The Little Nyonya

I have heard of the famous Singapore drama The Little Nyonya which came out in 2008 but I never actually thought of watching it. Not until Astro decided to screen it with replays at 12am week nights! I started following but to sleep at 1am on working days was a huge sacrifice. Not anymore when I discovered a friend's DVD box set. I chased the entire drama and completed it in less than a week LOL. Astro is still just half-way through by the way :P

Anyway yup, I have to agree it's an interesting drama which revolves around the Baba Nyonya culture during the 1930s. To be honest, I have never followed Spore drama or series but only the occasional comedy ala Money Not Enough and PCK Pte Ltd genres. So kudos for a drama that finally caught my attention. The cast were pretty convincing in their actings and I must say I really hated the guts of the villains.

However it is also a little frustrating to see the not so Happily Ever After ending. And some of the actions and thoughts are pretty mind-boggling. I'll be like o_O "Oh, come on"..Do the people in that era really have such naive thinkings and such filial piety, I wonder? Not to say filial piety is not good but too one-sided either way is not the way to go I would say. Oh, and women in Baba culture led pretty sad and dull lives unless you became the matriarch of the house. Then you had all the say. Plus I notice some loopholes in the storyline and fyi, they are also listed on wikipedia LOL

Anyway, again I must say the ending isn't what I would have hoped for. Worse they came out with an extended episode which many thought was supposed to be the alternate ending. Instead, they went on to emphasize the original ending. Kinda lame-ler. There are speculations of a possible sequel that will twist the existing ending to create even more drama. To me, it's just an excuse to prolong the story, garner more viewers and ultimately higher ratings. Though if it's really out, I guess I would watch it anyway :P

Lastly I must touch on the themes. All 3 songs featured are pretty nice and I like the 2nd subtheme the most. A sad song and when played during the sad scenes, it up the sadness a notch further. Sang by JS, it's called Xu Yao (Need). I particularly like the 2 lines in the chorus:

Ai shi yi zhong xu yao, que bu ying ding yao de dao
Love is a type of need, it's not a must to get it
Zhi yao ni jue de kuai le jiu hao
It's good as long as you feel happy

需要 - JS

如果把你的眼神默背好
ru guo ba ni de yan shen muo bei hao
就可以无视寂寞的悬崖
jiu ke yi wu shi ji muo de xuan ya
我想，我不会像现在这么糟
wo xiang, wo bu hui xiang xian zai zhe me zao

如果把走过的路都记牢
ru guo ba zou guo de lu dou ji lao
就可以面对断线的依靠
jiu ke yi mian dui duan xian de yi kao
至少，孤单不用如此的骄傲
zhi shao, gu dan bu yong ru ci de jiao ao

不止热雨的微笑
bu zhi re yu de wei xiao
增加跟脑海的湿掉
zeng jia gen nao hai de shi diao
抓不紧，也放不掉
zua bu jin ye fang bu diao
未来的某个街角是否转身就找得到
wei lai de mo ge jie jiao shi fou zhuan shen jiu zhao de dao

爱是一种需要，却不一定要得到
ai shi yi zhong xu yao, que bu yi ding yao de dao
只要你觉得快乐就好
zhi yao ni jue de kuai le jiu hao
梦会温热眼角，让回忆像水草般缠绕
meng hui wen re yan jiao, rang hui yi xiang shu jao ban chen rao
却总能让人勇敢不笑
que zong neng rang ren yong gan bu xiao

爱是一种需要，聚散却没办法预料
ai shi yi zhong xu yao, ju san que mei ban fa yu liao
只能在心里做个记号
zhi neng zai xin li zuo ge ji hao
直到哪天遇到，还会是同样的味道
zhi dao na tian yu dao, hai hui shi tong yang de wei dao
下雨也好驱风也好 心想着就能不会难熬
xia yu ye hao qu feng ye hao xin xiang zhe jiu neng bu hui nan ao

My Rating:

Tongue Exercises

Read an article in Yahoo! about some of the hardest Tongue Twisters around and I tot them kinda interesting - some are downright tongues twisting indeed! Try them out yourselves (but beware of 'pa si kat') :P

I learned this back in skool and it has been in the back of my mind ever since:

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck,
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Just as much as a woodchuck would,
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

These two are pretty famous which I've seen or heard of the most:

Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a pack of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers,
where's the pack of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?


She sells sea shells by the seashore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

I kinda like the ring to this one:

I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn't the thought
I thought I thought.

Tongues warmed up yet? Here's a long one:

Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
that would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

And the ultimate tongue twister... (I am still untwisting my twisted tongue)

Three Swedish switched witches
watch three Swiss Swatch watches switches.
Which Swedish switched witch watch
which Swiss Swatch watch switch?

