Sick

It's the third time this year that I got sick. The first was in the first half of October. One day after a drink in Intramuros after an excavation, I came home with a fever. The second was just last week when I arrived home from work feeling all exhausted and dead tired from the long commute. The third is this week, for three days already. The fever's almost gone, but the sore throat sucks. I hate it.

The suspect is the Red Bowl I ate in UP Diliman. It's located in Foodtrip Strip. That's what I call that road where Lutong Bahay, Lutong Kapitbahay, Universi-tea, my fave Cocina ni Mamang, and several others, can be found. I was primarily attracted to the P35 meal. At that time I was short on money so finding a cheap meal was bliss.

Turned out to be hell. It's got LOTS of vetsin, and it did me great pain. As soon as I arrived home, I went straight to my room and was asleep in seconds. When I woke up later at night, I wasn't feeling well. And I could smell MSG in my urine. Imagine that. So the only remedy I thought of was water therapy. I drank lots and lots of water. Almost every 30 minutes I took in fluids, just to flush out any remnant of MSG in my system. Yes, I freaked out. I never liked vetsin.

And yes I am traumatized by the experience. I'm going back to bringing packed lunch. There should be something that regulates the use of MSG. The DOH and FDA should do something.

Pelikulang Pinoy: Isang Pagbabalik-Alaala

Kanina habang nasa loob ng isang bus, nilibang ko ang sarili sa panonood ng TV. Nakatune-in sa GMA ang TV sa bus at may komersyal patungkol sa ipapalabas na pelikula. Ang pelikulang iyon ay isa sa mga madalas kong mapanood noong bata ako. Isa rin iyon sa aking mga paborito.

Naroon sa pelikulang iyon si Roderick Paulate. Ang papel niya doon ay isang engkanto na may anyong puno. Pinarurusahan niya ang mga illegal loggers habang pinoprotektahan ang gubat. Ang titulo noong pelikula ay "Engkanto". Hindi ko na masyadong maalala ang pelikulang iyon kahit na madalas ko iyon mapanood noong bata pa ako.

Bigla ko lang naalala ang ilan sa mga pelikula ni Roderick Paulate. Masasabi kong isa siya sa mga paborito kong artista. (Sayang lang at hindi na siya gaanong lumalabas sa TV. Ang pinakahuli niya yatang labas ay sa "Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington".) Ilan sa mga paborito kong pelikulang kinatampukan niya ay "Bala at Lipstick" kung saan dalawang papel ang ginampanan niya: isang machong pulis at isang baklita. Nakakatawa ang pelikulang ito. Ang isa naman ay "Petrang Kabayo". Medyo natakot ako noong pinanood ko ito dati lalo na yung eksenang nagtransform si Roderick Paulate at naging kabayo.

Nakakamis lang ang mga pelikulang Pinoy dati. Ngayon kasi, ang mainstream na pelikula ay puro tungkol sa teenage love. Ang baduy at ang jologs lang sobra kasi ang mga titulo pa ay hango sa mga titulo ng mga kilalang mga kanta ng mga taga-Kanluran.

Naalala ko dati noong bata ako, madalas kami manood ng pelikula sa TV, lalo na sa Cinema One. Patok ang komedya at fantasya noon. Gustong gusto ko ng "Magic Temple" at "Magic Kingdom". Tapos nariyan din ang "Batang X". Medyo nakakatakot ang mga ito para sa akin noong bata ako. Kasi sa isip ko kung ako bilang bata ako noon, ang nalagay sa sitwasyon nila e paniguradong manginginig lang ako sa takot. Di malilimutan ang isang eksena sa "Magic Temple" kung saan hinarap ng mga bata si Ravenan. Nakakatakot yung parteng iyon. (At paborito ko yung mga parte kung saan pinakita si Anna Larrucea. Crush ko siya dati. At dahil crush ko siya ay madalas ko rin panoorin ang "Batang X" kung saan siya si Trina, kahit na nakakatakot iyon para sa akin dati.)

Mayroon ding isang pelikula na hindi ko napanood nang buo pero ilang beses ko rin nasilayan. Ang pamagat nun ay "Baby Love" at syempre gusto ko dahil naroon si Anna Larrucea. Ang cute talaga ni Anna Larrucea noong bata siya.

Mahilig din akong manood ng mga komedya tulad ng mga pelikula ni Vic Sotto kung saan kasama niya ang mga katropa niya. Minsan medyo nakakasawa kasi pare-pareho yung mga kasama niya at halos umuulit lang ang kwento. Pero nakakatawa lang din kasi sila Pipoy, Richie dela Horsy, atbp. Kabilang din si Rene Requiestas sa mga gusto naming komediante. Di makakalimutan ang "Pido Dida" kung saan kasama niya si Kris Aquino.

Noong bata ako ay nahiligan kong manood ng pelikula dahil sa mga pelikulang nabanggit. Naudlot lang dahil dumagsa ang maraming pelikulang hindi interesting para sa akin. Hindi talaga ako mahilig sa romance. At dahil naging uso iyon e inihinto ko na ang panonood ng mga pelikula.

