“For you, a thousand times over,” Hassan answered when his best friend Amir asked him if he would eat dirt if Amir asked him to.
This is a story of two generations of two boys, best friends, who got separated from each other at the time of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. Two boys. And their two fathers. Amir and his father ended up living in America, while Ali and Hassan were left in war-torn Afghanistan. The circumstance upon which they were separated from each other is difficult to describe without spoiling the story. Just know that there’s going to be a search to reunite. And with it, the search for atonement, and salvation.
This is one of the best novels I’ve read in years. Afghanistan, the country I only heard about or seen in TV’s when the US retaliated from the 9/11/2001 attacks on the twin towers of NY’s World Trade Center and several other locations in the US, was vividly described. I could almost see the streets, hear its noise and chatters, and smell the fragrance and the stench as Amir described his life and his country then and now. I could see Amir and Hassan run up the hill and watch over their village (it reminded me of those times when my friends and I would climb up a hill and watch our village below, fascinated at how organized the houses are in the subdivisions, and the vastness of the ocean beside it). But more than their country, the two boys themselves, along with their friendship and their fathers’ friendship, were expertly characterized by Hosseini. Ten to twenty pages on and I found myself caring for the book’s main characters. From the back cover of the book I gathered that an invasion was going to do something to the lives of the characters and I found myself anxious to read on the circumstance of the two best friends’ separation, and the eventual search to reunite.
I’d definitely recommend this book to my friends. Last week a colleague told me that she wanted to read a book over the long weekend (3-day weekend due to public holiday) and asked me for a recommendation. I bought several books since moving to Cebu, but I had a hard time recommending one because I liked them all equally and none of them really stood out from the rest (all of what I would readily recommend I left in my home city, Cagayan de Oro). She wouldn’t admit it, but she leans towards fantasy so I ended up lending her my copy of “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman. I had a backup fantasy recommendation, “The Goose Girl” by Shannon Hale, but she wanted to borrow just one book. Anyway, had I already read “The Kite Runner” when she asked for a recommendation, I definitely would have recommended it. A thousand times over, even though it isn’t fantasy.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Theater Report: Vantage Point
February 21, 2008
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:30 PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Previews:
10,000 BC (looks enjoyable to watch, but the story is hard to deduce from the preview)
Horton Hears a Who (definitely for children)
WALL-E (from the creators of Finding Nemo, I’m definitely watching this one)
Meet The Spartans (a parody of “300”, looks funny and dumb at the same time)
I don’t remember the other previews.
Story:
The president of the United States attends a summit on anti-terrorism and got assassinated. Secret service agent Barnes, who took a bullet for the president in a previous assassination attempt, tried to catch the unknown shooter right there and then. The story is told from several points of view (thus, the title “Vantage Point”).
Thoughts:
This is a storytelling that I haven’t seen before, or I don’t remember seeing before. So its storytelling was fresh to me. You’d think that watching a film constantly being rewound several times, each time presenting a different vantage point of the same central situation is boring, but it wasn’t. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t think that, but I certainly did. I expected it to be boring. I even thought it was going to be a political drama (but then that’s my fault because I haven’t seen or read an ad for this film). I probably wouldn’t have gone to this movie had it not been for free (the company I worked for have what we call “Movie Nights” where every month they chose a movie that we have the opportunity to watch for free). When the email for this month’s Movie Night came and I learned it was going to be “Vantage Point”, I commented to my colleagues that I wish they chose “Jumper”. But I saw “Jumper” a week ago and now that I saw both movies I thought the company got it right in choosing “Vantage Point”. It was great, edge-of-your-seat thriller from beginning to end. Later in the movie the story just went improbable, but it’s okay. The premise itself, I think, called for improbability in order for the film to be made. I’m not a fan of its plot, but I’m definitely a fan of how it was told and the pace that it was told. It’s the kind of storytelling that you only get to see in good television these days (“24”, “Lost”, “Prison Break”). I thought “Vantage Point” showed me, if anything, how TV’s “24” would look like in the big screen and how it would sound like in a Dolby Digital theater. I heard rumors of a “24” movie and I think it would be great.
