BLOG -- Recap of October

October was a really busy month. There were a lot of changes, and things just keep coming. All I can say is that I hope to make good use of my vacation days in the next couple of months.

Outings/Events in October:

- Attended a house-warming party for my cousin.

- Hung out with friends x1

- Went karaoking by myself x2.

- Attended a friend's / former co-worker's Convocation Party. Congratulations!!

- Had a sleepover at my sister's place x2.

- Had a toast to my boss who left the company.

Exposures:

- (restaurant) Grazie -- Good food! I'd definitely like to go back.

- (restaurant) Rainbow Sushi -- It's okay, but a little meh. 

- (restaurant) Sunset Grill -- It's okay from what I tried.

- (food) Pulled Pork Sliders -- They're cute. I've always wanted to try sliders.

- (food) Bacon Wrapped Steak Skewers -- Not as exciting as it sounds.

- (service) Redbox -- This is a really nice DVD / Blu-Ray renting service. It totally works for me. I might blog about why, too, one day. Maybe.

Finished...

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Legend of Korra - Book One: Air -- Absolutely fantastic! My sister and I finished watching the show in one sitting. 

- (Movie): Battle of the Year -- I mainly watched this to see Dominic and Josh Holloway. It's too bad Dominic was barely in it.

- (Movie): Don Jon x2

- (Movie): Pitch Perfect x3 -- I adore this movie. I will review it one day!

- (Movie): The Bling Ring -- I watched this for Emma Watson. She is good in it. The movie itself is kinda meh.

- (Movie): Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad -- Cheesy. 

- (Movie): Rise of the Guardian -- Nice. I wonder what my centre is. I'll bet it's related to creation, wonderment, or magic. Maybe romance?

- (Movie): The Incredible Burt Wonderstone -- It's funny, but Burt Wonderstone is such an a**.

Playing:

Nothing this month.

Reading:

- (Novel): The Phantom Limb by William Sleator -- For William Sleator's last book (*sniffle*), it was pretty good. There were some really intense moments.

- (Manga): Mars by Fuyumi Soryo -- Very dramatic! The ending was a little flat, though.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS3): Folklore 
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (DS): Legacy of Ys: Book I & II 
- (3DS): Shin Megami Tensei IV 
- (PSP): Persona 
- (PSP): Crush
- (Wii): Fortune Street 
- (PS2): Atelier Iris 2
- (PS2): Shadow Hearts
- (PC): UnEpic
- (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead  
- (Anime): Yu Yu Hakusho 
- (Anime): Shakugan no Shana 
- (Anime): Dragon Ball
 

Reading:

- (Manga): Judge by Yoshiki Tonogai 
- (Manga): Azumanga Daioh by Kiyohiko Azuma


That's it for October. Here's a couple of random photos and video from this month:

Some kind of exhibit that I saw at City Hall. It's a mountain of bikes.

One of the menu items from Rainbow Sushi.
It's an order of fries... and they're pretty terrible...

 A shot of Grazie.

One of Ryan Higa's latest videos. It's Halloween themed, 
so I thought it was appropriate.

Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to comment or ask about any of my experiences / exposures :)

Happy Halloween!

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My fun weekend

Since I have about 1.5 hours (it was about 10:30 PM when I wrote that line) before my usual bedtime (yeah, I sleep pretty late), this blog will be short and sweet.

My weekend was busy (for once) -- but was really fun! So, I'm going to briefly blog about that. And that's why this blog is coming in so late.

Anywho...

SATURDAY -- Woke up: 10-ish AM

Already I was starting my day late. I usually wake up around 6 AM on Saturdays, in line with my weekly routine. My sister was over so we spent the day together. Here's a general list of our day:

-Watched The Incredible Burt Wonderstone -- It's funny. Burt Wonderstone is such an a**.

-Me playing Folklore while my sister was playing Facebook games. Folklore's a PS3 game that's been on my monthly "Currently playing" list for forever. At least this is proof that I'm still playing games from that list and not just having them in my backlog eternally.

