 | there lived a princess who could not shut her trap! | Sep 12, 2009 |
This is just me, allowing my thoughts their free reign before they trickle out of my nose like watery snot on a cool windy day..c",)  | Grace | Mar 12, '11 5:46 AM
for everyone |
 | Category: | Books | | Genre: | Literature & Fiction | | Author: | Richard Paul Evans |
"Grace" is a simple story to read. The chapters aren't very long and the words used are those that can be found in everyday conversations. The characters are someone you'd expect to find in an ordinary neighborhood and none of them have amazing powers that make them stand out from the others.
So what makes this book so special that it deserved a five, you'd probably ask? Nothing much. Only that it made me sob like an 8-year old halfway through its pages. It is a memorable story of a scarred, 16-year old, runaway girl who amidst the darkness that continually threatened to engulf her finds a tiny ray of light in the form of a kind-hearted 14-year old boy. For an entire school semester, she hides in his makeshift clubhouse and he feeds her from his parent's table or from the scraps he could get at the fast food joint where he works for a pittance. As days passed, with her quiet acceptance of his generosity and gentle strength, she teaches him to become a man and she becomes his first love. With her, Eric looses his innocence and opens his eyes to the reality that everyone, including himself and the people he loves the most, is capable of evil when pushed to the edge.
Grace is heartwarming in its simplicity. It talks about the sensitive issue of child abuse without failing to highlight a compassionate heart's power to heal those who have been broken and rundown. It's a sad tale and if you are alone struggling with your own pain, it's not the best pick for an engrossing read. Still, somehow, it inspires, reminds us of how one tiny act of kindness can cause ripples of goodness that can change lives forever.
  | Category: | Movies | | Genre: | Action & Adventure |
Assuming that you'll ever get around to taking that much needed leave from the office and haul yourself abroad, what would you do if you find yourself trapped in the Grand Canyon, without your phone, no Internet, your hand stuck under a huge boulder and your supply of water and food fast dwindling by the second? That is what this biographical adventure film answers, along with a few other loose ends that I'm not sure I want to discuss right now :)
127 hours is not like most men movies where your jaw would literally drop either because of the sexy girls in teensy weensy bikinis or muscled hunks blowing other people's heads off, just because. Nope! This movie is different, not only because it's made and starred by young, un-pefectly coiffed people with excellent acting skills and a few Academy awards to their names, but also because it does not glamorize a young man's heroic and excruciating attempt at survival.
The details are raw, the emotions honest and unbound. James Franco as Aron Ralston is indeed a sight to behold but you will soon forget that in lieu of the agony that his character is put through in order to scream to the world that yes, He Survived! Oh, and did I mention that this is based on a true story? That Ralston, for all his courage and bravery, actually went on after his ordeal and got a family of his own and continued his legacy of adventure and freedom?
Often times, I have questioned myself just how I would end up if I were to be stuck in the same situation. I wish I could say with all bravado that I'd win however I'm not entirely sure. My threshold for pain is very low, physical pain that is, although when it comes to the people I care for, I'd go through the mills for them without batting an eyelash. I'm not very organized, I forget the essentials when I travel and most of the time I'd forego lugging around a medical kit in favor of those nice pair of boots -_-
And yet, we can never be too sure, can we? Unless one finds oneself trapped between a rock and a hard place, literally or otherwise, our survival instincts may have just been lying there, dormant. When unleashed, who knows what we, selfish and instinctive as we are, are truly capable of?
Who knows, indeed.  | Category: | Movies | | Genre: | Drama |
An Education is exactly that, an education, especially for school-age girls whose lives they feel are monotonous and completely devoid of excitement. It is a story of a smart and pretty 16-year old lass who falls in love with a man almost twice her age. He takes her to a different world, infinitely more attractive and glamorous than the one she lives. The latter is filled with books, grades, young boys, and a much-coveted place in Oxford University, one that she willingly lets go, all for the love of a man whose stories, it turns out, were not always true.
When David Goldman proposes to Jenny, she drops out of school and throws away her one chance of an independent future. Her parents allow her to make the decision only to find that it wasn't the best for their only child. Jenny blames them for letting her do what she did but in the end she makes amends and picks up the pieces of what's left of her life.
This movie is very straightforward, simple yet effective in its purpose of conveying a poignant message. One particular line from Jenny did struck me for once upon a time, I too believed in it."If people die the moment that they graduate, then surely it's the things we do beforehand that count".