For more, jst google them out..happy tongue-twisting! *winks

Enough

A killer headache
A want-to-vomit-feeling
A long, long traffic-jam drive home

Exhaustion has finally begun its protest march.

*Auto-hibernate mode, pleaaassseeee take over..

Change II

Change is coming - again.

This time to the one above me.
And there will be light at the end of the tunnel...

...one way or the other.

Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince...the Movie

One word sums it up.. CRAM.
The gist of the 6th Harry Potter book is crammed into a 2 hour 32 minutes of often slow and confusing with little action movie. The pace & flow did not differ much from the 5th movie which I reviewed back in 2007 (read review here) .

Scenes jumped from one to another and for those who have not read the book or worse never actually watched any Harry Potter before, it will be a jumble of what just happened? and I'm confused moments. Not to mention huge chunks of details in the book that were left out from the movie. Even the last scene where XXX was YYY-ed was altered a bit. I vaguely remembered it was different from what I read and I was right - I went home and confirmed with the book :P

Anyway watch this a must if you have been a follower of the Harry Potter series but watch it on cheap movie nites and you wont feel so disappointed *winks

Oh and the Ginny in the movie doesn't quite live up to my imagination of Ginny based on the book but well can't do much there..

My Rating:

Grey

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a-gonna do
'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues.

- Eddie Cochran

Ideal Rot

Saw this in one of those strange-but-cool-inventions-forwarded emails and I must say I'll love to have one of this :D

With it, I can be a couch potato cum bookworm in 1 go! Add a laptop, a minibar of snacks & drinks and I think I can rot my entire day here and not move..hmm suddenly reminded me of The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved song.

Can't Let The Music Stop

Head bobbing, feet tapping tune when the hours just don't seem to go by fast enough....
(been repeating this non-stop the whole day actually)

Touch My Hand
- David Archuleta

Saw you from a distance
Saw you from the stage
Something about the look in your eyes
Something about your beautiful face

In a sea of people
There is only you
I never knew what the song was about
But suddenly now I do

Trying to reach out to you, touch my hand
Reach out as far as you can
Only me, only you and the band
Trying to reach out to you, touch my hand

Can't let the music stop
Can't let this feeling end
'Cause if I do, it'll all be over
I'll never see you again

Can't let the music stop
Until I touch your hand
'Cause if I do, it'll all be over
I'll never get the chance again
I'll never get the chance again
I'll never get the chance again

I see the sparkle of a million flashlights
A wonder wall of stars
But the one that's shining out so bright
Is the one right where you are

Trying to reach out to you, touch my hand
Reach out as far as you can
Only me, only you and the band
Trying to reach out to you, touch my hand

Can't let the music stop
Can't let this feeling end
'Cause if I do, it'll all be over
I'll never see you again

Can't let the music stop
Until I touch your hand
'Cause if I do, it'll all be over
I'll never get the chance again
I'll never get the chance again

Saw you from the distance
Saw you from the stage
Something about the look in your eyes
Something about your beautiful face

Can't let the music stop
Can't let this feeling end
'Cause if I do, it'll all be over
I'll never see you again

Can't let the music stop
Until I touch your hand
'Cause if I do, it'll all be over
I'll never get the chance again
I'll never get the chance again
(Reach out to you, touch my hand)

I'll never get the chance again
(Reach out as far as you can)
I'll never get the chance again
(Only me, only you and the band)
Trying to reach out to you, touch my hand, yeah

Colors of the Summer

Berry Booster

[Click to enlarge]

A Pleasant Mistake

Mr Chong from my Spore industrial training days called me today. By mistake. What are the odds that it was my number he accidentally dialed.

I was surprised to see his name appearing on the caller id. First tot that came to mind was "Is he in Pg??" But the first thing he said when I answered was "Xia lai le, wo men jai canteen" (Come down now, we are at the canteen) LOL, I was like stunned for a second before I told him you got the wrong person all the way in Pg-ler! He was as startled and had wondered about the different dialing tone not to mention the caller tune that I set but not for a second did he tot about hanging up that instance to recheck the number :)

We ended up chatting and catching up for a bit seeing that it had been years since we last spoken. It was great to hear from him as he was the friend cum boss who really looked after us trainees back then (and the only one we still kept in touch with instead of our real boss :P) He'd been bz (working on a saturday believe it or not) but I've asked him to join Facebook. Dat's where everyone he knows is and it'll be the easiest way to stay in touch while keeping him up with the current trend ;)

Fate sometimes throws you a surprise when you least expected it. And I'm glad it happened the way it did. :D

Now let's just hope Mr Chong remembers to sign up to Facebook.....