Would I see it again? Maybe I’ll see it again in DVD, there’s not much reason to watch it again once you knew who did what. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes.
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:30 PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Previews:
10,000 BC (looks enjoyable to watch, but the story is hard to deduce from the preview)
Horton Hears a Who (definitely for children)
WALL-E (from the creators of Finding Nemo, I’m definitely watching this one)
Meet The Spartans (a parody of “300”, looks funny and dumb at the same time)
I don’t remember the other previews.
Story:
The president of the United States attends a summit on anti-terrorism and got assassinated. Secret service agent Barnes, who took a bullet for the president in a previous assassination attempt, tried to catch the unknown shooter right there and then. The story is told from several points of view (thus, the title “Vantage Point”).
Thoughts:
This is a storytelling that I haven’t seen before, or I don’t remember seeing before. So its storytelling was fresh to me. You’d think that watching a film constantly being rewound several times, each time presenting a different vantage point of the same central situation is boring, but it wasn’t. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t think that, but I certainly did. I expected it to be boring. I even thought it was going to be a political drama (but then that’s my fault because I haven’t seen or read an ad for this film). I probably wouldn’t have gone to this movie had it not been for free (the company I worked for have what we call “Movie Nights” where every month they chose a movie that we have the opportunity to watch for free). When the email for this month’s Movie Night came and I learned it was going to be “Vantage Point”, I commented to my colleagues that I wish they chose “Jumper”. But I saw “Jumper” a week ago and now that I saw both movies I thought the company got it right in choosing “Vantage Point”. It was great, edge-of-your-seat thriller from beginning to end. Later in the movie the story just went improbable, but it’s okay. The premise itself, I think, called for improbability in order for the film to be made. I’m not a fan of its plot, but I’m definitely a fan of how it was told and the pace that it was told. It’s the kind of storytelling that you only get to see in good television these days (“24”, “Lost”, “Prison Break”). I thought “Vantage Point” showed me, if anything, how TV’s “24” would look like in the big screen and how it would sound like in a Dolby Digital theater. I heard rumors of a “24” movie and I think it would be great.
Would I see it again? Maybe I’ll see it again in DVD, there’s not much reason to watch it again once you knew who did what. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2007
I wanted to have the usual end of year list. Every blog should have it at the end of each year. List of books that I liked and not liked, movies, tv shows, and events. It's too late to do that now (obviously) so I'll just write some of my thoughts of the year that was 2007.
“I went to take memories. And to talk more than to see. Never got the chance on talking.”
In 2006, I took every opportunity to have my picture taken in my cubicle, in the cubicle of my colleagues, in the canteen, and in the small landmark places outside our office building. I took the opportunities to take pictures of my colleagues. I joined a colleague in his golf games, not to play golf, but to take pictures of the golf course that my previous employer owned. Somehow I knew, I would be leaving the company.
And in the second half of 2007, I did leave the company to work for another one in another city. It was an opportunity to try to fend for myself and train rigorously in the field that I now loved, an opportunity that was too good to miss and couldn’t have come at a better time. There were rumors that our department will be dissolved, replaced by the IT department of the new owner’s company. There were talks that it won’t happen. I did not wait to see which is true. I left.
“How are you?”
“The decision was the right one, given the circumstance.”
The thing about leaving your comfort zone is that you grow uncomfortable. For the first time I was away from home, from my family, from my friends that I have known since I was four, and the colleagues that I had worked with, laughed with, talked with, and sang with for over four years. It’s like being under the sun all of a sudden when your whole life you only knew rain. It’s a good thing that work is similar to the previous one. If it hadn’t, it would have been like sucked in a whirlwind instead of just being thrown in a world where the familiar rain is absent, replaced by the warm sunlight.
After over six months in the uncomfort zone number one, life is getting better. I can see the heavy clouds looming ahead. Soon enough, the drizzle will come. And then the familiar rain. The heat will give way to the relaxing coolness.
“Do you think your 2008 will be better than last year?”
“Don’t know. Does the wind always come before the rain?”
I don’t want to predict my 2008, not that anyone can predict what will happen in the future. But one always prays that the new year would be better than the last. Each year contains its set of setbacks and its set of advances. How can I chose one over the other?
“Any new year resolution?”
“I don’t know what it means anymore.”
To lose X number of pounds. To lose X number of enemies and gain X number of friends. Never commit the same mistakes again, would that be a resolution? If so, then that’s probably it. I’d love to achieve that. I probably won’t.
“Were you happy with how your new year started?”
“Outside the comfort zone, the start of the year went unnoticed.”
It’s almost March and I’m just writing this now. I am happy.
“I went to take memories. And to talk more than to see. Never got the chance on talking.”
In 2006, I took every opportunity to have my picture taken in my cubicle, in the cubicle of my colleagues, in the canteen, and in the small landmark places outside our office building. I took the opportunities to take pictures of my colleagues. I joined a colleague in his golf games, not to play golf, but to take pictures of the golf course that my previous employer owned. Somehow I knew, I would be leaving the company.
And in the second half of 2007, I did leave the company to work for another one in another city. It was an opportunity to try to fend for myself and train rigorously in the field that I now loved, an opportunity that was too good to miss and couldn’t have come at a better time. There were rumors that our department will be dissolved, replaced by the IT department of the new owner’s company. There were talks that it won’t happen. I did not wait to see which is true. I left.
“How are you?”
“The decision was the right one, given the circumstance.”
The thing about leaving your comfort zone is that you grow uncomfortable. For the first time I was away from home, from my family, from my friends that I have known since I was four, and the colleagues that I had worked with, laughed with, talked with, and sang with for over four years. It’s like being under the sun all of a sudden when your whole life you only knew rain. It’s a good thing that work is similar to the previous one. If it hadn’t, it would have been like sucked in a whirlwind instead of just being thrown in a world where the familiar rain is absent, replaced by the warm sunlight.
After over six months in the uncomfort zone number one, life is getting better. I can see the heavy clouds looming ahead. Soon enough, the drizzle will come. And then the familiar rain. The heat will give way to the relaxing coolness.
“Do you think your 2008 will be better than last year?”
“Don’t know. Does the wind always come before the rain?”
I don’t want to predict my 2008, not that anyone can predict what will happen in the future. But one always prays that the new year would be better than the last. Each year contains its set of setbacks and its set of advances. How can I chose one over the other?
“Any new year resolution?”
“I don’t know what it means anymore.”
To lose X number of pounds. To lose X number of enemies and gain X number of friends. Never commit the same mistakes again, would that be a resolution? If so, then that’s probably it. I’d love to achieve that. I probably won’t.
“Were you happy with how your new year started?”
“Outside the comfort zone, the start of the year went unnoticed.”
It’s almost March and I’m just writing this now. I am happy.
Theater Report: Spiderwick Chronicles
February 16, 2008
SM City Cebu Cinema 4
7:45 PM
Attendance: 40% of capacity
Previews: Just on time coming in so I wasn’t able to see any trailers.
Story: A family moves in to an estate of an old ancestor (or somewhat like that), a mother, twin boys, and a girl. One of the twins finds a book that’s sort of a guide to the “other” world. It contains all the secrets of this “other” world and now the other world’s super villain wants to read it and conquer all the worlds. The siblings (twin boys, one girl) are thrown to protect the book and thus the worlds.
My thoughts: It’s a very simple story with very few characters. Action is limited to the estate, its surrounding forest, a sanatorium, and somewhere where nobody ages (but is not Never Never Land). The book, where this movie was based, is probably a good read. But there’s nothing much in the movie in terms of a fantasy story that I haven't seen before.
