SUMMER CHANGES (UPDATE #11)

Hello everyone and welcome to a short edition of Me Talking. Well, I have to say, as the school year winds down and the days heat up, the time for change is now starting. Time to get ready for the summer days and nights. I really do love summer. I cannot wait for it. But, first things first, it’s time for me (and everyone else in school right now) to pack it in because we’re about to enter the home stretch of the semester. Before I go, I just wanted to remind you guys to share this blog and subscribe by E-mail so you won’t miss out on any of my future content. With that out of the way guys hope you enjoyed today’s short edition of Me Talking, and I will see you guys when I see you guys. 

Is Anyone Out There?

Is anyone out there?

I can't help, but feel alone.

As if I am speaking to the air.

But I write, or type, damn it you know what I mean.

P.E.N.T.C.I.

(ALMOST) PERFECT SUMMER

(almost) Perfect Summer

The (almost) perfect breeze of summer,

Where have you gone?

No matter, rather,

When will you return?

I miss you, but I can see you don’t.

But that’s okay, you’ll come back,

Why?

Because you always do.

BRITANNICA

Britannica (To be played with Future Markets conducted by: Jonny Greenwood)

Oh cruel fate that may or may not exist,

Why do you pain me so?

As I seem to drift through the minds of people seamlessly.

Forever burdened by the unchanging winds that are the lives of men.

One never questions where the bell is or what may become of it,

Yet it tolls for an eternity more.

Forever muffled by the voices that continue to blind me so.

They believe they could have had a good time,

And isn’t pretty to think so?

P.E.N.T.C.I.

FILM CRITIQUE/REVIEW: AMOUR

Movie Posters

Warning: if you are older, you may want to pass on this film. It may be considered brilliant, but it is also disturbing and painful to watch--all the more so, if you can see yourself there in a few years.

Kaneke At Work

 Amour. Amour. What can one possibly say about such a film so powerful it evokes emotion from even the most damaged of hearts? Hello everyone and welcome to a Film Critique/Review on Michael Haneke’s AMOUR. Although I am quite new to Haneke’s work, I have seen such films as Code Unknown and The White Ribbon (great films I highly recommend) so I was well aware of the French director’s brilliant use of symbolism and realist style of camera work. The plot, without giving away spoilers, is like this: retired music teachers Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) have spent their lives devoted to their careers and to each other. Their relationship faces its greatest challenge when Anne suffers a debilitating stroke. Though Georges himself suffers from the aches and infirmities of old age, he bravely ignores his own discomfort to take care of his wife, and is determined to keep his promise to her that she never go back to the hospital. Before we get into the deep meaning of the film let me explain some aspects of the film I liked. For one, I enjoyed the casting. Although I have never seen Emmanuelle Riva act, I remember seeing Jean-Louis Trintignant in a film once in French class, the name now escapes me. I got the sense of a loving couple who has been through many things, and is now deteriorating before our very eyes. Another thing I enjoyed throughout the film was the brave lighting. I liked the gruff, dull, contrasting lighting throughout the film. The natural lighting in Anne’s room gives this scene stripped of feeling and desire that the main characters once had. The one thing I regretted while watching this film was the fact that I have not yet mastered the French language, making me unable to see the full scene at times, but I don’t believe that is necessarily Michael’s fault. Now on to the deep stuff. Throughout the film, the foreshadowing with the wife being out of the shot is Michael seems to be telling us to look what is going to happen, and, like death itself, there is nothing we can do about it. There were many scenes I found hard to watch, although I didn’t necessarily cry. I think that’s what made this film so powerful. I saw this film with my whole family, amounting to eight people, and throughout the whole film not one person made a sound. I imagined that is what it must have been like when this film first premiered. In terms of what Kaneke was able to do with the stale colors impressed me very much. In the beginning we are shown a theatre, full of people from all walks of life, dressed in many different clothes and colors. The bright lights and the applause followed by the joy on the people’s faces brings out this emotion of happiness. A brilliant move by Mr. Haneke in my opinion. One thing was clear, I didn’t expect such unflinching seriousness, such profundity from Haneke. Its opening scene essentially tells us how it will end. Now regard Anne and Georges at breakfast soon after. He doesn't even notice that she has momentarily frozen. She is somewhere else. The specific shots of this sequence are masterful. Then she returns, unaware that anything has happened, but something has, and her stroke is the beginning of the end for their history together. I have to say, my favorite scene was at the end when SPOILER: We see Georges attempting to catch the pigeon and eventually does. Now this is after he SPOLIER: killed his wife so we, as the audience, fear for the bird as we subconsciously think he may kill the bird, but he doesn’t. Like his wife, he set the bird free. Out of love or out of frustration he wants his wife to stop suffering, which I found beautiful. The next scene is when he wakes from a lumber in the spare room of his home. He struggles to stand (because he killed himself possibly????) but when he gets up he goes into his kitchen to find his wife washing dishes, getting ready to go out. She asks if he is ready to go. He does no respond but changes his shoes. The wife then goes out of the frame. I loved how once more the director takes the woman who we have grown to appreciate and care for be taken out of our focus without being able to do anything about it. She comes back into the frame and is about to leave when she reminds her husband to take a coat. He gets his coat and leaves. He and his wife are now a part of history, and may or may not be forgotten. The final scene gets me I have to admit. The daughter is alone, and it sort of reminded me of a child being left at home for the first time. She appears scared, and the loneliness creeps in. she is so lonely that we the audience become shamed at her as well so we leave her to cope and reflect on how bad of a daughter she has been and how she took them for granted.

