Anyway, right before the end of "Audition", after all the boredom and little alarming effects, you will witness a gruesome and breathtaking violence, that will make you feel very uncomfortable. I have to say that it must be, one of the worsts film scenes I have ever seen and I can assure you, that I have seen A LOT of horror films. The gore came more or less as a shock, because the rest of the film are more like a drama. No one are directly killed though and there's no zombies or supernatural events. The film crosses the modern Asian society, with the old Asian traditions, but at the same time it tells the story about the new and the old in every society. It's about the relations between the sexes. And that's what you find in the symbols too. The male character is a hunter and he's the one that controls the power and corruptness. The woman to him is a beautiful object, a big fish and all about status. The modern female character, behaves much like the old ones. She's a vulgar girl, or a sweet shy girl, anything he would like her to be. She waits by the phone. But in the end they show their true nature, the modern woman gets her revenge, because she's a modern woman after all. And the male character was not really such a bad guy and in the image of the modern woman, he becomes the one you have to pity. He really just wanted a wife.
I think it was a good film and I intend to show it to some of friends. Just to see how they react, to the violence at the end of it. And I'm definitively going to let, one of my easily spooked friends see it. -"This is a drama film, you are going to love it", that will be my words.
Today I ordered the new "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy" in the Extended Edition Box. It has 12 DVD discs and includes the longer film versions of the trilogy, including the extra features. I have seen the two first films in the normal version and I even have all three of them on DVD from before, but yesterday I decided that I wanted the Extended Editions after all. So now I really look forward to those.
This year will have a quiet end, at least for me. I will spend this Christmas with my parents and my grandmother (my dad's mother). My other grandparents are dead. My brother, his French girlfriend and their daughter, are staying in France through the holidays, so I will not be able to see them. And they probably won't come around until summer, but perhaps we are going to visit them some time before that. I'm going to relax in much the same manners, as I have in previous years, this holiday. I will have my pork ribs, mulberry cream dessert and TV.
I rarely drink alcohol, but I want to taste Pink Champagne this year, because I have never tasted the pink version of it. I wonder if it really is pink or not and why don't they have blue, or green? I have nothing against drinking alcohol, I'm just not very fond of the taste, that all alcoholic drinks has. So I like things that doesn't give me that taste. And I simply cannot stand sweet liqueur, those sticky little gooey female drinks. But those cocktail drinks in funny colours, with ice cubes, umbrellas and plastic berry sticks with animal heads, looks rather nice. But since I never put my lazy leg into bars or drinks places (being a nerd after all and afraid of crowds), I have no idea what most of them really taste. When I were a kid and went with my parents to hotel bars, I used to collect the plastic berry sticks though. And I always bought my own children's non-alcoholic drink at the bar, the one you could get in red or yellow, with berry and animal stick and umbrella and all. I loved those times, those places and I adopted a love of bars. In addition to the atmosphere, it was the colourful cocktail drinks, the plastic animal sticks and the fact that it was a place, you could stay up late. I wonder where all my cocktail sticks are now.
I'm very fond of Ginger Beer, but I haven't been drinking it for a very long time. The other day I read that ginger is suppose to be very healthy and it made me feel like wanting Ginger Beer again. After all, I'm not going to suffer severely, by taking small breaks from my precious Coke. In general I really like things with a herby taste. I was trying to get a hold of a large package, of Root Beer Jelly Belly candy some time ago, but they had nothing left of it. And they didn't either have the Tutti-Fruitti flavour. This made me pick a large Top Banana package instead and now I'm so sickly tired of Top Banana, that I could just vomit seeing the still rather large bag! My plan was to give it away to friends, in small bundles for Christmas. You know, just so I could get rid of it, but then I forgot all about that gift plan and it's still here. The huge package with yellow beans stare at me. And I now feel bad about trying to get myself, some other maxi size package of Jelly Belly's, of a different flavour. I have to ignore the wish.