The special effects are good. Freddie Highmore (acting the dual role of the twin boys) was excellent. I’d say he’s the best child actor around today. The way he acts is very real, very believable. There were instances of the twin’s interaction where you’d notice that they are not really in the same room (being acted by a single actor), but there are also instances where you’d forget that this two characters are acted by a single actor. The music reminds me of the first two Harry Potter movies. And the end credit sequences were great.
Would I see it again? Once is enough. Would I recommend it to my friends? Only those that are fans of fantasy.
SM City Cebu Cinema 4
7:45 PM
Attendance: 40% of capacity
Previews: Just on time coming in so I wasn’t able to see any trailers.
Story: A family moves in to an estate of an old ancestor (or somewhat like that), a mother, twin boys, and a girl. One of the twins finds a book that’s sort of a guide to the “other” world. It contains all the secrets of this “other” world and now the other world’s super villain wants to read it and conquer all the worlds. The siblings (twin boys, one girl) are thrown to protect the book and thus the worlds.
My thoughts: It’s a very simple story with very few characters. Action is limited to the estate, its surrounding forest, a sanatorium, and somewhere where nobody ages (but is not Never Never Land). The book, where this movie was based, is probably a good read. But there’s nothing much in the movie in terms of a fantasy story that I haven't seen before.
The special effects are good. Freddie Highmore (acting the dual role of the twin boys) was excellent. I’d say he’s the best child actor around today. The way he acts is very real, very believable. There were instances of the twin’s interaction where you’d notice that they are not really in the same room (being acted by a single actor), but there are also instances where you’d forget that this two characters are acted by a single actor. The music reminds me of the first two Harry Potter movies. And the end credit sequences were great.
Would I see it again? Once is enough. Would I recommend it to my friends? Only those that are fans of fantasy.
Theater Report: Jumper
February 17, 2008
SM City Cebu Cinema 3
5:30 PM
Attendance: 90% of capacity
Previews: Teaser trailer of “Star Trek” (directed by JJ Abrams). I first heard about this new Star Trek movie a year or two ago in Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX). Mix reaction in the forum when it was announced. Some said it’s going to be a disaster. Some are more optimistic because it was going to be directed by JJ Abrams who created TV’s “Lost” and “Alias”. Funny because when I watched “Cloverfield” two weeks ago I thought it was the movie tied to JJ Abrams that I heard in HSX. And I thought it wasn’t very impressive for somebody who created “Alias” and “Lost”. Now I realized it was “Star Trek”. Impressive.
Story: This report is about “Jumper”, but I just spent a relatively long paragraph about “Star Trek”, which will not be shown until 2009, probably Memorial Day weekend 2009. Anyhow, “Jumper” is a story of at first one and then later on two “jumpers”. They are people with the ability to teleport to any place they can vividly see in their mind (places they’d been to before, seen in postcards, etc.). It wasn’t long since finding out about his ability that the first jumper used it to steal money from a bank. He said he had no choice. He was 12 and alone. “What would you do?” Oh, I don’t know. There are many decent jobs that I could think of if I’m a jumper. Delivery boy, messenger, spy, to name a few. Now those are just “jumping” related jobs. There are other regular odd jobs minus the hours spent traveling to and from work. But then again all of them combined wouldn’t earn half as much as a minute stroll to the friendly neighborhood bank’s vault. Anyhow, all is well, until somebody who kills jumpers for a living showed up.
My thoughts: The first 30 minutes where the film’s premise was fleshed out were great. From there up to the ending wasn’t so great, or good for that matter. It became nonsense. Carrying around a backpack full of money is so 70’s. How about buying himself tons of debit cards? With few spare bills for those where debit cards aren’t accepted. And what is that secret society that hunts down and kill “jumpers” because “only God should have that power to be everywhere at the same time”? What’s that society all about? “Only God should decide when somebody should die,” I’d say to them if I were the jumper. It’s probably just anti-religion symbolism nonsense. It could just have been a love story between a jumper and an ordinary girl. Or a superhero story. As it was, it was nothing but about a pursuit of a jumper. Once the pursuer was defeated, the movie ended. It had to. It had nowhere else to go. Hayden Christinsen doesn’t show much emotion on screen. The actor who played his character as a “young jumper” would probably had done better at the job had he been years older.
