El lujo de los muertos

Porque vivimos con tiempo prestado y en cualquier momento nos cobran con intereses. Anda! corre y no te detengas a preguntarte pendejadas, que tienes la carroza de la muerte detras tuyo, y el chofer no conoce de respeto. Haz de tu vida un papalote y vuela con el por los cielos que otros solo ven desde abajo. Dibujate una cara feliz y pontela cuando llueva, emborrachate del olor a tierra mojada y enlodate los pies, que nadie que haya cruzado este mundo llega al final con los pies limpios. Inventa, experimenta y echa a perder, porque equivocarse es un lujo que los muertos quisieran poder darse...

Everything is illuminated

I used to be a collector. Back when I was a kid, I used to save everything I would consider worth saving, which was pretty much any piece of crap you would think of: Stones, soda cans, toiletries from hotels, fliers, flower seeds, and so on. My favorites were the free toys from Sabritas' bags of chips (which included Disney plastic figurines, The Thundercats, Flinstones holograms).

So I couldn't help but feeling related to Jonathan (Elijah Woods, yes, Frodo himself), the main character of the movie, this jewish guy who is a restless collector of items that belonged to some family member, and hangs them in a wall.

After his grandfather passed away, he sets off to on a trip to Russia to find the whereabouts of a lady that supposedly helped his grandfather to escape the nazis and make it to America.

I loved the scenery, where most of the movie develops, following the long roadtrip in an old tourist car through the russian countryside. The dialogs between Jonathan and Alex, his translator, are hilarious, mostly because of the funny interpretations.

One thing I tought it was funny, is how much Frodo, I mean, Elijah Woods reminds me (visually, and sometimes also personality wise) of his other character in Sin City which have nothing in common and at the same time, look so much alike!!!, judge yourself, left is his Sin City character, the cannibal Kevin, and on the right is Jonathan, who ironically enough is a vegetarian lol :

So anyway, the movie is a nice comedy that kept me interested all of the time, the story develops at a good space, narrated by Alex, the translator. It's a great story about people who live in the past, and also about people who has left the past behind. "Everything is illuminated in the light of the past, which is inside us looking out" -says Alex.

Something that really got me was the soundtrack. What an amazing selection of russian folk music. The song from the credits is awesome "start wearing purple", some mash-up of world beat, ska, and russian folk. The name of the band is Gogol Bordello, and you can go here if you want to check it out.

Ringu: the chicken or the egg

When it comes to japanese horror movies, I've always think they're the best around. They don't rely as much as american movies in special effects, famous actors or a lot of CG graphics. It's always about the mood, the story, the music, the details. And damn, I LOVE the fact that they are less predictable, since the main characters don't have the immunity to harm we see in most western movies, where you will know for sure the main character will not die or lose a limb or something. No-oh, in japanese movies your favorite character can die ANYTIME.

This movie is no different, I really enjoyed it. However, having seen the american version first a few years ago, I must admit the american remake improves a little, mostly story-wise, from the original movie.

There's just a couple things in Ringu's story that left me thinking "wait a minute, how did they know that...?". It was like I sat in the remote controller and fast forwarded to the next scene. Things like how they find out about the well's location. Suddenly they just had the whole thing figured out and we missed the in-between development. Yes, I know the remake filled-in those in-betweens and since I saw it first I believe that something is missing when it wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place but... Im not gonna get into a time paradox here, I just think that extra development was necessary.

One of the things I loved from the american version was the whole concept of the "shining ring" we see at the end of the "cursed videoclip" that the movie is about. For me, that was BRILLIANT!!. Sadly, that is missing in the original movie, which I was a bit dissappointed about, BUT I must say that I think the video we see in the original movie is actually creepier than in the american version.

The soundtrack is very haunting, and yeah, I think the final sequence (now a classic) with the girl creeping out of the TV is way more dramatic in the original than in the americanized version. Though I've always said that the american version should have removed everything after the sequence in the cabin. Seriously. After that is all downhill in terms of believability. However, in the original movie it makes sense! (which I think I am NOT doing anymore lol)

But Anyway, did I watch the movies in the wrong order? I will never know, unless I completely erase the movies from my memory and try again. Maybe in my next life...

Late gym session

Last night I went to the gym very late, around 10. I haven't eaten anything before (I ate a turkey and egg sandwich about 3 hours before).

