The Gospel according to St John (Chapter 21, verses 15-19)

When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Look after my sheep.” Then he said to him a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

In all truth I tell you,
when you were young
you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out your hands,
and somebody else will put a belt round you
and take you where you would rather not go.”

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, “Follow me.”

My exam results were released on Thursday afternoon, and they were arguably the worst results I have ever received. 2 Fs, 3 Es, and not even an A for Computing. I would have at least felt better with one more A. I got a B instead. The only thing I’m thankful for is that miraculous C for Dynamics which, ironically, was the one subject I was most convinced of failing.

Now I’m used to poor results, having survived the past decade or so on borderline grades, but a screw-up of this magnitude is sobering, to say the least. The prospect of having to do an average of 10 modules per semester next year is daunting and as it stands, I’ve considered dropping out of University altogether.

This, of course, led me to realise that I hadn’t planned to do anything for the next half a decade and was therefore absolutely unprepared mentally for a full-time job. I was lost, alone, afraid and dreading the future altogether. So you can imagine how comforting the above passage was, after hearing it at Mass on Friday evening. It was almost providencial to hear something like that in my distress.

The truth I have now come to realise is that the path I am about to take will be something I cannot handle on my own, but it is also the path that I, having placed my trust in His Wisdom and mercy, will have to walk, led by His love.

Well, the finale is finally here. And my vote goes to:

Diana Degarmo.

Over 5 months ago, in my 12th Feb post, I touted Fantasia to reach the top 4, and suggested that fellow semi-finalists Metzger, Degarmo and Hudson deserved to be in the finals too. Now, on hindsight, I’m glad to see that I’ve got 3 out of 4 picks right.

Diana Degarmo reaching the finals was something I could never imagine. There always used to be something about her that was an annoying reminder that she’s only 16. Maybe it was her speaking voice, maybe it was the lack of depth in her singing. But yesterday changed all that a little. Maybe it was Andrew’s comment that she looked like a younger Mariah. But Diana soared with her first 2 songs…

… and then crashed horribly in her last.

Whereas Fantasia began awfully, but got her groove back soon after. Who will win? It really is left to America to decide.

Caught Shrek 2 last night, after organising an outing among my church Youth Council the night before. For the record, I loved the original movie, so I was really looking forward to this. I even went to the website and played the mini-adventure game.

So you can imagine what a disappointment it was to discover that the sequel was hardly the heart-warming epic its predecessor was. While Shrek 1 was original in its delivery, witty from beginning to end and lightly sprinkled with a good dose of Disney bashing, Shrek 2 seems like a poor carbon copy of that winning formula.

The movie opens with Shrek and Fiona (voiced by Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz) on their honeymoon, after the happy ending of the first movie. Within this 15 minute sequence alone, we are treated to a couple of spoofs including Ashton Kutcher’s Just Married, The Little Mermaid and The Lord of the Rings.

The essence of the story was just missing. The chemistry between the characters was lost and even Donkey seemed a little subdued. If that wasn’t bad enough, the rest of the movie turns out to be one messy joke (often in the vein of the predecessor) after another, proving beyond all doubt that the whole is less than the sum of its parts. One reviewer put it best, “If there wasn’t a Shrek 1, this would have been a better movie.”

It gets an 8 out of 10, but as far as I’m concerned it already couldn’t get any further from the original.

Troy on the other hand… was superbly magnificent…

The war epic starring Brad Pitt and Eric Bana is a masterpiece I’ve been looking forward to for months. I’ve always considered Pitt as one of the top actors of the present era and I’m glad he hasn’t disappointed. Eric Bana has been a hot fave of mine ever since his run as The Hulk and he arguably places himself among the top echelons of stardom with this role.

Troy recounts the Trojan War, but choses to focus more on the rivalry between the champion of the united Greek military, Achilles (Pitt) and the warrior prince of Troy, Hector (Bana) rather than the Trojan Horse incident. The result is a gripping film that brings out the best and worst of men.

