This entry was supposed to be about the movie i saw (again) and how it always inspires me, and why you should let it inspire you too.
Watching V for Vendetta again, surprised me with the voluminous memories it brought back. I wasn't expecting such personal emotions to be evoked watching such a nihilistic and poetic movie.
I suppose it was because of this simple scene.
I was teleported back to a couple of years ago, a random afternoon where KH and I were curled up on my couch after failing to make pancakes. We watched V for Vendetta and had mighty cravings for that egg-in-a-basket V made Actually KH might've had mightier cravings for Natalie Portman, but yeah you get the point.
A couple of months ago, i unintentionally stumbled upon the recipe and made a mental note about trying it out with him one of these days.
But i suppose that, along with many other things, will always remain as just a thought. Truth is, we broke up about a month ago. I'm sorry if i did not take the liberty to advertise that sordid piece of news on my forehead.
I told my brother. I told my mother. 3 friends. Thought that was enough.
Apparently it wasn't because people bring him up all the time. Apparently when you're not attached anymore you become hypersensitive to questions like "Eh, going back to KL to see boyfriend ah?"
Why do people ask that? I spent 4 years establishing a healthy relationship where we are not JUST defined as an singular entity. A couple.
But people still ask that.
Lying about it now just seems so...wrong.
Anniversary, 2008.
There was no drama. No third party. No baby. No violent tossing of furniture or crashing a car through his front door.
I suppose watching my roommate talk to her ex more often than we talk to each other. Or staring at his SMSes, not knowing what the appropriate reply should be. Little insignificant things that just keep accumulating and morphing into this gigantic white elephant.
For a period of time, everything just doesn't quite fit anymore.
MPH, 2007
He had his own set of reasons and i have mine. Halfway through this entry, i logged onto facebook only to discover that his relationship status had been set to 'single'. We never had the habit of displaying our relationship statuses before.
As V would so eloquently put it ''I, like God, do not play with dice and I don't believe in coincidences''. Perhaps we've both recuperated considerably. For the first two weeks i didn't talk to anyone. When anybody asked, i said i was having a terrible cold.
Truth was, i didn't want to answer any questions. I didn't want to explain. I didn't want to burst into tears in front of people who doesn't give a shit about me beyond the gossip and shock the unexpected brings.
Perhentian, 2008.
Perhaps i could've been a little more patient. Understanding gentle and less abrasive. Or he could've been more sensitive attentive and appreciative. But what's the point on dwelling on these things now?
There are so many things we have yet to accomplish together. So many places to open our senses to. Promises to keep and experiences to savour.
This is the first photo we've ever taken together. It's still in the wallet you bought me.
Time does change people. We both entered different universities last year, what a tumultous year that was. In the chaos of it all, i suppose in search of solid ground, we've both lost hold of each other.
I never told you this but, I once said to a guy who tried to take me away from you: Do you know what it's like to be loved unconditionally?
That was how i felt when i was with you. When i said jump, you said how high, no questions asked. You never belittled my opinions or disagreed with my actions or paths. I used to think that was enough.
But i guess it wasn't.
I think this is the last good photo we'll ever take.
Why all the photographs? Because you said not to look back in anger.
We never got to record Realize. You didn't get around to bringing me to that look-out point. The last movie we saw together was rubbish.
I will always in a way miss you. So long and good night.
Angelin made me watch this trailer a couple of months ago, and i KNEW i had to watch this series. Glee is like taking all the things in life that i love most, like
a) song covers
b) skinny guitarists
c) inappropriate jokes
and putting them into a delightful little TV series that's taking up all of my time.
Glee is about about a high school teacher, Mr. William Schuster who puts together a show-choir club. Which sounds like the most boring theme in the world, but it is gleeful!
I spent 6 years of my life in a choir club. Have you ever heard of the cliche term "burst into tears of joy"? Have you had the orgasmic pleasure of experiencing that?
I have.
When our choir club came out as state champions and made it to nationals.
I was sixteen years old at the time, and i knew i was never going to feel that kind of high (you know, without the abuse of substances or exchanging bodily fluids ugh) again.
And i haven't.
This is the most good looking man in the world T_T He has the voice of John Mayer.
