran into Angcoy, an old high school friend, and his friends, one of whom was Alex Medina, brother of the famous Ping. We drank some Jack Daniel’s courtesy of Vivian N. Limpin, who had a VIP pass (yahoo!) and Angcoy, who treated me to two glasses (the drinks and food there were way pricey)

Apr 18 – met with Joyce at Trinoma after coming from Peri and had a long, insightful talk about the complications of life (mine, mostly)

Apr 19 – Joyce and Macel were at the Tour of the Fireflies (I had wanted to join, but plans interfered), and instead, I was with the Sikad team for the Corinthians’ futsal tourney at Club 650; got eliminated, but was a good experience nonetheless

Apr 22 – first time to eat at Le Coeur – liked the mini-baguet, treat by Macel

Apr 24 – Ariel came by the house (impromptu, I guess) and we ended up watching Wong Kar-Wai movies (Chungking Express (yay!) and Happy Together – he said Kaneshiro Takeshi was gwapo (which he really is, till now), and I agreed with him when he said Tony Leung Chiu-Wai was gwapo during this certain scene) and talking about his lovelife (and whatever goes in between)

Apr 25 – watched Happy Together because I didn’t understand it when Ariel was here, mainly because he was making kwento; I love the shots, and the messages of Wong

Apr 30 – ate Klur treated me to dinner at McDo

May 1 – played football again after a long while as D (really an exhausting job especially since there were only two of us besides the keeper protecting our goal most of the time), then went to the wake of Ate Ria’s mother

May 3 – went biking with Joyce and Macel – from UP to Xavierville at Ricky Lee’s home to meet with ate Vivian Limpin, to Sta. Lucia, to Village East at Ana and Peter’s home (where we ate twice – lunch and snacks – and watched two movies – Wolverine (the copy was still in the post-production stage) and Vantage Point; and I’m reminded why kids are good to have around), to Libis, to Katipunan, then to LB and finally depositing the bikes at Sonic (at around 6), we went home tired and in need of rests and baths to which, I woke up the following day sore in the arms and around the bottom butt area because of sitting long in the bike seat

In between all these – I’ve watched Daria Season 1 which made me miss it so I’m looking forward to watching other episodes at youtube; Bokura Ga Ita (at first, it seemed like a fairly simple love story, but after marathoning some episodes last night, it surprisingly has a lot to say about love; a few Bleach episodes – still a long way to go before the final battle for the Hogyouku; Antique Bakery – besides the yaoi hints and actual scenes, interesting subplots for each of the characters; finished Princess Hours (the ending was kinda rushed and a bit plain if you take everything that’s happened over all the other 25 episodes), still watching Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya; started on 1 Litre no Namida (promises to be a tearjerker); read the Secret History of the Pink Carnation, some kinda historical fiction during Bonaparte’s time like the Three Musketeers; reading Middlesex, absolutely engaging and the allusion to the gods of Mt. Olympus is fun/imaginative and has me wondering how the Greeks have changed from then to now; saw Kuya Jug once when he visited after being in Osamis for quite awhile already

halaw

seeing "compromise" on a positive light

"Early on, from my father, I learned the necessity of compromise, which to me has never been a bad word. It makes things happen, it makes things possible. It is, in its own way, an art, a working of one's attitude and skill on the material and situation at hand. We often look at our heroes as those who never compromised their principles, and that's admirable, but not all principles are created equal. Some involve the survival of the nation, others merely the survival of the self, which is important enough on most days, especially if the survival of others depends on you."

