tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-279794092024-03-14T10:57:11.906+08:00FAMILIAR REFRAINThe more things change, the more they stay the same.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-56673012792513680842015-09-06T19:20:00.002+08:002015-09-06T19:21:16.803+08:00Unaccomplished<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't too long ago when I realised that I had developed a habit. The habit of not finishing something I started. Now, this doesn't really apply to all areas of my life. If it did, I'd probably lose my job by now. No, this relates to other things I had done, be it small or something a little more important.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example, films. There are many films I'm unable to procure on DVD on this side of the planet, so Youtube becomes a solution somewhat. So I manage to find some of the films I'd been looking for on Youtube. I start watching but somehow I am never able to find the time to finish it. Either something important comes up or I just get too lazy to make the time to finish it. Then I try to find time to do it later but it just keeps getting delayed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was something else I tried to do but never finish: learn Mandarin. Due to my job I don't think I'll ever find the time for night classes or things like that, so I thought I could just learn myself and practise. So I went online, found a site and started learning the steps and words. I even printed some of the stuff for future studying, but haven't followed up on it. Considering I'm a banana (i.e. Chinese that doesn't speak Chinese), learning Mandarin would go a long way in helping me communicate with people. And yet, I dragged my feet on this too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It kinda makes me wonder if I have a problem with how my life turned out. I know, I'm a sucker for looking over my shoulder and it's a bad thing. But when I look back, I know I should have done so many things I didn't do. Like choosing the right course to pursue after graduation. Like telling a certain girl how I felt about her. Like being more assertive in many things I'm not good at. Heck, I haven't even properly learnt how to look at people in the eye when speaking to them. I guess I just wasn't much of a risk taker. I played it too safe. And there's also my habit of sticking to routine. I can't forget that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what can I do? Guess the only thing I can do is try harder. An old friend once told me it's never too late to do something, and maybe it's time I took her advice. I don't know how much I can do at this stage of my life, but perhaps all it takes is persistence and starting with a few baby steps. I'll start with the Mandarin. </span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-21600208728106645442015-08-23T20:05:00.004+08:002015-08-23T20:27:06.673+08:00The First Of Many<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can see, it's been a year since my last post. I wanted to keep this place alive as best I can, but every time I came up with an idea, I'd spend too much time playing around with it in my head until something more important to do came up, and I would abandon the idea altogether. It happened so often that so much time has passed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing is, times have changed. I had quite a handful of readers when I first started out. Not enough to be called popular, but enough to know someone cared to know what I was thinking. Now, most of these people have left the blogging world completely. They have moved on to bigger things, pursuing what they perceive to be more important, or just wanting to leave their past behind. The problem is, everyone else changed, but I didn't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am pretty much the same person now as I was when I started blogging, save for the fact I added two more blogs to FR to address my passion for film watching. I'm still the same guy who ponders too much about the things that shouldn't matter while peering oh so often into the past, when he should know very well that it's the wrong thing to do. Perhaps in the last few years, I'm just not too keen on talking about myself anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I'm hoping to change that now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The truth is, there's always a lot going on in my life, but I don't really know how to talk about it, or I do my best to fool myself into thinking that my resistance to change meant that everything is still the same and I just carry on day by day, only being concerned about the next day and so forth. That last part about me is true, because I've been through enough shit to know that planning for the future is just not for me. I've got enough to think about as far as figuring out what to do the next day or week is concerned, so I leave it at that and deal with each matter every day as it comes. Makes it easier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But keeping all my thoughts in and pretending I'm happy with the world, while occasionally giving Facebook status updates on my business and well being isn't really healthy or progressive either. There has to be more. I'd like to think there's still someone out there who might take a minute or two to come back here and see if I'm okay. Or just catch up with what I'm up to, or what's bugging me lately. Or whatever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Considering the fact that I'm still not that good a writer (don't let the fact that I have three blogs fool you), I don't know how often I'll be in here, how well I'll write, how much I'll say to you or even what I'm gonna talk about. But I do know that I want to start sharing again, even if there is only one person I know who may come in here to see what it is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So let this entry be the first of many to come, hopefully. </span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-78757027389155288252014-08-10T18:13:00.001+08:002014-08-10T18:13:16.286+08:00My Guide On How To Write A Movie Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, a disclaimer: I don't perceive myself to be the grand master of writing movie reviews, so you shouldn't consider me as such. But I've written quite a number of them, and though I don't feel like I'm the best writer out there, I certainly think I'm better than some people I've come across online. (And a lot of them are simply bad writers)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that in mind, I've come up with some tips on how to properly write a review on a film you've watched. It's just a list of stuff, I'm not going to tell you how to structure your little opinion, but I will tell you what to do or not to do, and some things you'll need.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Have a good command of the language you're using</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're going to write in English, then you better damn well have good command of it. I don't expect you to write like a professor, but you should have good grammar at least. I've come across reviews that were obviously written by people who don't speak English in their everyday lives. I don't mean to pigeonhole or be a racist or anything, but some of these people are usually referred to as 'Ah Beng' or 'Ah Lian' based on their grammar skills. If THAT'S how you're going to write, better for you to write in your mother tongue. (I know your teacher probably told you that practising your writing will help you improve, but if you're going to put your writing on display to the public, best not to do so)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Don't post so many pictures</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many online reviewers like to post pictures of the films in between paragraphs of their article. Two things: One, these pictures were most likely already posted by the film's marketing team earlier, so you're just showing what most of your readers have already seen. Two, your pictures are just making your article seem longer, and if your article isn't that long to begin with, it's going to look obvious that you're not that good a writer. Stick to two pictures per writing, and not more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. Use your own words</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lot of reviewers start their article with a synopsis i.e. a description of the film's plot in a nutshell. Most of these reviewers just copy it from the film's website or from Imdb. Again, two things: One, not using your own words makes you unoriginal and lacking creativity. Two, it makes you look lazy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Don't post the film's trailer in your article</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know what's the best thing about the internet? You can find anything. Using Google and Youtube, anyone can find a trailer about any film they want to know about. So why do it for them? Again, this is yet another attempt to make your article look longer than it really is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. Be honest</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is quite hard to do actually. Even I had problems with this for the first few years I wrote reviews. There were times when I didn't have the heart to say that I was disappointed in a film I had high expectations for. Over the years, I got better and now I'm less afraid to speak my mind in my writings. Bottom line is, don't be afraid to say what you think.