I have very recently read Stephenie Meyer’s novel Twilight along with the second book New Moon. I did so inadvertently… I was asked by a friend on IM, if I’ve read the book and I said no and added that it seemed too mushy and shallow while making references to Anne Rice’s Vampires, the Night Watch books, and even the film Underworld. I based my assumptions on the movie version of Twilight which I saw, though I know that is a bad place to start from, because films never quite capture the details and feel of a book. She of course objected to everything I said, as she strongly professed undying devotion and love for Edward Cullen. It seemed like an odd and disproportionate reaction coming from a sensible adult.

So I decided that if I am going to give my opinion and analysis about the book then I might as well read it so that I can claim to speak from a position of knowledge rather than ignorance. I won’t discuss the relative merits of the book because I know that the book and the movie have been reviewed and discussed in great detail by a lot of people. There are just a few things that bother me about the things said in the book and how it relates to our views on humanity, mythical beings, and even deities.

One thing that caught my eye is the statement that Edward Cullen is almost God-like, which obviously means his physical appearance. This is kinda funny since God is often portrayed as an old man with a beard and long hair. A good example is the image of God found in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which in turn was influenced by earlier representations of the Greek god Zeus. This would of course not fit the description of a 17 year old boy.

A depiction of God on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

An artist's impression of the statue of Zeus in the temple of Olympia

It would make more sense if the God-like refernce pertained to Greek Mythology. But which one? They all had a particular domain, power, or look that I cannot relate to Edward Cullen. I think that Edward Cullen or at least how he is described is closer to the ideal notion of a man. This would be an Adonis like man or something similar to Michael Angelo’s David. If you compare the two pictures below you can probably see similarities and perhaps the parallels. You just need to give David a modern “emo” hairdo, some make up, and a Generation Y angst laden look and you got Edward Cullen.

Michael Angelo's David and Edward Cullen

God is supposed to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent which of course Edward is not. Comparing Edward to Greek gods is more convenient since these guys have human like qualities which is a reflection of the culture that created the mythology behind them. These Greek gods were imperfect and flawed like humans but they had some power and of course immortality. If this was the case then that makes Edward more human. 

On the other hand It would seem like he is even less than an ordinary human because of his thirst which he often has to fight with great effort. It has been said that what sets man apart from animals is our ability to think and reason. I would also add that we are supposed to have evolved to a level where we can set aside lower faculties such as emotions, desires, lust, etc. in favor of the higher ones namely logic, reason, and concepts such as justice, freedom, and the desire for World Domination. Edward Cullen is however stuck and tormented by his thirst for Bella’s blood which is even beneath the lower faculties as it can be classified under basic instincts. He wants to feed or drink, though he has much better control than Jasper, he is still having trouble with that, which puts him just a notch above animals. An immortal with powers and a barely controllable instinct, qualifies as a monster. Yet women/girls are swooning over the guy. It seems true that when one looks for a god-like ideal guy, you sometimes end up with a monster.

Another thing that I noticed is how a lot of girls react to Bella. She has been described as pathetic, insecure, paranoid, crazy, and self centered. So the thing is… girls absolutely love Edward but they dislike, if not hate Bella. Probably because they would like to take her place in Edward’s arms.

The way I see it Bella is an exaggeration of human frailties. But you can see her in every girl out there. To say that she is pathetic, insecure, paranoid, crazy, and self centered does not necessarily mean that those characteristics are inherent in her personality. She acts that way given the situation she is in and I think every other girl in this planet have at one point or another acted pathetic, insecure, paranoid, crazy, and self centered given a certain scenario… ie., meeting a guy who she thinks is god-like or perhaps even just “God’s gift to women”, who may or may not turn out to be a monster later on. So perhaps the reason why some girls dislike Bella is because she is like a mirror that shows them their own frailties.

Alice on the other hand is beautiful, smart, strong, caring, perceptive, and kind. I guess she is also a mirror, this time showing traits and characteristics that people should aspire to. Then again if the story centered around someone so self aware and balanced, the book would probably have been boring and would not have sold more than a few copies. Still two sides of a coin?

Bella Swan and Alice Cullen

May 16, 2009

I arrived 15 minutes early, and as usual I was the first one there. It was a nice, sunny, Saturday afternoon and a couple of friends and I decided to do something different for a change. This desire to try something different and hopefully have a fun relaxing afternoon led us to this place tucked away in Cubao, an unassuming place that normally wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention unless you were actually looking for it. Their sign was dwarfed by the huge billboard that proclaimed “And Dating Daan” which pretty much dominated the whole area.