- Sir Butch Dalisay, For Love and Living

++

opening theme song ng cartoon sa ABS dati na Julio at Julia
di ko ata nasubaybayan ito hanggang sa katapusan ng kwento dahil hindi ko alam na nagkatuluyan pala ang kambal na ito. pinag-uusapan kasi namin (maida, betang, jown at ako) sa lab ito kanina at na-curious tuloy ako sa kinalabasan ng kuwento kaya napa-research ako. nakakita ako ng lyrics, pati audio stream nung mismong opening song.

kapag umikot na ang mundo
IIkot din ang buhay ng tao
May saya at mayroong dusa
Sa mithiing pakikibaka (?)

kapag umikot na ang buwan
bago pa sumikat ang araw
bagong pag-asa'y matatanaw
tadhana na ang syang pupukaw

si julio at julia
kambal ng tadhana
di susuko
sa pagsubok


"Handa Ka na ba, Julio?"
"Oo, Julia"

http://www.esnips.com/doc/0b16acd5-bad6-49d9-855a-51fab95763dc/Julio-at-Julia,-Kambal-ng-Tadhana - for the song stream
http://peyups.com/posts.khtml?mode=viewtopic&topic=24627&forum=21/t_blank - the peyups.com thread

++

newly-discovered song by Alanis
alam mo naman me, hindi ko nagugustuhan ang mga kanta dahil sa lyrics kundi dahil sa kabuuang tunog. madalas late ko nang malalaman na higit sa magandang tunog ng kanta, maganda o may kabuluhan din pala ang sinasabi nito

Lyrics | Alanis Morissette lyrics - Forgiven lyrics

We all had delusions in our head
We all had our minds made up for us
We had to believe in something
So we did

thoughts at dawn 2...

so it's like 4:40 in the morning. i'm hungry. i'm not sure i've had enough sleep. and i'm pretty sure i should've been studying, particularly solvinig math problems, ever since i woke up. if there's one thing that hasn't changed, it would be my study habits.

it's 2007 already. this is my first entry for the new year. there've been some changes alright... for one, i've changed my position in the room in the boarding house. i'm now occupying the space that mars used to occupy. so i transferred my bed and desk during the wee hours of friday dawn (i got back to up on thursday - which made me puyat so that after class at 3, i got back to the house, ate some, slept then woke up at 10pm when alessa arrived. after that, i moved my bed and desk and then slept at 4 am). yes, there still hasn't been any change in my sleeping habits. so far, the obvious effects of my move has been that i'd been able to use my pc more frequently and conveniently since i'm able to stay in bed and use it at the same time, say for example, watching the live action version of gokusen. ah, so that's what's been keeping me busy. i watched a total of 8 episodes last night. that's why i haven't studied for our math group quiz later. which is why i couldn't think of anything right now but sawada shin. a couple of nights ago, i also read through my death note manga scans. however, i don't have every chapter up to the end so i still have to find some means to acquire them (mars, hehe?). of course, i gotta finish this story. this one even has an anime version (the first episode of which i've watched at youtube) and a movie due for release. the guy playing nanahara in battle royale plays raito while L, according to my classmate, will be played by the guy playing sawada shin (an added bonus for watching the movie, haha).

i'm immersed in a lot of things japanese right now. what did i say about them a few entries back? well, those still hold up. anyhow, i want to read the manga version or at least watch the animation of gokusen, because the live action is only 12 episodes long, with one hour-long or so special which subtitle i have not been able to get my player to display yet. i've seen some snippets of the gokusen animation and the appearances of the characters in the live action differ greatly from their anime counterparts. i don't believe there's one single goodlooking person there, not even the teacher yankumi. i also want to know about the blossoming of a student's love for the said yankumi, which is not dwelt upon in the live action. of course, sawada shin is the said student and for a guy who looks like that, i want to know what he's really like and what really happened for such circumstances to happen by watching the anime or reading the manga.

so much for that. though the move has been good, the socket is not working that great. i should get myself a UPS. and then i still need to fix all my stuff. coz' some of it has been left in their usual places, like my footwear which i still haven't moved, along with a couple of boxes containing readings and notes. i'm also planning to move my clothes to the one also previously occupied by mars, because i think drawers would help me organize better. so much for organization. the only thing organized about me is my thoughts when i'm writing like this (typing away during the early morn), and possibly, the number of orgs i've joined or will join.

oops, my phone just fell to the floor for the umpteenth time. i've switched it off and switched it on, and still there's no coverage. wah, don't die on me dear phone. i need you...

yay! the globe text has returned. i've got coverage. my phone's fine once more. that's why i do not really like to replace this phone, because it's not easily destroyed by mere bumps and falls. it can survive a number of that. plus, it's got this super strong white backlight. it can literally light up a dark room as big as ours.

this is really embarassing, but ever since i've cross-posted my entries to multiply, i've been having regular readers (ate mm and ate joyce). well, it's good that they're the only ones who read these, especially since some entries when read by people other than them would embarass me. i would've preferred anonymity by just posting at blogspot, but well, to let my contacts know that i have a life, i decided to post at multiply. there won't be many of those kinds of entries (or so i think), but it would be tiresome to delete them at l, especially since multiply takes longer to load in web browsers. at least, in multiply, i know those people who read my entries. talk about wider readership. well, i'm just gratifying myself. pardon my airs dear readers (i.e. , ate mm and ate joyce, and occasionally, ate tin). okay, i'm just meandering and i need to stop now. and i wish to eat rice for breakfast. at least, i hope to. a good morning to me! and a good (insert appropriate time of day) to you!

reading murakami

i'm rereading haruki murakami's norwegian wood before i finally return it to pam come the next up cinema ga. discounting the fact that murakami can actually write a hilarious narrative as evidenced by the hilariously account of storm trooper's character, the roommate of the narrator during his early college years, i find this novel really depressing. besides the deaths - all are suicides, something which is common among the japanese even today - what is even more depressing is that after all the narrator and main character has been through and is able to do, he is reminiscing some twenty years after the events he was relating, and it seems nothing much has happened with his life. if ever, he's on a level lower than the life he previously led. you know, a guy with so much abilities and knowledge can go places. but then, if you choose to live in the memory of the dead and the what-could-have-beens - basically, your past - nothing's bound to happen to you. and so at the end of the novel, i was so damn depressed i didn't want to read another story like it again.

but then, murakami is a great writer. however, some critics didn't give favorable reviews for this particular novel because it was not the usual work you would expect from murakami, in fact, calling it somewhat autobiographical but not entirely the usual fare you would expect from murakami's genius. well, i'm not to say that this novel is below par, because it was excellently written. however, i do agree that this is not the usual story that murakami would engage in. let me qualify that. i've only read four books of murakami all in all. i first read the wind-up bird chronicle (i was attracted to this author when i first browsed through the pages of this book at national bookstore), then sputnik sweetheart, followed by norwegian wood and finally, dance dance dance. and from what i've read so far, this has got to be the most straightforward of all his novels, the more realistically occurring. yes, that is totally true; there's the sheep man living in an alternate universe that's located in the same world you are living in today, a person who can pass through walls and get an orgasm with a psychic prostitute, a character whose hair turns white overnight after seeing her an exact copy of herself living a life of its own in a room atop a ferris wheel. there also are vanishing elephants and wild sheep chases, hard-boiled wonderland, a boy named kafka and the different impacts of a local earthquake to a number of the residents (subjects of other books by murakami). details and storylines are
not entirely easy to explain. it's up to the reader to interpret what to make of the different occurrences in the novels. there's gotta be some brain exercise for one to be able to understand what murakami is trying to say. and i tell you once again, that circumstances were not entirely the same with his book norwegian wood.

