Words of Winterson
"People sometimes say I am really organised and I seem to make life work, but the truth is that finding time is a daily struggle, because we live in a world that operates by wasting time.
"I am a writer, and I have to find time to write. How crazy is that?
"I could spend my life going to conferences and answering emails and airing my opinions on chatshows and in newspapers, quite apart from playing with my shop and seeing to my woodland and my animals.
"I love life, and a love a rich and full life, but I am well aware how much mental determination it takes to sit down and read poetry - and we`re not even talking about writing it.
"For all of you who live in chaos, well so do I. It`s just that I am a Virgo, and therefore obliged by the stars to TIDY UP.
"No seriously, it is always a struggle to live well - and by that I mean making time for the things that matter, like art and love and cooking, and making time for the things that matter just to you, however wacky. As well as all this we have to earn our living and stay political, and it`s no wonder that people feel that they just can`t cope.
"Deep breath. Sit down. Close your eyes. Remember. Remember who you are and what you care about. Do this little exercise every day."
-Wnterson, February 2005;
http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=312
If I Was a Movie Critic (Part One)
I have never read the HELLBLAZER or BOOKS OF MAGIC series (British penned graphic novels), but have heard a lot about them. I went to see CONSTANTINE last night with F and he was all prepared to be disappointed. He was not. And not having any expectations and not really knowing what the HELLBLAZER storyline was, neither was I.
CONSTANTINE is not the best film I have seen, but the visuals were absolutely stunning (a "trait" apparently shared by many first-time film directors who started making names for themselves directing music videos). You MUST see this film, if only for its TECHNICAL merits. The sets, the lighting, the cinematography: perfect. I actually enjoyed literally watching this film for the visuals (yes, I will chuck that frame where Rachel Weis is standing behind green glass and Keanu Reeves occupies the other half of the screen with flourescent light to artistic license BS). And I'm partially deaf, but I know what "good sound" is like when I hear it (many thanks to my audiophile father for educating me in the art of sound appreciation and plus points to Greenbelt 3 for keeping the decibels up properly). The sound in this movie is fantastic. It's not STAR WARS on THX, but, man, I could hear EVERYTHING from EVERYWHERE as if I was right there in each scene. And the sound mix in the scene where Reeves' character puts on Dave Brubeck's TAKE FIVE...ahhh...how I miss analog.
The story is one we have read or seen or perhaps even heard before. CONSTANTINE is THE PROPHECY meets BLADE starring
Neo. I was really waiting for Reeves to fly in the end and was half expecting to hear Rage Against the Machine play in the background.
With the exception of Gavin Rossdale (since when was he an actor?), the supporting cast was fantastic. Unfortunately, Reeves as John Constantine didn't exactly work for me (well, at least, not throughout the entire movie). I couldn't
see his agony. I heard it, but didn't see it. It's hard to portray a very torn and emotionally weary character when you're pretty and everyone is just waiting for you to say, "Whoa! Duuuude!". The portrayals of
Gabriel and
Lucifer were great. They're not as stylishly "eerie" as Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen in THE PROPECY, but well-cast and wonderfully played out just the same. If you have read Neil Gaiman's MURDER MYSTERIES or Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, you will recognize CONSTANTINE's
Gabriel as one of their genderless angels, particularly
Xaphania.
There are a lot of good movies out this week like RAY and SIDEWAYS, and I'm pretty sure the lines for those two will be much shorter than the ones for CONSTANTINE. But if you find the time (and perhaps the inclination to remember that Reeves CAN act when he is well-directed and given a good script), go see CONSTANTINE. Purists, open your minds. Not all of us were completely satisfied with the BATMAN, THE HULK and X-MEN movies, but when we saw FROM HELL and SPIDERMAN, we knew there was real hope in the world of comic book-to-film adaptations. If anything, I hope CONSTANTINE inspires people to pick up a copy of HELLBLAZER. I borrowed one of F's copies yesterday. Simply amazing.
Creative Writing
Apparently, having a rather wild imagination runs in my mother's side of the family. My uncle, a linguistics professor in Hawai'i, sent me one of my 7 year old niece's writing exercises (take note - she has already read HARRY POTTER books 1 to 4). She definitely sounds like one of us!
Here's some [C] writing, from a school exercise (Fill in the blanks -- ALL CAP here is what the school sheet started with; the rest is as [C] wrote it):THE SNOW WAS AS Tasty AS ShugrTHE SCARF WAS AS Warm AS My teddyBearTHE SCARF WAS LIKE a Bear huging youTHE HILL WAS AS SLIPPERY AS A snailI SLID DOWN THE HILL LIKE A Bolting horseTHE ICE WAS AS cold AS anice iclIT IS AS COLD AS Mt. EvarestMY NOSE WAS RED LIKE A Mad fireWRITE SOME OF YOUR OWN. The Dog was as cute as a cuDly Puppy A horse is as nice as a rat. (She has two pet rats).I can't wait 'til she starts reading A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS!
Kindred Souls
There's a livejournal I can't post my comment on - you know who you are, hon, so this I say to you:
"And to hold this
depression glass
watching my yesterdays
fall away.
There's always time
for one more drink
before The Last Knock
on the Door."
(10082004)
Time and space cannot separate real friends. It's Friday tomorrow. Let's partyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
The New Curriculum Vitae
What if standard resumes and/or phone job interviews were replaced with this line of questioning?
WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Guess.
HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Surviving.
WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Black.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Kula Shaker's first album, K.
WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE? It is the winter of my discontent.
DO YOU PREFER SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter in Hawai'i.
ANY SIBLINGS? Pancanioni, Ding, JM, Tiking, (almost Miguel).
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Silver.
LAST MOVIE YOU SAW? Last new movie: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Last movie seen on tv: GATTACA.
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING BETTER? Scary movies with a shocking plot twist.
HAVE YOU EVER CRIED DURING A MOVIE? Surprisingly, yes. Who didn’t cry in THE STORY OF US?
IF YOU WERE A MOVIE, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU BE? Murder-mystery-psychological thriller like SE7EN. Or something realistic but strangely full of hope like BEFORE SUNSET and BEFORE SUNRISE. But so far, I'm a cross between STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE and THE GODFATHER.
WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING NOW? Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION (again), THE POWER OF NOW (a book that G got me for Christmas), BANGKOK 8 (I can't remember the author's name), and SMOKE AND MIRRORS by Neil Gaiman (for the nth time).
WHAT BOOK WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOU? David Benioff's THE 25TH HOUR. Although sometimes I'm A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers.
HAVE YOU EVER KEPT A SECRET FROM ANYONE? Of course. And I’m so good at it, I often forget what it is.
FAVORITE DAY(s) OF THE YEAR? Weekends.
FAVORITE DRINK? Got milk?
FAVORITE SPORT? Now, badminton. I'm trying to get back into swimming. I like ultimate frisbee, but the sport doesn't like me. I can think of other things that should be considered a sport like making
lait, speed texting, rushing to work on the Skyway, speed job matching, speed validation, survey-while-you-wait,....
FAVORITE MONTHS? Ber Months.
FAVORITE FOOD? Thai, Italian, Spanish.
FAVORITE SUBJECT(S)? English, Religion, Philosophy, History,...anything without numbers (Can you prove that the intersection of an empty set and a union set is a union set?).
FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER(S)? Shrek. Puss in Boots from SHREK. That robot girl in GHOST IN THE SHELL. Jube in NINJA SCROLL. Mr. Smee from PETER PAN. Malefacent from SLEEPING BEAUTY. The Power Puff Girls. Samurai Jack. Batman. Justin from SECRET OF NIMH.
FAVORITE ADVERTISEMENT? The old ORANGE ad that they used to show during the F1 races with the kids jumping in the water.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF? Of course =)
DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR FRIENDS? Depends which ones =P
DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS? In our family, if you don’t believe, you don’t receive. And I’ve NEVER caught my parents. To this day, I have no idea how they do it. And one is in the States,
ha.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN DESTINY/FATE? I’m of the opinion that I create what I will.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS? Definitely.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? Yes. Why do you think I hate being left alone in the office?
WHAT ARE YOU PROUD OF? My family (you will never meet a more interesting and mind-boggling cast of characters), my dog, my work group, my closest friends, Search-In.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE
MORNING? "Noooooooooooooooo!"
Creative Pillows
Apparently, Neil Gaiman's blog is a good place to find ideas to decorate your home. So far, my favorites are The Godfather Horse's Head Pillow on
http://www.kropserkel.com/horsehead.htm (I really want this one!) and the sushi pillows on
http://www.theoriginalsushipillow.com/pages/2/index.htm. Ridiculously expensive, but great ideas just the same.
Alternative Lifestyle?
I've always enjoyed writing and have often thought about being a writer in the "professional" sense of the word. My problem is...what would I write about? I mean, just look at my blog. There's no real common thread. My Mom suggested that I write a regular column for a local paper. But how would I differentiate my column from Celine Lopez's? I guess that's what the Philippine Star's "Youngblood" column is for.
I could write about something I'm passionate about. Travel. Shopping. Movies. Music. I may not be Ian Wright or Justine Shapiro, but I would love to do what they do. Imagine if I could see what they have seen, and write about it with the same wit as David Sedaris. I have friends with whom I hope to complete a travelogue one day - pictures and everything (big shout out to the Bangkokians here. "How YOU doin'?!"). I could compare bargain shopping in Chatuchak, Pratunam, Benh Tanh, Mongkok, Stanley Park, Tsim Tsa Tsui and the annual Cuenca Bazaars. I could be a movie critic. I could listen to CDs all day and watch bands play all night, and write about them.
Then again, I could always write about all the different things I want or have wanted to be, and call my column "If I Was A/An...". Architect. Interior Designer. Comic Book Artist. Comic Book Writer. Shrink. Poet. Novelist. Neil Gaiman's Wife. Sting's Lover. The Undefined Character in Jeanette Winterson's "Written on the Body". Larry Mullen, Jr's Apprentice. Band Manager. A&R Executive. Judge on "American Idol". Course Director for "The Amazing Race". Formula One Driver. Golf Course Designer. Nun. Philosopher. History Teacher. Literature Teacher. Secretary of the Department of Education. Olympic Swimmer. Host of "Lonely Planet". Writer for "Lonely Planet". Host of "The Thirsty Traveller". Photographer for "National Geographic". Voice Talent. Firestarter. Magician. Octomanoeuver. Who would have thought I'd ever be a Consultant?
I'll figure it out...one day....
I'm on Dogster!
Visit me on
www.dogster.com and give me some paw. Look for Maximus. See you there!
- Max
