I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

Cabarete sunset, originally uploaded by roooosah.

I watched Invictus this weekend, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon (L). The title of the movie is the poem that got Nelson Mandela through his 27 years in prison, by William Ernest Henley. I recall reading that poem in Grade 8 in my first ever high school social studies class. At 13 years old, I had no clue what the poem meant. Now older and wiser with some poetry training, I now understand that the this poem, kept Mandela's will strong, and to reunite his country after such hard times. I'm probably romanticizing the Apartheid issue as I'm not too familiar with the details. The movie however, told an important story represented through Mandela's political and human strategy of rugby to reunite the country. It is films like these, one that tells a story, one with a purpose, one with conviction, that I truly enjoy. The following is another poem by William Ernest Henley of an entirely different mood from Invictus.

Between the dusk of a summer night
Between the dusk of a summer night
And the dawn of a summer day,
We caught at a mood as it passed in flight,
And we bade it stoop and stay.
And what with the dawn of night began
With the dusk of day was done;
For that is the way of woman and man,
When a hazard has made them one.
Arc upon arc, from shade to shine
The World went thundering free;
And what was his errand but hers and mine --
The lords of him, I and she?
O, it's die we must, but it's live we can,
And the marvel of earth and sun
Is all for the joy of woman and man
And the longing that makes them one.

--William Ernest Henley

beauty in the eye of the beholder

There aren't too many occasions on which my breath is taken away.
Only in circumstances when my heart and soul is moved beyond a threshold unquantifiable or indescribable. My heart and soul is likely to be moved by things I find beautiful. These "things" are often not material objects. I can look up at the sky, and wholly adore the pink streaks of cloud off in the horizon, or the thin stream of sunlight peaking through the grey swirl of clouds. I don't need a photo to justify what I feel. It's the sense of awe (in a calming way), to feel the nature's beauty.

When I went to see The Nightingale and other Short Fables, presented by the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre, I was utterly beguiled by the beautiful voices. I enjoy opera, but not all opera. Some I find too shrill or too forceful. In The Nightingale, the voices were sublime. The beautiful voices mixed with the stunning set design made me want to weep. Again, a moment that couldn't be captured by a photo (literally, photos weren't allowed anyway).

What prompted me to write this entry is a song from Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong Soundtrack, with music composed by James Newton Howard. The song, Beautiful, captures the essence of the relationship between King Kong and Ann. Every time I watch the movie, I shed tears...many tears. Although seemingly unrealistic, a giant "beast", carries a tough exterior but a soft, fuzzy, and sometimes vulnerable personality. Ann brought out the best in King Kong, but also the worst. The line said by Jack Black in the end, "No, the beauty killed the beast", is probably one of my favourite movie quotes. The soundtrack composed by James Newton Howard goes so well with the movie. Every time I hear Beautiful, my eyes well up, and I lose my breath.

I live for moments like this. I hope artists find reactions such as mine rewarding. Be it music, paintings, structures, words...I am moved.

It's August!

I can't believe it's already August. Time really flies when you're doing nothing and having fun at the same time. I've been keeping myself busy these past few days but "busy" doesn't really mean my schedule is jam-packed and I'm running all over the place.

It's nice not to have so much structure in my life. Spontaneity happens and my mind feels like it's almost in a "zen" mode. It's been nice catching up with friends and I have yet to see any family. My madre is arriving in a few days so I'll be asking to be taken care of :P

In my spare time at night, I've been watching lots of DVDs and VHS as well. Here are some of the flicks I've caught lately.

• Becoming Jane (surprisingly good)
  
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (finally!)
  
• In Good Company (I really enjoyed this one)
  
• Little Women (one of my faves!)
  
• Monster in Law (pretty funny. But still not a fan of JLo)
  
• Chasing Liberty (enough said)
• Two Weeks Notice (terrible script but I love Hugh Grant)
  
• Hoodwinked (love it!)
  

I watched "In Good Company" last night. I have a thing for Topher Grace and I believe him to be excellent in this film. The "out with the old and in with the new" theme was written into the script gracefully and carried out by the actors in the same manner. The themes are obvious and that was the kind of movie I needed to watch. I don't want to be analyzing the movie to death and not get anywhere. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend. It relates to me in the way that I don't always know what I want to do and question my ability and passion.

Now that it's August, time is really going to fly. I'll be back in Toronto in a blink of an eye. I can already predict how I will feel when time comes since I've been through it so many times. But it's safe to say that there are some great things awaiting my return.

Cheers

utterly bewitched and beguiled

I don't know what it is about Pride and Prejudice (the movie), but it brings me a feeling of awe and contentment everytime I watch it.
It's not all about the love stories for me, although I do love the love stories; it's about the witty and smart banter exchanged - whether it be blatant or polite. People don't converse in that way anymore, and I understand why we don't. Today's conversations just seem so vulgar in comparison.

Perhaps it is also because I'm feeling forlorn from recent events of the heart; and the soundtrack to this movie is so bloody beautiful - I sit senseless for a good few hours, as I am now.

Sometimes I wish we could just follow our hearts with no barriers...but life as we know it is a minefield.
The strings tugging at our hearts versus our minds that bind us to sense and logic is severely difficult to deal with. However, we must accept the realities we face and cut the strings.