For the record, I hate that local company by led by this Reno dude that apparently permeating several NTU events. Just the other day, I saw another two of his costumes, CounterStrike CT uniforms. I just characteristically rolled my eyes and went on my way.

But for what it’s worth, this week has really been a maniacal movie marathon.

I’ve already gushed about “Tipping the Velvet”, the movie that I caught on Monday in my school’s Media Resource Library. Tuesday was followed by one of the best movies of the year – the Wachowski Brothers’ V for Vendetta.

In my opinion, V for Vendetta played the hype card to such an extent that it had the option of living up to the expectations or crashing and burning with such fury it would bury Natalie Portman’s career. Fortunately for all involved, it was the former all the way through. The excellent balance of comic-book action, fantastically designed dystopian future and political satire and commentary make this one a winner. I’m so going to get the DVD when it finally comes out.

Wednesday and Thursday turned out to be a time out for me, although I had planned to watch Pope John Paul II starring Jon Voight on my own DVD. But the biggest treat was still to come.

This morning I discovered that Cathay was giving away 10,000 free movie tickets to celebrate the re-opening of the newly renamed The Cathay Cineplex at Handy Road. So on the spur of the moment, I asked a friend from church who’s happily unemployed (for now!) to go out with me and “test run” The Cathay.

We decided to watch The Russian Dolls, the sequel to French comedy The Spanish Apartment. It’s a pretty decent movie, with a nice mix of arthouse, rom-com and just pure Parisian goodness. And just when you thought you’d seen it all, there’s the scene where our hero Xavier (Romain Duris) and one of his many lovers Neus (Irene Montala) run stark naked around the streets of Paris. You’ve gotta love the Gallic spirit.

And though I really don’t think this does justice to the crazy film week I had… it will have to do. Go watch V for Vendetta, go watch The Russian Dolls. You’ll thank me for it.

… a symphony of destruction.

It’s amazing. Today, I’ve never felt more down. IÂ can’t really pinpoint the cause, but all I know is that I was sick and tired of so many things. I just wanted to go home and crash in my bed, and do the macho emo version of weep… which in my case would be the rather embarrasing task of moping.

But out of habit, I’m online for a while, and my playlist stares at me, just awaiting the next song that I will choose to listen. I have a measly 134 songs to choose from – from the evergreen sounds of Englebert Humperdinck and Elvis Presley to X-Japan’s Endless Rain and Dir en Grey’s Cage. But somehow my eye caught on “Carol of the Bells” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The second I heard the haunting strains of the violin, followed by the anthem of the electric guitar, a huge wave of cathartic relief swept through me. It was utterly amazing. The layers of sound continued to lift me above myself, allowing me to express (within myself, of course) the repressed resentment I felt throughout the day, the hatred I felt for my situation, and the pure sense of being once again restored to myself.

Of course, when the three minute song ended, I played Robbie Williams’ “I will Talk and Hollywood will Listen” and I could sense intimately my hurt ego being restored, my pride returning to my soul and dare I say, self-worth being reborn. I couldn’t stop now. “Higher Ground”, the Stevie Wonder cover by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” followed by Carl Off’s “Carmina Burana”. I was on a roll.

It was just too bad that I swore to myself never to possess any song by “The Corrs” on my PC, after hearing them speak up against music piracy years ago. That would otherwise have been the perfect group to end my day to.

Ah well, I’ll just have to go with “Symphony of Destruction”.

“….swaying to the Symphony…. of Destruction!”

… actually we’re lesbians.

So goes the warped version of the “Barney Theme Song”, or at least the one I heard. I’ve been meaning to blog for a long time, but ironically (or perhaps not) it takes a TV drama about a lesbian male impersonator in Victorian England to get me writing again.

But first, in chronological order of what I want to write about.

1) The Da Vinci Cheat Code! This GameSpy article is arguably the most hilarious and well-written spoof I have ever read. Anyone who can quote the Bible so poignantly is genius.

2) The Embraced! retreat organised by the Holy Family Youth Council. It was one of the better weekends in a long time and allowed me to have fun, spend time with God and remember aspects of my faith that I talked about in the last post. I am most grateful to all the organisers for their effort and courage in setting out to plan it.

3) Bukit Brokeback which I elected to watch alone days after being unable to catch it with the gang. It wasn’t that great, and while I haven’t watched Crash, let’s just say I’m not too choked up with emotion over why it didn’t win Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. I think what killed it for me was Jake Gyllenhall – it was difficult to believe the character when he had such a recognisable look. Ironically, it was Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Ennis del Mar that saved the film for me. But yeah, wasn’t too overwhelmed by it.

Which brings me to “Tipping the Velvet”, a three hour long TV drama produced for the BBC. Set in the 1890s in Victorian England, it chronicles the coming-of-age story of a village girl who descovers her sexuality after meeting and falling for a cross-dressing stage performer. The story is well paced and the characters utterly believable, although the plot itself leans heavily towards sexual fantasy and melodrama. Director Anthony Sax works the scenes like a master painter, with the emotions of each character coming forth as clearly as the titilating scenes.

I’ve no idea why it’s in the NTU Media Resource Library, but I have a mind to track down the module that uses it as source material and attend it, even though I’ve already cleared my share of General Electives.

This year has been really crazy for me so far. I’m already burnt out and it’s only the beginning of March. But yet, there is one thing which just give me an insane amount of courage and strength: my faith – which was formed by my time in ACS.

The 120th Founder’s Day was on Wednesday, which ironically coincided with the start of Lent, the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter. It made me realise that among other things, being in ACS helped me to connect in powerful ways with my faith, whether it be the simple praise and worship sessions of Mr. Tan See Keng and Mr. (now Dr.) Irwin Seet in ACS(I), or much later in ACJC when I got the opportunity, as part of the Christian Fellowship, to hold a simple prayer session on Wednesday mornings or to do a couple of short faith sharing sessions in front of the whole school during morning assembly.

Those were golden years in many ways for my faith. I was excited about it, I desired to share it and I was placed in a community that was largely ecumenical and open to each other. This Lent, it is my prayer to try to recapture those sentiments, not by repeating the things I did then, but simply by living the way I did, with a faith that was open and willing, daring and adventurous.

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To God be the Glory, The Best is Yet to Be.