-Attending a friend's / former co-worker's Convocation dinner event. I was a little nervous. There would be sooo many people I didn't know, and I'm still not especially social. But I wanted to celebrate him getting his PhD -- I mean, it's such an amazing feat! Some of my co-workers attended, so I got to talk to them. My sister was with me, too. Congratulations to you!!

-Went back to my sister's place in preparation for the next day: a hangout with a couple of our friends. I was nodding off around 12:30 AM, and went to sleep.

*********** While on my airbed in the middle of the night (I slept wayy before my sister and her fiance), I slowly came to, hearing some faint creaking. I thought, If somebody's there, I better just look. So my head and eyes turned directly to the source of the sound. I saw a woman with long black hair in white clothing standing about a foot away, looking straight down at me. Then she walked away quietly. All I thought as I tried to go back to sleep was: oh my... was that a ghost?! Would my sister walk away without saying anything?... oh my... was that a dream?!?! Are the spirits back?! (this comment will be explained in a future blog)

The next time I woke up, I knew it was the next day, but it was still dark. In case that figure was a ghost, I forced myself back to sleep until the sun came out. I couldn't risk opening my eyes to possibly see her looking over me. It turned out later that it was just my sister in her pajamas. *****************

SUNDAY -- Woke up: 8-ish AM

After brushing my teeth and whatnot, I did some stuff for work (yay..... ><) for about 2 hours. Then...

-Watched a re-run of Dragon's Den. What can I say: it's an interesting show.

-A friend of mine and my sister came by, and we played some of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f. I still love that game <3 About an hour later, another friend came by and then we started the party. Yay! We started with eating some moffles, and then we settled in front of the couch and watched Galaxy Quest. What a hilarious movie. After the movie, we played a round of Boom-O. Boom-O is this really quick and fun card game. After one friend left, we played another round of Boom-O, ate a couple more moffles, and played this fun, strategic, and slightly stressful boardgame called Ticket to Ride.

-I got back home around 10:30 PM and now I'm blogging this blog while eating my dinner. Now to format this a bit and post it up!


Thanks for reading! If you'd like to comment about anything, feel free! :)
Have an amazing week! Fingers crossed that it'll be the same for me!

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE] -- Don Jon

Format Watched: In theatres (Tuesday October 8, 2013; Friday October 11, 2013)

Approx. Runtime: 90 minutes (1 hours, 30 minutes)

Language Watched: English

Type of Movie: Romantic, Comedy

Overall Impression: I wasn't sure what to expect. It -- was -- fantastic. (Disclaimer: there are pornographic clips throughout the movie)

SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!

This review will contain some spoilers -- or rather, there will be a "Spoilers" section at the end of the review to go into further detail about certain things. There may still be slight spoilers throughout the review, but I've tried my best to keep them at a minimum.

PERSONAL STANDING (Pre-exposures, thoughts, etc.)

I was in a Cineplex theatre, waiting for Kick-Ass 2 to start. I was flipping through the monthly Cineplex magazine, looking at the photos (I almost never read the articles). Then I flipped to an interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt about his upcoming movie, Don Jon. An interview with one of my favourite actors? Sure, I'll bite. I read his response to the first question. I got excited and put away the magazine before I could read the rest (I'll mention what I read in the "Spoilers" section). At that moment, I knew I was going to watch Don Jon. I just had to. Seeing the trailer cemented my decision.

 

From watching the trailer, I absolutely had no idea how the movie was going to be, or how it would end. I figured that for any kind of resolve, some kind of transformation would have to take place, but I had no idea what and who it would happen to. Haha -- there were a lot of questions bouncing in my head.

 

Weeks later, I noticed poster advertisements for Don Jon, and one of the statements added a bit of puzzlement to me. "Romantic comedy"? What? From the trailer, I thought the movie was going to be super serious. It just added to my curiosity.