Walk For Sight '09

I woke up really early on Sunday (which I don't normally do) to participate in the Walk For Sight 2009, a charity walk aimed to raise funds for St. Nicholas Home, and had an eye-opening experience. Participants were asked to partner up; where one will be blindfolded and the other will guide throughout the walk. Soo Huey was my partner and we decided to take turns to be blindfolded (though I think she ended up walking more of the 2.3km blindfolded :P)

We had a great time and a good laugh when we tried to overtake 'slower' participants, or tried to inform the blindfolded partner a turn is coming up, or to slow down or to 'emergency stop' when people in front slowed down/stopped. We might have laughed it off on the spot but looking back, it actually created an awareness of the importance of one's eyesight and also the responsibilities of a guide.

As the guide:
It was my first time guiding and I must say I wasn't attentive enough at times. SHuey bumped into a couple who made a sudden stop and I almost led her near uneven pavements :P Other than that I guess we had a pretty smooth walk, so smooth in fact she totally just followed my lead till she needed time to recognize her surroundings and regain her bearings when it was time to change roles XD. I told her to take her time coz I dared not let the blindfolded me follow a blur guide!

As the guided:
Blindfolded was pretty scary. You just had to hold on to your guide and put your entire trust on him/her to guide you safely with traffic passing right next to you! Also when your guide suddenly quickened his/her pace, you'll be startled - at least I was, or when you felt he/she moving left then right then left then right as if she was avoiding obstacles (She was overtaking people actually). And it didn't help especially when your guide didn't explain much :P I had to ask her..why so fast? what noise is that? where are we? how far more to go? LOL. Also to the blindfolded it felt like walking along a straight road all the way although in actual we went through a few turnings.

Although it was just a short walk with minimal obstacles, a few stepped and be stepped on the heel moments, and a smooth route (no steep climb, no uneven grounds), all in all it was an out-of-the-ordinary Sunday morning for me and an interesting way of creating awareness and appreciation. Plus a yummy dim sum to end ;)

Belated Love

A week of reminiscence and pondering, what with all the news of ppl's passings. Are we all in need of a shower of rain to clear the haze clouding our lives, both figuratively and literally speaking? The infectious melody and the meaningful lyrics from Leo Ku's Ngoi Tak Tai Chi sums it all up...

我過去　那死黨　早晚共對　各也紮職以後沒法暢聚
ngo guo hui / na sei dong / jo maan gung dui / gook ya jat jik yi hau moot fat cheung joi
I used to spend day and night with my buddies but ever since we got jobs, we spend less time now

而終於　相約到　但無言共對　疏淡如水
yi jung yue / xiong yeuk do / dan mo yin gung dui / soh tam yu sui
When we finally met, we have nothing to say, its as dull as water

日夜做　見爸爸　剛好想呻　卻霎眼看出他多了皺紋
yat yeh jo / kin pa pa / gong hou xiong san / keok saap ngan hon chut ta do liu jao man
Working day and night, met papa, just want to complain, in a blink I realize his wrinkles have increased

而他的蒼老感　是從來未覺　太內疚擔心
yi ta dik chong lo gam / si chong loi mei gok / tai noi gau dam sam
Also never realize how much he has aged. Very guilty and worried

最心痛是　愛得太遲　有些心意　不可等某個日子
jui sam tong si / ngoi dak tai chi / yau se sam yi / bat ho dang mao go yat ji
What hurts most is to love too late. There are certain things that shouldn't wait.

盲目地發奮　忙忙忙其實自私
mang mok dei fat fan / mong mong mong kei sat ji si
Working hard is more due to selfishness

夢中也習慣　有壓力要我得志
mong zhong ya jap gwan / yau ngak lik yiu ngoh dak ji
Even in my dreams I'm used to being pressured to do better

最可怕是　愛需要及時　只差一秒　心聲都已變歷史
jui ho pa si / ngoi sui yiu kap si / zi cha yat miu / sam seng dou yi bin lik si
The scariest thing is, love has to be in time. A second missed and feelings will become history

忙極亦放肆　見我愛見的相知
mong gik yik fong si / kin ngoh oi kin dik xiong ji
To find time in my busy schedule to meet the ones I love

要抱要吻要怎麼也好　偏要推說等下一次
yiu poh yiu man yiu zham moh ya ho / pin yiu tui suet dang ha yat chi
To hold, to kiss, to do whatever, but I always push to the next time

我也覺　我體質　彷似下降　看了症得到是別要太忙
ngoh ya gok / ngoh tai jat / fong chi ha gong / hon liu jing dak dou si bit yiu tai mong
My body is not as fit as it used to be. After seeing the doctor, I'm told to relax.

而影碟　都掃光　但從來未看　因有事趕
yi ying pin / dou sou guong / dan chong loi mei hon / yan yau si gon
Having bought all the DVDs I haven't watched a single one because I was busy.