Pero may nangyari't nabalik ang tiwala ko sa mga gumagawa ng pelikula. Napanood ko ang ilan sa mgagandang indie films natin. Nariyan ang "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros", "Pisay", at etong huli lang, "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank", "E-Libings", etc. Naging open din ako sa mga pelikula ng ibang bansa. Sa ngayon ay patuloy ang pag-explore ko ng mundo ng pelikula, kasama na rito ang animated films. Sa ngayon, ang fokus ko ay iyong mga mula sa Tsina, U.S., Hapon, Espanya, at syempre, iyong sariling atin.

Demonrift td

It's been almost a month now since I knew about Demonrift td, an online flash game under the genres strategy and tower defense. The main goal is to defend the Kingdom of Emaeron from the demons. You play as Baroness Milena, the commander of the empire troops against the invading demons.

Basically, you just place your warriors in strategic positions. Every game has a unique route to the castle and you must defend that pass. There is a tutorial to guide you before your actual battle. It's a fairly easy game, you only have to think WHERE to place your warriors.

I admit I have never finished the game in one setting though I have tried twice already. The first time was already late at night and I stayed up until 3am but when sleep got the better of me, I stopped. The second one was when I played for 5 consecutive hours and then I had to call it quits because because of my need to sleep.

I hope there's an offline version of this game. I really like it.

And come to think of it, it's been a while since I last played something. I really need a new laptop, a gamer's laptop, so I can play Diablo III, Diablo II, Starcraft, and Warcraft again. And sometimes, I feel the urge to resurrect my account in AdventureQuest. And am on the lookout for more digital games.

Youthful Diary

I'm currently listening to Aya Kamiki while encoding something. Suddenly, her "Youthful Diary" is playing. This song is about a girl's memories of yesteryear's love. She reminisces about the first time she enters a relationship, with the lyrics "初めてだった繋いだ手も　不器用で少し強引だったね". The clumsiness and awkwardness of a first-time lover. Also, Kamiki sings of the first breakup, that day when "手を離した　あの日の記憶", the pain a girl goes through following the end of a juvenile romance.

And perhaps I should do the same, preserve my memories in writing. (Well, that's why I have this blog.) Because there are memories which are too precious to be forgotten. Memories, after all, are fragile. I also do not want to mix my fantasies with what really happened. I want my memories to reflect the past as it is. I want to have a log of how I felt on those moments, whether I was down, giddy, happy, or what. Feelings are fleeting anyway, I only want to have something to remind me that, hey, this something made me so alive, made me see the world in a whole new different way.

I used to have a diary. My undergraduate years were sufficiently recorded, spanning nine volumes. Yes, I love to write. I write about my day. I write about the people who have helped me, those who made me feel loved and important. Also, I write about the people who have hurt me, those who let me down. After graduation I read them and I laugh at myself. I couldn't believe how shallow I was as a person, easily hurt, easy to please. Having all those memories written on paper made me a very reflective person. Sometimes when I feel like going extreme as a sentimental being, I would open my treasure box and enter my past. My frustrations, my dreams, my fantasies, my aspirations, my happiness, my sorrows, broken hearts, everything about me.

As for those memories in graduate school, I will have to put them where the prying eyes of the public cannot see. I'm buying one of those thick notebooks later.

If: 0

If she can only see me now...

If I can only see her again...

Whenever the jeep or the bus I am riding in passes by her former school, I feel like I am a step closer to her.

If only I can have
a glimpse of her

Her smile, her quirky ways,
Her cute smile.

Her sweet voice telling me everything will be fine...

I won't really mind the long journey.
Just let me see her.

Because there are just so many words to be said.
Because I really want her to see me now
to be proud of me,
to tell me
"You've grown a lot."

I wish we could talk again.
I'd listen to her stories, even if they're yaoi.
I'd like to see her artworks,
listen to her play the piano,
just hear her angelic voice.

I guess all I have are just memories now as I hold these few stapled pages in my hand.

Melo's Updated Christmas Wishlist

Dearest Santa and the Reindeer,

Greetings of peace from the Moon Goddess!

May I request that you disregard the wishlist I created some days ago.

Here's an updated list of what I want for Christmas. (Fingers crossed)

1. Faber Castell watercolor pencils (48)

2. Sketch pads

3. coloring pens

4. crayons (64)

5. oil pastels

Because my life is ruled by chaos, the beauty of which inspires me to draw again. Because pictures paint a thousand words. Because pictures can express more than words.


Love,

Miracle

"Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure"

It was only recently that I got to watch an anime film again. I guess the one before this would have to be One Piece: Strong World which I watched some two months back.

Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure is a 1995 film starring Lupin III and his gang composed of Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko. As usual, the ramen-loving Inspector Zenegata is present. His love for ramen paid off, I think, as he used empty ramen bowls as parachute. (I think this inspector is one of my most unforgettable anime character. He's funny and despite his many failed attempts to arrest Lupin, he still doesn't give up.)

