January 26, 2009

Kung hei fat choi!

Happy New Year to all my blog readers, family, friends, and even my pretend-friends. Wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2009.

(from www.gift.org.sg)

On this first day of the Chinese New Year, I went to my doctor for a follow-up checkup and to have him change the dressing on my wound. Still an ordeal. Not as bad as Saturday's though, but painful just the same. I hope this thing heals soon enough. I still have another checkup on Thursday. Meanwhile, I still have some difficulty sleeping, cos I can't lie on my back, and I'm still subsisting on antiobiotics and painkillers. So I really am not up to any socializing this week yet. So forgive me if I'm still a bit sungit.

I know I shouldn't complain. There are other people more ill and in worse shape than me. I hope to be up and running when February begins. So much work to do. I want to reap the full benefits the Year of the Ox will bring.

(P.S. Thanks to the divine Ms. F for sending me some delicious roast turkey and a huge slice of her yummy carrot cake from her post-inaugural Obama party w/c I missed because I was ill, and to Tito Mon for bringing me the food. Love you guys! Seriously, I'd buy that carrot cake if it were sold in the bazaars!)

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If you haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, I suggest you start downloading the movie from your favorite torrent sources. Except for the Bollywood ending (choeographed group singing and dancing, what elz?!), it's Oscar-worthy. I hope it wins.

Of course I haven't seen the other Oscar nominees for best film yet (got a broken torrent of Doubt, so I couldn't watch it, kainis!), but Slumdog is a definite strong contender.

But according to this piece, not all Indians are happy with the film. I understand their point. It's like everytime Manila gets mentioned in international news stories, there is the usual shot of Smoky Mountain. But this doesn't mean that the poverty, squalor, and corruption are not real. Amid that same setting in Slumdog, however, the character emerges a winner. I give it props for being the feel-good movie of the year,

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

that was the first indian movie i saw in its entirety... and it was really good, but is it because there were western sensibilities involved in making the film?.. but what made me flip was when these guys - the hero and the heroine - who were seriously into their acting in the film - suddenly started to move their faces to and fro and swaying in unison with hundreds of others singing and moving to the sound of i don't know what kind of music that was....hahahaha! THAT really cracked me up, man.. b o l l y w o o d - strange thing, but the movie, bottomline, was good (except that i thought how could you take a film seriously when all of a sudden they start boogying at the end, haha!)what a peculiar way to end a film..but then, that's only me...

Anonymous said...

>>Except for the Bollywood ending (choeographed group singing and dancing, what elz?!), it's Oscar-worthy.

Au contraire. I thought the dance routine was essential because it added to the uplifting ending and paid homage to Bollywood at the same time. The movie would have been far less happy without that ending. :)

Stella Arnaldo said...

Thanks for your comment vcdvj.

I've never been a fan of Bollywood films thus, my opinion. I get the point about the homage to Bollywood. I just thought the sashaying and singing weren't really essential to the ending.

Do drop by again :)