Month: March 2014

A ROMANTIC RANT

You’ve Got Mail came out in 1998. I was 8 the first time I saw it and instantly fell in love with the complicated love story that played out in my favorite city in the world – New York. I used to watch it every Saturday and Sunday morning, fantasizing about the day I would move there myself and find my own twisted romance.

It really is the ultimate romantic comedy, wherein two enemies fall in love without knowing who the other one truly is, thanks to technology (Tom Hanks finds out about halfway through, but Meg Ryan does not know until the end). Even though the movie came out a few decades ago, the element of technology was responsible for connecting Meg Ryan’s and Tom Hanks’ characters – two people who probably would have never been able to reconcile their differences otherwise. Ironically, not much has changed. The way we communicate greatly effects our platonic and romantic relationships, and in the case of Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox, it changed everything.

Every time I watch it, I fall deeper and deeper in love with New York and the possibilities it contains. Take a break from being cynical and watch it with me.

Image

(A silly scene from the movie, as seen from my bed)

 

the great gatsby

“So we beat on,

boats against the current,

            borne back ceaselessly

into the past.”

 

I’ve loved F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby ever since I was told to read it back in middle school (or was it high school? I can’t remember). I’d like to think that as far as required reading goes, The Great Gatsby is the most enjoyable, powerful and heartbreaking story of love, nostalgia, hope, fantasy and greed. I’d like to think that Gatsby is a book that many adults re-read by choice for its ability to inspire and provoke even the least romantic souls.

The modern movie, directed by Baz Luhrmann, received many harsh critiques for its incorporation of Jay Z and Lana del Ray (her “Young and Beautiful” seemingly on repeat) and a missed-interpretation of the characters. I personally never think movies are better than their written counterparts — they’re just a different way to enjoy the same message. Obviously it was not as good; the original was meant to be enjoyed on a page and in your mind, not on a screen. 

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby therefore did not disappoint me; I thought the movie was poetic and raw and a great way to spend a few hours on a gray, gloomy Sunday. I knew inevitably Gatsby would have to die; once Daisy witnesses him lose his temper, you can practically see her love for him draining out of her. That’s when you see Gatsby fall into a deep state of denial, unable to leave her side, because he knows it will never again be like it was. Their love had spun out of control, and the accidental death of Tom’s mistress (by Daisy’s hand) only drove them further apart. 

The glimmer of hope in Gatsby’s eye as he waited for Daisy’s call after the accident was almost painful to watch. As he stands alone near his glistening turquoise pool, the audience knows he will never hear her voice again, and she will never truly understand his devoted and obsessive love for her.

His death was the most romantic and poetic end for a passionate and extravagant man: dying for the only thing he ever really cared about; dying for the only thing he’d give everything up for. Gatsby died protecting the woman that he loved; regrettably and unfortunately, Daisy never had that kind of courage. She was a coward, and while Gatsby was not without faults, he never lost hope — hope of the future finally being as good as his idealized version of the past; hope that his love for Daisy would finally be fulfilled, so he could stop dreaming of something better because he would finally have everything he wanted: her. 

some people

It amazes me the lengths some people go to put others down. I cannot imagine how they even have the time or the energy to devote to go so far out of their way just to make a point.

The internet can provide its users with anonymity: some chose to let this give them the freedom or fearless they lack to share their thoughts or ideas; others chose to take advantage of the not knowing to bully or inflict pain, doing things they would never in public or “real life”.

I started this blog for myself, for my thoughts, my inspiration, my friends, my lifestyle. The reality is, if you don’t like me, you probably shouldn’t waste your time reading it.

I received a very malicious, aggressive comment after my last post, by someone who seems to think they know me pretty well but clearly doesn’t. To whoever you are, I hope you think twice next time and mind your own business. If you want to put your thoughts out into the world, start your own damn blog. Or have the balls to say it to my face. I don’t appreciate that kind of behavior and frankly don’t think I should have to deal with it, when you are clearly choosing to read my posts.

To those reading who actually respect others and would never think to do such a thing, I apologize. The world needs more people like you.

Lesson to be learned? Never let anyone put you down and always speak up for yourself and what you think is right. Cliched or not, you know it’s important. Let’s keep it that way.