Tuesday, September 30, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

12:15pm, Starbucks Pacific Star Building, Makati

I was sent on a little bounty hunting mission today. Unfortunately, my schedule is being messed up by government workers who can't seem to figure out when lunch time really is. Or maybe their clocks were just 45 minutes off? So now I wait.

Being alone in a coffee shop with just my notebook and my thoughts isn't really the thing for me to do these days. The atmosphere and the circumstances are just right for me to start thinking too much. Add to that, dear Blue is playing Josh Groban. Can I start crying now? No!!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reading that Star Wars Episode 3 scriptment that Stompbox pointed us to really shook up my Monday afternoon. Should I believe it? Are GWL's security measures slipping that his draft scripts are now circulating around the world? Okay. Probably not. But if this is fan fiction, it's one of the best I've ever read.

I expected Anakin's fall to be shocking. But the way it was treated in the scriptment was exactly how I wanted GWL to treat it --- subtly and yet, when it finally happens, the impact would be enough to shock me speechless.

"There is no life and death in the Force, only a circle of balance."
--- Qui-Gon Jinn

Qui-Gon Jinn? Yes! The Jedi I would have wanted to become my mentor and master. In the scriptment, he's back as a ghost, to the surprise of Yoda and Obi-Wan, and he revealed.... ***Highlight the space below to read the rest. Potential spoilers!***

OBI-WAN
But I don't understand, Master, why can we see you when you are dead and one with the Force.

QUI-GON
Because, it is needed to complete the task. It is the Will of the Force that I am here, to show you guidance and to impart it's message. This is what the Prophecy spoke of and this is why it chose me to find Skywalker, I heard the Force speak and I followed it.

YODA
Allowed you to return, the Force has.

QUI-GON
Yes, Master, that is correct. And in time, you will learn to hear it too, even better than I. When you have heard it you will not even taste death, as I had. You will hear it perfectly, calling out for order, calling out for balance.

OBI-WAN
It was the Will of the Force that you return to us now? What must I do to save Anakin?

QUI-GON
Confront him, and if he will not turn, then you must destroy him.

OBI-WAN
But what about the Force, how can it be brought back to balance if Anakin is dead?

QUI-GON looks at LUKE.

QUI-GON
The Force will allow what needs to be done to complete the task, as it has throughout history. It constantly seeks to be in balance and will allow even the dead to return if required. There is no life or death in the Force, only a circle of balance. Train Luke to be a Jedi like his father, but do not raise him. He must come to you when he is ready, when the Force wills it.

Oh mannnnn....

One last thing. Palpatine.

"The only true power is that which you can use effectively. Everything else is an illusion."

The way he arranged everything and manipulated everything? The man is brilliant! He is definitely evil, but he is good. He did use the power he had and he used it so effectively, he created an empire without the galaxy really being aware of it until it was revealed at the right moment. His only mistake was that the weapon he created, the weapon he wielded, was the one who was destined to restore the Balance. And for someone who claims to have foreseen everything, he sure forgot to look into the future to foresee his demise.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One thing that I've learned is that everything has a purpose. The universe is efficient and nothing happens by accident. Every failure and every victory is a landmark that will lead you to where you are supposed to go....

But it seems my compass is messed up. So just where am I supposed to go now?

Oh no....

... Star Wars moment!!!

Shmi Skywalker to Anakin: "What does your heart tell you?"




Friday, September 26, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

While surfing and trying to research some blogging ecosystem stats for Across the Stars, I came across some interesting things....

First up, author Neil Gaiman's journal. Presents some kind of a front seat viewpoint into the mind of one of my favorite authors. The guy rocks, really.

Next, I found one of my filks ("Bring Me To Life") in RaDragon's Journal Archive from last April. Believe me when I say I don't know who RaDragon is. :D Although I was referred to as a friend. But I do have my suspicions as to who this mysterious person is................ Raciel! Girl, the things I had to do to trace your website! LOL. Raciel is my high school batchmate, and she's one of the first 4 members of Star Wars Philippines. Fellow Hayden Christensen admirer too. Teehee. :) Her site is as crazy as the girl, I swear. LOL.