Glee may not be as sexy as Desperate Housewives. Or generate as much laughter as Scrubs. Or have a superhuman medical Sherlock Holmes by the name of Gregory House.
But what Glee brings is talent. Pure. Talent.
There is a medical condition i call "Glee Goosebumps". There's no other non-physiological way to describe it. Everytime a song comes on, i get chills.
In any other circumstance, i would treat Queen covers with the deepest possible contempt.
But I absolutely squealed with delight when i heard this. In fact, i'm still listening to it right now. Please listen to the full version of Somebody to Love and all the other songs that appear in Glee here.
To not click the link above is a cardinal sin!
Lee Zhi Wei, you HAVE to watch this series. Not because you always recommend all these wonderful series for me to waste my time with, but because one of the characters really remind me of you. If you can guess which one i'll buy you lunch the next time i see you.
I am now suffering from major withdrawal symptoms because i cannot find episode 11, so i've resorted to listening to the soundtrack on youtube. (Again, CLICK IT!)
You know i cannot resist a man with a voice like this.
But the man everyone should pay attention to is the teacher Mr Schu. He can sing any genre imaginable. He is flawless. Everytime he performs you just freeze at your seat and sigh internally, entranced.
I am such a social reject, even the TV shows i watch are about social rejects.
The moral of the story is. Watch Glee.
Although it will make you skip your way to class like a deranged pixie.
I like this photo because it gives the illusion that my acne has cleared up even though it hasn't. But progress is good though, i am shedding skin like a summer snake.
I also like the atmosphere in which this photo was taken. No afternoon classes, just pecan granola bars, episodes of Glee courtesy of Clement and a good book.
I know i've been a little moody of late, but we shan't talk about that. We should treat this patient symptomatically.
I've been listening to a lot of Queen lately and this songs makes me so happy i can't describe it.
Well actually, i can. I was just telling Shan that Don't Stop Me Now makes me want to get up and tap-dance. Only i can't tap-dance. But Don't Stop Me Now makes me want to learn how to tap-dance just so i can tap-dance to it.
-______-
I'm not the most descriptive person.
At times i think modern day music is just really bad imitations of Queen.
I went home for the weekend because i'm just so wimpy that way. I was just home 2 weeks ago but some dramatic things have happened since then.
My dog, Kilo had a male-related problem that my Dad was too shy to describe. He had to undergo a major surgery and when he returned, he had to wear the Cone of Shame.
As visual evidence show, he wasn't too happy about it.
He also had a vasectomy to ensure that the problem doesn't arise anymore. Although i think the correct term is "neutering" or "castration", but vasectomy sounds less painful eh?
On Saturday, Mrs Aimee's Mom took me out for a shopping trip that would prove to be unsuitable for wimpy members of the society like me.
We went for the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, and believe me when these people say "sale", they really meant SAAAAAAAAALE!
Sorry this was the best picture i could take of the day because
a) most of the time my hands were (literally) quivering with excitement
b) I was carrying books by which their accumulated weight is equivalent to that of seventeen baby whales. (You will see in a minute)
c) TOO MUCH GROUND TO COVER!
(This is like a quarter of the queue. It's astounding, really. I've never been to a book sale where i had to line up to get in. And i was there at 10.30 in the morning.)
I think the event organizers handled everything immaculately. Although there were enough people present for us to be constituted as a small country, navigating around the place was a breeze.
They provided lovely music (i remember hearing a song from Moulin Rouge! but then again i could've been having a happy hallucination.)
The books were categorized clearly and rummaging was such a thrill.
These are the stack of books i chose but ended up not buying.
They were priced at about rm8 each, terrific condition. My first instinct was to just grab EVERYTHING.
Then i realized my blood sugar and my pathetic arms wouldn't last, so i had to come up with a new strategy.
(What we ended up buying at the end of the day. One of the staff escorted us to our car, which i thought was a nice touch.)
I am not a big fan of non-fiction but curiousity got the better of me and i grabbed a couple of books. Needless to say they ended up in the "books i chose but ended up not buying" pile.
I also steered clear of the Romance section because
a) they generally make me want to throw up
b) if they don't make me want to throw up, they're normally only worth reading once
c) ho ho ho there were way too many oestrogen-packed people there for me to get a nose through.
