Perfect Timing

Time! How funny and strange time is.
Sometimes there's too much of it and you don't know what to do with it.
Sometimes there's just not enough and try as you might, you face a losing battle to steal as much of it as you can.
The thing about time is that it may heal wounds; it may torture you with the past. It may reveal all the battles you've been in through your face, body or behavior.
It can also throw memories back in your face and blindside you with the strongest of emotions. Emotions you thought time had helped you forget. It could be a simple word, smell, or a glimpse. Anything can trigger that flashback. You are once again that helpless person stuck in time. The pain doesn't seem to end and the future never seems to materialize.
What do you do with all the time that has already passed?
How do you prevent your mind and heart from going all nostalgic?
Your time on earth is limited. So much of it gets wasted. It all may add to life lessons, but mostly, it's wasted!
So much of it is also spent being ungrateful and on reflecting on the past. Quite like I'm doing now. But is it still time wasted if you talk about the value of time? The worth of time? The cost of time?
I will never get this moment back. I can never recreate that earlier moment in time.
Is there anything worse than living a life of regrets or denial?
Even the strongest can crumble with this burden.
All I can do is reflect, reminisce, and rebuild.

Terminator: Genysis

I had gone for a movie a few months back (I don't watch a lot of movies in Cinemas) and saw the trailer of Terminator Genisys. Somewhere deeeeep down in my heart I got a little excited. I had loved 'The Terminator' as a child, but now, especially after having watched the latest one, I have begun to cringe at the mere mention of it. I'll admit, the sequel wasn't SO bad and I may be more biased towards the original movie because well, nostalgia and it was entertaining. The same can't be said for Terminator Genisys.

Terminator, Terminator *shakes head in disappointment*. Oh you poor stupid old fool. You haven't been able to terminate anything for decades now!

It's been some twenty years and these so called advanced, liquid morphing (no upgrades there eh?) machines are still TRYING to kill Sarah Connor. Skynet decides to do something about it and that's pretty much the movie in a nutshell. What is really annoying - more than the clashing plot-lines in the series, is that the Terminator can't wipe out his targets AND he has no right to be called the 'Terminator' anymore...Like at all...Ever...The titles of the movies need to change because he only keeps 'saving' and 'protecting' the Connors. 

Protecting Sarah since childhood

In Genysis they take the original character to newer lows and reduce him to a trained dog! He obeys commands like stay, stop, jumps in front of you in the face of danger and attacks like a pitbull.

Apart from his watchdog qualities, (also getting his ass whooped all the time) he's constantly referred to as "old but not obsolete". The makers of Genysis decided to take a massive dump on the Terminator and made him more fatherly towards the woman he was originally suppose to kill (part 1). He's literally called Pops in this movie! How far the movies have strayed from the original. Sigh.

Keeps 'trip down memory lane' drawings

Fuddy duddy daddy

In competition when trying to one up 'Dad'

Watching you with a frown when you kiss bae (considering what's coming next...hint hint - sex)

More disapproving Pop's looks 

A Terminator with arthritis? (his hand starts shaking in this scene)

Five movies down and Sarah Connor (and the result of her 'one night stand while on the run') still manage to be on every Terminator Machine's hit list! The Terminators have in every movie just thrown their 'targets' around but somehow always manage to kill only cops/security folks.

.

The get tased

Shot at

Bladed

and back-stabbed

There are two ways to make a Terminator movie - before Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor did 'it' and after they did 'it'. Only then can we look at humanity being a threat to machine's existence...Or something like that. One would think after shooting a gazillion bullets on the robots, they would carry less guns and more bazookas or grenades or as demonstrated some 40 mins into the movie - use acid where the machine can turn into mush. Especially when the Terminator can't come back from this. Yet throughout the movie we keep seeing only guns being used to 'stop' it.

Help me! I'm meeeellllting!!

One would also think if Skynet is SO smart, why it not send more than one Terminator in the beginning. Like only one at a time to kill Sarah? To kill Kyle? If the newer Terminators can detach parts of their machinery then why can't they look at splitting themselves and attacking all at once? or using multiple weapons and all to kill targets?

Terminators literally hanging around

I don't remember much about the robots, but does a shot to the heart really kill them? Is it that easy? Then why do they keep wasting bullets on them trying to 'slow them down'.

Genysis just felt like the makers were being lazy. They used the exact same stunts, dialogues and action scenes - the shot in the eye, the Edward Blade arms. Genisys actually reminded me of Hindi movies from the 80s where the priority was to confuse the audience, throw unnecessary action, and in this series case - done to death time-travel plotlines and of course, ignoring logic! 

Whenever it was time to make a getaway, why on earth were they always picking the heaviest and slowest vehicles? The mini truck was it, in the first chase scene? Then the school bus!! All of this for three people! It's not like other vehicles weren't available.  

