Now Playing: There Will Be Blood

Holy Krikey.

Daniel Day-Lewis is just too amazing in There Will Be Blood - he gives my runaway favourite performance of the year. While many people think his character is absolutely irredeemable, I didn't find that so. For me, his humanity is wrapped up in his son and whenever he pushed H.W. away, he tended to veer from hard-nosed businessman to borderline sociopath. He's a self-made man in a cutthroat business - any weakness that is perceived of him can easily be translated into a weakness in his business acumen. There is one scene where he's with baby H.W. on the train: H.W. pulls at Daniel's moustache and Daniel just lets him with a slight tender smile. That's the Daniel Plainview he couldn't afford to let the world see. It was such a subtle scene. His brand of evil was so different from Javier Bardem's in NC4OM - the kind of volatile evil that surprised you every time, if only for the oceans of calm it seemed to disturb. Given the choice to wrangle between Chigurh and Plainview, I'd take Chigurh: with him, you know where you stand (and you always stand away from doorknobs); with Plainview, he can be your best friend or your worst nightmare and you never quite know what its going to be.
...Special mentions to Paul Dano whose bible-thumping was more than a little disturbing and to young Dillon Freasier who was a lovely counterpart to his "father".

The one thing I found quite distracting about the movie had to be the score. Let me make this clear: I LIKED the score (thank you Jonny Greenwood), I just didn't like how it was edited into the actual movie. It often seemed too loud and overwhelmed what was actually happening on screen. It also seemed to be unnecessary at other points - the actors were strong enough to build tension without having a buzzing oboe remind us that this is a tense moment: pay attention! Character development also seemed lacking, especially when it came to the motivations of certain actions. Twice a character did something I found completely shocking and no explanation followed.

Other than these two minor issues, this was an excellent, excellent movie. Like NC4OM and Gone Baby Gone, it's one that benefits from multiple viewings and a good meaty discussion afterwards. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Golden Globes? none for me, thanks.

Quest Failed. *insert disappointed oboe sounds*

Having watched 6/7 GG Best Picture nominees, I patiently waited for the 7th (and my most anticipated) to arrive in Mississauga. There Will Be Blood, with Daniel Day-Lewis seeming to do his menacing best in trailers, was first advertised as coming out on Boxing Day; boy, was I let down when it failed to materialise. Followed closely by missing out on the sneak preview (thanks to the call that never came) and then yet another heartbreak when it didn't show up a week later on Jan 4, I was so ready to finally watch it when it broke into theatres for wide release on Jan 11. Well, Jan 11 came and went and still there was no Blood. The GG's are "airing" tonight, but where will I be? I'll be in Etobicoke, watching Blood in the closest theatre playing it, the next city over.

Watch this space for post-GG commentary (and bickering) and Oscar predictions when they announce their lists on Jan 22. In the meantime, I shall try to not be bitter that theatres in the 5th-largest city in Canada can't be bothered to pick up award-calibre movies but instead glut their screens with offerings that leave much to be desired.

Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (and other comments)

I won't type much about Infidel except to say that it is fascinating. Hirsi Ali's style is direct and uncluttered; she hardly ever uses adjectives to describe how something is said (as if to say that it is enough that it was said at all). Her life amazes me - that she has accomplished so much in only 35 years. This is not an easy read. There is violence, sadness and horror; but, there is also kindness, generosity and love.

Being a Catholic who grew up in an Islamic state, I cannot help but feel torn about my reaction to the book. On one hand, I want to cheer for her courage and join her in denouncing any political system that fuses religion with government (Sh'aria law is such a scary oxymoron to me that the very mention of haram gives me shivers). Listening to her personal accounts of women who have excised, raped, and/or murdered makes me angry and frustrated. I am almost tempted to just say "keep it there; don't bring your destructive traditions here."
And then... and then I think who the hell am I to judge? I'm not Muslim. In Canada (like in Hirsi Ali's Holland), we embrace the multicultural mosiac and encourage people to share their traditions in an attempt to promote understanding, tolerance and peace. Like all other religions, Islam is based on peace and brotherhood. Ought we not allow all people - regardless of their faith - to practice their beliefs? Isn't even questioning this right the beginning of bigotry?

I'm not overly religious myself. I have a very contentious relationship with my Catholic roots - I believe that there are probably beings out there so beyond our comprehension and abilities that, if we were to encounter them, they would be as Gods to us. I do not believe in the Church or any of its man-made rules. I believe there is evil in the world that tempts us into doing evil things (I need look no further than Karla Homolka and Mohammed Parvez), but I do not believe in Satan. I enjoy singing hyms in church; I can appreciate how the Notredame can inspire one to believe in God. But all these pretty things are merely that - pretty things. I've long ago given up on finding any substance.

There are many powerful things to be found within the pages of Infidel, things that I'm sure would make many people angry. Elle had already cautioned me to put it down, but I could not (and would not). The one thing that strikes me is this: when one places all of one's morality outside one's self and upon religion, one loses her sense of right and wrong in favour of a sense of crime and punishment. Yes, all religions preach peace; but none seem to preach tolerance. I think it's ridiculous when any religious leader - regardless of faith - says that their religion does not condone violence. The IRA, Darfur and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict all use religion as an excuse for violence, citing scripture after scripture that permits it. (Let's not even get into the Crusades and the Inquisition). Most holy books contradict themselves and allow for anyone - from extremist to liberal - to interpret them to his/her benefit.

