When vampires suck. Big time.

If I was still seventeen, I would've adored Bella Swan.

At least I'd try to look like her. However, even to my emo standard back then, Bella Swan is one pathetic girl. Who happens to be at the center of a love triangle between a vampire and a werewolf.

Yes, I challenged my senses by watching both the Twilight saga on Saturday. The first installment on DVD, and then on to New Moon in PIM.

May I just say, holy Mother of Queen Akasha.

If this is what vampires look like to the younger generation, then those in Transylvania should be offended.

Not only the plot is crappy and cliche, it's also very redundant. Each movie could've been wrapped in about 30 minutes.

It's also dangerous for teenagers, especially girls, seeing how Bella is one pathetic, completely hopeless romantic. She slept in the woods after Edward had dumped her, also between the trees.

And then she acted all Pink by trying edgy stuff. Bike riding, cliff jumping.. All that just to see the spirit of Edward. At the same time, she flirted with another guy, who happened to be a werewolf.

Raam Punjabi could've made a better plot.

True, Edward is good looking. But the freakin' shiny-under-the-sun boy cried after kissing the girl he liked.

Now younger girls, that is not the kind of man you want for the rest of your life.

There should be more fighting scenes. New Moon highlights the rivalry between Edward and Jacob, between vampires and werewolves. But the only brawl I saw was that 20-second catfight at the end of the movie. Might as well throw in some Jell-Os there boys.

Even if I was seventeen, I don't think I would've wasted my pocket money for a movie this awful.

Blitz mega-scratch

When you go to a cinema, you pay good money so you can watch a movie with good quality as well. That goes without saying. I mean, I pay more so I don't have to watch a movie where the scenes are lagged, or the audio suddenly play dead.

But it's exactly what happened last Saturday when I went to this new Blitz Megaplex in Teraskota BSD. The audio went its own way and returned whenever it felt like it.

I was watching Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Five minutes after it started, I couldn't hear what Flint Lockwood and Sam Sparks were saying.

What's an unsatisfied costumer to do in a bumpy situation like that? I, along with Bangun, Dinda, and Nugi marched down to tell the doorman.

After a few trips back and forth from our row-B seats, it was fixed. For about 15 minutes we lost track of he movie, because we were too busy complaining.

Once the movie was done, we of course filed a complaint to the movie manager or some sort. By filed I mean standing as close to him as I could to let him know who's taller (yes that's my way of physically threatening people), look him in the eye, and rant.

In the end, he couldn't do anything but apologize. He also sent me a written apology through my e-mail. No compensation.

For me, a written apology is kind of enough. After all, it was the first time this thing ever happened to me.

However, it left me wondering; why didn't the other 50-ish people in that same studio say anything? They had the right to complain. Were they satisfied with only reading the subtitle?

Or are they rich enough to think that it wasn't a waste of money?

Or, were they too proud to ask for compensation? To say that the Rp 28,000 they'd spent was not worth a partly-muted animation movie?

Lilies, roses, and bullies in uniforms

Aside from October, the things that came and went include my birthday, which marked my first quarter of a century of living.

The highlights of this year's birthday were the presents; books, clothes, and a Star Wars DVD box set. Plus of course a bouquet of lilies and roses from O Dear One. But nothing could top the impromptu happy birthday song that Dinda and Ebonk made up during the karaoke night. With backing vocals of Runi, Bangun, and Nugi. Super.

Anyway. I guess this is still related to TV crew; because there's always something to talk about when it comes to their kind.

Recently, the media was buzzed by a story of this high school kid who was bullied by his upper classmates, sending the poor kid to the hospital with a black eye and internal bleeding.

School bullying, of course, is a major issue anywhere in the world.

So that night, a bunch of cameramen and maybe some other journalists waited near the school to get a shot of maybe someone punching some guy, playing God in the little world we called high school.

Story is, there were several alumni (alumna? alumnus? I never get this one right) hanging out in the park, and they told the cameramen to get the hell out of their area. That no cameras were allowed.

The story also said that physical contacts were made before the guys ran away and left the cameramen dumbfounded.

At that moment, I thought the brawl was a self defense to protect their school. Well, however, they didn't need to go all physical. I thought, dasar sekolah borju. The school is famous for having crazy rich kids who think they can solve anything in this world by money and power.

However, a few days later, I heard the other side of the story. Bangun's sister's boyfriend was there that night. And he said that those cameramen, who call themselves journalists, kept provoking the guys to start calling the freshmen and bully them.

All for a good TV footage.

All for those "exclusive" tag printed out near their station logo every time it airs. Which would mean 1024749 times a day. Over and over again.

I try not to take sides, but somehow, it is much more believable to imagine the latter scene. Of course, I understand those TV crew were just trying to do their job. No good footage means an earful from their producers.

But is it really necessary to keep provoking, and when they've sparked some anger, they told their online-journalist friend to publish the one-sided story?

Is it really necessary to use their agenda setting power to stir the public's minds into thinking, "wow these kids really are bullies"?

I ain't no saint, but come on people, there are rules. There are ethics. Try to respect them. And again, use your brain, not your muscle. Your head, not your fist.