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. Keep it real</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using humor to make your review more interesting is okay. A funny review is better than a boring one. But tone down the jokes. I've seen people make Instagrams and memes to make fun of the film they're talking about, and to me, that's too much. Even if you don't like the film, you should have some respect for it. Throwing a joke or two by referencing pop culture is fine, just don't overdo it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. Get your facts right</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somewhere along the way, you'll want to reference information in talking about your movie. It's vital that you get your facts straight. Make sure you know them and state them correctly, if you're uncertain, look it up. Imdb and Wikipedia are good sources of information to go to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8. Use a rating system</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is arguably the best way to tell your readers if a movie is good or bad. It will also be useful for certain lazy people who don't want to read your supposedly lengthy article. Either use a 5 star rating or a 10 star rating to tell them where you stand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9. No useless information please</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was this guy who posted his review on Facebook, in a movie review group no less. I read it, and it turned out to be a personal blog entry on how he spent his day, from how he met his friends and decided to go watch that movie, to meeting a girl along the way etc. And when he finally got to the part where he had to talk about the movie, he gave two sentences and a rating. And that was it. Aaaannnnnnnnddddddd this guy wants to post this to a movie review group's wall? Seriously? I bet you can tell that I don't give a damn about his extracurricular activities, and he just wasted my time. Guys, please stick to the point at all times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. Don't be biased</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far as possible, don't walk into a film with a pre-decided opinion on its quality due to who's directing or starring in it, or what genre the film is. If you do, you probably won't give it a fair shake. This is why I usually stay away from films that I know deep down I won't enjoy. Over the years I've developed a way to be as fair as possible to all films I watch, even if it was bad. This is reflected by my ratings, which is rarely extremely leaning in one direction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, a piece of advice. Something every reviewer must have. Passion. All writers must have passion in their work, no matter what their subject is. So you, as a reviewer, must have passion to do what you do. I know what it's like to not want to write my opinion on a movie even when I have it in my head. It's the timing, or the mood, or something else. I have missed out on a handful of opinions in the past, something which I intend to get back to and write about at some point. The point is, if you have the will and passion to put your opinion out there, then do it. If you don't think you can do this over and over again, then don't do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that's about all I can share. I'll still say I'm no expert, so don't take my words as law. But this is what I think you should do, and if you do it right, you'll be great in my book. Or better perhaps. </span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-57654938412263402062014-05-18T00:35:00.000+08:002014-05-18T00:36:55.710+08:00Noticing Things<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far as this year is concerned, I've noticed certain things about stuff. Stuff I do, observe, experience, or even stuff that has no real relation to me. You can call it stuff to put on a blog for all I care, but here goes:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b>My computer always slows down on Saturday night.</b> It has a habit of slowing down a lot, but Saturday night is when it's at its worst. It probably has something to do with my anti-virus program and their update or scan settings. I have tried adjusting them before, but it's still like that. It's annoying to have your computer slow down so much you can't even click on something without having it stall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b>I work better with music on.</b> This is especially true when the task is simple but time consuming, like keying in entries on a computer. If there's one thing that can make tasks like that more difficult for me, it's noisy people, and it can get like that at the office. So one day, I put on my earphones, plugged it into my phone and played the tracks on it. I ended up finishing my work twice as fast than in the past when I didn't have music on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b>I get nervous before going on vacation.</b> Vacations should be relaxing, but I somehow always come close to losing my mind before it's time to go. Well, I usually hate the travelling part and going somewhere takes me out of my comfort zone i.e. familiarity. But I'm happy to report that my last vacation was good, and I usually am calmer by the time the vacation's over. (Note to self: never go to an island known for scuba diving because you can't swim)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <b>Lots of people smoke in the morning.</b> Why is that? I don't know, really. Why would people think about lighting up just hours after waking up? It's stupid. And where I work, and yeah, even live, every other person is a smoker. It still baffles me, why people are so eager to kill themselves and others around them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. <b>People still bring kids to the cinema.</b> And I mean kids who are too young to understand what's happening on screen. I mean, if your child still sits in a pram, do you really think it's a good idea to take him to watch a Spider-Man movie? Of course not. So when your kid starts crying over and over, take him/her outside and don't bring him back in. Ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. <b>People you thought you knew well don't really like you as much as you figured.</b> I learned this one this week. But it's no big deal, I probably wouldn't have been excited about meeting this person anyway. But then, I kinda thought this person was cool with me. Guess not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's all for now. I've got another list planned soon. Probably bigger than this.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-32512669932288096072014-01-05T00:17:00.000+08:002014-01-05T00:36:26.997+08:00What I'm Doing<b>Listening - Lorde</b>
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Lorde, born Ella Yellich O'Connor, is a 17 year old girl from New Zealand who is making waves in the pop music world. Although she has built a reputation pretty fast for making snide comments about Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus (but really, who could take those girls seriously anyway?), no one can deny she has a great voice and excellent writing skills. Her breakout hit Royals is one of my favorite songs at the moment. I tried listening to her other songs, and this one I've posted, Buzzcut Season, is really nice. This is the kind of song I can just play and chill out.<br><br>
<b>Reading - Captain America</b><br><br>
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Everyone knows or has a general idea of who Captain America is, and how he stands for truth, justice and the American way. But what happens if you take him out of his comfort zone and put him in a world he doesn't recognize? That's what writer Rick Remender does in this reboot of the Captain America comicbook.<br><br>
For this story, Remender puts Cap in another dimension, courtesy of his arch nemesis Arnim Zola. Cap not only has to survive there with no means of getting back home, but also look after and raise a young boy he saved from Zola.<br><br>
Remender has a reputation for putting his main characters in really dire situations, so this will be interesting, to say the least. I'm not excited however about John Romita's art, even though the guy's pretty well known as an artist (I'm just not a fan I guess), but I think this story arc will be worth reading, even though I'm only two issues in so far.<br><br>
<b>Watching - The Following</b><br><br>
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Retired FBI agent Ryan Hardy is called in to help recapture serial killer Joe Carroll, whom he had put behind bars nine years ago. Carroll was a university lecturer who is in love with death and considers Edgar Allan Poe his hero. Carroll had killed 14 women before Hardy finally caught him. But now that Carroll has escaped, Hardy and the feds have a new problem.<br><br>
See, Carroll has built a cult during his incarceration. He has his own set of fans, made up of people from all walks of life, who are similarly fascinated by death and killing people. People who had visited him in prison. People who are willing to do his bidding when he says so. And because they're an assortment of people, they're tough to differentiate, and worse, some of them are skilled people who can infiltrate law enforcement, hack computers and are military trained too.<br><br>
