Noah

Just watched the movie Noah yesterday.
If you haven't heard, the movie is banned in a number of countries due to various controversies. And it merely gets 6.4 in IMDB.

I think it's not fair.

Just like any other movie that's created from a book, naturally the book readers will scrutinise it. As a book reader myself, I hate it that Noah doesn't follow the original story. But what original story is there? Just a really short story about a guy that built a ship on a hill and brought a bunch of animals with him to save them from a big flood. Aronofsky tries to tell the story in deeper details, bringing up the characters through emotions we can relate. But people, sadly some of them are the compassionate Christians, do not understand his efforts.

But I understand Darren Aronofsky.

His movies are like onion; each of them has so many layers that we have to peel them step by step.

From Requiem for A Dream, Pi, The Fountain, to Black Swan, people must look past the surface to understand the core of the stories. Every time I watch his movies, I see and feel something new. I understand what he's always trying to say through his movies. Love is not always easy, faith is even more difficult. Life is, most of the time, dark.

While I'm still upset with many details he adds in (um, do we always have to have villains?), I'm at awe with the details he presents that we never saw (or choose to ignore) before in the story.

The struggle of a man acting on faith alone, when noone else -even at time, his family- agree with him. How does it feel to be the only man in the whole world that knows exactly what disaster is coming?
The emotional journey of a wife supporting her husband's questionable decisions. A mother's worry for her children when there's nothing to expect for the future.
Children's frustration when the optimism of their youth is not met with equally bright future.

Regardless of the ridiculous epicness of the movie that is not necessary, I'd still recommend this movie to any one. Regardsless its inconsistency in accordance to the original book, I still respect the movie-making skills and how it captures the essence of the story. And that is all that matters, really, understanding the message behind the story.

From my most favourite ex-couple

Yes Jake, chaos is a ladder!

April's Fool reality

Once upon a bright day in Ollieland...

I was having lunch with a colleague in our pantry. Being a travel-related company, our office pantry is decorated with a huge map on one wall.
My colleague (C) suddenly said, "Is this the real map?"
Me *confused*: What do you mean?

As this is April's Fool, I thought it's a prank question.

C: Is it how the real map is, or they just put the country randomly?
Me *still not sure about the question*: Uh, it's how it is. So yeah, it's the real map.
C: Huh? Then America is on the left?
Me *finally gets the question but now am speechless*: ...

Too bad it's not a prank.

C: ....
Me: Well, usually Asia is in the middle, cos we're in Asia, so they make the maps that way. But this is based on Europe map, so Europe is in the middle.

I look forward to more of such friendly conversations around the office!

The crime scene

“Eating a raw oyster is like french kissing a mermaid.”

- The humour of Tom Robbins

Know

You don't know me, cos you only choose to see a version of me. That's why it surprises you too much when you finally discover who I really am. 

A lot of time, we feel betrayed by the people we "trust" and more often than not, our first reaction would be 'I don't know you're that kind of person'. The second reaction, which is not all that rare, would be the more appropriate 'I don't know who you are!

The second reaction is much truer. This is because -most of the time- when we "get to know" someone, we don't actually see the person as who he really is. As a creature with strong imaginations, we see people the way we want to see them. This gets worse we're "in love" with someone (and so much worse when 'we' are girls). The colours of love sure are more bright and saturated. This is why there are a lot of nice people end up with people who don't deserve them.

It's easier to love an imagination...

It's not always a bad thing though, mistaken someone for who he isn't. There scenarios go both ways. There'll be a time when you think someone is not bad person, but she turns out to be a "tragically misunderstood character". When you thought someone is lazy, but really she's just suffering a ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and turns out to work great when she works alone. When you thought someone is weak and timid, and she's really just being polite and has been feeding your ego. And there'd be time when one day she decides she has enough and shows that she's actually strong and independent (and decides to flip you one).

In either case, it's always good to be honest to yourself, don't lie to yourself. As Syrio Forel wisely said, "See with your eyes." Don't see with your judgement or imagination. See things and people for what they really are. And when you've seen, don't be angry or bitter, just accept it and move on. People are not here to make your life miserable (you're not that important), they simply are.