I'm not sure if it was becasue of that but I was feeling so tired. I couldn't even complete the second series of the bench exercises I did. I managed to finish by doing the rest after taking a short break, but I was feeling overall un-energized.

Probably it was the fact I was hungry or maybe that I was still sore from last weeks' sessions. Hopefully I will catch up tomorrow.

Goodbye J

Waiting for you I feel like a thirsty tree that lives 5 foot from the river. So close and yet so far. Yes, you never asked me to wait but, my dear foolish, I have been waiting for you anyway.

Waiting for you to cross that line that eventually became a noose, and that I put myself around my neck, not knowing when or why.

Waiting for you is like watching the china fall from the cupboard during an eartqueake, crashing on the floor one after another. And yet you never made any promises.

Waiting for you is like waiting for the sea to dry so I can walk to the other shore because Im afraid to swim.

I'm buried too deep into the sand already my dear, I can't wait any longer.

So here's the key to unlock the chains than bound yourself to me. Chains I made out of an amalgam of love and fear and hope.

You wore the chains, but you were always free, and I was always the prisoner.

Goodbye J

The sea inside

I watched the movie The Sea inside last night. What a beautiful piece of work from Alejandro Amenabar. Im so glad that even after working with big hollywood names such as Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman ( He directed her in The Others ), Amenabar can still manage to keep such an indie film taste to his movies. Also, it was an amazing performance for Javier Bardem, its incredible how convincing he is portraying the main character.

The story in The Sea Inside (which is by the way, based in a true story) is truly touching, at least it was for me. What is the worst prison a man can have? his own body. Ramón wants the get the legal right to take his own life, after 28 years of living as a quadraplegic, after an accident while he was diving into the sea's shallow waters. At first, I was optimistical and thinking to myself "hey man, life is worth living, no matter what" and all that crap.

But by the end of the movie I ended up sympathizing with his reasons. It was his choice. "Life is a right, not an obligation" - he said.

In many ways he was still free from his prison. He could still use his mind to jump out his window and fly to the sea he loved so much: "The sea gave me my life and it also took it away".

After finishing the movie I ended up rethinking my question. So what is the worst prison a man can have? his own mind. You might not be able to change your body, but there's no excuse to not changing your mind.

Day two: John's Revenge

damn Im so tired. John (my trainer) has really pushed me beyond what I thought I could do. I was doing this series of squats, using only the bar (which is 45 pounds), did 12, and I was tired. Then, he added 50 pounds more!!! making it 95!! and I was like "are you out of your mind or what?". Surprisingly for me, I could finish the series, but I was nearly dead by the end. Felt dizzy. Had to lean on some machine to get my breath again. I was looking at John with my cow-in-the-slaughterhouse eyes hoping he would say "ok we're done for the day", and instead he asked me to do 12 more!!

Seriously John, you're a son of a bitch... however, I managed to complete it!! to my complete surprise. I love this guy.

I met David for the first time today, he was doing the same routines as me. This is gonna be cool, to have this support.

note to myself: I need to make sure to eat something a few hours before the gym, cause I was feeling so hungry during the routines and my energy dropped.

Gym log

Did mostly chest and trcieps. flat bench press: 2x12 75 pounds, inclined bench press: 2x12 65 pounds. Don't remember the rest, but once I have my routine Im gonna post it.

Yet another new beginning...

This weekend was a big start. I signed up for the gym, two year membership, after being brainwashed by the sales guy, who did a great job telling me how much the WANT me to keep goign to the gym. Yeah, for the money I have to pay every month anybody would want me there, but it's not that bad. Plenty of things to do there and guys to watch =oD

John, my trainer, is a tall black guy, very handsome and very funny, pretty laid back, which is perfect for me, oh and did I say MERCILESS?... I started doing some weights saturday morning, and he put me through some serious strain. Im typing this on sunday night and I can hardly move my arms. It hurts and I know is gonna be worse tomorrow.

I feel good though, cause it means a lot to be able to make such commitment, and I feel this time I have the right circumstances on my side. My friend Dave is also going to that gym, he also trains with John and we have pretty much the same objectives. That should help me keep the rhythm.

Im gonna try to post my routine here once I hve it figured out with John, as I plan to use this as a way to keep track of everything I do.