Finally, I found an old link to Across the Stars (via the DotTK URL) from, believe it or not... Photoblogs.org. Appararently, someone submitted a link to my blog so that I now have a profile there. According to the profile, 1 person made a positive vote for my blog, 2 people cast negative votes, and one recommended my blog be removed. Hahaaaa! The funny thing is... THIS IS NOT A PHOTOBLOG. Oh well....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I hate bus music. As in music you hear when riding public utility buses. It depresses me. I feel like I'm in a soap opera/telenovela where there's a shot of me looking forlornly out the window at the passing scenery while really really mushy music (or totally jologs ones) play in the background. Ack ack and triple ack. Blech. So from now on, I've decided that if I'd have to look forlornly out the window, it won't be to the tune of any jologs song, it would be to the tune of a John Williams composition, or the Lord of the Rings OST. Hahah! That also means Blue and I will be together everyday for quite some time....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

O-U-C-H.





Thursday, September 25, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Finding solace in Quenya

So as not to leave my brain free to think really Sith-like thoughts, I've decided to get on with studying Quenya and found some peace in doing so. Studying a new language is always rewarding, and who cares if you can't use it to speak to anyone in your immediate vicinity? (or in this case, your immediate reality?) At least it keeps the brain cells humming. And it's downright fun! What good times Tolkien must have had when he started putting the High-Elven tongue together.

I've managed to cover nouns, adjectives, plurals, and present tense verbs, as well as pronunciation. Although that isn't enough to really make any convincing attempt at truly expressing one's self freely, I decided to give it a try, since I seem to be having writer's block in English anyway. And the mental exertion veers you away from the Dark Side.

So straight out of Lesson Five and the very limited English-Quenya wordlist, comes my first attempt at Quenya poetry.... By poetry of course, I only mean words and phrases that describe how I feel right now. Somehow, just knowing nouns, adjectives, plurals, and present tense verbs won't win you an Elven writing award....

The "poem" is appropriately entitled: Nainië (A Lament)

Nainië

Órenya ráca.
Melenya vanwa.
I menel ná morë.
Ringa lómë lantar.
Eressë....
Mera an cala....
Metya naicelenya.
Ára tultar.
Melinyel.
Melenya, námarië....

--- Almeldiel ná mi rúcima náicelë / Yavannië 25, 2003

Whew. My Quenya grammar, heck, even my English grammar for this poem must be terrible. But at least doing this helps me get a feel for the language. Correcting the grammar can come later.

Whaaaat? Surely you don't expect an English translation? You already know the title. Go figure. :p

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Egad. Something must be terribly wrong with me. After I'd typed the sentences "You already know the title. Go figure.", I could somehow hear a voice saying "I'd like to know" the way Anakin Skywalker said it when he was interrogating Zam Wessell, said it in that pleading yet threatening way....

Okay, okay, I have to snap out of this. Geeky me.


Wednesday, September 24, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Just my luck, finally, the Travel and Adventure Channel rerun this episode of their show about hotels and inns around the world. I was waiting for a rerun to determine the location of a hotel called Hotel San Pietro somewhere in Italy, that I absolutely fell in love with when I saw this feature months ago. I swear the place has been haunting my dreams. And lucky me, the only light to brighten up my gloomy yesterday, I found out that it was located just a few kilometers off Naples. Yahoo! I am now even more determined to go. The sight of the sea always manages to heal me. And a hotel situated at the coast of Italy??? Boy, that would sure feel much like being reborn. I might never want to come back....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yes... Young Skywalker is still in pain.... terrible pain....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Congratulations to U-l-a-n for finally winning Lomohome of the day! Heheh. Sheesh. Now make sure you maintain that winning streak....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The most difficult of situations often find you discovering many of your hidden strengths and talents, and sometimes even your hidden weaknesses... in my case, I've found those... and suddenly found out just who my real friends are. And to those people, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Merci beaucoup. Hantale.



Monday, September 22, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Pain.... Skywalker is in pain....

Thursday, September 18, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Taking a stab at some Quenya....

