I would like to congratulate all applicants who made it in Animo Squad - White. Good job on the auditions, and I am sure it will be a fun year of training with all of you.
A special congratulations to my Skittlez dance crew member, lunch buddy, and fooling around partner-in-crime Jake Go for making it in the squad. Had a hard time convincing him to try-out, but I always knew he was going to make it in. :) Congrats again bro.
Our summer training starts on April 20 to May 23. =\ I'm none too happy about the fact that my birthday falls on a training day. Still, it's all good. :)
Received this funny email from mum the other day. LOL. Don't take it too seriously, all you feminists. :P
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Men Are Just Happier People. What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color.. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes - one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.
The most intense, action-packed movie ever made. If you are actually unfamiliar with Minesweeper, kindly make a tag that says "L-O-S-E-R". Remember to wear it daily.
Just a fraction of my total books, but these are some of my most precious. :) A friend once told me, "a learned man is a rich man", and I can definitely say that my wealth is in the amount of books that I have read, and not in the paper in my wallet. If only I had my complete collection.. There are a LOT more scattered in various places, like Nicole's home, Terence's car and home, and a lot of other people who I have trusted with my most precious possessions.
If there is one thing I can tell anyone, it would be get off the Internet once in a while and read a real book. The sort that involves your smelling the paper as you turn the pages, and inspecting the front and back covers for dog-ears.
My final paper for HUMAART (Humanity and Art) class, under Ms. Frances Sangil. All rights reserved.
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Yojimbo is considered a landmark film in the history of film-making because it has managed to bridge the Japanese culture (which has always been considered rather mysterious and very “oriental”) with other cultures, especially the Western ones. More than a tale of an unlikely hero, it is a film that symbolizes the universal theme of going against all odds. We, the audience, are presented with a character – a samurai – who has been made ronin, or without master. A Japanese samurai of this unfortunate predicament is considered automatically dishonored. Far from taking his own life, as tradition demands, he lets his life continue by adapting to the situation. He had nowhere to go, and he let fate decide his destination for him, by throwing a branch and following the path it led to. He was alone and without friends, but somehow, he made it through. He had to take the unpleasant job of being a bodyguard for one of the two main rival gangs in the town he arrived in, and he frequently changed allegiances, which is something very un-samurai like. His sense of loyalty for a time depended on who could offer him more gold, perhaps a testament to the innate greed (or perhaps, need) of man. Whatever his reason may be, he did what he had to do, and survived more or less on his skill and wit, even as the two factions seek to control him for their own purposes. After he was captured trying to help a couple (by freeing the woman from a gang leader’s grasp), he basically had his life beaten within an inch of death. He could have given up there and then, and decided to accept his fate and perhaps worked to the best of his abilities for one of the gang leaders, but he did not. He decided to put a stop to the mess that the town has turned to, and even with nothing to gain, he still decided to do it anyway, probably a testament to his ‘heroic’ nature. Whatever his reason, he moved from an indecisive, purposeless man, to a man transformed, a much better person, with a drive to succeed at what he puts his mind to. This is a theme easily recognized by any culture because it is a basic human want: to succeed despite insurmountable odds. I believe that this was a landmark film because the ‘fight against all odds’ theme is understood well in every and any culture. The tale of a man with seemingly no future, and yet managed to somehow make the cards life throws at him work is nothing short of the dream that every one of us aspire to have the ability to do: no matter how bleak life appears, somehow, it will all work for our benefit eventually.
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For reference purposes only. DLSU takes harsh actions against plagiarism. :) 20090325 Copyright Jason Cruz.
Having grown up in a city where fast cars and sick mods are more abundant than Shell engineers (and we have plenty of those), this movie was a must-see for me. It helped that I have seen the first three: The Fast and The Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.
Alright, the bad side first. Plenty. Aside from shoddy acting and a predictable plot (Vin Diesel's and Paul Walker's characters' love-hate relationship), the attempt at some 'romance' totally failed for me. Come on. Vin Diesel, tender moments?? People watch him to bruise guys and cars, not to get all teary-eyed. Ugh.
However, the cars and the action (hallmarks of the Fast and Furious franchise) certainly did not disappoint. It was good to see more imports in this one, as well as a good blend of tuned-up muscle cars and trucks (opening drift scene of Han: S-I-C-K). Let's be honest, you watched this for the cars. If you did, you'll come out very happy. I know I did. Sad to see a character leave permanently though. :(
CGI scenes were really out of this world as well. Mix that up with some great stunt drivers and beautiful cars, and the realism is almost at a hundred percent. Very beautifully done.
Do NOT watch if you want a slick storyline. LOL. Watch it for its sheer aesthetic value and some insight in the world of tuners. :)
I love disaster movies, and this one, while superbly awesome for the first 3/4, crashed in the latter quarter. Disappointing.
The plot build-up was very good, a hallmark of a true disaster movie. I quickly saw it as a quasi-science thriller, and it hinted all along the first three-quarters that it would be. The fearsome 'predicted future' was really great for the thriller factor, I feel. The CGI was pretty impressive as well, perhaps becoming the norm rather than the exception for most movies nowadays.
