New Year's Eve 2005

December 31, 2005 - So here we are, the last day of the year.

So looking back, 2005 has definitely been a year of personal changes and milestones. Whether it was graduating from school, working full time, or moving out, it has been one big change after another. Quite frankly, I'm kinda relieved (and surprised) that I actually survived these changes - and these changes have definitely led to personal growth, though I know I still have a long way to go...

Regrets about 2005? well I guess the biggest one would be not being able to see the world, despite having the time and at a point, the resources to go. Goal for 2006: if the opportunity arises, don't hesitate and just go!

Looking forward to 2006: well I guess my job is more stable now that I'm no longer on contract - at least now I know I have a permanent job! So what would I like to do in 2006? definitely would like to travel more, take a couple of courses or two (cooking class is on top of my list now), gain weight (man, that should be my priority eh..), read more often, and experience more of what the City has to offer =) Would be nice if I could save enough for a down payment by the end of the year too...

So what am I doing to celebrate the arrival of 2006? well, nothing. I'm home, alone, bored, with no invites to parties, no one asked if I wanted to do stuff, nothing. Even my parents went out! Kinda sad I guess? perhaps, but it's ok - who says you need to party on New Year's Eve anyway? at least I still have my TV - sigh - I need more friends.

Another new goal for 2006: countdown at Times Square in New York City next New Year's Eve! but I guess a more realistic one would be: err..try not to be alone on New Year's Eve...

Well here's to a happy, safe, and healthy 2006 ! Cheers! =)

Brokeback Mountain

December 29, 2005 - "I wish I knew how to quit you" - Jack to Ennis, at their final time together at Brokeback Mountain.

Definitely one of the films that I have been anticipating all year, Brokeback Mountain exceeded all my expectations (and they were quite high) and is arguably my favourite film of the year.

Brokeback Mountain had been one of the films that we wanted to see at the Toronto Film Festival, but we weren't able to get tickets and had to wait until it came out this month. Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, who also wrote The Shipping News (which was made into a movie a few years ago), the movie stars Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist as two cowboys who fell in love in 1960s Wyoming.

The story is simple and honest. Ennis and Jake are hired to herd sheep on Brokeback Mountain. On a cold summer night, the two huddle together to keep warm - and then "it" happens (for the record, the sex scene is less than a minute long). They aren't sure why it happened, but after that night, the unexplainable bond between them begins to grow.

When the job ends, they part and both try to move on with their lives. Ennis marries his sweetheart, Alma (played by my favourite ex-Dawson's Creeker, Michelle Williams), while Jack marries rich cowgirl Lureen, (played by Anne Hathaway of the Princess Diaries). Through marriages, children, and new jobs, we see how that one summer on Brokeback Mountain has changed their lives...

Years later, the two men meet again and it is clear that bond between the two never diminished. For the next 20 years, Jack and Ennis continue to reunite at Brokeback Mountain for "fishing trips" where no fish is ever caught - to be away from a society where their love for each other is forbidden and taboo. Though they try to honour their commitment to their family, we see how their dishonesty about themselves, and their love for each other, impact the lives of their wives and children.

This is not just some story about two guys who get horny one night and decide to have sex - it's a story about emotions, about true feelings, and about learning to love another human being. Ang Lee, the director, made the movie thought provoking, relevant, and honest. The two characters are real and being gay myself, definitely relate-able. Watching Ennis trying to understand and cope with the way he feels for Jack is heartbreaking; on the other hand, I also can relate to Jack's disappointment and anger for Ennis' inability to reciprocate Jack's feelings for him - while Jack and Ennis have Brokeback Mountain, at one point, all I had were Sundays...but that's another blog entry right there!

One question that I've read in reviews that people ask most:

When exactly did they fall in-love? Why are these men in love in the first place?

My answer would be they fell in love after their first sexual encounter. They had sex, enjoyed it, and did it again many times that summer. What happened as a result of it? they developed an intimate bond with each other. They shared something with one another than no one could ever understand. When they were apart, the intimacy was missed by both - and they tried to replace it with other people (Ennis, by marrying Alma; Jack, by picking up guys in bars and in Mexico). It was the longing for that intimacy and the fact that they have a special bond with each other - that grew into love.

Some people think that you need to watch them go on dates, find out that they have common interests, etc, in order to understand how these two men could be in love with one another. Those are only superficial things. They didn't develop a 20 year romance because they got each other off all summer, but it was because they created an intimate bond with each other that they wished they could keep, but realize they couldn't.

Kinda hard to explain - but for whatever reason, I "got it" right away (hopefully I got it right though!).

The movie isn't perfect - Ledger's accent in particular (I had problems hearing him at one point) - but the outstanding acting (Ledger, Williams, and Gyllenhaal all deserve Oscar nominations, while Hathaway's final scene is simply brilliant), the breathtaking scenery and the tragic love story made the film both haunting and unforgettable.

Where did you go Christmas?

December 26, 2005 - So Christmas has come and gone and I have to say that this Christmas did not feel like Christmas at all...

So why did this Christmas just feel like any other ordinary weekend?