But my mother bought me, the wonderful chocolate Liqueur Bottles from Anthon Berg. She was going to give it to me as a small gift item on Christmas day, but I was able to convince her, to share it with me a bit early. And that made me almost forget, about my irritating wish to buy new Jelly Bellies. Almost, just almost. These Liqueur Bottles are really just as interesting as Jelly Belly candy though, when it comes to being cool with their different flavours. Each bottle includes a specific brand drink, covered in a small chocolate bottle. I cant remember which one I like the most and I cant eat them all, just to tell you now. But I'm going to mark it down and tell you when all of them are consumed later on (cause I think I recall the devil, telling me not to share this year).
My mother have promised to make my favourite cake this Christmas, the World's Best Cake (or sometimes called Meringue Dreams). It's actually voted to be the national cake in my country, so obviously there's a lot of people who like it. I guess I prefer it because I really like vanilla cream and meringue, it's noting quite like it. I remember I ate so much of this cake one time, that it almost made me faint.
Talking about candy. There's this other candy that goes well with Christmas. Not too long ago I saw a Swedish food program, where they made this candy. It's suppose to be a Swedish or German candy (?) and it has a rather a funny name; Polkapigs. They are usually red and white and taste like peppermint. They are shaped like little pillows, hearts or canes. Personally I don't really like the peppermint flavour of these, probably because I'm bored with them, because it's actually really hard to get a different one. I like the black and white Polkapigs, those with a dangerous liquorice flavour, but I have only seen the peppermint flavour in stores around here. I was able to get them in liquorice, in Denmark and Germany years ago though and from reading on the Swedish Polkapigs shop page, they got more flavours that I imagined. -Ah, oh, how wonderful and nightmarish at the same time! But I sure wonder why they call them Polkapigs. I also like King Of Denmark sweets. They look like little coins. Ever tasted them?
Okay, that was a lot about the things, that some say, isn't the real point of Christmas. Personally I'm not a Christian, so the religious aspect doesn't matter to me. But Jesus are not the main dish, at the White House tables in the USA either. Although they do keep the wise men in mind during the holidays, as Bush states; -"We think of the hope of the Wise Men who set out on a long journey guided only by a slender promise traced in the stars". But who can keep their thoughts on such historical events, when they got a room full of golden trees and well polished floors and piano music and God knows what. I mean if I had that, I think it would be very little room for spirituality. Instead I would have disco parties every night, probably Christmas every day too. I would be a horrible royal person.
I haven't talked about the Nobel Peace Prize before. But I'm going to have to say that I was happy, to hear that Wangari Maathai got it. If only such people could be an inspiration, to powerful leaders across the world; I think we would have a lot more to gain and less to lose. I'm not going to say much about this now, I'll leave it as a part of my last words here before the holidays. And I want to end it, with a little poem translation, written by Lars Saabye Christensen.
are suspicious
They walk from bread crumb to bread crumb
and shake their heads
It's so quiet here
nobody can hear what I'm saying
It cant be impossible
I cant even do it myself
It's so dark here
everyone can see me
There is an old torture instrument;
a flute that prisoners had to play
For every play out of tune
a finger was cut off
Sometimes I think
I can hear that music...
The last wrong note...
I wish everyone a Happy Christmas! Lets hope the new year will be better, than previous years, in small and big ways, for many people. I wish a lot of things for myself, but my wishes are not very different, than other peoples wishes. So when the new year rings, I'm going to send a thought to everyone, that dare to wish and yearn and hope. Thanks for the year that was.
The Krampus, or Christmas devil, accompanies Santa Claus on his Christmas deliveries. He brings lumps of coal and twigs, for those children that Santa doesn't reward. So flirtational technics in dealing with Santa, are probably always recommended.
These comments are taken from the site, where I used to keep my journal, before I moved it here.
You can add replies to the entry, or the comments below.
From PUBLIUS: The most horrific films I have ever seen with these two eyes are:
*The Ballad of Narayama... so far has not made it to the end but will try again... Well made and powerful but some of the subject matter is just.. too much.
*Black Rain... Japanese film by same director and still fucks with my head.
*The Human Condition Part 2- There is a part when they start chopping heads off against this Gandhiesque heroic character that just leaves one with an understanding of having PTSD after watching that scene.
