Posts from — December 2009

As 2009 ends, I just want to say that I’m really grateful for all the things I have in my life. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of complaining as of late (apologies to the folks who have had to listen to all that) but in the end, I have quite a bit in my life and I need to acknowledge that.

Some pretty cool things have happened this year:

-I finally took my GREs. When I’ll apply to grad school is another story…

-I got a job after 8 months of unemployment. In the process, I’ve met some pretty cool people.

- The nephew and niece are just as cute as ever.

-Um, a bunch of other stuff.

-I got a nice flat panel monitor to use with my laptop?

Okay I’m reaching but I can’t seem to remember anything else to put on this list.

-Oh wait! Dave Eggers drew this really cool picture in my copy of The Wild Things:

And with that, I’ll leave you all be.

Happy New Years! InshAllah may everyone have a great 2010!

A lot of sites are not only writing about their “Top 10s” of the past year, but of the past decade. So I thought, why not do that too? I mean, my opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s.

I’ll give you a second to stop laughing…

Here it is, my “Top 10″ of the last decade. DISCLAIMER: I’m not proclaiming these to be the 10 best ever as I am well aware that everyone has different tastes. Also, I’m sure I forgot about something here or there that I wish I would have included.

In no particular order:

Donnie Darko - There’s just something about this movie… I can’t quite explain why I’m so into it. For some reason, Donnie speaks to me. All I know is that no one can ever doubt my commitment to Sparkle Motion.

Pan’s Labyrinth - I think that how one interprets the ending determines whether one is an optimist or a cynic.

Children of Men - A lot of the movies about the not-so-distant future depicted dystopian societies and this was one of them. There are some excellent scenes in this movie.

Spirited Away - I remember when I was watching this movie for the first time on DVD. I hadn’t been that engrossed in a movie in quite a while. I was so deep into the fantastical world that Miyazaki created, I couldn’t get up to make myself a mocha even though I really wanted one. That is huge, my friends.

Pride and Prejudice - I wasn’t too keen on watching this movie because I wasn’t a Keira Knightly fan and I thought the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice was really good. There wasn’t much too improve upon, y’know? And yet, I saw this movie despite my misgivings and loved it. This is probably the girliest movie I like although I didn’t think of it is a girly movie until I had let my manager borrow it and he returned it like this.

V or Vendetta - Remember, remember the 5th of November… I don’t know how many conversations this movie inspired. Everyone I know who watched it wanted to talk about it and give their take on the events that transpired in the film.

The Prestige - I just thought this movie was awesome and ended up reading the book it based on, which was great in its own regard.

Waking Life - I get something out of this movie every single time I watch it. In the simplest way to describe it, it’s an animated movie about dreams but it really is a lot more than that. Whenever I recommend Waking Life to someone I always say the same thing, that it’s not a popcorn movie that you watch with your friends, it’s a movie you have in which you have to focus and stick to it, even if the beginning doesn’t seem to make any sense. Trust me though, it pays off.

Before Sunset - I love how this sequel to Before Sunrise is set 9 years later, with the actors 9 years older themselves. I wasn’t sure which one I liked better and kept on flip-flopping between the two before Before Sunset finally won out as my favorite. Jesse and Celine had more realistic views in this movie than in the other one, mostly due to their characters’ experiences in the time that passed in between the movies. I definitely have appreciated this movie more upon multiple viewings.

Monsters, Inc.- Hands down my favorite Pixar movie. “Oh, hey. We’re rehearsing a - a scene for the upcoming company play called uh, Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me. It’s a musical.”

Honorable Mention: Volver, Once, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Persepolis, Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, Memento.

And there it is. Feel free to tell me how lame my movies are and that the movies on your list are oh so much better than mine

I realized something the other day. Or last week. I forget when.

Anyways back to what I was saying…

I realized I haven’t updated a lot, wasting a lot of my spare time not doing much of anything (I don’t think sulking can count as an activity) so I thought back to when I did 30 Posts in 30 Days earlier this year and figured I should do it again.

The posts won’t be about any particular topic but will probably fall under religion, books, movies, comics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

So here goes.

P.S. “Strikes my fancy” is a weird phrase.

Yesterday, there was a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan in which a someone blew himself up at a Shia mosque on the day of Ashura. This is just one of many suicide bombings that have occurred in Pakistan as of late.

I can’t understand this. Not only the killing, attempted or otherwise, of innocent people, but the act of suicide to accomplish such an act. Every Muslim knows that killing oneself is a sin in Islam.

In Dying to Win, author Robert Pape writes about the origin of suicide bombing and its use as mostly political (foreign policy, etc). Basically, it was never used as a religious form of terror. And yet here, it is. All of a sudden, some Muslims believe that it is totally OK to kill themselves for religious purposes. I really, truly wonder what is said to them that convinces them that performing this act is not a violation of the core of their own religion.

I haven’t been to Pakistan in a couple of years, but I’m wondering if there’s some sort of movement to help re-educate the brainwashed few and make them stop killing themselves and their own people. A massive undertaking, no doubt, but I’m sure it would be well worth it for the country to invest in a project like this. I know it’s easy for me to say that sitting here in the States but I worry about Pakistan and I really do want it to be a better place, InshAllah.