Carl & Ellie: A LOVE STORY

WARNING: If you have not seen the movie and plan to do so - DO NOT READ ON.

got to see this PIXAR animated movie, UP, and I must say - it had one of the most heartfelt scenes from a LOVE AFFAIR i have seen in a long time.... all the emotions in the first 20 mins of the movie: excitement, love, hope, faith, death, sorrows, letting go - real sappy, subtle so the kids will not be devastated, and very realistic for an Animated film... not to say that the rest of the movie was not good... it was actually great... a JOYFUL RIDE.... and very much entertaining...

it just goes to show ya, everyone comes into our lives for a reason... for however short or long... and we must always embrace them and make the most of the time with them....
Here's the OFFICIAL TRAILER:

weThink, weShare #4 - The Trouble With Love Is...

Just feeling like a SAP once more upon coming back to Taiwan, I decided to watch "Love Actually" again for the GOD only knows how many times now - I have lost count.... still the same bag of mixed emotions I get each and ever sitting... it is one of those movies I truly will never ever tire of... and it seems that each and every viewing - I pick up something I did not before -- as is in this case...

This time around, I got to really listen to the song; "The Trouble With Love Is.." - sung by Kelly Clarkson

The words are hauntingly true.... for me anyway.... I can totally relate.... line by line, I have at one point or another experienced pretty much all that is written in the lyrics.... the good stuff like hearing a symphony and wanting to shout out to the world about my love for someone.... but like a drug, love does make me blind from time to time, as am sure most of you can relate.... so much so that the heart is torn into pieces....

Still, there is no escaping when love beckons.... the minute my heart flutters for someone - like a moth to a flame, am there... wholeheartedly.... cautions thrown in the wind.... no reservations whatsoever.... against everyone else's warnings.... I just go with the flow of things -- doing the BEST I can, making the most of all, hoping for the BEST LOVE has to offer....


So, in this edition of weThink, weShare - I ask of all of you:
What do You Think IS the Trouble With Love? With Falling In Love? And, if you can, would you simply just walk away from it - fearing that, in the end, it all turns out the same?
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Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Revolutionary Road : Movie Review

Long overdue review...saw this film while I was in Manila a couple of weeks ago but am just getting around to reviewing it now.. not that I have been too busy or too indifferent about the film -- more like, I was totally shaken by it that I had to see it again just to reaffirm all the feelings felt while watching it the first time. Revolutionary Road , I warn you, is not a very joyful film, nor is it easy to watch. But it is a MUST SEE not only if you are fans of the TITANIC duo, but also because the movie is simply entertaining. It achieves what not many films these days do. touches you, questions you, and pull you into the characters' lives.

Sam Mendes' of American Beauty fame strikes GOLD again with his film adaptation of a great American novel - faithful, intelligent, and superbly cast... If I was not a fan of Leonardo then, I sure am now.... He delivered on the acting promise he showed with Blood Diamond...and Kate Winslet, who recently just won an OSCAR is robbed as she should ahve been NOMINATED and WIN for this particular film... certainly one of the most talented actresses of today, Winslet continually surprises us all with her various film outings -- here, she surprises me in a whole other way. Here she is silent, unlikeable, emotionally close to the edge of insanity, sometimes cold, and all very human portrayal of April Wheeler is one of the best performances of the decade by her, or by anyone. Truly deserving of an Oscar.

This film truly benefits from the amazing direction by Sam Mendes. He comes back with strong, after American Beauty, with this project. The writing is sooo top notch, with both of the main characters, Frank and April Wheeler, so open, so alive -- such 3-dimensional characters. The film let us inside their lives, and it does so with great passion. The film itself is so beautiful, so alive, yet at the same time, so dark to what the film is about. Even the music, the original score, is so unsettling, perfectly balanced to what each scene brought.

