This reminded me of Tito Luis.
At that Aruba place.
"Don't laugh! Don't laugh!" Chrissie tells me.
Ramon and Miggy. Laughing.........with their backs turned.
Felice. Laughing.....with her back turned.



It's only 20 seconds but you will laugh for much longer.

Disappointed with LOST

IF YOU WANTED TO KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS.....

Yeah fucking right.

I'm now getting really pissed off at the writers of Lost. They promise answers to questions but again the most recent episode fails at even answering one question. Instead of answering, the episode asks more questions. I'm not expecting every goddamn question to be answered, but it seems that the Lost writers are digging a hole so big that every important question wouldn't be answered.

This is the difference between the shows Heroes/Prison Break and Lost. Heroes/Prison Break has numerous characters going off on their own stories but yet every character gets fully developed (hell, I even grew fond of Nikki/Jessica). Questions are also answered along the way with only the biggest questions (What is Sylar's actual power?) being left closed because the answer is going to be huge.

With Lost, even the smallest questions aren't answered: What the hell is that smoke monster thing? Why the hell did that white chick and that Spanish guy become characters all of a sudden? Who the hell is Ben? Why are the Others so malevolent? Why the fuck does Jack keep on getting all the flashback episodes? Why the hell am I still watching this show?

Another aspect that makes the shows different is tension. Both Heroes and Prison Break are filled with tension throughout the episode either concentrated or spread out. Last week's Lost episode was a perfect example of great tension. A character we barely know anything about, Desmond, finally gets another flashback episode and it's a great one. We finally get a question answered about how he has a certain ability and boom the show is back on track. The writers then go back to Jack and again tension has left the storyline and has been replaced with most expository bullshit that really doesn't matter.

There's also another huge problem with the most recent episode. If Achara (Bai Ling) is Thai, why the hell did she write the message on Jack's arm in Chinese? Another question there, folks.

Oh fuck it!

Snow (Hey oh) and Sadness

Jesus Christ, it snowed so much this fucking week. Sure it was great that I didn't have any school Tuesday and Wednesday but man, I really hate shoveling.

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This week, two people I know finally poured out their emotions. She had her reasons of the breakup and he felt like trash. In the end, it was an explosion of sadness and grief. She may have looked to the future but he kept on looking back at the past. Where did it all go wrong? Only they know and that is where it all ends.

I hope he doesn't keep on feeling depressed. They just weren't meant for each other and that's God's honest truth. She will find her golden boy and he will find her golden girl.

Their relationship reminds me of two verses in the Keane song "Somewhere Only We Know":
"Oh simple thing, where have you gone?"
"This is not the end of everything."

The Five Best Films of 2006

I know this is late but I wanted to write something about film.

5. The Departed (director: Martin Scorsese)
I think I will never see a remake this good or this well made again. Scorsese took the basic structure of Infernal Affairs (my all-time favorite film) and made it his own. Leonardo DiCaprio is no Tony Leung but that's okay. He gives his best performance since "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" 14 years ago. I still prefer the original but that doesn't mean that the one is not good. It's a great film, pure and simple.

4. Children of Men (director: Alfonso Cuarón)
This may be possibly the film that got fucked by Universal because it didn't get that many Academy Award nominations. That's too bad because it truly is a great film with the best cinematography in the past 15 years.

3. Pan's Labyrinth (director: Guillermo del Toro)
Guillermo is really one fucked up guy and thank goodness for that. I have never seen such a bold vision that contrasts a fairy tale and war in the same film. Features beautiful performances of Adriana Gil and especially Ivana Baquero. Possibly the best villain in years by Sergi López. Oh yes, you will hate him but you will love this film.

2. Letters from Iwo Jima (director: Clint Eastwood)
Not since Return of the King have I shed tears during a film. But during the film, I wept not because it was such a great movie but because it was such a sad one. It asks the question: "Why should I be willing to fight for a country that's not willing to fight for me?" Ken Watanabe was sadly not nominated for his performance as it is truly one of the best performances in a war film EVER. Light years better than Eastwood's companion film, "Flags of Our Fathers," and his best film since "Unforgiven". This is my pick for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

And now drumroll for my best film of 2006....
.....
...
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1. The Fountain (director: Darren Aronofsky)
Aronofsky has captured my attention since "Requiem for a Dream" but never has a director's vision been so perfectly encapsulated. The fusion of visual and aural is undeniably imaginative and above all original. A film that was sadly lambasted by the critics as being too pretentious and too confusing. It is a film ahead of its time. Never has a score during the credits made me have goosebumps. "The Fountain" will make you believe in the power of film. You may love it, you may hate it but you can never deny its beauty and craftsmanship.

My favorite paragraph from any movie review. EVER.

"300" movie review from Latino Review:

"300 makes no excuses as to what type of movie it is. It’s a take no names and just kick your ass battle movie that will please anyone. Even the gays will love this film since there are more six packs being shown then at your local liquor store. Do not eat junk food as you watch this because you’ll start to feel like a fat pig. Don’t bring your girlfriend because she’ll wonder why you’re not all ripped up like these guys. In fact, you probably shouldn’t go see this movie at all. You’ll just feel physically pathetic after watching it. Ok, forget all that. Go see it at least ten times, bring all of your friends and when you get home do some sit ups so you don’t feel that bad afterwards. Hey, I’m just trying to help you fat fucks out is all. Don’t get all ‘Up in my bidness’ because you’re addicted to cupcakes."