STORY

Hello, you most beautiful thing, you. (It's Barbara Sugarman)

Don Jon is about, well, Don Jon. One night he meets Barbara Sugarman, the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. After a failed attempt to woo her for a one-night stand, Jon asks her to lunch and they become a couple. Later that day, Jon finds out that Barbara has a deep interest in romantic movies. Jon enjoys watching porn. One night she catches him watching porn. What will happen to their relationship??

Okay, I'll stop here. This is barely scratching the surface of the movie's plot, but I feel that saying anything else would be giving away too much.

While I think that some of the story elements are extreme or exaggerated (can somebody love romantic movies that much? Can somebody enjoy porn that much?), I think overall the story is realistic and relatable. There are also sweet, tender moments in the movie, but my lips are sealed! ;)

VOICE-OVER NARRATION

This is where most of the comedy comes from -- hearing Jon's take on many of the issues / subject matter that come up in the movie. For me, it was almost like a tiny peek into what a guy might be thinking. Jon's summary of romantic movies was spot-on and funny, not to mention quite poetic and bouncy.

THE INTEGRATION OF PORNOGRAPHIC CLIPS

Jon on the prowl for porn.

When I updated my Facebook status, recommending Don Jon, I added this line: "My one disclaimer (in case you watch it and blame me that I didn't warn you): there are pornographic clips throughout the movie." I also mentioned this in my "Overall Impressions" line. Unfortunately, any future recommendations of Don Jon will probably always include that disclaimer, because I just know that somebody will blame me or hold me responsible if I don't.

With all that said, I find the pornographic clips very integral to the movie. They help illustrate some of Jon's thoughts on why he still watches porn while in a relationship, the difference between sex in porn and sex in real life, and so on. Later on, the clips also provide humour and a key insight into Jon's character. I should also mention that Don Jon is NOT largely made up of pornographic clips -- I'm thinking maybe... 10-15 minutes tops? When I get the DVD / Blu-Ray, I'll time it and update this line.

There are some movies where after watching it, I would think, "This would have been fine without those sex scenes" or "This would have been fine without the nudity". Mind you, I do NOT actively watch movies with sex scenes or nudity (in case my previous sentence implied it in any way, haha). For Don Jon, though, the pornographic clips fit. I can't imagine Don Jon being able to deliver what it delivers now without them.

ACTING/CHARACTERS

The acting was great. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson both played their roles well. I could really believe they were a couple that looked good on the outside, but had some internal dissonances and strife.

I also just gotta say: Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks so... HOT!!! Hahaha, okay, moving on.

CHARACTERS

I tend to find Jon and Barbara as exaggerated, extreme versions of their "character type". Jon is a hot young stud who loves porn, sex, and hot girls. Barbara is a hopeless romantic who thinks a guy in a relationship should be willing to do anything for her -- and not watch porn. Just reading what I've typed, the character types don't sound extreme at all. I guess when placed next to each other, they are.

Despite that, just like with the story, both Jon and Barbara have relatable and realistic traits. I think this movie is capable of getting people to take a hard look at themselves and how they may perceive "an ideal relationship" or relationships in general. After watching Don Jon, a personal concern formed in the back of my mind. I'll mention what it is in the "Spoilers" section.
 

MUSIC

There is a variety of music in Don Jon. I don't even know how to describe the it. Some scenes had really uplifting, Disney-esque music; some had old, ragtime-style (I think?) tunes. The club scenes had high energy, club-type music. There's a big mix. And they work with their scenes.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

If you can accept the fact that pornographic clips are sprinkled throughout the movie, Don Jon comes highly recommended. I've already seen it twice, and I want to see it again. The plot is simple -- but the subject matter is pretty deep. There's something really unique about this movie.

Thanks for reading! If you want some more input about something I didn't cover, feel free to ask. :)

Now I'll do the scrolly thing so you don't see the "Spoilers" section right away. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoilers" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.

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SPOILERS

I read his response to the first question. I got excited
and put away the magazine before I could read the rest.

