Welcome to my kingdom: my mind.
Harris Sultan, the respective writer and editor of this page, sees his mind as his own kingdom. Much of this page contains his deepest interests as well as his honest opinions. This page is his endeavor, to express his thoughts and share his experiences to the people.
Twitter: @ris
Facebook: @Harris AS
25 SEPTEMBER 2018 | HARRIS SULTAN
CHECK OUT THIS MOVIES TRAILER: Constantine (2005) Official Trailer # 1
Constantine is about a man who can see the world behind the world, and is waging war against the scavengers of the damned. And for all those comic book fans out there; Yes, it is based on DC Comics’ Hellblazer comic book, with plot elements taken from the “Dangerous Habits” story arc (issues #41–46) and the “Original Sins” story arc. Keanu Reeves plays the character of John Constantine, who has a terrible smoking addiction and is a depressed demon-hunter who lives above a bowling alley in Los Angeles. Since he was a child, he has been able to see that not all who walk among us are human. Some are half-angels and half-devils. Constantine knows he is doomed to hell because he once tried to kill himself, and is trying to rack up enough frames against the demons to earn his way into heaven.
To be honest I found out about this movie about two weeks ago, and I had little to no expectations about it. Just another angels versus demons thing. I discovered it through a meme and I thought it might be cool. Little did I know, it was more than what it appears to be. Although the plot puts up a simplistic front, I am actually impressed with the overall message of the film.
There is a scene early in the movie where Constantine and his doctor look at his X-rays and it appears he has lung cancer. The angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) tells him, “You are going to die young because you’ve smoked 30 cigarettes a day since you were 13.” Gabriel has made more interesting announcements. Aside from this, Constantine has already spent some time in hell, which looks like a post-nuclear Los Angeles created by animators with a hangover. No doubt it is filled with carcinogens.
Now, the half-angels and half-devils are described in the movie as earthly proxies in the war between God and Satan. You would think that God would be like the Golden State Warriors in this contest, but apparently there is a chance that Satan could win. Constantine’s lonely mission is to track down half-demons and cast them back to the fires below. Like Blade, the vampire-killer, he is surprisingly optimistic, considering he is one guy in one city dealing on a case-by-case basis, and the enemy is global.
The forces of hell manifest themselves in many ways. One victim is eaten by flies. Another one which was a young girl is possessed by a devil, and Constantine shouts, “I need a mirror! Now! At least three feet high!”. Because apparently, he can capture the demon in the mirror and throw it out the window. Which I thought was pretty cool.
Reeves has a deliberately morose energy level in the movie, as befits one who has seen hell, walks among half-demons, and is dying. He keeps on smoking. Eventually he confronts Satan (Peter Stormare), who wears a white suit. (Satan to tailor: “I want a suit just like God’s.”)
To sum it up, I could say that I enjoyed the movie. The cast did their thing somehow and was able to barely execute very well. I failed to understand the necessity of some parts of the film but regardless I liked the twist at the end and I really loved the message it conveys; that it’s never too late to change.
25 SEPTEMBER 2018 | HARRIS SULTAN
April 1st of last year, which was 2017, we went to Ilocos to have a family vacation. I thought we were lucky enough to have traveled through a very nice weather. Little did I know, our destination was even more worth being grateful for. The summer heat was already starting to ignite, but the view.. Man, it was something else. The Dunes itself looked really amazing and felt like something out of a science textbook, you know, where they describe different biomes and other ecological and environmental things.
The Ilocos Sand Dunes encompasses the towns of Currimao through to Pasuquin in Ilocos Norte. We heard that the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag City is one of the more popular sand dune destinations in Ilocos Norte. But at that time, the Paoay Sand Dunes were remarkably gaining more popularity to tourists travelling up north, so we decided to check out what was up. And boy, it was an exquisite experience.
We went on to hire a 4×4 Rough Riding vehicle at the base of the site. As far as I can remember, it costs for about 1,500php for a maximum of 5 people per car, and a professional driver will be your guide to the vast sand dunes. The driver toured me and my family at the Sand dunes for an hour. We took many photos really marveled upon the view. Here are some of the photos of the scenery:
Everyone was holding on to the steel bar while standing on the 4×4 as we screamed our lung out. The sand ridges were as high as 10-20ft, and we were like in a rollercoaster ride. It was really fun and exciting!
We also went sandboarding, and the thrilling drops on steep sand ridges surely filled each and everyone of us with excitement. We made use of a plank of wood as our equipment to slide over sand folds in the vast landscape. It has the same discipline as skate boarding, such as balance is the key to the sport. My first try was unluckily predominated by my innate clumsiness it was not that painful at all. The soft sand is your cushion and your defense to the fear of trying again. If you do it once and get over the fear, I can assure that you’ll do it over and over again. It was that much fun! The hardest and most tiring aspect of the sport? Going up again the sandy slope after sliding down, but this will not prevent you to try and try until you do it perfectly. All of these experiences costs for about 2,500php
After the thrill, the guide will then drove our family down to the beach shores along the sand dunes. It is a perfect way to end a beautiful and exhilarating adventure. I suggest for others plotting to go here, to plan your trip either in the early morning to welcome the sunrise (open as early as 5am) or late afternoon (5-6pm) to glory on the sunset not only because it’s marvelous but also to avoid the heat of the afternoon sun.
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