Would I see it again? No. Would I recommend it to my friends? No. I wanted to buy the book where this movie was based on, but it wasn’t available in Powerbooks SM Cebu and I didn’t have time to go to National Bookstore. The book’s probably better than the movie.
SM City Cebu Cinema 3
5:30 PM
Attendance: 90% of capacity
Previews: Teaser trailer of “Star Trek” (directed by JJ Abrams). I first heard about this new Star Trek movie a year or two ago in Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX). Mix reaction in the forum when it was announced. Some said it’s going to be a disaster. Some are more optimistic because it was going to be directed by JJ Abrams who created TV’s “Lost” and “Alias”. Funny because when I watched “Cloverfield” two weeks ago I thought it was the movie tied to JJ Abrams that I heard in HSX. And I thought it wasn’t very impressive for somebody who created “Alias” and “Lost”. Now I realized it was “Star Trek”. Impressive.
Story: This report is about “Jumper”, but I just spent a relatively long paragraph about “Star Trek”, which will not be shown until 2009, probably Memorial Day weekend 2009. Anyhow, “Jumper” is a story of at first one and then later on two “jumpers”. They are people with the ability to teleport to any place they can vividly see in their mind (places they’d been to before, seen in postcards, etc.). It wasn’t long since finding out about his ability that the first jumper used it to steal money from a bank. He said he had no choice. He was 12 and alone. “What would you do?” Oh, I don’t know. There are many decent jobs that I could think of if I’m a jumper. Delivery boy, messenger, spy, to name a few. Now those are just “jumping” related jobs. There are other regular odd jobs minus the hours spent traveling to and from work. But then again all of them combined wouldn’t earn half as much as a minute stroll to the friendly neighborhood bank’s vault. Anyhow, all is well, until somebody who kills jumpers for a living showed up.
My thoughts: The first 30 minutes where the film’s premise was fleshed out were great. From there up to the ending wasn’t so great, or good for that matter. It became nonsense. Carrying around a backpack full of money is so 70’s. How about buying himself tons of debit cards? With few spare bills for those where debit cards aren’t accepted. And what is that secret society that hunts down and kill “jumpers” because “only God should have that power to be everywhere at the same time”? What’s that society all about? “Only God should decide when somebody should die,” I’d say to them if I were the jumper. It’s probably just anti-religion symbolism nonsense. It could just have been a love story between a jumper and an ordinary girl. Or a superhero story. As it was, it was nothing but about a pursuit of a jumper. Once the pursuer was defeated, the movie ended. It had to. It had nowhere else to go. Hayden Christinsen doesn’t show much emotion on screen. The actor who played his character as a “young jumper” would probably had done better at the job had he been years older.
Would I see it again? No. Would I recommend it to my friends? No. I wanted to buy the book where this movie was based on, but it wasn’t available in Powerbooks SM Cebu and I didn’t have time to go to National Bookstore. The book’s probably better than the movie.
Next by Michael Crichton
I talked about this book earlier in a previous post. Now I’ve finished reading it and the book went nowhere from the first 150 pages or so that I talked about in that earlier blog post. I was still surprised with the twists in the end, but I just felt that the story went nowhere since the first 150 pages. Probably because he wanted it to be as close to what’s really happening in “genetics” as possible. But I still love the way Crichton makes each of his novel a page-turner. Everything that I’ve read from him had been page-turners. And I’d just love to have that ability.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Valentines 08
Happy Valentine's Day to all. One of those "Hallmark" holidays as they say. Created for a commercial purpose. I'm very sleepy now.
