Horrors of Insomnia

I used to have wild, inappropriate and ultimately disturbing fantasies about being alone in a post-apocalyptic world where I could run around grabbing stuff off mall shelves and sleeping in 5-star hotels. However, when you have to get up early the next day, and you're still lying awake after 3 hours in bed, you'd regret ever thinking so foolishly.

You'd wonder how nice it would be to have someone by your side to talk to. You'd feel you need a conversation, a bit of a chat to stop that ringing in your ears. You'd fight the temptation to wake all your friends with a false alarm ring. You'd struggle to keep yourself from calling any random person just to hear a human voice. A human voice. The soft, assuring, calming tones of a human voice. That's all you'd need.

Then you'd start to talk to yourself, alternating between scolding and re-assuring yourself. You'd switch the lights on and off, just to amuse yourself with the shiny, flickering glow. After that, you'd make repetitive trips to the toilet, convinced each time that you haven't rinsed your bladder dry enough, when in actuality, you just like the sound of the water flushing. The phone would look really tempting now. So would the sleeping pills. Finally you'd grab a sleep-inducing flu medicine pill and, convincing yourself that you wouldn't get addicted to it, slowly drop off to sleep.

As the years go by, insomnia has painfully taught me something. Humans are sociable creatures and we'd die of madness if left without any company.

Walt Disney Pictures presents...Iron Man?!?!

Click here!

Woo! Disney is set to acquire Marvel for a huge amount of $4 billion (or more). Reminds you of the time Pixar was bought for $6 billion, right? Crazy stuff. Before anyone gets too skeptical and starts contemplating suicide in screams of "KIDDIE SPIDEY!!!! NO!!!" I'd like to just point out that Disney knows how to handle mature properties well enough.

Evidence? Just look at the Pixar movies and the Pirates of the Carribean series. The Incredibles still beats most Marvel-based movies out there (except the spectacular, pun intended, Spider-man 2) and whoever dares condemn Captain Jack Sparrow as kiddie needs to be shot, courtesy of the good captain, of course. Also, anyone played Kingdom Hearts, that weird combination of Disney and Final Fantasy? It worked wondrously, didn't it?

I'm no fortune teller, but regardless of the positive or negative consequences of this deal, it will be interesting to follow this development.


Picture is copyrighted by Marvel (or now, Disney?). News article taken from CNNMoney.com, on August 31,2009.

Thank God for bus drivers

Thank God for bus drivers, those humble, unsung heroes of this world. In a strange foreign land, bus drivers (at least good, friendly ones) open their arms to you and make the entire place seem a lot less intimidating. Be it a tiring day, heavy rain, or a tough errand, bus drivers make the job so much easier.

That's amazingly true for those in Urbana-Champaign, who impressed me with their wonderful mannerisms and patience. Without them, life at the university would have been miserable. Again, thank you.

The "joys" of flying

I simply hate flying. It is tiring, frustrating, and time-wasting. Although I may have adored every moment of staring at the clouds through the cabin windows as a kid, the shocking reality of adult flying responsibilities have ignited within me a strong dislike for flying. I glower with impatience at having to comply with the discriminating check-in baggage limitations. I tire at having to wait long lines or having to battle inefficient computers just to check-in. I am sick of having to spend hours at the departure gates just waiting to enter an airplane. I am disgusted by inconsiderate passengers who push and fight their way to their seats. I am frustrated at how long international flights take and how taxing they are.

However, it is not these little peculiarities and regulations of flying that really overwhelm me. Ultimately, it's the sad goodbyes, the sinking feelings, the fighting emotions that make me detest flying at the heart of my soul. It's having to part with a life of blissful contentment, familiarity, and joy. It's having to convince yourself about the so-called “bright future” and “exciting times” arguments.

Yes, I know that by all reasoning and logic, it is the best road to take. But since when were humans logical beings? We were given feelings and emotions unquantifiable and unexplainable by science. Despite many centuries of knowledge accumulation, we still cannot convincingly persuade ourselves that emotions can be logically understood.

I've often said that my dream was to soar through the clouds, much like Peter Pan did in his marvelous adventures. Reality sucks, doesn't it?

Princess Mononoke

My sister recently bought an entire Studio Ghibli collection from Speedy for quite a good bargain. We've been watching a few films now and I might (depending on my diligence or lack of) be reviewing some of those movies. First up is:

PRINCESS MONONOKE

"What exactly are you here for?"
"To see with eyes unclouded by hate."

The title, Princess Mononoke, initially brought up images of heavenly beauties with astounding gracefulness and femininity. Imagine my surprise when official artwork and my subsequent viewing of the film showed me that the titular princess was a rough, savage girl who fought with such primal ferocity that Tarzan would simply seem docile in comparison. Indeed, one of the most admirable traits in anime movies, and Studio Ghibli productions in particular, is the tendency to defy genre stereotypes.