(What i did buy.)
I was especially excited when i found Don DeLillo. I have yet to read any of his books because they are normally exorbitantly priced in major bookstores. I found at least 4 of his books in the sale, but only bought one.
You know, in case i didn't like him.
But quite wtf right, they were rm8, i should've just taken them all -____-
GAAAAAAH. The David Nicholls book which i saw for 79.90rm in Borders.
I AM NEVER BUYING BOOKS ANYWHERE ELSE!
The tall tower of books you see in the background are some of the stuff we picked out for my brother because he was too unwimpy to join us.
I hope you enjoyed this self-centered entry about my shopping trip that you so unfortunately missed.
(Burn.)
Well actually it's not over yet, you can still head on down to Amcorp mall, but on one condition.
You must tell me if you are because i think there are a couple more books that i regret leaving in the "book i chose but did not buy" stack.
Here's a random community message brought to you by me because wimpy kids feel the need to do things like that.
Eat loads of fruits. Read loads of books. And never ever get on a bus with a full bladder.
I've been doing a lot of movie reviews lately, haven't i?
I just saw this movie called Equilibrium. I loved it, and not because Christian Bale is in it. Okay, you got me there, partly because Christian Bale is in it.
Equilibrium and its concepts won me over because it debates the consequences of human emotions. The movie is set in the future, where all emotions have been eliminated.
I loved this scene where a Cleric was shot in between the pages of one of William Butler Yeats' book. I kept wondering which poem he died to. Or what book i'd like to die in between the pages of.
All of mankind's greatest mishaps arise from characteristics like rage, jealousy, sorrow, pride, fear, greed. And the common denominator of all these flaws are, emotions.
The theory is that by eradicating all forms of emotions, there would be no war, no murder, no destruction, distractions or dysfunction. The human race would be efficient, productive, harmonious.
Droids. But you know, perfect droids.
Of course sacrifices would have to be made. We give up happiness, love, I'm having trouble thinking of positive emotions. Help please. but that is the price we pay for perfection. For peace.
I'm not a great fan of violence. But the fight scenes in this movie is marvelous. They're almost poetic. Each kill is like a meticulously choreographed dance. Go watch the fight scenes here.
Which really got me thinking. Would you give up your emotions for control.? Hyper awareness of your actions, your thoughts?
Equilibrium has been compared to The Matrix, which i've never got around to watching.
But I would most likely weigh it against V for Vendetta, Watchmen, The Dark Knight (What do you know! Christian Bale again.) And perhaps Wanted as well, but that's probably because of the multiple "one vs. many" fight scenes.
Another series which i've enjoyed the first season of is Dexter.
There are some similarities between Equilibrium and Dexter. Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter analyst who has no emotions (due to severe childhood trauma).
Although technically there isn't a drug that can eliminate human emotions (yet), that's not really the argument is it?
I suppose the problem is not in the existence of emotions, but rather how people control them.
Random particulates of emotions just constitute to chaos.
This is my favourite character from Dexter, Rudy Cooper.
It is easy to see the perks of being completely devoid of emotions. Everything would be so orderly and symmetrical. People would do just what they were supposed to.
You'd argue that without chaos, there'd be no passion, no vitality. There'd be no life.
But by whose definition of "life" are we living by anyway?
I don't know why all these interesting characters are always male. Maybe females are just brimming with emotions and it'd be odd to give them the depth that comes with being completely emotionless.
(There. I'm done with these psychopathic evaluations on life.)
Back to my Dexter review. Overall it's enjoyable, its appeal lies in it being only 12 episodes long, so its constantly fast paced and exhilarating.
But it can be quite predictable. For example, i knew Rudy was the killer the first time he appeared, it was just too obvious. (I couldn't guess the motive though.)
And there were too many crazy flaws that i spotted. They'd make their characters do things to mislead the audience. But when you look at the bigger picture, they have nothing to do with the plot whatsoever!
And maybe because it is a new series. Some of the acting comes off as a little fake.
This is officially the bloodiest entry ever. I should be a little less morbid, seriously. But betaserver has gone missing and i'm dying (hahaha. pun) to watch season 2 of Dexter.