Björk, Vinyl, new Blogger, and Pam's music

I think I've fallen in love with Björk. I've been listening to her 2001 album "Vespertine" non-stop the past two days and I think it's her best album. The musical layers put into every song just blows my mind. Everytime I listen to "Harm of Will" or "Unison" I hear new sounds each time I listen. And the best part is that it is engineered and mixed beautifully. It's sad though that she's going pop on her next album with Timbaland as producer. Experimental music is truly her niche and it is what makes her unique among every musician out there. I wonder what her albums would sound like on vinyl.

Speaking of vinyl, I think it creates the most beautiful, rich, and wonderful sounds. I listened to a comparison of the Red Hot Chili Peppers album, Stadium Arcadium, on CD and on vinyl. I was amazed at the clarity of the LP. The recording was no longer sounding "hot" (meaning loud) but astonishingly clear. I could distinctly hear every instrument. Flea's bass, which sounded almost nonexistent on the CD, comes through in spades on the LP. The drums ring beautifully without any harshness, Frusciante's guitar is no longer clipping, and most of all Kiedis's voice has never sounded better. The mixing of the vinyl version was so good, I could clearly hear Frusciante's backup vocals behind Kiedis's. This was something I could never hear on the CD. I wish I had a turntable or if someone could needle drop the LP for me that would be awesome.

Yesterday, I wanted to update this blog but Blogger wouldn't let me. I tried converting this blog to the new Blogger but due to a problem with my blog I couldn't switch to the new blogger.

On a final note, I think my cousin Pam has the best taste in music, who else can listen to the beautiful Rachael Yamagata then continue to the Bloodhound Gang's "I Wish I Was Queer So I Can Pick Up Chicks"?

Sense of Clarity

"You know what man, I've realized something about you. You complain about many things: your classes, your life, your dad, etc., etc. But you have to realize something here, man, you're lazy. You lack discipline and focus in your life. You're only taking 12 hours of school right now and you're already fucking up. You don't have a job, you don't have a girlfriend, and most of the time, you don't even have homework, so what the hell are you complaining about? You really need to focus your life because I'm tired of hearing this bullshit from you."

That's what my friend Mike wrote to me while I was talking to him about how I should get a job, being tired most of the time, sleeping in already for some classes blah blah blah. And you know what? He's right. Most of my day is made up of being in front of this laptop just surfing the internet. Sometimes I'm so bored that I go to people's blogs repeatedly, even though I've read the posts. The problem is that most of the time, I have homework and I always do it hours before it's due. I need to get my life in order. I waste a lot of time just using the internet and sulking around the house. Right now, my life doesn't have any focus right now.

I now have realized what Wency was talking about why he never wanted to go to the Philippines. He said, "because I don't want to feel depressed anymore." You see, my trip to the Philippines felt like a drug. Everyday was a high, feeling good that I never had a worry in the world. I'd say to myself, "I could just worry about that later." Now, I'm on a downslope. At times, I feel so depressed because my psoriasis has been flaring up lately. On top of that, my miracle drug, Enbrel, is unattainable. It used to cost $30 for a month's supply but now because of my dad's new medical insurance, it's $2,675.

My brother was right in saying that the Philippines is like a great girlfriend. I can't describe what he meant by that but you know what I mean.

I need some tips on how to focus my life. Please leave some comments on how I could make my life better.

A Weekend in the City

I bought the new Bloc Party album and again, it's fucking brilliant. There's only one thing that disappoints me: the mix. It's so frickin' compressed and filtered that it sounds like it's coming out of a radio. Why can't mix something that sounds clear and crisp like Norah Jones? I know that their music belongs in a different genre but it can be mixed beautifully.

I'm disappointed this evening that the Chicago Bears didn't win the Super Bowl. I have to appreciate that they tried their best, oh wait, all of them EXCEPT Rex Grossman. He was the major problem in the loss today. He was flipping, flopping, fumbling, and whatever went wrong. They should replace him immediately. I think Bears coach Lovie Smith should just quit on Rex because he keeps on failing them. When they need him, he fails. On the other hand, Peyton Manning did a decent job with his team even though he didn't play that great.

I feel bad for Brian Urlacher, he was the only one who wanted the game more than any other. But most of all, I feel bad for Chicago.

Listening to the new Norah Jones album "Not Too Late" for the fourth time now and it's beginning to grow on me. I hated it the first two times I listened to it but man, the sound quality and engineering on this album is simply AMAZING. Because of this, I wanted to listen to it more times. I love it because there's no clipping and harsh sounds!!! YES! With my headphones, I could even hear Norah's voice echo from the room she's singing.

I think this is the best sounding and best engineered Norah Jones album. I still prefer her first album but man, this may be the best modern album I've ever heard. Nothing could beat my U2 "The Joshua Tree" master copy though, my ears still tingle just listening to that album.

I already have mentioned the new Bloc Party album (titled "A Weekend in the City") a few days or a week ago probably and man it's still kicking my ass. Download the following for kickass-ed-ness: Waiting for the 7.18, The Prayer, Uniform, On, Kreuzberg, I Still Remember, and Sunday. I especially recommend Sunday, it's fucking great. I haven't listened to a new album this much since the last Silverchair album.

Speaking of Silverchair their new song "Straight Lines" popped up on myspace and it fucking rocks. This is a new Silverchair folks. No longer the glum Silverchair or the happy rock Silverchair (which I don't mind at all) but a mature, adult Silverchair. The layers of sounds they're putting on each subsequent song just boggles my mind.

Here's the Silverchair "Straight Lines" music video, I gotta mention that the dance Johns does in the video is pretty gay: