By Yoshke Dimen

7 Missed Calls

Seven missed calls. When I saw this flashed on my cellphone screen this morning, I knew my day would end this way. In a walk along this road connecting the college to Commonwealth Avenue. With you. It’d been a while. “How have you been?” Your voice was a bit shaky. If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were nervous. “Great,” I answered with a slice across my lower face. “And you? How’s London?” “Well, it’s still London.” A slight laughter went through your lips. And then, silence. I tried to come up with something to say to keep…

Top 18 Most Annoying Types of People (Part 1)

Humans are social animals. This means that we have to live both as individuals and as members of a group. Sometimes, however, we just find ourselves not getting along well with some types of people. No matter how much we try, we find it extremely difficult to like some people for reasons ranging from little nasty habits to utter viciousness. Throughout the day, we encounter countless types of people. While some are truly delightful, others are just plain vexatious. They may be our friends or family but there are just something we love to hate about them. Here are the…

Movie Rundown: The Dark Night (And Other Batman Movies)

Note: I was supposed to write a full-blown genre criticism of The Dark Knight but I figured writing something too Film-graduate-ish is uncalled for. So here are some random thoughts about it and the other Batman movies. For what it’s worth, I saw the following movies again recently. You know, just to refresh my memory. The Dark Knight (2008) Genre: Action, Thriller; Director: Christopher Nolan Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman One of the things I hate the most is too much hype. This unsolicited noise has always spoiled fine movies…

Why Nursery Rhymes Are So Violent

A few months ago, I was teaching my 4-year old nephew some nursery rhymes with a DVD. After a lot of singing, he slowly digested the story that the rhymes tell. And then he began asking rather uncomfortable questions. One of the first rhymes I taught him was Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses, And all the King’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again! He might have finally understood the rhyme when he gasped and said curiously, “Did he die?” “Well,” I replied, “he’s an egg. Who cares?”…

Domestic Plight

A grim incident has transformed our home into a mini-hospital. The air inside the house is perfumed with microbicides and alcohol. Trash bins are brimming with used bandages and cotton balls. Rooms are adorned with antibiotics and painkillers lying around. The coffee table is covered with CT scan results and X-Ray plates. And almost every day, visitors come pouring in with foods and gifts. Yes, our house has suddenly become a hospital. This is because last Tuesday, almost a mile away from our house, there was a horrible road accident. My mother and my brother were in it. Fortunately, everyone…

Top 9 Most Amazing Celebrity Transformations (For a Movie Role)

There have been notable transformations for a single role in the past decades. Who would forget Robert DeNiro‘s stint when he inflated his body for his role in Raging Bull? Vincent D’Onofrio even set a Guiness World Record for the most weight gained for a single film role for his mind-blowing presence in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Contemporary actors, however, will not be left behind. In fact, in recent years, we have seen celebrities shed off their glamorous skin and almost magically transform to give life to some of cinema’s most unforgettable characters. Here is a list of the…

Whatever Happened to Queue Courtesy?

I may be gay but I consider myself a gentleman. When another person and I happen to enter a building or a store at the same time, I give way and hold the door for that person. I do this because I believe I am a good person. And of course, whenever I practice such act and as common courtesy suggests, I expect a simple “Thank you.” If the person fails to thank me, I usually just shrug it off. Yes, I expect a tiny display of gratitude but I don’t really give a damn if their parents did a…