Illusion of Words

Teachers

They come in so many varieties. Some are dearly loved and friendly. Those get tables heaped with presents on Teacher’s Day. But there are other teachers, who for one reason or another, are despised and never receive any presents.

Back in primary school - I must confess I do not remember much of it - there was a teacher who had the most crazy moods. Which included throwing tantrums - screaming, throwing books, overturning chairs… It was fortunate that I was good in English. If you weren’t good at it, you better watch out. The teacher would be all over you with the least mistake in class. My brother tells me occasionally the stories of the teacher. Swear words - stuff like the s-word - are common when the teacher is angry. More wrenching is the demeaning of the children. Stuff like, “you’re worthless”, “you’re bs” etc…

I think the teacher has grown more violent over the years…

But then there were other teachers too, that inspired and brought so much color to the dull classes. My former high school English teacher is brimming with sarcastic humor, something to look forward to on a boring day. My former science teacher is everybody’s favourite teacher - despite having favourites in the class. (I remember during exams, the teacher would actually tell me a few answers… which made me feel guilty. Is that called cheating?)

You can’t doubt that they do influence your life. Even from teaching to mentoring. They always say teachers are the most important figures. I say, not every teacher is that important. Some I rather not have.

Just a little extra which has nothing to do with teachers. I saw this article on digg. Totally weird. link

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The Sound of Music

Let me start with, in my opinion, the most popular ‘old’ movie in Malaysia - or at least Sibu. Most of the folks I know have watched it, and most of them own the dvd or cd. I’m not sure why, since say ‘Casablanca’ or ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ evokes blank stares, but the Sound of Music, made in 1965, is so popular.

Everyone likes it. I got to admit, after watching it at least once a year since I was but a small child, I love it too. It’s got the very ingredients to make a good family movie - humor, love story, cute kids, gorgeous songs (and singing), and of course, Julie Andrews and the dashing Christopher Plummer (in those days, of course).

It’s supposed to be based on a true story. At least the von Trapp family was real. However, being a musical and a movie, a lot of details don’t follow the original story. I don’t really mind that though - how many movies have you seen that are truly historically correct?

If you’re from Sibu, you probably have watched it before. If not, I’ll give a quick summary: Maria is a nun-in-training, but she’s far too ‘wild’. So the Reverend Mother sends her off to be the governess of 7 kids belonging to Captain von Trapp. Those kids were ‘impossible’, but Maria soon gains their affections with her singing and whatnot. Anyway, eventually the captain falls for her and Maria vice versa (saw that coming, didn’t you?). But the Nazis are in Austria, and the captain must make a choice whether or not to take up his new position in the German army. Of course, you know the answer. Hint: the captain is a real Austrian patriot.

So, the bottom line is, the more I watch it, the more I like it. And really, Christopher Plummer as the captain is too good-looking! Timeless family classic and unforgettable songs.

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Classic movies

Average teenagers go after every single new movie that hits the theaters these days. Superhero movies take the box-office every time. But I’m not your average teenager (in fact, I wonder if I did have ‘actual teenage years’). I’ve no interest in watching superhero movies, though in extreme boredom I do watch some movies on tv - like Anacondas 2 a couple of days ago. Very stupid and lame movie, I had loads of fun criticizing it.

To clarify, ‘no interest’ means I won’t make any effort for the sake of the movie. For classic movies, however, it’s a little different. I can’t really remember when I got hooked to those all-time classics. Must have begun with that ‘Parental Guide to Movies’ which was from the eighties, and from where I started with Hitchcock movies. Then it must’ve evolved to imdb lists and other all-time lists, which led to the first classics I watched - ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Casablanca’.

Not really for the sake of enjoyment, sometimes. More for the sake of education. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment, when somebody asks whether anyone has watched a certain old old movie, and you have. Like last Sunday, when the sermon was on the Old Testament, and 3 old movies were mentioned. ‘Gone With the Wind’, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘Sound of Music’. The question, “Do you like old b&w movies?” was posed and everyone shouted “NO!!” I’ve watched two of the three, since ‘Lawrence’ was a tad long so I made no effort to watch it.

Here I must mention that for some reason, ‘Sound of Music’ is the most popular old movie around here. It’s like everyone has watched it - the only classic most kids ever watched. I can’t understand why.

Anyway, back to the Sunday. My mom and my sis also felt kind of ‘accomplished’. As they stated, thanks to my educating.

In the next few posts, if I feel up to it, I’ll put up some reviews of classics I’ve watched and liked. Granted, I’m not a classics expert, I’ve watched barely a percentage of all the movies in the past. But well, for a Malaysian still at a young age, I suppose it’s a pretty good percentage…

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Coldplay and their new two songs

As anyone who is a regular listener of music would know, Coldplay came out with two new songs from their going-to-be album, “Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends”. Not to say I’m a regular listener of Coldplay, or of music, but those two songs were really quite intriguing.

Still quite the same old vague lyrics, but when the first few seconds of ‘Violet Hill’ played, it didn’t sound exactly well… Coldplay-ish. At least not like ‘Yellow’ or ‘Clocks’ or to an extent, ‘Fix You’(but all that was light-years ago…)

Regardless, I admit ‘Violet Hill’ and ‘Viva la Vida’ were really nice songs. It’s been awhile since I’d listen to a song repeatedly. At least I’m not sick of it yet. And the choruses keep ringing through my head alternately.

One moment it’s ‘If you love me, won’t you let me know….’, the next it’s ‘I hear Jerusalem’s bells a-ringing…’

Anyway, hooray for the first picture in many many posts!

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