Entry For August 28

Well, not much happened this week aside from some people being killed. People in Hong Kong are really mad. I can't blame them. The Chinese are probably used to seeing bumbling officials punished harshly and would like to see the same here. Too bad.

Next week, it's back to school for me. I'm not worried about stressing out again. What I'm worried about is getting my exam papers back. I think I did well but maybe only relatively. The friends I've talked to aren't expecting much. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for this particular teacher who makes it a point to remind us how much we suck and how we're letting all our families down while giving the papers back. It could be the teacher's way of motivating students but then again, that's uncharacteristically optimistic of me.

My aunt just arrived from the United States today. I remember a long time ago, my aunt would bring me to an old arcade in Ayala Mall called Glicos. That arcade was huge. It composed of three floors if I remember right. My aunt would buy me small bag of tokens to play with. I stayed in her apartment when I visited the States. We watched movies in a nearby theater at night then had ice cream. She's a fun and nice person to be around.

Disclaimer: I love all my aunts equally.

Bus Hostage Bungle

It's all over the news still, locally and internationally. The hostage crisis that claimed the lives of Hong Kong nationals as well as the gunman is over but the question still remains. Where did it all go wrong?

The police looked incompetent to be honest. Some of them weren't even wearing helmets when they surrounded the bus. There was no clear plan to get in. They were just smashing this window and that window and then some. They waited too long to move in after shots were fired. It was hard to watch on television. The fact that it was covered internationally didn't help.

Blame goes to the police naturally but personally, I think the media had the most fault in this incident. The gunman became agitated when he saw on the TV of the bus, that his brother was being arrested for some sort of charge. It was obstruction of justice I think. Anyway, upon seeing the arrest, he flipped out and started shooting. The whole damn thing shouldn't have been televised live. Godamnit, situations like this aren't some kind of "event". It's not some spectacle that should be shoved on every screen. Situations like this call for control. As soon as the gunman was shot dead, the media swarmed the bus to take pictures of the bodies. Vultures.

This incident reminds me off the time some rebels holed up inside the Manila Peninsula Hotel. The media were just everywhere. They were broadcasting live all the positions of our soldiers, bringing all sorts of commentary, jockeying to get the big scoop. We should have learned our lesson by now. Media coverage should be controlled in certain events.

I despise media in general. They think they're so special. They fancy themselves guardians of the truth. All they want is to get the story and play to emotions. They never talk about anything substantive. Whether the hostages live or die doesn't matter because it will make good headlines the next day.

The aftermath of the crisis is just terrible for everyone involved and our country. Everyone fucked up. Aquino is taking heat, (interested on how he handles it) the police force is taking heat, China is having a fit and we're getting all these knee-jerk reactions from our congressmen. Police officers were even spotted taking souvenir photos near the bus where people were shot to death. The government was perceived weak-kneed, indecisive and unorganized. The media were out of control. Everything just fell apart and the police looked like idiots in front of the world. What a big damn mess.

Wait two weeks until we all forget about it.

The Expendables

I saw The Expendables today with some friends which was unusual since I almost always watch movies alone. Anyway, it was a fun movie.

The movie stars Stallone, Statham etc. look it up. It pretty much has a cast full of action heroes from Jet Li to "Stone Cold". It's pretty much an all star cast, an action movie fans dream. Curiously it didn't have Van Damme and Seagal but its probably for the best.

I won't spoil anything because there's nothing to spoil. The "story" doesn't even need consideration. Something about a South American dictator, his idealistic daughter and the CIA? All you need to know is that a lot of stuff blows up, a lot of stuff that shouldn't be able to blow up blow up and a lot of people die mostly by stabbing.

The movie was so outrageous, it leaped beyond acceptable limits of disbelief at many points. I swear, Statham was riding the nose of an airplane while shooting people. A shotgun detonated a watch tower. Stallone decapitates a guy with one swing of a combat knife and so on. It was so over-the-top I laughed my ass off.

It was mindless, glorious violence and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm Back

Midterms are over. You know, it sucks after a test when you suddenly realize the answers you gave were incomplete or the questions you studied didn't come out. Oh well, no use worrying anymore. Time for a week of updates.

Currently, I'm downloading a new game from a bargain deal on Steam. Tomorrow it's gonna be a movie. It's intramurals week so it's a period of calm.

As I am writing this, there's a hostage crisis in Manila. The police are going on an assault but it seems the bastard is still alive. All the hostages are allegedly dead. It looks really ugly. It's gonna be a media shitstorm tomorrow. I hope this won't get any worse than it is.

I hope the police don't get themselves killed for God's sake.

Midterms

Midterms whole week next week. This sucks.

