Otaku Night

So, watched Death Note today with Dave and co. For all my dissatisfaction, I'm still happy that I've gone to watch it. Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you? Maybe the otaku in me just doesn't want to dislike it. 6_6

Obsessed ramblings follow, so be warned. =) But before you leave... if you've watched this movie and decided that you didn't like it, don't be discouraged! Go get the anime or better still pick up the manga, I guarantee that's much much better!

Okay, now that that's out of the way. ^__^

Same scenes here and there, but to me it felt like everything was different. Just realized when Dave pointed it out, that they'd upgraded Raito from high school to college. Huehe. Speaking of which, how I wish they had released more than two episodes of the TV anime so I could've gone all otaku with Dave (he only followed the anime, which had not revealed much at this point). I think I've gone all otaku on him anyway. Huahauhau.

I still think the manga gave the best suspense for the introduction, the part of how Raito came into contact with the Death Note. The anime was very close but slightly different. The movie was not bad in that department actually, because the opening made you wonder what was going on (if you hadn't read anything about the plot or seen any trailers, that is...) but it felt rather all over the place for me. Come to think of it, it's probably a matter of flavour, ya? Manga-s do things in a certain way and movies another. And while I remember to mention -- they added a "How to Use It" rule that wasn't in the original story, didn't they? Can't remember what it was, though.

The romance bit was totally uncalled for... though it did provide a good twist. I mean, come on, this was not the Raito I know. Steady girlfriend? Basketball? He was supposed to be the intelligent type, but the way he was portrayed was more the popular type instead. I thought surely it was too much to make him good at basketball on top of everything else, but now I recall him being good at tennis in the manga. Um yeah, manga-s do get a bit dramatic too. ^^0 But he at least looked more like a tennis kinda guy than basketball! Huahuaha. I mean, you have guys like Kunimitsu Tezuka in Prince of Tennis! I remembered someone even parodied that tennis match between Raito and L, where Raito was cast as Fuji, PoT's in-house genius. Hilarious. =D But anyway, another story. ^^

Raito was much more of a villain in this movie. They did try to establish his motivation with the story about dropped criminal cases etc -- I don't know, it just didn't stick with me. Halfway through the story he became just a little more than an obsessed genius mass murderer. It was far better in the original story where he was more in touch (fed up, that is) with the "rotten world" around him. I don't mind the new version much; they were done quite well, I think. The resolution to Naomi's role was a twist good enough to replace the original full-of-tension encounter between her and Raito. The problem is that the original was already very good that you'd lament, "Why not have that?" =P

Also, this "first part" was apparently not the "first part" I drew the line on (the "L saga" in the manga), which covered a much longer story. At the pace the movie was going (i.e. pretty slow), they shouldn't have abbreviated things so much that they lost the purpose, for the sake of the unnecessary additions. But oh well, it's always easy to criticize. =D

To be fair, some points are better in this movie. Chief Yagami's personality stood out better, and he really delivered most of the whole story's morale.

The people at the theatre kept laughing whenever Ryuuku showed up. Ata said it was because of that dumb face, at least for people who wasn't used to it already from reading the manga. He was indeed entertaining, I guess. =D And I got to admire L's slim fingers. Huahah. He must be one happy actor, getting to eat all those delicious stuff for work. I heard his portrayal of L was praised, and I agreed that he did a very good job. Pity we didn't see enough of him here... yet. The modified plot development didn't quite give a punch on the wit exchange, somehow.

We stayed on after the credits to see if there'd be extra scenes. Indeed, there was... a trailer for Part 2. =D Part 2 of the L saga, that is. The "Second Kira arc", shall we call it. I don't think there'd be anything about M and N, and this second part is already titled The Last Name, as Dave said, so there probably won't be any more sequel. I'm not complaining though; the L saga is the most interesting part in my opinion. And if you know the manga ending to that part, maybe we all won't mind so much if they've changed the ending yet again. Which is what they'd probably do if they're not going to resolve the overall story with M and N. (Another The Departed case? But this is a Jap movie, so maybe they won't have qualms about not-so-happy endings ya? I haven't watched enough Jap non-anime movies to tell...)

Erm, do you think this whole writing is very obscure? Huehuehe. Trying to keep away from spoilers here.

Kay then. Work is still stormy so I'd better stop here now. ^^0

Happening

First time coming here without really anything to write about. =D *checks timestamp of last post* Eek, almost one month ya? Anyway, big deadline just passed. Not that I let such things stop me from writing *ahem* but I guess there just wasn't anything I wanted to urgently say. Was feeling quite pressurized before this, that sighs and huffs and hand-through-hair pretty much sum up what I want to let out. =D

So. Big deadline just passed. Who was it who said most of your work would be done one month before the deadline... very true in my case, heh. Actually, make that a week. Good thing my sup is as meticulous as me in writing (she once spent two hours on an abstract -- a paragraph, that is) or else she'd be hounding me for being so slow. I'm still a little shaky about the results, but I apply the usual tactic... what we can't justify, we bluff through. ^^0

Even got waken up by my sup's phone call this morning *hides* 'cause I missed her email last night and I overslept in compensation for the three-hour sleep I got the night before. Me lazy brat who can survive on four-hour sleep four days in a row (I believe that's the record) to stay up reading manga scans but not to edit academic papers. X(

So. Big deadline just passed. Someone's screaming that we've established that fact already. =D Immediately hopped into a taxi and not-so-successfully attempted to run through the Suntec crowd (difficult, I tell you) to watch The Departed with Eka. Felt quite bad that I made her miss the first few bits. Thot I'd be able to meet the deadline with some spare time, but apparently these things tend not to work that way. For future reference.

Anyway, I've watched Infernal Affairs and I loved it, so the fact that I don't hate The Departed (which really follows all major settings and plot flow of Infernal Affairs except the last part... if I remember correctly) may mean that the movie is actually very good. =D It has really interesting characters, even the minor ones, even the sidekick planted there for the sole purpose (or so I think) of tweaking the ending. The humour is also good.

Still, I like Infernal Affairs better. Maybe because I've watched it first. Maybe because the Chinese setting is more familiar. Maybe because it has Tony Leung. Hihi. *fangirl alert* I feel that Infernal Affairs established the background story better too, like the way they reveal the protagonist's identity, his touching relationship with the captain of police... and I think that extra ending in The Departed was unnecessary. Just to make the good guy win. I do think the romance in The Departed is done better -- I like that girl, while I cannot remember how it went in Infernal Affairs. Hmmm.

And oh, Leonardo looks more handsome with facial hair. Weird, I usually prefer the other way round, but I guess his clean face is just a bit too sweet for my taste. ...As if I had the pick. Right.

So. Big deadline... kidding. I'll spare you the overdose of repetitive style, though you could probably tell I myself am a sucker for it. ^^ So, after the movie, got Indonesian food for dinner and usual gossips/updates with Eka, then off to Chinatown for karaoke with Hady. =DD Plus all the tension before the submission deadline, what a happening weekend. When talking with Eka today we sort of mentioned how uneventful weekends were back in our undergraduate days, and that made me realize the extent of change I've gone through without really knowing it. *distant look* Time really does bring so much change so naturally.

So, next movie. Huaha. Death Note is opening next week! *yay yay yay* Must be the first movie I'm really waiting to be released. Actually, can't really figure out why. I've read the manga, I've recently heard from Dave that there's a TV anime version, I've downloaded and watched the first episode. And I'm still so excited over this live-action movie (that's how they call it). Must be a fangirl thing. =D And the more I look at the posters (quite surprised at how much publicity this is getting, considering it's a non-English movie) the more I like the actor who played L. Mwehehe. Plan to watch it on one of the coming weekdays, as my parents are coming to visit next Saturday.

Ah... life's so good. =D Another deadline end of this month, but what the heck. Fufufufufu.

Something Burning

I have faith in you, and I have trust in me.
I feel the pull of the river now and I want to go.
I hope you find your river soon and you meet me
when we have followed our rivers down to the sea.

-- Deb Talan, "Something Burning"


Looks like this Deb Talan is a singer/songwriter worth stalking. =) I love her straightforward lyrics in that whole album, though her tunes haven't hooked me yet. They seem to have a Jane Siberry flavour, which means, rather "weird" to me. But in Siberry's case some of that weirdness are pretty enjoyable, so I'm not giving up yet. ^_^

Outside Coming In

Watched The Banquet today with "the Medanese group". =D (No racist connotation, really!) The likely suspects who'd go for this kind of Chinese wuxia film, in short. Rimbun is a very good event organizer; the two movie outings I've had with him are well confirmed, meal-annotated, and SMS-reminder-ed. *thumb up*

Anyway, this group speak Hokkian, and I can only catch a little that's similar to Teochew, so they speak Indonesian to me, but "group discussions" are mostly in Hokkian. But take it easy folks (if you happen to read), I'm actually pretty content just listening and catching bits of foreign languages here and there just for the heck of it, so don't worry. =D

But even when language is not a barrier I'm just not much of a conversationist, I guess. I'm hopeless at making small talks, and I'm usually not sensitive enough to make the effort. =P Once, I had a meal with my housemate and her colleague whom she just introduced to me. I kinda assumed this colleague was well "taken care of" by my housemate, and since I had nothing to say, I didn't initiate much conversation. Later on I found out from my housemate that her colleague, being a very nice girl, was actually very concerned over what to say to me during that meal since I didn't give many openings. =PP

At that time I told myself to fix that, but I haven't been out with new people since so I've forgotten all about it. *slaps forehead*

Anyway, since no Eka to review the movie this time, I'll say something about it. =) It's the artistic type, so if you don't really enjoy this genre, not very recommended lah. But if you do, wow is this pretty. And not difficult to follow. It's quite bloody (sometimes unnecessarily excessive in my opinion) and violent and tragic, so brace yourself for it. Bits of sensuality here and there, so innocent eyes and minds (not mine, admittedly) please be warned. It's also very poetic, and it helpfully comes with both Mandarin and English subtitles, so I guess it'd be interesting to language enthusiasts. And good songs too.

All in all, I like it. The plot is captivating; maybe it helps not to read too many synopses before watching. The ending made me go "Whaaat?" at first, but if it's meant to convey what I thought it did, then I'm very impressed. There are also many a moral along the plot flow that made us all go "Well said!" =)

What impressed me further is how it bares to us the reality of human nature. We need to remember that this was the time of dynasties and emperors, when birthrights (and more importantly, how they are exercised) put one on a throne or at other people's feet or at assassins' swordpoints. Some characters are ruthless and I admire them for it, because that's much stronger than submitting to one-time emotions, though how pure their motives are I cannot tell. Some "change with the weather" and I think that's much wiser than losing one's life (and the whole clan's, as per the tradition in those times) and by that, accomplishing nothing. Not very noble on the surface maybe, but applying nobility also needs skillful means mah.

Anyway (this word is quickly becoming my favourite uttering), enough rambling on that. Called home after I'm back from the movie and asked my mum a "social" question. I.e. there's this kind of situation involving our relatives or general friends of the family, so do I need to do this and that? Her judgement and hunches have proved to be truly accurate time and again, but if I think of how I still need to employ my mother as my P.R. counsellor at this age, oh my.

Also, caught a snippet of that Fei Yu Qing's show on Channel 8 (?) this afternoon, and I thought of how my father would love it. Hoping to get my parents to come visit next month and hoping this show will still be airing till then. ^^

Hitting Close to Home

So, Jonathan Leong will be at the UCC at 5pm today. I did checked his blog this morning (as per Daniel Ong's instruction) because I was curious, but never thought I'd be receiving the confirmed news in my work/school email inbox. NUS Centre for the Arts asked for support for the event, as Jonathan is a member of the NUS Jazz Band.

It was also a surprise yesterday when I saw a poster beside the lift in my building, soliciting votes for Jasmine Tye because she turns out to be a "schoolmate", a Life Sciences 1st year. Strictly speaking, "less" of an NUS student than Jonathan (3rd year Political Science according to CFA's email) since I figured her being first year meant that she had missed all the lectures since the start of the academic year. Most probably they also have similar posters for Jonathan over at Arts Fac. Erm, not that year and faculty should be a factor in deciding who to vote for, ya. *disclaim disclaim*

Anyway, I hope they don't mind me discussing their, uh, academic life here. I'm just a little surprised at how such a commercial thing finds its way to a school I'm close with. I guess it's only me making that distinction.

