Yes, I know it's rather late in the evening for me to be writing at this odd hour, but this blog is one of the only comforting things to keep my mind sane at the moment. You see, I had just come back from a night out with my friends that consisted of - driving around a main block for about fifteen minutes, amusingly arguing over where we were to eat ( but finally deciding upon a Mexican restaurant at random) ; witnessing a man dressed in white cloaks as Jesus, standing outside of a bar ; going back to Lauren's house, taking plenty of group selfies per usual (and I had dressed up as the dark Wednesday Addams) ; and of course - it just wouldn't be Halloween without watching at least one scary movie, now would it? Scrolling through a rather odd selection of Netflix thriller genres (and laughing uncontrollably at a cheesy episode from the 90's series Goosebumps), we finally selected a movie at random, which just so happened to be called Amber Alert. It has only been about forty-five minutes since I finished watching the film, but I still find myself jumping at the regular sounds within my house, all the while leaving all of the light switches on. It's currently 12:49 A.M. and I'm still wide awake. Now, the the film itself wasn't all that spectacular. It was very slow at the start, and the "mockumentary" style of the events depicted in the plot took place in real time. Towards the end, however, it became extremely intense. Unlike a lot of scary films that deal with ghosts and other phenomena, this movie targeted a very disturbing, but realistic issue that occurs in everyday life - and I think that's the reason why it has made such an impact on my friends and I. I don't even know how we all managed to do so, but we inevitably found ourselves pilled on top of each other on a small couch, holding onto one another for dear life.
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Today, I had the lovely pleasure to finish off my school week by - well, not coming to school at all. I took it upon myself (with some nudging from my art teacher, of course) to visit a college campus, and I had the opportunity to experience education through a college perspective like I've never had before. I've taken in quite a bit of information this past afternoon, and I wouldn't be honest if I told you that I didn't feel at least a little bit drained out. c: Today's activities centered around an exploration in the creative arts, and much to my delight, it gave me the chance to experience a diverse range of interests hands on. Needless to say, the innovative portrait drawing class was my favourite of the day. Seeing as I've mostly self-taught myself the hobby for quite a few years, the class definitely challenged me to compose sketches in ways that I hadn't given much thought of before. Who knew sloppy, ten second drawings could be so helpful?
Especially in the past year, my music tastes have become rather diverse, and this genre in particular just compliments my music list that seemed a bit empty prior to discovering the music type. It's a perfect combination of today's contemporary style in music, yet still embodies ethnic sounds and instruments from its respective culture. In fact. it's upbeat and rather optimistic - very much different from my exposure to overused American themes of lust and broken hearts playing on the radio incessantly. I'd have to say my favourite artists at the moment are Sherine and Carmen Suleiman - these two songs here have been on my playlist for a while now. ♡
What if Aladdin had never found the lamp? I was meandering around a quaint book store this past weekend when a lovely-looking novel caught my eye in an instant. Yes, I know very well how the saying goes - never judge a book by its cover, but this one was simply too beautiful to just disregard and walk right past. In an instant, I picked it up from its crevice on the narrow shelf, and upon reading the synopsis on the back, I couldn't believe what I was reading. The title itself was what I had initially found most familiar, but since I was looking in the young adult section, the last thing I expected was an Aladdin adaptation based on the Disney version of all things. Much to my bewilderment, I came home with this diamond in the rough, ready for me to explore whatever wonders were hidden within its pages. A Whole New World begins very much like the Disney film, but takes a turn for the worse when the cunning vizier Jafar is the one to possess the lamp before Aladdin. Now, of course, I'm no where near finished as I've only owned it for a few days now, but the novel itself is seemingly dark, and at times I find myself rather shocked that it was released with Disney's logo plastered all over it. The novel digs deeper into the more - for lack of a better word - "ghetto" slums of Agrabah. It definitely has its fair share of maturity, as there are plenty of austere concepts and details in this retelling that the lighthearted film chose not to associate with or elaborate on. Brothels, for instance, aren't as discreet as they once were in the original film. Violence certainly isn't a topic taken lightly either, and even upon experiencing the marketplace scenes in a new way, the price for stealing a mere loaf of bread can result in threats to cut off one's hand or ear. Even Jasmine's father, the benevolent sultan, is unexpectedly pushed to his death from a cliff by Jafar. Now, I certainly don't recall that happening in the movie - do you? I'd hate to be that picky critic, but the one thing that has irked me so far while reading it is how it's written. Sure, the plot is fascinating, but I feel as through the effect is only sufficient if you know the characters well from the film. While the setting is exquisitely written, almost too much emphasis is put on the matter, and the dialogue has the tendency to fall flat because of it. In essence, there just isn't as much passion and attention to detail fleshed into the characters. Why? Because the film had already established the sense of personality and character development for the author. However different it may be, I'm confident that I will always prefer the original. The plot of the novel here is definitely a refreshing take on a storyline I know and love, but at times it just doesn't possess the same degree of magic and charm that the movie always had. But besides that, I'm still in the novel's early stages, so perhaps there's still a chance for a little improvement. Here's hoping. ♡ " If you could go anywhere in history, where would you go? " For a history enthusiast like myself, this question is a rather difficult one to narrow down. For sure there are certain time periods in history that I would love to be able to experience for myself, but at the same time, they are events I would not like to get involved in either. If I were to travel back in time, there's no guarantee that I'd survive what ever it was I got myself into. Perhaps my number one choice would be to visit sixteenth century Tudor England during the time of King Henry VIII's reign. I've read books and watched countless production adaptations of the time period, and my fascination for these people with their differing political and religious opinions never ceases to grow. In fact, if I could meet any figure in history, my first choice would have to be Anne Boleyn. I also might add that I love the old legends of King Arthur and Merlin, and to travel back to the fifth century to determine whether or not they were fact or fiction would be so incredible. Ancient Greece is an interest of mine as well, but to actually witness the Trojan War and discover if Achilles, Patroclus, and Hector were indeed real may not be the safest of decisions either. Authenticating the existence of certain figures - such as the Pharaoh Tutankhamun or even the fabled Aladdin of the Arabian Nights - would be my main interest. The possibilities are endless, but perilous by far.
