I watched Cloverfield last night and while to say that the conception of such a creature is awesome would be an understatement, the movie really wasn’t about the monster.

Surprisingly, it is a movie about people: the person who held the camera to film a surprise going-away party of his best friend, his best friend and his rocky relationship with his ex-girlfriend who will be left behind, and the other people who were in the party when the monster struck the city.

It tells not of the monster but of the way people react to dire circumstances. It shows that heroism isn’t something that is innate in a person — that sometimes heroism is nothing but a whim, part of the plethora of responses to man’s instinct to survive when life is threatened. It tells of love, of immaturity, of the choices a person makes. It tells, in its own special way, the value of telling the person we love how we really feel.

And this is why the story was told the way it was. Had the movie been made in the style of Godzilla (1998), it would have been cheesy, boring, and just-another-special-effects-flick. To show everything through a hand-held camera allows viewers to immerse themselves in the situation, literally putting moviegoers in the shoes (and eyes) of the character holding the camera, and gives insights into the decisions each character makes. Cloverfield doesn’t simply tell us a story. It puts us into it.

It will frustrate some that nothing much will be known about the monster, and the constant camera shake will frustrate people sensitive to motion sickness, but these are some of the things that make it such a striking, deeply moving film.

Highly recommended.

I have, and I’m not proud of it, and that’s a story that I’d talk about some other day. But I can relate with these Japanese guys who have been reprimanded for contributing to Gundam’s wikipedia entry. 260 times. Using the Japanese ministry of agriculture’s computers.

Reminds me of the memo the DENR issued to their employees. The subject? Accessing Friendster during office hours.

Fortunately sometimes both sci-fi and Friendster have their legitimate uses in business. Some businesses actually use Friendster (or more commonly, MySpace, and more recently, Facebook) to market their products. And a guy actually used his obsession for Star Wars costumes to get a job:

I rode to the 6th floor and the doors opened. An Epic Games employee stood there, mouth agape. My trooper voice said, “‘Scuse me sir, ~click-shht~,” and I headed down the nearest hall, looking for any open office door. Another employee appeared and the trooper asked, “Which way to Epic Games.” It wasn’t a question. I was telling him to direct me. Because by now the sweat from my forehead brought on by the humid 95 degree weather was stinging my eyes and I needed to get this done. With a big smile he asks, “Oh cool! Are you here for the meeting?!”

[...]

I told him I was there to deliver a portfolio for Chris Bartlett. You see I wasn’t Chris Bartlett anymore. I was Trooper TK409 on a very important mission. I talked about Mr. Bartlett in the third person. It seemed like a good idea, but sounds kind of geeky now that I write that. He said, “OH, You should talk to our Creative Director! He’s right down here, let me introduce you.” So the CD was just coming down the hall coincidentally and I shook his hand, to which he said, “This is… awesome.” I told him I was there to deliver a portfolio for Chris Bartlett and I thrust the tiny trooper with the web address at him.

He says, “Oh, Chris Bartlett, yes I know his work, he’s a graphic designer and animator, yeah, I like his work.” Then he thought for a second and said…”Are you Chris Bartlett?”

Again, uncomfortable? Yes. But honesty is, after all, the best policy. I paused to consider the ramifications of being revealed as the world’s biggest nerd. And then I confessed, “Yes…….. clik-chht.”

[...]

So, they tell me I moved to the top of the pile from that point on. 25 interviews later (this place is like Fort Knox) I was offered the position, and today was my first day at work. [TK409.com]

Some people equivocate a career or a job with “something serious” where they shouldn’t have fun in, but it takes courage to admit that even your most mundane passions can be taken advantage of in your career development.

So if you’re stuck in that 8-5 job and you absolutely hate it but you’re keeping it because it pays the bills, calm down, take a deep breath, accept it, and just shout it out — I HATE MY JOB! And find a way get the job that you really, really like. You can even do something crazy like what Chris Bartlett did.

The point is, do what you really love doing and you’ll achieve much, much more.

When the part came where Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) was going to be replaced by Michelle Morris (Sharon Leal), Melynn noted that Sharon looked Filipina.

Well, IMDB confirms that Sharon Leal indeed is of Filipino and African-American descent.

To quote:

At its finest, the Church embraces science and reason. It tolerates differences of opinion. It nurtures debate, criticism and reflection. It can even simply enjoy a book or a movie. Such sobriety comes with maturity.

The laity no longer comprises unschooled serfs to be shielded from confusing information. Modern Christians know that faith is best tempered and strengthened by critical thinking.

We are a nation that has for a national hero an incendiary novelist who exposed the corruption of the Church in Spanish Philippines. Today, the Philippine Catholic Church owes a huge debt of gratitude to Jose Rizal for the Church run for and by Filipinos. [MT]

Well said bushing Rome! Well said.