I’m currently at page 132. Each chapter was devoted to a certain character who would shape HBO’s sequel to “A Game of Thrones”. The book opened with a comet slashing through the sky, bringing tides of sorrow and fear to the seven kingdoms as their respective leaders and houses try to seize control of the Iron Throne. A background on the three Baratheon brothers – Robert, Stannis and Renly – was provided through Maester Cressen, who acted as their keeper when their father died at sea. Everything else are waiting to unfold. The story was quite unpredictable – you don’t know who would die or live to see the end of things.

Next time, I should choose my seats wisely. Especially if there’s a wedding scene. I can’t help but check on Bella’s eye shadow, and wonder what the entire set would be like if documented by wedding photography raleigh nc -style. The place was so pretty.

The movie installation of the fourth Twilight book by Stephenie Meyer called “Breaking Dawn” was all about a Victorian-inspired honeymoon where you have a guy who apologizes for his bed manners (you know) and keeps his wife under the sheets (okay). If you’re the type who wants some bed action, stay at home and watch True Blood. Because Twilight, my friends, is for kids.

The two-week honeymoon ended up with an unusual pregnancy. Bella was already carrying a vampire fetus in her belly who feeds on her blood and bones that she became Skeletor. Some people argue about the scientific logic of this particular incident. How can a living thing and a non-living thing produce a living organism? I don’t know. They just fed Bella cups of blood to keep the baby from eating her up. These things happen only in the Twilight universe and Meyer has her own interpretation of science.

Then the uproar at camp Jacob. The pack was upset over Bella’s pregnancy and plan to be immortal. I didn’t understand why as this was the part where I was deciding whether to watch with my right eye covered or just faint. What I remembered from the pack’s Disney-talk was that Jacob was some sort of a werewolf royalty. And he was “imprinting” the vampire baby, Renesmee, and saw her in a vision as a grown-up girl. If he can’t have the underworld’s most coveted Bella, why not the hybrid vampire baby? Therefore, Edward is going to be Jacob’s father-in-law. And in the end, someone is going to be a vampire. And then perhaps, a war? You know, usually in the movies such as this, someone really has to die.

This universe is so predictable. But then, if you want to take your mind off something, stop over-analyzing things. Just watch.

Anyway, whatever the storyline was, money continues to flow into Meyer’s account and Steward and Pattinson remain the undisputed teen couple with high incomes.

I wonder when The Vampire Diaries be made into a movie. In the meantime, I liked the Muppets parody of the Breaking Dawn.

Every seat in every cinema near me was sold as early as 3PM. Because I couldn’t waste anymore time going to ATC and risk another hour in the ticket line, I have decided to see Harry Potter in an SM Cinema. The cinemas are located on the top floor, near the gadget lane where salesmen have been pitching about “the source has the htc new release” and mobile bargain finds. The SM Cinema here smelled like an overdue car perfume and stale popcorn, not to mention the air-conditioning was so poor.

The highlight of the entire movie experience happened when the audio went off 10 minutes before the end of the movie. For about 5 minutes, we were treated to a silent movie and almost everyone started howling like packs of not-so angry wolves ready to eat the operator alive.

“Rewind! Rewind!”

“We will not leave this place until you rewind it back to where Voldemort died!”

“Pirated!”

“Now who’s got the remote control? Accio remote!”

“I want my P40 refunded! Now!”

Now the theatre manager finally showed up and asked, “What was the last scene?” Then the reel operator played it back twice to where Harry broke the Elder Wand, and the viewers protested. Finally, he got the scene right, right where Voldemort died after a fantastic battle of the wands.

What was that? Ha ha ha!

The artist, Lucy Knisley, painfully created a summary of all 7 Harry Potter books in 7 different cartoon series, which I think was fun, and really nice of her to share. I am not an HP book fan, except for the Deathly Hallows which I bough last year, so it helps to be reminded of what had transpired in the first 5-6 books. (Which makes me feel old now counting the years and seeing these cute actors grow up from mere 9 to 11-year-old kids to 20-something. If it’s like an expanding waistline, I would be needing fat burners.)

If you are not a fan, I warn you that there reading through Summharry might spoil the fun when you see Deathly Hallow part 2.

A year later, meaning a week ago, I decided to buy The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Just a trial read since I don’t want to spend huge sums on literature that might prove disappointing later on and worry about where to get the budget for motorhome repairs. The decision to buy was purely on the basis of a good friend’s recommendation, and not the New York Times list. The NY list doesn’t necessarily mean quality.

Anyway, a movie version is coming out in 2012 with Lily Collins as Clarissa Fray.

I was first a fan of the six Harry Potter movies, until last Saturday when I saw the seventh movie. The Deathly Hallows was broken into two parts, and the first part in itself was superbly done. The characters have matured, the story was well-written and everything in the first six movies finally made sense. I couldn’t wait for the second part. So I bought the book; the Iphone accessories could wait.

The HP7 book I bought is a paperback, which cost roughly P600 compared to the first six books which is P419 each. If I’m happy with HP7, I am going to buy and read the entire series backwards – from HP6 to HP4. I actually have read the first three Harry Potters in ebook format.

I have been hearing about the book and movie called “The Secret” for the past two years. It was a bestselling self-help book and movie with a catchy title that can easily dupe someone into buying. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by the title? What secret? And whose secret? Everyone wants to be in the loop.

It was only this evening that I was able to watch it. My friends have been telling me about the good things written in that book – the law of attraction, the universe and stuff. While it did seem to work wonders on their outlooks in life, I remained unimpressed. Deep in my heart I know, with all the talks of attracting good things and imbibing positive energy, there are two things in this book that don’t fit right in my head.

Miss Universe

Joe Vitale, one of the authors of The Secret, said: “And the universe will start to rearrange itself to make it happen for you ..….If you turn it over to the universe you will be surprised and dazzled by what is delivered to you. This is where magic and miracles happen”.

Now, who’s this “universe” they spoke about so endearingly like a magical genie, a god/goddess, and a Santa? According to the dictionary, the universe is defined as “all matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole”. If it’s all matter and energy, how is it capable in influencing your luck? Does an algae have a say to your quest for love? Can a black hole tell someone to send you a million dollar check? The light bulb to light up when your electricity was cut off?

It was all about waves, vibes, thoughts, signals and magnetic fields, but none of these authors explained the true nature of this so-called “universe”. If that’s so, why would you trust your life to a duck? Why not find out who created this powerful universe and send him your credit card bills?

The Magnetic Field (Ho ho ho!)

Excuse my manners. I can’t help it.

The Secret basically dedicated itself fully to understanding the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction teaches that your thoughts influence chance, and it has been widely-talked about since the early 19th century, in 1994 when I went to church, and then in 2004 when its authors had some sort of a light bulb experience. (Hello, you were not that original.) Here’s how it works: If you think you’re born loser, everything else in your life follows that route. That’s why the authors of the book advise that you should ask the universe for what you desire, believe that you already have it and then receive it.

“You know, this secret gives you everything you want: happiness, health and wealth,” says Bob Proctor. So be careful with what you’d wish for as the universe relies solely on what you feed it – a BMW, Gucci, a Christian Louboutin shoes, a European trip or Ondoy. Because this universe does not think. It does not know reason, therefore whatever you do, you can’t hold it responsible.

But since you’ve been wanting so much of the good life, go rub your lamp. Now. Pfft.

How does The Secret fit in with Christianity?

I knew you’d ask.

They don’t. They remain two different things and you cannot combine them. You can’t have a piece of this and that, and blend them into a secret formula. The end result could be diarrhea.

The Secret attributes your rise and fall to your ability to create your life, with the help of the “universe”. It is verging on too much self-absorption and materialism, feeding on worldly appetites and your fears of losing. “I want a new house, designer clothes, a high-paying job, and expensive holidays. Give me a nose job too.” No problem, the universe will bring it to you. But what if it doesn’t? The blame still falls on you, you of little faith.

The Bible spoke of life filled with tribulations. Your tiny universe can never be perfect because the truth remains that we have always been in this cycle of decay. That’s reality since Day One. But the Bible raised the bar higher than self and went beyond our own appetites to something that is far more everlasting: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Asking for a blessing and receiving it has always been in parallel with who God is – your Father, and not some universal genie. (Mathew 7: 7-11)

I’d like to share this video with you to remind you of the proper perspective of things when it comes to God and manna:

Books on sale

While waiting for the 8pm AS1 concert at the adjacent event venue, we decided to drop by the Manila International Book Fair at SMX. I was torn between inspirational books, Maxwell’s series on leadership, Christian theology, Jane Austen titles and Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte. But since I have no time to gush over English romance and doctrinal studies on religion require so much brain energy, I opted for a book on marriage. To prepare for it just in case. I can sense it coming my way real soon. By the way, I got the book called “Pillow Talk” for only P75. Not bad for a future investment.

Manila International Book Fair ends tonight. Entrance fee is P20 for adults, plus you’ll get a raffle ticket to win books or something more juicy if you’re that lucky.

If you’re a die-hard Twilighter, you already knew what New Moon has to offer the world. Another major Twilight character, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), is about to dominate the second installation of the saga and mostly likely give Edward Cullen (Rob Pattinson) real competition. And with a new director taking over, and probably a budget that’s enough to cover vampire make-up and appetite suppressant for a constipated-looking Jasper, expect that this one is going to be quite different from the first one. It seems like New Moon the movie will stay faithful to its book version minus the cheese.

Or am I fooling myself? Let’s see.