Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, said on Friday that he is pulling the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution.”

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,” Smith (R-Texas) said. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”

Okay so the article says SOPA is dead but I’d like to think it’s simply not the priority/not the trending topic for a while. I’m guessing Mr. Smith got a personal phone call from the CIA or some “big officer” which practically pointed a gun to Smith’s head. That officer must’ve been a fan of one of the major victims of this movement: Megaupload. If not, then perhaps someone must’ve known the massive repercussions of such an act in which if implemented in today’s free internet society would promote a massive revolution of pandemic proportions.

Internet: 1 Congress: 0

 One of the world’s most popular file-sharing sites was shut down, and its founder and several company officials were accused of facilitating millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content.

A federal indictment Thursday accused Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers.

Guys, we shouldn’t be scared. I saw this post on 9gag which has this pic

Click to enlarge

Thank you megaupload, I hope your staff will be fine. I pray for other sites specially the people at The Pirate Bay.

Image courtesy of Internet-D

So what the fuck is SOPA? It’s practically a bill that threatens to empower the U.S. government to stop or take down sites that have certain copyright issues with them for those sites that are based in the U.S.

Why the fuck should you care? Well, wordpress, for instance, is based in the U.S. The same goes for Youtube, Yahoo, and yes, Google.

Want a better explanation? Here’s a link from one of the major websites that have already begun its protest. And I’m sure you use that site A LOT. Would you, a common user, want Wikipedia to VANISH?

Heck, even Google is preparing retaliation.

EVEN THE FATHER OF THE INTERNET IS AGAINST IT!

For those who frequent CNET, here’s their take on it.

As for me? The bill, as I’ve yet to read it myself, is really touching the very sensitive part of internet users. The bill, as many have stated, is quite vague with regards to what is copyrighted and what is to be censored.

And it could be anything.

Click to enlarge

This movie, in a nutshell, was just genius. I watched this just a few hours ago and I can’t wait to watch it again on my computer! My review (and sadly, spoilers) below.

REVIEW

Okay, so the first film was awesome too. I first had a problem with Downey Jr.’s accent being too good but this movie made it easier for people like me to grasp his witty lines. Thanks for making it easier!

There’ll be spoilers up ahead because I simply cannot contain myself for the frustrations they made me have during the first 10 minutes of the film! I’ll blank it out, as usual, so you can just skip to the summary at the very bottom.

Characters:

The one thing that will always nag at me would be the fact that they killed Irene Adler in this film! NOOOO!!! And they made it twice as painful for me because I’m a Rachel McAdams fan for chrissake! Moriarty, Y U SO EVIL! I was so happy to see her the that I thought “OH YEAH! TEAMING UP WITH ‘THE WOMAN‘!”

Halfway through the film, I had hope she’d somehow survived the murder but when I saw how Moriarty confirmed her death…T_T

But a death is not without use. It thoroughly gave the audience that, even if Sherlock was usually oblivious to human feelings, he is still human and that even a great mind has a heart that needs to love and be loved. Such was the case when Moriarty told Holmes how he got rid of Adler, Holmes was simply at a loss for words. Yes. Sherlock Holmes was just speechless and you can see the shock and the sadness and the anger all happening inside his head. And yes, all those emotions he never thought he’d have use for suddenly found their way into his well-guarded mind. 

The film also shows us how Watson’s wedding also affected Holmes in an unexpected manner. I mean, Holmes already lost a lover, he now believes he’ll be losing a partner which is most likely the only true friend he ever had (left). 

I loved the fact that this film introduced Mycroft. And, because I read the novels, I immediately recognized his attitude and how Watson stated “Diogenes” which immediately made a light bulb spark in my brain which automatically made me blurt out “Mycroft!”. I sure hope the people beside me didn’t mind that. I could only wish he had more parts to play with regards to supporting Holmes in cases where Holmes can’t be in two places at once (trust me, he can do that).

Professor Moriarty. Yes, Holmes’ true nemesis. If Holmes is the light that shows the path to the truth then Moriarty is the shadow that obscures everything from view. I particularly loved scenes where Sherlock and Moriarty would have their dialogues. When Moriarty revealed himself, I immediately thought “this movie is gonna be awesome”.

