one lonely star

Here I am again in a very familiar surrounding; just me and the computer.

Not to say I regret it though. I'm always appreciative of the time when I can just be alone with my troubling thoughts and all of them are vying for the primetime spot in my grey matters.

But this time around Madonna's Take A Bow is repeating endlessly.

I always love that song from the very first time it caught my ears until now. It's not because the matador, or the sexy music video. It's the song itself. All just seem to be perfect, from Babyface's background vocal, to its soothing tempo & arrangement. I just suddenly have the craving to get that song played in my hour of loneliness.

Looking back, I don't know whether I've been doing the right thing. I'm not sure if I should say what I wanted to say, or if I just let it go. Something just doesn't feel right about what I did. I don't want to be the bad guy here. You don't have to get told on what to do about that kinda thing. Your perspective should change automatically. With new status comes automatic realization of what you are and what you should do.

Sometimes silence doesn't always mean Yes. But I'd choose Yes anytime rather than upsetting the cosmic balance of the universe.

As long as I can still keep my place in the very corner of this dark room.

all gone

If they're all now dissing me, then there's nothing else left for me here, is there? So why bother continuing it?

select and enjoy

I used to think that life is about making choices and how we deal, cope, or adjust with the result of our decision.

The list is endless; A or B, supporting Manchester United or Liverpool (no contest here), hating Chelsea or Arsenal (both!), taking this or that job, or even deliberating between rice or noodle for lunch. Then, you wait & see what choice that life is gonna throw you next and the same process is repeated all over again.

It's like that one of Make Your Own Adventure series. Only this time, you can't skip several pages to know the actual result.

However, recently I feel more & more strongly that the choices offered to me are no longer options that I have the luxury to think about before making the decision. So what's the point of offering them to me if the selection is already decided beforehand? It's not life anymore, it's more suitable to call it slavery.

If that's the case, then why should I bother? All I just have to follow is the script already laid out before me. No discussion, no consideration, it's either this way or the highway, Jose.

It should be very easy to do so, but I think I still have this thing inside me called heart & mind. What if they say no to the plan? What if my heart & mind decide otherwise?

What will happen if I throw the script out of the window? Will thunder & lightning strike me down? Will they send me to the farthest point of the earth? Why should it be their way and not my way? Whose life is it anyway?

It leads me to think that God is not writing the story but it's the collaboration of people around me instead. Perhaps there's always a third option that I miss out in the fine print, and it has something to do with the Almighty.

Is it really just about making choices?

no. 17

Different shorts
Different numbers
Different names

Same battle chant
Same results
Same green & white

It's no. 17
Time to raise another banner to the rafter

commercial head

For all Radiohead's rant about commercialism and what they think & feel about it, they can't deny the fact that it's their fans who provide the final say. They can scream and curse all they want, but the fans will still shell out their money for all piece of works from the band.

If they're so against it, then they should just release all of their songs for free to the world and give the finger to EMI/Capitol from the start. Or give up all those dollar & cents that they've earned from the label to the charity of their choice.

The only thing that's gonna stop me from getting myself Radiohead's The Best of DVD is my bank's account.

all hails indiana

The world's most loved archaeologist is back complete with his fedora and whip. And we missed him a lot, did we? I did, at least.

The story was meant to be Hollywood's best kept-secret, but I hit the spoiler right away from some guy who called the posting a "review". What a joke. If what he meant by "review" was to keep everyone from watching the movie, then he succeeded. When you do your so-called "review", you're not supposed to give away the movie! That's the essence of actually going to the movie! Ugh...

Anyway, I was kinda a bit disappointed after learning that Lucas & Spielberg decided to choose it as their topic. I thought it'd make the story cheap and not very creative. The moment the crystal skull is revealed, I just know that it would be quite similar with the story in Ruins, which is still the best The X-Files fiction out there.

But in the end you still have to give credit where it's due. And this time around, Indy can still crack his whip. Though I'm not that convinced with them following that Superman Returns-plot. It's very lame, I should say. But if that's the only way to keep the franchise going, then I'm all for it.

4 stars, baby...coz it's Indy, for God's sake!

beat LA!

My love affair with basketball began since I was about 8 or 10 years old. It started mainly because Pa & Ma were ballers themselves (even though Ma would always remind us that she's a starter, while Pa was a benchwarmer :P).

Then, when I grew older and could watch TV past 9 PM, they were showing NBA matches on TVRI. I had no idea what NBA was back then. All I remembered was wondering on why they kept showing the same game from the same teams. The teams in bright yellow against the teams in green & white. I cheered on the green team without knowing who they were and why. I guess that's because I just like the colour.

It was only in the Nineties when the Jordan-generated craze swept the world that I realized that the old games on TVRI were actually the Finals series between Lakers (the bright yellow team) against Boston Celtics (the green & white team). I was actually witnessing one of the greatest rivalries among 2 legendary NBA teams. And back then I've pleaded my allegiance to one team only.

As years went by, I've learned the history of the team, the 16 championship banners, Red Auerbach, and of course the triumvirate of Bird, Parish, and McHale. My love for the team was unwavering even though we've turned from a legendary team into a laughing stock in the past 10 years. Until this season when Danny Ainge pulled KG & Ray Ray from the hat and made them Pierce's teammates.

Starting on next Thursday, I will be able to witness the same series again as both teams will meet in the Finals one more time since 21 years ago. And one battle voice will be summoned from the old Boston Garden passionately...

BEAT LA!! BEAT LA!!