2007

I'm unfocused. If you've ever opened my office drawers, you'll see books, art papers and kept-as-mementoes junks. I keep the former two for "emergency" - that being, to busy myself when I'm having a do-nothing day.

Today's a do-nothing day, and I have Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere beside my keyboard since I came here. Its cover depicts a tunnel, giving it an air of mystery, inviting me subliminally to "come in and see what's at the end". I should be reading it, and at page 124 I'm already quite far. Yet, I've not been sucked into it the whole day today.

You can guess what I'm doing instead.

During the yuletide, bloggers tend to post year-end wrap-ups. I'm doing it now. Private life matters are mostly already chronicled, so those won't be today's focus. Instead, I'm discussing movies, books, and videogames I've experienced last year.

Movies

Everyone raved about it, but Pan's Labyrinth is surreal, poignant, gloomy, stylish, gothic, hopeless yet hopeful, etc. What else can be said about it that you couldn't read from a thousand other movie critics? Anyway, I saw this movie in the theaters, and my classmate, coincidentally, was also there. We then spent an entire hour on the phone talking about it - the parable-like messages, the characters, and even the most horrifying scenes. It’s this type of movie that guarantees long discussions, and perhaps introspection. Go watch it if you know what's good for you.

If you've seen the trailer of Bridge to Terabithia, you'll think that it's another Narnia knock-off. That's not true. Bridge is more like Pan's Labyrinth for younger audiences, except its protagonists cope with down-to-earth everyday problems rather than with a dictator. It never feels easy, contrived and sappy - surprising feats for a Disney film. And AnnaSophia Robb's character is just too adorable..

BUT WE WANT MORE ACTIONS says the attention-deficient readers of this blog (assuming there are such persons here). Fine. Bourne Ultimatum is an excellent conclusion to the Bourne trilogy. It sizzles from the start and never lets up. 300 is a stylish retelling of a war epic. You'll find it shallow, you'll laugh at the dialogues, and you'll pick your jaw from the floor every time a battle commences. About Transformers, you don't want to hear my criticisms of it *cough* shallow people *cough* racism *cough* jingosim *cough*. It's still a fairly fun romp if you ignore the human characters - which include heroic whiteys, promiscuous hispanics and fat-and-comic blacks, ugh to Hollywood.

Animes

Besides NBA games, the only TV shows I've watched are 2 animes. First is Nodame Cantabile. It’s about classical music, and it tells its story in a slice-of-life way, where vaguely connected events happen so we can understand the two leads better. All of its characters are likeably eccentric, although one of the leads is too arrogant.

When you write the name of a person on the Death Note, this person dies. Death Note is perhaps the most talked-about anime of the year, so I won't repeat what everyone's been saying. I'll just say it's deep, thrilling and philosophical - it will make you think of what justice represents. The anime starts excellently, but later episodes befuddle. The comics explain the events better, so I suggest getting the comics instead.

Videogames

If you think you're a badcore hardass (typo? lalalala!) I defy you to beat Contra 4. It does not have cutscenes, "profound" stories, and "gasp in awe of all these Maya graphics!" moments. It only has unmitigated BLASTING-ALIENS-INTO-OBLIVION fun. Oh yes! Contra is great again. It’s also DS-defenestrating difficult - the cover’s shirtless muscle-bound soldiers should be hint enough for that.

If you're someone who’d rather use your head than blast someone else's, get Phoenix Wright. And if not, get this game anyway, sheesh. I'm being objective. You play the eponymous character - a defense attorney - to defend clients and investigate crimes. Nothing is more exhilarating than your well-placed "Objection" supported by the correct evidence, accentuated by a dramatic silence preluding an upbeat song (I even have their arranged orchestra and jazz album! Click below for sample tracks). The story is very tight, and the characters are more compelling than anyone from Harry Potter.

Naruhodou Ryuuichi - Objection! (Jazz Version)

Naruhodou Ryuuichi - Objection! (Orchestra Version)

As Phoenix Wright can demonstrate, nihon-jins are reliable when you need a dose of zany and otherworldly ideas. Eternal Sonata, an RPG where you play as Frederic Chopin, stands as further testament. According to the game, when Chopin was comatose from a disease that would cost him his life, he had a dream of a land of young bandits, huge (but cute) monsters, and terminally-ill magicians. This is one of the rare Xbox360 games that do not have drab walls, depressions, hostile aliens, macho cuss words, marine-suits, steroids and silicones. It’s quite the contrary, as this game is very bright and colorful, and is populated with characters so innocuous you’d want to hug them.