日夜做　儲的錢　都應該夠　到聖誕正好講跟我白頭
yat ye jou / chou dik chin / dou ying goi gau / do sing dan jing ho gong gan ngoh bak tau
Working day and night the money saved should be enough to tell her to marry me during Christmas

誰知她開了口　未能挨下去　已恨我很久
sui ji ta hoi liu hau / mei nang ngai ha hui / yi han ngoh han gao
Who knows that she told me first she couldn't stand it any longer. She hated me for quite some time

錯失太易　愛得太遲　我怎想到　她忍不到那日子
choh sat tai yi / ngoi dak tai chi / ngoh zham xiong dou / ta yan bat dou na yat zi
Its too easy to lose when you love too late. How could I have thought she couldn't tolerate till that day

盲目地發奮　忙忙忙從來未知
mang muk dei fat fan / mong mong mong chong loi mei ji
Working blindly always busy never bothered to know

幸福會掠過　再也沒法說鍾意
hang fook wui leuk gwoh / joi ya moot faat suet jong yi
Happiness can pass by me. No chance to say I love you.

愛一個字　也需要及時　只差一秒　心聲都已變歷史
ngoi yat guo ji / ya sui yiu kap si / ji cha yat miu / sam sing dou yi bin lik si
Even though love is only one word, it still has to be in time. Even missing by one second, feelings can become history

為何未放肆　見我愛見的相知
wai ho mei fong si / kin ngoh oi kin dik xiong ji
Why didn't I make the effort to see the ones I love

要抱要吻要怎麼也好　不要相信一切有下次
yiu po yiu man yiu zham moh yah ho / bat yiu xiong sun yat chai yau ha chi
To hold, to kiss to do whatever. I don't want to believe there's always a next time

相擁我所愛又花幾多秒 這幾秒　能夠做到又有多少
seung yung ngoh suo oi yau fa gei do miu / je gei miu / nang gao jou dou ya yao doh siu
How many seconds do I need to embrace love. And how much can I do in those few seconds

未算少　足夠遺憾忘掉
mei suen siu / juk gao wai ham mong diu
Its not too little. Its enough to forget regret

多少抱憾　多少過路人　太懂估計　卻不懂愛錫自身
doh siu poh ham / doh siu guo lo yan / tai dong goo gai / keok bat dong ngoi sek ji san
How many regrets? How many passers by? Know how to estimate too well but do not know how to love oneself

人人在發奮　想起他朝都興奮
yan yan joi fat fan / xiong hei ta chiu do hing fan
Everyone's working hard. Excited by the future.

但今晚未過　你要過也很吸引
dan kam man mei guo / nei yiu guo ya han kap yan
But the night is not over. Still interesting for you to go through

縱不信運　你不過是人　理想很遠　愛於咫尺卻在等
jung bat sun wan / nei bat guo si yan / lei xiong han yuen / oi yue chi chek kuek joi dang
Even if you don't believe in fate, you're still human. Your goals are afar, love is just here yet you are waiting

來日別操心　趁你有能力開心
loi yat bit cho sam / chan nei yau nang lik hoi sam
Don't worry about the future. While still possible to be happy

世界有太多東西發生　不要等到天上俯瞰
sai gai yau tai doh dong sai fat sang / bat yiu dang doh tin xiong foo ham
There's too many things happening in the world. Don't have to wait till you're looking down from the heavens

Robot Boy

I have always enjoyed Tim Burton's works. Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, The Nightmare before Christmas, Sweeney Todd just to name a few. And now he has a new book where he "gives birth to a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children: misunderstood outcasts who struggle to find love and belonging in their cruel, cruel worlds."

Titled The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, it contains 23 twisted poem-like stories with colorful illustrations that really help bring the characters to life. It is rather enjoyable albeit slightly creepy and demented at times. It'll make you gasp in amazement, laugh out loud or shake your head in disbelief at the creativity that is Tim Burton.

I particularly like this one about Robot Boy. Thumbs-up to the words used and the ryhming. And when I googled about Robot Boy, they actually make figurines of the characters for those collectors..cool!

Robot Boy

Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a wonderful life.
They were a normal, happy husband and wife.
One day they got the news that made Mr. Smith glad.
Mrs. Smith would be a mom,
which would make him the dad!
But something was wrong with their bundle of joy.
It wasn't human at all,
it was a robot boy!
He wasn't warm and cuddly
and he didn't have skin.
Instead, there was a cold, thin layer of tin.
There were wires and tubes sticking out of his head.
He just lay there and stared,
not living or dead.
The only time he seemed alive at all
was with a long extension cord
plugged into the wall.

Mr. Smith yelled at the doctor,
"What have you done to my boy?
He's not flesh and blood,
he's aluminum alloy!"