Comedy:

You gotta hand it to the producers for this one. It’s similar to other action-comedy films but with more tact.

Witty dialogue paired with awesome action scenes is always a good mix in a movie. But it’s the unusual comedy that gets the good grades in films.

I specially love the scene where Watson is to be married to Mary Morstan but the night before was simply more than enough to get the pair wasted that hilarity ensues upon their arrival on where the wedding would take place.

This part, though, also showed how Holmes is both happy and sad about this. Happy because Watson got what he wanted and sad because he knew he’ll be losing a best friend.

Story:

The story is very fun to watch unravel but you’ll find reviews that stated the first film’s story was a whole lot better. Hmmm, I guess the first film can be considered a lot better because it really gave us the impression that Sherlock Holmes was no ordinary detective. In this film, I think the producers wanted more action scenes so it can’t be helped if they had a hard time mixing the essence of this both being a true detective film and action flick. 

I really liked it, though. I just thought the character development was a bit lacking in some of the new casts. Then again, if you’re going to double in action, you gotta reduce something.

Once you watch it, and if you’ve read the novels, you’ll realize in the end that it greatly resembles the last story. I haven’t read that part yet but I knew from the wiki entries that the final fight between Moriarty and Holmes will take place near a waterfall. So I was like “WHAT?! Only one sequel!” but then again, I thought if this film was the end, I wouldn’t really mind because the film was just pure genius.

One particular thing I loved about the film was that it wasn’t just Holmes and Watson doing all the work this time. I appreciate the extra effort in this. Thumbs up!

Overall: 8.5/10

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows is a breath of fresh air from the same movie genres we see in trailers nowadays (heroes, zombies, aliens, end of the world, monsters). We need a factual fictional superhero and Sherlock Holmes is simply that.

 If only some of the characters were more developed in the story, I’d give it a 10. 

EXTRAS:

The ending was just too good You really have to give it to the producers for the ending. 10/10 for that

I can’t wait for part 3!

Bob Ong's latest novel

Let’s start the year right: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU! I went out early this morning (0520) for a good round of jogging. It’s funny because I’m pretty sure the fireworks and all the banging kept me up until 0100 but my body still managed to wake up 20 minutes before the alarm went off (0420).

I guess my Circadian Rhythm never fails to be consistent with regards to having just enough sleep which usually ranges from 6-7 hours.

Now on with the review. In this article, I’ll be talking about the Filipino pop culture favorite’s new book.

In a nutshell, it’s about certain TV tropes surrounding a typical Pinoy’s favorite TV show or film. Bob Ong’s novel fairly reminds me of his most likely best seller but it’s not without original and witty content. I’m not spoiling anything to say the least. All I’ll be saying is that it’s not exactly a very entertaining book if a comparison would be made against his first 3 books. The stories told are much about the recycled materials film producers and directors give the audience with a “quantity over quality” philosophy in which the quantity would be interpreted as the amount of money a certain project would produce.

Bob’s subtle messages aren’t so subtle as compared to his fairly more popular books. The book clearly states the message Bob wants the audience to know which gave me the impression that he wrote this book with a bit of rebellion or perhaps anger towards the local media and, yes, the target audiences who, due to the desensitization and commercialism brought on by the local media, have lost most of the good taste in what they consume from books and television. Bob’s statement is pretty clear: People have grown dumber and much more naive in the last decade.

Bob Ong’s personal observation must’ve come from the fact that people are still taking new shows as “new” despite the heavy resemblance to classics during the 90′s. Bob tells us the media has taken advantage of the way most of the population lies ignorant over the fact that they are being shown reruns with new actors and different settings. I can compare this to eating left-overs from last week’s dinner party. Dinner last week was so awesome that they froze the left-overs and fed them to a new bunch of people and tell them it’s freshly cooked.

