Halfway In Between

Singapore Wins The AFF Cup!!!! WOOHOO!!!

2007-02-08T05:50:00.000+08:00

Yes and before I forget, Singapore has won the ASEAN Cup. Well done Lions, your deeds will not be forgotten. :)

Now.. who said local soccer was dead? :D

Hello Sports Fans

2007-02-08T05:31:00.000+08:00

Yes of course, Hello Sports Fans, because here's another sports-themed movie that I caught a few days back.

Gridiron Gang

Now in this movie, at least there's some passion for life exhibited by the folks who starred in this flick. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is finally showing that he can truly act. I don't see the lame eyebrow-raising move that is his trademark. Which is a good thing, because I'm a fan of the The Rock. He's one tough dude.

Now the story tells of a true-life account of what a probation officer at a probationary institute for juvenile delinquents did. The setting here is a Camp situated somewhere in California, where the officer by the name of Sean Porter, decides that something must be done to arrest the problem of their kids going back to their gangs and drugs after their release.

It's a superb storyline, one that I truly liked. My GF didn't want to see this at first, but she agreed that it was a good story. Here's a lesson that these delinquents can reform themselves, but only if they are given a chance to, and have something to aim for in life.

Kudos to the director and to The Rock himself for the great movie and superb acting.

I rate this: 8.5/10 for the content alone. :)

Some other stuff..

2007-02-08T05:25:00.000+08:00

First off, I'll start with this movie I caught a few weeks ago. Blood Diamond stars Djimon Hounsou, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly.

To be frank, I didn't want to watch this movie because I didn't think it would be this good. I was surprised with how Leo acts out his role as a South African mercenary with a heart that actually cares. Djimon plays this Sierra Leonese fisherman, who is separated from his family when the rebel RUF forces arrive and disturb the idyllic peace of his fishing village. Jennifer of course, plays her role with quite a fair bit of magnetism. She's the requisite babe of course. What's a movie without the babe? :P

Anyway, the storyline is good, one of the best I've seen so far. It's a pity that I doubt anyone will ever remember what they are talking about. Conflict diamonds are a problem for the Africans as they fund the civil wars that are so rampant in such diamond-producing areas in any region of Africa, save for South Africa that is. Women don't care about where their diamonds come from, as long as they get that big fat rock on their finger. Personally speaking, I'd rather not give a diamond ring to anyone, if I know that there is a risk that someone was killed just so I could present one to my wife-to-be. It's your personal choice though..

Dysfunctional execution

2007-01-03T17:36:00.000+08:00

Yes, I'm talking about Saddam Hussein's execution. While I never suffered under his rule, nor was I a victim of his secret police, I too feel that the current US-installed Iraqi government is nothing more but a bunch of bloodthirsty savages who are no better than Saddam or his cronies. Rushing his execution was just a publicity stunt.

Sure, the chap ought to hang for his crimes against the Shias and the Kurds, but they only convicted him of the massacre in Dujail, which was I might add, in retaliation for an assassination attempt on his life by the townspeople. Previous dictators have done worst, yet none suffered the same fate that befell Saddam in his final hours. But the courts conveniently forgot to charge Saddam for the horrors of his chemical campaigns in the north against the Kurdish people. Sorrow to the Kurds for they have not gotten justice. His death means nothing without a proper conviction on the issue of the Kurds he and his forces killed.

I hope the executors who kept taunting him with chants of Moqtada! Moqtada! are happy with their actions of videotaping his execution. I hope they're finally satisfied that they got to hang their mortal enemy. I also hope that they're very happy with their barbaric action of releasing the trap door before the man even finished his own prayers. You know why? Because I sure as hell hope God punishes them for their crimes against a fellow man who is already condemned to die by a puppet court. Give the man some measure of peace, to say his proper prayers before the trapdoor is released. I hope Saddam's soul returns to torment his executors, for they too have committed a sin of their own...

A tale of surf.. and sun

2006-12-10T09:45:00.000+08:00

タイヨウのうた - Taiyou no Uta

(Movie was listed as Midnight Sun for Singapore, but it has alternative names)

Watched this last night with my GF at Cathay Cineleisure. Man.. what a tearjerker. I'm a sucker for tragic romances. -__________-

It's a beautifully crafted movie, though I would have preferred it to have been a little longer.

Kudos to the sound fellas. The music that goes in the background for most part is damn beautiful. I love the soothing sounds. This must be one of my most favourite soundtracks. As it is, I managed to track down a few of the important tracks from the movie. Excellent songs, sung by this cute yet equally talented singer from Japan, YUI, who happens to be the lead actress in the movie. In it she plays the doomed Juliet with a genetic disease, Kaoru Amane, and her hapless Romeo is this dood called Kouji Fujishiro, acted by Takashi Tsukamoto.

Read a short review here on Wikipedia

More on YUI's wonderful music here - Channel-Ai

There's a drama version of this movie as well, with a different set of actors/actresses and a more detailed storyline.

Watch it with your loved one.. you might just enjoy it, if you're alright with a sappy love story with a superb soundtrack. :)

Ey.. wassup Doc!

2006-12-10T09:41:00.000+08:00

Well, it's hunting season again, and animals are constantly on the run from hunters. Oddly enough, this story is quite entertaining, though I must say, it is rather shallow.

