Adventures of a Nobody

Blog Announcement

Yes, I claimed that I would stop blogging - and I did.  However, I wanted to try it again and although I don't know if I can improve the layout of my new blog or even sustain it with regular entries, I'll advertise it anyway.

Here's my new blog: http://pipoytales.livejournal.com

It contains the usual useless contents that I randomly write when I have nothing better to do. Peace!

Bye Bye Blog

Blogging is only fit for creative people

Those who have plenty of tales to tell

And those who are dedicated to telling these tales

I am not one of them

For this, I formally announce that I will quit blogging

Bye bye blog.

The First Work of Fiction I Really Hated

             I know that this entry should be in the movie reviews section but I insist to put it in here because what I will write isn’t exactly a review, it’s more of a whining and finger-pointing entry.

            I recently watched the movie Eragon.  I was determined not to watch the movie since I already had a feeling that it would be a let-down but I had a sudden lapse of judgment and I found myself inside the movie house watching a seriously uninspired movie.

            The movie was based on a popular fantasy book of the same title.  The book will have three installments so that the publishers can juice as much money as they can from this ‘Inheritance Trilogy’ trash.  I first saw the book a few years ago when I was browsing for a book to buy.  Fortunately, I decided against the purchase of the book and I ended up buying the first book of the Dark Tower series which happens to be a superior work of fiction.

            Let me give you a run-down of the story.  This won’t really be a spoiler since the plot of the movie is rather predictable and unexciting.

            A young farm boy (yes, he’s a farm boy of all possible professions) who happens to be a brave hunter who tracks game in a dreaded forest where all other hunters never dare to enter finds a shiny (ooohh… me want shiny stone) which was transported by this lady elf who was being pursued by a sorcerer.  The shiny stone (give me shiny stone!) turns out to be a dragon egg.  The egg hatches and out comes a cute big-eyed baby dragon.  The EVIL king’s (shudder) dark rider wannabes kills our hero’s uncle because they felt it would be dramatic to kill a poorly developed character.

The plot unravels as the mighty-hunter-farm-boy-who turns out to be the chosen one meets a retired dragon rider and is trained by him ala-Obi and Luke.  The protagonist then does all the things a hero should do: learn how to fight and use magic, save the damsel in distress, surpass his master, team up with the resistance army, fight and kill some orc-wannabes, and finally defeat the EVIL sorcerer who tortured the pretty lady.

The movie was lame.  I thought that it could have been a case of poor interpretation in the part of the director so I decided to find myself a copy of the book.  I didn’t want to spend money for an equally uninspired book so I connected to the internet and found myself a working torrent of Eragon.  I immediately started reading the book.  The language was all right but the characters both minor and major talked too identically that you wouldn’t recognize who was talking if you removed the qualifying phrase  It painfully felt like reading fan fiction.  It’s not that fan fiction is bad but it just isn’t publishable material.  I’m not a masochist so I stopped torturing myself by the time I finished the sixth chapter.

I wondered if I was the only person who hated the book so I searched the internet again for book reviews.  It turns out that there is a website dedicated to criticisms against the Inheritance trilogy (and it’s author).  Interestingly, there are more people who like the book than those who don’t.  Probably the ten-year-olds who have read only five books (sorry for the insult).  I mean what’s the creativity in naming a hero Eragon (Aragorn anyone?) while an elf-lady is called Arya (Arwen obviously).  It’s probably just me being the conspiracy theorist but I really feel that these characters were flat cardboard copies of great fantasy characters.

This has become rather lengthy entry.  I could write a twenty-page essay of why I not only hate Eragon but also consider it the most unisnspired popular fiction but that would probable bore you.  If you want to read more comprehensive reviews on Eragon (for reasons I wouldn’t know), I’d recommend www.shurtugal.com and www.anti-shurtugal.com.

My advice is for you not to read the Inheritance trilogy.  Not only will you save money but you will also protect yourself from a very bad case of shamelessly over-hyped pop fiction.  Go buy yourself a Tagalog romance pocketbook, chances are it will be more original and entertaining.

Fresh New Start

The world has just stepped into a new year (I know it’s been more than a week since January 1).  Although I hold the belief that a year is simply a clustering of days which humans came up with in order to predict the seasons, I have nothing against it.  Time for me is a continuous flow of events: people we meet, triumphs we achieve, defeats we suffer.  A new year however gives most of us a spark of hope that fate will somehow be kinder to us.  It also gives us the chance to look back, reflect on what we did right and where we went wrong, and try to improve ourselves.