I got so excited because what he said was a thought that I've had for a long time and felt strongly about. It's something I still think and feel strongly about. This was Joseph's response when asked "How was this movie [Don Jon] born?" (proper citing will be right after the quote):

        Well, I wanted to tell a story about how sometimes people treat other people like things,
        instead of people. In a way, that's a very personal story because sometimes I feel like
        I get treated like a thing more than like a person. But I don't think it's unique to me and
        I don't think it's unique to actors, I think everybody experiences this where instead of being
        treated like a person, we are pigeonholed into expectations that people have of us and
        they don't let us be a living, changing, present thing.
        (Joseph Gordon-Levitt's response; Roy, 40)

Citing: Roy, Mathilde. "Addicted to LOVE." Cineplex Magazine Sept. 2013: 40-42. Print.

That thought -- about how people tend to perceive others based on certain expectations -- is a thought I've had for many, many years, one that I am strongly against. I've mentioned this thought in at least one of my previous blogs, though not articulated the same way.

Pretty much, I don't like it when somebody perceives a certain aspect of me through maybe a few interactions or a few lines of thought, and then assumes or expects all my future actions to project their perception, instead of what I am. For example, let's say somebody perceives me as... "Emo". If I were to genuinely smile, my smile might be perceived as a smirk. Anything I say or do could carry less or more weight, depending on how an "Emo" person normally acts.

Another thing that I am strongly against is when somebody expects one interest to define my whole world. Anybody who says to me, "There's more to Life than video games", my response is an imaginary slap to the head. That statement really pisses me off! Thankfully, it's only been said to me once. Yes, I play video games a lot. That doesn't mean I do it every single day, every minute, every second. I mean, what the heck am I doing right now? Obviously NOT playing video games.

Then comes the expectation / assumption of: "If you like this, you probably won't like this." or "You mentioned you don't like this, so you probably won't like anything related to it, and I won't tell you about it."

I could probably go on for longer on this topic, but I won't. Seeing that Joseph Gordon-Levitt carried that same thought and it was being presented in a movie, I was really excited.

When I watched Don Jon, I looked for instances of it -- the thought that people treat each other like things -- and I found some. For example, Jon always referred to Barbara as the "most beautiful thing he's ever seen" -- he never referred to Barbara as a "person". During the times when we see Barbara integrating herself into Jon's lifestyle (going to his church, going to the gym), I almost had the feeling that they were showing each other off to the public -- kinda like a trophy girlfriend / boyfriend.
 

---------------------------------------------

After watching Don Jon, a personal concern formed in the back of my mind.

Well, in my mind, Barbara is a b*tch. She's very controlling and only accepts her perception of an ideal relationship and an ideal man, unable to see or be considerate of the other person. She is also a "hopeless romantic".

Here comes my concern: I'm a "hopeless romantic" as well! I'm actually quite proud to be one, haha. I kinda feel like there is almost next-to-no romance left in this world... But -- watching Don Jon put this thought in the back of my mind, Oh dear. I hope I'm not like her! Hahaha. I don't think I am -- I know I am definitely not that controlling, and I sure hope I don't project my ideals about relationship and being a lover onto others. It's definitely something for me to think about (or blog about).


If you read my spoilers, thank for reading! Now to finish with more scrolly things. If you disagree with anything or just want to say something, feel free to comment :D

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BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Deepest Condolences to William Sleator

I know this blog is really late... but... I only found out about it today. I was in the middle of my weekly blog and I was double-checking a book title I mentioned ("Rewind"). It's been years since I read it, so I just had to make sure.

I looked up William Sleator on Wikipedia. My eyes veered to the right hand box with his bio. I don't know how I missed it then. Maybe I just didn't want to register it. All I processed from that box was: Ah, he's 66 years old. His period ends at 2011? Did he stop writing at 2011? Is he doing something else now? Then I glanced over the page's Table of Contents, and clicked on Personal life, thinking, Oo, maybe I'll know what he's up to now. Did he decide to retire? He is 66 years old... And then I read:

He died on August 3, 2011, in Bua Chet, Thailand.

