Hedonism

Hedonism can be generally summed up as "pleasure is the highest good" or — in an ethical formulation — "whatever causes pleasure is right." (Wikipedia)

Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)
Skunk Anansie

I hope you're feeling happy now
I see you feel no pain at all it seems
I wonder what you're doin' now
I wonder if you think of me at all
do you still play the same moves now
or are those special moods
for someone else
I hope you're feeling happy now

just because you feel good
doesn't make you right
just because you feel good
still want you here tonight

does laughter still discover you
I see through all the smiles
that look so right
do you still have the same friends now
to smoke away your problems and your life
oh how do you remember
me the one that made
you laugh until you cried
I hope you’re feeling happy now

just because you feel good doesn't make you right
just because you feel good still want you here tonight
I wonder what you're doing now
I hope you're feeling happy now
I hope you're feeling happy now

--Check out this song’s music video through You Tube, it’s great, I promise.--

Blank: The Movie

I quite don’t know why I can’t find any movies from the 80’s and below in my memory. Maybe because most of them are no longer available, or may be I am so preoccupied of thinking I’m a 90’s and beyond kid and don’t really much care about the decades before it. I thought ‘Prettier than Pink’ was a good teen flick, and the first Star Wars trilogy as the better of the two trilogies, and ‘The Graduate’ as engaging as any other “controversial” films there is, and I am yet to see Apocalypse Now Redux.

So, I thought this is my top list of best movies of all time. There are so many movies I really like, but guess what, I forgot their titles; I only remember what happened in there. The following movies definitely stuck in my mind and made my cerebrum their hiding place.

1. American Beauty (1999) Sam Mendes
2. Chungking Express (1994) Wong Kar Wai
3. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) Alfonso Cuaron
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Michel Gondry
5. Elephant (2003) Gus Van Sant
6. Magnolia (1999) Paul Thomas Anderson
7. Hero (2002) Zhang Yimou
8. Memento (2000) Christopher Nolan
9. Finding Nemo (2003) Andrew Stanton/Lee Unkrich
10. Conspiracy Theory (1997) Richard Donner
11. Schindler’s List (1993) Steven Spielberg
12. Amorres Perros (2000) Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
13. L.A. Confidential (1997) Curtis Hanson
14. Zatoichi (2003) Takeshi Kitano
15. Happy Endings (2005) Don Roos
16. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Peter Jackson
17. Thesis (1996) Alejandro Amenabar
18. Zoolander (2001) Ben Stiller
19. Oro, Plata, Mata (1982) Peque Gallaga
20. Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (1974) Lino Brocka
21. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003-2004) Quentin Tarantino
22. Boogie Nights (1997) Paul Thomas Anderson
23. In the Mood for Love (2000) Wong Kar Wai
24. Behind the Sun (2001) Walter Salles
25. Cinema Paradiso (1989) Giuseppe Tornatore
26. Spiderman 1 & 2 (2002 & 2004) Sam Raimi
27. The Godfather (1972) Francis Ford Coppola
28. Pleasantville (1998) Gary Ross
29. Others (In this Century and beyond) I will soon remember and add it here.

---FIN---

A-Musicale

I watched the Asian premiere of the "High School Musical" last night in the Disney's Channel. I know, I am not supposed to watch Disney shows, what am I? Grade 5. Well, I watch Disney shows, animated movies, superhero flicks, and broadway musicals (Andrew Lloyd Webber, etc.) , so why not watch this one. It's quite surprising though to see somewhat a "happy" version of teenagers, minus the angst, the rebellion, the weeds, the drugs, the booze, the libido, the crises. They're just so happy singing to the point of cheesiness. Nice cheezy though. 'Coz I think the actors are good, some can really sing, some are just relentlessly talented. I was amused. I like these kids; I also lik e those who keep it real, those with disorders. They're less boring. And fun to watch. Two words. Cheesy nice.

Sometimes, I wished I could take part in a musical, go West End or Broadway. But then again, not all people are aliens or vice versa.

+++++++

I just finished watching "Wedding Crashers." One word. Moooorrrreeee......

Weddings Windings

A friend just wed to a man twice her height and twice as blond. She married a European. And I was there to witness it. Yet another June bride.

