Enticing Lines & Stunning Acts

Below is Burke's vow for his wedding with Christina during season finale of Grey's Anatomy, Didn't we almost have it all?. The vow was delivered in a surgery room, right in front of Addison, Izzy and nurses, prior to his wedding.

“Christina, I could promise to hold you and to cherish you.
I could promise to be there in sickness and in health.
I could say ’till death do us part.
But I won’t.
Those vows are for optimistic couples.
The ones full of hope.
And I do not stand here, on my wedding day, optimistic or full of hope.
I am not optimistic, I am not hopeful.
I am sure, I am steady, and I know.
I am a heart man: I take them apart, I put them back together.
I hold them in my hands.
I am a heart man.
So this, I am sure.
You are my partner, my lover, my very best friend.
My heart, my heart, beats for you.
And on this day, the day of my wedding,
I promise you this:
I promise you to lay my heart in the palm of your hand.
I promise you ME.”

And Addison said,
"“Well, I think I speak for every woman in this room when I say: dump her, dump Yang, and marry me”.


This is an enchanting jaw between Maximilian and Horst during 3-minute recess in Detention Camp, in Bent (1997). They are standing next to each other and they are not allowed to move or even touch each other, in a freezing Winter, when Horst is having a bad cough.

"I want to make you happy," Max
"Then be gentle with me," Horst

"I don't know how," Max
"Just hold me," Horst

"I'm afraid to hold you," Max
"Don't be," Horst

"I'm afraid. I'm gonna drown," Max
"Hold me, please. Hold me," Horst

"Ok.." Max


"I'm holding you," Max
"Are you?" Horst

"You're here in my arms. I promise
I promise. I'm holding you. You're here," Max
"Touch me. Are you?" Horst

"Yes. Touching," Max
"Gently," Horst

"Touching...Softly," Max
"Warm me,"Horst

"Softly." Max
"Warm me gently." Horst

"Softly. I'm touching you softly.
Gently. You're safe.
I'll keep you safe and warm.
You're with me now
You'll never be cold again.
I'm holding you now.. safe...and warm.
As long as you're here, as long as you're with me, as long as I'm holding you.
You're safe!" Max


These two excerpts are taken from two different mediums of story-telling. One from the sexy-medical drama series, Grey's Anatomy, and another from a critically acclaimed film, starring Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau, Bent.
The lines expressed by Preston Burke are eloquently written, that give profound susceptibility in deciphering Burke's boundless love to Cristina. It makes Isiaah Washington's (Preston Burke) job easier in the scene, because the lines itself stand splendidly.
It's not an easy job to both Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau to evoke the audiences' emotions to feeling the scene abysmally, with such simple lines. However, Owen and Bluteau's exceptional style in acting bolsters the lines and makes the scene as one of my favorite scenes in most of the films I have ever watched.
The excerpts give me a lesson about good films, dramas or plays. No matter how bad your storyline is, as long as you have blue-ribbon actors and emotionally effective scripts, your films, dramas, or plays, will be satisfying arts.

The Order of The Phoenix

A year ago, I was sitting at the cafe in front of INTEC library with Syafrul, Addin and Saini, enjoying the Abg Indon's ambrosial nasi lemak, but it was ruffled by a conversation between 3 kakak TESL (no offense to any TESLan) who were sitting at the next table.

"You know what..on my way out of the theater, I'd really wanna tell those who were going into the theater, to stop, turn back, return the tickets and use that money to buy a BigMac! " One of the kakaks, wearing a black skirt, stripe black and white blouse plus a white scarf(By that kind of dressing it can be told that she was TESLan), emotionally expressed her feelings about a film she just watched.
"They shouldn't cut off that much from the book, two fabulous chapters of the book!" Another kakak heat up the confabulation to a degree that gave me a sign that they had just seen Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Here came the third kakak, who surprisingly lowered the heat,
"I never read any Harry Potter's book. I walked in with nothing, and walked out with something. I'm happy with it because the film tells me Harry Potter story!"

Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix was released couple weeks ago and it was one of have-to-watch films in my list ("The Namesake" is the best so far!!). Addin, Saini, Alim and I went to Wabash Landing Theater 2 days after the premiere. I'm not into fantasy kind of films, but Harry Potter (and Transformers for this year) has drawn my attention into understanding the guile of fantasy film. Again, the Order of Phoenix didn't disappoint me like others. The Order of Phoenix is well-crafted as the characters evolves, the plots get more convoluted, secrets are unveiled, and definitely, the witchcraft world is being portrayed enthrallingly.

While walking back home with Addin, Saini and Alim,
Alim said "I'm not satisfied!! There should be a scene where Harry uses The Unforgivable Spell to torture Bellatrix Lestrange (Voldemort Death Eater, played by Helena Bonham). They should have that in the film!"

Here's another obiter dictum which has the same premise as the first two kakaks'. This time, I replied "I walked in the theater with nothing except everything I know from previous Harry Potter films, I walked out with something, and I'm happy with it! I don't feel I just wasted $8 because the film tells Harry Potter story!" I used the same premise as the third kakak TESL used. In contrast to the third Kakak TESL, I have read Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix before watching the film, but she never read The Goblet of Fire before watching it.

Nowadays, there's a lot of films made based on novels, short stories, and plays, which are known as adapted screenplay in film language. Some of them are fiascoes and most of them are completely stunning and in Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, I, personally, put it as brilliantly adapted. The plot flows well as in the book, which means the film tells the story in the book. However, there are some details not included in the film such as the one Alim's complaining about. Can you imagine how hard it is to condense an 800-plus-page tome into restricted-less-than-3-hour film, especially by newcoming director David Yates and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg? Can you imagine how to squeeze everything into a script of 138-minutes film, to tell the tale well? Daniel Radcliffe once apologized for not including some parts of the book in the film, otherwise, the film will be too long. The production does not want to face the same failure as other lengthy-films.

There are millions of Harry Potter's fans who have enjoyed watching the series without having Rowling's works, the same is Lord of The Rings fans who have never read Tolkien's books, so, it is not necessarily a plus reading the books. Still, for the sake of understanding the movie in depth, the knowledge from the books come into its role.

Before sitting in the theater to watch any adapted screenplay films, which I have read the books prior to watch it, such as The Pursuit of Happyness and Harry Potter itself, I would clear all of my thoughts or expectation about the films. I believe that most of the audiences, who have read the books, struggles while watching the films. They try to compare what they have read and what they are watching, whether it is better or worst than the book, even a minuscule detail grabs their attention. In certain extent, they are not satisfied of whatever they have seen and begin to lose their attention. Consequently, they couldn't feel the sensational of the film.

Yasmin Ahmad in her 'notorious' blog, The Storyteller, once noted
"When reviewing a film, it's best to consider its main contention first"
And it came to my realization that the third kakak had a fine review of Harry Potter because it is rooted on its makers intentions, which is to tell Harry Potter tale!

Mesmerizing

Sonnet 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.

  And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

  As any she belied with false compare.

by William Shakespeare

"Aye my love!"

My "opportunity's" poem

"Nothing Twice"
by Wislawa Symborska



Nothing can ever happen twice.
In consequence, the sorry fact is
that we arrive here improvised
and leave without chance to practice

Even if there is no one dumber,
if you're the planet's biggest dunce,
you can't repeat the class in summer:
this course is only offered once.

No day copies yesterday,
no two nights will teach what bliss is
in precisely the same way,
with exactly the same kisses.

One day, perhaps, some idle tongue
mentions your name by accident:
I feel as if a rose were flung
into the room, all hue and scent.

The next day, though you're here with me,
I can't help looking at the clock:
A rose? A rose? What could that be?
Is it a flower or a rock?

Why do we treat the fleeting day
with so much needless fear and sorrow?
It's in its nature not to stay:
Today is always gone tomorrow.

With smiles and kisses, we prefer
to seek accord beneath our star,
although we're different (we concur)
just as two drops of water are.