Perhaps it is more exciting and fulfilling to be living in the now than wasting years of one's life toiling away for a future so far off. But if there were three thing that being an adult has taught me, it's that real happiness takes some time and patience in achieving, love is not as reliable as it's meant to be, and that there are always second chances, however big the mistakes were. This movie elaborates on all that with a hefty dose of wit, charm and honesty that's sorely lacking in most films these days. It does not exaggerate nor does it underestimate the power of a will so stubborn it can go against the wishes of those whose wisdom have been tested by experience and maturity.
Indeed there is something very pleasing about a movie that does not put out mindless sex and exploding cars to hold its viewers' rapt attention :) Goo Goo Dolls
And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
And it's someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
Poetry is not my strongest suit. While I can spew two or three 500-word articles in little less than an hour with inane keywords--egg incubators, poultry hatching, ball handling moves and yes, even web designing--my brain shuts down when it comes to putting words together so that they sound like the poet I secretly want to be.
So tonight, as the need for purging overpowers me, I turn to the Goddesses of music to help me out. And like always, Natasha Bedingfield dutifully obliges:
Wild Horses (Excerpts only)
My face up against the glass
I'm looking out..
Is this my life I'm wondering
It happened so fast
How do I turn this thing around
Is this the bed I chose to make
Its greener pastures I'm thinking about..
Wide open spaces far away
All I want is the wind in my hair
To face the fear but, not feel scared
Wild horses I wanna be like you
Throwing caution to the wind
I'll run free too
Wish I could recklessly love, like I'm longing to
Run with the wild horses, run with the wild horses!
I see the girl I wanna be
Riding bare back, care free along the shore
If only that someone was me
Jumping head first headlong without a thought
To act and damn the consequence
How I wish it could be that easy
But fear surrounds me like a fence
I wanna break free..
Admittedly, there are days when I just want to scream at one of these folks. Calling their hotline is a pain, the extra charges are exorbitant and one too many times they've left me or a member of my family behind, because of their annoying habit of leaving well ahead of schedule.
Still, I can't forget the fact that if not for their frequent seat sales, I'd have missed out on a lot of great sights and awesome traveling. Anyhoo, found this video posted by one of my friends in FB. It's cheesy, i know, but me likey :D This lady deserves a raise!
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, answer these questions. You can't use the same one I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)" then tag your music loving friends! Describe yourself: WE'RE ALL MAD IN OUR OWN WAY
How do you feel: HAPPY
Describe where you currently live: BACKYARD
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: PIECE OF YOUR HEART
Your favorite form of transportation: STEPPING STONE
Your best friend is(are): POCKETFUL OF SUNSHINE
Your fear: FROGS AND PRINCES
What is the best advice you have to give: NOT GIVING UP Thought for the day: WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW
How I would like to die: PUT YOUR ARM'S AROUND ME
My soul's present condition: WHO KNOWS
My motto: SMELL THE ROSES
If you want to play and I didn't tag you, join lang and tag me back. =)  Saying goodbye is easy enough. A few well chosen words, a hasty promise to keep in touch, and voila! Parting has commenced. Letting go, in earnest, is a different matter altogether. For what the mouth has always been forbidden to say, the heart will insist on keeping, long after the scent of your last embrace is gone. Every now and then, memories of the little you have shared creep into your consciousness. Good sense will demand that these onslaught be ignored, yet one can only go so far in pretending nothing's amiss. Eventually, that smile will break and the crevice will show. Bits and pieces of your sanity will fall through each crack, until nothing is left but a gray facade of what used to be. The walls will crumble, the ground will shake; Still only you will feel the tremors. Your own anguished cries echoes back and forth, but only your ears will be deafened by one's howls. You fear the prying eyes of the inquisitive, you shy away from close inspection, lest they see what lies beneath the glassy look. Wearily, you put one foot in front of another, and inch by inch, you get by. Until the next gale, until the next gale.. photosource  | Category: | Books | | Genre: | Literature & Fiction | | Author: | Nicholas Sparks |
“It’s possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems, and that in time, the grief lessens. It may not go away completely, but after a while it’s not so overwhelming.”