this book, however got me intrigued regarding f. scott fitzgerald's the great gatsby. it's a book the main character and his friend like to read. murakami is not limited to reading books and listening to music which are commonplace or are in the mainstream. in fact, he is a jazz aficionado and the books he's mentioned in his novels span european and american literature (contemporary or otherwise - don't argue with me about time since i do not know the exact dates of publication of the books he's mentioned). so if you must know, i'm watching out for the books this author's mentioning. he's also got me intrigued regarding jack kerouac - quite a staple among the avant-garde if i may
say so from impressions i have formed from reading various articles which mention him (even his name screams eccentric). aside from these learned and a-notch-above-the-rest (not necessarily in terms of financial matters) lives his characters lead, murakami is also prone to island settings - malta, greece, hawaii, young, teenage girls entering the lives of thirty-something males (albeit, not in a malicious way) and who do so because they are different from
other people their age and their sensibilities match that of the older male, characters who drink beer often and regular enough it's just so alarmingly ordinary (at least for me, who's not exposed to that kind of lifestyle, i mean,
drinking is for relaxation done in a place where you're with friends, or else by your lonesome when feeling blue), attractive and intriguing japanese women and, characters losing something along the way which turns into the ultimate quest of the major character, resolved side by side with the various issues besetting the characters of the novel. it's one big psychological show, and i'm not a person who's too big on psychology (analysing math problems is already difficult for me, what more if you analyse a person and i'm sure, i'm not adept at picking up clues).

but however his stories turn out, they are great reads. i'm looking forward to his south of the border, west of the sun, another book of his that i'll be borrowing from pam. i also really wanted to buy this, as well as kafka on the shore (his latest before his new release of a collection of short stories) - the former because i was attracted to the jacket blurb which cites it as a work where murakami at his most wise and compelling, and the latter because i liked what i read when i browsed through the first page.

after all that i have read and seen regarding the japanese and their culture, i've come to the conclusion that the japanese are a very serious people, with no peep of comic relief, not even just a single funny situation involving themselves. nope, no funny stories from japan, only horror movies and more social dramas. no funny literary works. yes, there may be some in anime but then, funny circumstances are anime are due to the characterization of the players themselves. i've never heard of a japanese creation wherein a character finds himself in a situation where absurd things happen to him, and he would, thus, have to resort to silly or absurd actions to get through to the next
scene. what movies have i watched? as of now, i can only remember two: high and low by kurosawa, and battle royale. the former, a detective story aiming to catch the kidnapper and the ransom money he got from a rich businessman whose life unfolds along the way; the latter, a brutal program to instill responsibility and a sense of survival to japanese youngsters who only know to wreak havoc at school. only must survive after three days or else, everyone is dead, and there will be no winners of the game. this is a pretty cynical view, how orwellian (forgive my mentioning this author - all i've read is 1984). imagine, a class of middle school kids looking to kill each other off so that they'd be able to get out of an isolated island alive. a misunderstood bunch, and ones who also misunderstand the adult world. well, we're not seeing the whole picture here since you only get the adults' point of view, but nothing on the students. and like murakami's writing, there are hidden symbolisms, meanings, to be deciphered by the discerning viewer. and oh yeah, i remember i've watched the ring too.

anyway, what's with all this seriousness? is this an effect of what japan has gone through during the second world war? it may have been, plus the spillover effect of the culture japan has had, being isolated from the rest of the world
for so many years before the war. this is what i get from the psyche of the urban japanese. however, being the "frustrated japanese" that i am, i am actually drawn to japanese culture itself. it's so mesmerizing actually - the geisha, the samurai, the cherry blossoms. everything's just so beautiful. i've been drawn to this country from a long time ago, probably ever since i first saw kenshin himura in the animated movie.

the urban psyche may be troubled, or else, seriousness is what keeps them going all through their days (as long as they don't resort to suicide). anyhow, i'm anxious to get a headstart on my nihonggo lessons and visit japan real soon.
today's the 31st of december. i've to sleep now, the family's going to mass this morning since it's sunday already.