Princess Mononoke is a feral child, raised by wolves and sworn to the protection of her forest homeland. The film tells of uneasy conflicts between the supernatural spirit guardians of the said forest and the humans, whose industrial progress demands the consumption of the forest's resources. Of course, humans being humans, there are constant skirmishes between rival factions as well. All of this is seen by an outsider, Ashitaka, a prince from a banished, distant tribe who must remove a curse laid upon him by a demon.

The unique thing that I observed about Princess Mononoke was that it was a very “shades of gray” type of film. None of the factions, not even the forest spirits, were indisputably good and free from error. For example, while it was admirable that the forest's boar and wolf guardians fight for the protection of their homeland, it eventually became clear that they were driven more by pride and revenge than for the love of their forest. This was also seen in the greedy Lady Eboshi, who despite her excessive industriousness, was still portrayed as a kind lady who took in lepers, prostitutes and other outcasts and gave them food, jobs and opportunities. The film's characters are difficult to assign labels of good or evil to and ultimately it is probably a reflection of how reality really is.

Take that, Edward Cullen

At the core of this film are director Hayao Miyazaki's strong anti-war and environmental themes which are also featured in his other films such as Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away. Studio Ghibli's trademark animation brought devastating scenes of death and destruction to life in a way that was previously only thought possible to be done by live-action. Princess Mononoke was perhaps notorious for being the only (I think) film by Hayao Miyazaki to contain explicit scenes of violence, but I feel that any child mature enough can watch this movie with proper parental guidance.

Studio Ghibli really is proven to be the Pixar of the east. Princess Mononoke is another brilliant film that is well worth watching.


Images are copyrighted by Studio Ghibli, Miramax, and whoever else involved.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

"Did I know that I just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time? No. "

Daniel Radcliffe really is short. His character, Harry Potter, is about the same height, if not shorter, than most of his female companions and lets not take into consideration the guys such as Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint). Really, how many heroes in summer blockbusters are that short? Batman, Superman, Rambo, Aragorn, James Bond, Anakin Skywalker and countless others are tall, well-built men. Heck, even geeky protagonists Peter Parker and Sam Witwicky were taller than their girlfriends. (I need to re-watch Transformers to confirm Sam, though)

Much like its main character, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince doesn't follow after conventional summer blockbuster stereotypes. In fact, it takes the conventional formula and spits it in the face. Instead of a mind-numbing action scene after the other (I'm looking at you, Revenge of the Fallen!) Prince takes it very subtly. Scenes progress after the other in pure dramatic fashion, but never fully blown, explosive or in-your-face. Characters interact believably and convincingly in brilliant British-style dialogue that is full of clever jokes and puns. Best of all, the director carries us through an amazing narrative using very effective camerawork.

Quidditch is thankfully back in full-force

Now, with all this praise, who exactly really stands out? One that comes to mind is Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. No longer a free-reigning bully, Felton portrays a troubled and frustrated Malfoy whose brooding behavior is a magnificent contrast to his former boastful self. Newcomer Jim Broadbent did a great job as bumbling Professor Slughorn. Helena Bonham Carter remains delightfully evil as Bellatrix Lestrange, squeezing hate out from you at every scene. All of the series regulars such as Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) remain top-notch. Also, Michael Gambon, thankfully, finally gets it right as Albus Dumbledore.

Rough weather, eh?

Perhaps all this talk of subtlety is just bias conceived from watching the testosterone-filled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen twice in a row. It just struck me as I was sitting there in the cinema hall how different this movie was from all the recent blockbusters I have watched. Even my personal favorite, Star Trek, was not above biffs and bangs. Make no mistake, Prince does have many cool tricks and effects, but it is all executed in an inconspicuous yet satisfactory way. Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince was a delightful watch and will continue to make you think after you've stepped out of the hall. Just don't go in expecting a special-effects bonanza.

For you, Sheldon

All images are copyrighted by Warner Bros. Pictures. Some images taken from IGN.com. Go visit them to ease my guilt.

Yes sir, we're back in business...

Yes, I've been neglecting this blog. Yes, I've been complacent. Due to being berated by a friend *cough* Sheldon *cough*, I've decided to start writing in this again.

What's up with my life? Unlike some studious friends, I've wasted it playing video games and watching geeky stuff, be it movies or TV shows. Star Trek and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen came and went; the former rocked, no pun intended, to the stars, while the latter was so-so. However, I'll be damned if I didn't agree with the fantastic special effects and AWESOME AWESOME robot designs. More on that in later posts, if there's time (and initiative).

Favorite for this year

Recently, we had to go to Putrajaya for a JPA pre-departure briefing. It felt odd at first meeting all my friends again after 2 months, but it gradually evolved to great fun. I'll repeat what I said before, I'll never forget you guys. It was really fantastic hanging out with everyone and that surely cannot be replaced by any amount of geekdom.

So, if there are any readers out there, expect to see more posts in the future! Gerard logging out.