So now Hardy has his hands full trying to catch Carroll while saving as many victims as he can, but the bodies keep piling up, and it seems Carroll has a large number of people in place to help him stay one step ahead every time. To make things more complicated, Carroll's ex-wife Claire was romantically involved with Hardy, and she's desperate to get back her young son from Carroll, who had him kidnapped, thanks to the follower he had planted as the babysitter.<br><br>
The show's first episode was excellent, as it threw many twists and turns, and by the end of it, I wanted to see where these guys could take it. However, as the show ran along, I noticed the main flaws of the series. Firstly, in their attempt to keep things unpredictable, they constantly reveal people who are not who they say they are initially. It happened so often that pretty much every other person that is introduced to the show is a cult follower, and it got more and more ridiculous as it went along. Secondly, the feds are more often than not, portrayed as incompetent, because they always let the bad guys slip away from them, or they're unable to sense that the person they're dealing with is a Carroll follower.<br><br>
Apparently writer Kevin Williamson wrote Ryan Hardy based on Jack Bauer from 24, and I can certainly see the similarities between the two shows. Hardy is someone who takes a lot of emotional punishment for his failures, and is a broken man at the start of the show. At the very least, his character is well written as I keep rooting for him, wanting him to get some small victory in each episode.<br><br>
Despite the flaws, I'm invested in this series, and I'm waiting to see the last three episodes this week just to see how it ends. A new season is on the horizon, so lets hope things pick up then.
Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-32229212946665219542013-12-08T18:16:00.002+08:002013-12-15T09:02:56.769+08:00Comics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out of all the things I love in life, there are two that I've been a part of for more than a decade or two. Watching movies is one. Reading comicbooks is the other.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got my first taste of comics when my nephew (who is oddly enough a year older than me) introduced me to the X-Men when I was in my early teens. He was into it because of the artwork by the great Jim Lee. But for me, I became a fan of comics from that point on, and it's been over twenty years since then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most folks who enjoy reading prefer books, like novels and the like. But for me, comics are far more fascinating. Unlike a novel, where the story usually ends on the last page, a comic keeps the story going to the next issue, and the next, and so forth until that story arc ends, then it makes a new one, which means a new situation to put its heroes in. And best of all, it has the art for the reader to admire.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comics are at its level best when both the story and art are perfect and they compliment each other well. It's rare for that to happen at times, as one element may be much stronger than the other. Even so, the comic can still be enjoyable, as long as it has decent quality overall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the years, I've read so many titles, from X-Men to The Avengers, from Iron Man to Spider-Man, from Superman to Batman, from Wolverine to Daredevil, from the Justice League to the Fantastic Four and the list goes on. Some stories stick with you, some just pass you by and forgotten. I must admit there have been more forgettable ones than memorable ones, but rarely has there been a time when I totally hated the stuff I was reading. More often than not, each title has a redeeming quality of sorts (except the one featuring Wolverine's son, which was a bore).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of my favourite stories are still somewhat fresh in my mind, like the story where Dr Doom almost beat the Fantastic Four because he used sorcery and not science to outwit Reed Richards, or the X-Men ceasing to exist after Professor Xavier's son went back in time and accidentally killing him, or Daredevil dealing with the revelation of his secret identity to the public, or Captain America assassinated, or the what if scenario where the villains won and only Wolverine is left alive. So many stories stand out over the years, a part of me wishes I had the time to read those stories again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But now, I'm facing a problem. I've been taking in too many books as of late. Space has now become an issue, so I'm working on selling some comics that I can do without. I'm not overly concerned with how much I can get for them (theoretically comics appreciate in value over time), I just want to let them go to make way for new ones. And there are tons of new ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other problem is the fact that comics are a dying business, in Malaysia anyway. While the US and other western countries thrive on the comic business, especially with so many superhero films coming out lately, comic book shops here have been struggling. We still have many readers, it's just that some of them have not been collecting their orders, it seems. I still wonder why that is. If this keeps up, people like me may have to read collected trade paperbacks (compilation of issues) to keep up. And as organised as that sounds, it's just not the same as holding one thin comic book in your hands, reading it, getting to the end and eagerly waiting to buy the next one when it comes out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know if I'll ever stop reading these things. Sometimes I feel a burden just having them around me in my room. But there's a part of me that still loves and craves for them. Maybe someday. But not yet.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-43026788371331151552013-08-19T13:00:00.000+08:002013-08-19T13:00:51.350+08:00Pet peeves<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Smokers (especially those who smoke in the morning and in public toilets)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. People who text while driving (yes, there are people who still do these moronic things)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. People who turn on their cellphones in the cinema, be it for speaking, texting or playing games like Candy Crush</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. People who bring kids below 10 into public areas like cinemas or restaurants</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. People who constantly interrupt you when you're talking</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. People who have an urge to say EVERYTHING on their minds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. People who yell at you for petty reasons</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Stupid drivers on the road (like those who signal left or right but then decide not to turn)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. People who think they know what you're going to say and try to preemptively move against that, but they're totally wrong</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. When my computer loads too slow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11. When my cable TV company screens the best movies in the wee hours of the morning</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12. When my neighbours upstairs dump gallons of water off the balcony instead of down the drain (seriously, they are beyond retarded)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">13. People who constantly post photos on Facebook, like every freaking day</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">14. People who won't pick up their phones when you call them, and they know it's important that they do</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">15. People who make plans that involve you without consulting you first</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">16. People who aren't punctual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">17. Movie directors who make spoof films like Scary Movie, Date Movie, Vampires Suck, Meet The Spartans etc, and continue to do so</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">18. People who procrastinate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">19. Men who beat their wives (I'm including this because there have been many cases of women being abused by their husbands here lately)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20. Finally, rich people who have the dough to buy expensive apartments but whine and complain about paying petty late interests (I know this because I work in a condo's management office)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll focus my next post on stuff I love. Hopefully.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-2350904035217930212013-05-25T14:28:00.001+08:002013-05-25T14:34:56.365+08:00There Goes My BabyMarion Raven turns 29 today. Many happy returns of the day.<br><br>
Today is also the day she's getting married, so congratulations are in order.<br><br>
It feels like only yesterday when I first discovered her and Marit, only yesterday when I met her in person and shook her hand, only yesterday when I heard her perform live. Time really flies.<br><br>
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Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-31583211124903140142013-04-28T19:25:00.001+08:002014-01-04T23:15:33.076+08:00Listen To This: OblivionI know this is a bit late, but I'd like to share this with you.