It felt like everything just stopped. He's... gone? He's... gone? It wasn't until I clicked on William's page (maintained by his brother, Daniel), and then his page to leave thoughts that the reality hit me hard, and now I'm crying so much. I can't believe it...

My original blog this week will have to take the back burner. I just have to blog about William Sleator, and express my condolences however I can (even if that means me typing and occasionally crying through this whole thing).

Outside of my close friends, my sister, or friends who I know read sci-fi, I almost never mentioned William Sleator, so I don't think many people knew. I was a huge fan of his work. I enjoyed his stuff so much that I made a declaration to myself one Summer in... maybe 1999: I'm going to read ALL of William Sleator's novels! It was one of the easiest declarations I ever made. I had already hungrily read everything that was currently out -- I just had to keep on top of his future works, which I more or less did. 

Every couple of years after that declaration, I would search his name in the library or in bookstores to see if any new titles came out. Whatever I didn't recognize, I would either borrow or buy them and then gobble them up the same way I did years ago. I actually did a search like that about a week ago, wondering what titles I needed to catch up on. I have two, and I'll finish them before the end of the year. I remember those two titles popping up when I made the search last year, but I thought, I'll just wait till more titles are available. I'll finish those too quickly. Ha... :(

On the subject of sci-fi, I actually don't read too many sci-fi books. I'm probably being really biased (please correct me if I'm wrong), but when I think of sci-fi, I think of spaceships, space, lab coats, computers, incomprehensible science terminology, and space. 

William's Sleators books, for the most part, were not like that at all. Most of the sci-fi elements took place on Earth, where we see characters dealing with everyday issues. I think that's how I was able to read and enjoy his books -- I was often able to relate. I also really enjoyed his direct writing style and that he was able to explain the sci-fi elements in a very easy to understand manner.

Of William's Sleator's novels, I enjoyed these immensely:

-House of Stairs -- loved the psychological issue
-Others See Us -- loved the thrilling suspense
-Singularity -- loved the bittersweet emotions
-The Boy who Reversed Himself -- loved the intricate details
-Rewind -- loved the whole idea and desperate emotions
-The Boy Who Couldn't Die -- loved the concept and suspense
-Interstellar Pig -- loved the idea

I see myself making a blog covering these novels in the future. I think The Boy who Reversed Himself was my first exposure. The one that sucked me in completely, though, (because I finished reading that before The Boy who Reversed Himself) was Interstellar Pig. To write briefly, Interstellar Pig is about a boy who gets involved in a boardgame, where losing could mean the end of the world. 

Since reading it, I've often played with the idea of creating a boardgame just like in Interstellar Pig. I figured that in time I would make one and then write to William Sleator and tell him all about it. This is one of my big regrets -- never writing to him and expressing how much I enjoyed his books. I still want to make that boardgame. I think I'll try thinking about it again.

To end off, here is my message to William Sleator:

William Sleator, thank you for your stories. There's so much I want to say, but so much is going through my head. During my high school years, your stories delighted me and opened my eyes to new dimensions, ideas, and ways of thinking. Even going into adulthood, your stories still gave me such enjoyment. It was almost like having a book companion of sorts, every now and then popping into my life with warmth, intrigue, and joy. I would even say it was like having a friend, but I think anybody reading that would think I was crazy. 

Even though you have passed on, you'll still be remembered -- till the end of time. I know I will never truly forget, because I know days from now, weeks from now, years from now... I will pick up your books and live through your wonderful stories again. *humbly bows head, blinking away tears* Arigatou gozaimasu!!! Thank you very much!!!!


Thanks for reading. I'll be out of it for the next week or so. Believe it or not, I am still crying, on-and-off. It really was like losing a friend or someone equally dear. A celebrity? A probable writing mentor? Somebody I really looked up to? I don't know... I just know that with his passing, I feel like I've lost something as well.

Next week is Thanksgiving in Canada, so there will be no blog that week.

You all please take care.