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Saturday, December 2, 2017 / , ,

5 Thought-Provoking Short Films

I was watching in YouTube yesterday, going through music videos to trailers to vlogs and to travel videos, until I arrived to the short films. Eventually, I moved to Vimeo because they had more quality shorts which were easy to find (staff picks!! though make sure to visit the recent ones too because some are hidden gems.)

I've picked out five films I really enjoyed the most and that also got me thinking about life, I really recommend watching them! I've added a few descriptions and thoughts because I don't want to give away what happens in the story. I watched these without knowing what was going to happen and I think that's the best way to do so.

So in no particular order (you may click the title to be directed to the short film on Vimeo): 



Eggplant by Yangzhi She 
A very beautiful animated short film. It tells a story about a boy who was born with facial expressions that deliver the opposite of what he's truly feeling. This made me tear up because I could feel what he felt about what others thought of him, how what he does isn't the "norm" to society. Through this, I realized how being different is what makes each of us beautiful.


Trial by The Brothers Lynch
The transitions in this short are gold!! (Especially the mirror scene, really amazed how it transitioned at that part.) It shows the story of a paralyzed soldier who was offered an opportunity to transfer his mind to a new body.


Lifeline by Sam Jones
One of my all time favorites, Lifeline! I've previously written about this a few months ago which can be read here, but I'm mentioning it again because it's something really worth it to watch! This film portrays how a desperate mother will do anything for her son and how she puts her morality to a test. MUST WATCH.


Dissonance by Till Nowak
I really like how this film was a combination of live action and animation, a really stunning work of art! This is about a talented musician and how his world blurs between his imagination and reality.


Happiness by Steve Cutts 
So sad and yet absolutely true! If you have five minutes to spare, this is something I'd recommend you to watch, it is a film that shows what the world is turning into nowadays. At the end you'd ask, what does happiness really mean?


Have you watched any of these short films? What did you think of them?

What are your favorite films?
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5 Thought-Provoking Short Films

Saturday, December 2, 2017
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017 /

Jazz Music Starter Pack

A stack of vinyls, Photo by Joseph Pearson on Unsplash

 A few weeks ago, I was going through playlists in Spotify in search of a genre that would fit my mood, and I stumbled across a playlist that included jazz and blues music. This led me to continuously listen to a lot of them, and I am really loving it! 

Don't get me wrong, I've heard at least one here and there before but none of them really captured my interest. I want to share five songs that caught my ears as I first listened. There are a hundred more songs that I love but these are some songs that I listened to before I ventured even more deeper into this genre. 

1. Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra 

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a Jupiter and Mars

2. La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong

When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom

3. Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin

This song is really interesting! It may seem like an upbeat song but it turns out the lyrics are about a murderer. 

Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe

Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there's never, never a trace of red

4. Everybody Loves Somebody by Dean Martin

Everybody finds somebody someplace
There's no telling where love may appear
Something in my heart keeps saying
My someplace is here


5. Mr Sandman by The Chordettes

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream 
Make him the cutest I've ever seen
Give him two lips like roses in clover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over


 Do you have any jazz music recommendations? What kind of music do you listen to?
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Jazz Music Starter Pack

Wednesday, November 22, 2017
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Monday, October 23, 2017 / ,

3 Must Reads for October | 2017

Photo by Yulia Chinato (unsplash)

 It's the month of October and I believe reading Zombie Novels would be a great thing to do, it goes along quite well with the Halloween atmosphere. If you haven't already known, I'm a huge enthusiast for anything zombie. I've read a number already and I thought that I should definitely share my favorites with you guys before the month ends. 

1. World War Z by Max Brooks - Most of you have probably already heard of the movie but I must tell you that it has a completely different plot. Not only that, but most of the characters that appeared in the film aren't in the novel. The book doesn't follow one single narrative throughout, instead, it is a collection of interviews with different people who survived the zombie apocalypse. 

Goodreads: The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. "World War Z" is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years. 

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War. 

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?" 

2. The Gathering Dead by Stephen Knight - Those who loves books with intense zombies and the military, you must definitely pick this up. Lots of military jargons, however, you'll come to understand it along the way. I like that it was fast paced and had tension throughout the novel. I don't really like 'smart' zombies because I really don't like the ones that run for some reason, but this one has great twist along it.

Goodreads: The Horde Is Always Hungry... 

 The zombie apocalypse has begun, and Major Cordell McDaniels is given the most important mission of his career: lead a Special Forces team into New York City to rescue the one man who can stop the ghastly virus that reanimates the dead. But as a growing army of flesh-eating corpses takes over the streets and a violent storm renders airborne extraction impossible, McDaniels struggles to find a way out of the Big Apple. The odds of anyone getting out alive plummet further when slaughtered members of his own Special Forces team join the ranks of the gathering dead... with their military skills intact! 

3. Escaping the Dead by W.J. Lundy - This is my first ever zombie book and a great start as well. Unlike the books previously mentioned, the author uses simple words and less jargons which makes it an easy read. The second book gets better than the first which leads me to think that this is simply an introduction to the real story. I also heard that the writer created his notes and ideas while he was deployed to Afghanistan, and is still a serving Veteran in the US Army! 

Goodreads: The radio goes quiet while on convoy in Afghanistan, a lost patrol alone in the desert. With his unit and his home base destroyed, Staff Sergeant Brad Thompson suddenly finds himself isolated and in command of a small group of men trying to survive in the Afghan wasteland. The local population has been afflicted with an illness that turns them into rabid animals. They pursue him and his men at every corner and stop. 

Struggling to hold his team together and unite survivors, he must fight and evade his way to safety. 




