Let's Talk over Coffee

vagabond Coffee Talk at 6:27 PM

Sunday, October 21, 2007

What would be your first reaction if a friend came up to you and asked if you would be interested in going on a long overseas trip. More specifically a 6-month long journey in Tibet, Pakistan, Iran and India. For me, it was a tempting call to adventure. The trip was planned as a “working holiday” and an “immersion experience”. For half a year, we would live with the locals and pay for our food and boarding with work. We would be free to explore these exotic destinations with no curfews and no supervision. We will stay and go as we wish. We will meet and interact with people from across the globe. We will experience the festivals and culture of these people as only a local could. We would be like the wanderers of fantasy tales. We would have the time of our life!

The initial euphoria soon evaporated when I realized it was all still a dream. There was no “plan”. The mentioned friend was determined to go for his “pilgrimage”, alone if need be, but he had nothing solid. His idea was go in cold, believing that he will find a local willing to help him on the ground. I suggested that he at least get to know a helpful local through email first rather than going in with no back-up at all but he was adamant about it. Without any friendly faces in a foreign and possibly hostile land, I felt it was possible suicide. The countries we were planning to stop in were not exactly known for their hospitality to strangers. Perhaps I just didn’t have the guts to do it. Real adventurers wouldn’t always have something to fall back on wherever they went. They were willing to risk it all to quench their thirst. No matter what kind of situation they found themselves in, they would find a solution. Parental consent would be another major hurdle. I don’t believe there’s a chance in hell they would let me go cavorting around in India and Pakistan for 6 months straight. Not without hourly updated GPS co-ordinates and full police protection anyway. Moreover, this would be 6 months of time I could put to good use. The trip would be the experience of a lifetime but it wouldn’t add anything tangible to my life.

It is bitterly disappointing when something as wonderful as this gets killed in its infancy by conditions of the real world. I strongly believed in what my friend said, that no one can stop you from doing something you really want to do. He had valid points too. That this is probably the only time when we are so utterly without commitments and obligations that we can really disappear for 6 months and do something we used to only dream of. It would have been a crazy thing to go but it just seems like such a waste to let it go….

vagabond Coffee Talk at 5:52 AM

Monday, September 10, 2007

Does anyone else ever feel incredibly annoyed when radio stations play the same hits over and over again. I guess listeners do want to hear the hits but some tunes are just over used. Moreover some songs are just so hopelessly emo and whiny that I wonder if their only purpose was to cause depression(Hey There Delilah comes to mind) while others are just plain crap.(Beautiful Girls)

vagabond Coffee Talk at 7:37 AM

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Army Open House 07 is finally over and it is time to enjoy the offs! Not that it was an unpleasant experience but it was rather exhausting. For our part, we operated the broncos as part of the Battle Joyride for 5 consecutive days, from 8 to 6, not taking into account the prep done before and after the rides.

Most of visitors interested in the Battle Joyride were kids dragging their parents in tow. They were fascinated by the armored vehicles and the "ambush" along the ride. The best position in my opinion was to be the rear safety. As long as the visitors came back from the ride in one piece, the job was done. It allowed me to chat with the more sociable ones or just laze around if they weren't interested.

On the last day, we pulled an all-nighter. Once the Open House officially ended, we packed up and lined up the vehicles for convoy movement back to Sungei Gedong. It was a total mess with vehicles breaking down left and right and screw-ups in communications. We arrived just past midnight and proceeded to clean the vehicles and arms. I don't know how we did it but it was all done by 6. Just in time for breakfast :) Which also meant I had gone without sleep for more than 24 hours....

vagabond Coffee Talk at 2:29 AM

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Cowboy Bebop is a rarity in the anime world. Admittedly, its animation is last generation but it is still worth watching. Cowboy is also relatively short, with only 26 sessions(episodes) unlike Bleach or Naruto. Its characters defy the run-of-the-mill anime stereotypes and proves to be the series strongest point.

The setting is the year 2071 where mankind has spread across the solar system and spaceships were a dime a dozen. The anime focuses on the adventures of a group of disparate "cowboys", a term for bounty hunters. It blends the past and present seamlessly allowing viewers to delve deep into the character's back stories while advancing the plot.

The most intriguing character is Faye Valentine, an amnesiac who awoke from a 50 year cyrogenic slumber to find herself in deep debt and without a past. Faye's search for who she was dominates a good portion of the show and is one of the main reasons to watch Cowboy. The series came tantalizingly close on several occasions but never fully revealed her past. Faye left the group of bounty hunters several times but always returned to the ship(the Bebop). Towards the end of the series, she regained her memory and left them to return to her previous home only to find it in ruins. She finally returned to her friends, her only family left.

There is a strong theme of being able to let go of your past and be "free". Faye was able to reconcile herself to the fact that she has no one except her friends left. Edward forgave her father and stayed with him. Jet left Arisa(his former lover) on good terms and discovered the truth of how he lost his arm. Spike chose to return confront Vicious even when he could have escaped with his friends. In a typical film noir style, Spike makes a big entrance at the Red Dragon HQ before meeting Vicious for a final showdown. It is interesting to note that while Spike is normally a cool and nonchalant character, he is ultimately unable to escape the demons of his past.

A scene that defines the series would be when Spike returned to the Bebop after Julia(his lover) was killed during their escape from the thugs under Vicious. During his last meal, there was little conversation between Jet and Spike. Both knew what was going to happen next and had long accepted it. Faye confronted Spike and was extremely upset that he wanted to go back and die. She had found a home abroad the Bebop and she hated him for destroying it. Despite her emotional pleadings, Spike left to meet his destiny.

vagabond Coffee Talk at 10:04 PM

Monday, August 20, 2007

I used to love the whole Star Wars Universe. Even before the prequel trilogy hit the big screens, I was already a pretty big Star Wars fan. For those who only know of Star Wars through movies, it is only the tip of the iceberg. For those in the know, I started off by reading the Han Solo Trilogy. I still count them as some of my favourite books. For fans, the books contain an immense wealth of lore and plot lines that far expand Star Wars beyond that covered in the movies.

The Thrawn Trilogy, The X-wing series, The Han Solo Trilogy, The Courtship of Princess Leia, The Jedi Academy Trilogy, The Hand of Thrawn Duology and I, Jedi were all written before the prequel films were released and every book further developed the Star Wars saga. This was one of the main reasons the Star Wars Universe was so successful. Every individual plot line contributed to the big picture. You could just read them individually but together they created a immense and complex world, more than the sum of its parts.

After The Phantom Meance was released, a whole new generation of Star Wars geeks were born. A whole new series was started for the Star Wars Universe, The New Jedi Order. It is the longest and most influential series to date. In a nutshell, the Yuuzhan Vong have replaced the Empire as the baddies and are threatening the entire New Republic. It is epic in its scale and delves deeply into the roles of the Jedi in the New Republic. The series was also the first to showcase the new generation of Jedi, including the Solo twins and Anakin Skywalker, as they take on the responsibility of protecting the galaxy.

vagabond Coffee Talk at 5:02 AM

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Some movies are just horribly cruel. They start off with such a wonderful world where children are free to run wild in their imagination before collapsing it with harsh reality.

For the first half of Bridge To Terabithia, its incredible charm and innocence will prove irresistible. We can't help but sympathize with the two leads as they endure taunts and bullying from their schoolmates. We cheer with them when they get back at Janice(a 8th grade bully) and we celebrate with them when they defeat the giant troll threatening their kingdom. Outcasts in school, the duo form a strong friendship by escaping into their very own fantasy world of Terabithia.

It is ironic that a film adapted from a work of children's literature would have such a bittersweet ending. This was one of the few times when I had felt really attached to a show's protagonists and I was rather saddened by their tragic loss. In a way, Bridge To Terabithia is more a movie for young adults than kids with its themes of coming to terms with grief and carrying on with life.

5/5 STARS

vagabond Coffee Talk at 9:51 AM