 

To conclude, this film is a modern masterpiece. The elongated scenes and the long pauses make for an amazing experience. I’ve had people die in my family, so I could see the pain and frustration that goes into the process of dying and the deterioration of man and woman no matter what age, relationship or status.

AMOUR:  10/10 A MASTERPIECE.

                                                P.E.N.T.C.I.

Sickly but Anxious to Create

I'm not dead... Yet.

                           - Grandfather Samuel

PARTIES

                Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Me Talking. I have to be frank, I never liked small parties all that much. As Fitzgerald once wrote, “I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”, and I believe him. Although I am a strong believer in this, I always asked for a small gathering when an event such as my birthday or Christmas would roll around. Perhaps it was because I lacked the adoration towards my extended family as much as I should have, or maybe because of my laziness. I mean, let’s be honest, less people usually means less of a mess afterwards, and usually, a large party meant a large host when it comes to elements such as food and drink. But there is something Fitzgerald never mentioned: In the social event that is a party, a whole aspect of life, whether it be love or age, can pass as if a party is a time machine, and the more people show up, the faster through time you go. I get out of my bed to dress. I decide to wear a won heavy denim jacket over an obsidian thermal from India. The thermal compliments my tanned straight legs quite well as I put on a pair of black and white canvas sneakers. I look at my clock sits by my bed and see that I have some time to spare before I go. I go down the stairs to join my siblings who are all in the family room, watching a movie. I sit with them. The film playing is a black and white film by Kubrick. I sit and watch for a while. I stand and go to my kitchen to check the time. I have about 20 or so minutes before I get picked up, or at least I thought so before my phone rings. I answer and it is my cabbie for the night. He has arrived and is waiting for me outside. When arriving at the party I meet many people I have never met before. People from schools I have never been to. I may speak about something that I am too old or too young for. I may find someone I find attractive, but by the end of the night we all just go home. That’s sort of what I mean when I say a whole life can pass by at a large party, because it really does. By the end of the night, when I’m at home, there is a chance I can come home a little bit older, a little more pessimistic, and a little wiser. There’s just something a little depressing about being involved in a large social event. It’s almost as if your presence may be recognized, but the chances of you being the life of the party are so minuscule. You are there, but it’s almost like you have the ability to watch these people from all walks of life converge and your are able to see the true nature of these people as the night progresses.

"Soiree" By: Jake Carran 

                                                                          
                                                                           P.E.N.T.C.I.

Originality

The sheep may never become the Sheepherder, but they can steer him one way or another if they all cooperate.

The teacher may grade the assignment, but the student controls the grade.

The words that are put on the paper may impact the world for many years to come, but only the author has the ability to write them.

Speaking, acting, and thinking by yourself is the true root of all creativity, and innovation.

Yet, we decide to shroud it away from our lives,

Knowing what doing that will cause.

 P.E.N.T.C.I.