This song plays at the end of the film Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise. It's just brilliant and perfect for a sci-fi piece.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pdjHZkOEjPc" width="420"></iframe>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-38943003008070352032013-03-31T20:11:00.001+08:002013-03-31T20:11:17.487+08:00Hmmm<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't had the time nor the inspiration to write in here for a while now. It makes me wonder if this blog is obsolete. But at the same time, I don't want to throw it away, it's too valuable to yours truly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everything in my life is good for now, which is better than certain periods in the past. Thankfully there are no hard moments I can't get through these days without some old fashioned patience and grit. Guess someone up there is watching over me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going on a vacation in a few weeks. I'm half excited and half not, but that's normal for me. Thing is, I've always wanted to travel outside my little world, but there's always that fear of fatigue and the unknown sinking in. Getting through my occasionally mundane life gives me security most people don't fathom. But sometimes we do need to step outside our glass jars and see the world a bit, so I'm gonna try and enjoy this when it happens. After all, it does present me with an opportunity to do some shopping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A new week and month begins tomorrow. Kids are going back to school and the traffic jams shall begin once more. Don't you just love Mondays? </span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-18758340729113346102013-02-17T18:41:00.000+08:002013-02-17T18:41:02.051+08:00Elusive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remembered when I was young, I had this book full of blank spaces, and I had to fill these spaces with stickers. We had to buy these stickers in packets of four or something, and gradually fill the book till every space was accounted for, and the book will be complete.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting the right stickers was always the hardest part, because the chances of getting duplicates are very high, so we'd have to keep buying them till we got them all, which means a lot of money would be spent. Back then, there were a few that I couldn't get, so we had the option of making a deal with the company that made the book to get the last few and finish them, for a price.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a kid, this was actually fun, because the anticipation would keep you excited, the kind of thing adults wouldn't fathom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now, Avengers Alliance, the Facebook game I'm currently playing, is doing the same thing, except there is no real money spent here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have to obtain eight comicbook covers by playing the game. Collect them all successfully, and we get a playable character, Magneto. I have 7 out of 8 covers, the missing one being the one you're looking at there. It's a limited offer, so when time runs out, in about 8 days, the task is over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's tough as hell. I've been trying real hard to get this cover, but no luck. I actually got the first 7 in a row with no duplicates, and getting the last one here has been frustratingly tough. It's part of the game yeah, but I don't know if that kid inside me is still game for this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know it's a game, but it's only fun if you win. It's true. I hope my luck changes soon.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-90510264554044043872013-01-20T19:53:00.003+08:002013-01-23T23:36:13.731+08:00The Top 10 Movies of 2012<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to do this much earlier, but I was just too busy. So without further ado, here they are in the order I saw them:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. The Grey</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strangely the Malaysian censorship board edited at least 20 minutes out of the theatrical version I saw, so I picked up the DVD and rewatched it, and it was magnificent. The Grey stars Liam Neeson as Ottway, a sniper who protects oil rig workers in Alaska from wolves. When he and the workers are stranded in the wild after a plane crash, Ottway has to lead them to safety while being stalked by a pack of ferocious wolves. On the surface, this film may seem like a straightforward survival story, but it's more than that. There are themes of fear, death and religiousness being explored here, which makes Joe Carnahan's film that much more impactful. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Neeson is as awesome as he's ever been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. John Carter</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many people thought this film was a failure, and the box office receipts indicated it was too. There may have been many sci-fi adventure films before John Carter, but it was actually Edgar Rice Burroughs' work on this that inspired those films in the first place. Andrew Stanton directs this film, which follows John Carter, a former Civil War soldier who finds himself on Mars after an encounter with an alien. There, he gets caught up in Mars' own civil war, where he saves a princess and becomes a champion of another race. Taylor Kitsch does well as Carter, though he may not have the screen presence yet to be memorable. Lynn Collins however is solid as Carter's love interest, Princess Dejah Thoris.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. The Avengers</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without a doubt, this is THE film of 2012. It's the best superhero movie since X2. Joss Whedon brings together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Hulk to save the planet from Thor's evil stepbrother Loki, who brings an army of aliens to conquer Earth. In anyone else's hands, the film would have been a mess, but Whedon keeps the pace tight and the dialogue smart, with tons of humour thrown in. With a great cast and excellent action sequences (the final sequence is just incredible), The Avengers is impossible not to like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Prometheus</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ridley Scott presents a prequel to his 1979 hit Alien, by showing how mankind first sent a team to explore their origins which they believe lies among aliens from a distant planet. However when they get there, all hell breaks loose and they start dying. Scott keeps the tension taut using splendid visual effects and creative lighting, with a solid cast including Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba and Charlize Theron to lead the way. The film doesn't quite answer many questions when it's done, but the journey itself is a lot of fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. The Amazing Spider-Man</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forget Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield is the new Spider-Man. Marc Webb reboots the story of Peter Parker with a new love interest and a new villain. Uncle Ben's death is still the same, but the film has improved tremendously. Garfield is a better Peter Parker, Sally Field makes a great Aunt May, Martin Sheen is awesome as Uncle Ben, and Emma Stone has great chemistry with Garfield as Gwen Stacy. The action is solid and the story is believable. After the travesty that was Spider-Man 3, this film is the much needed shot in the arm for the franchise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. The Dark Knight Rises</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard for Christopher Nolan to top The Dark Knight. But in some ways, he did. He may not have the Joker to play with this time, but The Dark Knight Rises is still awesome. This sequel takes place eight years after the last film ended, where crime has been reduced tremendously. Bane, a masked man with an agenda, lures Batman out of retirement and plans on crushing Gotham City. Bruce Wayne loses everything he holds dear, and has to find a way to come back from his lowest point to save his beloved city. As usual, the cast is excellent, from Christian Bale and Michael Caine to newcomers Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's a lengthy three hour journey, but Nolan makes it worthwhile with a story that might even move you to tears.