Sorry, I've got disquisition diarrhoea

Anakin Skywalker is an innocent

2005-05-17T18:46:51+02:00

Picture courtesy of 20th Century Fox

My journey in the Star Wars realm has come to a bittersweet end.

The happiest day of my life is, now, also the saddest. I've come to the end of the Star Wars saga. Back in the unknown, scary, dark days of pre-millenia – where we all thought we wouldn't survive the millenium bug – where a computer bug was supposed to herald the end of days – a spectacular apocalyptic end to 2,000 years of human progress, wiped out in a single day from an electronic flu.

Back in those prehistoric days, I thought I wouldn't get to see the end of the Star Wars saga. I cried for days. Not watching the end of Lucas' tale of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker's was the end of my days.

Jan 1, 2000, I had hope again. The world hasn't ended and the prospect of Lucas completing his space soap loomed.

And today, five years after, I've seen the last of the saga – Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith. A dark tale of innocence lost and evil strengthened. A tear-jerker of space epic proportions.

[Potential spoilers]
I finally understand what pushed Anakin Skywalker – the cute boy who wouldn't leave his mother in slavery; got so enraged when his mother was killed by the Sand People that he wiped out an entire village of the vile beings; the die-hard romantic, whose visions of his secret wife dying on the delivery table, so incensed him, he was torn emotionally between his duty as a Jedi Knight and loving husband and father – to the Dark Side. Here was a innocent man, born in slavery, torn from his mother when he was not more than a toddler, pushed into gruelling Jedi training, and then treated with suspicion and put down by idiots on the Jedi Council.

Faced with the prospect of losing the love of his life, and given no solution by the Jedi, but presented with a way out in the Dark side, Anakin had to search the inner depths of his tortured soul for the solution that will save his love and make sense of his destiny. As if that's not enough, he was witness to his esteemed Jedi Master, Mace Windu (whom I've a new-found hatred for) malicious intent to kill the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious.

Before you guys throw rotten tomatoes at me, let me explain…

Anakin's always been taught to bring perpetrators to the courts for a fair trial. Jedi Knights are not supposed to be ruled by emotions and had to be objective in their endeavours. He had to learn the Jedi way even though it contradicted with his emotions (even as he executed Count Dooku, he was plagued with uncertainty – "This is not the Jedi Way"). And, now, despite his appeals for Mace Windu to bring the Sith Lord to justice and to be tried, he was ignored – like the many times he's been ignored by the same Jedi Master. Infuriating, to say the least, I can see how Anakin would be disillusioned with the Jedi way and see the Dark side to be a safe haven for him to be. And for him – for his beloved Padme to be saved from certain death – he had to turn from good and embrace the dark side.

Sad.

What was more tragic than that, perhaps, was the story of betrayal. The betrayal of the Jedi Knights by someone whom they thought would be their Messiah. The chosen one to bring balance to the Force. The one who was to destroy the Sith. The one who'd bring peace in their torn galaxy.

The look on the faces of the Jedi Knights, as they fell to the guns of the Clone Troopers they've led against the separatists, spoke volumes. The loss and confusion on their faces when their armies turned on them like wild dogs brought tears to my eyes. Here were steadfast generals, single in their purpose to bring peace to the galaxy and close to victory, when the very republic they've served with loyalty turned on them and shot them all down – in their backs. Backstabbing of the worst kind.

Truly tragic.

And this is where you see the genius that is Lucas. The script may be wooden and cringeworthy but the story unravels delicately. Revealing the many plots and strategies that men, in their greed for power, will devise in order to be the strongest. Manipulation and brain-washing is not beyond them – even murder and genocide – is justified as long as one gains supreme power. Such is our human nature. Our bloodlust and our greed.

That, perhaps, is the saddest tale of all.

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This evening Star Wars I will watch

2005-05-16T20:02:37+02:00

Picture courtesy of 20th Century Fox

I can't believe it! My good, dear old pally, pal o' mine has scored two tickets to Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith at Cineleisure at 7pm! Omigosh! I can, so, die right now! Well, not right NOW. After the show. After the show, I can die. Good grief! A saga almost 30 years in the making is finally coming full circle. The story complete (the balance of the Force restored in Ep VI: Return of the Jedi), now we get to see how it was imbalanced. How Anakin Skywalker turned his back on his loved ones and took refuge with the Emperor in the Dark Side. I can't wait! I so can't wait! I can hardly contain my excitement!

Of course, I'm still miffed some of my more illustrious media colleagues got invites to today's Gala Premiere while I've been relegated to the sidelines. Me! I'm Star Wars greatest fan, I am! Greatest amongst my friends anyhoo. I can recite lines, tell you when who's going to die, how Jabba the Hutt got his power! I can write a whole series based on the characters and just my imagination – that's how well I know them. Okay, maybe I exaggerate but I still am bigger Star Wars fan than they'll ever be. Why couldn't I have been invited instead? Sigh. It all boils down to how useless I am. How powerless I am in the media.

Thank God, I'll get to watch it tonight. Now I just have to avoid all contact with people who've watched it last night. Revenge of the Sith! Sith! I can't wait!

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Kingdom of Hypocrites

2005-05-14T11:56:27+02:00

Scene from 20th Century Fox Film, Kingdom of Heaven

I watched the show, Kingdom of Heaven just the other day. It's supposed to be about a guy who's wife has committed suicide and, according to his roman catholic faith, is condemned to eternity in Hell. Then he gets a chance to travel to Jerusalem with his bastard father and he goes. He hopes to seek redemption for himself – and his wife – in God's Holy land. To make the long story short, he gets embroiled in a Holy battle to save Jerusalem from the marauding Muslims (Jerusalem was taken from the Muslims by Christian Crusaders about 1,000 years before).

