Saturday, December 23, 2006
♥ Saturday, December 23, 2006
the past...the Wrestling! Oh God was that fun. We mimicked those superstars and their moves in our TK Low sports hall and i ended up with a fractured wrist!
We played in our classrooms. Yeah, tables and chairs! Imagine the teachers' reactions.
While we walk down memory lane, there's quite certainly a dopamine-induced scene of friends and laughter. And rightfully so, for without them, we would actually begin asking ourselves whether we have really experienced intimacy and happiness.
Friends. The term is rich with meaning, and it seems almost debatable which side of the coin one would argue for. Is it going to be one with utmost importance to life, as that of support and encouragement, as that of company and existence, or is the subject of the matter going to be approached with amassed hostility and belligerence with the notion 'man is after all, an island'?
Its Christmas, and my Christmas has been different every particular year. This Christmas, is definitely more unique- i get to evaluate and reminisce.
So revisit i shall.
This can be seen as either somehting sad or joyous, but either way, it is strange-the most beautiful in us, can only be revealed in us by another person. Thats established.
So, it being a lover, a friend, Jesus, whoever..its a PERSON that brings out the most true in us. Whats most true? According to Jean Varnier, that we all suffer the pains of isolation that we all long for some form of solidarity and communion. That we all are in need of love and that painful void have caused much havoc to both us and our surroundings.
A friend, thus walks along, and leaves his trail. His footprints that in a certain part of our cerebellum, moulds our very being and in perhaps later years, forms a profound part of our attitudes and ideals. A certain figure of inspiration, a person of conviction, a person of ambition or principles for example, are all persons we aspire towards and are our signs of hope. These people leave profound impacts on us.
But this is what they dont tell you in those books: they walk off. What used to be a confidante, suddenly becomes unquestionably a person who is acknowledged by a hi and bye. Now, the really hilarious thing is, that you know that you all shared a common and possibly even wonderful past. And so do they, he or she. And he knows you know. And you know he knows. Oh my goodness....you know he knows that you know. And he knows that you know that he know. Thats the definiton of awkward. Awkward to the point of paralysis, and what happens during paralysis is that your muscles stiffen so uncontrollably that the lips can only churn out a hi and a bye.
And then here's Christmas for all you touchy feely, sentimental suckers for romance.
We meet again. Time has gone by and we havent covered much ground. We no longer no whether our memories match nor whether even our personalities are that agreeable anymore. But there's a certain wonder to this day because we meet up even when we have our doubts, even when we suffered a certain paralysis once seeing each other along orchard road.
Then we chat, we exchange, we share, we begin covering ground. 'How have you been' one goes, ' i have gone to', 'oh have you seen the..','i have been so busy lately with my..' And then the brilliance begins. What brilliance? The brilliance of understanding, like a light, grows brighter and our images of each other become more lucid and we realise one fundamental and essential truth!! That person we are talking to, is that very person we were so close to some time before. That beneath the uncovered ground, the new wavelengths, the different haircuts and the changing girlfriends, there is still that one unchanging him or her.
Perhaps when God created man, the journey man had to actually take was one of friendship. Or for those non believers, the evolutionary progress of the cognitive was in such a way that dialogue, or social interaction between men and men would continue deepening and developing. Perhaps the onslaught of cynicism and individuality, contrary to popular belief, has really dampened...
To Mel..YOU inspired this post.
Last Christmas
Sunday, December 17, 2006
♥ Sunday, December 17, 2006
Christmas.
The story began the way everyone already remembered it to be. The boy in the manger, the 3 wisemen, the star and that family. That place and the angels.
Then came along the other generous guy. So generous he was canonized. And then, suddenly he became a mystical bearded man who lives in the North (or was it South) Pole, with elves and present-making factories. He rode on a sleigh. Everyone knows the song.
Then the boy who knew both stories grew up. He knew one was false and one was true. Only problem was he was aloof to which was which. Thus lie became truth, and truth, lie. The boy that was born became a fantasy, and the old man who rode a sleigh and fulfilled children's dreams became the truth.
The boy who knew both stories went through one christmas after another. The boy had neither calender nor watch, he had no account of either time nor date. How he figured it was christmas was when the war stopped and people on opposite ends shook hands and played ball with each other. They gave each other pies and drink.
