The Dark Knight was worth the wait and all the hype.

I knew Heath Ledger was perfect as the Joker when I first saw the teasers. Now that I was finally able to watch the movie, all I can say is that he was just so darn good! Actually, good is an understatement. I’m just at a loss for words. I never thought I would say this but although I am a die-hard Tim Burton fan, The Dark Knight is probably the best film in the Batman franchise mainly because of Heath’s performance. His version of the Joker was both enthralling and terrifying at the same time. Every time he was onscreen I just couldn’t look away. Being a Batman fan, I always knew that Joker was psychotic but it was never brought so close to reality by anyone else before but Heath.

Heath Ledger as Joker

The film was great as a whole–my only minor complaint was Christian Bale’s overly raspy whisper as Batman–but the other performances paled to Heath. This is probably the role he will be most remembered by and I’m not the only one who thinks he deserves a posthumous Oscar for his performance.

This is the darkest Batman yet and I have to admit that I was surprised that it got a PG-13 rating. There were scenes in the film that actually terrified me (don’t bring your kids to watch this film!). Despite this, I am hoping that they would release an alternate version–sort of like a “director’s cut” because I think they had to cut scenes from the movie to get the PG-13 rating.

Viewers expecting to see a lot of action will not be disappointed; I think Nolan handled the action scenes better in this film. Character development didn’t suffer for it though. I specially appreciated the evolution of Harvey Dent to Two-Face–special mention to Aaron Eckhart who was able to handle the uptight, moralist District Attorney with charm. I was rooting for him alongside the citizens of Gotham.

I have to stop writing this before blurting out any spoilers. I’ll definitely watch this film again and would most probably get a copy of the DVD when it comes out. What stays with me though is the regret that this is Heath Ledger’s last completed film–a surviving proof that we really lost a rare talent. The Dark Knight is going to be a hard act to follow because it’s an almost excellent film with an excellent villain.

It may be hormones but I recently watched two videos courtesy of best of youtube that nearly brought me to tears.

The first video was about Christian, the lion. This was the video I got from best of youtube:

I also found this clip which tells a more detailed story about Christian and the two men who took care of him. Just mute the sound so as not to hear the extremely sappy music from both videos. Trust me, you don’t really need audio.

A few days ago, I saw another video. This time about a guy called Matt who goes around the world dancing. Nothing too extraordinary you say but this one really made my day. Images like this make me realize that there’s still hope for the human race.

After being bedridden for the past couple of days because of the flu, I was only able to read what’s been going on in the news a couple of hours ago. After reading the first few headlines online, I was half-wishing that I didn’t get out of bed in the first place. Having been forced on a diet which consisted mainly of lugaw, instant noodles and mamon, reading through articles was a real downer.

Romulo Neri–the same Neri of the notorious ZTE deal–will be stepping in as SSS Admininstrator by August 1. The same Neri who showed such loyalty to one of the most corrupt, most distrusted President in our history. As my dad eloquently put it: Ang lakas talaga ng kapit!

Instead of allowing myself to write what I really feel (complete with expletives!), I decided to re-post the following from an article in inquirer.net by Neal Cruz.

So the questions foremost in the minds of SSS staff and members are: Will Neri make a good SSS administrator? Will he preserve SSS funds or was he made to head the social welfare cluster to be able to use SSS funds to buy the support of the poor, but which is not the intent of the SSS law? SSS money belongs to the members who pay the premiums that become the funds that are invested by the SSS so they will grow and returned to them as retirement pay.

As shown in the ZTE-NBN case, Neri is an honest man. But as was also shown, he is loyal to his benefactor. Remember, when he told Ms Arroyo that he was offered a P200-million bribe to approve the ZTE-NBN deal, she told him to “approve it anyway” and he did. So would he be able to resist orders from the Palace as did Teodoro and De la Paz? Experience has shown that the two more pliable administrators who succeeded Teodoro led the SSS to investment disasters. Members can only wait with bated breath.

