Shelter from the Storm - Bob Dylan

I was in another lifetime one of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud

I come in from the wilderness a creature void of form

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

And if I pass this way again you can rest assured

I'll always do my best for her on that I give my word

In a world of steel-eyed death and men who are fighting to be warm

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Not a word was spoke between us there was no risk involved

Nothing up to that point had even been resolved

Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

I was burned out from exhaustion buried in the hail

Poisoned in the bushes and blown out on the trail

Hunted like a crocodile ravaged in the corn

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Suddenly I turned around and she was standing there

With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair

She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Now the bonds are broken but they can be retied

By one more journey to the woods the house where spirits hide

It’s a never ending battle for a piece that’s always torn

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Well the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount

But nothing really matters much it's doom alone that counts

And the one-eyed undertaker he blows a futile horn

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

I've heard newborn babies wailing like a mourning dove

And old men with broken teeth stranded without love

Do I understand your question man is it hopeless and forlorn

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Now there's a wall between us something there's been lost

I took too much for granted got my signals crossed

Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

In a little hilltop village they gambled for my clothes

I bargained for salvation and they gave me a lethal dose

I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Well I'm living in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line

Beauty walks a razor's edge someday I'll make it mine

If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born

"Come in" she said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Sprout (2012)

This is a very high school story, if there ever was one.   I decided to give it a try so as to give myself a break from all the other things I’ve been on to lately that tended to be more on the serious, psychological, and dark-themed persuasion.  I’d say it was cute, if you liked this kind of high school candy.  I’m sure many out there would like it.

Souhei, along with two other people, end up as boarders in Miku’s home.  Things get awkward at first – Miku wasn’t really willing to let strangers invade her cushy home-life.  But then soon enough she develops a crush on Souhei and thinks of him as her “fated person.”  Problem is, Souhei has a girlfriend, Miyuki.  Miku, while not exactly popular in school, finds herself creating an awkward friendship with Miyuki, who gets bullied and gossiped about.  And then there’s Hayato, Souhei’s best friend, who ends up falling for Miku.  It’s a four-way street from there.  The story goes through the motions of showing the awkwardness of youth, naivete, first love, and heartbreak through a dewy summer-themed lens to the background song Betty’s a Bombshell by Grouplove.  I rather liked this song.  As to the series, the pace was good – thirty minute episodes, so it went quite fast and didn’t get too boring.  The thing is, the actors (except perhaps for the Souhei kid) came off as stiff, cold, and awkward; as if they didn’t feel quite comfortable with their roles.  But come to think of it, given the themes, they were supposed to look awkward and uncomfortable, being teens trying to figure things out by trial and error, yes?  Oh well.   Anyway, it wasn’t all that bad.  It’s good for something light and cute, if that’s what you’re after.  Enjoy! 

Empire - Orson Scott Card

Another Orson Scott Card book that had been waiting for my attention for quite some time now, I finally picked Empire up.  I must say it’s entirely different from the other books I’ve read by the same author – rather surprisingly so.  It’s about a group of American soldiers trying to prevent an American civil war, all the while not really knowing whether they are being manipulated by a very clever, ambitious dictator-wannabe in such a way that in the end everything will fall perfectly into place so that he may take complete control of America. 

 This book followed in the wake of September 11, and I have to say it carried a sense of paranoia all throughout the story.  Mr. Card did however, give a rather lengthy explanation for his reasons to write such a story at the end of the novel.  I will not dwell on that – the politics behind terrorism and civil wars and dictatorships, and so on – I would much rather take the story as I see it.  It’s a very interesting and engaging story after all. 

So Reuben Malich is a brilliant soldier.  From the outset he’s given this all-around-good-guy heroic image.  He seems to have everything and he’s on the way to the top.  And of course someone like him has to be set up for a downfall by the bad guys – in this case Averell Torrent, our ambitious little baddie who thinks himself a Roman Emperor in the making.  Reuben along with Cole, his trusty sidekick, almost but not quite succeed in foiling an attempt to assassinate the President of the USA.  From there begins the many trials and tribulations that Reuben and Cole must go through to get to the truth of what’s really happening in the White House.  Conspiracies galore; left wing vs. right wing factions; a hostile takeover of New York City by weird walking tanks, and so on and so forth, in the center of which is Reuben.  And then Reuben is murdered.  Just like that.  I almost cried!  I couldn’t believe it.  Right smack in the middle of the story the hero dies.  I must admit that throughout the rest of the novel I was hoping that Reuben would pop back out somewhere, that he really planned to fake his own murder, etc.  But he didn’t.  He died.  So it’s up to Cole, Reuben’s wife, and Reuben’s loyal group of soldier-brothers to save the day.  In the end, Averell Torrent is the uncontested President of the USA.  What the hell?!  But the book was quite a statement – it clearly reveals Orson Scott Card’s opinion of governments, wars, religion, heroism, family, and friendship.  I rather think he’s an idealist who’s a bit frustrated by the way things aren’t going in the ideal fashion.

