I Do Not Like 'Goodbye'

Goodbye is a promise unkept, a declaration of love and dishonesty.

It is to tell a person I'll miss you but I won't look for you. Per chance we'll meet again. Leaving it all up to fate and destiny to reconnect you.

It is professing love to empty space, in other words, nothing.

To say goodbye is to hold on and let go at the same time. It is an apt contradiction of your desires.

Instead, see you soon, because that is certain, because you will make it happen.

Simplicity

What I want is food, entertainment and love.

What I want is a cheeseburger, a comic book and a kiss.

What I want is a life with plenty of this.

Up In The Air Thoughts; You Had Me At Hello, George

So I just finished watching Up In The Air, the celebrated George "Yes, I was a Batman too" Clooney movie, co-starring Anna "This is the movie people referred you to if you watched Pitch Perfect and asked 'What else has she done?'" Kendrick, Vera "Be My Textmate" Farmiga and a host of others, directed by Jason "Son of Ivan" Reitman.

I missed its first go around back in 2009 because at the time, I really didn't know what the movie was about. And before tonight, I still didn't know what it was about but hey, I like Kendrick and Clooney, plus my girlfriend said it was a good movie, so I decided to check it out. My thoughts after the jump.

Father

A good dad carried me around and let me lay on his chest when I was a baby.

A good dad brought me around the house at night with our waterguns to shoot at cockroaches.

A good dad fanned me as I tried to sleep through a blackout.

A good dad took me to A & W at 2am to get a bacon cheeseburger and potato puffs.

A good dad taught me how to use Warp Whistles and P-Wings to finish Super Mario Bros. 3 in record time.

A good dad taught me how to do equations in my head and made me believe I was good at math.

A good dad cheered for me even when I was the 12th man on the team.

A good dad coached me through wins and losses, and celebrated with me when we finally took it home.

A good dad encourages me when others don't.

A good dad is there for me every single time.

A good dad is more than just a dad; he's my friend, buddy, coach, teacher, financier, midnight-snack-run partner and so much more.

A good dad is who my dad is. And one day I hope to become just like him.

Happy Father's Day Papa. I love you.

Man of Very Hard Steel

Amirite, ladies? If you came out of Man of Steel and your initial thought was "They made Diane Lane look really old," then you must be hella blind to have missed the titular Man of Steel flexing and posturing and flying (all while smiling) into the collective female (and some of the male variety too) population's hearts.

Henry Cavill looks like a true Man of Steel. Whether clean-shaven or bearded, clothed or, ehem, un-clothed, the one thing we can all agree on is that the guy is extremely handsome and physically fit. Whoever saw him and said, "That's our Superman," should be getting thank you cards from Cavill for the rest of his/her life.

Then of course, Mr. Cavill started talking and acting and honestly, I thought he came off pretty convincingly as a first-time superhero. This is an important part about the character of Kal-El/Clark Kent in the film because even though he seemed so used-to-this while fighting other Kryptonians and zooming out on Lois Lane, this was his first time out in the costume, as a public figure and not some urban legend of a hero. Guy didn't even have a proper superhero name yet until a no-name character let it slip that most have come to calling him 'Superman.' But I digress. Point is, I think I saw a very thoughtful and strong portrayal of a Superman clearly in Year One (if not Day One). He was kind to those he met, vindictive to those who pissed him off and ultimately heroic in the face of overwhelming odds. There was charm and grace in his interactions with humans and a singular directness to protecting those he loved. Throughout the movie (both times I saw it), I kept on remarking on how nice he was. I took it as a sign that Henry Cavill's Superman really worked for me if I could still see him as the Big Blue Boy Scout.

So he hasn't figured out what 'collateral damage' means yet and he had to resort to one final action to end the threat of General Zod. Remember, the fisticuffs only began as a result of Kal finding out what Zod's true plans for Earth were, AFTER he had decided to turn himself over to Zod's forces to avoid a conflict. His initial reaction was not to jump into a fight but to compromise and to sacrifice. It was only when Zod and his cohorts threatened his adoptive Earth and its people that he jumped (flew) into action. And to me, this made the character and Henry Cavill's portrayal of him worthy of the Superman name.

This is by no means the definitive version of Superman, mainly because there are too many variations of the character in media, not to mention just in comics nor just in the movies. But was it a respectful interpretation of the character? For me, yes. I can still look at his body of work (and body) and see Superman, albeit, a very young Superman. Disagree with me or not, I hope we get more movies so that we can see this Superman reach his full potential.

Neatness of the Week

Well, we'll have to be a little loose with the definition of 'week.' This is basically a list of all the things I enjoyed these past few days, because the world would be better off if everyone appreciated these occurrences too. (At least, that's what I think.)

1. Bistro Group Discounts

My friends and I enjoyed a fabulous merienda this past weekend at T.G.I. Friday's in Trinoma. My girlfriend treated us to mojitos, nachos, Oreo/ice cream hockey pucks and more. And she was able to do this with the help of some pretty neat discounts from the Bistro Group. It was not the first time we've availed of their promos (our dinner at Village Tavern a two weeks ago was a steal with the voucher we used) and it definitely will not be the last.

2. Global Frequency

Warren Ellis is one of my favorite comic book writers. Some of his works that I've enjoyed include The Authority, Planetary and Nextwave, Agents of H.A.T.E. He also wrote Global Frequency, a title that's regularly bandied about whenever there's a discussion about Ellis' best works.

I recently picked up a copy of the entire series in trade paperback form (Thanks to my girlfriend). I'm only a few issues in but I can definitely vouch for the validity of those claims.

Global Frequency is the name of an organization that employs a thousand men and women, experts in various fields (mostly fighting and doing awesome stuff), to defend humanity against whatever threats come crashing down upon them. It's full of high-concept Sci-Fi, great characters and Ellis' own brand of wit and charm. I encourage everyone to get a copy of their own.

3. Prawn Puffs & 4. Chili Cheese Fries

This weekend, I had (on separate occasions) Prawn Puffs and rice from Paotsin and Chili Cheese Fries from Burger Project. Mmmmmm. The memory alone has me salivating.

(No pictures because I already ate them before I could take any.)

5. Man of Steel

This week, the Superman movie Man of Steel premieres. I am really looking forward to this. As you can tell, I am a comic book fan. I take this stuff seriously. Superman is one of my favorite characters and if you ask me 'why,' I won't be able to give you a good answer except for "Because he's Superman." It's in the name really. He's everything we aspire to be. Suffice it to say, I cannot wait to go see this movie.

6. LeBron James

If you haven't been swept up into it yet, the NBA Finals are in full swing and the series is currently tied 1-1 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. I'm a big LeBron James fan, so I'm pulling for him to get his second straight championship and finals MVP (Yes, even after he beat my Indiana Pacers). 

The Heat won game 2 with James authoring one of the most scintillating 45 seconds of basketball ever. He negated a Tiago Splitter dunk attempt, assisted on a Ray Allen three-pointer, came up with a steal and finished the sequence with a thunderous two-handed jam. The Block, the Dime, the Steal and the Slam. It was ridiculous. You only see that in video games. He's a rim protector, distributor, elite perimeter defender and an aerial assault all in one. We truly are witnesses.