So, being a half-fan of Jonathan (I voted for both finalists yesterday), I'm a little tempted to go, but decided not to since I don't know anyone else at school that can go fangirl/boy(?)-ing with me. Paiseh lah. =P Huaha.

Life's Not A B*tch, Life Is A Beautiful Woman

Got this from Lena's mailing list. Another of that life's-little-instruction-book thing, but here it is again because (1) I like; (2) who knows, you may not have read some of these before; (3) different points connect with different people at different times, or so I believe; and (4) speaking for my lazy self, I could certainly use some push in the right direction.

In particular that advice about saying no. *ponders*

---

25 Things I Wish I'd Known in My 20's
by Becky Waters


1. The only thing you have control over is yourself. Trying to control other people or things is a waste of time and energy.

2. Holding on to something or someone is the best way to lose it. The tighter the grip, the faster they run.

3. You create your life experiences one thought at a time. Thoughts affect perception, which affect choices, which create your life situation.

4. You are completely responsible for your life and how you choose to live it.

5. If you are unhappy with your situation, take action to change it.

6. How we feel matters. A thought with a feeling – a passion – behind it is like a beacon with a huge magnet shining out and drawing it to us.

7. Feeling sorry for yourself is addicting. It may be okay for a few minutes, but spending much more time than that will take you years – or decades – to recover from.

8. Whatever it is that we think about and give our attention to, we get more of. Even if we say we don’t want it.

9. That childhood saying about “stick and stones… and words can never hurt me” is a total lie and was created as a “nany-nany-boo-boo” to cover up the hurt that you’re feeling.

10. Every time you remember one of those “nany-nany-boo-boo” experiences and relive the hurt feelings, it is an opportunity for you to heal it and let it go. Buried feelings never die.

11. Giving and receiving are inseparable. They are two sides of the same coin.

12. In every human interaction, all anybody really wants is to be treated decently and with respect.

13. It’s okay to say “no” if you don’t want to do something. Saying nothing or being indecisive is the same thing as saying “yes”.

14. It is very important to be clear about what you want and what you don’t want. Otherwise, you spend a lot of time going in circles.

15. It’s okay to change your mind about what you want and don’t want – especially if what you thought you wanted is not working.

16. Happiness is an inside job. No one else can “make” you happy or unhappy, since happiness is mostly a matter of how we choose to perceive things and people.

17. Personal boundaries are not shackles. They’re a healthy sign of respect for ourselves and others.

18. We teach people how to treat us by the boundaries we set or don’t set.

19. If you don’t respect yourself, no one else will either.

20. Follow Mom’s advice to “just be yourself,” but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t always approve of the “self” you choose to be.

21. Needing other people’s approval – even your parents’ – keeps you from beginning your real, true self.

22. There is enough of everything. It’s our fear of lack that keeps it from coming to us.

23. The first step to accomplishing anything is to believe in yourself and have the confidence to know that you matter.

24. You DO matter... everybody matters... or else we wouldn’t BE here in this world of “matter”.

25. The easiest way to get something is to ask for it. Then let go and allow the Universe bring it to you.

Wide Awake

The words are touching, and with the tune even more so, so go find this song. =)


Wide Awake
Vocal: Emi Fujita
Album: Camomile

The dawn breaks slowly in the east
as day defeats the night.
The echo of your voice that greets
the feeble morning light
is the only answer to my silent prayer
and promises I never make.
You are always with me, you're always there
in my dreams, though I am wide awake.

And sometimes a forbidden glance
will give my heart away.
The light that kindles our romance
may flicker through the gray.
All the gold and silver at the rainbow's end,
all earthly goods I will forsake.
For each shooting star, a wish I send;
and I dream though I am wide awake.

You were the rolling tidal wave
that swept my barren shores.
If you will let me share your day,
my life's forever yours.
I will never understand the reason why
we fail to learn from our mistakes.
I will wait for you as the days go by
with my dream, though I am wide awake.

Longer

I know whom I truly love
and they are few indeed.
It's worrying that of all people close to me
it isn't anything like this.
Does it really take twenty years
for feelings to go that deep?
Then I'd better start soon, if not already,
and take care lest I break the streak.