Anyway, it’s good.  I couldn’t let go of the book.  The characters were interesting and the conspiracies were intricate.  The pace was really tight and exciting and you just want to know what they’re going to do next, whether the conspiracy will be revealed or not, who’s really the bad guy, or is the bad guy not so bad after all?   It got to the point where it’s frustrating and I just wanted to skip the remaining pages between where I was and the last page of the story to peek at the ending (I try to never do this with any book – peek at the ending, I mean.).  This is quite a novel experience for me because even though you wouldn’t really call this a politics-themed story, it did have a healthy dose of government jargon and politics involved, which I usually dislike reading about (I read Primary Colors  a couple of years ago and I really didn’t like it one bit, sorry.).  I just hate politics, local or foreign.  Politicians to me are all the same rotten banana, all out to line their own pockets with the honest money the common people shed their blood and sweat for, all the while spouting public service and for the good of the people  yadda, yadda.  But anyway, I actually liked this book.  It was exciting and thrilling and interesting all the way.  So even though the theme didn’t appeal much to me, I’m still glad I gave it a try.  It might be a while, though, before I willingly pick up another similarly themed story.  Better be careful.  

Warm Bodies

I must admit to a considerable amount of prejudice against this movie since I first heard of it.  Zombies have never been my thing.  I do remember enjoying Night of the Living Dead when I was young, and I had loads of fun playing Resident Evil on PlayStation; I stand on the ambivalence line when it comes to The Walking Dead though I did appreciate the first few episodes of Season 1… but all in all, I’ve always thought that zombies were overrated.  Probably because they’ve been saturating everything over the past few years – like vampires and werewolves and wizards and aliens and angels and ghosts… yeah the whole kit and caboodle.  I’ve grown tired of them.  I don’t know exactly what made me think of giving this one a chance, but whatever the reason, I’m glad it got through to me.

I found Warm Bodies to be a pleasant surprise.  Alternately witty, grisly, and heart-warming, it was fun to follow right from the start.  R is a zombie who’s trying his damndest to hold on to his humanity.  He even tries to maintain a zombie-friendship with M, who seems to still be a little bit on the responsive side as well.  Then on one of their “hunts” for food (human brain, in particular), they smell out a group of still living people scavenging for medical supplies.  In this group are Julie and Perry, and R is immediately struck by Julie when he sees her.  But then a violent encounter ensues and R ends up eating the brains of Perry, who happens to be Julie’s boyfriend.  This allows him to acquire some of Perry’s memories.  Seeing Julie in the dead Perry’s memories, R becomes even more affected by her.  He then does the unthinkable – he protects Julie from the other zombies and takes her back with him to his cushy little zombie pad.  And the rest of this charming little story follows.  I really enjoyed it.

But what I loved most was the music.  This movie has the awesomest soundtrack ever – or at least to my ears in particular.  I’m gonna try to find me a CD of this soundtrack every time I pass a record store from now on.  Songs from John Waite, Axl Rose, Bob Dylan, and so many others – just awesome!   I wish we still had our old turntable.  I have such fond memories of our stack of vinyls – my mom would play them on Sunday mornings at full volume and we’d just all be screaming along to the songs.  R was right when he said they just sound more “alive.”  I swear I’m gonna get me this soundtrack. 

Warm Bodies official trailer

Rich Man, Poor Woman (2012)

I decided to give this drama a try because one of my Japanese friends recommended it, and we shared a common liking for Oguri Shun.  Although I never saw the movie The Social Network, this might probably have similarities to that much-talked-about Hollywood production.  Rich Man, Poor Woman aired in mid-2012 and centers around Toru Hyuga, a self-made millionaire who started out small in the vast world of the internet.  He and his friend Asahina have made themselves big in the online world and are now living the good life while leading a company that functions very differently from the traditional office image that most people have.  Of course it can’t all be perfect.  Toru suffers from a strange syndrome of forgetfulness – he cannot remember the faces or names of people.  This is a huge obstacle in the only quest that occupies most of his waking thoughts – to find his mother who abandoned him as a child.   His mother’s name, Sawaki Chihiro, is the only name he can’t seem to forget. 

Enter Natsui Makoto, a Tokyo University graduate having a hard time finding employment.  She remembers an encounter she had with Toru from long before he made it big, and upon taking a chance to apply for a job at his company, she blurts out that her name is (surprise, surprise) Sawaki Chihiro.  Of course such a lie has its inevitable consequences.  The series takes us through the ups and downs of Toru and Natsui’s relationship at work, deepening friendship, and romantic development.  All the while the change in the problematic character of Toru gradually comes full circle as he is faced with professional and personal conflicts one after another.   He matures, learns about humility, professionalism, friendship, love, and forgiveness.  Of course it all comes with the help of the colorful characters around him.

I’d say the series is pretty nice, well-written, and not boring.  Good performances from the cast, and commendable pacing and plot development.  Not really heavy on either comedy or drama, a little bit of romance, and a good touch of life lessons given focus.  Not bad, not bad.  And Oguri is gorgeous (let’s not forget that). 

More information on "Rich Man, Poor Woman"

Three movies lately

First, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.  Yep, that was pretty fun.  The two kids of fairy tale fame grow up to be arrow-shooting, gun-slinging, kung fu fighting, witch exterminating bounty hunters.  Even though the mild twist to the fairy tale that was revealed near the ending was rather predictable, that’s fine.  This isn’t something meant to be thought-provoking and deeply moving, after all.  The costumes and set design are good, the witches looked absolutely horrid, the visual effects were as expected, the fight scenes were quick and gregarious, and the cast was gorgeous.  I wish though that I didn’t see it in 3D – gave me quite the headache, and those 3D glasses are simply too uncomfortable and bothersome on top of my own eyeglasses.

Second, Les Miserables.  I’ve seen the film adaptation starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush, and I liked that version more than this.  But that’s not to say that the 2012 film was all that bad.  Of course the story was good, this is Victor Hugo.  And the songs were wonderful, coming from the musical as they were.  I liked Hugh Jackman most – 100% performance there from a guy who seems to have it all and can do anything.  The costumes and set design – great.  Well and good.  I won’t deny that it’s good, see for yourself.  But, I still prefer the 1998 film.  Hmm… to each his own, n'est–ce pas?  

Third, Pitch Perfect.  It aired in 2012 and follows the grand tradition of singing-group-inspired flicks that go back to times long gone.  This one was of course rather in the mold of Glee, it being the most recent popular similar-themed media bonanza.  So there you go.  Beca, a girl with personal space and friendship issues goes to college at the insistence of her professor father.  She wants to be a music producer and practically has her headphones stuck to her pretty little head most of the time.  At college she meets the “Troublemakers” (boy group) and the “Bellas” (girl group, duh) and learns of their competitive endeavors.  The Bellas, however, are beleaguered by a besmirched recent history and is having much trouble recruiting new members.  Beca strikes a bargain with daddy and ends up joining the Bellas, and she ends up revolutionizing the world of  a capella singing as everyone knows it.  Along the way, she forms warm, fuzzy friendships, reconciles with her dad, wins the coveted trophy, and falls in love with the boy.  What other possible ending could there be?  I thought it was pretty cute, if you liked this kind of cute, and it made me want to see The Breakfast Club (yes, that perennial favorite from the 1980’s) again.  And the singing wasn’t bad. 

Adam of the Road - Elizabeth Janet Gray

“A road’s a kind of holy thing… it brings all kinds of people and all parts of England together.”  Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout thirteenth-century England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick.  But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone.  He searches the same roads he travelled with his father, meeting farmers, pilgrims, minstrels, priests, and thieves along the way.  Through these encounters, Adam discovers that somewhere in the crowds of people are his father and his dog.  But will Adam be able to find them and end his desperate search?  (Book jacket)

First published in 1942, this timeless tale of adventure, friendship, and self-discovery was a winner of the Newberry Medal.  Upon finishing the book, I immediately thought it might as well have been the precursor to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, only this is for younger readers. 

I loved Adam immediately.  He knew what he wanted from life – he was a minstrel, born and bred.  He couldn’t tolerate the thought of becoming anything else.  And so, stuck in an Abbey school where his father left him for some learning and bored out of his mind, he arranges for a way to sneak out and visit his faithful beloved spaniel, Nick.  One day, his father (undoubtedly the best minstrel in all the world, thinks Adam) comes back to get him, and he’s sure to become a real minstrel now that he, his father, and Nick will be on the road together at last.   Thus begins his adventures.  Songs and tales of love and adventure are learned, money earned and spent, lovely ladies and gallant knights, hard-won friendships to be made, and shady characters to be met.  Recklessly Adam’s father, Roger the minstrel, lost their war-horse Bayard in a bet to the same culprit who eventually will steal his Nick.  Sorely grieved by the loss of his dog, Nick goes after the man, and loses his father in the process – now he is truly alone.  But there is no choice but to keep going and soon he realizes that to a minstrel, the road is as good a home as any home could be.    Filled with music, wit, life’s wisdom, and beautifully illustrated, I absolutely recommend this book to one and all.