WE are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams.
(Arthur O'Shaughnessy)

      Pen Wrath     


Thursday, December 21, 2006

I know some of the undergrads think of the College as an ivory tower populated by lily-assed, blinkered and soussed-up nerds, but honestly, what were they thinking of, storming its halls like that?

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Have you tried sitting for mass with gold coins and magic weapons dancing before your eyes, or with your subconscious busy strategizing the next attack? I found it to be a rather unsettling experience last night, when I attended the anticipatory mass at the St. Andrew's Parish after I had just fragged the neverwinter uber-villain to bits.

It was quite a challenge to get out of my D& D character in time for the mass because when I play, I really internalize my avatar. I'm not just a job-hunting 2006 bar examinee and journ/law graduate. I am Ienni Kierdis, a half-elven rogue/fighter/assassin with thousands of gold pieces in the bank and a fantastic array of spells and weapons at my disposal.

I play a rather mercenary PC with a thuggish henchman as a back-up (or is it cannon fodder, given that I send him out to test the battlefield first?), and as in all hack-and-slash games, I see my own share of action. I do visit temples - within the game they are places of healing and trading; I get missions and my pecuniary rewards. But do I pray there? Nah. I do it outside the game - even if it's for the completion of a quest. If it's particularly difficult, I hit the space button and turn away. Then I pray.

When I walked into the church I was still plotting what path to take in the expansions. Thankfully, the church had that aura of tranquility that helps dispel violent thoughts. The priest had some presence, which made it easier for me to listen to his homily though at first I thought he was saying Lloyd (Lloyd who?). Then it dawned on me that he was saying "Lord". I can't really give him grief over that, since I have my own issues with my s, l, and r.

The turning point, I guess, was when he began to talk about the Nativity movie. He started with, "Who has seen 'The Nativity Story'? Please raise your hand." No one before me or beside me raised a hand. You can imagine the priest's dismay.

"You are missing a lot", he then said. "It has the recommendation of the Pope", he added, and it was at this point that I had the sinking feeling that there would be a movie-bashing before mass's end. Sure enough, he tacked on to that statement that it was a treat after the "blasphemy that was imposed on us by the Da Vinci Code". I would have bet that most of those in attendance for the 8 o'clock mass have seen the latter film.

That got me thinking about how this movie which I've never seen still manages to incite the ire of Roman Catholic officials. Dear me. I should watch it to see just what the fuss is about. I can hardly complain that I haven't the time now.

The church choir sang a notch better than usual (not that the choir sings badly), and the priest sang along for the most part. I realized that I've never heard a priest sing badly in all the masses I have been to. Wow. Either I'm lucky, or Filipinos are really very gifted when it comes to music.

Mass ended and I went home - to the spectre of primetime soaps. Geez. The Da Vinci Code may be blasphemous if the Church is to be believed, but the storylines of the local soaps are quite unbelievable. Why can't the characters figure out how stupid their actions are, or how glaringly obvious the solutions to their problems are if common sense is applied?

By the way, I've finished the original neverwinter campaign - after I sat down and prayed for Morag to finally be defeated. Thank you, God. I thought it would take me ages to finish the official campaign.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Yahoo! Launchcast

My top Yahoo! LAUNCHcast stations:
1. Classical Crossover
2. Classical
3. Video Games
4. Film Scores
5. Show Tunes
6. The Coffeehouse

Another reason to stay up very late ... even when I'm not trying to kill Morag. No, that's not a mog. Mogs and the medieval don't seem to mix.


Friday, December 15, 2006

Sheez. Blast it. I should never have left off unpacking this long.

I've just learned that I lost piles of stuff in the process of checking out of the dorm - two months after the fact. Not only are my Nachura and Jurado missing as of posting (Gasp! Moan!), I also can't find my 2-volume hardbound Lexicon of the English Languange (edited by R. Pei), my sketches and watercolors, my art books, my anime poster collection, my photocopies of certain law school readings ... the list goes on. And on. And on.

Moan. Wring hands. Rant. Rant. Scream. Scream again. Run hands through hair. This is a disaster. A disaster!

My books, my books. I'll trade a fortnight of suppers for those books... Please come back, you painted and glossied bits of wood stock.

I know. I sound loony, but I can't stand to lose my books! It's the stuff of really bad dreams for me.