See "Saw"

I watched Saw: The Final Chapter this afternoon at Robinson's Place Manila on my own since almost every single one that I asked to come with me said they are scared of the movie's nature.

It was already late when I got to the mall. I only had an hour to spare before the show starts and I haven't eaten my lunch yet. So I grabbed a very quick lunch and practically run to catch the movie. At first, I was so happy to know that the movie is showing at the Midtown. But I was disappointed the moment I walked in. The not-more-than ten rows of seats are too close to the screen. There's not a Balcony section that can make the experience better so I have to settle to the second row since the first row was already full. As I settle to my seat, the discomfort sets in. The screen is too close so I had to tilt my head in order to see the whole screen better.

The movie, as for me lacks something. I think since this movie has seven installments over the years, the story got so predictable already. I had not watched the first five chapters and watched only the sixth chapter and the story really did not change much. There are still, of course, the bloods, screams, the typical antagonist being the wiser than the protagonist but end up losing in the end. And that was it. The movie is a mixture of present storytelling and backflash storytelling. I think it lacks some emotions. There is emotion but in between screams, and deaths, the movie just lost the emotion along the way. You can see the anguish of the victims, the fear in their eyes, but all of these are very technical. I mean, these are prerequisites of a thriller movie but I see no soul in them. Their eyes are cold and are not speaking to me which I am very fond of seeing in a movie. I love it when the eyes are evoking emotions and therefore touching me and letting me live their lives and feel what they are feeling. But in this movie, I felt none except by the jolt I have to endure because of the sound effects and the sickening feeling in my stomach whenever I see some of the most gruesome scenes in the movie. So I think, this is really the best time to end the whole series. Although, the movie sort of used the open-ending kind of end this time, while I think that there are still some loose ends that need to be tied. It was a short film that I think there are some parts that were rushed so some of them turned out "half-baked".

Photoshopped Climate

I was with a friend last night while waiting for our jeepney ride home. We were talking about work and somehow, our talk went to the skills area. He asked me if I know how to use Adobe Photoshop and I said no. Yeah, in this digital age, I do not know how to use Photoshop. Sure, I know how to insert text to my blog pictures using the software, I know how to darken and lighten pictures, but that's about it. Other than that, nada. I don't know how to erase pimples, slash someone's body in half, use mouths-opened-wide dragons as my background and whatever more that is that you can do with Photoshop.

As I think about that conversation today, I asked myself why is it that even though we have Computer classes during college that I did not learn this software. Then I thought, oh yeah, because of the numerous class interruption, especially during the rainy season. Then I again asked myself, how come when I was in highschool, classes are seldom cut short or suspended? I was toying with a possible reason when suddenly it hit me. The rains before, were not as hard and as frequent then than during my college years. Out of nowhere, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Climate Change. Yeah, I know it may sound overrated but when you come to think of it, it is not impossible. As time passes, so is the change in our climate. The climate change has started to make us be more aware of its presence. Remember Ondoy? And how Metro Manila was submerged into a very huge swimming pool? Where even celebrities and rich people did not manage to escape the mandatory appearance of a huge pool inside and outside their homes? That is a part of Climate Change. Have you ever experience leaving your place one very sunny and summer-y morning to go to the mall and hear slashing of raindrops against the glass doors of the mall come lunch time? Yeah, that's Climate Change.

So you see, climate change does not affect our social lives alone, it also affects our education and eventually our careers. I am not trying to impress people with this entry but I think I have something to share and ponder with the next time I come across an article or a conversation that involves Climate Change. And I hope you think about this too and analyze its impact to your life as well. If we know the effect/s of climate change in our lives, we will be convinced to avoid contributing to Climate Change.

Viet-lang

The President's ASEAN Summit in Vietnam has created a great buzz in the cyberworld and even with the knowledge that the cyberworld has already been purged with unceasing talks about the controversy, I just cannot stop myself from joining the bandwagon. Too much has already been said regarding the issue and I will do my best to refrain from citing too familiar comments.

First, I want to say that I am starting to feel remorse about voting the current President. I know and always say that the President is just starting to warm his Palace seat to expect perfection from him. But this time around, I think there are too much controversy surrounding this administration to ignore the truth. I won't go to the below-the-belt criticism for those are for the political immatures. But I, for one will use this particular incident to justify my "remorse".

When the Vietnam controversy broke out on the World Wide Web, I know that the immediate supervisor of Ms. Mislang (the antagonist in this story), told the public that he reprimanded her for her actions. But sir, may I just refresh your mind that when Mislang tweeted her dissatisfaction on the wine, you asked her which of the wines served "sucked". Meaning, you did not find this inappropriate and undiplomatic. I do not know if maybe after the flaming-hot banters on the internet prompted you to reprimand her or you just said that because of the negativity that it has created. And, may I just inform you that articles about this incident has been written in other parts of the world also, like in Finland. And that when the Vietnamese people did not say anything about the issue, it does not mean that they are not offended by the remarks. Remember, the remarks are negative and shameful. Answering Mislang's comments will only deepen the shame that they might be feeling right now.

What I cannot accept is that Mr. President himself did not make any "conciliatory" remarks just to ease up everything with the offended party. I don't mean to say that Mr. President should apologize or publicly shame Mislang, but he should at least release a statement to the Vietnam people to appease them.

Lastly, to Ms. Mislang, I do not know you personally, or in any other way before this controversy that you created. But as a normal citizen of this country, please be cautious of your actions because you along with all the Cabinet members of the Aquino administration, reflect the President himself. Your comments about the wine, the men and motorcycles of Vietnam would have only laughed at if you are just an ordinary Filipino visiting Vietnam. But when you are a part of the President's delegation in an official business in any part of the world, your remarks are whether it were sent to a social networking site or overheard from you when you are drunk, will always have an effect to the country you are talking about and our country as well. So next time, when traveling as part of the official delegation, no matter how the wine sucks, or how ugly the people were, nor how deadly the streets are, please refrain from shouting it out to the whole world. Just keep it to yourself and wait until you are safely out of "unnecessary listeners' " earshot, then you can start gossiping about it to your friends. Until then, please zip your mouth and just scratch the itch from your fingers to avoid another social networking mishap. The President already has too many problems to handle. He does not need any more problems to solve that are created by those whom he has too much confidence.