*started at 12:35 am

singing japanese

many things oughta be happening. i'm taking a break from the breakneck speed that i'm supposed to be doing things tonight. i have to finish the first compilation of our fs 135 report so that i could give it to macky for the final touches tomorrow. on top of that, i still have to start my report in fs 131 on descriptive sensory analysis. at least the calculation part is through. i've only my analysis to think about and put into words. of course, given the simple way i've told you what it's about, it's not really that easy trying to do this report with the various parameters involved (ANOVA on 9 different attributes of three product brands). up next, our report on the pretreatment of fruits and vegetables for fs 128 which was supposed to be due last wednesday, but which, due to the lack of time for it we choose to pass tomorrow. however, results still need to be analyzed. and i will only be able to get the parts done by each of my groupmates tomorrow morning. plus, we have classes tomorrow afternoon. and our group will be torn between doing the microbiological test for our special problem and doing the dehydration experiment. plus, i'm a respondent for dette's group's experiment at 12:30 pm tomorrow. also, i'm to evaluate longganisa again tomorrow. at least, there are a number of freebies for me. way to go.

anyhow, that's not what i wanted to write about. last sunday, i listened to the soundtrack of rurouni kenshin that i have. and i thought, why not sing along with the lyrics while i listen. so instead of doing more important stuff, there i was, blabbing incoherent japanese words along with the song. and i was having fun with it. the lyrics were not all wrong, mind you. i actually had saved some lyrics before and they're stored in my pc. and most of them even had translations. it was really fun. and it made me all the more want to learn how to speak japanese (nihongo). what struck me was the very different ways in which the japanese words were spoken. it's like no two songs were the same in manner of speaking (or word choice, if i may clear up the notion). in fact, one translator even noted that the writer uses a distinctly feminine/girlish speech, almost a "valley girl" type of Japanese. if there was formal, there's informal, but then, there're also other forms of speech. get what i'm saying.

and well, rurouni kenshin is quite action packed. so what i found out about the lyrics of the opening and ending themes did not quite match with what i thought it would be. all the translations i read were reminiscence of love. either the song talks about memories of a loved one, what that person does to you or the hurts caused by relations with that person. and i thought those japanese words on sobakasu were some be-strong-you-can-do-it type of message. had a good time last sunday. and of course, the words had to be pronounced every syllable. so that when you read a word that spells shitenai, you actually have to pronounce it this way: shi-te-na-i.

well, new discoveries. i miss watching kenshin. but most especially, i miss hearing the sounds that reminds me of him. good thing i have my pc. which is really very convenient for me. it's a good thing i got to convince my parents to buy me one.

so, after this long litany, i have to go back to what i was starting. wish me luck. ciao!

visual feast

here's a quick rundown of what i've been visually feasting on:

- comics history
one late-night channel surfing, i came across the history channel's take on comics. it takes us through the early dc comics and how marvel came up with its own line to challenge dc and other developments in the comics industry. comic covers, stories, notable personalities like stan lee, neil gaiman, story tactics like resurrecting the dead (e.g. robin) were featured.

the feature says x-men became such a hit because the characters weren't perfect. the readers could relate to them, unlike superman who was all steel that nothing can get him down. spiderman also became popular because peter parker was an ordinary high school boy who was just trying to get through high school. the power that he acquires all the more endears him to the readers because of the internal conflict brewing inside him. responsibility is a really heavy thing on one's shoulders, and deciding between being happy and doing something for the greater good will tear you apart many times. batman and robin weren't really accepted by the public, especially the elders because of the more-than-comrade treatment they seem to bestow each other. it's for that reason that robin was finally killed, i think, when batman comics sales were low. wonderwoman was also resurrected although i don't think it was very successful, after making her more like an image of modern times. there were also other moneymaking ventures like the hulk, the fantastic four, the punisher and daredevil.

frank miller, the author of the recently adapted sin city, was also an important figure in comics. his storytelling style was different. i believe his themes were usually dark but with really something good to say. the mention of gaiman's sandman is very short. it wasn't seen as a revolutionary piece, just one more comic joining in the fray which started being called graphic novels.

comics were tied to the social consciousness of their time. various issues like war and drugs were tackled. there were debates in the board room whether stories containing such themes will be published and eventually, they did after much grilling. the way the subjects were tackled should show that it's not cool to be doing such things. since much of young america was reading comics those days, it was really a very valuable medium to reach out to them.

i also found out that during the earlier years, writers and artists didn't have ownership of the works they were producing. the companies owned them. it was only around spiderman and the whole dc following suit that the creators got the credit for their work, i think, after another company started doing it.