Unfortunately, aside from good plot build-up and pretty graphics, it went downhill from there. Nicolas Cage's character was not developed as well as it could have (he was mostly panicking throughout the movie), but the background they gave him was believable enough. The actor who played his son did well in my opinion, but again, could have been better.
The killer for me was the last quarter. Seriously, angels as aliens? And of all the things to save from a planet-to-be-destroyed, why rabbits? Some things just cross the thin line that separates the fantastic from the foolish. It was a real anti-climax. While the disaster-theme was done enough (the final destruction was just ubercool), a shoddy and a not-quite-makes-sense ending really brought down the value of the movie for me.
Worth watching if you are really into disaster movies, or have nothing to do.
L-R: Snow cat; Snowman 1; Snowman 2; Nicole Kuek. :P If you're still confused, she's the one in jeans. OMG. The big number. :P
Happy birthday to the best sister in the world. :) Blood could not have made us any closer, and I am honored to be friends with one of the smartest and the most intelligent people I know. Though we may not always agree on things (i.e. Harry Potter), our love for literature and intellectual conversations (as well as a godlike partnership in Pictionary) has kept our friendship strong through the years. I am so proud to call you my jie jie.
Happy birthday. :) God bless, and may all your dreams for this year come true. As long as it does not involve your inflicting bodily harm on me, of course. :P
Red represents low-energy X-rays, the medium range is green, and the most energetic ones are colored blue. The blue hand-like structure was created by energy emanating from the nebula around they dying star PSR B1509-58. The red areas are from a neighboring gas cloud called RCW 89. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/P.Slane, et al.
While the science involved is rather heavy, I could not help but think, "Wow. That is beautiful."
On another note, I am disappointed to find out that this is the first post I have concerning science. This should be amended as soon as possible. I am really embarrassed, considering that all my high school and college life, I have been in the science stream.
It had its highs and lows, but perhaps more lows than highs. This term has seen the complete inactivity of my crew, Skittlez, and the disappointing way we have handled ourselves. Complacency? Sad, but true. :( Is this the end for the 2008 Remix champions? What a waste if it is.
I've been starting out with some preseason training for the 2009 season of Animo Squad. So far, we've had 6 new applicants who would like to try out. I hope they do well. I've also stepped up my core training, and just recently moved to far more advanced routines. Definitely hoping I'm all set for summer.
Two subjects' grades have been released, and they are alright. I'm not sure what I could have done to get it higher, but I'm still thankful. 3.5 for Domestic Aspects of American Foreign Policy (major course), and 3.5 for Art Appreciation (non-major course). Four left to go, with papers due for Critical Security Studies and American Government, plus final exams for Spanish 4 and American Government. It will be a rather stressful week ahead of me.
This month also marks the second year of my blog. Happy Second Birthday! LOL.
"The movie is in black and white." "It's old." "The movie isn't in English."
My Art Appreciation class (a non-majors course) recently watched a 1960s landmark movie, "Yojimbo" (The Bodyguard), and when we were asked what we liked or disliked about the movie, there were a lot of students who disliked it. Alright, fair enough. However, their reasons are nothing short of appalling, and the three worst are mentioned above.
When an art form, be it a painting, a choreography, a musical piece, or a film is criticized, one would expect the criticism to have a valid and intellectual 'why'. Alas, the obviously deficient critical thinking and intellectual capacities of a lot of my classmates are made apparent when they use reasons such as those mentioned above. A landmark movie disliked because it is in black and white?? That is just so disgustingly dumb that I had to say the following in class:
"I think that when a critic - be it a student or a scholar - criticizes an art form based solely on its superficial and cosmetic characteristics, that said critic proudly displays his arrogance in his lack of information and knowledge. I also think that such a response lacks in basic critical thinking skills, and showcases the wasted education this university has been trying to impart on said critic. In other words, said critic is ignorant and possibly possessing an IQ of just two digits."
After the rather awkward silence, my point was - thankfully - further supported by several of my classmates and the lecturer.
This brings me to a food-for-thought: Are movies nowadays that dumb? I am inclined to nod at that statement. Many movies nowadays are shown and produced for mere financial reasons. Gone are the culturally and socially inspiring films that made movies such as Casablanca and The Godfather legends. Now, we are bombarded with ape-intelligence level movies, like the spoofs that seem to come out every year. Seriously, bring back the awesome films that are actually worth watching.
I have to admit, I am a movie buff. I watch at least 1-5 movies a week (in the cinema when I have extra money, or at home. God bless the Internet), and when I read reviews, I just really wonder, do people really rate movies this way? A lot of people nowadays just rate a movie whether 'it was okay', or 'it was interesting'. But WHY did they say those? The answer escapes me. Are the thought capabilities of today's generation relegated to 'okay' answers? Where has all the intellect gone to? This is a sad case, and I for one refuse to fall into this pit of dire stupidity.
The youths and young men and women who feed on movies need to move away from the shallowness. All of us need to THINK. To think critically, and engage knowledge to enhance our experiences of anything, not just art forms.
I am inspired now to write better movie reviews, with focus on WHY I liked or disliked a certain movie. Watching Yojimbo has really opened up my eyes as to what makes a movie great (or not). I promise to make my future reviews as detailed as possible, and engage as much of my brain as possible, because you, my reader, deserves that much.