The doctor said gently,
"What I'm going to say
will sound pretty wild.
But you're not the father
of this strange-looking child.
You see, there still is some question
about the child's gender,
but we think that it's father
is a microwave blender."

The Smiths' lives were now filled
with misery and strife.
Mrs. Smith hated her husband,
and he hated his wife.
He never forgave her unholy alliance:
a sexual encounter
with a kitchen appliance.


And Robot Boy
grew to be a young man.

Though he was often mistaken
for a garbage can.

My Rating:

Time REALLY is soft there...

If you've read my review on Books, Baguettes & Bedbugs, you would know how I long to be there in person someday. And I'm so glad to say "I've been there, done that!"

The cover of the book & the actual place itself

Though I din get the chance to stay there for a week or two (I'm not sure if its still being practised to this day!) but it was an eye opener to actually step into the bookshop, to feel what it must had been like for the writer to have lived and worked there.

One of the many beds that can still be found in the bookshop. Not sure if they are being occupied at nite...

And to have the magnificent Notre Dame just across the street separated only by the great River Seine. What more can one ask for?

Anyway I couldn't resist buying a book or two..all the way there I needed sth more than just memories to take home, right? But the most important of all was not the purchase instead it was the bookstore stamp I was craving for. For for every book that is purchased from the store, it will be stamped on the inside cover with the one and only Shakespeare & Co stamp.

Books & Stamp (oh and pix taken with 5800, not too bad eh?)

I guess it's like the mastercard advert:

Flight to Paris, etc --> 2k euros

Books --> 20 euros

Shakespeare & Co stamp --> Priceless

Kiwi Sunday

On a hot Sunday afternoon, what better than a soothing blend of kiwi, apple and grapes to relax and unwind :)

What You Need:

(Serves 2)

• 1 kiwi fruit
• 1 apple
• 115g seedless white grapes

What To Do:

1. Process or blend the kiwi fruit and apple, then the grapes.
2. Pour into glasses and serve just as it is, or pour over ice.

P/S: Plus green fruits are rich in fiber, folic acid, lutein, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. It helps protect you from cancer and high level of bad cholesterol, regulate digestion and improve immune system functioning.

Happy Sunday!

MCP

Flyfm listeners, did you hear the FixIt today? I din catch the actual conversation until the replay in the evening. For those non-followers, Flyfm has this section every morning where ppl call in and the DJs try to "fix" their problems, hence the name FixIt. Anyway this morning's prob kinda created a buzz since it hit the basic of problems - genders.

Anyway here's how the story goes. Josephine called in to complain abt her colleague, Timothy for gender discrimination. They both worked in an advertising company and they have this Sports brand project to work on. As a team, they were supposed to be brainstorming together and so J provided her ideas when T told her that they will not be using any of hers. Instead he asked her to sit out of the meeting. Reason being she is a girly girl whom he assumed would not have any idea what sports were. Even if she did, it'd be limited to those hot hunks aka the beckhams, the kakas, etc. While on the other hand, T had been involved in sports since young; he played sports, he watched sports; basically everything sports.

J of course was furious but the entire team were guys except her and they obviously agreed with T. Worse, she escalated to a male boss who just ask her to forget about it, maybe T really did know more when it came to sports. So she resorted to calling a radio station and confront T. T could not believed she took it to such an extend but stated his points - she being a girly girl was not suitable to handle this project.

"You can take all the biscuits, cookies adverts you want but just leave the sports project to the guys"

J gave T back an example, if it was a fashion brand project, did that mean she can leave T out? Hah.. but T said "I will let you handle BUT I will give my inputs". Hey hey, then shouldn't they allow her to give her inputs as well when it comes to a sports advert instead of not getting to participate at all?? Where's the fairness in that? So in the end the DJs asked her what she wanted and she said all she wanted was an apology.

"Apologize for what, apologize for you being dumb?"

Yup, that was T's reply. The DJs then said they can settle this between themselves later on but at least they felt T did owe her an apology. Come on, you can't call ppl dumb on air, right? So T reiterated that he couldn't believed J took it to such an extend but ok fine, "Sorry, whatever" and hung up!

So what do you think? Well, J may not know all things abt sports but there's such things as research and teamwork. Just because she is a girl does not mean she can't handle the project. [And when one DJ said not all guys follows every sports, the DJ himself only watches synchronized swimming..oh but T thinks its ok becoz synchronized swimming IS also a sport..*duh] Obviously the guy has some issues with girl+sports. And honestly some girls are into sports too. Otherwise there wouldn't be such a word as SPORTSWOMEN around now, would it?

I wonder if secretly that's the truth :)

Gam Tin Ji Jo Yat Kin Si

The song got me the first time I heard it on TV. And I knew it was by Eason Chan, I could recognize that voice of his. It's actually a new song from his latest album "H3M". The rythm and tempo is real nice and it makes one want forget abt the stressful world and appreciate the things that really matter - family, friends, nature, self, love.

