General – Page 151

Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, June 21, 2007

I don’t know why I held off watching Pan’s Labyrinth for so long because now that I’ve seen it, I totally regret my procrastination. From the title you would guess that it is a fantasy or fairy tale. Like most fairy tales, it is enchanting. But this is no children’s fairy tale. It is about the quest of a little girl to return to the fairy world. Her story takes place against the backdrop of the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War when guerrillas were still continuing their resistance against the government. The main story and the backdrop are both compelling by themselves. Both are also quite dark, bloody, visceral, even disturbing. Even the ending, though partly happy, is also tragic. The whole is a well-made masterpiece. I love it.

Rating: 5/5

General

Invictus

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, June 21, 2007

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

*Whenever life’s adversities come my way I always keep this poem in mind. But what inspires me more is that writer, William Ernest Henley, was able to survive great adversity– the poem was written from a hospital bed– and even succeeded in life. So whatever it is facing you, something worse is facing someone somewhere, and they are taking it. You can do the same.

General

Unsmiling

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, June 14, 2007

I smile not
For grim and dark
Lies the day before me.
The sun shall shine
Only once the battle ends.
If it shines down
Upon me as i stand on the field,
I shall be glad
For i shall have prevailed.
But if it shines down
Upon my battered corpse,
I shall still be glad
For i shall have fought
To my last breath.
But till then
I smile not.

General

2007 May 27 La Mesa Ecopark, Quezon City, Metro Manila

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, May 27, 2007

Went with some officemates to the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City. It’s supposed to be a photo shoot but either cameras are unavailable or the photographers aren’t so it became more of a picnic with a bit of photo shooting thrown in.

La Mesa Ecopark is a project of ABS-CBN‘s Bantay Kalikasan, an environment advocacy group who essentially created the park from jungle. The resulting park is an oasis of vegetation in the midst of the sprawling city. It has a saltwater pool, a flower terrace, an amphitheater, a butterfly trail, an orchidarium, a fishing area, a big picnic area, a biking area, and a boating area among others.

The park is well organized and managed. There was just a bit of a hassle getting our DSLRs inside (but not point-and-shoots wth?!?). It was also a bit crowded when we went but otherwise it was nice. We strolled through the various areas taking pictures. We were done by late afternoon. The place is not that big and a day is about sufficient.

General

Starcraft II Announced

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, May 20, 2007

Hell, it’s about time! Starcraft II has been announced! Jessie sent me a link to Starcraft II. I’ve seen the link before and back then it was just a redirect to the Blizzard website. So I thought it still the same. But NO! Instead there’s now a full website for the next installment of Starcraft. To be sure, the new game will have big shoes to fill. But from how it looks in the website, it looks to be a potentially worthy successor.