I have already seen the movie version of this masterpiece. It was sad for the most part but I liked it because it had a happy ending. You see, despite the hard-case cynicism I often display, deep inside I am a hopeful believer of love and its triumphs. And Dear John the movie was a triumphant journey, a long one, yes, but a triumph nonetheless.
Imagine then my surprise when I finally got a hold of this book and I got to the ending only to be slapped in the face with the truth. tsk tsk.
It is a refreshing change, however, being able to read from a man's point of view. It's blunt and it's witty without being too flowery. I've nothing against poetry and the people who live for them but there are days when one just wants a simple story to curl up with. Oh, but beware lest you think this is a light one for your eyes to sink into. This is far from being shallow nor quick, no sirree! Dear John will take you back to when you first fell truly in love-- that guy who made you look, that incredible scent that made you linger, and of course, that sweet kiss that made you want to open up your arms and enclose the warmth from whence that kiss came from.
And then there's the rub..For in rehashing the past one is led to wonder whatever became of that person whose gaze once furiously brought out the blush in one's cheek. Where could he be now? Is he living the dream that the two of you once swore you'd make come true together? Does he think of you everytime he passes by an old haunt?Is he happy? Does he remember you and the good things that you once shared?
And so it goes on and on until..hopefully..the next good read that comes your way. Until then, enjoy the memories. Don't get lost in them now, ya hear? For hasn't it been already said that memories are good only for remembering, but never for living?
Tah-tah! :)  if u don't get it, then u haven't seen enough vampire movies  source
 Link: http://wordfencer.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/snow-flower-and-the-secret-fan/Hollywood does it again! In 2011, a movie version of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan will be released, with no less than Hugh Jackman as one of the lead stars. Problem is, this is a novel predominantly about women--sisters, mothers, daughters, aunties and wives. How in hell is he supposed to figure in the story line?
Tsk, tsk. Dear Hollywood, you can be too much, can you? -_-  Link: http://wordfencer.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/chronicles-of-a-death-foretold/Now that the dust has settled (more or less) and life is slowly but definitely going back to normal, I am once again picking up my cyber pen and paper and scribbling thoughts about my most favorite things in this world-- books, of course.
Do find the time to read :D Comments always appreciated! Thanks! 
When a person is faced with tough choices, there are only two ways to go about it. One is to either go for it, consequences be damned; The second (and undoubtedly the more difficult to follow through), is to not go for it, hidden pleasures begone. Recently, not withstanding the hectic demands of work, I have had the wonderful experience of being swept away by various reruns of the past. Two weeks of meeting up with old friends, rehashing the finer points of what was and what never will be can do wonders for one's disposition, I admit. But when that is coupled with an increasingly persistent suitor and a mindset gone haywire, it can be a bit too heavy for one's sanity. Which is why I had to stay away from this cyber home until such time when I could again trust myself not to start blabbering like the moron I always swore I'd avoid becoming. It's not been a walk in the park, keeping everything within, pretending that everything is as peachy as it seemed. Sometimes, the drinking helps, to pass time and make the sticking-to-the-decision part a little easier. The diversion that the stupor creates, the oblivion and the false mirth become valuable tools, for hiding the truth and keeping up the facade. Until.. ..Until such time when even the diversion becomes a potential landmine so explosive even a quickie fart could set it off and blow everything I care about to kingdom come. Drats!   The baby is now almost 5 months, weighing 15 kg and almost up to my knees in height. He's grown to be such a sweetheart, frequently nipping at my fingers only so that I'd give him a scratch or a pat. We sleep together at night, while his daddy works. Every morning at 6, he'd lick my face to wake me up, clamoring for his walk. He's not a very hungry eater but he does love his fruits and his meaty treats. He keeps to his toys, never once substituting them for my slippers or his dad's shoes. He has a weird fascination for socks and towels, but other than that he's a real good boy. He seldom barks, he likes strangers just as much as he likes the Globe repair guy or the baby next door. He loves green leafy things, preferably those he can smell and roll around his tongue. Two weeks ago, Bones finally learned to go up and down the stairs, and ever since, he's pretty much made up his mind where to snooze during specific times of the day. He's not into dogs as much as he loves people. He hates loud noises but the dark doesn't scare him, nor does being left alone for a couple of hours. He can be such a beggar when the beau and myself eats, always nearby but never demanding for tidbits. He nibbles on our toes, messes with the bathroom and leaves paw prints all over. We love him to pieces though, and boy, does he know it c",)
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