And from whatever bits and pieces of canto I managed to grasp, it is one of those songs that makes you stop and think; Have we been too busy with the same old work/study routine lately? Did we miss out all the beautiful things happening around us? When was the last time we took a breather to enjoy the moment? Perhaps there's Just One Thing To Do Today...

發覺這世界永遠太少空間
因此花一天支配一切時間
發覺這世界永遠太嘥心機
因此花一天思索一切道理

消失太快　捉得到太少
因此花一天感覺一切是愛
茫茫人海　或有幾多漂泊與淹蓋
人人尋找愛　或有幾多爭鬥與比賽
越覺得剩低幾多未變的愛

慢慢地合作新詩
靜靜地同床午睡
再發現歲月換來幾次厭悶幾多親愛
有各樣劫災　和充滿意外
因此我要努力繼續能戀愛

慢慢地邁向聽朝
靜靜地懷念昨日
再決定今天只要相信愛
叫皺紋散開　喚青春歸來
因此我喜歡花一天感覺一切是愛

發覺這世界永遠太少深刻
因此花一天改變一切習慣
發覺這世界永遠太多蹺蹊
因此花一天擁有一切運氣

消失太快　捉得到太少
因此花一天感覺一切是愛
茫茫人海　或有幾多漂泊與淹蓋
人人尋找愛　或有幾多爭鬥與比賽
越覺得剩低幾多未變的愛

慢慢地合唱K歌
靜靜地同遊網上
再發現歲月換來幾次厭悶幾多親愛
有各樣劫災　和充滿意外
因此我要努力繼續能戀愛

慢慢地邁向聽朝
靜靜地懷念昨日
再決定今天只要相信愛
叫皺紋散開　喚青春歸來
因此我喜歡花一天感覺一切是愛

喜歡花一天跟你一切是愛

Faith & Science

Ahh..the much awaited movie, Angels & Demons.

Adapted from Dan Brown's famous novel of the same name, the story takes place in the most sacred place of the Christian world, the Vatican City. The world is mourning the loss of the Pope, and all are waiting for the announcement of a new Pope as cardinals are locked in conclave.

Unknown to the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square, a sinister plot is underway by the Illumminati, a secret society of the old. 4 preferiti have been kidnapped and there is a hidden bomb somewhere, whose blast will certainly destroy the Catolic Church (and Rome with it.)

"We will destroy your four pillars,
We will brand your preferiti and sacrifice them on the altars of science,
Then bring the church down upon you,
Vatican City will be consumed by light,
A shining star at the end of the Path of Illumination. "

Reluctantly Robert Langdon, the expert on the Illuminati, is brought in by the Church to help find the missing Cardinals. Together with Vittoria Vetra, a scientist, they embarked on an action-packed, nonstop hunt across Rome and Vatican, following a 400-year-old Illuminati trail to locate the 4 altar of science - earth, air, fire, and water. Can they find the Cardinals in time? Can they stop the bomb before its too late?

Overall, the plot does not deviate much from the book. Some of the more obvious differences are:

• Angels & Demons is setup as a sequel to Da Vinci Code whereas in the book, Angels & Demons is actually the prequel;


• The last brand in the novel is the Illuminati Diamond, a combination of the 4 elements. In the film, the last brand is just 2 keys crossed with each other. It's not even an ambigram!

Angels & Demons, the novel, is one of my favourite reads. And the ambigrams are one of the things that left a great impression on me. Somehow thru the film, they don't really have much impact. As usual, books will have a great level of details which can never be translated into film. Otherwise we'll be sitting in the cinema for god-knows how many hours!

My favourite Ambigram

What the film wins over the book is of coz the visuals and the audio. If you have never been to Vatican or Rome, you can NEVER feel the majestic-ness of the two places via the book. In the film though, WOW is the only word for it. The grandness of the cathedrals is simply amazing. It can make one really eager to go there or in my case to return once again...

And great soundtrack. Well composed and suited for the scenes. You can really feel the tension, the urgency, the danger as you follow Langdon's pursuit.

Unlike the books, I prefer Da Vinci Code over Angels & Demons perhaps due to the too-straightforwardness here. Not much mystery nor riddles to be solved. Not much suspense nor surprise. Still it's entertaining, yes and I would still recommend people to watch it :)

My Rating:

I Tawt I Taw a Spider...

I did, I did taw a spider. In my car. On my way home yesterday. And it tried to attack me. At least I think that was what was on its creepy tiny mind..

Here's how it happened. I was about to drive off when I noticed a spider at the edge of the dashboard, where the dashboard met the front window. Too deep for me to remove it (and not with bare fingers of coz) so fine I tot I'll not disturb it until at least I reached home.