Revolutionary Road is not a film for everyone. I can definitely see some audiences hating it, especially those who love to see happy endings, but it should certainly be respected -- for its ambition, for the things it accomplishes and every thing it portrays. This could very well be Sam Mendes' major masterpiece... and one that will forever be embedded in the minds of those who gets to see the film.

...last nite I cried....

...over the news of this Taiwanese girl committing suicide at the age of 23... it is SAD enough when one hears or reads about this kind of thing -- even if you do not know the person formally or informally... but when it is someone you feel you kinda' know - it can truly affect you... and that is just what it did to me yesterday...

Ivy Li (Lee) was the 2nd runner up in the 3rd year of the Popular Taiwanese Show, >One Million Star, and she was my FAVORITE from the get go.... This show has become a favorite of ours and would watch religiously every Friday nite... None more so for me, than in the year that Ivy was on.. Week after week, I look forward to hearing her sing be it Chinese, English, or Taiwanese... She was not a Great Looker, but she had style and charm -- and just the right amount of sweetness when she spoke. Real, not trying... and boy, can she sing!!! I actually wished for her to have been the winner but alas, it was not in the cards... and she came in third. I recall being IRATE each week with a judge or two for faulting her for one thing or another - usually for singing in ENGLISH one week, then being told that she was better the week prior singing in English... Lols... it is just really a matter of taste... and one's personal opinion... so I just watched it to enjoy her performances.. and just knew, that she had a promising career ahead of her...

So it pained me to hear that she killed herself just yesterday... and that it had something to do with Love Gone Bad. Truly upsetting and incomprehensible for me... I understand loving someone too much, being sooo hurt that you feel empty and alone... but to actually kill myself - that is just something I cannot see... But it is different for all of us -- and only we can truly battle our own devils... and we deal with them the way we know how... and for some it is this way...

Am just really sorry and was affected by this LOSS of LIFE... One Million Star shines one less with her passing...

Ivy Li singing (IRONICALLY) "If I Ain't Got You"


Here she sings a Mandarin song from one of her own Idol, A-Lin.

3 on L.O.V.E.

"We can live
In a world so free
Be true to your heart
And let love just take you there"

"True Love is not just Figthing for someone you love... but also LETTING GO"

"Love Means Never Ever Having To Say You're Sorry"

Biological Doggie Clock Ticking

okay, okay.... lately am seriously contemplating again on getting a dog... am soooo missing having one to play with... run with... and everything else in between... been a long time since the pooch of my life, BAXTER, passed away.... over 10 years in fact... so I think it is just about the right time....
Of Late, I have had to settle with playing with other people's doggies... enjoying them when I visit... it satisfies the desires for the time - but of course, makes me want to have one that I can call my own more.... one who will be more LOYAL to me... hays, the only thing stopping me now really, is my travel schedule... I would HATE and FEEL SO GUILTY having to leave he doggie behind every month -- no matter how long or short the trip may be... I remember that the thing I was sad most with Baxter is that, hearing from the his sitter, that he (after a day of me being gone) always end up just waiting in front of the door for me to come home from a business trip... always broke my heart....
(Clockwise: Charlie, Youtiao, Shaq & Lala... Youtiao has since passed on and joined Baxter in doggie heaven...)
..and here's another cutie, Gucci- Ameera's Chihuahua - given to her on her 7th BDAY... Sadly - she also had passed on already... one of the sweetest pups ever.... loving but oh-so-fragile....

..and The Elcocks' Huskies, Cole & Sebastian (below).... two of the biggest, and most lovable dogs I have ever had the pleasure of playing with.... they are Alaskan Malemutes, to be precise.... (Thanks for the INFO Larraine and Brianne!!!)

Sunday, Bloody Sunday!!!

Am so glad that this day is just about over.... it was just a loooong roller coaster ride for me today... filled with frustrations, confusions, & plain sadness... Sometimes, I really wish I can just yell at the top of my lungs: "STOP THIS ROLLERCOASTER, I WANT TO GET OFF!!!" But such is life.... my life to be exact.... so, as always, I just go with the flow of things....