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. Dredd</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like John Carter, Dredd didn't do too well at the box office. But damn if this film isn't fun. Pete Travis directs Karl Urban as the titular hero of Mega City One, who is tasked to train a rookie Judge on her first day. Their mission takes them to an apartment complex, where they square off against Ma-Ma, a ruthless gang leader who locks down the building and sends her men after them. Thus begins a journey not unlike The Raid:Redemption, where people get killed in violent fashion. Urban is excellent in the role, with Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey being equally brilliant as the rookie Judge and Ma-Ma respectively.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8. Frankenweenie</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tim Burton directs this animated film based on his short film of the same name back in the 80s when Disney wasn't interested in it. In this story, Victor is a kid who loves his dog Sparky very much. When Sparky is killed in a car accident, he uses science and lightning (like Dr Frankenstein) to bring Sparky back to life, with mixed consequences. Burton's retro approach (the black and white setting, references from classic horror films) in bringing this film to life is simply amazing, and the story has plenty of heart in it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9. Skyfall</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam Mendes directs a Bond film? Well, he did, and the result is superb. Daniel Craig returns as 007, who returns after being presumed dead to help save M from a former agent with a score to settle. Mendes, inspired by Christopher Nolan's Batman films, pits Bond against someone who is smart and deadly, and explores every personal aspect of Bond and his relationship with M. Craig is great, Judi Dench is excellent as M and Javier Bardem is magnetic as the villain Silva.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. Wreck-It Ralph</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Video game lovers will enjoy this a lot. This animated film centers on Ralph, a villain for the game Fix It Felix Jr, who is tired of being the bad guy and yearns to be a hero. He sets out to find a gold medal which he thinks will help him change his image, but ends up causing chaos throughout the video game universe. The world that is presented here is simply astounding, where video game characters mingle when their machine is not being used, and the different universes in their respective games is just awesome. Games like Street Fighter, Sonic The Hedgehog, Pac Man and Tapper all get a nod, which is so cool. Add to that a story with a lot of heart, and you have a winner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special mention goes out to <b>The Cabin In The Woods</b> (for taking all that's familiar with the horror genre and turning it on its head), <b>Snow White & The Huntsman</b> (for the imaginative take on the classic tale), <b>Looper </b>(for the very original sci-fi plot featuring time travel and changing one's fate), <b>Sinister </b>(for being a horror flick that manages to scare without the use of gore) and <b>Life Of Pi</b> (for being an adventure film that is also spiritual and heartrending).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My biggest disappointment is actually The Hunger Games. Don't get me wrong, Jennifer Lawrence is awesome and so is the rest of the cast. But the shaky camerawork, badly choreographed action sequences and a dull climax just ruined it for me. I don't hate it, I just didn't get the hype.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there you have it. Looking forward to 2013. Ciao.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-73600364675731730872012-12-25T12:44:00.000+08:002012-12-25T12:46:30.553+08:00On this day....<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...we're seven days away from the new year. And no, the world didn't end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guess the Mayans were wrong. Good for us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The year 2012 hasn't been kind to me, except for the above fact. No matter how hard I try, my financial woes just won't leave me alone. I've had to make a lot of sacrifices in these last few months, but I guess I should consider myself lucky that I'm not bankrupt and my family's good. For now anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other than money, or lack of it to be precise, health problems cropped up. In mid-November, I was hit with the flu. Now, I'm the guy who rarely gets sick, but when I do, it lasts for a week. A flu is something I can beat with doctors and drugs, but the problem was what came after that: Indigestion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also known as dyspepsia, indigestion makes you feel nauseous after eating, or feeling full too early, which really isn't me at all. I needed two more visits to the doctor and over a week of drugs, and two more weeks of surviving the symptoms to finally come out of it. There were so many points during this time when I feared it was something more serious, but thank God I'm okay now. The trick is to watch what we eat and how we eat them. All this has made me realise even more that our health is something we can't take for granted, especially at our age. Once we hit forty and above, it'll get tougher and any stubbornness you may have about your health is gonna come back and bite you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During this period, I had lost my mood for doing what I usually love to do. I lost so much time that I got left behind. This was most evident when I visited my comic book store to pick up my shipment, and it had tripled from the number that I usually see. Admittedly, I hadn't been spending enough time reading my books, and now it has made me more determined than ever to change that. New stuff is happening in the comic book world, and I have a lot of catching up to do. Perhaps that will be my new year's resolution, even though I never really made any of those in my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there's one thing I want to pray for, as far as the new year is concerned, is for the ability to be more patient. My temper is getting the better of me. I have more frequent urges to just lose it these days. If only the world wasn't so filled with people who are absolute tools. Sigh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas. God speed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-6314578582650673932012-11-11T19:27:00.001+08:002012-11-11T19:27:06.378+08:00Keeping busy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, an update. I have been keeping an extra movie review blog for the past couple of months, to put in reviews of other films I had seen away from the local cinema. The link to it is on your right with the rest of the blogs. It only has a handful of posts so far, but I plan on updating it as often as I can. Ira is sort of the inspiration for this blog, though she may not realise it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things have been up and down for me lately. Down because a load of unforeseen yet minor problems hit me around the same time. My home has a few technical problems to handle, and even now it's being handled. Earlier this week I couldn't take a proper shower for four days, but that problem's over now, so I'm thankful for that. But now we have a multiple lights problem, and I hope this is resolved soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And through all this, I always have something to look forward to. To keep me sane. For the past 6 months or so, I've been playing a game called Marvel Avengers Alliance on FB, a role playing game where you send superheroes out on missions and you fight the bad guys. Each hero has his/her own abilities, so some are suited for certain tasks or villains better than others. The more you win, the more you earn points, which you can use to recruit more heroes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've spent a lot of time on this game, and finally I'm at a point where I can say I've become successful at it. I've got nearly all the heroes available, awaiting more to be introduced. My agent (who represents me on the field) is well armed, better than he was before. I've defeated every villain put in front of me. I guess you can say I'm proud of myself. The only thing that bugs me is the factor of luck that comes into play. The rewards from winning depends a lot on a roulette, which may not swing in your favor every time. But I've been lucky half the time, so I rarely grumble.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to this game taking up my time, I am never bored for long, even when the game stagnates at times. I do occasionally feel like I need more time to do the other things I want to do, but it doesn't bother me as much anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I look forward to December, where hopefully my monetary woes will be solved. And I finally can get some stuff I've been eyeing. In the meantime, it's a week of holidays here. And more rain.