Persona 3 is proof positive that PS2 still has life on it. Unlike most other RPG’s, which are downplayed by the term “interactive movie”, Persona 3 does involve you. You’ll only survive the game if you know everyone’s - yours, your allies’ and your enemies’ - strengths and weaknesses, so you can’t be doing the same lazy attacks all the time. Also, how other characters think of you depends on how you treat them. Unlike Final Fantasy, you won’t end up as a lover of any woman unless you’ve spent time with her. That’s how a real RPG should be! It should be more than just watching effeminate fancy-pants metrosexuals getting moody and rebellious while mashing the X button to oblivion (And no, Tetsuya Nomura, I’m not talking about your buckles, your angel wings, your douchebag Reno and your Gothic Mickey Mouse™!). I’m very addicted to this game, not just because it plays well, but also because it’s like living inside an anime. 

Books 

I’m only going to write about a few of the books I’ve read in 2007, because otherwise I will break this blog’s character limit. 

This is my much-belated view about Dumblepants: I think it’s out of place. I don’t have anything against gays and, if you recall my silly IM conversations with guile_sonicboom, I may have prognosticated it. I only find Rowling’s justification lacking. She said that even if Dumblepants was known as an altruist, during his younger years he had been drawn to Grindlerods, whose ideologies were sinister. That’s because D is gay about G. The problem is that she explained their relationship after the book is already finished. But how convenient! Is that the best she could come up with? Is it now unacceptable for two men become friends without being homoerotic? 

She also said that this is a “prolonged argument for tolerance”. Excuse me, Rowls, you do not argue for tolerance by shelving someone’s homosexuality throughout the story, only to reveal it in a press con. You do not reinforce acceptance by making the Death Eater or every Slytherins nihilistic and sly beyond redemption. 

The book’s biggest problem is convenience. Harry’s obstacles are rarely solved by his abilities; they just somehow get obliterated by something suddenly falling into place - be it by a phoenix, time machine, elves, Dumblepants, or spells unexpectedly saving someone’s life. Deathly Hallows suffered from this the most, such that it felt like Rowling has been pulling off fast ones. That’s why, of the series, I hated this book the most, even though I very much liked the person I borrowed this book from. Oh, and somebody burn the epilogue chapter, please.

Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud surpasses some of the Harry Potter's. They’re similar, but unlike Potter, Samarkand’s magic does bear real consequences on non-magician’s world. It even explains why certain events from our history happened (of course they’re fictional, but that’s what makes it fun). It also has none of them Deus Ex Machinas - the characters are left to their own devices when dealing with trials. And, speaking of characters, allow me to introduce you to Bartimaeus. Imagine him as a snarkier and more apathetic Holden Caulfield. Reading his chapters never grows old.

I had been urged by my best friend to read more business books, so I bought a Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo! by Francisco J. Colayco. And then I was reminded of why I've never been into business books: it's because their choice of words is so dry it could sharpen your pencil. From a layperson’s point of view, PMPM is okay. It offers pragmatic tips on how to become richer (basically, save money), and it reads very casually making it easily understood and applied. How I wish, though, that it would quit interchanging languages. And couldn’t they change the font? Is Comics Sans business-like at all?

Forget the movie, read Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. It wouldn’t take longer to finish the book than to watch the movie, and the movie cannot capture all of Robert Neville’s musings. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, on the other hand, is just as good as the movie, so either reading or watching it is okay. Koushin Takami’s Battle Royale is among the most disturbing novels I’ve read, and it also happens to be very good. Both Fight Club and Battle Royale provide sharp insights about our communities. 