Always keeping in mind that it is: "Time to move on. Tomorrow is a new day."

Timeless Music

While visiting my Mom, I got to hear this song, WHO CAN I TURN TO?... an oldie but definitely a goodie... I remember hearing it before as my DAD loves BALLADs like these.... even my MOM confirmed this... my DAD was a SAP when it comes to songs... so I know where I got that from... hahahaha
Am sure a lot of you are already groaning... and even screaming out "Turn that Damn Noise off!!" and some will most likely not even bother to listen, but for those of you who does listen - am sure you will agree that this song is truly timeless... the words are simple & sappy, yet very emotional.... am sure if EMO was biiiiig then - this would fall into that category....

 

(Me & My Mom)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Can_I_Turn_To%3F

Qi Qiao Jie - Chinese Valentine's Day!

Lucky are those lover's residing in Taiwan... they do not just get to celebrate the WESTERN Valentine's Day in Feb - but they also have their own that falls on the 7th Day of the 7th month of the LUNAR Calendar... this year, it is August 7th.

The history of this tradition goes as far back as the Jin Dynasty (256-420AD). Chinese Lover's Day, known in Mandarin as, Qi Jiao Jie is the Middle Kingdom' cultural testament to romance. Unlike the Western versions of V-DAY, Qi QUiao Jie has maintained its romantic tradition for over two millennia.

This one night of the year is reserved for the celestial lovers Niu Lang (an OX herder) and his Goddess/Lover/Wife Zhi Nu (the youngest & most beautiful of the 7 daughters of the celestial fairies). Separated by Zhi Nu's father after realizing that the milky way is missing it's luster and brightness without is daughter in the heavens -- this is the one nite of the year that the lovers can reunite - thus becoming Lover's Day for the Chinese.

You can read more of the story on these two links:
-Chinese Lover's Day on WIKIPEDIA.
-Traditional Chinese Festivals

Forever???

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I ask about your STANCE on FOREVER.... Do you believe there is such a thing??? and why??? what is your DEFINITION of FOREVER???
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NOTE: this is brought on by my 16 year old niece, Ameera (and her recent BLOG entry), who is now in college - following the footsteps of her Kuya Ace... taking up HRM @ MAPUA..... she has been going out with the same boy from her Montessori HS days for about two years now... and recently, been going though rough times, as they are both in collecge and going to different schools.... she has taken up BLOGGING, as like me, she basically wears her heart on her sleeves....

anyway, I find it interesting that at the tender age of 16, she talks so much about FOREVER.... professing Forever Love.... promising Forever Devotion.... etc..... so it got me to think about MY STANCE on the subject:

I DO believe in FOREVER.... but for me FOREVER is however long one has/had with the other person... be it a lifetime or just a month... that is our Forever...

When I love someone, I love fully... so Togetherness Forever automatically comes into the picture... but circumstances are never the way we Imagined or wished them to be - most of the time... and more so than never, we part ways... but the person touched my heart, became a part of my life already... and FOREVER will be in your Thoughts and Heart... even if not in my Life!

"forever may not be long,
but if you take the chance,
to experience some form of romance,
thats long enough to know..."

Butterfly X Bliss * Separations * LOVE

in keeping with the BUTTERFLY theme....
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*Butterfly X Bliss*
"Like a butterfly, BLISS itself is a force that cannot be caught, but rather must be accepted as simply whimsical."

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*SEPARATIONS*

So I cannot help but wonder - to whom are these separations easier to: "the person who leaves?" or the one who gets left behind?" is there an easy answer to this? or is it truly that no matter who leaves and who gets left behind - if both feels the same - then both equally suffers.... and can the strength of these feelings truly overcome these long separations??? withstand the temptations??? and overcome other desires caused by loneliness???

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*LOVE*
Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.


Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing

For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love...