The Other Senses..

After watching The Sixth Sense, I wonder why people don't claim they have a third-ear..

Last night, I was able to treat myself with a screening of "The Sixth Sense" on StarMovies. Being an M. Night Shyamalan fan, I was really excited to watch the movie (again..). And I must say that although I have watched the film for a number of times, the dead people still scare me..

Now I have a secret to share with you. To paraphrase the famous line from the movie: "I hear dead people"..

Yup, call me a freak, but I can actually hear things normal people don't always hear. Some people call it a gift, some people call it a curse, I call it a.. a.. okay, so I don't call it anything.

Which makes me wonder, what should I call it?

Well, people into the whole paranormal scene have lots of terms for this. If you ask anyone who has a firm background in the paranormal and occult fields, they will tell you that the lead character in the Sixth Sense has a special ability called Clairvoyance.

Clairvoyance is an ability wherein a person can see things not usually visible to the normal person. Some attribute it to a "third eye" located just above the brow (thus the name sixth sense.) While many people say that there is no third eye, others claim that it exists and it is the thing that give other people the ability to see things associated with the more spiritual levels of the universe.

I won't go into details of how this third eye works, or for that matter, if it really exists or not. What I do want to share is the fact that clairvoyance isn't the only special ability in town, in fact there are still two other well known abilities: clairaudience and clairsentience.

Clairaudience is the ability to hear sounds not normally heard by other people, while clairsentience is the ability to feel things not normally felt. Why there are no document abilities that make you smell or taste special things, I do not know.

The deal is that whether you believe me or not, I will tell you that I have clairaudience. I did have a bit of a clairvoyant ability before, but I guess my third eye needs special glasses now, since I really see nothing clearly.

So what's the point of all this babblings? Nope, I am not going to share any ghosts stories or spooky anecdotes on how my clairaudient abilities made me hear creepy sounds--that's reserved for next halloween. Again, I go back to my original wondering: what should I call this thing?

I mean, the clairvoyant people can go around claiming they have a third eye, but what about people like me who can hear stuff? I don't think that I can go around and claim that I have a third ear! I mean, that's not spooky; that's just disgusting. It's even weirder if you try to figure out where that third ear sits--will it be in your forehead? Or maybe in the back of your head? Or in the nape perhaps?..

Well, I am firm to say that I believe that I don't have a third ear. Instead, I have a second pair of ears, probably just under or above the top of my normal ones. Yup, that would be better. But still, I don't think that anyone will be interested to hear about the Seventh and Eighth senses very soon.. :D

Happily Ever After

I read a sleazy paperback romance novel.. and I liked it.

Like every other day lately, I woke up with a headache and an ear throbbing from hearing my mother's screams as she woke me up. But unlike any other day, we were scheduled to go to a swimming pool for a little summer swim.

To cut the story short, the only part of me that got wet was my feet--and that was from a faucet and not a pool, as I didn't really feel like sharing water with other people. And as I laid down on the hammock that I had set up besides the resort cottage we rented, I did something I never thought I would in a thousand years--I read a cheesy paperback novel.

Yes, I know that its quite strange that after having watched a cheesy flick a few nights ago I would go overboard and read a cheap paperback novel. And no, it's not those novels from foreign authors and prestigious publishing houses; its a "pocketbook" you always see being read by the more "earthly" folks here in the Philippines.

To be honest, I really enjoyed it. Well, I must admit that I am easily swayed into funny emotions, so I wouldn't come as a surprised that I had "kilig" moments while reading the pocketbook (yes, it's funny.. I bet that I would also laugh at the sight of myself).

The story was so simple you've probably heard it a thousand times before: a college student who writes cheesy pocketbook novels falls in love with the rockista campus hearthrob who, unsurprisingly, doesn't believe in true love.

But what really sets this story apart from other similar stories is the fact that I liked it.

Yes, I really liked it. Although the characters needed tweaking and some parts of the story were very, very, very predictable, the conversations and the ideas were quite interesting. I found myself just smiling at the cheesy points and I guess I was really into the whole story.

The real deal here is that I never realized that a cheap paperback can actually bring me so much fun. Okay, so there were a few things I wish the writer could have done to make the story more interesting and more unpredictable but even with that raw of a material, I still had a good time reading it.

And oh, a word to all those aspiring writers out there: please make plot clues more subtle! It's frustrating for many people when they read something and know in an instant that that something will eventually become the story's twist. Man, I hate stuff like that...

The Prince and Me

Indulging in a secret passion: cheezy teeny-bopper movies..

Yup, I know it's been shown for some years now, but last night was my first time to catch a screening of the Prince and Me, staring Julia Stiles as a young college student finding herself helplessly falling in love with Luke Mably who plays the prince of Denmark. Of course, I know you know the story, so I won't go into details.

You might be wondering, "what the hell is Mark trying to say now?" Well, it might come as a surprise (or maybe not) but I quite like watching cheesy chick-flicks. Of course, hard action, car-chase-driven movies were never really my cup of tea--I mostly opt for comedies and light flicks. But well, there it is: I love watching the cheesy stuff.

For most part, the Prince and Me is quite a disappointment for the critic in me. The plot was too fast, the transitions were too sharp and I would have loved to see more of the strong dark character of the prince's mother. And I wasn't all too happy with the ending either. Yes, I know that hanging ending quite have an effect for most movies, but ending a flick with a torrid kiss doesn't seem to cut it good.

I've told this to my friends before, and once again, in true Mark Obcena fashion, I will reiterate my point: I watch love stories to feel good. Okay, I hear the laughter, but smirk and taunt you may, I do not regret that.

Many people see me as quite the intimidating, airy, know-it-all with eyebrows looking like they just finished from a plucking. No I don't pluck my eyebrows and I guess the airy intimidator look is just part of the package--and I still haven't found the section in the manual to turn that off. But a few people do know that I am not always like that. In fact, if you know the right parts to tickle, push or pinch, I display quite a number of emotions that you wouldn't find intimidating at all.

A few months ago, I had this string of text message with Shiela. We were talking about cheesy flicks, and I mentioned that the only reason I really watch stuff like that is that it fuels the fire in my head that keeps on telling me that somehow, something similar might happen in my life. I know, movies are just, well, movies, and everything is just a fantasy.

But a six-lettered phrase always keeps popping in my head: what if?.. What if these things aren't just in movies? What if someone out there is really thinking of me tonight? What if someone would really have the guts and the love to throw away everything just for me? What is love isn't just an element of a good fairy tale?

I guess everytime I see a good love story, I feel that somehow, this might become my own story. In a world where everything for me has always been wrong, can something somehow turn out right?

It all boils down to love. And as cheesy as it may sound, I'm willing to watch a thousand cheesy flicks just so I can feel that I will eventually be happy.. even if it means gaining 10 pounds from eating popcorn.