Being Active

That’s it. I have decided to start actively blogging again. A few days ago, I decided to read again my blog entries circa 2005-2009 at my old Geocities site and it was hilarious! I used to be so emo and insecure last time (I’m less insecure and no longer emo now). I truly understand now why people keep journals. There is only so much memories your mind can keep. All the little details would usually be lost. Even when I read my old site, there were some events I wrote about that I don’t recall now.

From now on, I shall try to blog as much as I can. The number of blog entries I published dropped drastically after working at The Edge. The editor mindset in me would nitpick on every little detail of my writing to the point that it discouraged me from publishing any entry. There was always a little voice at the back of my head saying, ‘That’s not clever enough. It’s not witty enough. Not intellectual enough. There is no value add.’ Oh shut up already. I think that voice has piped down so I shall write whatever I want and not caring whether it’s “clever” or not. This is just an outlet for me. I’m not aiming for a Pulitzer Prize.

First things first. I have started exercising again! Yay! I used to go walking at the Taman Tun park a year ago (perhaps?) off and on. I would walk every week and then stop. A few months later, I would start my weekly walk and after a few weeks, stop again. You get the picture.

Since 2 August, I started using the manual treadmill 2 or 3 times a week. It got a little monotonous for me and two weeks later, I started to follow the Neila Rey workouts at darebee.com. Ika told me about the site several months. So far, I have consistently been working out, although I’ve been doing the Darebee workouts more and the treadmill less. In terms of the Darebee workouts, I have tried Plan B, Frost, Swan, Express and the latest one, Slayer. As the name suggests, Slayer was no walk in park. My butt is sore today. I suspect it was the sit-up punches or lunge punches.

I don’t know why I am more motivated to work out this time but I like it. I even bought a yoga mat to do the workout in my room. My sis said that if I can keep it up for 2 months, the routine would stick. I’m halfway there, looking forward to the second month!

Syawal Screenings

Well, not screenings per se. More like watching past movies on free-to-air and cable TV. I don't often watch local Malay movies but somehow whenever Raya comes around, I just feel like watching local movies.
Azura

I kind of stumbled on this movie during third day of Raya when I balik kampung to Parit, Perak to visit relatives on my mom's side. At the first house we visited, the classic movie starring Jamal Abdillah and Ogy was on. The movie has its own merits but I was attracted to it because it showcased the life and style of the 80s. The hair, the clothes, the music! It was also refreshing to watch on screen a Malaysia that is way more liberal than it is now. I truly miss the good old days. Of course, I didn't get to watch the movie until the end since we had other houses to go to, but I would definitely watch it again to find out what happens in the end.
Magika

I came across this movie as I was channel surfing. I don't remember ever watching it but I definitely knew what it was about. It's basically Labyrinth with local Malay folklore injected into it. The heroine, Ayu, looks for her lost brother and they both end up in the magical world called Magika. I love any fantasy story that incorporates local Malay folklore but they are far and few in between. Magika is okay for a first attempt, I understood what the director was trying to achieve. A lot of the folklore characters have been given a twist so that viewers wouldn't know what to expect. In Magika, Ayu and her brother meet characters such as Nenek Kebayan, Hang Tuah, Mahsuri, an ageing Puteri Gunung Ledang, Bawang Puteh & Bawang Merah and so on.
Making a Malay fantasy movie is already a handful in my opinion, yet the producers of this film decided to take it a step further my making it into a musical! It's not surprising considering it was directed by Edry KRU. A brave attempt but one that may not have paid off. There were one or two good songs but the others were not so memorable. With the exception of Ziana Zain who played the Nenek Kebayan, it would've been better if the cast could sing well. The acting is decent but I found the heroine's younger brother whiny and annoying. The movie does show the reason for him being that way but that didn't make him any less annoying. There is some romance injected into the movie but unfortunately I didn't feel any chemistry between Ayu and the guy who helps her in Magika (forgot his name). Funnily enough, I did feel the chemistry at the end of the movie (spoiler alert!) when the two were singing about yearning to see each other (probably since they weren't together). The use of special effects was decent but felt underwhelming when the dragon of Lake Chini made its appearance. I can empathise though; it was probably due to the lack of budget. Creating realistic looking dragons is terribly expensive. Even HBO, which has a much bigger budget, had fans complaining how the dragons didn't look realistic enough in Game of Thrones. All in all, Magika had many flaws but like I said earlier, it was a good attempt. It's kinda making me want to continue writing my own fantasy novel.
CEO

The title of this movie was enough to make me take a longer look. If you watch enough Malay movies/dramas, you would know that 99% of them are love stories (typical boy-meets-girl/star-crossed lovers/forced marriages, etc). So a movie with the title of CEO seemed promising. It's basically about two characters who somehow had their roles switched. One is a CEO of a company and the other one is a pizza delivery guy. What made me watch was the pizza delivery guy. His boss (a lady boss, yay!) was asking him what were his future plans. Typical of a young graduate, he said he had no plans. His boss went on to say that he needs to plan his future. He shouldn't let his talent go to waste by not planning to further his career. This simple line had me mindblown. Wow, a Malay movie where the characters are talking about something other than love/marriage/forbidden love. Also impressed that there is a woman in the movie who isn't talking about a guy. I'm also a sucker for movies where you get to see the main character improve himself. What I liked about this movie was its focus and that it was well-paced. My only minor gripe was that at the end of the movie, it didn't show the characters career progression a few years down the road. I know that would be a predictable ending but I would have still like it :)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Reading this book made me realize just how ignorant I was and still am of many things in the world today but I am glad I read it. The only prior knowledge I had of Malcolm X is the movie starring Denzel Washington, which I have yet to watch but will do so after this.
So what made me decide to pick up this book? It was after hearing a segment of BFM's Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah segment on the controversial figure. The programmed played a sound bite of a reporter asking him to reveal his last name. Malcolm X refused to reveal his name because he believed that it was the name given by his ancestor's slavemaster. It was a short sound bite but from the minute I heard him speak, I wanted to know more about this charismatic person. The BFM presenter recommended reading the autobiography by Alex Haley. I am not really a fan of autobiographies or non-fiction but nonetheless I decided to get the book.
The book may be considered a study on the civil rights movement in the USA back in the 1950s to 1960s but it is so much more than that. The book follows Malcolm X from his childhood, to his crime-filled teenage years, his time in prison, conversion to Islam, rising leader of the civil rights movement and fallout with the Nation of Islam before his untimely death.
Malcolm X was an enigmatic leader known for his fiery statements against the white man he called "the devil". He had no qualms about what he believed and unlike leaders today, would plainly say what he means. Because of his unflinching beliefs, the US mainstream media portrayed him as a violent, black supremacist. I didn't get that vibe from reading about him but I am now also more aware of the media's capability to twist facts to suit its own agenda.
In summary, this book is an inspiring, thought-provoking read.

Pinnochio

Yes, I know. It seems like I'm an avid K-drama viewer. It's just that once in a while I would come across an interesting drama when I channel surf. I had seen the ads for Pinnochio and thought it was another typical coming-of-age story with a dose of romance in it. I mean let's be honest here, what would a K-drama be without the obligatory love story? The intro of Pinnochio seemed interesting because it was premised around young adults joining the workforce as broadcast reporters. This caught my attention because I used to be a business reporter for a local newspaper. I would have watched because of this but because it seemed more like a love story I decided to give it a pass.

Some days later, I came across an episode which showed the main characters covering the story about a man caught stealing a luxury backpack for his son to use at school. The employees had asked the department store owner to let the guy go as a goodwill gesture since he was only doing it for his son and it was the Christmas season. The store owner refused and the man was arrested. This prompted the main characters to investigate the story. From then on, I was hooked.

I don't know how realistic Pinnochio is in terms of conveying the day-to-day activities of broadcast journalists but it seems pretty realistic to me. In the beginning, it showed how the new recruits had to deal with their punishing schedules in order to obtain stories for their strict editors (I can relate to that). It was quite traumatic watching that. While my schedule as a newbie reporter wasn't as punishing, I could empathise with them.

The main strength of this show, in my opinion, is how it portrayed media manipulation and how it affects everyone involved. I found it insightful and thoughtful. It has made me more aware of how the media portrays issues to push a certain agenda to the public. Media manipulation is nothing new and most people including myself are aware of it but what this show does is elevate your senses to these instances.