- peter pan
yes, it's still the tale of the boy who never grew old. there's a bit of humor injected into it, and a few deviations from the original story, which i don't remember well anymore. anyhow, the - forgive the term - innocence that was inherent in the original story and various other adaptations of it, as well as in other elements of our childhood that had been abused and bastarded these times (e.g. bulaklak - why would they even think of putting double meanings in such harmless childhood games? the suggestive dance steps are the beginning of this. now every girl will enter school knowing that being sexy is an important thing.), was lost. peter was at first smitten with the 13-year-old wendy, who then starts to fall in love with him. yes, it did provide some focal points for this adaptation. yes, it's a new take on barrie's original story that captured the world. but i don't really agree with kids getting the idea that falling in love at a young age is such an important thing in the world. they are still kids. they should just enjoy their childhood, like what peter wanted to do. how could they exploit those young minds? crushes are all right, but love is another thing. pardon this outburst. i just wish things kids see nowadays are the same as what i used to watch before, untainted and full of good things. don't argue with my use of the words here.

- carnivale
i've been drawn to this ever since i first saw the advertisement on tv. i religiously watched the first few episodes while i could. it's still season one i think and i was able to watch four episodes this weekend. a pity that i only found out about it just recently. but i think the previous episodes were the ones i've watched already so no harm done. it's when i get back to up that i'll miss it again. sex has come up lately in the stories. i initially thought it would be something different since the beginning was really different from anything i've seen. i don't know what's been happening - the ratings are probably down or the creative minds behind it are not creative anymore - but yes, sex has been one of the key things that's making the story get on. even ben hawkins has been involved in it, and that's probably why he set out to save that woman's life. all of a sudden, life in the carnivale is no longer as it usually was. actually, it ceased to be when ben hawkins came along. however, i'm still stalled as to his connection with the priest Brother Justin who's situated in another part of the world and living in a perfectly normal environment. he, however, is not normal as the last episode has shown.

- fabulous life on vh1
yes, who else's life would be more interesting than ours? none other than the stars. though i don't really understand why some people would care to know everything that has been happening to everyone in tinseltown - local or foreign - i am grateful for those fansites being put up by faithful fans. a latest obsession over something or someone would find me scouring the net for anything and everything about him/her/it. most notable are the pictures so i say just keep them coming. but mind you, my obsessions don't last for long. eventually, i'd be content with what i have. i don't fixate on that obsession for long stretches of time. they usually come to an end, as soon as i've finally collected everything about it - a task i still have to accomplish with my manga scans and translations of rurouni kenshin. so i come back to my initial wonder at why people want to be always updated on everything that celebrities are doing at the moment. there's even a ridiculous kapamilya sim being sold in the country just so the ordinary citizen can stay in touch and in the know on what abs-cbn's stars are doing. they're feeding useless knowledge and promoting inappropriate priorities. the ordinary person would rather see claudine barreto cry on tv than understand the current political situation.

anyway, i've strayed far from my topic. another late night channel surfing chanced upon vh1's feature on the fabulous life of j. lo. she's rich. i was amazed, aghast at the extravagance that she indulges in to live her life. at least pam anderson doesn't keep her money all to herself. she's even got 3 kids. j. lo., i mean jennifer, has all the rocks that she's got. no longer jenny or j. lo. - a change of name ought to change people's perceptions about her - but she's got being rich and a star out strong.

- korean movies
of course, who can discount the comic relief provided by these? not to mention the touching endings that usually come with the laugh. i've only laid my eyes on windstruck and my little bride during this sick leave. but i still can't forget the images from my sassy girl. my 14-year-old brother even watched it with me and my sister and he wants to watch it again. of course, their flawless skin and their different nature provide a refreshing new view on these love stories. oh yeah, have you watched my tutor friend? cholo from stairway to heaven is there. i only saw him crying his heart out on tv before and it's great to see him playing it tough here. i do love chinitos, yeah nika? he's also got this killer smile and this killer bod. i could go with him right now if he wanted me hehe :D

- chocolat
i had the impression that this was a very sensational movie when it was shown in theaters. i stumbled upon it being shown on studio 23 after another late-night meditation in front of the tv. i wonder what i'd do without the remote. the wonders of technology hehe :D doesn't really take much to keep me happy. Ü anyway, i knew johnny depp was starring here. and being the fan that i am, i watched it to indulge in his acting prowess and downright charm; the images of luscious chocolate i remembered from years past also drew me to this. however, a boring pace soon got me surfing again but i did get the gist of the story. i wasn't able to start it so i didn't know the history of the women there. but they were considered outcasts in that society where religion keeps a strong hold on the people. the chocolate they make somehow induces people to commit sins because of the sheer enjoyment they get. that's really sad. once more, women are placed in categories which shouldn't be there. these outcasts are expected to conform to what they were used to. stubbornness led to a boycott on immorality which was fixated on them. never mind their happiness, their sense of self. i'm not aware of the turning point but eventually, the town's main man understood these women's side and the whole town no longer sees them as a threat. johnny depp's character is subdued but comical in his own way. this is the first movie i've seen him kissing another woman. heartbreak anyone?

- the tailor of panama
brosnan plays the kontrabida here and he gets away with it. imagine stirring up trouble in panama over a fake story of the intended sale of the panama canal, a very important trade port. all that trouble and shame - the us army, after getting info from the british, once again suits up to become the hero of any conflict - for 15 million US dollars. just for money once more, folks.

- desperate housewives
the wives of wisteria lane are unique in their own ways. all have their own concerns - from the ridiculously outrageous to the genuine simple ones. i don't know what's all the fuss about these women, but theirs is an interesting story in their own right. sex and getting back is not everything in the world. i guess i'm still tied up by conventional beliefs. anyhoo, i think i'd be happier in what i believe to be right than what's happening over there in the studios.

- metropolis
i just watched this animation awhile ago. i read that there's also a vintage movie titled metropolis but i'm not sure if they're the same thing. after months of putting it off, i finally put it in the player and surprisigly, the story took me from the very start when other chances didn't before. i guess it was just waiting for the right moment. it's based on the comics of osamu tezuka so the story must've been really old. metropolis is like any ordinary city of the future. the people have a characteristic appearance here different from the usual drawings. they did look strange the first time i saw them. two looked quite normal, resembling astroboy's round face but not his hair - kenichi and rock, two of the main characters. one looked americanish in appearance (he's supposed to be a japanese) - this is kenichi's uncle - and one looks like the normal anime drawing, the robot fashioned from the rich man's late daughter. it's robot fiction. robots are now in use to do more work. the downside is many people, mostly from the impoverished sector are staying that way with no jobs and no means to succeed. so there's growing interest in the elimination of these robots. there's also the rich sector who try to stay in power, and who want to take control of the world. the latter is being accomplished with the help of a special robot. but the rich man's adopted son wouldn't hear of it and tries to thwart his plans even if his father would disown him. in the end, the structure built for that purpose, the ziggurat, is destroyed by that robot he tries to use after she realizes what she can do. but total world doom is prevented by a human, the first person the robot meets who knows her enough to stop her and try to reach to that being he once knew. an interesting facet of this animation is the musical score. it's different from the previous ones - or is it the trend in some animation nowadays? - because jazz music is featured here. i do not know the artists but they do keep you up on your toes. instead of the sound of a big explosion when the ziggurat was getting destroyed, what i heard was silence from the main explosion, the one that should've been the biggest, and then the entry of a jazz ballad with the lyrics sung by a man. the music was quite at home with the colors of the film. the bright colors seem to bring you back to the lively scene that i imagine new orleans once was, before that devastating hurricane.