Le meluvan úna ar alye lúmessen tenna firinyë.



Tuesday, September 16, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Begun The Clone Wars Promo Has



.... And darn it, I hope I get to see it soon on local Cartoon Network. It seems CN in the U.S. is already running this snazzy little promo spot for the Clone Wars Animated Shorts to be released in November.

Check out how "bad-ass Jedi am I" Yoda's depiction in the cartoon is:





Whoa.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There are early favorable reviews for Hayden Christensen's performance in his latest starrer, "Shattered Glass". Here's one from the Boston Globe:

Jedi knight Hayden Christensen, who stars as Glass in this first-rate feature filmmaking debut by screenwriter Billy Ray, steals a page from Matt Damon's talented Mr. Ripley in delivering a fascinating portrait of a young man too smart for his own good. This Glass is certainly pathological, but also pathetically immature and a product of the make-it-sexy journalism that anointed him. Through some finely crafted storytelling that explains newsroom operations without seeming pedantic, viewers witness events that led to the writer's downfall. Ray's only failing is that he stops short of showing anything in Glass's upbringing or early career that might have contributed to his lack of moral compass, and that assumes guys like Jayson Blair are just the latest floor model rather than individual aberrations in search of an opportunity.


Of course, the negative reviews are bound to come in soon too. Heheh. :) Hope they show the movie here!





Monday, September 15, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Based on the TPTS meeting last Wednesday (or was that Thursday? boy, am I in trouble...) plans for the Convention are moving along. Wheeee! Now if I could only keep these butterflies from fluttering too much, maybe I could think up more ideas....

.......

Had a fun weekend which started off with Joran's Jollibee party. Although we were kinda late for the major activities, it was easy to see the kids really really enjoyed themselves, and that's truly heart-warming. :)

Went to UP Bahay ng Alumni to do some recon work for the planned SWP Gaming Tournament. Ended up taking too many pics of the cool stained glass windows there. :D The whole building has a very dramatic look and would be a great place to shoot the planned SW fanfilm. It would actually be a great Jedi Temple setting.

Hung out with the guys later on and watched everyone play Star Wars Trilogy Arcade. Want to play Racer!!!

Went costume-hunting with the People of Zion (aka members of Matrix Philippines) yesterday. Although I was Astromech droid for the day, I got us lost once going to Divisoria. Meep. I hope the folks are happy with their purchases. Leather leather everywhere. I think Zero, Silme and Aurora will look great. ;) They suggested I go as the girl from the "Beyond" Animatrix segment. At least that's easy enough. The hardest part would be dying my hair blue and shouting "Yuki!" the whole day. Hehehhh. The face-painted star would be easy. :) Just don't expect me to go floating around because of an anomaly in the matrix's code. LOL.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Took quiz linked from Mel's blog and got this (haha!):


:: how jedi are you? ::

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This pain is the cross I bear.
This confusion is my bane.
This loneliness is my challenge,
This wire I walk with strain.
Oh laugh not at the irony
for the source of my greatest pain
seems to be one of the few things
that have truly kept me sane.



Tuesday, September 09, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Ah. Finally. The blog is back up the way it was.

I think that face reconstruction analogy was appropriate. Considering I was watching this cool Discovery Channel documentary called "Nefertiti Revealed", where a 13 year search and research by a female Egyptologist for the remains of Egypt's most captivating Queen finally ended. Authorities were skeptical that "Lady X", a mummy discovered 100 years ago at the Valley of the Kings, was actually Nefertiti. In the first place, she was known to have resided in Amarna from the time of Akhenaton's reign. But modern forensic techniques and that cool face reconstruction method based on the skeleton, compared with the famous bust of the Queen proved that indeed, the mummy must be Nefertiti. It was eerie staring into that reconstructed face because it looked so much like all the portraits of her. If it is indeed her, then once again, she has triumphed over those who have worked so hard to obliterate her name and any memories of her, destroying her mummy, thereby making sure she doesn't enjoy immortality in the afterlife.