At the junction in front of my office, the spider began to move. It crawled up the side pane to almost the driver's side window. Awesome I tot; Plan B: as soon as it reached the window, I shall wind the window down, fling the spider out and it would be so long, adios..

And so I put on my signal light, stopped the car by the side of the road to wait for that momentous moment. The spider must had read my tot somehow because the moment the car stopped, it jumped dwn to the dashboard, right in front of the steering wheel, took a look at me with its scary eight lil' eyes before quickly scurrying back to square one..sheeesh! Alright then, guess it was back to Plan A for me too. Destination home once more.

I was almost at USM traffic light when it crawled back out again, this time to the left side of the dashboard. Crawled for a bit (I tot maybe it was headed for the passenger window this time) when change of direction! It turned toward me, crawled over the radio player, passed the air-cond switches, getting nearer and nearer...

Shoot, the traffic light just turned green, I gotta start moving but no way would I want to lose sight of that spider. Before I knew it, it was somewhere below the signal light handle and then the ultimate, the breaking point, it dropped down a few cm from my knee, dangling on its thin thread of a web. I just felt it was coming for me this time, no doubt about that.

What happened in the nxt few seconds were lightning speed moments. I couldn't take it anymore so I took the hand towel I alwiz kept in my car and swiped at the spider from below. Spider on towel. Right hand pressed to wind the right window down. Transferred towel to right hand. Violent shake of towel outside the window. Another violent shake just to make sure. All while the left hand went back to shift the gears, the feet on the accelerator to get the car moving.

I think the car behind me must have been suprised at the sudden "white flag" lol. Never a moment in my life had I hated spiders that much until then..Finally good riddance, spider!

Dazzling Blueberry Monday

I have been enjoying home-made smoothies lately. They are super easy to make and taste yummy-licious. It's a great way to kick start the morning :D

Here's a recipe for a dazzling start to the week. Berries, especially dark ones such as blackberries and blueberries, are great for restoring skin tone and, as a bonus, help prevent memory loss ;)

[Ooh that reminded me, I read abt someone not producing enough brain juice lately?]

What You Need:

(Serves 2)

• 175ml apple juice
• 125ml natural yogurt (I used fat-free yogurt hehe)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 175g blueberries

What To Do:

1. Pour the apple juice into a blender. Add the yogurt and process until smooth.
2. Add the banana and blueberries and process until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into glasses. Deco with whole fresh blueberries.
4. Refrigerate them if you prefer to drink them cold. Serve.

See, a glass of healthy goodness as easy as 1,2,3,4 :P

If Only...

This very moment, I am actually in the midst of filtering more pictures while enjoying music box-style music when suddenly I felt like snapping a pic of my desk and blog abt the moment...Ahh life sure is good on weekends :D

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Pic of the week

And I am definitely not talking abt Ryan Giggs without any shirt on nor Gary Neville all suited up :P

Look at that smile..ah makes the world a better place, right? my world at least kekkee..pic taken at the MU dressing room after MU beat Arsenal to book a place in Rome for CL finale *yay! (courtesy of zigazig-ha.com)

Hope he turns up on May 27th too..how far can Rome be from Milan ya ;)

Sunset

Sunset marks the end of a day..

- View from home @ 090411 ~1936

Tomorrow is a new beginning...but with the same old stuff. When will it end? or will it?

Hello again..

I am back! Whilst there were no new posts, those who checked out my blog would most likely have noticed the twitter updates. Oh well, for those who didn’t, it’s almost a week since I came back from a 2.5wks vacation to Europe. But this post is not to go into details merely to get things going again. I am actually very much swarmed with stuff right now though slowly but surely I am trying my best to get things back on track.

Meanwhile I have

• heaps of work to do in the office which pretty much take up my entire weekdays. I only have a few hrs each nite before I have to go to bed which are pretty useless to do anything significant.


• hundreds if not thousands of pictures to sort out as I can’t possibly post all up. Even if I wanted to, the tortoise streamyx line at home will take me millenias! So patient my frens who have been asking me for pictures..


• 2 wedding dinner receptions to attend in the coming 2 weeks which means there’s only ~1 day per weekend left to sort my stuff


• frens to catch up with. I’m sorry I have to say this will take a while


• my old routine to get back to; my tv/anime/football to follow, newspapers to read (actually I just cleared 2 weeks backlog yesterday), gym to attend, etc.

Arrgh..I am very much in need of 48-hr, no make it 72-hr days right now!!

I will let my pictures do most of the talking except for some which I will blog about in upcoming posts. So check out my facebook for pictures soon and stay tune here…signing off now.

Twas a fine evening...

Had Sushi King (my 1st since it opened in GP new wing) for dinner and only had to pay 3.65 for a 70bucks meal, thanx to HSBC vouchers :P

Managed to snap these two pix before my hp went flat...