***
Here's a song that I like right now. It's "Nessun dorma", in English "No one shall sleep." Popularized by the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti from the opera "Turandot". Search for it on the net. Once you'll listen to it you'll say, "Ahh, I've heard that before..."
***
Here's a song that I like right now. It's "Nessun dorma", in English "No one shall sleep." Popularized by the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti from the opera "Turandot". Search for it on the net. Once you'll listen to it you'll say, "Ahh, I've heard that before..."
| The Prince | |
| Nessun dorma, nessun dorma ... Tu pure, o Principessa, Nella tua fredda stanza, Guardi le stelle Che tremano d'amore E di speranza. | No one sleeps, no one sleeps... Even you, o Princess, In your cold room, Watch the stars, That tremble with love And with hope. |
| Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me, Il nome mio nessun saprà, no, no, Sulla tua bocca lo dirò Quando la luce splenderà, Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio Che ti fa mia. | But my secret is hidden within me; My name no one shall know, no, no, On your mouth I will speak it* When the light shines, And my kiss will dissolve the silence That makes you mine. |
| Chorus | |
| Il nome suo nessun saprà E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir. | No one will know his name And we must, alas, die. |
| The Prince | |
| Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò! | Vanish, o night! Set**, stars! At daybreak, I shall conquer! |
Those good old dreams
When I sent my application to DM five years ago it was not business, it was personal. My mother worked for the company for 37 years and my father for around 20 years (I can't pull the exact figure off the top of my head right now). Discounting the scholarship I got over the years of my life as a student, the money that my parents got from DM pretty much paid for my education, not to mention the food on our table, and come to think of it, the table itself where eat the food. In my application five years ago, I said in my cover letter that I hope to serve the company for the same number of years like my parents did. I wanted to nurture a career in IT within the company and was prepared to retire with the company. Not being able to realize this now is the saddest part of leaving DM because when I wrote it in my application letter I meant it.
Some of our dreams come true. Some don't. This is one of mine that won't.
Some of our dreams come true. Some don't. This is one of mine that won't.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Next
The Harry Potter series has ended, so I don't really have a book in mind that I'm sure to buy when it comes out. I have bought a lot of books since Harry Potter 7, but the thoughts I had about them never made it to this blog. I moved to a new company. Moved to a new city. I seem to have something else to do besides blogging. But here's something about the book that I'm reading now, Next, by Michael Crichton.
It's about genetics and biotechnology, and the drama that could probably happen around the subject. Congo, Timeline, Airframe, Andromeda Strain. I've yet to read a Crichton book that I didn't like. (Or with characters that I could actually remember.)
I hope it's a good read. I'm not yet finished, but here's the thing. I'm more than a hundred pages on, met a lot of characters and not one I could really care for. That's bad. But then again I'm hundred pages on, no character to care for, and yet I'm not tired of it so far. I'm still intrigued at what will happen next. I guess when you read a Crichton you don't expect memorable characters, but the thrill of a lot of twists and a lot of turns. Interesting subject. Interesting events. They're keeping me on this book.
It's about genetics and biotechnology, and the drama that could probably happen around the subject. Congo, Timeline, Airframe, Andromeda Strain. I've yet to read a Crichton book that I didn't like. (Or with characters that I could actually remember.)
I hope it's a good read. I'm not yet finished, but here's the thing. I'm more than a hundred pages on, met a lot of characters and not one I could really care for. That's bad. But then again I'm hundred pages on, no character to care for, and yet I'm not tired of it so far. I'm still intrigued at what will happen next. I guess when you read a Crichton you don't expect memorable characters, but the thrill of a lot of twists and a lot of turns. Interesting subject. Interesting events. They're keeping me on this book.
Unsent
I've just deleted a draft mail that's been sitting in my Drafts folder since July 16, 2006. What was I thinking in writing it? Things looked clearer then, before they got murky. Some emails are just not meant to be sent, the same way that some things are better left unsaid.
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