Plenty to choose from

Even had bikes waiting around!

But they decide to go for biggest and brightest thing they could find

Yea, they get spotted in literally 3 seconds!

As expected, they lose their head-start advantage in no time!

Maybe because A BIKE was used by the Terminator!

To cut a long story short, all three of them (Sarah, Kyle and Pops) took an entire movie to stop Skynet and right towards the end Pops single handedly (quite literally) puts an end to it all in the stupidest way. If ever there was a time to face palm, this was it!

The one armed Pops

One arm lifts

One arm body slams

And just when you think it's finally all over and RIP Terminator. This happens!

Groans!

All in all, the only things worth watching (if at all) would be the trailers for this movie. Time to terminate making anymore Terminator movies. Am I right? Am I right??

Necessary Lies

I love books that make me question the grey areas in life. Relationships, ethics, society's expectations and so many more such topics. The book I'm currently listening to (almost done) is Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain. I'm not sure if I want to call this a book review because I'm mostly going to be looking at sharing points from the book that made me think or at the very least made me question where I stand on some topics. Since I'm pressed for time I'm going to just go ahead and call it a 'review'.

                                                                                      Image from goodreads

In brief, the story takes place somewhere in the 60s (if I remember correctly) and is about a woman who becomes a Social Worker. She keeps having to face the fact that she's different because of her outlook towards life. She's someone who 'cares too much' and shows humanity to people who live on welfare. She has to decide their futures and help with their living conditions. The story itself is nothing that hasn't been written about before but the writing style has a flow to it. Not once did I ever feel like I wasn't drawn into the lives of the characters.

The case workers are the ones who have certain metrics in place and decide based on the environment, family history, health conditions, education levels and IQ if a person needs 'steralization' or not. Humans are literally treated like cats/dogs that need to get neutered and no one wants to acknowledge that the victims have feelings, attachments and desires too. Desires are only connected to sex and not dreams, wishes or hopes. The 'adults' can choose to opt for a procedure to stop from having anymore kids or not. But in most cases the people living on Welfare are either 'colored people' or 'white trash'. The majority of the population sees sex as a form of release from their stressful, labor dominant, meaningless lives. The average age to get pregnant in such communities is shown as 15ish. These young adults and sometimes even children as young as 10 are robbed off their future because they're poor, hence dumb and will only burden society by going at it like bunnies and end up with babies they can't take care of.

Throughout the book there are arguments between logic and feelings and that's what kept drawing me into it. On one hand you KNOW there isn't a future, you KNOW because of negligence the child is in danger, you KNOW without education and any skills there's a very bleak future for a 'stupid' character. Yet, with such strong emotions, well intentions, and the hope for change really makes you question what is really right or wrong.

Is it right for the Government to judge the life of a child/young adult based on their current situation? Generally, your teenage years are considered the 'awkward years' - where you're looking at figuring out what your life has in store for you. When you're making that inevitable transition into adulthood. You're trying to get comfortable in your skin yet trying not to stand out. How can anyone be asked to make a decision during all these changes? How can you be forced to live with a choice made at such a young age for the rest of your life? Can you or anybody else really rob someone off their rights, their dreams, their choices? Do you erase poverty by erasing traces of the person?

Another point I found interesting is that the book addresses sex education in such environments. Sex is used as an escapism technique, a form of release, a means of survival and a means to control. A household of three members is focused on in the book and one character enjoys sex with one partner but has very low understanding of sex education. The other knows about it and maybe has multiple partners, may not use protection always, doesn't enjoy sex but is still active. The third one is old, next to hates sex - believing it to be a nuisance because of unwanted pregnancies. I thought the Author showed this particular subject in a very lovely way. There were so many perspectives on what the majority of people blame as ignorance / loose morals. I was looking at all the situations and how other characters were reacting to sex - even their judgements and biases added to the beauty of how this was handled.

The last topic that really stood out for me is one that I've thought about on and off for years. The funny thing is I always come back with a different view on this topic when I reflect upon it...
                             The truth!
How important is it to tell the truth? What if the truth hurts someone? Who are you really telling the truth for - yourself? Who is to say what is right or wrong? If the lie has kept someone happy, or at least not depressed, should you really go and tell them the truth? The truth is so subjective and this book drives that point. At least I believe it so.

All in all, I really enjoyed how 'Necessary Lies' is one of those few books that makes me question my views and leaves a door open for debate without being too dramatic or boring. 

Pointless

Sleepless night
Restless mind
Lost in thought
Feel so confined

Endless wait
Breathless state
You've moved on
Found your soulmate

Heartless you
Thoughtless me
Left with nothing
I'll never be free