Look closely (click to enlarge the pic) and you can actually see a fainter rainbow on the right making this my first time seeing a double rainbow..cool :D

Further along and I realized wow the rainbow was in its full glory! Hmm..would there have been gold pots at each end? lol.

-View from Gurney Plaza & Cantonment Rd @ 090314 ~1929

It was a fine evening indeed...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

until MU lost 1-4 to Liv! grrrrr...

oh well, creates more excitement blasting the title race wide open I guess. Fingers cross, the dream for five is still alive :)

Change @ Work

Change at work begins tomorrow.
How ironic that the rubber heel of my sandal came off and one of the straps broke today.
Guess change wants new shoes to go in with tomorrow as well.

Anyhows, Wish me luck.. :)

How it all happened

Saw this on Mindy's blog. Very interesting and well explained so thought I should post it up as well :)

Here's how the whole economic crisis thingy started in the US:

http://vimeo.com/3261363

Slumdog Millionaire

Just finished watching Slumdog Millionaire and I now know why this movie is getting so much hype, even getting 10 Oscars nominations. It is really as good as it gets!

The protagonist of the story, 18-year old Jamal Malik, comes from the slums of Mumbai and is just 1 question away from winning 20million rupees on India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Times up, the show breaks for the night and on his way out, Jamal is arrested (and tortured) on suspicion of cheating. Why so? Because no one believes that a kid from the slums with no education and who is working as a tea server in a call center can know so much!

To prove his innoncence, Jamal tells the story of his life; as a kid living in the slums with his brother Salim, of their adventures and encounters on the road, their brush with local gangsters using orphanage as a means of getting abandoned children to beg, and of the girl Latika whom he loved. She is the main reason he came on the show in the first place; it was never about the money. And interestingly, each chapter of his life justifies each correct answer.

The storyline is not just good, it also touched me. It really serves as a good reminder to all of us why we need to be thankful of how good our lives are. Imagine yourself living in a run-down, garbage strewn and densely populated slums where your (and everyone else's) big/small businesses just drop into the river knowing that that same river is also the source for your water and washing needs. Not to mention how Jamal had to jump into a pool of that same crap just so he could get Amitabh Bachan's autograph!

Also how lucky for us with parents to provide us with lots of TLC. There's no way I can forgive those ppl who make use of little kids to go begging and live on those free money. Not just that, they know very well how to pull the strings in good people's hearts. Little kids that can sing earns, BLIND kids that can sing earns double! And mind you, not necessarily from birth...

As the saying goes "Learning is a lifelong experience". Every success and failures, every sweet and bitter moments, every twists and turns in life are lessons waiting to be taught. And we can only come out stronger and wiser :)

So what else did I learn?

Don't drink mineral waters even from seemingly high-end restaurants! And always have a pair of the oldest, most worn-off shoes with you just in case you ever need to go to places of interest where you need to take off your shoes :P

My Rating:

P/S: On another note, being a film set in India, Slumdog Millionaire also ended with a scene typical in Indian movies - big group of crowds coming together to dance ala bollywood style lol.

Change

Change is coming - big time.

ReC!Pe: Omelettes

Omelettes

Omelettes are tasty and super easy to make, be it a simple omelette or combined with other ingredients. Also they can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even supper; whenever you just want to whip up something quick yet yummy.

I usually have them for brunch with grilled pineapples, capsicums and toasted bread to go with :)

What You Need:

1-2 eggs per omelette

Salt and pepper

A knob of butter or a tablespoon of olive oil

Grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Suggested ingredients that can be added to your omelette:

Smoked salmon

Bacon crisps

Mushrooms

Or for the cny mood, bak kua can be used as well ;)

What To Do:

1. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Beat well with a fork.


2. Depending on the ingredient used, fry them in a hot non-stick frying pan with a tiny drizzle of olive oil/butter for a few minutes. Skip this step if just making simple omelette.


3. Turn the heat down, add you eggs and move the pan around to spread them out evenly.


4. When the omelette begins to cook and firm up, sprinkle over the cheese.


5. Using a spatula, ease around the edges of the omelette and fold it in half.


6. When it starst to turn golden brown, remove from heat and slide omelette onto a plate.

Time to dig in! ^_^

Pai Ti Kong

The corner lot neighbour one floor below just set off a long string of firecrackers. The temple nearby has at least a dozen strings of firecrackers going off almost at once. All around fireworks light up the dark skies. Cracklings, boomings and hissings are the music of the night.

- View from home @ 090203 ~0000

(Ok, time to go to bed..ciao)

Fortune

This year's fortune cookies taste good. Crispy with an orangey flavor. And the fortune reading looks good too :P

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!

GONG XI FA CAI