Ip Man (Part 2)

So after beating ten black belts, in a scene that brings to mind Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury, they let Ip Man go for some reason. I stopped paying attention to the plot. I'm too tired to go into the details but at some point Ip Man winds up in a factory.

This is the funniest part of the movie. The factory workers ask Ip Man to teach them Kung Fu so he does. When the time comes to use those Kung Fu skills though, the workers get beat up so badly that Ip Man has to come in to save them. I thought it was funny since I expected the workers to heroically fight back the bad guys or something.

Anyway one thing leads to another (you know what, I suggest you watch it) and then Ip Man ends up in a final match against the honorable prick general. I'm not sure if he's even a general. Anyway, Ip Man beats the Japanese out of him. Ip Man gets shot after beating the general by the evil general but don't worry he lives. It's not a spoiler. Ip Man is Bruce Lee's master right? Of course, he's gonna survive. The evil general though gets served his comeuppance with a side of irony as he is killed with his own gun.

Everything works out in the end we are told. I felt baffled. Ip Man lives, sure, but he did just beat a Japanese officer within an inch of his life right? Wouldn't there have been reprisals by the Japanese? What happened to the town? Did they just let Ip Man go? Whatever. They must have since Ip Man is awesome.

Watch this movie.

Ip Man

My friend recommended to me a movie called "Ip Man". I asked myself, what the hell is an "Ip" man? After doing some research, Ip Man is a movie about a man...named Ip Man who punches people. A lot. That's his name, "Ip Man". He's supposed to be some kind of historical figure who trained Bruce Lee or something and that this film is very loosely based on his life and by loosely I mean loose like a Thai prostitute. Anyway, IP MAN!

Our story begins in a small, peaceful Chinese town. But then a bunch of rowdy Northerners roll into town, systematically seeking out Kung Fu masters so they can punch them in the face. Honestly, this is like the plot of every Kung Fu movie ever. I guess complete strangers coming into town to stomp everyone's ass was a common occurrence in China but I digress. The northerners best every single Kung Fu master except Ip Man. Naturally they challenge him and Ip Man was all like, "I want no trouble." You know what that means. Trouble ensues. Ip Man easily owned them with a feather duster because that's how badass he is. It's better than it sounds.

A few years later, it's the Japanese who roll into town to stomp everyone's ass. Ip Man ends up in forced labor. Apparently there's this big underground fight club where Chinese martial artists go up against the karate experts of the Japanese. It is here we are introduced to the two villains, the evil Japanese general (complete with hilarious round eyeglasses) and the honorable- yet-still-somewhat-of-a-dick general. The Chinese fight to earn bags of rice until one day the evil general opens fire on one of Ip Man's pals for no good reason. Ip Man gets real pissed and begs to get in there to rip and tear. They pit Ip Man against ten karate fighters and well, he goes through them like a bad Mexican dinner.

Ip Man, man. Nobody messes with him. More tomorrow.

A Shave And A Haircut

When your hair gets in your ear and starts picking at your brain then it's time for a haircut.

My barber is this guy called Salde. I'm not even a hundred percent if that's his real name. He's been my barber since I was about five years old or maybe even less. He can probably pick me out of a crowd by my hair or just feel the shape of my scalp and he'd know its me. He's one of those old kinds of barbers. He just stands there cutting my hair all quiet, stoic even. Maybe we'd do a little small talk. Maybe. He cuts the hair exactly the way you tell him. I'd tell him different ways of cutting my hair sometimes just to mess around or tell him he can't use a razor this time but only scissors. No problems.

Barbers today aren't even called barbers. They're self-styled stylists. One time when I foolishly had my haircut in one of those "salons" instead of old Salde's chair, it was horrible. The stylist, all of them are gay by the way, (no exceptions) just ruined everything. My hair was all long on one end and thin on the other. He was trying to make it look like I had bangs or something. It looked like a pile of horse dung. Why would I need to look like some emo faggot? That's what he was going for I think. Where are the old manly barbers? All we have are gay stylists now. (all stylists are gay) Where are the old barbers who would twist your head at an angle to forcefully, yet gracefully, cut that tangled mess of weeds you call hair? The pussification of the modern male continues.

I blame that "Queer Eye" show. Damn them.

Pain Don't Hurt...D'oh!

Just when I thought things could get better, I get Lumbago, or lower back pain for those who don't bother to know because you don't have it. It's pretty bad. Well, that's what I get for studying for two hours on a bench with no back support. I look like an old man hobbling on the sidewalk damnit. I took an Advil and stretched out a bit on a floor mat, I hope that helps and I hope nobody heard my manly shrieks of pain.

For all this pain, I kind of, well, find it fun. That's right. It makes my day a little more challenging and exciting. I want to see how far I can go before I one of my legs give way.

Now if I can find somebody to help me off this chair...