Avalon

16 June

Thursday, June 16, 2005

I can't say whether I have been waiting for this day to come or not but well it's a day well spent, if not just a bit too "over-spent", in monetary terms.

Shall do something I haven't tried before. Received quite a number of birthday greetings from kind souls spread across this small island. So here the list goes, according to time, starting from 00.00 on 16 June, although there were some early birds. (ZQ and Kang Hao):

Hueysun, Wonky, Xue Fen, Denise, Junyan, Edmund, Amanda T, Huixian, Karl, Huiling, Huifoon, Cai Ling (the only senior who messaged me), Huiyun, Lala, Ying Fen, Amanda L and 小姨, ET and XinYu.

Oh and of course must thank everyone who chipped in for the wonderful scrapbook, which is most importantly, adorned with the greetings by you guys.

Had a movie marathon today: Batman Begins and Mr and Mrs Smith. And the conclusion: Fear and trust. Seemingly ironic emotions but somehow they can be fused together. Conquer your fears through a trust, in yourself and well in those you can trust. (though this is sometimes the tricky bit) My vote goes all out for "Batman Begins". Really the best film in the Batman series. Remembered watching "Batman" the movie with Michael Keaton behind the mask back then, and subsequently "Batman Forever" with Vil Kilmer as the dark knight, accompanied by Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones as the two menacing villains, and lastly "Batman and Robin" (George Clooney ooh!), which is like totally lame but still quite awesome for a kid like me at that time. This new addition is probably the darkest and coolest. I mean it's precisely because it's dark times that call for heroes like Batman right?

So the realism of the fictional story that originated from DC comics is further enhanced. Liked the way fear is brought across in the film, the way it is the main theme focused throughout the 150 minutes, to quote a critique, it's a truly "jungian archetype". (jungian being some characteristic of Jung and his psychological theories, especially those that stress the contribution of racial and cultural inheritance to the psychology of an individual, courtesy of dictionary.com) Fear and anger can give great power but when unleashed brings along destruction. "Turn fear against those who prey on the fearful", an inspiring statement indeed, like a taste of one's own medicine. After all, only those whose fear is greatest are scariest and most fearsome. A side note: I think Christian Bale is really one of the best Batmans I ever saw. (Too bad Clooney though I always thought he looked so charming in the bat mask) He's a perfect life-sized exemplary of Bruce Wayne. The persona, the appearance, the masculinity. Whoo! Any concomitant to the vigilante. And was once again touced by Alfred's unwavering confidence and tutelage of the reckless, disillusioned young Batman. He's like all you can ask for from a butler, confidante and family member.

Mr and Mrs Smith... hmm... well can only say it's mainly just bombarding your senses with a load of sensual scenes and cartoonic gunfights. I agree with a critic who said that the film would be rendered entirely execrable and in all honesty, "hard-to-swallow" if not for the two epitomes of good looks (superficiality). Seriously I think most go to watch Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt get close and I do mean close because I am sure there are like a tad too many unnecessary intimate scenes that don't have no link to the plot, maybe only to mass appeal. I must say the two do have ahem good chemistry. Pity Jennifer Aniston though.

Got this from http://www.reference.com/thisday/index.html?m=6&d=16
On This Day: Thursday, June 16, 2005
This is the 167th day of the year, with 198 days remaining in 2005.

Holidays
Feast day of St Cyricus, St Ismael, St Aurelian, St John Francis Regis, Saints Cyr and Julitta, St Benno of Meissen, St Lutgarde, Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio, and St Tychon of Amathus. South Africa: Youth Day.
(Hey it's Youth Day in SA!! Wonders whether school holidays are assigned for them)

Events
1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland.
1897 - The government signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii.
1902 - The Wizard of Oz (play) opened at the Grand Opera House in Chicago.
1903 - Ford Motor Company was incorporated.
1933 - President Roosevelt opened his New Deal recovery program by signing bank, rail, and industry bills and initiating farm aid.
1961 - Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris. 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, aboard Vostok 6.
1977 - Leonid Ilich Brezhnev, first secretary of the Soviet Communist Party since
1964, was elected president of the Supreme Soviet.
(Ah heard of the ones regarding Nureyev and Brezhnev but at least there's no earth-shattering events)

Births
1829 - Geronimo, Apache leader and warrior.
1890 - Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson), actor, comedian.
1917 - Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post.
1937 - Erich Segal, author.
1938 - Joyce Carol Oates, American writer.
Ah I see where I belong. ;)

Envoy of the Stars @ 9:33 PM
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