Click here for more info on these discoveries. :)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Saturday, September 6, 2003

It was amazing seeing Earl's impressive Star Wars collection. Wow. Wish I had Harry with me that day. *sigh*

Oh, and I don't think I want to hear the words "ICE CREAM" uttered by anyone for the whole week! :D

Monday, September 08, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

okay, it's back up... kinda. will further revise later...

 

THERE IS SOMETHING FREAKING WRONG HERE. I logged in here to find that my main template is screwed up!!! Damn it, and I don't know why. Please bear with me while I patiently reconstruct my blog. This freaking feels like reconstructing a mummy's face based on its skeleton.

Sunday, September 07, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Pics from Mos Eisley Night are now up at my Imagestation album. Click here! Enjoy!

 

Desktop Toy Stories: Episode 4 - Seven



Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go! *whistles* Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho.



Hi ho, hi ho, off to Mount Doom I go! *whistles* Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho.



Thursday, September 04, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

The first of the coverages of Mos Eisley Night is up at the following websites:

We Are Anime - thanks to webmaster and host of Mos Eisley Night, RG. :)

and

Rainwalker-Sunstroller - pics at Ian's photoblog! :)

 

Got sick right after Mos Eisley Night. No, not because of it. It's the weather, I think. I don't cope very well with drastic weather changes. I think though, I may have a cure. Go home early and watch Josh Groban in Concert, and listen to his music all day while working. Throw in John Williams in there too. :)

Anyhoo, Mos Eisley Night was a blast! Wow. Well, what do you expect from the combination of music, fanfilms, costumes, "A New Hope", and the Cantina atmosphere? :D There were Trekkies, hobbits, Jedi, Matrix dudes and dudettes... We couldn't have hoped to better recreate the spirit of the Mos Eisley Cantina, where all sorts of creatures congregate. And for a first time staging of an event such as this, I think we can safely call it a success. :) Aids and Az, all the work and anxiety paid off, you guys! Good job! :)

I admit to being a real Youngling at all this, and it was the first time I heard any of those bands perform.

Fish Trio was so wonderfully jazz. :) Their rendition of the Cantina Song really made my night, and their music pleasantly contrasted with the rest of the bands. :)

I don't like Japanese rock much, but Doh'Ahou made it at least a nice experience listening to that type of music. They were very energetic, you really wouldn't be able to help but... rock. :D

The Itchyworms. What can I say? That "Wanbol" song was so wonderfully Stormballs. :D And those little Star-Warsy bits of music they played while waiting for Chino to replace his strings was one of the coolest improvisations I've seen. :)

The Late Isabel? I am not a goth person, really. But they were cool. Made me see "My Favorite Things" in a new perspective. And Wowie rocks. Man. :)

Narda? Now I know what all the fuss is about. 'Nuff said. :)

So The Purplechickens really aren't offspring of Grimace and Birdie. :D Heheh. Thanks for playing "Ars Terror". :D That made my night too. :) Go Aids! :)

I'll upload the pics I took of the event soon. I just need to sleep off this weariness and this irritating cold.

Thanks to everyone for supporting Star Wars Philippines and the first major event we organized. The Force lives on. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Happy Birthday, Gary! May the leather be with you. For always. Forever. :D

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was freaky seeing Tom Welling and Christopher Reeve together in "Rosetta". And with the "Superman" theme playing in the background... it's foreshadowing in the major sense of the word. :) Plus they look alike too, kinda. Freaky. But I loved that episode. :) Kal-El is revealed!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Day gives birth to a dark, chill night
The moon cannot pierce the darkness
But the playful stars they all doth shine
Starlight to warm the coldness

Oh, the naughty stars, as they twinkle
Give hope amidst dark despair
Then the light fades away and for a wee time
Plunges to darkness beyond compare

I long for the night to give birth to day
And the warm sun's unblinking light
That will soothe my troubled soul more than
The mischievous stars in the night


"I guess you have to decide. Is the part of themselves that they’re willing to share with you better than not having them in your life at all?"
--- Helen Bryce, Smallville Episode 2-22, "The Calling"

:: padméskywalker told this story at 9/4/2003 01:00:03 PM   #
:: |