Bob also tells us of how ignorant we’ve become with regards to how we maximize the opportunities and resources given to us. Like for example the use of internet has enabled virtually everyone to have their opinions seen, heard, or even watched. And yet most people would rather watch gore, porn, update their Facebook with crap, and simply waste time, literally clicking their lives away.

That’s all I can really say about the book. Then again, there’s really nothing much to say. As I’ve stated earlier, everything is pointed clearly. Bob Ong must’ve gotten sick of being subtle that he literally opted to make all his points as clear as daylight during a long summer day. I mean, he provoked his reader in the end. How did he provoke us? You’ll just have to find out if you still haven’t read this.

I give this book a 6/10.

It’s not really about the story but it could’ve helped. I really miss his old style of writing where he tells it from his own P.O.V.

British actor-comedian Russell Brand is divorcing “California Gurls” songstress Katy Perry after 14 months of what had appeared to be one of Hollywood’s happier marriages.

“Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage,” Brand said in a statement to The Associated Press on Friday. “I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.”

WUZZAH! Katy cat is up for grabs again for us guys!

I’m quite not aligned with the usual social conformity 95% of the world has often opted to do.

Like for example, whenever I have spare time (from work, sleeping, hanging out with friends, going to conventions/seminars, etc.), I don’t really watch too much TV (save for NGC, Discovery channel, CNN, BBC, some TV drama like HOUSE, Criminal minds, HBO, Starmovies, etc.) so it goes to show that I don’t really follow most popular TV series nowadays (and no, I won’t follow local for some reason you people might deem elitist if I wrote it here).

I mean, I get like 4 hours of TV a week and that happens on weekends when I simply want to lie in bed and flip a few channels.

So in my spare time, I’d rather be doing one of the things below:

1. Surf the web*
2. Read books
3. Exercise
4. Play video games
5. Fantasize what it would be like to date that certain someone you’ve been dying to ask out but couldn’t due to certain imperfections that I really have to iron out so as to not come out like a total loser and be friendzoned simply because she’s worth the effort of a Russian which amounts to 140%.*

*5 and 1 are interchangeable

A brilliant coming of age film

First things first:

Help yourself to some tidbits on what the movie’s about. Spoilers are abound,  though.

Wikipedia entry

IMDB site

Rotten Tomatoes reviews

The real reason I piqued an interest in this movie is due to my favorite English actress Carrey Mulligan starring in this film. Other reason was that I watched Never Let Me Go (link is to book review, I never wrote a film review which I just realized now >.<) before this film and I loved her acting there which also makes me a jerk for not watching this in 2009. I had to download this film the moment I saw that she was starring in it and how she garnered nominations for her role!

In any case, on with the review, shall we?

What is this movie about? The blurb on the poster tells us it’s something about educating one’s self in a manner in which is not quite orthodox to whom society has grown accustomed to upon hearing of the term “educate”. Oh no. It’s quite deeper than that. It’s deep yet the movie title was able to somehow tell its audience that there’s more than meets the eyes in this movie and that it’s not just about some teenage drama going through life and making tough decisions (well, it is a bit like that but that’s just the tip of the iceberg).

Skip the plot if you just want the review at the bottom

PLOT:

This movie is about how a girl named Jenny who is somehow forced to live life in a straight line.  She’s no doubt too tired of how monotonous it is. She’s the only child of a middle class family, she’s the one who gets the highest marks in school, and is doing her best to make it in Oxford to study to one day do whatever she wants in life.

She then chances upon a stranger (quite the opposite, really) one rainy afternoon. This stranger introduces himself as David. David, as fate would have it, would be the one person in her life that would show her a different kind of life; a life that is not uniform to what everyone else conforms to. David’s rich, charming, and witty and this all is just too much for a 16 year old girl to handle. David is thus able to sweep Jenny off her feet as easy as counting 1 to 3.

Jenny’s parents are quite strict with regards to her studying after school so she can get to Oxford. David, however, is able to persuade them to make sure he gets the weekends (and then some) with Jenny. David even lies to them so he can have her go to certain places Jenny would love to but he knows her parents would be quite uptight about (as always, the father is the one with the tightest belt here but David can loosen any belt with ease).

