school has started, and it sucks. it will continue to if i don't improve my outlook on school life, but still, eugh.

watched closer today. very bleak, bleak movie. very striking at certain points though. i particularly liked the opening and closing sequence. and natalie portman's performance was earth-shattering. found out it was actually based on a play. and i notice how 20th century english writing is largely dismal without even the smallest hint of a silver lining. conrad, pinter, huxley [and now, marber] all just ... completely black.

completely and utterly random thought:

PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO LISTEN. i think it's sadly ironic how we pass through life doing things we do all our lives and thinking they're simple enough - like listening to someone else talk, without realizing we're only performing an empty charade of the real thing. how many of us really listen to someone when they talk? and i know i do it a lot too, completely zone out sometimes and be self-absorbed. but the world would just be a much better place if we all really learnt how to listen. including me. and even if we do listen and absorb the facts - how much do we take note of the tone of voice? and when we finally reach inside of us and bother to listen, it's just too late.

makes me think of a scene in fight club,

Narrator: When people think you're dying, man . . . they really, really listen to you, instead of just . . .

Marla Singer: Instead of just waiting for their turn to speak.

+ posted by M @ 10:46 PM