Jay Lagare

When I started on Drive, I was expecting a standard fare Hollywood action movie. Then I saw on the starting credits that it was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and I immediately reset my expectations. I’ve seen one of Refn’s previous works Valhalla Rising. It was a good film with a real story to tell, good acting, unconventional direction, and bloody. But it was not easy to watch. So I expected the same for Drive.

Surprisingly, it was actually way easier to watch. It was almost mainstream. But Refn’s touch is quite visible: novel camera angles, tense periods of silence and motionlessness, short and quick (but very bloody) fights. The car scenes are not stylized like in say Fast Five but they are nevertheless very kinetic and adrenaline-pumping.

Gosling is simple the driver: He’s a stunt driver and getaway driver. He also works as a mechanic at a garage. He befriended a neighbor and her kid and later became close. The neighbor’s husband returns from prison but soon got into trouble with some people that he owes money to. To help, the driver acted as a getaway driver for the husband in a heist that went awry.

As the driver puzzled out the pieces, it turned out that the heist was a setup by none other than the partner of the friend and new partner of the employer of the driver. Complicated huh? This is definitely not a no-brainer action movie. So more people got offed in the  most brutal manner, until finally the driver wrapped things up by killing off the last villain and leaving everything behind.

It’s a new year, relatively speaking, and it’s time to review my past year’s resolutions:

1. Learn iPhone programming. Review: I started on Objective-C and got the basics. Continued with Flex for Mobile. Released my first app.
2. Declutter, or attempt to, the house. I’ll need two shelves for starters.
3. Swim more regularly. Review: Not too frequent but definitely more regular.
4. Read more books (or e-books). Specifically literary classics but maybe I’ll throw in a contemporary book. Maybe also one in French. Review: I read all the currently published books of the Song of Ice and Fire series as well as Steve Job’s biography.
5. Take cooking or dance classes maybe with Michelle.
6. Take advanced photography classes.
7. Go on another road trip. Revisiting Pagudpud would be nice but I’m open to another place. Review: I’m sort of cheating here. Michelle, Jeanne, and I went to Hong Kong. It was not a road trip but it was an adventure. And that’s the main point, right?
8. Go surfing in La Union. I’ve been to Zambales and I want to try another place.
9. Go hiking and camping in one trip.

I intend to continue those that I was able to accomplish but it looks like I’ll carry over most:

1. Declutter, or attempt to, the house. I’ll need two shelves for starters.
2. Take cooking or dance classes maybe with Michelle.
3. Take advanced photography classes.
4. Go surfing in La Union or some other surfing destination. I’ve been to Zambales and I want to try another place.
5. Go hiking and camping in one trip.
6. Be closer to family. Fix my marriage for starters. Attend family events. Talk with the members of the family.
7. Be closer to God. Attend mass regularly, reflect and pray regularly.

Hopefully I’ll do better this year.

By Neal Morse

Sometimes I don’t understand
Why I was born at all
When all that I do leaves me empty
Aching and longing for more
Sometimes I feel I could stand
Man, I feel like I’m ten feet tall
But then it’s like I’m on trial and I’m guilty
I don’t know exactly what for

How I wish
I could be relieved
Fall on God’s doorstep
And be received
But it seems he doesn’t
Care for me anymore
So I’ll be on my way
Live from the cradle to the grave
On my own

Son you must understand
Why I would let you fall
It isn’t because I don’t love you
It’s not that I want you to crawl
But the silence between us has grown
And your towers have grown so tall
“I let you choose; you have chosen”
You don’t seem to want me at all

How I wish
To be reconciled
That you would just love me
With the heart of a child
But it seems you never
Want me around anymore
So you can have your way
Live from the cradle to the grave
Far from home

How I wish (Child how I love you)
I could be relieved (but you’re so far away)
Fall on God’s doorstep (Won’t you come home to me?)
And be received (I will give you my robe)
But it seems he doesn’t (Clothe you in linen)
Care for me anymore (Son I want you to stay)
So I’ll be on my way (I’ll set you free)
Live from the cradle to the grave (How I long to be home)

How I wish (I’ve been alone)
To be reconciled (so very long)
That you would just love me (with a heart made of stone)
With the heart of a child (Can you dry all the tears)
But it seems you never (I’ve held in my heart?)
Want me around anymore
So you can have your way (I’ll be on my way)
Live from the cradle to the grave
Far from home

*Last night, I was looking for the lyrics of the song in the last scene of Contagion when I stumbled upon this song, a reminder on humility and staying close to God.