For Your Eyes Only

Location - Belfast, Northern Ireland
Local Time - 3:02pm

I've been told that commenting on my blog isn't working... I tried it out and it appears to be fine. Najin, darling, honeybuns, sausage pie... it's just you. I think you need your pink hippie glasses back, your new ones don't seem to be doing the job.

In retrospect I suppose I had a predisposition to disliking Elizabethtown... Orlando Bloom + Kirsten Dunst + Grumpiness of a 10hour flight in economy-class (should have flown business class). I might give it a 2nd chance later on, but until then my "awful" verdict stands.

And yes I could have emailed this to you instead of posting it to my blog, but... like... same with you... so... nya nya nya.

Book Review: When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese woman's journey from war to peace.
Author: Le Ly Hayslip

Warning: I tend to drift off topic... as usual.

While the writing style left me wanting - especially after Wayson Choi’s endearingly crafted All That Matters and the entertaining perspective of Style’s The Game - the subject matter and content of Le Ly Hayslip’s Heaven and Earth was quite provocative.

The story recounts Hayslip’s life from peasant village girl to street-wise (or at least, less naïve) urbanite. From loyal Viet Cong beliefs to gradual appreciation for American GI’s, especially compared to the corrupt and amoral Vietnamese bureaucracy.

I had a discussion once with my parents about their distrust of basically everybody, even other Vietnamese people. Actually, ‘especially other Vietnamese people’ and especially when doing business. My father said the Communist government and societal structures not only encourage, but require illicit behaviour if you wish to live well. Really, I just think he thinks every world a person speaks is a lie unless it corresponds to his own thoughts.

Back to the book (kind of), apparently there is a movie rendition of Heaven and Earth directed by Oliver Stone. I watched it back in 1993 when it was released in theatres. I didn’t recall this until after I had finished reading it. Apparently the movie spans both of Hayslip’s autobiographical books (the second being “Child of War, Woman of Peace”) and takes many liberties trying to condense 2 books into 2 hours of film. That probably explains why certain parts seemed eerily familiar as I read through it. At the time, I just thought it was some half-remembered story of my parents that was tickling the back of my mind. The only thing I really remember was a bit part that Tai Thai had in the movie as Jimmy. Apparently it was a big thing that this Vietnamese music star had a 2 second scene in a Hollywood movie. Groan.

So to sum things up? Although I didn't enjoy the book as much as I thought I might (due to a certain somebody's personal recommendation) it's a good read full with insights. Warning: certain parts can get pretty brutal; however, it is never gratuitous.

Week 7 & 8, 2006

Current Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Local Time: 10:50am

Items of note:

• London, Ontario:
  
  • Oh Black people. Hahaha.
    
    
  • I disgust myself sometimes. If you only knew.
    
    
  • Food, food, food, food...
    

• Last week in Vancouver
  

  • Said goodbye to Bobo. The teeter-totter of jealousy has teetered; how long before it totters?
    
    
  • Read "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" then read Tina's email from Tanzania. Conclusion: I'm lucky.
    
    
  • Spas, moisterizer, chap stick, pink shirts, and help shop for tampons. What of it? Wanna fight?
    
    
  • Pet peave: broken implied promises. It's not breaking the implied promise that annoys me, I'm more frustrated at myself for assuming there's an implied promise. Sometimes I think I should stop believing in people.
    
    
  • I begin to wonder "What if I never come back?" For the most part I think I would love it... for the most part, since I would have two regrets. I wanted to address them both before I left. Instead, I talked of one and tried to push the other out of mind.
    

• In Belfast:
  
  • So 2 Sundays ago I got on a plane to Ontario.
    A few days later as I adjust to the time zone,
    I hop on a plane half way across the country to Vancouver.
    A few days later as I adjust to the time zone,
    I hop on a plane half way across the globe to Belfast.
    
    In a span of 10 days, I’ve drank more coffee than I have in my entire life.
    
    
  • There’s a heated debate in Britain about adopting the metric system over the imperial system. What the fuck?
    
    One person argued that you wouldn’t go to France and say you can’t have baguettes anymore. W... T... F?
    
    
  • Fire alarms in either middle of the night or early in the morning equally suck.
    
    
• Movie reviews from high in the sky:The flight was horrid. Dude next to me smelled like fart. I’ve seen a handful of movies on planes.
  
  
  • Elizabethtown
    Awful. Orlando Bloom has no substance to him. I haven’t liked him in any of his movies that I’ve seen. Also, I have a really hard time finding Kirsten Dunst to be attractive. And what’s with that camera clicking motion her character has? Is it supposed to be cute? There’s a fine line between cute and annoying. They should totally kill her off in the next Spiderman movie.
    
    
  • Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
    Art direction was nice overall, especially the world of the dead. I found the musical numbers to be uninspired and the plot pacing and narrative to be both jarring and plodding at times. Johnny Depp is still awesome.
    
    
  • Shakespeare in Love
    I liked this movie. It’s a unique fictional take on the development of Romeo and Juliet… or Romeo and Ethel and the Pirate King as in its apparent originally intended state. The Queen Victoria scenes stole the show.