When I was watching Star Wars Episodes 1-3, I came away amazed at its graphics. But when I finally got over the awe, I realized that they’re devoid of anything else, like a good story or good characterization. That’s exactly how I felt with Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami) too: that behind the high-flown words and simile/metaphors, it’s quite empty. And that’s when I started noticing Murakami’s writing patterns. He abuses simile/metaphors like a photocopier do to laser printers. He can only do it too much before I get annoyed like a dog unable to scratch away its itch. In case you’re asking “Nightdreamer, what’s with the couple of similes you used”, that’s exactly how Murakami writes. And am I supposed to be impressed that he knows more about Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Eric Dolphy than the average person? Why he name-drops assorted musicians all the time, and why he puts a background music on EVERY FRIGGIN' SCENE, I’ll never know. I didn't care much about his characters too: they’re never normal, they’re always weird - sometimes purposelessly so. In Wind Up, new weirdos get introduced so that the old weirdos can leave the story for good. What’s up with that? And good grief, can't Murakami write a story that does not take place on a self-centered and love-lorn average Joe's point of view? I'm not sure I can sympathize with Wind Up's because he tries to reunite with his wife by having sex with other women and by sitting under the well all night. Some back stories of the other characters are excellent, though, and that made me conclude that he’s much better off writing short stories. Wind Up is too long, and quite pointless. Maybe Norwegian Wood is better?

Whew, that’s my wrap-up. I’m exhausted now, but I hope you had a good time reading my capsule reviews.

My Shanghai Travel Writing

I've meant to write about Shanghai for quite some time, but I've been procrastinating. Even just by recalling Shanghai from memory, coherent thoughts wouldn't form. That's why I've not written about Shanghai two weeks since I've left it.

Know that this is not chronological, so I won't write like "On day 1 I was here, and on day 2…". Rather, I chose the highlights of the trip. I think that's for the best, otherwise this would be too long-winded, that when printed it will be so thick that most will think this is supposed to be of the intellectual bastion. That's why people buy business books - the thicker the books, the more ostentatiously smart they are, right?

Shanghai. It's not China's capital, but it's among the nation's most prosperous cities. Think of New York to America. These two cities are quite alike in regard to their countries, and the architectures of some of their buildings resemble each other's. Just walk along The Bund, and you'll see.

The Bund: Nighttime

 An Impressive clock tower

The Bund: Morning. It's foggy.

The Bund is similar to Baywalk (Philippines), except The Bund is a river's walkway. When you go there, you'll see a lot of European Art Deco/Beaux Art buildings behind you. These kinds of buildings can also be seen all over Manhattan (or on our Roxas Boulevard, although they're abandoned and unmaintained and changed from Beaux Arts to Bulox Farts). So try to keep your ears open because language is their only discernible difference. Look opposite to the Huangpu River, that there's the Pudong district. See the many tall modern skyscrapers like the Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower and the soon-to-be-finished World Trade Center. Of course, you can go there, climb up, and have a panoramic view of Shanghai. They're among the top ten tallest buildings of the world.

Jin Mao Tower (front) World Trade Center (back)

Pearl Tower (hide your snark, please) 

You can go from The Bund to Pudong by subway. Or you can go by The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. The admission fee to it is expensive ($4), but try it once anyway. You'll move by an underground cable car through a passage filled psychedelic lights accompanied by weird sci-fi music, making the going from point A to B very much like traveling to another dimension (or at least the common notion of dimensional transport. I really wouldn't know). See the final scenes of 2001: Space Odyssey. The experience is alike.

By the way, Shanghai is enormous, and that means if you want to see its tourists spots, you have to do a LOT of travelings. While the subway is useful, it does not go to all places. Get used to being peripatetic.

Ok, some may moan that they hate walking. Fine, but if you're touring anywhere, do not expect to get your money's worth if you're walk-phobic. I'm saying this because there might be some who are so amenities-spoiled they couldn't even cross the road (I know a handful of people like that), and will choose the guided package tours. Don't. They're not worthy. Guided package tours will take you to the tourists spots very briefly you'll fail to absorb the sceneries. And they'll also drag you to many irritating souvenir shops and awful restaurants. My suggestion is for you to plan your own itinerary and be prepared to walk a ton. That rule applies anywhere, but I just need to say it because I know of some who always use package tours instead. Walking is a fact of life. Deal with it.

Maybe you will think that I'm sidetracking, but I'm not. Walk a few kilometers from The Bund and you'll reach Nanjing Road, a very popular shopping street. You can also reach here by subway. You will see malls, restaurants, department stores, hotels, and shops. It's almost like New York's Times Square, which, for better or worse, means it's very bright, noisy and crowded. But this shopping district extends farther than Times Square, and is divided east and west with People's Park in between, with each of the three having its subway station. People's Park is a good repose from all the bustling, and has a museum near by. 

