tagged again

i got tagged by twisted_kai (thanks kai) for this meme, and now without further ado let's get down to business.

1. i'm rather quick at jabbing the "publish" button, so more often than not i end up editing my posts several times before i'm satisfied (average: 6 edits/post)

2. once when i was 6 and no one was looking, i climbed this huge tree in our backyard and i nearly fell. my mother freaked out when she saw me dangling in mid-air. then i got spanked royally for my trouble.

3. i still prefer anne hathaway's version of "Somebody to Love" in Ella Enchanted than brittany murphy's slightly throaty rendition in Happy Feet.

4. a college chum once tried to convince me to join the Hare Krishna movement (my aunt nearly flipped when she learned about it) and gave me a couple of primer pamphlets to read before the big day. i tried resolutely to read one, but i never got past page 1 (i was way out of my depth).

5. i have a handful of HS friends who have remained pals with me all these years. we don't communicate often, but when we're together it's like time hasn't passed

6. i tend to root for outrageous, goofy and slightly offbeat characters in books and tv series: the weasley twins (HP series), kramer (seinfeld), ayame sohma (fruits basket), kenji harima (school rumble). maybe that's the reason why i like capt. jack sparrow

7. i prefer cold, gloomy days to warm (hot) days

8. when i read newspapers, i usually glance at the headlines first, mark those that i'd want to read, then proceed to the comics section (see, i got my priorities straight)

9. when i'm uncertain about buying a book, i usually check out the ending.

10. i think that nothing can match peter jackson's LOTR films as the definitive fantasy trilogy. maybe in the future, somebody with a bigger budget and better technology can direct or produce a better set, but for now LOTR reigns supreme.

11. i'm a sucker for huge dogs — esp. great pyrenees, irish wolfhound, anatolian shepherd, alaskan malamute, etc.

12. posts with quirky and catchy titles are a great magnet for my attention

13. i like dark-themed, gloomy tv series & flicks (Millennium, X-files, Seven, Silence of the Lambs, The Usual Suspects), but i still won't watch The Exorcist alone

14. i once passed out after drinking a whole glass of cold water on an empty stomach (i missed lunch)

15. my first attempt at building miniatures out of a floor plan (with elevations and perspective) was a messy affair. i got covered with paint and glue, bruises and cuts by the time it was over.

– for my turn, i'm tagging daisy, zarine, venk_man, tin-tin and celle. it's your turn guys, list 15 interesting, quirky things about you that few people know or suspect. we want to know about the dark secrets lurking in your closet heheheh. have fun!

ms. talon: a teacher

Throughout the years, I have had a few teachers that I particularly liked and admired because of their singular qualities and/or standout teaching style, which made the learning process an enjoyable and a stimulating experience. This realization only crystallized when I actually graduated from college because by then I was old enough to acknowledge and distinguish how this or that particular teacher had shaped (consciously or unconsciously) the way I think and look at things.

For some reason, the mentor that I remember most was my high school English teacher.

There was nothing physically remarkable or intimidating about Ms. Talon. She barely topped 5 feet and had a retiring nature that belied her quick intellect. She dressed neatly and rarely drew attention when she walked down the halls. Yet, when she spoke to us in her soft, cultured voice, the whole class strained forward to listen. She was well-read, knew her subject inside and out, and she spoke without a trace of accent. Above all, she never made us feel insecure or embarrassed as we grappled to learn the basics in English — thereby earning our undying loyalty and affection. She would correct us gently, flashing her encouraging smile even as we mangled our similes and metaphors. She never raised her voice in disgust. Not that she had to. A mild reproof from her hurt worse than a public tongue-lashing.

Ms. T, who was in her middle 20s when we first knew her, had a gift for storytelling. With few, well-chosen words, she would reduce thick, intimidating classics (Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Wuthering Heights, Vanity Fair) into something that we could actually understand or identify with. In fact, she was the main reason why most of us turned to reading and literature as a way to improve ourselves and to discover the hidden delights of being able to read, write, and speak English well.

