Negative Thinking

這陣子重新捧起了幾年前買的一本書：" The Power of Negative Thinking: Coming to Terms With Our Forbidden Emotions "。

覺得已經到了某種人生階段，開始了解自己恐怕永遠都不會知道，要怎麼用"Positive Thinking"過活了，所以趕忙把幾年前想買來救命的這本書重新挖出來翻閱。我覺得每個人都有自己的過活方式，有些人可以隨時隨地把自己扭轉成正面思考的人、有些人非要用正面思考才能夠過下去，然而我沒辦法，把自己拉向正面思考的結果，通常都會彈回更負面的境地。所以看到有書可以說明如何將負面思考變得有利於我這種人，當然應該努力研讀一下。

這本書目前才看了兩章，看作者解釋了一些負面情緒(包含輕視、憤怒、害羞、夢魘等等)的起因，我覺得蠻好笑的。不是因為內容好笑，而是作者說明了有許多負面情緒是因為壓抑別的事情，而造成對某些小事、或對身邊的人，產生憤怒不平的情緒。看到這邊我也會心一笑，其實有時候對一些新聞、消息、甚至一些芝麻綠豆大的事情發脾氣，通常背後都有很多種原因，可能這件小事情刺激到過去的某種痛處、某種自卑，但是我可能不想讓別人知道那些感受的由來，所以自己壓抑著，但是看到其他可類比的引爆點，我可能就會對其他人事物生氣。

其實有時候只有一個結罷了...

就例如小學一年級的某種經歷，讓我對於在公共場合哭泣，產生完全的厭惡與不信任。對我來說只要在公眾場合哭泣的人，除非是經歷喪子喪親或是得絕症的打擊等等，否則我一律把他們歸類於虛偽的豬頭(稱豬頭已經是非常客氣了)。也許我誤會了某些人，也許有些人是真的想哭，而不是只想騙選票，但是我沒辦法克制自己的不信任。

但這一切不過是因為小學的一個經驗罷了...

"I don't know. It's a mystery."

不曉得大家記不記得電影「莎翁情史」(Shakespeare in Love)裡面，有個怪老頭，老是會說，別擔心別擔心，這一切會以喜劇收場。對方問他為什麼，他都回答："I don't know. It's a mystery."

我想我一定是老了，已經不太有力氣像年輕時一樣，為一件小事情煩惱半天、想出一百種可能與不幸來讓自己煩惱。我現在只能想出十種悲慘不幸的可能(看來我是想像力減弱)，然後覺得累死了，不想了，反正會有好結果就是了。但是，為什麼會有好結果？

I don't know. It's a mystery.

獻給所有正在煩惱的人。

Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.

Greatest Hits...

I hate to see singers name their selected works "The Greatest Hits of OOXX", "The Best of OOXX", and etc. So uncreative!

I love the way Black Box Recorder titled their b-sides selection. "The worst of Black Box Recorder". Sounds so great that I bought it at the sight of it. Swans did even better by naming their greatest hits album "Various Failures". I love that.

Write Your Own Play

If you ever wanna write a screenplay, here's an easy way to accomplish that. Hollywood screenwriter Jason and Justin Heimberg wrote a foolproof screenplay generator - "The Official Movie Plot Generator". They gathered many standard plots from almost every genre and seperated them into theme, place, or situation.

What intrigued me most is the motive of these two guys. They are screenwriters for real, and often get turned down by producers for reasons which were found hard to comprehend.

"We kept hearing them say they'd want something original, but then they'd have these clichéd elements," says Justin.

So, these two, allegedly being close enough to finish each other's sentences, decided to co-write this book. They do the publishing process on their own. From printing to marketing, all by their own efforts. This book is only sold on some web bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & noble, or you may visit their own website: www.movieplotgenerator.com.

I think most of Hollywood films are full of clichés. The only differences are filming locations, character occupations, budges, how soon the main characters get laid, and etc. Even I myself want to write a movie now, ha!

Book of the Year

The best novel I've read this year is The Da Vinci Code. It's probably because I haven't read many books this year...

The Da Vinci Code movie is coming out in year 2006. I hate to imagine Tom Hanks as Langdon. With all my respect to Tom Hanks, his look and disposition are not quite suitable for that role. There's a funny element in Tom Hanks, I mean, in a good way. It'd be great to have him in "Sleepless In Seattle", "Cast Away", "You've Got Mail", "Forrest Gump", "The Bonfire of the Vanities", and even his early work "Dragnet". But, Professor Langdon? Oh, no.

I think Clive Owen would do a better job.