We ventured off to Cubao in search of a place called Tough Guys. Their sign is topped by an arrow pointing down a narrow driveway which seemed to lead nowhere. At the end of this driveway was an indoor shooting range. I entered the a dark hallway which was plastered by pictures and posters of various shooting competitions, and this led to double doors which was the entrance to the facility.

There were a handful of Japanese tourists already firing away at the shooting range. They seemed excited and eager, and afterwards they happily compared their bullet riddled paper targets and they were arguing who was the best shot. It is not a well known fact that a lot of tourists from countries with strict gun laws actually make a pilgrimage to these Firing Ranges to experience handling fire arms and to get a taste of what it is actually like fire a gun.

This was my second time to come to this firing range. The first time was more than a decade ago, either the late 80’s or the early 90’s. It was then called Target Master and it was still owned and operated by Armscor. The new owner related how his wife worked at the firing range for years and they were able to buy it out when it finally closed down, and they renamed it Tough Guys. My dad had brought the whole family there for us to learn how to handle guns. I can still vaguely recall firing my Dad’s Colt 45 pistol for the first time ever.

Fast forward to 2009, I’m chaperoning a couple of friends from my old college org; UP Red Cross Youth. It’s kinda funny if you think about it, that I helped train their batch on First Aid and Basic Life Support and now here I am bringing them to a firing range to learn how to handle fire arms. I guess I can claim to be a well rounded person since I can teach people how to save lives and at the same time inflict some really serious harm.

It’s been about two years since I last fired a gun, and it was when I tagged along with my brothers and their friends to a private shooting range somewhere in Valenzuela. We had an assortment of firearms both short and long and a bag full of ammunition to expend that afternoon that it seemed like we were going to rob a bank. This time around we had to rent the guns and buy the ammo from that place since I don’t have a license and a Permit to Carry. We decided to rent a 45, .40, and 9mm pistols along with one shot gun. We had a hundred rounds for each pistol and a box full of 12 gauge ammo for the shot gun which was to be shared equally between 4 people.

Felicia, worked in a bank and had toxic routine which required an outlet to let off some steam. Denise, worked as a consultant and was really agitated that day because of the extra work she had to do over the weekend and the very tight deadline she had to meet, she actually gave her paper target a name, in honor of the person who gave her all the extra work. Raquel was afraid of guns and is the type of person who would jump in panic when she hears a loud bang. I on the other hand simply wanted to shoot off a few rounds and see how well I can place rounds in a paper target. I was also thinking of actually taking this up as a hobby.

Lack of practice and an old injury to my right wrist (playing Underwater Hockey) gave me poor results when I used the 45 and .40. The recoil made the gun kick back with every round fired, and this gave me a wide spread or cluster. I consoled my self with the thought that you will probably go down if you get hit by a .40 or a 45 caliber round anywhere on your upper body. The 9mm was a different story though. It was easy to control and I was able to inflict a tight cluster on the cardboard target’s chest and even on the head, creating what is referred to as a double tap, one or two on the chest and one on the head. However, I would have to concede that Denise was the best shot in our group. Surprising since it was her first time to handle and fire real guns. She attributed her skill to a PE class that she took back in college; Air Rifle Shooting, but I think the fact that she was imagining the paper target was an evil co-worker also helped.

This is what a Shot Gun can do.

My Board...

I enjoyed firing the Shot Gun the most since it was my first time to handle such a gun. Unlike firing an M16 rifle, which required some skill in order to effectively place your rounds, firing a shot gun was simple. You just point and shoot! The scattered lead shot pretty much ensured a hit, and the stopping power of the 12 gauge ensured that your target will go down. It is the best and most practical home defense weapon, ideal for dealing with home intruders like the “Akyat Bahay Gang” and perhaps fending off flesh eating zombies.

It was indeed a fun and stress relieving Saturday afternoon and everyone was already talking about planning the next trip to a firing range.

    
Video: Tough Guys

TOUGH GUYS
550 EDSA, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila | Phone: +63 (2) 4216238

I don’t like posting random stuff found in the net. I am making an exception now because this video caught my eye due to its simplicity yet it carries a message deeper than what the lyrics can convey.

Enjoy…

Check out the people behind this project…

Playing for change.

Brought my team on a long overdue team outing to Sunrise Cove in Calatagan, Batangas. We basically had the whole place to ourselves since we arrived on a Wednesday. The place was nice, the food and service was great, and the facilities were adequate.  

The sea was calm and shallow. You could actually walk a very long distance from the shoreline and the water would still be knee deep. I was actually hoping to do a little bit of skin diving but since that wasn’t possible I ended up most of the time asleep….

The calm and shallow waters.

The Beach

Dinner by candle light...

I wasn’t able to take that many pictures so I stole pics from Fedee and Shindy to make this video clip.

 
Video: Calatagan

Here is the same video with a different musical score… I actually like this one better.