...and I say all this knowing that there exist many more eloquent arguments that would shred my comments to pieces. But this is neither debate club nor philosophy class, so I shall leave my thoughts in their original raw form.

What's left to be said? The book is still fascinating: not only is it an on-the-ground account of civil war, African politics and refugee processes, it is a gripping story that both bolsters and rends my faith in humanity.

keep on rockin' in the free world

oh, what a glorious return to home it was.

As I'm hanging up my jacket, LilBro turns to me and starts laughing. Maniacally. Like he'd just thrown the switch on his very own monster-making-machine. As there was a serious lack of Frankenstein's Creature in the house, I just merely looked at him quizzically. This only prompted him to laugh louder. So I had to ask: "what?" More laughter - insanely happy, gleefully jubilant laughter. At this point, I too am smiling (the same smile strangers give crazy people on subways who start singing Frere Jacques) and I ask more forcefully "what?!" His gaze drifts meaningfully to the family room... I follow it... and there it is. I, too, begin laughing. There we are, standing in the front foyer, cackling like Kang and Kodos about to incinerate Earth. And what, pray tell, has us loosening our grip on our lucidity?

Rock Band.

Oh, yes, a glorious return indeed. I hadn't changed out of my work clothes so quickly in my life. I knew I'd be sucked in, but not like this... not like this. After creating characters (featuring malecasta on vocals and Bullfrog on lead) we were off. It was great: our band hails from Seattle (of course) and we were doing well. I started on Easy, because I didn't really know what to expect - LilBro was unimpressed by this and made me go up to Medium after about 5 songs. I didn't really notice a change in the difficulty level, but we were getting double the XP. The singing is pretty intuitive - and because I did not read the instructions (what? I was excited!) I had no idea how to activate the overdrive (aka star power for Guitar Hero fans) or how to coordinate this with my band mates. Still, 4 hours later, we had earned a manager, a jet and roadies. We had visited LA, New York, Chicago and become legends in Seattle. And we bought clothes: malecasta is decidedly goth in her look (right down to a tiny spider tattoo under her right eye), so shopping is a lot of fun - buying a $3500 top is just a part of the rock-n-roll lifestyle, right? The game is very easy to pick up, even for console non-gamers like myself. it's a lot of fun - I don't think I've hung out with just my sibling for these many hours without fighting before. And we were cooperating. Scary.

A couple of drawbacks: Bullfrog is the band leader, which means, our band cannot play without him (and I don't know why); I can be short in-game, but I cannot be..*ahem* .. "chubby"; the face customisation leaves a LOT to be desired.
All in all, though, an extremely fun game that has lured me back to the console.

Can't wait to go home and play again. Tonight 3289 conquers Tokyo.

Personal Career Perspective: a photo essay

proof the world is going to hell:

...when your Union rep starts to cry for the guy who's making an entire department miserable, you included. Life is so unfair. That is all.

Tidbits from the staff meeting, featuring Misery and Ben Stein!

We had our biweekly staff meeting today and usually I find these things exceptionally tedious. Especially since moving to my new department where we seem to discuss everything in the most boring detail possible. Imagine my suprise when I found not one but TWO things to blog about:

Ben Stein's How to Ruin your Love Life
...yes, that's right, THE Ben Stein. I love this man. From Bueller to giving away his money, he makes me happy. How thrilled am I that his wit and sarcasm can now also tell me how to stay perpetually single? love it.

The book is divided into 44 chapters, each devoted to one rule. Some of my favourites include:
#13: Act moody and sulky when your lover gets home - but don't tell him why you're sulking!
#16: Play phone games - that is, don't return her calls so she can see how cool and aloof you are.
#19: If you're dating someone who has a lot of problems, is generally a mess and all your friends dislike him, get married anyway - marriage will cure all of your problems!
#33: Act out of jealousy any old time you feel like it; in fact, let jealousy rule your life.
...and my favourite...
#44: When things are going really well, start a fight.

There are, however, two super-rules, which, if followed, are guaranteed to keep you single forever:
1) You are better than anyone else.
2) Never forgive and never forget.

Good times.


The Three Signs of a Miserable Job
1) Anonymity: people cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known. People who see themselves as invisible, generic or anonymous cannot love their jobs, no matter what they are doing.
2) Irrelevance: everyone needs to know their job matters to someone. Anyone. Without seeing a connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group of people, an employee simply will not find lasting fulfillment.
3) Immeasurement: employees must be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves. Without tangible means of assessing success or failure, motivation eventually deteriorates as people see themselves as unable to control their own fate.

...given all this, I see why I tend to be so unenthusiastic about my job (especially now that I'm not working with kids who have a very direct way of saying "thanks for helping me"). I often feel anonymous and replaceable; that my job of answering questions like "I need to know about healing crystals" doesn't change in the world; that budgets and a demanding mayor often take precedence to providing information to the public. Still - those days when I get a thank you candy-cane from the kid who got an A+ on his science project because I helped him... those are good days.