Playing with Chicken on Oscar Night

I ran up the hill on the street as fast as I could, even I was completely out of my breath. The hill was very steep as many around my neighborhood. Why was I running? I forgot my laptop at a shop up the hill when I was making a phone call. I was kicking myself — why I was so careless and forgettable! What’s wrong with me??!! I didn’t expect that I would find my laptop still sitting there — this is not Japan. The more I thought about it, the more I was consumed by the regret from my mistakes. I began to think what files I had not backed up, and what important personal information might get stolen. Then, I woke up. I am so happy and relieved that I found my laptop so quickly just by waking up from a "heavy workout dream." I am not sure why I dreamed like that. I didn’t have time to analyze it. I needed to get ready for work. I got up and opened the window and I saw a rainbow in the sky! It’s nice to be awake. The 81st Academy Awards are history. I really enjoyed the show which is energetic and entertaining. I especially like the new arrangement when five past winners jointly present a major award. Speaking of which, I missed two categories in my Oscar predictions. However, I am very happy for Sean Penn‘s win for his performance in "Milk." Dustin Lance Black‘s emotional acceptance speech brought me into tears when he accepted his Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Milk": "When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could even fall in love and one day get married. I wanna thank my mom, who has always loved me for who I am even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he’d want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk." It’s inspiring. It’s raining outside during the Oscar show. I wasn’t just watching the show, I also pulled out a big pot, and threw in a complete naked chicken with some carrots, ginger roots, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, and wolfberries (枸杞). After simmering for about an hour and half, I was checking if the chicken was done. However, I only saw a so very naked chicken. So, I picked up couple slices of shiitake mushroom with chopsticks, and the chicken was transformed immediately. I know, mom told me that I should not play with food. I promise that I won’t do it again. It’s still raining outside, so go to a movie inside, even it’s about an adult film. Serbis Competed for Palme d’Or at 2008 Cannes Film Festival, director Brillante Mendoza‘s new film "Serbis" (Philippines/France 2008, in Tagalog, 93 min.) tells a struggling Filipino family’s miserable story. In an inner city in Philippines next to noisy streets, a run-down adult movie theater called "Family" is not only the home for the extended Pineda family, but also the hustling ground for rent boys. The film’s title "Serbis" means "service" in Tagalog, referring to sexual service the hustlers are providing inside the adult theater. The endless battle to keep the "family" business afloat and to resolve the conflicts among family members become daily routines inside the theater, and they consume away everybody’s life, hopes, and dreams. Like Brillante Mendoza‘s previous films ("Slingshot," "Foster Child," and "The Masseur"), the hand held camera follows the characters running up and down the theater to witness everything raw and uncensored. It is amazingly effective. The film makes me feel like that I am living with these characters — inside the smelly theater, enduring the unbearably heat, suppressing or unleashing the desire, coping with the desperation, and being suffocated by the horrible environment. I want to escape from this "Family" theater as much as the film’s characters. Apparently, the film has plenty shockers. I call them shockers because I don’t see a clear connection between their existence and the storytelling. I am surprised by the very long opening credit (with the weird sound track) to begin with. Then I see the pain in the butt — a boil. After many more events, it’s the end of the film… "Serbis" opens on Friday, February 20, at Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco.