Presentation - The Power of Words

The following is a presentation I did for English class about the power of words. Partly inspired by John Green's analysis of the book The Catcher In The Rye.

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Good morning, everybody. During the discussion about the power of words, I had a book and a personal experience to share. But I didn't do it because I was afraid. Afraid of what you might ask. Well, let's just say I had something precious, so precious that I was reluctant to share. I know I am not a great speaker, without any minimal preparation, I am afraid that I am gonna trivialize that precious experience by the way I say it. Now with proper preparation and your full attention, it is the right moment to say what I want to say.

This book by J. D. Salinger, The Catcher In The Rye (french Attrape Cœur) is about Holden Caufield's expulsion from school and his journey back home in new york city, where he lingers around for a few days trying to get people to listen to him. This is a dividing book, some readers find it boring, and some find it enlightening. I am one of the latter. You see, I met this book during the lowest point of my life so far. People always say that literature can do good to us, and that was the first time I actually felt that that statement is so true. I feel like the book understand me in the most improbable ways. I feel like holden is a real person and he says things that I have had always difficulty to say. And that, for me it is the greatest compliment anyone can give to a fictional work. Just like what american writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said, in the works of great writers, we find our own neglected thoughts.

Like Holden, I was too having difficulty expressing my thoughts, feeling like I was the loneliest person ever. Through this book, I know I am not that alone anymore. Holden had inspired me to write, as a tool, just like he did to get people to listen to him. Holden also told me, that no one can ever fully empathize with some one else. In my case, eventhough I did say I feel like Holden understands me better than myself, but still he can't fully empathize with me. That's why I keep reading, to find those losing pieces of me that make me who I am. Might be a bit cheesy, but it basically means to find myself.

So are words powerful ? For me it seems like a rhetorical question. Of course it is powerful and this book is one of many proves. It is exactly through words that Holden gets his way into millions including me. Thank you.

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Alternate ending of the Edge of Tomorrow

Edge Of Tomorrow, I love it. In recent years, it is difficult to get a film that is not a sequel nor a prequel nor a set up to another franchise. A film and a film as a whole unlike all those overhyped Marvel films, this kind of film will get me to watch it no matter what. This one delivers in many levels, a really good film generally. It gets good reviews and it gets my love too. If there is one thing to criticize about this film, it would be the ending. In my opinion, the ending falls a little bit short comparing to the build-up.

The following is my attempt to improve it and there will be spoiler. But why the hell you have not yet watched it?! Until the part where only Will and Rita are left after they went under the Louvre and found the Omega, I am still fine with it. The part I don't like is Rita's death and miraculously Will got back the Alpha's blood and resets the day again. I would prefer Will to die.

My version goes like this : Will has his confession to her, she should be a bit confused. She isn't as emotionally attached to him since she just knew him. But she understands the situation and that he is being sincere regarding her relationship between her and Hendrick before. Rita tries to stop his plan of ultimate sacrifice, but Will forces and traps her into a container or some kind that can survive the blast later on. Will manages to survive long enough from the guarding Alpha to drop the bomb in the Omega thus destroys it.

Sun rises, Rita survives the blast. She dives into the water, finds Will's dead body and drags it out of the water, it then follows by a slow zoom onto Rita's facial expression. As she holds hs dead body, her eyes slowly swelling with tears. Then drop planes from Heathrow fly over the site to signify the end of war. Will dies and stay dead. Repeat no more.

So my ending isn't a happy ending. After a huge event such as an alien invasion, a conveniently wrapped happy ending without any consequence is just bugging me. I love a heroic sacrifice in movies and I really want to see more of Rita's emotional side after she kicks so much ass in the majority of the runtime, that's why I wrote my imaginary alternate ending as so. Anyway, I am not saying that my version is better than the original, but I really prefer so sort of ending with some consequences.

"Nation of One" photo contest - my contribution

Ba-ba-ba dook! dook! dook!

I totally did not expect a horror movie to be so touching. If a film is by defaut conveying ideas and stories through images and not words, this is certainly the epitome of film making. A movie full with emotions and I feel every single one of them through the characters in the movie. 

The true horror is grief, depression and the loss of loved ones, and this movie is all about that. If you had been through tough times in your life, then there is a Babadook living inside you. Listen to the main actress herself explaining a little bit of the film in the following video, will also help you appreciate the film more.   

Grief is a monster. Dark times from the past, if not dealt properly, will haunt us forever.

Vanilla, it has been a misunderstanding between us

Vanilla, probably the flavor I want the least. Not that I hate that flavor or so, just that if given other choices, I would certainly not choose vanilla. The image linked to vanilla is often cheap and uninteresting, Not sure about other people but the statement is at least true for me.

Vanilla is on the contrary one of the most interesting flavor and it is not cheap, at all. It is the second most expensive spice after saffron in term of price per kg, and its flavor is described as delicate in The Book of Spices. But why I don't appreciate vanilla that much? 

It is probably because of a simple fact, anything can be really expensive when it is scarce, and vanilla is just so widely used as a flavor in many food especially dessert, thus it appears to be "cheap". Even Wikipedia says, vanilla is "default" flavor for ice cream. Nowadays, nobody likes default setting. Everybody wants customized choice to reflect his or her own personality. 

Although the price of vanilla per kg is high, a small quantity of vanilla is often enough to have a huge impact on the flavor of whatever food you put it in. So in term of "efficiency" of the flavor, vanilla is highly efficient. If you want vanilla flavor in your food, you don't have to pay a fortune, another reason why vanilla flavor is so wide spread. 

I would like to revisit the flavor of vanilla, to taste its delicateness. But to do so, I must get rid of the bad "stereotypes" linked to vanilla. Vanilla, it has been a misunderstanding between us.