*Vukavor--Rape warfare.. Raping a mother to death and making the daughter watch while telling her she will be a whore to a end up like her mother, plus at same time the rape a pregnant woman too. Horrific.. but reality in 90s worse stuff happened. *There is another film that I cant watch where these children are beaten and killed. Just too much to watch for me seeing children violently beaten and murdered.. I just can't think of what the name of it is. *White Dog- seeing that film the first time and just hearing about it is scary enough. Great idea though for a symbol of mans inhumanity to man by a dog trained to hate and kill.
*The Big Red One- A Sam Fuller1980 war film. There is a scene of Lee Marvin carrying this kid who survived a death camp around and he dies and he just keeps carrying him. When I was a child I kept dreaming about that and the music box playing in the background.
*UNDERGROUND USA-there is a scene where this wonderful beautiful loving lady tells the main character she loves him and wants to have his children.. He asks her if she’s on the needle and starts laughing at her. A real in your face emotionally violent and horrific scene.
Ok I have ranted enough. I'll write an entry about the French film I saw at the movie theatre tonight instead of taking up all the room here.
From ochweidnit: A very happy season to you, I hope you get everything you wish for, you deserve to because you dare to dream. As far as movies go, I too was raised on horror, and mostly todays films don't affect me, I will be sure to watch that japanese one you recommended. The most disturbing film I have seen was an anime, Grave of the Fireflies. No overt violence, no gore, but horrific and affecting and very, very sad.
From Dag...: Merry Christmas everyone :-p
From Dag: Damnit i hit enter and my comment was "entered!" before i had finished... There should be a way to edit here.. Thats something to ask Diaryland for ! Anyway.. Publius: I wouldnt stand watching that stuff :-( And to continue I was more of a Stephen King / HP Lovecraft kind of horror afficionado back in the day i read and watched movies of that kind.. Now i barely watch any movies and i just cant handle violence at all.. I never really could... A lot of my problems started back when i was 11 and were semiforced (peer pressure) to see Halloween by a couple of my friends. I actually think it traumatized me to a serious degree.. I think I got a phobia for insanity by that.. Something that i think lingers to this day.. Im getting personal here.. But i allow myself to be. The image of the main guy (cant remember name now) lifting a woman up and nailing her to the wall with a large knife, stuck in my head.. Halloween.. Whew.. No.. Horror movies are not for me anymore.. Atleast not if there is tales of terrible evil or graphic violence in them :-p And that i think might exclude a few :-D I think ill stick with my southpark and simpsons for entertainment :-) And i scoured the net for cartoons a while ago so i now have a large collection of classic cartoons !! Need to watch them. They dont make stuff like that anymore.. And i LOVE King of Denmark drops !! AND i gotta get that 12 DVD box LOTR myself.. I think i must bear over with the terrible orcs :-) And btw i too havent been much of a alcohol fan lately.. But i got a bottle of JimBeam Whiskey from a buddy (just with a little left on the bottom) just to taste it.. And that is pretty good actually.. ! But i just take a sip to get the taste whenever i feel like it =) No big alcoholbash.. Ok thats it for me right now :-) Take care Raven and all..
From Dagblah: OMG I WANT THAT CAKE !!!!!!!
From Dag Peace: And i agree about Wangari .. I didnt initially when the prize was announced but now i do after seeing her talk... Shes a great person..
From PUBLIUS the insane: Well I was always partial to true horror. But I can appreciate Barker.. Well as mr garrisson says "Merry Fucking Christmas!"
From Dag: I over-ate (forspiste) on polkapigs once when i was a kid and could never stand them again... This was the red and white mint ones....
From Dag 2: Oh boy this Christmas was cut short... Due to the Flood in Asia... :-( I couldnt really enjoy stuff when so many died.. Luckily not as many Norwegians as they first said. But that doesnt really matter. And did anyone register that Africa has the equivalent of 3 tsunamis a year ? I mean in deaths caused by disasters.. That should make people understand how bad it is in Africa. And try to understand that even though the flood has giant media coverage, its just as bad in Africa every year...