Jenny meets with David’s friends and they all become a clique. They go to orchestras, bars, night clubs, hound betting, and visit places like Paris in which Jenny has been dreaming to go to as displayed by her penchant for French literature, music, and its arts. Jenny also discovers that what David does for a living is a bit sordid.

Time passes. Jenny lets David into her heart. David decides to go all the way with her when he proposed to Jenny. David seems to be in his late 30′s and he’s asking a 16-year old girl for marriage. What defense can a bored-to-death teenager do to say no to the very man that has showed her how to live a “real” life?\

At this point, her teachers and even the head of the school warns her of having to do with more of her boyfriend and less of her studies. Jenny was simply too upset that she went berserk to both the head and her mentor. She simply didn’t want the life they wanted for her.

Soon after, Jenny decides to quit the school she goes and her parents, as they’ve become quite fond of David, just shrugs it off. Her father, though quite strict with Jenny, even tells her that it was the wisest choice as she wouldn’t have to worry about money and how she’ll have the best life.

Really heavy spoilers on this part. Highlight the text to see although I don’t recommend it if you haven’t watched the film yet. Seriously, it’ll ruin the whole experience. I warned you.

Heavy spoiler starts here:

Things go awry when Jenny discovers that David is actually married and only lives near where she lives which explains why they keep bumping into each other. Jenny, humbly asked David to not let Jenny tell this to herself and that he should explain it all to her parents emphasizing that he “owes them that much”. David, as the seedy and cowardly man that he truly is, inevitably drives off, never to be seen again. 

Now imagine being in her shoes. She just turned 17, she lost her virginity to an unfaithful man, she quit school, and is now aimless. Realize that at this point, your life is practically in ruins. Jenny begins to think that her life is over and that everything she has ever done up to this point (endless essays, reviews, exams) has been rendered to be of no value. Who could ever thought that the one man that showed you the world would be also the one to destroy it right before your very eyes?

Jenny, being a strong-willed girl by nature, decides to confront this on her own, much like a full grown woman. She sought to go back to school only to be rejected due to the head telling her it would be best for the school not to have her at all. At this point, she knew Oxford was the only thing that would salvage her from this mess of a life and she can only turn to one person for help. It would be her mentor, the woman that Jenny mocked as to having a “dead” life. 

Jenny goes to her mentor’s abode and find out how seemingly successful her mentor was despite her rather monotonous attitude and appearance at school as she commented on how “lovely” her place is. Jenny commented on how there is no short cut to a desirable life. Jenny then humbly asks her mentor to help her get back on track; to get to Oxford. 

Afterwards, we see that Jenny was accepted at Oxford university and how she ended up dating a lot of boys. She then tells the audience by the end of the movie, that one guy asked her to go to Paris and how she felt so excited to go there as if she’s never been.

Heavy spoiler ends here.

The movie made use of your typical coming-of-age film with a very heavy twist. It’s quite unexpected that it just catches you unguarded. The film also hints of how the main character is somewhat anachronistic in this film in a sense that she displays a strong will and an even stronger heart at a time when women weren’t given the proper opportunities when it came to becoming a professional.

Carrey Mulligan really did deserve the recognition she got from this film. She was just so brilliant. Her portrayal of the character was simply worth noting. The rest of the cast were great but Carrey outshone them.

This movie tells us that the “education” she learned here is the type of which you need to learn outside the pages of a book and the confines of a classroom. The “education” she managed to learn is her self-discovery; of what she is, what she is capable of, and most importantly, what she wants to do with her life.

The film is of a story not unlike the ones we’ve heard or seen before and yet upon watching it, it delivers a sort of impact in our lives that sets it apart from the usual Hollywood, money-grossing films we often see in theatres nowadays.

OVERALL RATING: 10/10

This is a sort of continuation of this post.

Okay, so here’s a little update from me on what’s been happening to my life. To be straightforward, I like someone at work. I don’t know why but my gut tells me I want to marry that girl if I could ever have the chance to date her.

