a record of thoughts

It’s Independence Day weekend and for those who will be staying home (like me) during the long weekend, I am recommending the films below. They are all foreign films (not if you’re Japanese or Korean). I have them as part of my tiny DVD collection. They aren’t new. They’re about at least 3 years old already and I’m guessing that most of my readers have not seen them yet. I’m a huge fan of martial arts films especially the ninja and samurai. That’s not the only reason why I’m recommmending them, however. These films possess deeper meaning. I have found those meanings in my own perception. It’s up to you to find for yourself.

I will recommend more films later on. (more…)

“We The Living” is about a struggle of three individuals in Soviet Russia. Ayn Rand claims that the heroin inherits all the philosophical ideas from her.

In the beginning of the book, Kira was my model. She did not care about anyone but herself. She walked the path which would make her happy. She denounced society because according to her, oneself always comes first. The highest reverence of man is himself. Selfishness is a virtue.

A few chapters later, I lost interest on Kira. She contradicted herself because she fell in love. Her love affair(s) is unconventional. So what? She attached herself to another and that created a “society”. This is the beginning of her downfall and she never rose back. (more…)

I have a TOGO playlist in my iPod Nano containing 8 songs. They are all love songs save one. Most of my collections contain songs of heartbreaks. I’m not saying I’m heartbroken. I think good songs are written during a downfall of an artist because there are so many emotions. An artist who didn’t experience a downfall isn’t an artist at all — in my opinion. (more…)

The second batch of lyrical lines that I’ve picked from my playlist. It took me more than a week to complete this batch. I’m not as inspired as the last one I guess. That’s the problem when you are reading while listening. You have to give the book priority. (more…)

According to Thomas Hobbes, the state of nature is the state where each individual would have the right, or license to everything in the world. I believe that if society is stripped down — of everything artificial — we would be in that state. The world was originally in a state of nature. (more…)

Taken from We The Living, Chapter 6:

“For one reason, mainly, chiefly and eternally, no matter how much your Party promises to accomplish, no matter what paradise it plans to bring mankind. Whatever your other claims ma be, there’s one you can’t avoid, one that will turn your paradise into the most unspeakable hell: your claim that man must live for the state.”

“What better purpose can he live for?” (more…)

I was watching “High Fidelity” and I thought about confessing something. The reason why I started collecting CDs is because I wanted to have a soundtrack of my life. As of this moment, I have not picked one, not even a track. There is no way I can choose the tracks that will narrate the moments in my life with my ongoing collection. Rob Gordon (John Cusack) had about tenfolds more records than I do and I’m very particular with the genre I listen to. I have no variety, thus my choices are thin. I’m full of rage inside, yet I can’t listen to a raging music. I listen to the Manics because I love the melodies they make and I love the revolution they make, but I hate the message. I enjoy the act, not the substance. I listen to Travis because they look cool, like some songs, but mostly hate the style because it’s too gloomy for me. I listen to Stereophonics because the music rocks, but I can’t relate to the words because they are all stories. I listen to Oasis because they’re just fooking badass. I listen to the Cranberries because I love the music, but I can’t relate. I listen to the Corrs because they influenced me in so many things especially the love for music. I listen to hundreds of bands and artists in the alternative scene, but I never listened to a record that describes me.