            I also tried to reflect on what happened to me in the previous year but I can’t seem to remember anything remarkable.  It’s all a jumble of people, slip-ups, problems, books, games, and vacations so I decided not to try too hard on recollection.  I just looked forward and tried to see what I can do with my life.  Here’s a little list of things I’d like to achieve (i.e. New Year’s Resolution):

1. Read a lot of useful books and learn to appreciate them (no self-help and textbooks please)

2. Meet new people, make new friends

3. Get along with as many people as possible

4. Learn how to swim properly and not just float like an anal excretion

5. End the habit of procrastination

6. Finish the three novels I started to read and decided not to finish

7. Become a better person (or at least find out what makes a person better)

            Hmmm… seven resolutions for year 2007 is not so bad.  This may sound like simple resolutions to most people (except for number 5, I know) but they will be difficult for me to bring into fruition because I have minimal control over my personality and I am inclined to shun company most if not all of the time.  I also tend to read simply for pleasure and once I start reading a book that’s ‘serious’ I quickly lose interest.

            Aside from my egocentric resolutions, I also have a few hopes for our country. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

I have noticed for a long time that the leaders of our country never seem to get along on any issue.  The same thing goes for most of us Filipinos.  Everybody thinks they are right and that their demands must always be followed. Changes are obviously necessary if we are to have any hopes of improving our situation.  Here is a short list of my hopes for the

Philippines

and its people:

1. We learn to make sacrifices for the greater good
2. Filipinos realize that nobody can be wrong all the time
3. Everybody learns to follow the rules including the very simple ones such as no jaywalking, falling in line, and no littering (they’re actually easy to follow)
4. Education will be given greater importance by our government
5. We start looking at the big picture instead of living in our small circles believing that it is the only one which exists
6. People learn to stand and act on their own instead of bickering to the government every time they need something
7. We start loving our fellow Filipinos more and spend less time mimicking and worshipping foreigners

The seventh one in the list actually contained two items but this is my blog so I can write anything the way I want it.  I can’t think of any witty way to end this entry so I’ll just end it with a little food for thought.

“What we don’t know is not as harmless as the things we are so sure about but which aren’t really true.”

I Guess Not

I said that I would be writing a longer entry before the year ends but I guess I won't be able to.  My ideas are still in a rut and I can't seem to focus on anything.

Hopefully, new inspirations and a renewed energy will come my way this new year.

Christmas Entry

It's been quite some time since I've updated this blog. I'm rather busy with finding things that will keep me busy for the holiday right now so this entry will be cut short.

I'll be updating this blog with a longer entry before the year ends.  Happy Holidays and may your Christmas be blessed and your New Year be full of new hopes.

Time for a Little Break at Last

I woke up today and realized that it really is sembreak .  I have no pressing responsibilities as of the moment besides attempting to get a subject in the CRS which has never been friendly to me.  Still, waiting for my grades which could be 5.0’s while knowing that I can do nothing about it leaves me feeling uneasy.

Today, I just went to the grave of my friend who recently died in an accident.  It’s still difficult to believe that such a young person could die.  This has left me thinking recently how fragile life can be.  Nobody can be sure when his time is up, and we might not be prepared for it.  Well, enough of the grim talk about life and death for no w.

I am looking forward for a little reunion with my high school classmates this coming Friday.  This is still unconfirmed but I hope it pushes through.  I also hope that many will attend this

Right now I am back at our home in the province.  It’s good to be away from the bustling city for a while.  Living in a place where everyone is in a rush can take its toll on anybody, I’m simply not a kind of person who enjoys competition and pressure.  A little time to loosen up and just sit by the window while looking at the clouds and listening to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole is always a welcome leisure.  The grades can wait later, haha.

I might not be updating this blog for quite some time.  I want to stay away from the web for a while.  But then again I might have interesting experiences to tell, though the odds of that is quite low.  So long for now and enjoy your lives to the fullest!

Lost People

I have been wondering why some people think the universe revolves around them when in truth they are just going with the flow, ugly stains in the large canvas.  Perhaps they are just misunderstood, or maybe they misunderstand.  Whatever the reason be, I still don’t know why they have to insist that they are always on the right.  I myself admit that I am often mistaken, and I don’t think that there are people who never are.  It is fine with me if those people go on believing that they are correct, that they are the judges of what is right and wrong – I can’t blame them for believing so because I once tread that path too.  My problem is people who force their points of view on others all the time.  Hey, everyone can think for himself.  If you think you are the god of this world then you are terribly mistaken.  Open your eyes; you could just be a pawn.

Black and White

Are you lonely?

Do you feel deserted?

I can’t understand what you’re driving at

I am merely a spectator

Watching the stage where the titans play

Having no idea about the trivialities

Your world looks so simple from down here

You’re either good or bad – no one’s in between

Then the curtains fall

And tears flow from your once smiling eyes

Misery wraps itself all over you

Shadows are cast against everyone

And your world becomes complicated

The lines blur and you are confused

You can’t tell who’s on your side anymore

But I don’t see all of this

I walk away entertained by what I have seen

You are titans after all

Nobody needs to look after you

Deception

Trapped inside a box

Cornered

I look at evil in the face

I shall not stand down

Cringing

My legs tremble

My body shudders

A hand reaches out

Escape?

Another hand is offered

A different person

I start to reach out for both

As I hold the hands

Cold?

Something is wrong

These are no friends

I look at them again

And I tremble once more

My courage crumbles

No escape this time

Falling

No bottom

Just falling

Forever