I’ve been listening to my Dwarves collection to get in the mood for the punk concert tonight. My guess is that I’ll be the only Asian guy, let alone Chinese guy, there. It’s too bad their songs are all so short, I find that my playlist loops after only a few moments.

I watched Deliverance yesterday. I expected more to happen. So many movies nowadays are huge, sweeping epics that I guess I’m used to characters going to hell and back à la Armageddon. Still, it was a good movie, but I’d have to watch it again to be able to appreciate the themes of man vs. adversity and nature.

I had the chance to see Punch Drunk Love yesterday. Admittedly, it was the most painful movie I’ve ever seen. At quite a few points I felt an urge to stand up and walk out of the room, and I might have done so had Aaron not been there. This was the first and only movie to ever, ever make me want a happy ending. I figured that if I had to sit through some achingly sad and awkward scenes then I should be rewarded with a satiating denouement. Some scenes were characteristically Anderson, such as the hand-held shot taken with Barry peeking around a corner, or the slow, wispy grunts of the occupants of a car as it spins from a collision. I particularly liked a door mounted camera shot which ends off in a shudder as the door swings shut. It felt like Anderson was experimenting with this film, placing less emphasis on relational development and more on character development. I wouldn’t completely agree that Sandler has broken out of his typecast, since his old Waterboy characters were simply slightly tweaked for this movie. He was the right person for the role though, and casting made a good call with him and Emily Watson. On the whole, the movie was enjoyable, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to sit through it again.

Whenever I ride the bus, I listen to my music at a volume which drowns out any outside noise. This is not only due to the fact that the buses here are obnoxiously loud, but the fact that I can’t stand listening to the insipid conversations going on around me as well. I’d rather not listen to you hitting on that girl or how funny you think you are. I don’t want to hear about your opinions on The Latest Movie or how rude that customer was at work or how many times you decide to add “like” in a sentence. I suppose that it’s no one is really at fault, since the roaring engines in each bus prevent conversations at a normal volume. I can only hope that I don’t annoy other people as much as they annoy me if I’m traveling with a friend.

Nick has been accepted on the lease and will be moving in at the beginning of August.

I watched Infernal Affairs and enjoyed it. I particularly liked the cool colours of the film, which contrasts with how Hong Kong is normally portrayed in the movies. Anthony Wong is great as the superintendent, but all the other guys look too good to be cops.

I had the chance to watch Forrest Gump today, and re-experience was an amazing film it was again. I spent many hours as a kid (or, more appropriately, as a social hermit) watching it over and over again.

My grade nine history class allowed me the privilege of understanding the subtleties of certain scenes used as a time stamp, such as Governor Wallace protesting the desegregation of the public school system, or each war Lieutenant Dan’s ancestors died in.

It was odd to watch a film I haven’t seen in so long, yet to be able to quote most parts of it word for word, tone for tone, accent for accent. Everything seemed so foreign yet so familiar. Every scene brought an old emotion, unfelt since the last time I watched it so long ago.

It was interesting to understand new things about the movie, things which were beyond my comprehension in my youth. It became apparent that I learned much since then, and that I was experiencing the movie in a different way. As James Cole notes in 12 Monkeys while watching Vertigo, one may watch a film twice, but it may seem different when the changes are solely in oneself.

I only now understand Lt. Dan’s struggles with his fate and philosophy. I remember being very physically attracted to Robin Wright, and I guess I simply lost that attraction. I hadn’t fully appreciated the strength of Forest’s mother until seeing it again today. The list goes on.

It must be rare to have something which can be used as a meter or ruler in which one can measure ones progress. I hold self-improvement and intelligence as such important things in my life that I am constantly trying to use one to better the other, and consequently I may lose sight of how far I’ve gone.

Hopefully there is more to go.

I watched Shaolin Soccer with Aaron and it was pretty good. I laughed so hard at one point that I felt like throwing up. It’s a pretty good combination of action and humour, and doesn’t follow the same formula as other of Steven Chow’s movies (although that’s hardly a bad thing). I missed the love story though, which wasn’t as developed as I would have liked, something which isn’t characteristic of his comedies. Every Steven Chow movie I own has at least one relationship developing between him and some female deuteragonist, sometimes in more complicated triangles with other cute female co-stars. Aaron agreed that Chiu Mei looked good bald (or “blad”, as per the classically terrible subtitles), which was surprising considering the fact that he doesn’t generally like bald girls and I prefer girls with at least a few millimeters of hair.

I won’t go into the Italian Job, which I caught when John was over, and how bad a movie it was. Needless to say, he won’t be choosing the movie when we go out again. I should have learned from Teaching Miss fucking Tingle.

I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to look for a job. Pat gave me a few pointers on my resume, so I’ll be redoing it and submitting it all over town. All the computer science geeks I know either have jobs from co-op, are jobless, or are working in clothing outlets. Jonathan’s attempt at getting me hired seems to have fallen through.