Unfortunately, we didn't have her for long. A year later, her family relocated to a distant town. For a few days we wandered around in shock, loudly exclaiming against the injustice of it all. I remember clearly the day she left, because it was the only time I saw several people, including a couple of school troublemakers, actually blubber while some of us pretended we had the 'sniffles'. 

We never I saw her again after that, although occasionally snippets of how she was doing in her new school would filter down to us. We used to pretend she was just away on a long vacation, and that one day she would appear in front of the class and tell us to "open your books and go to page 112, and discuss how..."

a primer on Fruits Basket

Fuits Basket was one of the first

anime titles

i have viewed. somewhat to my surprise, i immediately liked it. it was, and still remains, one of my favorite series — hardly a surprise, considering how popular it has become.

Five minutes into the pilot episode, i knew right away i was going to enjoy

Fruits Basket

(proof: i didn’t realize i had this fatuous grin on my face, until i stole a glance in the mirror and almost scared myself in the process), without a clear idea of how the story was going to unfold. what prompted me to watch this 26-episode series though was the consistently good buzz it generated from various sources — reviewers, fans, industry reports, etc.

Fruits Basket starts on a funny-bittersweet note. You can’t help but instantly empathize with Tohru Honda, a recently orphaned 16-year-old high school girl who unwittingly sets up camp (literally!) in the wooded vicinity of Shigure Sohma’s house. After a series of interesting developments, she eventually becomes part of the Sohma household, which also included the squabbling cousins Yuki Sohma and Kyou Sohma (also her classmates). In exchange for room and board, she agreed to housekeep for the flamboyant trio.

It isn’t long afterwards that she stumbles upon the family’s well-kept secret (and what a funny scene that was — you ought to see it to appreciate the slapstick humor). In the process of interacting with the mind-boggling, colorful members of this fascinating family, she manages to teach everyone that there is more to strength than stoical toughness.

However, the road is not smooth for the slightly ditsy protagonist. In the course of the 26-episode story, Tohru learns to cope with jealous schoolmates (Yuki’s rabid fan club) and judgmental relatives, and to survive the chaotic, over-the-top and hilarious reactions of various ‘cursed’ Sohma clan members. Her major stumbling block is Akito Sohma — the frail, but bitter and manipulative leader of the Sohma clan.

Fortunately for Honda (for all her quiet resilience and unquenched optimism), she has two protective and devoted friends, Hanajima and Arisa, who are both a study in mental toughness themselves. She also forms an unlikely but strong bond with Yuki and Kyou, who — in their own touchingly awkward fashion — try to help and shield Tohru from the worst of Akito’s vengeful machinations.

Seamlessly mixing drama and comedy, Fruits Basket is one series where the characters are sharply delineated; despite the huge cast, it’s easy to single out and identify a character, mostly due to the concept of Jikkan-Juniishi (based on the Chinese zodiac, which comprises 12 animals that each ‘cursed’ Sohma clan member correspondingly personifies), and the way the show’s creators deftly handled the story. The fact that it is based on a hugely popular manga series (recently concluded, but i’m not including any spoilers here) in Japan and elsewhere, particularly in the US, also works hugely in its favor.

Other factors that contribute to its mass appeal is the art and the music it employs to complement (but never gratingly overwhelms) the scenes being portrayed. The opening and closing songs are also appropriate for the series.

capt. jack is back

avast, ye mateys! Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is coming to plunder these shores on may 23 — so lock up your treasures, sharpen your cutlasses, and bring out the rhum. Capt Jack and his band of merry, scoundrelly scallywags are a-coming!

Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly stupid.
– Capt. Jack Sparrow (The Black Pearl)

other cinematic treats peeking in the horizon: Mr Bean's Holiday, Stardust (a film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book), and then there's Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix.

a blogger’s blues

Travails of a hapless, clueless blogger

NOTE: i wrote this piece about a year ago while i was groping my way into the topsy-turvy world of blogging. i managed to dig this one out from one of my past half-baked blogs, dusted it off, and made a few tweaks here and there. i'm reprinting it here with a twofold purpose: 1. i'm currently undergoing another bout of writer's block; 2. it saves me the bother of wrestling with my ornery(uncooperative) brain cells.