Unfortunately, I suspect that this is not the reason most people watch the show. For them, the main strength of the show is the love story. I admit it's not bad but that's not what got me hooked to the story. Shady dealings, media manipulation, investigative journalism, corruption, camaraderie, perseverance, dedication and love is what I like about it. I hope to see more K-dramas like this :)

Naeil Cantabile

My three favourite quotes from Naeil Cantabile :)

"When I did nothing, I was nothing. When I was alone, it was only natural to be alone. When I met people as different as instruments and worked together to make harmony, I was able to start seeing people in a world where music was everything." - Cha Yoo-jin.

"Use your emotions and let it out. Pour in all of your anger and emotional baggage into your performance. That's how you make it your own. Throw everything into your performance." - Franz Stresemann.

"Confidence is good but complacency is prohibited. A musician must always be ready and taut like a well-tuned piano string. The moment the musician is complacent, the performance becomes loose and limp." - Do Kang-jae.

Today's Lunch

I had noodles and soup for lunch today and this is what it reminded me of ^_^

Sailor Moon Crystal - My Thoughts

[Note: Major spoilers for Acts 1-10 of Sailor Moon Crystal in this post]

For a couple of weeks now I have been following the 2014 Sailor Moon reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal. I refrained from any comments initially because I thought the animation quality and style was bad. Other reviewers were more forgiving, probably because they were excited that there was a reboot at all. Some reviewers mentioned it could be due to teething problems or lack of budget. My question to Toei Animation would then be: if you didn’t have enough budget, why bother doing a reboot at all? Seriously, I have seen the quality of previous works by Toei Animation which was why I couldn’t excuse the poor quality. As for the animation style, I get that they were trying to make it more like the manga style but seeing the end product made me realise that while the manga illustration looks beautiful on paper, it doesn’t necessarily translate well to animation. I couldn’t stand the extreme slenderness of the characters, which one fan aptly described as “stretched taffy”. I will not even delve into the CGI transformation sequence (the transformation sequence in the original series wins hands down).

If only animation quality was the only problem though. The storyline seems rushed and there isn’t much character focus or development for the Inner Senshis apart from the episodes they make their appearances. Once Usagi regained her memories as Serenity, all focus shifted towards her and Mamoru. This show has what I call the main character syndrome. There is too much focus on the main character that the supporting characters are reduced to mere extras. The original series was like that too, but compared to this reboot, I feel like the original series was pretty fair in focusing on the supporting casts.

One good thing about SMC following the manga closely is that they decided to have a little bit more focus on the four generals serving Queen Beryl. In the manga, Naoko Takeuchi once included a picture pairing the Inner Senshis with the four earth generals: Venus/Kunzite, Mercury/Zoisite, Jupiter/Nephrite and Mars/Jadeite. Though Takeuchi never explicitly mentioned that these four had relationships during Silver Millennium, it was implied for Venus and Mars (if my memory serves me correctly) and since then, most fans assume she always had it in mind but just never explored it. Anyways, back to SMC, the generals overheard Beryl talking about brainwashing them and in that brief instant, regained their memories as Endymion’s protectors. Unfortunately, Beryl found out and quickly brainwashed them again. Next, we see them confronting the senshis during battle. Venus keeps asking Kunzite to wake up which prompts the rest of the senshis to ask her what she meant by that. Upon her revelation, the rest of the senshis regain their memories and due to the weight of it, are unable to fight back, leaving Sailor Moon to save the day. They then eventually regain their senses and attack the generals who escape once more.

Okay, so I am happy about one thing. I am happy that the creators of SMC decided to put a spotlight on the whole senshi/general pairings. I am however undecided on how I feel about the execution though. Some fans complained that the episode made the senshis look weak when they were unable to attack the generals after discovering they used to love them. On the flipside, there were those who argued that it’s only natural to be in shock when you discover the person you used to love is now your enemy. And of course there are those who don’t like the senshi/general pairings at all because they find that it’s too convenient for each of the princess’s guardians to fall for each of the prince’s protectors. Yes, I agree it seems a little too convenient and this is why it is crucial how this part of the story is executed. While the premise may be convenient, there are many ways the writers could’ve made this plotline more complex/added more layers to it. I’m not sure if they have anything of the sort in mind what with the limited budget they seem to have.

One thing is clear though, the generals will have to die at the end of the first arc or it would complicate the rest of the seasons (if the show survives that long). My guess is the senshis would kill them in a tragic scene or the generals would sacrifice themselves to save their prince or the senshis in an equally tragic scene. Shame really. Looks like my fan fiction won’t be realised on screen.