Now, upon reading the title above, you may not have the faintest idea as to what that is, much less how to pronounce it, or what it has to do with me. In truth, it is a film (starting to make more sense now, eh? ) and due to my interest in both history and cinematography, there was just no reason why I wouldn't want to see it. The only downfall upon watching it was that it was (as you could guess) in a language that's very much foreign from my own. I've become far more interested in what other countries outside of the US and the UK have to offer in terms of film production, and this can be greatly illustrated in my recent admiration for the Bollywood film industry.
To you, that may sound a bit exhausting to watch, but I found it to be a rather fitting aspect. It truly made me understand on a deeper level both the morals and intentions of the characters involved - where issues of acceptance and secularism were being tested. With that, I found the adaptation to be very complimentary to historical events (although I'm certainly not an expert) and it gave me a better insight as to how the Mughal Empire had come to accumulate the northern portion of India. The story itself has proven to transcend time, and I can wholeheartedly agree that it is one of the most beautiful and perhaps most forgotten stories of love I've come to witness. And of course, the film itself is such a stunning form of art - the elaborate settings and the gorgeous costumes and jewelry were just beautiful to behold.
Yes, I have come to realize that almost every post I write now has something to do with a movie, and frankly, today is not going to be any different. A few days ago, the final trailer for the next installment of the Star Wars franchise was released, and as you can imagine, it was a moment I had been anticipating for quite a while. Ever since Disney had acquired the rights to Lucasfilm, I've felt this contradictory feeling of doubt. I've had this mix of both excitement and disapproval ever since the announcement back in the fall of 2012, and when rumors that a potential movie had been in the works, I was very skeptical. Though, after seeing the action-packed trailer graced with appearances from both Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and a taste of John Williams returning musical score, I'm resting a bit easier now. One of my favourite directors is taking on the film, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. You see, JJ Abrams' work on the new reinvented Star Trek films were spectacular, and the fact that he is now boycotting the third installment in order to work on the new Star Wars film is both a blessing and a curse for a fan of both franchises like myself. I can only hope that Star Trek Beyond will live up to its two predecessors, and that The Force Awakens will do justice to its respective franchise in a way that the mediocre Star Wars prequels had not. Here's to hoping. Live long and may the force be with you. ~
Great Scott! It's Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 and I still don't own my very own hover board! Sound familiar? If you're a movie geek like me, you'd know that today marks the day that Marty McFly had time travelled to the future from 1985. Every moment in The Back to the Future film trilogy will all be officially set in the past after 4:29 P.M. this afternoon, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. The whole concept of time has never ceased to fascinate me, and the tale of Marty, Doc, and the time traveling DeLorean will never cease to be a story that I cherish. My interest in filmmaking truly didn't come to light until I had viewed these movies (along with some of Spielberg, of course!) and Robert Zemeckis's creativity was something I had admired for many years. So, if you ask me, this day calls for a much needed marathon in the weekend to come. After all, it is my "density."
This prompt entitles that I rank my most beloved scents, of all things. With a little thought, here's the list that I have compiled together. I'm not even sure I can pick among them all, so this may end up being just a list of my favourites.
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If you're one of my good friends, you know very well that I'm amazing at playing video games - Okay, that was pure sarcasm. In truth, I tend to think that I'm somewhat decent, that is, until my confidence plunges after failing a beginner level of a 1993 video game consecutive times in a row. :c Skills involving strategy are fine, but when it comes to agility, my reflexes just don't cooperate at all. If I can't even manage to throw a ball a decent distance away for my dog, how do you expect me to be able to stay in the right direction while playing Mario Kart? A day ago, I had found a link to the old Sega Genesis Aladdin game online, and my failure to even get to the second level was just downright irritating. I will say that the game format is adorable, and the different take on the "genie-ous" soundtracks from the movie were more fun to me than my actual attempted gameplay. Although, hearing the famous "Prince Ali" chorus being repeated over and over can be quite exhausting after so long. It wasn't until later that I actually figured out how to manage the sound options. As you can see, I'm so inexperienced. ~
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— Initially, this page was where I documented my daily prompts for a writing class in high school, but I'll continue to post my thoughts here every once in a while. I might also post some dissertations / research I've done here in college. categories:archives:
April 2018
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