It’s so fucking frustrating since she’s so near yet I feel so far from her. It’s one of those “she’s way up there and I’m a bottom feeder” type of thing. I mean, she’s very bright, very rich, very funny, and likes what guys like to do! You know, like play video games (one of the few girls I know who actually PLAYED Diablo!), and she listens to the FOO FIGHTERS! HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT?!

So I got her two spa voucher for Christmas. The thing is, though, I might have to give it weeks earlier since it expires on the 30th and I know, with emphasis on the word “know”, that she’ll fucking feel enraged once she finds out she would only have a few days to use it.

I’m really into her. I don’t know, it’s like the thing with…Grace. I mean, when you see this girl personally, you’ll notice how she doesn’t really possess any of what the media pertains to as “hot/sexy” but I fell for her anyway because of how amazing she is. Call me old fashioned but I prefer women who shine more on the inside than out.

And another fun fact: She has this part of her name which begins with an “A” and a name that counts to 6 letters, much like EVERY WOMAN I FELL IN LOVE WITH. I don’t know why but she’s the 4th woman who made me think twice of my life and I’m not kidding: I barely think twice on whatever it is I do.

So this girl, she’s really just awesome. I don’t know what to do. And as always, except for blackmage9 (since blackmage9 and I are still good friends), she hates me already. Damn. I guess I just can’t stop myself from being the annoying little fuck I become once I’m interested in a woman.

I don’t have the guts to give the vouchers to her personally. I’ll just have to slip it inside her drawer or on top of her desk or something with a letter attached. The contents of the letter? I have no idea on what it will end up as but I’ll just write something about me apologizing for my immaturity and behavior and how I think she’s just so awesome.

And no. NO FUCKING CONFESSION. Why? Because I know she has not the time for such trifling matters. She’s very career oriented and that’s how a woman should be, IMO. And besides, she hailed from a very prominent school and she had classmates and friends that, perhaps, were also very prominent in their own ways (maybe up to her level at the very least), I’m pretty sure her heart has already decided on someone.

I don’t know how long before she actually tells me to fuck off but until then…I’ll just be here, watching her grow like a bud that naturally becomes a beautiful flower. Whether she would show her thorns when I try to get close, I wouldn’t mind the excruciating pain.

She’s just so awesome that way.

Seriously. I acknowledge that very well. This is also the reason why I haven’t had a girlfriend in my entire life.

I once went to a website that sends people to hell (like Jigoku Shoujo) and wrote the name of my crush there. I even called her a slut.

I don’t know. I guess when I feel like I’m in love, I often interpret that as hate. Hate because my logical way of thinking is disrupted and I see that woman as a distraction; a distraction in attaining my objective/s.

Time flies and makes me realize that I’m not really annoyed at the way she makes me think twice about what I do.

No.

I realize, very, very slowly, that I let myself fall for that woman.

This in turn, makes me hate myself for not being able to control my emotions. Why? I for one often interpret “feelings” as signs of weakness in a person specifically the types that have no time for them i.e. people who simply can’t afford to be distracted, like me. Why can’t I be distracted? Well, I guess it has something to do with me having goals in life that I want to attain.

Often times, however, I’d start talking/thinking to myself (sometimes raging) on what the fuck has happened to me and why I let myself lose control like that. I punch walls on really worst occasions. I also work out 3x as much with all the rage I feel inside me. Which causes me to get so tired all I think about is rest and sleep. But when I actually do lie in bed (after a long shower), I start sweating even in the coldness night due to my heart beat racing; the very profile of the woman in my head.

I know it’s just me and probably myself overreacting. I don’t have any excuses. If there were some, I guess it would be that I’m not very mature when it comes to, uh, “admiration”. I have no idea on how it works and what I’m supposed to do about it.

Also, when I like someone, I usually end up giving myself reasons NOT to like her. It starts with my own personal evaluation which usually goes like this, in order of thought:

1. I’m not good enough.

2. I’m not rich.

3. I’m not cool.

4. I’m no fun.

5. I’m not as amazing as she is.

6. I can’t make her happy.

7. She deserves someone who isn’t me.

This works for some time. But it gets to a point where convincing myself won’t cut it anymore. Inexplicably, my brain grows accustomed to the reasons as mere excuses for idiots and my heart starts to long for that “feeling” again. This part here is like me going cold turkey and my body is literally craving for the drug.