The movie is about the treasures amassed by Harimao during the World War 2. An archaeologist named Diana needs to find it together with her grandfather Sir Archer, to save their company from bankruptcy following a train accident where many were killed.

As in the TV series, Lupin is concerned when Inspector Zenigata is in trouble. In this movie, he saw Zenigata determined to follow him even to the point of going underwater without any diving instrument as he attached himself to the submarine.

Turns out that the company lawyer is the one behind everything. In fact, this lawyer is gay and is addressed as Hermaphrodite by his subjects, the Neo-Nazis. He shot Sir Archer and the latter died with the secret of how to obtain Harimao's treasures.

This is a rather good film considering it was made in 1995. I'm looking forward to watching the entire series again.

In relation to archaeology, there isn't much, except that Diana is an archaeologist and also lectures at the University of London but that's just about it. This girl is brave and wears sporty clothes. The bad thing is that as an archaeologist, she should not be looking for treasures for her own interest. This does not make her any less different from treasure hunters. On the plus side, her grandfather appears to have great concern for cultural heritage as shown in one scene wherein  he was indignant over the destruction of a bridge with intricate designs by the Neo-Nazis.

"The Myth" / "神話"

"The Myth" is a movie produced by Jackie Chan and directed by Stanley Tong. It revolves around Jack (Jackie Chan), an archaeologist who dreams of his past life as the Chinese general Mengyi who served under Qin Shi Huang. He agrees to accompany a scientist friend to Dassar India to research on a zero gravity-causing material. It was housed in the tomb of a king and is used by a cult leader for levitation. There, Jack's friend William removes a piece of material which caused the floating tomb to fall down. They also recovered Mengyi's sword.

In this particular scene, Jack the archaeologist videos the inscriptions found on the tomb and is able to read them. He was also against William looting tombs.

The two were pursued by cult followers and Jack was left behind while William was able to escape via a helicopter. The situation was dangerous because the pursuers were throwing rocks at the helicopter so Jack had to be left behind. He jumped off the cliff and his unconscious body was found by an Indian girl who helped him a great deal.

Jack came to know of his past life. As General Mengyi, he once rescued a princess. This princess was to be the concubine of Qin Emperor and while on the way to the palace, her erstwhile fianc é attempted to bring her back. Seeing Mengyi's virtues, the princess fell in love with him after her rescue. Later on, it is revealed that Mengyi was a victim of the manipulative and power-hungry chancellor who wanted him dead.

Jack came face to face with another archaeologist who heads an underground organization. This man aided William so that he could also get Jack. Moreover, he wanted to find the elixir of immortality for himself. In the end, he fell into the abyss when Mengyi's comrade pulled down his leg as he climbed the steps to retrieve the elixir. William died inside, having been swallowed by mercury. Before dying, he told Jack that he is no tomb raider and that he only wanted to continue with his research for the benefit of mankind.

The movie has funny scenes, like the fight scene in a rat gluepaper factory where Jack was shown to be wearing boxer shorts with a smiley on the crotch part. Who would have thought that an archaeologist/ martial artist would wear something like that? Cornelius Holtorf would certainly find this humorous. (Holtorf writes about the relationship between media and archaeologists. He has also written something on the clothes archaeologists wear. I thought this might be of interest to him.)

On the whole, the movie is good. Sure the Indian girl is lovely and really charming, but I just don't get why they have to include India in the story. Maybe they want to have a connection with the country that produced the idea of reincarnation?

The music was also good. I found myself humming to the song days after I watched the film. Another case of LSS (last song syndrome) though technically it's not the last song I heard.

"Tree of Life"

"Tree of Life" is one of those movies that will make the viewer sleepy with its slow-paced narrative. But it can also make one spring back to mental alertness with vividly poetic images of nature, the planets, the universe, etc.

It tells the story of a family of five. The mother is gentle and nurturing, seeing the goodness even in criminals. The father is strict and authoritarian, fearing that his children cannot fare well in the cruel world without teaching them the ways of the world. Jack, the eldest child, is torn between the two. as he reaches adolescence, he seems to have neglected his mother's teachings and experiments with violence and deviance.

The narrative has lots of flashbacks, with the older Jack shown to be reminiscing about his past. In the end, he "walks" with the people of his memory, his parents and brothers as they were when Jack was young.

What I love about this movie is its poetry, the poignancy of pictures of nature juxtaposed with the harsh environments created by man.

Some of the memorable quotes, mostlyl from the mouth of the mother:

"Help each other. Love everyone. Every leaf. Every ray of light. Forgive."

 "The nuns taught us there were two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow."

"Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things."

"The nuns taught us that no one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end."

"I wanted to be loved because I was great; A big man. I'm nothing. Look at the glory around us; trees, birds. I lived in shame. I dishonored it all, and didn't notice the glory. I'm a foolish man."

"It takes fierce will to get ahead in this world. If you're good, people take advantage of you."