It Ends Today

Well, not today but a couple of days before, actually. My stint as a Professional Livewire has officially ended a... couple of days before. I will now be employed. On the 3rd of November. The job description isn't thrilling, unless you consider data encoding to be one big par-tay! But the pay is swell and the location of the office? Gorgeous. So gorgeous, in fact, that if it was a person, I'd muster up enough courage to approach it and say... "Gosh! You're gorgeous, mister!"

I am now dreaming of killing time at the mall, watching some movie's last full show right before my shift starts. Because guess what? The office is right smack near the Mall of Asia. Hello, countless fast food joints! Hello, hello, HELLO! *waves furiously* And now that I am finally going to be employed, the biggest daydream I have is to get back my former website. I am so thrilled. Color me drooling.

Random: Below is a photo of my current favorite band, Tickle Me Pink. Please don't give me crap about emo music. I love them and there's nothing I can do to help squelch those tearjerker lyrics and the wails and howls and screams. Amen.

David Cook, American Idol and I: 'Twas the Day

I had refused to listen to the "Always Be My Baby" rendition of David Cook for five days now, just to curb my frighteningly growing obsession over his sexy, sexy voice. This self-imposed task cost me dozens of mugs of coffee (mugs and not cups, mind you), of looking around Digg for something more geeky and of listening to "The Used" and "Red Jumpsuit Apparatus" instead. And then. AND THEN the David Cook-free me woke up not-so-early today with a dream about the winner of "American Idol Season 7." And let me tell you this: He was just as gorgeous in my dream as he was in the internet and television. And get this: He sang "Time of My Life" to me. His voice was just as sexy as I've heard from the downloaded songs of his in my computer. You know what else? We were such good pals there. We were such good pals that he just had to put an arm around my shoulders. And did I just detect a hint of attraction on his part?

I will not even try to dabble in pop psychology in order for me to understand the logic behind that certain dream. Instead, here and now, an article I read weeks ago about David Cook came to mind. The article was titled "Is It Fair for David Cook to Cover Cover Songs?" To sum it all up, the article pointed out how Cook is credited for songs which aren't his and if this is fair at all. The article said that to be fair to Cook, he did make it clear that the songs were this artist or that artist's arrangement. Meaning to say that the "American Idol" (season 7) winner gave credit where it's due. However, I do agree with the writer of that certain article that David Cook will have a couple of difficulties in proving himself to be genuine. This is for the simple reason that the world he's now going to get exposed to is harsh and unforgiving. Like in any show business world, it's dog eat dog out there. He will do his best to prove himself, come up with stuff of his own and most probably infuse covers as well. And when he does that, there will undoubtedly be some people who will be waiting for one misstep. There will be people who will criticize him and his music. And these criticisms are what could make or break David Cook's career.

I still have yet to listen to the album of David Cook to know. And if he turns out to be a disappointment? You will surely hear my heart go splat! on the ground.

The Top 5 Disturbingly Haunting Films Ever

I am horror junkie. Books, radio station segments, campfire stories, and films -- you name it, I love it. I love it the same way I love Reese' Peanut Butter Cups, and that's saying a lot. Year after year after year I consume disturbingly haunting movies. There are five that have been forever engraved in my mind, though, and some of them I wish I could just forget. One gave me three nightmares (count them: three) while another made a chicken shit out of me, as I couldn't be anywhere alone. Without further ado, here is the list of The Top 5 Disturbingly Haunting Films EVER.

The Shining

"Here's Johnny!!" There goes that infamous line from one of Stephen King's novels. The book was already chilling by itself and the movie version made the plot jump out at you, making it even more vivid (as if the images the book procured wasn't spine-tingling enough).

"The Shining" revolves around the Torrance family and began when Jack Torrance (the father played by Jack Nicholson) took the job as a caretaker of a breathtaking and popular hotel in Colorado, the Overlook. What seemed like their ticket to solving their financial and problems soon turned out to be the exact opposite. "This inhuman place makes inhuman monsters." With the Overlook's grim and haunting history, the Torrances soon found themselves in the middle of terror and evil that seems to be coming from the presence of the hotel itself. Danny Torrance, their five year-old son, has "the shining." That is to say that he has the sixth sense, and the Overlook wants every piece of him. The story spins into a knot of horror and macabre as Jack, Wendy (the mother) and Danny try to fight the evil that is the Overlook.

The ending of "The Shining" is something you need to see. Even right at the very end, the horror was still there. How so? That's for you to find out.

Battle Royale

This. This is the Japanese film that gave me three nightmares. I wouldn't have discovered it (nor watched it, if you want the whole truth) if not for my Film class. There are no ghosts in this film, just some high school students. What's so scary about this film, then? Just picture this: Your class gets picked to be exiled in a remote island. The government does this once a year and if having an all-expense paid trip seems like such fun, then this film might just change your mind. Because guess what? Your class was actually sent there to kill each other.

"Battle Royale" is all about the brutality, paranoia and fear of the game of survival. Each student is given a bag (a kit, if you'd like to call it that) that contains some food, drink and a weapon. And an instruction to kill each other because there can only be one left. Apparently, this is done yearly to cut down the population. Weapons inside the bag varies, from arrows to guns to pots and pans. Oh, and don't forget that device the students wore around their neck. If one so much as attempts to take it off or leave the island, it will explode immediately. Good bye, you. You're not fit to survive.