With bated breath indeed.

As an SSS member, I can only hope that the Palace does not intend to use its funds on any of its so-called “humanitarian” programs. With the elections close by, I am doubly suspicious of all government-funded projects.  To say that I am suspicious of Neri is an understatement–I would pull out my membership from the SSS right now if it were possible! It is only natural for me to want the person I am entrusting my money to is someone I trust; but after watching the whole ZTE ordeal, I’m not so sure that Neri is that person.  Corazon de la Paz (the outgoing SSS administrator) may have been criticized for her more conventional methods but I think I’d choose her any day over someone who would follow the President as blindly as Neri did.  Yes, he may not have succumbed to the 200-M bribe but to not have the gumption nor the balls to resist GMA’s orders is not something I can easily forgive or forget.

Ok…I am officially NOT wasting any more of my time on this show after I post this entry.

Robby Navarro, one of the better finalists left in Pinoy Idol was booted out tonight. Granted he gave a lousy performance last Saturday but I think he deserved to stay more than Daryl and Sue. People bash him because the judges obviously like him (is that his fault?) and he is criticized for oversinging. He’s definitely not perfect but as I said, he is one of the better singers left in the competition.

OMG! Look at who’s left… only a miniscule percentage of the contestants barely deserve the title as it is.

I hope Daryl or Sue wins it so the production staff and the “fans” who vote will get the Pinoy Idol they deserve.

On a side note… I think this guy’s hot and he’s got talent. Probably needs to lessen the oversinging–sometimes he goes a little over the top. I mean, we already know you can sing, you don’t have to stylize everything everytime. It still sucks that you got booted out too early. I was expecting you to be among the top four at the very least.

I was rooting for you, Penelope and Kit because I thought that among the Pinoy Idol finalists, you three deserved the title. But I guess majority of the people who actually watch this show think differently.

I’m blaming the staff. They should have done a better job hooking the people’s interest when the show began. Disastrous results–the loss of Bev, Drizzle, Regene, Meryl, Walton, Mae and now Robby–could have been prevented if people other than the contestants’ family, friends and ka-barangay voted every week.

I’m still hoping I’m wrong. I hope that I’ve been too harsh on my judgments and that the remaining contestants will prove me wrong–that they’ll prove that ANY ONE of them deserves to be our representative in the Idol stage.

Trauma on Wheels is the final piece I submitted for my Creative Non-fiction class under Butch Guerrero. I generally chose the most memorable experiences I had while commuting. Interestingly, my classmates were more disturbed with the “molestation” scene which I merely glazed over in my first draft. I added more details in this version.

Trauma on Wheels
I remember the first time I did it alone. I was ten years old and my best friend from school invited me to watch a movie with her at SM North.  Back then, I used to live in Caloocan, and the mall was just a 30-minute bus ride away.  I didn’t want my parents to take me; I wanted to take the bus alone and I was prepared to argue. After much prodding and begging, I was finally allowed to ride the bus on two conditions: that my dad will bring me to the bus stop and that I should be home by 5pm.  That was fine by me.  My heart thumped so hard the entire ride. I was so excited that I didn’t mind the diesel fumes and the gritty leather seats. It was one of the proudest achievements I had as a kid—to ride a bus on my own at ten years old.

I got home that day in one piece and now, almost two decades later, I still commute.  Traveling alone doesn’t seem like the adventure it used to be as a kid but it’s definitely not boring. I’ve ridden busses, trains, tricycles, pedicabs, fx taxis, cabs, boats, ferries, planes, scooters and motorcycles.  I’ve been stepped on, squeezed in, shouted at, sneezed on, and even slept on by strangers.

My friends think I exaggerate whenever I share my “commuting” stories. If only I got them on videotape.  Some stories are too freaky to believe or too sordid to be true but they’re real; they happened. And worst of all, they happened to me.