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-72733967245806224212012-10-21T11:49:00.002+08:002012-10-21T11:59:33.089+08:00Horrific<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't get much sleep last night. Reason? My mind was still fixated on the horror flick I had seen earlier in the morning. The film is titled <b>Sinister</b>, about a struggling writer who moves into a house where the previous owners were murdered. He tries to dig up the real story behind their deaths so that he can write about it, but gets more than he bargained for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sinister can be described as old school horror, where no CGI is used and on screen gore is kept at a minimum. Director Scott Derrickson prefers to suggest the horrific acts that take place rather than show them outright, and uses eerie music, darkness and occasional loud sounds to create the tense mood that eventually wears the viewer down. The end result is a downright successful generation of fear for the viewers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my opinion, the best horror films need to have either one or both of two important elements:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- the ability to scare the hell out of you</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- strong lead characters that not only have an emotional attachment to the story, but also create a connection with the viewers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll cite a few examples:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. The Ring</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gore Verbinski's remake of the Japanese horror flick Ringu stars Naomi Watts as a journalist investigating the mysterious death of her niece, and comes into contact with a dastardly videotape that kills anyone who watches it after seven days. Verbinski creates the mood for the film by constantly dulling the colours throughout the film, making it look grey, cloudy and cold most of the time. Like Derrickson above, he suggests the horror instead of showing it, as the opening sequence will attest. The niece in question senses something supernatural in the house, and goes around looking for her friend who is somewhere around, but not answering her call. There is absolute quiet in this scene, and that just makes the tension even worse. Naomi herself is incredible in her role, as she desperately tries to find a way to stop the evil spirit from killing her son, with a climax that is really heart pounding (and again, horror is suggested, not shown). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Let Me In</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This film isn't really about scaring the viewer, but there are horror elements attached to it. Overall it's not so scary, but the second element of strong characters is most definitely present. Matt Reeves sets his film during winter, which heightens the dread that comes with the tragedy that will soon follow. The lead characters played by Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz (who are both now my favorite child actors) truly connect with the audience, as their friendship feels more real than anything the Twilight series can come up with. Their relationship involving a vampire and a human is sad and heartbreaking at times, but the film at the very least, does not end on a tragic note.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. The Hills Have Eyes (remake)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alexandre Aja's film puts a suburban family on a road trip through a desert highway, only for them to get stranded and attacked by mutated people from the nuclear fallout nearby. The survivors have to man up and take matters into their own hands in order to save one of their own. Aja successfully uses the desert as a character of its own, getting the viewer to feel the creepy emptiness of being stuck in the middle of nowhere. Try imagining yourself being in a vast desert with nothing but junk cars and abandoned houses around, and no one to call for help, and you'll get the picture. Aja however has to resort to gore here, but only because the situation calls for it, and it is done extremely well too. The lead characters themselves are believable, being a nice American family that has to be as brutal as their aggressors to fight for their lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Paranormal Activity</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Found footage horror flicks started with The Blair Witch Project, supposedly the best one out there. It's been years since I've seen that one, but I'll talk about the one that I remember most. PA focuses on a young couple who use a camera to record the supernatural goings on in their home. It starts with low level stuff like lights turning on and off by themselves and footsteps being heard, then it moves to huge shit like being dragged out of bed by an invisible force and sleepwalking and doors slamming shut. The ending is something that took me quite some time to get over, and I still have qualms about seeing that again. Director Oren Peli uses a minimal budget to create the tension that is caused by something you can't explain, and has two unknown actors to draw the viewers attention, which is a splendid idea. The couple themselves are not your typical stock horror characters, but regular folks who are spooked and are at a loss of how to react to the situation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. The Mist</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This film is based on a short story by the great Stephen King, about a group of people stranded in a supermarket after a mysterious mist surrounds them. Hidden in the mist are terrifying creatures that will attack them if they attempt to escape. Frank Darabont is a man who brings out the best in his actors, and tells a great story every time (check out The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). The characters are made up of scared people who react differently to the situation. On one side, Thomas Jane is a father trying to protect his young son and hopes to get home alive. The other is Marcia Gay Harden, a mentally unstable woman who considers the horror outside as punishment from God and starts convincing everyone that the end is near. There isn't a single actor in this film that doesn't deliver, everyone plays their part truly well. As the film progresses at a slow burn, you'll see that the real fear isn't what's outside, but what the people inside are willing to do to stay alive. It all leads to a exceptionally tragic end, which wasn't how it ended in the book, but King loved Darabont's version so much he didn't mind it one bit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do realize that there are probably many more horror films out there that some of you would consider to be better than the ones I've mentioned. Heck, I didn't even list The Exorcist here (though it's more because I haven't seen it in its entirety), which is coined as the scariest film ever made. But these films on my list, and Sinister, have all earned the honour of either scaring me or getting my deepest respect, or both. And these days, that isn't easy to do.</span></div>
Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-35464732633293861982012-09-22T22:41:00.001+08:002012-09-22T22:41:13.818+08:0010th<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yj2kAcw3XjY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-12863645706322739382012-09-09T19:34:00.003+08:002012-10-21T11:01:55.106+08:00Movies, opinions and reasons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(For the record, those aren't my DVDs. But this is the right picture to use, since X-Men & Fellowship of the Ring, two of my favourites are in that pile)</span><br />
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If you asked me when was the exact moment I fell in love with films, I can't quite tell you. My earliest memory of watching a film in a cinema was Ghostbusters, which was back in 1984. I was seven years old at the time. I recall being scared of seeing those ghosts on screen, even though the film is basically a comedy, and a good one at that.</span><br />
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I can also recall being in secondary school at the time blockbuster films like Jurassic Park and Speed first came out. I was living in my hometown for the second time in my life. Jurassic Park is an awesome film which was groundbreaking back in the day, and I still love it even now. I think it was at this point when I started to pay more attention to movies and what they stood for.</span><br />