How did the story end? That's something you have to see for yourself. "Battle Royale" is really a film that can strike a chord within you.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Here is yet another film that made a scaredy cat out of me (and I'm not scared that easily). Sure, some of those who have watched it might say it's boring and predictable. However, this is what I'm going to say about it: This movie, even with its serious court scenes, is horrifying. Why? Because it's real. It can happen without any warning. And, most of all, it doesn't deal with ghosts and such. This movie deals with the devil (I try not to shudder as I said that). Think "The Exorcist", only that this one is based on a true story.
"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is thought-provoking and it really tests your faith. I think that its solid link to reality is what makes this film haunting and scary. Oh yeah, you need to watch it because I think that its chapel scene, by far, the creepiest.

Ju-on

If you think that the Hollywood version of this film ("The Grudge" which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar) is already scary, then you ain't seen nothing yet. Try popping its original version, "Ju-on." It's basically the same thing with "The Grudge" EXCEPT that the Hollywood version decided to chuck out scenes that contributed to the wholeness, the spine-tingling factor, of the film.

In "Ju-on", it isn't shy about telling the tales of each of the person who had the misfortune of stepping inside the house. There's that scene at the house itself, where a group of high school girls decided to hang out. And guess who came out of the hiding, dragging itself towards the group of girls in its horrifyingly awkward fashion?

Really, the Hollywood version did no justice to the original Japanese "Ju-on." Why not watch it yourself and then tell me what you think?

Phone

If there is anything I've learned, Asians have this great talent at coming up with horror films. They have this hushed, creeping way of telling a story. And then before you know it... BAM! The scenes that unfold before you are a flurry of horrifying events. And "Phone" is no exception.

It seems harmless. At first. There's the seemingly perfect middle class family: mom, dad and daughter (who could be no more than five). They live in a posh home and everything seems bright, shiny and happy. Until you discover the real deal about the daughter. Until you find out the father's secret. Until you find out the whole family's secret, which is in connection with the married couple's good friend. What's so creepy about "Phone" is the way the daughter was used as the means of menace and brutality. There is nothing more haunting and horrifying than seeing a little girl screaming on top of the staircase "Who among you wants to die for me?" while beating her chest with her small fist, her eyes blazing and reeking with nothing but evil intent. And don't even get me started about her grin. *shudder*

"Phone" is definitely a must if you're into horror films like me, that much I can say.

Unemployed at 25

I filed for my resignation roughly two weeks ago and it led to yesterday's last day at the office. Beyond the fun of that day (of the ping-pongs of good byes and the banters about hosting a drinking session, if not a pizza fest), as I sit here in front of the computer, I think to myself in a chiding tone, "Now what?"

It's not like I'm not taking steps in finding a new job (one that's nearer and hopefully pays more) but this is the part wherein I realize that where I am right now is not exactly where I want to be. Sure, resigning at work was a smart move, considering I had to travel for 3-4 hours each work day (going to and from the office, that is). The distance affected me in some ways, thus the decision to resign.

Times like this, I remember the character named Jhaye from the T.V. series called "Wonderfalls." She's 24, a college dropout, lives in a trailer with being a cashier as her job. In the idiot box, that didn't seem like much of a big deal. It even came off as amusing. In real life, however, it's not. It's nowhere amusing. Now is the cue for Life to bite me in the ass and remind me that the real world? Not so forgiving and tolerable of reasons you have in giving up a job, no matter how sensible.

You know how I feel right now? Like I'm walking straight into the wide, loving jaws of a whale who's going somewhere I don't know. And I'm there in its belly, where it's dark and things are uncertain and untrustworthy.

"Angels & Demons" Upcoming Movie Riles the Vatican

When the world got exposed to a book entitled "Da Vinci Code" (written by Dan Brown), it was all everyone could talk about. It had everything you could expect from a great novel: intrigue, mystery and suspense. It did not come as a surprise that the book eventully made it into the Hollywood scene. A movie was produced, with Tom Hanks starrring as Robert Langdon, nonetheless. The "Da Vinci Code" movie stirred excitement and curiosity and managed to raise some eyebrows along the way as well. And why not? It was one book-turned-movie that threw in controversial issues regarding the Catholic church.

But it seems as if that wasn't enough to stop Hollywood. Guess what they're coming up with next? A movie version of "Angels & Demons. It is actually a prequel to the acclaimed "Da Vinci Code" and is just as controversial as well. The story revolves around the Illuminati, an anti-matter and the Vatican. (Think brutally murdered cardinals, for one thing.) How in the world can all these three be thrown together in the same book? Trust Dan Brown to come up with yet another great novel. If you think "Da Vinci Code" was fast-paced, then expect the same thing from "Angels & Demons." Only about ten times more fast-paced.

However, it seems that this certain upcoming movie had managed to rile some people in the Vatican. They had banned the filmmakers from filming inside the Vatican or any of the churches found in Rome. They described Dan Brown's work as "an offense against God." Even the head of the Vatican’s Prefecture for Economic Affairs, Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, made a comment. He said that Dan Brown had poisoned the faith by turning the gospel upside down. So where does that leave the filmmakers? Well, they are left to utilize their Hollywood studios to recreate the churches and the Vatican. Apparently, there's no stopping this movie.

The "Angels & Demons" movie is going to star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and is directed by Ron Howard. Let's see if this movie will also be just as successful as its book.

source: Daily Galaxy