For that 24 hours, no one would fire, no one would scold and no blood would spill. Killers became lovers. And yes, there's the snow. The snow that blanketed all the bodies and for that one particular instant, it was as if time itself had a way of masking the woundedness of reality with a white veil. The season that brought history into life. The boy that was born where the donkeys were, became the very reason 2 men torn apart by strife came together to share a drink, in hearty laughter.
The boy became a man. There was peace in the land, but the war in the man continued. Christmas now became a reminder. A nostalgic reminder of what used to be, and what it is now. The snowing stopped and so nothing hid the corpses. The corpses of familiar people, friends and family alike. The man was a ravaged land, with a battle that would never seem to end. He could neither put a finger to who the enemy was, nor the battle he was fighting for. But there definitely was a battle- the number of wounds proliferated.
The man walked around the earth and christmas became tuesday, wednesday and thursday. There was no more christmas, no more baby in the manger, no more old man on a sleigh. There was neither truth nor lie, only the man that was a boy. He'd seen asia, he'd seen europe and he'd seen america.
The man was tired and slept. He closed his eyes and suddenly saw everything- his life, his pains and his losses. They say when you die, your entire life flashes in front of you. For that instance, that man saw the boy. The boy that believed in the child in the manger and the old man on a sleigh. The boy that saw the war stop and the snow settle.
What was that. His eyes felt wet and his vision blurred. He remembers the war, the tiresome onslaught of criticism and mockery. He remembers growing up. He remembers not believing anymore. Its as if when one sleeps, the eyes are turned on themselves, and the windows of one's soul lays bare for himself to see. Thats the war everyone goes through. The war between the conscious saying 'everything's fine' and the unconscious berating the mess up.
And the man cries. The boy laughs.
The snow falls and the wounds close.
Christmas.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
♥ Sunday, December 10, 2006
AFGM, A Few Good Men, A Fantastic Gutsy Movie!
Jack Nicholson's the true personfication of evil in this court room drama, about a murdered army personnell in the training area. High intensity and witty exchanges.
Someone made a crude remark about my movies. And thats somehting i just cant get over. Ok, truth be told, it wasnt really crude la..she just said 'movies dont give you anything'.
That, i really beg to differ.
I believe movies offer more than what the average joe can possibly give. And in a world or society where mediocrity, moral relativisim and secularity are rampant, movies bring one more than sheer entertainment.
Well, lets touch on that, first. Whats wrong with entertainment? There's muttering about the hustles and bustles of life, and the need to relax, get out of whatever you're doing-entertainment does that. It stimulates excitement, fear, sadness, happiness, hope and despair; i would go so far as to say that movies, in general could be life in microcosm. Of course, i would agree that entertainment might also be a form of escape. But shall we touch on the idea of truth and reality and living in it? Because if we do, then we're talking ideals. And work and argue all u want, as u may, ideals might sadly be a figment of human imagination.
Imagination?? Paradoxically, movies provide and guide that very imagination, and actually give people a sense of hope, in the form of ideals. There's Batman, there's Superman if you want to consider comic characters. Lets not stretch the imagination to an absurd degree. How about Hotel Rwanda and Schindler's list? How about the Woodsman: a movie of a peadophile fighting against his very nature. Is that not a depiction of reality? Is that not a portrait of the truth? Note: Comment After Watching.
And lets consider the disintegrating family concept. Sheer B-grade movies like Click tells you how to treasure and why to treasure family. Korean movie Brotherhood weaves in the notion of sacrificial brotherly love. Movies like American Beauty speaks of what goes on behind the scenes of human love and struggle- a family torn apart by sexual fantasies, ambitions and the voids created by a lack of love. And the recent spy controversy that Russia so vehemently denied-the one about the ex KGB being posioned by radioactive chemicals..doesnt that sound like any of the spy movies? Say the Bourne series or James Bond. So, History makes the story in movies, and vice versa, movies reveal the stories in history.
Have you watched Last Samurai?
Have you watched Rocky? Have you watched Goal? Or something more recent...say, Remember the Titans? Coach Carter? Akeelah and the Bee? Million Dollar Baby?
Im sure amongst one of them, you must have remarked it 'nice'. Lets get psychoanalytical. It wouldnt be nice, unless it invoked certain emotions or euphoria by making certain sense. So, in other words...it 'spoke' to you, didnt it? The movie's story, or character and how it made its triumph provided a feeling or whats that....inspiration, hope,possiblities. Is that not what the world needs right now? Is that not what WE need, right now?
Now this is a rhetoric: what movie brought such controversy, as it did to a renewal of christian faith, jsut slightly over 2 years back? I give you a clue- the director's Mel Gibson.
Take it from me: movies offer alot more than what sheer living does. Whats today's notion of living? Let me guess, in all humble speculation.
You wake up, and go through your normal routine duties of brushing teeth and taking a shower.
There probably is breakfast on the table. Then, there's school. The lectures...did you understand them? Was it too....BORING? Yes, thats the banal flow of routines barking at ya.
Then there's lunch with a couple of friends. You talk about the things you probably talked about before, perhaps including certain trivial and minor details that you lacked.
Back to those lessons. This time, the lecturer or teacher's engaging. You listen intently.
School ends, you go back. Meet more friends, probably have some other commitments to certain activities..sailing, dancing, running, gyming, church-ing..whatever. Thats a tuesday.
Should i describe such a day to you, i think i can only expect a yawn. But, BUT, if i present to you the colours of imagination, the moving pictures that stimulate thought, reflection, if i can let your heart beat to the rythm and dance in the 'moulin rouge atmosphere', do you know what instead have you achieved??? LITERATURE. Yes, its literature that we begin appreciating the world and its vast mysteries. Its literature that we get to revel in the joy of 'meaninful things'. its literature, precisely that we begin understanding Beauty. And yes, its movies that we begin or continue understanding literature.
Of course, i do not study lit and can probably only give a shallow insight.
Nevertheless, i do make sense. And i approach this topic with much belligerence and bellicosity. There's nothing more painful than having your personal hobby assaulted by sheer ignorance. But, got to thank you also la. Without your invoking of such emotions, i probably couldnt come out with this masterpiece, haha.
So...'SHOW ME THE MOVIES'!!!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
♥ Thursday, December 07, 2006
Have tonnes to write but have no idea where to begin.
Over recent trip, trip that i thought i would really dread, God completely threw my expectations back in my face- He's in charge all right.:)
Met and made so many new friends, and encountered new, treacherous but challenging perspectives from them! Sgt Alex and his powerful invectives against christianity, is by far one of the most brilliant oratories i met, who's of our age. I can learn tonnes from him man.
Then, there's Renji-ex marist primary.
there's lt Eugene and Edward. There's Phang and Linda. There's Viswa and Yuva and Yongcia...
And then, there's the sunset. That same sunset on the hilltop that called so many up that physically demanding hill.
And of course, there're the books.
Before i went, i finished The book of laughter and forgetting by Milan Kundera on 21/11/06.
I quoted from his book in the previous entry. Its always a joy reading Kundera's books la.
Then, there's Becoming Human By Jean Varnier which i finished on 25/11/06. Janice gave me the book, and i am grateful- it brings the christian ideals at a very human level, at every point in time, sympathizing with the reader's difficulties and doubts till the very end. Its enlightening.
And of course, i wanted to read another of Pope John Paul's writings. So i picked up Rise, Let Us be On Our Way. There were some real inspiring verses..but the target audience were priests and bishops you see, so hmm...quite dry la, i must say. Finishe dthe bk on 27/11/06.
And out of sheer boredom, i just took up a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert kiyosaki. Its a self help book on financial management, 10-steps-to-becoming-a-millionaire kinda book la. Its highly secular, and i guess these books tend to have tonnes of anecdotes, which make it highly motivating and convinving. well, i would think its a good eye opener la. And it teaches u to have some financial sense.
And for the first time, the lodgin was fantastic. we stayed at some motel, where 3 ppl shared a unit with 5 beds in it. hahah..and considering the environment prior to this? It was a real heaven.
But now that im back, there is really quite abit to be done.
Few ppl to meet up with.
Then there's xmas. After abt 4 years, this xmas is going to be a pretty different one.
And of course, i must sort out what is it im going into.
Pen off first...1 plus in the morn, singapore. means its like 3 plus over there. knocking out...
Have you watched Rocky? Have you watched Goal? Or something more recent...say, Remember the Titans? Coach Carter? Akeelah and the Bee? Million Dollar Baby?