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Six years ago, I started Familiar Fantasy, the film review blog where I would give my opinion on the latest films showing at the cinemas. The best thing about my blog is that it's strictly reviews only. No film news, no celebrity updates, no trailer postings etc. Just reviews, which makes the blog's purpose singular and unbiased as much as possible. And unlike most people who have blogs like mine, I write for the sake of getting my opinion out there, and that's it. Most people would have these stupid ads all over the place, earning money and whatnot. Me, I don't care about that.</span><br />
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For quite some time now, I realised that my posts back in the day were not as good as I had hoped. Deep down I felt like I wasn't being as honest as I wanted to be, but now I'm getting better at writing honestly and being as concise as possible. It's hard actually, because I'm not much of a writer, so giving an opinion on something you love still requires inspiration of some kind.</span><br />
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These days I find myself challenged by other reviewers who have their own FFs. I've looked at a few of them, and they seem large, occasionally unkempt sites but quite ambitious too. They all have their own views, which I strongly disagree with at times, because frustratingly they seem more interested in panning a film rather than judging it fairly. And they're all Malaysians, which I find fascinating. But I leave it to them to say what they want, since they're just like me.</span><br />
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Films hold a special place in my heart. I love watching a story unfold the same way a bookworm loves reading a novel. Whether the story is familiar, original, mysterious, unpredictable, funny, dark, bloody, sad or tragic, I'd be there to see it happen, as long as it's entertaining. At times I wonder if there's anyone out there who gets the same feeling I do when sitting in a dark hall, that moment when the lights go out and the projector comes on, and the story comes alive. When it begins, I'm along for the ride till the end. I do my darndest not to be distracted by anything else, be it other noises, fidgety patrons or the cold atmosphere. I use the word 'wonder' because people these days only care about their cellphones. When I think about it, it saddens me. It's tragic knowing that the art of watching movies has been ruined by technology that 90% of the world can't do without. Cellphones are a disease, and you can't deny it when you see how people won't let go of them even when they're driving. If only there was some way to disable cellphones as soon as someone walks into a cinema hall....gosh I wish someone would invent something like that.</span><br />
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I truly wish I had more time for my movies. I must admit with great shame that there are tons of DVDs in my room just waiting to be played. Time is my greatest enemy, it always makes me choose to stay away from what I love. Perhaps I have myself to blame too, for occasionally fooling myself into believing I will make the time for them someday. But I haven't given up yet.</span><br />
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Let it be known that if you want to spend quality time with a loved one, you can't go wrong with a film you both can agree on. Likewise, if there's a girl out there who wants to impress me, she just needs to find the right film. And unlike most film lovers, I'm not so fussy.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-9756849495347901582012-08-20T19:46:00.003+08:002012-08-20T19:53:08.344+08:00RIP Tony Scott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was pretty shocked when I learned that Tony Scott, the younger brother of Ridley, died today at the age of 68. He committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. As of right now, there are no details as to why he did it. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tony, like his brother, is a film director. While Ridley was more well known for making critically acclaimed films like Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and this year's Prometheus, Tony was more of an action film director. He has worked with people like Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington just to name a few. He's made 16 films throughout his career, and I've seen about nine of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of his work, but I respect his accomplishments, even though he's always been in his brother's shadow. His films always bring out the best performances from his lead actors, even when the story he was telling wasn't necessarily compelling or groundbreaking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some of his best films which I remember the most:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Top Gun</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was one of, if not the main film that made Tom Cruise's career. He plays Maverick, a hotshot air force pilot. The film follows his training as a pilot and how he deals with the many challenges while in the air and on the ground.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Crimson Tide</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman play first officer and captain respectively, of an American nuclear submarine. The two clash over whether or not they should attack an enemy submarine as they wait for their orders from home base. As the tension rises in their sub, the crew take sides and things reach a boiling point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. Enemy Of The State</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will Smith is a lawyer who inadvertently comes into possession of evidence of a senator's murder. The man behind the murder (Jon Voight) is a member of the NSA, and uses his resources to smear Will's name and turn his life upside down. Will's only hope is Gene Hackman, a former NSA agent who can help him turn the tables.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Man On Fire</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Denzel Washington (again) is John Creasy, a former Marine and CIA operative who has lost the will to live after all the things he has done for his superiors. He is then hired by a wealthy couple in Mexico to be a bodyguard to their young daughter (Dakota Fanning). When a brutal assault results in the girl's kidnap, Creasy goes all out to punish those responsible. (This was the first film from Tony where he used quick cuts to film his action sequences. It gave me a headache when I first saw this. But the story here is solid, and Denzel is awesome.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. Unstoppable</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was his last film, released two years ago. Denzel is a train engineer who teams up with a young conductor (Chris Pine) to stop a runaway train carrying hazardous materials from crashing into a nearby town.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sixteen films is a good number, but for someone his age, there should have been more. He's left the world too soon, that's for certain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So long, Tony.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-50584078772035444352012-08-11T23:03:00.000+08:002012-09-22T22:40:38.727+08:00Listen To This: Extreme WaysI watched The Bourne Legacy this afternoon. Great movie. As with the previous instalments, Moby's Extreme Ways was used during the closing credits. It's an awesome song that perfectly compliments the film. Take a listen.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ICjyAe9S54c" width="420"></iframe>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-63009190806915218152012-07-15T19:41:00.001+08:002012-08-20T19:16:59.343+08:00Review: After.Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I caught this film last night on my cable TV channel. It seemed interesting, though the execution could have been better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christina Ricci plays Anna Taylor, a middle schoolteacher who leads an unhappy life. Though she has a caring boyfriend whom she loves, she is unable to feel happy, which strains their relationship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One night, her boyfriend Paul decides to propose to her, but it doesn't go according to plan. Anna drives off feeling upset and gets into a car accident. When she awakes, she finds herself on the mortician's table. The mortician, named Elliot, tells her that she's dead and he's preparing her for her funeral.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From this point on, Anna has a hard time accepting her death, since she can still speak to Elliot, though she can't feel any pain. Elliot keeps telling her that the reason they can communicate is because he has a gift of being able to talk to corpses. As she tries to escape from the funeral home, Paul himself has a hard time accepting her death and tries to find out if she is truly dead. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The question is, is she really dead? Or is this a ruse from Elliot?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This question will constantly remain ambiguous throughout the film. I kept wondering just like Anna, is she dead or alive? I wanted to believe she was, since Elliot was acting so strange despite behaving normally.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ambiguity however works both ways. Positively since it keeps you guessing, but also negatively because the film doesn't quite know what it wants to be. There are a handful of scenes meant to invoke horror, but they don't quite make sense when they appear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is only in the final fifteen minutes or so when you realize the truth. If not for those misleading horror sequences I mentioned earlier, the ending would have been perfect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christina is somewhat suitable for the role of Anna. I had never really watched The Addams Family, but I still remember how she looked as Wednesday Addams, and she still looks that way here. Being a corpse on a table makes it fitting indeed. Liam Neeson is a bit miscast here. I'm too used to seeing him as an action hero, so I can't quite accept him as the supposedly devious mortician. Justin Long is basically playing the same role in Drag Me To Hell here as the caring but clueless boyfriend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a semi fine attempt at making us think about life, death and what it feels like to lie down on a table at the funeral home. I'd give it a higher rating if they explained the horror sequences and gave the plot a bit more urgency. For now my rating is 2.5/5.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">N.B.: There were several nude scenes of Christina, but I didn't get to see them because of censorship. Damn.</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-74728009430047256992012-07-08T13:41:00.000+08:002012-07-08T13:41:14.221+08:00SolitaryMy family went on a vacation. Without me.<br />
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So finally I have some time to myself. Two and a half days to be exact. Time to spend.<br />
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It'll be quieter than usual. I'll have an opportunity to get some things done. It's liberating and yet at the same time intimidating. Being alone isn't all that's cracked up to be. Some things which you took for granted before now falls on your shoulders to take responsibility for.<br />
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By the time I actually get used to this, they'll be home, so no big deal I guess. So the only thing left to do is to make the most of it.<br />
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I do wish I had someone to talk to though.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-60886740547077657402012-07-01T00:58:00.002+08:002012-07-01T00:58:43.835+08:0029<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br />Many happy returns of the day to Marit Larsen.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-62108078504926102942012-06-24T23:43:00.002+08:002012-06-24T23:43:29.005+08:00TodayNearly half the year is gone. Do I have anything to show for it?<br />
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My life is mostly uneventful. A lot of times I like to keep it that way. I dislike dealing with too much drama, though I admit the mundanity of things can be taxing on my mind if I allow it.<br />
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It's the hottest time of the year right now. There hasn't been much rain in the last few weeks. It's so hot I start sweating the moment I step out of the shower. It's insane.<br />
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I still find myself having a lot of stuff to do and not having enough time to do it. It's frustrating but I'm slowly working on it. I have to make it work somehow, or I'll start looking at myself as a failure.<br />
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The other frustrating thing is the idiocy of people in general. Like the morons who smoke in public toilets when they can just go outside and do it. Like the imbeciles who have to text and drive at the same time. Like the cretins who have to play with their phones while watching a movie in the cinema. It's pretty obvious that cigarettes and cellphones are the two worst inventions in our history. People smoke even when it kills them and everyone around them. People buy expensive phones just so they can play with them, not to call people with them. If you've taken a ride in a Singaporean MRT, you'll know what I mean.<br />
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I just hope that if I ever end up in an asylum, someone who follows this blog will visit me and tell me I'm right.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-49488982432569030222012-05-25T21:35:00.001+08:002012-05-25T21:36:37.145+08:0028<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Marion Raven turns 28 today. Many happy returns of the day, God bless her always.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27979409.post-25340160874335591872012-05-12T23:25:00.002+08:002012-05-12T23:29:30.974+08:00Goodbye Hollie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been a long time since I've blogged about American Idol. That's probably because it's not a healthy thing to get too worked up on the show. It's unfair more often than not, and the wrong person usually ends up winning. The winner hasn't been a favorite of mine for the last three years.<br><br>
But anyway, I wanted to talk about the contestant they voted off this week: Hollie Cavanagh. She was born in England and raised in Texas. She actually auditioned last year but didn't make the top 24, and Jennifer Lopez encouraged her to come back this year, and so she did.<br><br>
She has an amazing voice, and from what I know, if you give her a song requiring big vocals, she'll nail it. However, Idol is never easy when it comes to song choices, so she struggled through the middle part of her journey through the finals. She lacked confidence to carry herself, but slowly she built up her strength and as a result, survived many stints at the bottom two. One might even say that despite her growing skills, she kept ending up at the bottom because the producers perceived her as weak.<br><br>
There's no doubt in my mind that Hollie was given a tough time by everyone. No matter how many of her fans voted for her, she always ended up at the bottom. This is the unfair part about Idol. If someone doesn't start out strong, they don't get a fanbase strong enough to hold them. More importantly now, with the absence of Simon Cowell, the current judges tend to apply favoritism and make some singers look better than others. And Hollie suffered because of that.<br><br>
Despite the odds, Hollie made it to the final four, and this is where her luck ran out. She was beaten by guitar wielding Philip Phillips, gospel style guy Joshua Ledet and Filipino favorite Jessica Sanchez (who really has zero personality in my opinion). I, like many others were sad to see her leave, and she did so with class, more class than anyone ever showed her. She was a humble soul who took criticism without complaining, and even in defeat she kept herself steady.<br><br>
Many times I had refused to get attached to any Idol contestant (especially since this is an American thing), but there was something about Hollie that made her special. She was a petite, adorable firecracker who could sing amazingly. Her performances of Rolling In The Deep, River Deep, Mountain High and All The Man That I Need were awesome. Even her rendition of The Climb was better than Miley Cyrus (though I admit Miley sucks on any song), she actually made me like listening to it.<br><br>
I hope that someday Idol gives its honor to someone who doesn't have to oversing or scream their head off just to make a point. More importantly, if Hollie's loss is anywhere similar to the reason why the awful Scotty McCreery and the dull Lee DeWyze won in years past (i.e. vote rigging by the producers, possibly), then everyone in charge of bringing this show to the masses should be ashamed of themselves.<br><br>
For those of you who haven't heard Hollie sing, here's an early recording of her singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.<br><br> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/noFBwk0g7ZQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08596862089432440080noreply@blogger.com0