This was officially the first wedding I have ever attended. I am not quite sure if I have attended receptions before but if indeed they are, I have no idea about it. So, again, officially this is my first attendance on a wedding. I was a groomsman. I wore barong tagalog. And I never really looked nice in it.

This was not a Catholic wedding, but anyway, I have nothing to differentiate it with. What's nice about this is that the place where they were wed is the same place where we ate. So there's no running, walking, sprinting towards the buffet table. No one died during the course of slicing, rumbling, forking of food on the table, other than of course the pigs, chickens, cows, who spared their lives to make this celebration a possibility. Glory to these animals, to their sons and daughters, to their mothers and fathers, who in one way or another will make their way to yet another smorgasbord who I wished I will be a part of. I am such a pig. Nothing against pigs, though.

The couple will soon leave this country and will settle in Ireland, a greener pasteur, where cows will be milked and milked, until they have yet become a part of everyone's dining table. I am happy for them for they will definitely be nourished in an area where I know chances of success are higher. They will be living in a richer dominion, a new haven of hope, a barnyard of fat cattles. They will be leaving this wretched country and will look back to this as an instrument why they are now together. I wished I can do likewise, not necessarily marrying an alien, but leaving this country and look back to it as the reason why I pursue things I don't even like pursuing. There is still hope.

I inverted the hourglass. The sand of time dropping in a tiny waist hole. Soon, I will turn it over again, hoping that this time it's a whole different new hourglass. Shrinking in coldness of the winter season, sparkling in silver dusts taken from the coastal fjords, adorned in foreign taste. Dreams are all I have. Just like everybody else.

Jesslyn & Mark, congratulations!

French Open Closed Already, Nadal Maintains Clay Power, Roger Eyes Grass (No snorting required)

As predicted, Nadal is unbeatable on clay court. I was looking forward for Federer to end the winning streaks of the Spanish star, but the Swiss seems to stumble here and there, and can’t seem to manage the swashbuckling topspins made by the clay giant. I was watching in excitement on the fourth round, seeing despair in the shouts of Federer fans (Roooojeer), when suddenly Roger made amazing points and tied the game on 6-6 until of course Nadal finished with strong serves making Federer moved back and forth the baseline, and ultimately gave him a fastball he can’t reach. But, Federer fans don’t despair; the grass court will be the arena of Federer to make vengeance. And as history tells, they clay giants will be swept out of the grass on the first rounds. Hopefully, #2 Nadal will prove us wrong.

Buoys and Girls

There is quite an association with buoys (it is not wrongly spelled) and girls. Women with huge bosoms are said to float more. And Sir Isaac Newton threw apples to the sexist who made that statement. Well, women with huge bosoms have more weight on her that could eventually be pulled by gravity. Yes, they have no floaters. There is no air unless of course, they’re brainless airheads. And that’s a different story. Ergo, the question, “so you float when you swim?,” could only be safely asked to an airhead with big boobs or just plain airhead.

‘Then to the Aeolian isle we came, where dwelt Aeolus, son of Hippotas, dear to the immortal gods, in a floating island, and all around it is a wall of unbreakable bronze, and the cliff runs up sheer. Twelve children of his, too, there are in the halls, six daughters and six sturdy sons, and he gave his daughters to his sons to wife.’---The Odyssey, Homer

Punch Me, I Bleed!

"Punch me, I bleed!," says Peter Parker to MJ while trying to convince her that he indeed is different. Nothing against MJ, he will not have a scratch if she will try to punch him after a grueling play, unless of course she wears metal gloves and punch him on his softest part, (not the balls, it will not bleed) his nose. It never fails.

Time moves forward and every second changes eveything, so definitely now is different from yesterday and tomorrow. But why are we not changing? Or we haven't noticed that yet. Everyone wishes for us to change, but is change necessary? (Warning: Cliche ahead). The only constant thing in this world is change. And did we become different after these changes? (Warning: Rhetoric ahead). Are these changes necessary? Are we obliged to adapt to these changes? Do we have to change our underwears everyday? Ummm.