Contrary to my original belief, the Greeks in director Wolfgang Petersen’s epic are the “bad guys”, invaders led by the megalomaniacal tyrant Agamemnon (played to perfection by X-Men 2’s Brian Cox). Achilles himself came off as being a self-centred egomaniac, rather than the hero of the Trojan War that history has made him out to be. In contrast, Troy is seen as the stronghold of the honourable, the last bastion of safety left untouched by the Greeks. Hector is portrayed as a loyal son, a charismatic general and a loving father, making his impending death (as anyone who has read Homer’s Iliad or any of the abridged, translated versions would know) all the more depressing.

I gave Troy a 9 out of 10. I dropped a point for subjecting me to reminders of Legolas.

Personal mark out moments:

• Seeing Sean Bean on screen again. I loved his take on Boromir on LOTR and I believe he played Odysseus rather well, despite the limited screentime.
• Seeing Peter O’Toole cast an imposing figure despite his age as King Priam of Troy. Ever since he was presented with an honorary Oscar last year, he has played German WWII President von Hindenburg and now King Priam, both great tragic leaders.
• Seeing Tyler Mane as the magnificent Ajax and Nathan Jones as the rather laughable Boagrius. There’s nothing like seeing pro wrestlers get their asses whooped on the big screen.

Check out this short film. It’s downright amazing. The link is here. Click on Menu (at the bottom left corner) and then Film.

I had a pretty full day yesterday.

I met Candice at 11a.m. in Orchard Cineleisure to watch Zatoichi. We were supposed to watch Luther but she saw the Sunday Times review and had a change of heart. No biggie, really. I just wanted to know how the Catholic Church was going to be portrayed–it was, after all, a rather iffy moment in our history. Rather amused to discover that Alfred Molina (who plays Doc Ock in Spider-man 2) has a leading role as the man who directly convinced Martin Luther of the errancy of the Catholic Church.

But, back to Zatoichi, the new movie starring Takeshi Kitano (of Battle Royale fame), who also directed and wrote the script to the movie. Zatoichi is a cult series about the adventures of a blind masseuse who is also an expert swordsman. He wonders around the countryside helping people when possible. This film doesn’t seem to follow any of the previous installments of the Zatoichi series, but it’s good as a stand-alone.

The story combines elements of adventure, tragedy, comedy and several scenes of Stomp-inspired dance including the grand finalé. I personally enjoyed the “downtime” with the geisha dance sequence–highly moving.

I think it’s just amazing how the three of us can have three different ways of blogging.

Andrew doesn’t blog as often now, but it’s still very interesting to read stuff that he writes I guess. That guy can be deep when he wants to be. =)

And then there’s Sharon, the sister I can’t believe is already 16. I mean, geez… at 16 I already had crushes on 6 girls, and lost interest in at least one or two more. And she’s at that age. Sharon’s blogging style is a literal thought diary. She doesn’t say much at home (thanks to me shutting her up half the time) but it all comes out on the blog.

I’m very, very proud to be related to these two.

Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on Earth,
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

This beautiful song of the angels first began with the line in Luke 2:14 and then has since evolved over the years into the form above. Now as I attended Mass on Sunday evening I was suddenly filled with a strange vision in my head, one that filled me with so much emotion it was overwhelming.

As I looked, I found myself high above the clouds, and the sky was as bright as day. I saw the heavens stretching far beyond my eyes could see, and I marvelled the view even as I stood high above the ground. A bright radiance remained behind me and I chose to focus my glance away from it, for I knew full well Whom I was standing in front of. Behind me too, the voices of the chorus of angels and saints sang the Gloria and, filled with unearthly strength, I raised my voice to join with theirs. My heart lept from the cascade of emotions I was feeling, and then came a most wonderful realisation. I was the one leading the choir. As I led the angels in their song of praise to God, I revelled in this new perspective, and I felt compelled to tell the whole world about the glory of God.

It was a powerful moment and I feel blessed to have experienced it.

I was filling up the online form until I hit the question “Describe yourself in 10 words.”

I thought about it. I hummed. I hawed.

Then I closed the window and gave up.