Quotes:

• On travel beginnings:
  C:"I'm in a new town, expenses paid.
  I'm surrounded by good people.
  I'm surrounded by good food.
  I'm actually learning something.
  . . .
  I'm feeling like shit right now and hiding in my room
  (okay... maybe not so funny to some)"
  
  B:"why....?
  shit?
  puking?
  or girl stalking you?
  drunk as hell?"
  
  C: "all of the above?"
  
  
• On wink, wink, nudge, nudge:
  "So what are YOU gonna do about it?"
  
  
• On other unholy connections:
  "My personality is like spinach because..."
  
  
• On 'no dude, it doesn't work that way':
  "So you'll have the double whammy!"
  

I know, I know.

I'm doing it anyways.

Afterall, I'm in a different time zone.

Week 6, 2006

Items of note:

• Getting the karaoke itch. Damn you coughing illness! Damn you to hell!
  
  
• I thought my finances looked a little funny.
  I looked over my last couple credit card bills in more detail.
  I pored over my last couple automatic cell phone bill payments.
  Conclusion? Aww, fucknuts.
  
  
• Paper does not burn clean. The charred, blackened remains leave stains you won't notice at first - but sure as Shirley, they are there. Damned smudges. They're everywhere.
  (Don't you dare make Lady Macbeth allusions!)
  
  
• I've have the same handful of recurring dreams for years now. (Spiders, pearl and straw teeth, ninja hijinks, single parenting, and that one where you're running but your legs have no strength and your slowing down because your body is gradually turning into a mush of delicious blueberry jello.)
  
  Anyways, add another recurring dream to the list. There's this thing I'm trying to pull closer, but instead I'm pushing it away. For some reason I think the more I push, the closer I'll get. But alas, a push is a push is a push. I miss you so damn much. I think about you all the time, no matter who I'm with. It's unhealthy. It's unfair. Somebody make me stop.
  
  
• If I go to France... does that mean I have to wear a beret?
  No?
  Well... can I wear one anyways?
  (I'll talk more about this later)
  
  
• Brother's engagement party; fun. Build-up; annoying.
  
  

Quotes:

• On disgruntling real-world experiences:
  C: "hah, so can we gauge future career success in children by their ability to colour within the lines and connect the dots in order? cause that's what i feel like i'm doing"
  
  
• On interrupted sentences:
  B: "I'm going to London (cough) (cough) (hack)..."
  X: "SWEET!"
  B: "(cough)... Ontario."
  X: "Oh."
  
  
• On things that never are:
  "It's not the same."
  
  
• On cutting insight:
  I: "u must be pretty good at picking up girls... but bad at keeping them"
  B: "Is that what you really think of me?"
  I: "I'm half joking"
  B: "Only half?!"
  
  Yeah, I'm not that great at picking up girls either, haha.

Week 5, 2006

"Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle."

- Ken Hakuta

Ken Hakuta brought Wacky Wallwalkers to North America. Damn those were wicked cool. Worked best if you hucked them at mirrors. I can't believe that there's no internet shrine dedicated to this tremendous feat of human ingenuity! Dagnabit people! Show some respect!

Items of note:

• Chúc mừng năm mới!
  
  (To the tune of the meow mix jingle)
  Food, food, food, food,
  Food, food, food, food,
  Food, food, food, food,
  Food, food, food, food.
  
  I less than three this time of year (Dine-out + Lunar New Year)
  
  
• Street signs and billboards talk to me.
  
  
• I thought I was getting better, but all of a sudden it took a turn for the worse. I should probably get it checked out.
  
  
• It's been 17 years. Never again. I promise.
  

Quotes:

• On what makes this time of year so special:
  "I'm a fan of many, but gluttony has to be my favourite sin."
  
  
• On what really matters:
  The "special" quote.
  No, I'm not sharing this one because I know you're reading this, you stoler.
  You stole!
  Quit stoling, you stoler!
  
  
• On unintended consequences:
  Billboard: "Bait cars are everywhere"
  Me: "Quit taking up parking spaces!"
  

[Book Review] The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists

(Warning, this review gets tremendously off topic... and LONG!)

Yes, I've polished off another book. It's not a game. From this book, you can see:

• a narrative on the hamartia of apparently infallible idols.
• a warning of the devaluation of people resultant from the deconstruction of behaviours - viewing people not as "human" but as equations of various inputs and outputs to be solved.
• a lesson in evaluating changing goals and the goal fulfillment process.
  
• pointers to help you to "sarge".
• entertaining literary prose and laugh and smile along as you relate to AFC's, one-itis, and the desire to become a PUA.

The main theme I drew from this non-fiction book was as a warning to the dangers and temptations of becoming a social puppet rather than a unique person.

The narrator at one point comes to the realization that his desire to better himself, his friends, and his peers in his community never flourishes because their goals are all different. He wanted to learn so that he can pick up and sleep with any girl he wanted, yes, but also to bring that essence of confidence and execution to all other facets of his life. The others learning goals were aligned differently.

(And the off-topic-ness begins... feel free to stop reading here.)

edit: cut and moved to comments section. I didn't like what the length of the post did to the layout.

(Back on topic... resume reading.)

Oh, and as for the book? I liked it.