I would also like to apologize for the three months of absence here in the blogging community. School and procrastination have taken a great deal of my time :( What have you read this October?
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3 Must Reads for October | 2017

Monday, October 23, 2017
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Monday, June 5, 2017 /

I didn't know about podcasts and i regret it.


I didn't know this actually existed and now I am thankful it does. I discovered Podcasts on the first day of June. I was swiping my home screen left and right, having nothing to do (lies actually, I was really just lazy to do anything else) and noticed this purple thing titled Podcasts. It is one of the apps already included in the iPhone, so I wasn't aware of it at all.

 So I clicked it and waited for a few minutes before realizing why the screen was still blank except for the bottom part, my data wasn't turned on for this. I quickly redid my settings and opened the application once again.

 I am not sure how to describe my reaction after seeing its content. Quite speechless, maybe.

 Now if you sadly happen to be like me who didn't have any idea about what it is, a Podcast is a digital audio file which you can download or subscribe to. For me, they sort of seem like audio blogs?

 I absolutely love this because I could listen to it while doing something else at the same time! I even coincidentally discovered this right after watching some YouTube videos and wishing I could download mp3 formats of those instead so that I wouldn't waste so much of my time.

 After a couple of days, I have made my list of favorites.

 1. Actualized.org. Now this is actually more on self help and advices. This motivates me so much in different aspects of my life. I really recommend this. They can also be found in YouTube.

 2. Author Audience. I found this because I was searching for tips on writing. I have heard other podcasts, their tips are very helpful but they didn't quite capture me like this one did, because in here, the speaker Shelley Hitz not only gives you encouragement to write, but also includes spiritual inspiration.

 3. TedTalks. I mean, come on, most of us know this. I really like them because I can learn so much about different things, it is so informational that I am really loving it. It is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. 
Do you have any favorite Podcasts?
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I didn't know about podcasts and i regret it.

Monday, June 5, 2017
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Monday, May 22, 2017 /

6 Weird habits most of us have


I've been noticing some weird habits I'm doing lately. Most of them are quite common, I told them to some of my friends and they said they totally relate! So I made a list and here it is,

1. Creating arguments with people in my head (with me winning, of course) and making myself hate them for a short period of time because of that conversation I totally made up. Now this habit I really want to lose. I hate arguments, unless they're short and only for some fun, maybe. Although, sometimes I do like debates but I get tired most of the time.

2. Thinking of a response waaaay too late. Like, I would have this conversation with someone. A few hours later, home and on bed, a much more clever responses to our topics would pop in my mind. 

3. Wrinkling my nose. I didn't know I actually did this until I suddenly had this spontaneous idea of videoing myself of which embarrassing reason I will not share, and I noticed I did it often, probably about ten times per minute. Only to lift up my glasses, it kept slipping down and I was too lazy to use my hands. 

4. Loving a song so much and eventually getting tired of hearing it in a few days time. I'm not even kidding when I say my preferences change every single day, sometimes I'll like this, then that, and then this again.

 5. I 'try' as much as possible to refrain from saying curse words. However, that rule  is overlooked when I sing songs that have such words. 

 6. Using 'like' in most of my sentences. "Like, this is so cool. Like, I'd totally get this product. Like, I'm tired of using this word."
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6 Weird habits most of us have

Monday, May 22, 2017
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Friday, January 27, 2017 / ,

My pet peeves + how to deal with them.


If I were to list down all my pet peeves, this post would probably turn to a novel. Which is why I decided to list only my top 3. If you didn't already know, pet peeves are specific behaviors that bug or annoy particular people.

And yet in no order because they annoy me just the same:

1.) When people don't have elevator manners. I generalized this because I really mean ALL manners. Living in a condominium, I always experience these events. I find it frustrating when people enter the elevator without waiting for the person inside to step outside. I'd understand if they have urgent matters to attend to, but I doubt about 10 seconds will make a life or death kind of thing. Maybe, but most likely not. 

Also when people quickly dash inside and push through the crowd. I don't get it, why can't people line up properly? Even when there are no lines, the elevator wouldn't close that fast. 

I also dislike it when people have loud conversations inside the elevator. A ride doesn't last long, I think we can wait to make a full length conversation when we step outside. Or maybe when they lower down their tone, I would finally have my peace.

I find it funny though when people click the elevator button more than once, that won't make the elevator arrive sooner. 

2.) When people ask if they can have some of my food while taking it. What's the point of asking when it's already in your hands? It's not like I'd be selfish and not share but it would motivate me more to continue sharing when people ask first before taking. 

Not just with food actually, also with other objects and things.

3.) When I eat something healthy and people ask if I'm on a diet. I find this exhausting to answer every time. Just because I chose to order salad or anything alike doesn't mean I'm on a diet. These are food which you can eat whenever you want to just like pizza and fries. 

Having these pet peeves I found ways to deal and cope with them. I can't guarantee that they would work for you but they have for me, perhaps these would maybe help you a bit. 

1.) Acknowledge them. We have to accept that we are irritated in a particular something. Denying would only give you more stress. 

2.) Resist. Resist the urge to rant or vent. It will not solve the situation. Find a way to release it that would bring no harm. Calm yourself and confront the person (if possible) and tell that person how you feel about it.

3.) Understand. This one I may be skipping sometimes but it's one of the important things to remember. Sometimes, there are reasons as to why they have that behavior or why that situation happened. Seek to gain a better understanding of the rest of the story.


That's pretty much it. I hope these will somehow help you. What are your pet peeves?

with love,
yuki motokane.
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My pet peeves + how to deal with them.

Friday, January 27, 2017
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