By Holy battle, I mean it's a battle created in the name of God but devised in the hearts of men. Here were some of the worst heretics in the history of men. To be honest, I don't know what was going through the mind of the Christians when they decided to provoke the Muslims Turks into war. Could it they wanted act on "God's" will to eradicate the world of all other gods except the one True God?

For whatever reasons the war was created on, the end result is definitely not Godly in the least. Stories in the old Testament told of glorious Holy wars raged on the hand of God and believers were rewarded with majestic victories. But didn't all these end with the New Testament, with the coming of the Lamb of God, Jesus? Who, with His blood, cleansed the world and made peace with everyone. Isn't that what "turn the other cheek" means? Doesn't his greatest command, "love thy neighbour as you love yourself" count for anything? Doesn't that mean live in harmony as a testament to My Godliness?

Yet many sycophants and so-called Holy people waged wars in the name of God and Allah. I mean, for whatever wrong you've faced and oppression you've endured, does it justify killing another man or massacring their family? Does having your family killed by robbers give you reason to seek revenge and kill another? I don't know. I'm a pacifist – or coward, if you prefer – i don't believe in wars. They're barbaric and serve no purpose except to fulfill the bloodlust of some crazed dictator.

Just like the people of now, the guardian King of Jerusalem in the show deliberately provoked the Muslim Turks into war. Don't know why? Maybe it was just a show of power. Maybe he wanted to conquer more lands. Maybe he was just plain stupid. Whatever reasons, the war caused lots of death on both the Christian and Muslim side. With the Christians giving in to the Muslim Turks at the end of the film. An epilogue then said Richard, the Lionheart, braved the Muslims and fought for three years to regain Jerusalem. But even then, they didn't win. They shared an "uneasy truce". This truce is now a full blown war with Palestinians and Jews fighting for the Holy Land.

I don't know. But isn't the Holy Land supposed to be free from strife, violence and anger? Should it not be kept free from the blood of innocents? Shouldn't God be doing something about the mortality rates in "His Holy Land". I, for one, am not a theological student, nor a good Christian, nor, even, very smart. But when you see reports of death and grieving families on TV, you want to blame someone.

Most people blame God – especially in their hour of grief – but we should be querying the men in charge, the leaders of the Holy Land. Are they doing this to protect their power status, to keep their "Holy Land" or just because it'll take too much trouble to move? Is God aware of the situation? Is He doing anything about it? Are we supposed to say something and, hopefully, God will inspire us? I've no clue.

All I know is God is too omnipotent a being for me to fathom. To even imagine what is going on His mind and the plans He has for us all. All we've got to do is keep the faith and to think about the consequences before we conduct ourselves. If the end result of our actions is going to hurt someone, it's not God-like and should not be carried out.

Not if we want to be soldiers of God.

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Perspective of Life

2005-05-10T18:26:16+02:00

Here's something to think about:

A religious man discovers he has final stage of cancer and has only six months to live. Instead of moping and thinking about death and how he's going to miss this life and his friends, he follows God's commandments and lives his life to the fullest. He organises nice dinner parties for his most loved friends, takes his medicine regularly, exercises every other day, prays daily and goes about his life as normal. After the six months is up (and he was supposed to have withered to nothing), he pays his doctor a visit. The results show a miraculous recovery. The cancer is in remission and turned benign. How did he get well?

Scientific perspective
Western medicine has always been about treating the symptoms and finding solutions directly relating to the problem areas. Chinese and holistic treatments provide general well-being through long term treatments to uplift health as a whole. Both sciences agree, though, that an optimistic approach to life with regular medicine and treatments will help the body's natural defense – the antibodies – fight diseased cells. So to the medical fraternity, the patient's strict adherence to medication, his refusal to give in to depression and his healthy lifestyle is key in the cancer's remission.

Theologic perspective
God demands we trust in Him. To put everything in His hands – be it bad or good. "Look at the birds in the skies and the animals on the ground, they do not worry for I feed and clothe them. How much more will I look after my Children". With complete trust, God will answer your prayers. Bear in mind though, answers – as in life – is not always positive. God sometimes say Yes, No or Be Patient. Place your life in His hands and He will provide relief.

My perspective
I'm for the Greater Creation theory of life and pooh-poohed Darwin's Theory of Evolution, not because I'm a devout or religious person, but because I refuse to admit I am descended from the primates that we see in zoos. And being schooled in religion and science, I believe the above perspective connect to form a symbiotic explanation of "miracles". God created Man. And everything in the Universe. Anyone who've created anything knows if his invention breaks down, he would know how best to repair them. Likewise, a greater being who've created us would know how to "fix" our bugs. Except, in our terms, the "solution" is science. God inspires Man to create holistic treatments and specific medication to find fixes to bugs. By trusting in Him and keeping upbeat, the body is able to handle patches better than someone who mopes and creates lactic acid build up so more damage is done.

So when a "miracle" is performed, thank God. He's the one who've created the medicine and provided the natural resources to come up with a cure for all diseases and ailments. He is the One who inspired and provided talent to men to develop skills that will give our body a fighting chance. Sometimes, medication doesn't work and holistic approaches fail; don't blame God. Sometimes relief comes in the form of death. Make your peace and go in peace.

That's how I see ailments and diseases. Accidents and unexplained tragedies remain unresolved.

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Why do writers feel the need to blog?

2005-05-07T05:58:41+02:00

Bear with me. I've been busy. I will put up some stuff here soon. I've just gotta get over my fear of words. My therapist says I'm getting bet… AAARGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!

Sometimes, I lose it. I will be back

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