Love Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare

This is one of the few works of Shakespeare in which I do not need to have a study guide beside me to half understand it. I liked the poem not only for its message but also for its language. There is something about it that feels so archaic, that reading it makes me remember the olden times when people used to express their love for each other in such eloquent terms. It was not merely "I will always be here for you through thick or thin" but rather, "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds." I feel it is a very beautiful poem, professing love we can no longer express in our everyday language.

Tonight I Can Write by Pablo Neruda

This is easily one of my favorite poems of all time. Call me sentimental but there's just something about this poem that makes me want to sigh and marvel at the beauty of a "shattered" or a "starry" sky. Reading the poem is like hearing a lullaby. There is a sense of calm about this poem, something so romantic without being cheesy or fake. There is a sadness and a longing that I am so unfamiliar with, and this feeling, despite being unfamiliar, can still make me feel so alive.

Cargoes by John Masefield

The first time I read this poem, I didn't really get it. It sounded good but.... So, I looked up some words (okay, maybe a lot) to get the gist of the whole thing and one thing I can say about it is that it can really call images to mind (of course when you know the meaning of the words). I don't have a hard time imagining the galleon "dipping into the Tropics" with its cargo of diamonds and topazes.

The different stanzas also speak of different eras and empires: the Assyrians, the Spanish and the English. It shows how objects of value differed in those times. The first two stanzas involve cargoes of great luxury while the last one is much more humble. It seems to be illustrating the things that defined a particular empire or time. As time passes, the things that people value become less and less grandiose and more utilitarian, practical and useful. What that says about our society now, I'm not really sure. Humble, yes. Rich? Yes too, I guess. But happy?

Weight

It seems like a chick lit story, only not of the conventional kind. The protagonist is, to be frank, overweight. But, at the end of the day (literally), she lets herself go and speeds away with Jayme to Baguio. It deviates from the usual formula of the slim, pretty girl getting the guy. Even if the girl is overweight, or ugly, she can still fall in love and she can still have her happy ending. After all, beauty is only skin deep. I think the way Ami and Jayme zooms away into the night end is symbolic of the way she is letting go of all the things that are holding her down like her job, her weight (since she stops herself from eating too much) and just everything that keeps her from living her life.

My Neighbor Totoro (Movie)

I was expecting another Kwaidan-ish movie, or at least another thought-provoking movie about life, and maybe, neighbors. The cheery opening song and the dancing cartoons were definitely a welcome surprise. The movie was reminiscent of the cartoons I watched as a child. I found it a sweet story about growing up. A person's childhood isn't really complete unless he/she has those moments when they completely believe in things like "soot sprites". It shows us the essence of childhood in its innocence and complete acceptance of things.

Generations

The story was quite startling in the way it narrated such dramatic events from such a detached, impersonal point of view. It portrayed the sad realities of Philippine society at the hands of foreign colonizers. The story focuses on the tribulations experienced by the different generations of their family and how they each coped with these.

I think this really does happen in Philippine society, but we just don't want to admit it, or we don't want to admit the full extent of it. Daughters selling themselves for their father's freedom, family members killing each other--you can't help but wonder just how messed up society must be. You see how colonization tears apart not only the country, but families as well.

Run Lola Run (Movie)

Burning questions I had after the movie:
HOW DID SHE RUN ACROSS BERLIN IN 20 MINUTES??
and where the H did she get the energy to do so?
But mostly just the How.
All in all, I liked the movie..Like Einstein's dreams, it revolves around time and alternate endings to a situation. Who knew a person's running speed could mean so much? That a one-second change could cause a person's death?
Manni and Lola kinda gave me that Bonnie and Clyde vibe as well. Lola must have really loved Manni to run across the city to find 100 000 marks for him. Not only that, she robs a bank and a grocery store for him as well. Talk about tough love.