.Crazy.Serious.

It's friday night! Whoopdee-doo!

In order to pull myself from the mess Kuya Mot has indirectly gotten me into, I readily agreed to hear the Wednesday mass offered for St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei.

Prayers really do make miracles. I was cured of the obsession for the remaining days of this week. I never really appreciated how influential and comforting hearing mass was.

Now I do.^_^


In relation to our then topic, orientalism in the society, our history professor made us watch an underground commercial film (or maybe it was just an old movie). It was titled "M Butterfly" which was based on a play Madame Butterfly.

The movie was set in China around 1960's after the Frenchmen lost to China's defense. Basically, a French diplomat fell in love with a Chinese opera singer who, in the end, turned out to be a spy for the Chinese communists. To make the story more twisted, the spy was not a woman but a homosexual! Tough luck for that naive Frenchman. The movie ended with the European killing himself as he performed the play he saw his so-called 'butterfly' portray in front of his seventy plus cell mates.

I loved being exposed to such films. It makes me feel so small. Eagerness to achieve more than what I can grasp now overwhelms me. I can't wait to soar.


Some readings:
The New Dress by Virginia Wolf: It talks of how uncomfortable the protagonist is about braving the norms. It shows how ugly (even if just on the inside) ordinary people can get when they are placed in awkward situations.

I shamefully admit that I can somehow relate to the main character. I was a judgmental know-it-all who needed some good old boxing in the ears. Now, I have come out of it. And though I'm still a little bit afraid to hit the other line bordering the social norms, I'm doing the best I can.
Smaller and Smaller Circles by Felisa H. Batacan: It's a novel about a serial killer lurking the Payatas Area in Quezon City who targets boys 13 to 14 years of age. He/She neatly removes the heart, then the internal organs. He/She also peels of the kids' faces by cutting just under the chin, from ear to ear. The experts working on them are Jesuit priests and NBI was portrayed as an innately justice-oriented government agency who just happens to be occupied by attention-and-fame-greedy people.


I have not finished reading the story yet but I can say, as far as to what I have read, that it is nice to have this kind of literary work available to Filipino readers. After all the Nancy Drew stories, all the Detective Conan shows, all the Crime/Suspense and CSI cases, comes Smaller and Smaller Circles - a Filipino original. (Although, a few parts reminded me of Dan Brown and others).

This novel is something we, Pinoys, should be proud of. We are also getting bigger and bigger. Just like a seed that does not grow into a tree overnight, Philippines still need some watering and a cheerful song to back her up.^_^