To offset this, I do the following:

1. I do my best to make myself as irritable as possible for her. Why, you ask? Because if she’s irritated by my mere presence, then she will most likely ignore me and I’ll most likely not bother with her anymore.

2. I ignore her. This is quite a challenging and toilsome task, I tell you. It’s like you’re telling me not to exercise. And God knows I like working out.

3. This is really ugly and very cruel of me but I think of ways NOT to like her. For example, I look at her and tell myself how she’s not really beautiful or how fat she is, etc. I also like to acknowledge past events that have aggravated me, you know, like opening up healed wounds all over again.

4. I become paranoid, thinking that maybe her dude-friend over there notices the way I’ve been staring at her and has been telling her that I’m a very creepy guy and should tread carefully when conversing with me. This in turn makes me want to hate both of them nonsensically. I don’t know why either. I guess it’s just the human mind interpreting hate for happiness. And I’m telling you, hating can give me goosebumps so good, you’d rather have them than orgasms.

5. I end up judging her in a very evil way. I often observe her and interpret her actions as annoying as fuck. Like for example, the way she would sway her arms indifferently when she walks, I’d tell myself “Oh great, it’s little miss ‘I sway my arms like crazy when I walk’. Ugh. /rolleyes” or maybe the way she would laugh so indiscriminately and I would tell myself “There she goes again, my eardrums can barely hold themselves together.”

I’m evil. I know. But let me tell you that because I realized how I lov…admired this girl so much, a constant battle goes on in my head and in my heart, making both of them hurt like hell.

Yes.

Hurt.

Like hell.

I often feel my heart palpitating, my skin sweating, and my head having a migraine just thinking about it. I often feel my blood pressure shoot up, causing nausea. And for those who know me, I’m sure I told you that my heart is not exactly “normal” i.e. it’s bigger than the usual so my blood pressure is normal at 140/100.

But when I do actually TRY to be kind to her, all sorts of shit happen.

Like for example, I once blogged a bit too openly and too much that a whole bunch of my friends immediately knew about it and it didn’t exactly give me the points I wanted. And recently, I tend to try and act so cool in an annoying fashion. How annoying? Try “Saying-random-stuff-that-seems-to-be-trendy-and-cool-but-all-I-really-wanted-to-say-was-’Hi!’” annoying.

I also occasionally “spy” on whatever she is doing, particularly in her social networking site, digging up pictures, lost notes, favorites, hates, etc. It’s practically me wanting to know more about her but since I’m all shy-boy, I’m afraid to ask and would much rather find things out, even by traces, via Google.

I have this tendency to care too much about a woman when I like her a lot. Like I ask around how she’s doing or why’s she so sad the other day or why did she not come to school or office yesterday, etc. I also leave messages in some social networking site of hers to have that “I’m here for you if you need anything” effect to it but it often gets deleted once they read it.

AND I HAVE NO FUCKING PROBLEM ABOUT THAT.

I mean, even I would get creeped out when I feel that someone is getting too attached or trying to do something weird to get me to like that someone. And besides, if I she had friends, co-workers, that would end up reading them and probably make an issue out of it, I’d REALLY PREFER IT if she deleted them.

After all of that, I’d start thinking of ways to get her to like me again. And, well, let’s just say I haven’t exactly polished the arts and crafts of being liked again. I try to express them too much with material things (Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, Valentine’s gifts, All Saint’s Day gifts, etc.) and this often leads me to go around the Metro and around the net, surveying women, Googling latest trends, and basically doing everything in the best of my abilities to find out what she would like for a certain occasion EXCEPT asking her personally. And it’s all wishful thinking from there.

I don’t exactly know how to resolve this. I haven’t exactly made the previous one like me back, and I’m not betting on this one either. I just wish I would magically gain the stuff she wants in guys and everything would be okay from there.

Maybe.

And which is why I see “feelings” as a distraction.

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