I chat with a friend two days ago. She is one of those I have talked with about my personal life. I never really talked about them, not that it is not interesting. I just thought that I don't like to be pitied. But that is out of the topic. We talked a lot about our past days, our friends, the things we akwardly do, the funny instances we never thought had happened, the doubts, the questions, the rumors, the past love, friends gradually changing, friends abruptly changing, friends surprisingly different, friends unsurprisingly different, and life as we know it. She is now happily married in the coast of California. And I'm happy we have talked cause right after that I felt different. I suddenly missed my past and made a lots of could haves, would haves and should haves. I was different, I never thought I will miss anyone. Yes, I am human. I always thought I was alien. ET phone home.

Punch me, I bleed! I always does. I'm such a loser.

Run, Bleeeep, Run Sequel

Weekend spells movie marathon. And fortunately, my eyes didn't swell, but my facial hair has gone King Kong. I had never shaven for a week, and it didn't bother me if I look like a fur ball, but I thought it was sexy; sexy lazy to take an hour off the screen to grab the razor and bleed my face to death.

Anyway, first on the list is Spanish Fly. The only thing nice about this film, since it has gone too crazy giving a clue what it is all about, is the kissing, petting, making love while sliding down the stairs. And other people walking past them didn't seem to mind. Go on sex-starved lovers. Welcome to Spain, not the Philippines, but conqueror of the Philippines. Next is another Spanish film, Novo, which means "new". It stars the Paz Vega, the beautiful Paz Vega, the face that launched a thousand erections (did I write that word? Oh no. Censors. Bad word) and Eduardo Noriega of Abre Los Ojos (the film that launched Penelope Cruz to international stardom). This film is a little pornographic, lots of pubes hanging around, but hey if you like films about memory, memory loss, memory found, this is a nice thesis (wink wink). The only disturbing thing about it is again the ending, wherein the protagonist's child found him sleeping naked on the beach, and he suddenly remembers everything. The line that struck as disturbing was when the son said to the father, "have you ever slept with boys before?" and they slept (not make love, pervert), still the father not minding the coldness of the beach. Grab some shirt dad. Creepy dad. Die, dad, die.

After a while of adult-rated films, I suddenly felt watching Sky High. Yes, the superhero film. I wished they could have gone further. But, well, it was OK. Hum hum. Everything is Illuminated followed, the debut feature film of actor Liev Schreiber. It stars Elijah Wood, a Jew looking for the girl in the photo with his grandfather who helped him escape from the Germans in Ukraine 1942. He is a collector of mementos of his loved ones. The rigid search was not only vital to him but also to his guide who eventually succumbed to his past. Special mention is the great acting of the dog, the blind-guiding bitch of the old man who thinks he is blind. The bitch is deranged and I loved it.

I always wanted to watch the last film of the great Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange) starring the late-couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, in a breast-butt exposing role. Again, lots of pubes hanging. Eyes Wide Shut. My eyes wide but not shut. Get it?

Sigh. Undiscovered. Sigh. See Ashley Simpson sing. See Ashley Simpson act. See Ashley Simpson. The airport-running/fleeing/catching scene on the end is a reminiscent of past teen flicks and they thought it was still a good formula. Damn they were wrong. Of course, there is always the happy ending. Sigh. I discovered. Sigh.

Lastly, the Chumscrubber. Another dysfunctional teen story in teen suburbia. Lots of dysfunctional characters. Of note, the great acting of Glenn Close with the ubiquitous line, “in no reason whatsoever I blame you for the death of my son.” Well, just like any dysfunctional movies, it ends dysfunctionally (if there is such a word). I generally think the teen actors did great, I can only name one though, Jamie Bell of Billy Elliot. Okay, there is also Camilla Belle of When Stranger Calls, Justin Chatwin of War of the Worlds, Rory Culkin (related to Macaulay), and Lou Taylor Pucci of Thumbsucker. Others are just too popular to be included, I mean the veterans.

Seven down, seven days to go before another heating of my DVD player. Damn, this player is cheap. Yeah, it is.

P.S. I also watched Transamerica but not finished it due to player breakdown, where Felicity Huffman got an Oscar nod for acting as a male-turning-female transsexual (or was that redundant) fathering a long lost son. Again, there was this disturbing part where the son, not knowing that “she” was his father, kissed her and bared himself in front of her. Then the father suddenly revealed himself, what a wrong timing. He could have puked. But, still good acting from Huffman.

With all these disturbing father-son scenes (also refer to Novo), I can’t help but say that Father’s Day is coming to town. Advanced Happy Father’s Day.