Maybe because it was the first Christmas that my sister isn't around; or maybe it was because I had to (and still have to next week!) work through the holiday season instead of getting 2 weeks off like I used to when I was in school; or maybe it was because many of my friends are on vacation somewhere; or maybe it was because I only had 2 gifts to buy this year and I had skipped out on all the excitement surrounding Christmas shopping...

or maybe I'm beginning to feel that Christmas is becoming more commercialized than ever and I'm starting to get tired of it; or maybe it was because I'm still jealous of everyone who's on vacation and wish I could join them...

or maybe it was because I found out I wasn't invited to one of my friends' Christmas Party and I'm questioning why I wasn't asked, even though I've been friends with these people for over a decade; or maybe it was the realization that some of the people that I call "friends", aren't really my friends all.

So many reasons why this Christmas turned out to be so ordinary. But ordinary isn't bad, right? and who says Christmas can't be ordinary - at least I got to spend a lot of time with my parents! Maybe I should just stop whining...

Memoirs of a Geisha

December 25, 2005 - Rather than spending Christmas Day at home doing nothing, I suggested to my parents that perhaps we should go watch a movie that day. Initially, we were going to see "The Family Stone", starring Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker (family comedy on Christmas Day is always a good thing, isn't it?) but since "Memoirs of a Geisha" was being shown at our local cineplex, we thought we would check out, mainly because we've heard so much about it and my parents would actually know who's-who in the movie (I don't think they even know who Sarah Jessica Parker is!).

Memoirs of a Geisha was adapted from Arthur Golden's best-selling novel, which describes the life of a young girl sold by her father to a Geisha house in pre-World War II Japan. The girl, named Chiyo, was to work as an unpaid servant until she is deemed to be elegant enough to work as a Geisha. The house is run by a woman named Mother and the house's ruling Geisha, Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo quickly becomes friends with another servant girl, Pumpkin, and together, the two learn the art of flattering wealthy men. After a failed attempt to escape from the Geisha house though, Mother decides that Chiyo should be kept as a servant girl and withdraws her from Geisha classes.

On her way to run an errand, Chiyo meets the Chairman (Ken Watanabee) and falls in love with the much much older man. The encounter supposingly changes her life, as she is now more than ever to become a Geisha, so she could be by the Chairman's side...

Years pass and Chiyo continues to suffer in the hands of Mother and Hatsumomo. Then one day, Hatsumomo's biggest rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) decides to adopt Chiyo as her "younger sister", to help train Chiyo into a true Geisha. Why? so that Mameha can use the young girl to win control over Mother's Geisha House, who is expected to inherit the rein. Hatsumomo in return, decides to adopt Pumpkin as her student and the four ladies wage war against one another, complete with backstabbing, vicious rumour spreading, and even a cat-fight!

Chiyo is renamed Sayuri and quickly becomes the hottest Geisha in town. She meets the Chairman again (who has not aged one bit). World War II then intervenes and Sayuri/Chiyo's Geisha world comes crashing down...

The movie is not as bad as some critics might have you believe. It is one of most beautiful movies I have seen this year - the sets, the costumes are simply gorgeous. I can't believe they built the entire set in California. I also have no objection to having Chinese actresses playing Japanese characters - Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh are all fantastic actresses with more than enough beauty to pull of as great Geishas. The comment that it's "ethnically incorrect" to have Chinese actresses playing Japanese roles is absurd - American actresses play British characters all the time and nothing is ever said, same with Australian actresses (i.e. Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts) playing American characters. It's called ACTING - if they can pull off the role, which in this case all three actresses do, then what's wrong with that?

However, what I didn't like about the movie was that it felt so Americanized. The movie feels like a Japanese version of "Desperate Housewives" or "Days of Our Lives" - and it really makes you wonder if Rob Marshall, the director, purposely changed the authentic feel of traditional Geisha culture so that American audience won't get lost (hence the inclusion of the cat-fight scene). Also, I failed to see the love connection between Chiyo and the Chairman. Was it love at first sight or was she using him to move up the social ladder? and the Chairman - was Chiyo simply a tool for him to regain his financial success after World War II? Also, does anyone feel icky over how Chiyo, as a 9 year old girl, fell in love with this 30+ year old man? In terms of character development, I really didn't feel attach to the characters at all. I didn't really care about Chiyo/Sayuri - sure, I felt bad that she was sold to the Geisha house etc, but the movie did a poor job in making me care about her life...

Having said all that, I was told that the book is much better and much more powerful in telling the tale of Chiyo/Sayuri. The book is currently sitting on my bookshelf....

Interesting note:

On a recent visit to Tokyo to promote the film, Ziyi Zhang received a mysterious parcel and letter, revealed to have been sent by an elderly Japanese woman who had once worked as a geisha. In her letter, the woman stated that she had been touched by the trailer of the film and expected the movie to bring back fond memories for her and her friends. Inside the parcel were several exquisitely worked antique kimono. Zhang was moved to tears by the gesture and sent the woman an invitation to the film's Japanese premiere.

Interesting link:

Check out Mad TV's version of Memoirs of a Geisha - it's hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=_AQvqsZFgDY&search=mad%20tv