If you can read/speak Chinese, then take the bus; otherwise, you can walk (very far) or taxi to XinTianDi, south of People's Park. XinTianDi is an impressive sight because it looks like Paris (and even New Orleans). It has malls, galleries and theaters, but it's not so much a place to shop as it is to dine and wine. Very expensively at those. So unless you're willing to barhop and to splurge, going here might not be worth your time.

Xin Tian Di

Back off, dude. 

So far I've been talking about places in Shanghai that are reminiscent of the West. But I'm sure you didn't go to Shanghai for something like that; rather, you came with mental images of Oriental temples, old towns or pavilions. Well, worry not, Shanghai has many of those! The only drawback is that going to there without using taxis are like having a pilgrimage: manageably tiring, but oh-so-rewarding.

Yuyuan Garden is EXQUISITE! How could I even describe it? Just look at these pictures:

Yuyuan

 Yuyuan

 Yuyuan again

 Ditto

He's being reprimanded by a lion-hybrid

And you won't only see impressive gardens, pavilions and pagodas, you can also dine here (without giving Trillanes an open invitation to your pocket). They also have an expanse of shops where you can buy junks for your needy friends whose "Bon Voyage" actually means "Pasalubong ha!" (translation: don't forget my souvenirs). My only gripe here is that they have two Starbucks that plays Kenny G. When I think of traditional China, I think of emperors, temples, erhus and teahouses. Coffee shops and muzak JUST. DON'T. FIT.

Thankfully, Qibao does not have Starbucks. Qibao is identical to Yuyuan Garden, except if Yuyuan is of the affluent ancestors then Qibao is of the ancient everypeople. Both of them are uniquely fascinating. You'll travel a lot in going to Qibao (and here's a warning: the wikitravel's tip on that is inaccurate) because it's far from central Shanghai. A temple is here, which makes this place more spiritual than Yuyuan. They also have narrow streets that are full of sellers of foods and ancient Chinese goods.

He thinks he's a Tang Dynasty poet

Once again… 

Streets of Qibao 

Same 

For a temple that's nearer to the urban areas, go to Jade Buddha Temple. It is sacred, but you can go here to see the sheer magnificence of the Buddha statues of Maitreya, Siddharta, Guanyin and many others. What I don't like is that its incense is expensive: at $2 for 3 sets when it's 50 cents for one elsewhere. Even more absurd is that their incenses are said to have "different flavors", so there's a kind for family prosperity, another for love, another for harmony, and another for fortune. I don't get it. They also have souvenir shops that sell jewelries, paintings and antique statues. But, by far, the best thing about this temple (and believe me there's a lot to like) is the foods. They're scrumptious, affordable, and vegetarian-friendly.

Jade Buddha Temple

Buddha shrine

Jade Buddha Temple's Backyard

That covers it for my short Shanghai travel guide. There are too many places here that are worth your time, and I'm sure I haven't gone to as many as 1% of China's tourist spots. All I can say is that Shanghai is fabulous. You HAVE to go there when you get the chance.

Before I end this entry, here are my few observations about Shanghai:

• Did you know that Yao Ming is from Shanghai? He is the most famous individual of this country. There's a poster of him every hundred meters.
• The authorities can do things to you if you say something that indicts communism.
• People from Shanghai think that Philippines is a more prosperous nation than China. Ha ha ha. *nervous laughters*
• Pirated DVD costs $1-2.
• If you're a vegetarian, let Happy Cow guide you to finding vegetarian restaurants of any cities.
• Sun Yat Sen is much revered.
• Chiang Kai Shek isn't.
• Be wary of how the people here drive because they're very undisciplined. They swerve at will and they very often beat the red lights. Kind of like in the Philippines.
• Sadly, you'll get used to being-bumped-without-receiving-apologies.
• A lot of Chinese spit anywhere, but I've been told that people who do these are not from Shanghai.
• Have you ever seen Chinese acrobats? My goodness, they're practically boneless!
• Surprisingly, the immigration office from China is very well-mannered and efficient. Quite unlike pinoy's.
• I hate going into this "we pinoys don't have that" diatribe-land, but we DO need to improve, to work harder, and to STOP relying on delusional government's "efforts" and buzzwords. Stop believing in institutions that overrate their achievements. Please. Philippines is a beautiful country; we're just not doing our part to make it stay beautiful!
• The weather wasn't very good when I was in Shanghai. A foggy day, in Shanghai town/had me low, had me down/I viewed the morning with such alarm/the vista from Pudong had lost its charm…