Classics

Recently saw the Snow White and The Huntsman movie. It's a great action movie and it also serves to prove that Kirsten Stewart cannot act. She cannot exhibit human emotions. All she can do is look like she's constipated. On the other hand, Charlize Theron - still hot.

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Finally managed to go somewhere that wasn't either my apartment bathroom or my college canteen. There was this promotion at the Singapore Discovery Centre with tickets at $18 selling at $6. SDC is all meant for Singaporeans who want to know about their country and it does a pretty good job of doing that with all sorts of colourful exhibits. What makes it more cooler than any museum or exhibition I've been to is that it has its own movie theatre. That is where I saw the Snow White movie. It also has a lake where you can take a pedal boat, an army museum with a badass AV show, a gourmet restaurant, a paint ball arena, a 4D ride and the list goes on and on. Somehow Singaporean government has perfected the way to make state-owned museum exhibitions and parks not boring, something in which my home country can learn a few things about.

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One of the merits of having a great internet connection is that you can stream great TV shows and movies. Being unemployed, a large part of my day is spent watching these movies and TV shows, but only after finishing my customary, ritualistic 30 minute online job search.

Recently, 3 great TV series have captured my attention and made me addicted to them. The first one is community. It largely reminds me of my days getting a degree from a crappy college, but many episodes are also outlandish, often with ridiculous plots that are fun to watch, but are far from realistic. What I like most about this sitcom is the fact that the characters are not run of the mill stereotypes. The jokes are not about a bunch of geeks frequently made fun of their social awkwardness, or blonde women's (supposed) lack of intelligence or the Asian guy's overbearing parents. Community actually celebrates being geeky. One of the reasons I hated Big Bang Theory is the constant mockery made of intelligent sci-fi loving geeks.

The other two series being Sherlock and Game of Thrones. I like Sherlock because just because it is about Sherlock Holmes. But Game of Thrones is different. It's a fantasy that is unlike any other fantasy that has been written or filmed. It has dragons and demons and all sorts of stuff but the core of the story is about politics and that's what makes it compelling to watch.

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There is an allure to reading novels that are not from this century. Classics have something that modern novels lack and it is the language. Modern novels are easier to understand at the expense of simple language. Complex stories can be understood easily by the reader so long as it is presented cohesively and in order. But classics did not have elaborate plots of ancient brotherhoods executing schemes to expose earth shattering truths. They were simple and relatable and you can enact the whole plot with a bunch of friends without any gadgets or machines or explosions. The language was rich and long, making you read every sentence slowly, taking your time. Complex sentences make you understand that the thoughts and dialogues that characters have are sophisticated. Modern novels are more focussed on the story and you are so engrossed in it that you want to know the story more that you want to read the novel. This has happened often with fast paced novels like that of Dan Brown's, in which I skim some sentences in order to get to the twists of the story more quickly.

One other important thing I like about classic novels are that they make me sleepy. After 5 chapters I can go to bed. If I read Dan Brown or Robert Ludlum, it's always "one more page and then I'll sleep".

I'm reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. If you've read it, go ahead and ruin the ending for me. If not, lets read it together.

Ciao.