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"Syriana" - First thoughts

Friday, December 23, 2005


I went to the movies tonight with my dear friends Anne and Erika and her sister Kristen, and Erika's friend Shane. I was glad to have gotten a chance to see them, since we hadn't seen each other in months. We were going to watch "King Kong", but thankfully, my strong protest of not wanting to see it was respected. I'm getting tired of the wonders of technology and 3d animation. It seems as if every film is dominated with fake creatures, 3d monsters and so on. Why do we need more falseness? As if the world isn't full of it. I wanted some reality.

And reality I got. We decided to watch Syriana, a film that we all knew little about, despite seeing the trailer for it. I guessed it had something to do with Syria, Erika said the reason she wanted to see it was because George Clooney was in it, Anne said she was curious to see what links the film makes between the current state of oil exports and the state of human well-being in thsoe regions. Well, after seeing it, I can say it is difficult to put into words what I felt while watching the film that supposedly touches on the problem of US state involvement in corporate oil projects in countries "from Morrocco to Pakistan" as one of the characters said.

Here's a detailed synopsis by Roger Ebert, in case you're wondering why I am blabbering on and on about something I haven't summarized.

I am still moved by the nature of the film. It has a desperate ending, one that leaves no exits, not many solutions, few glimpses of hope. The climactic rocket drop on the envoy of cars where the liberal prince Meshal and "Bob", George Clooney are killed instantly gives a new face to un-Hollywood endings. It was a powerful and convincing ending, with the exception of Matt Damon's reunion with his wife and son. The reunion makes everything else that happened pointless, as if by leaving everything behind and going back to the old life, Bryan Woodman (Damon) makes some sort of a difference. His character gives the wee bit of hope that there are those who genuinely care and wish to create the bridge between divisive sides, but the ending ruins the point of it.

Yes, the film does touch on the problem of the divide that exists between the rich players who tamper with workers' livelihoods and their futures. Syriana goes on to suggest that problems like suicide bombers are indirectly caused by this divide between what Ebert calls the divide "not between Left and Right but between Have and Have Not." And yes, the film also does talk about the long fingers of the US administration that reach wherever the state desires, sometimes using scapegoats, such as George Clooney's character, "Bob" to achieve its goals.

What I do not agree with is the fact that the story was based on fiction. I think there is so much reality out there that the producer could have contended with, without having to resort to making up human stories. Unfortunately, stories like that of Syriana happen quite often in today's world. An example is that of coffee trade (although oil itself is a resource, the profits of which have caused nations to go to war). While poor farmers struggle to get their decimal profits, corporations count billions. After leaving the theatre, I kept bringing this point up to my friends. The consensus seemed to be that the filmmaker wanted to be political, but not to the extent that he would be accused of taking sides. Fair enough.

As I got up from my seat, getting ready to line-up for the exit door, I overheard the two men behind me: "Man, that was the most boring two hours I spent. I wouldn't even rent this." It made me think how much one needs to think of the role of film in today's society. Not only is it entertainment anymore, it's a catalyst for people's minds, sometimes used for the wrong purposes [especially when the public is not aware of issues a film deals with].

I am planning on viewing some new films that seem to be dealing with political and historical issues. One such film is Munich.

Anglophones find it difficult to learn other languages...bla bla

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Can you read these right the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this .

There is a two-letter word that perhaps
has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is
"UP."

It's easy to understand
UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UPthe kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.


And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.


We seem to be pretty mixed
UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.


When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry
UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it
UP, for now my time is UP, so............ Time to shut UP.....!

Oh...one more thing:


What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P

Copied from a forwarded e-mail

mischief in the form of lip-syncing

Friday, December 16, 2005

Wow, what a group. Never has lip-syncing taken on such a sexy, funny and well, stereotypically gay look. This bunch is a must-see....click on the link and see what I mean by it...You'll love the vids [and the boys, too].

Hung up - Madonna

The boys sing to Madonna, Christina Aguilera and many other popstars ;)

See the site, watch a vid and see which one you like best.

P.S: My fave is Andrew, the red shirt! :)

allo, allo

Hello, hello

this is the first post for what I am hoping will become my online journal. There are many things I have in my mind and putting them down on this site may make it easier and will at the same time be a test to see who, among the people out there, shares my thoughts.

hasta luego!