Sure, seeing a pack of animals gang up together to show the hunters who's boss is definitely a good form of entertainment but hey, it gets stale after awhile.

I do admit however, the characters are definitely well done. Kudos go to the animators who made that crazy ol' squirrel Mc-sumthin or whatever. Now he's one nutjob alright. :P

Watch it if you want, but do it on a weekday like Mondays or Tuesdays. Don't waste your $$$ watching it on the weekends or something.

But one thing sticks. This show is definitely way better than Happy Feet.

A lil' feet a'tappin!

2006-12-10T09:31:00.000+08:00

Watched this hoppity-hop movie last weekend, just forgot to update that's all. My GF had some discounted tickets offered by her company, so I went with her and her younger sis.

The movie was pretty fun, but as usual, kid-oriented. It got boring after awhile. Keeping it short, the only good characters are the Adelie penguin gang, led by Ramon (voiced by Robin Williams).

They are the spark behind the movie, plus they sure as heck steals the fun away from the other penguin folk.

The show got kinda lame near the end, where some humans just popped up and started grooving to the beat of the penguins' synchronised dance moves.

Err.. penguins don't dance. They waddle and slide. :P

Indigènes / Days of Glory

2006-11-28T03:13:00.000+08:00

I just had to post this.

This movie was one of the best war movies for 2006. It portrays the sacrifice made by Muslim and non-Muslim North and West African troops during WWII. They fought for France, which was still their colonial masters during that point of time, but they too struggled with racism, inequality and just plain bad luck.

In the movie, it focuses on the relationships between a group of Algerian soldiers, Said, Yassir, Messaoud and Abdelkader. Not forgetting, their Sergeant, Roger Martinez, who is probably part Moroccan. It is an eye-opener to see how these tirailleurs behaved in their day-to-day affairs while serving the French Army.

Kudos to Rachid Bouchareb for directing this movie that literally pushed France to finally pay up the pension that has been owed to African and Asian veterans of WWII, soldiers who fought for France, but were treated unfairly when their countries decided to be free of France's colonial yoke after the war.

So many died in the political upheavals that followed the war but this is not portrayed in the movie. Nonetheless, it is a good watch, well worth the money, for someone who can appreciate a historical-based film.

I love chicks on horses

2006-11-28T03:05:00.000+08:00

I've not posted since July, but I have my reasons. :P

Anyway, on to the subject. Just watched the movie Battle of Wits at Westmall with my gf. It's called Muk Gong in Hong Kong?Korea? and Bokkou in Japan.

Excellent movie. I love the battle scenes, but the CGI is not too good. Folks can easily see that it's somewhat "fake". It's nowhere near LOTR quality, but the storyline is good. You get eye candy in the form of Andy Lau as the Mozi warrior Ge Li (geli means itchy or squirmish in Malay.. ) and this chick on a horse aka Yi Yue, commander of the Liang cavalry and played by Fan Bingbing, an actress from China. She's HOT. Me wants her... NOT.. otherwise my gf will skewer my head on a satay stick. :P

So what are you waiting for? If it's not Happy Feet, check out this period movie. You'll love the chick on the horse, just like I did. :0

Helen who?!

2006-07-29T09:42:00.000+08:00

Helen who? You might ask. That's simple, its the title of this new Japanese movie showing in the theatres right now. That's right.. its Helen, the baby Fox. :)

I do admit, initially I did not want to watch this, but after much persuasion from my other half, I finally relented and watched this over at Plaza Singapura a few days back.

The story tells of a young boy who comes across a blind, deaf and mute? baby fox sitting on a roadside one day in rural Hokkaido, northern Japan.

The whole story seemed a little sappy at first, at least to me, but as time passed by, the whole narrative and the lessons behind the whole thing just kinda grow on you after some time.

I must say, seeing that poor baby fox (kitsune in Japanese) really got me upset because she was so cute, yet so pitiful to be born that way. I guess everything happens for a reason. Don't wait for me to spill the spoilers, just go catch the movie.

My rating? - 9/10

Official website is here - Helen, the Baby Fox

P.S. For those who wish to know, the baby fox in question is from the subspecies Vulpes vulpes schrencki.

Nacho Libre Baby! Viva la Mexico!

2006-07-21T07:10:00.000+08:00

Finally got to watch a long awaited comedy from Jack Black. What else? Nacho Libre.. a story about a priest who wants to be a luchadore or what you would call a Mexican wrestler. For those who think its a story about nacho cheese.. take a hike!

For folks who have watched WWE/F on TV previously, try recalling Rey Mysterio. That fella is also a luchadore who's made it into the WWE.

Now this story is kinda patchy at times, but its the comic timing of Black that saves the movie. One thing however, its nowhere as good as his effort in School of Rock.

The casting of the other skinny dude as his sidekick Esqueleto is a good one. That fella is ultra funny, especially with his weird smile and the stretchy shorts!!.. HOLY CRAP I nearly laughed my ass off when I saw him in that getup.

Then there's the fat kid, Chancho and of course, the beaaaauutiful nun called Sister Incarnacion. *drool begins*.. and then there's the weird wrestlers that Nacho and gang has to face from time to time. For example, those two small guys with horns.. they were nearly like mini satyrs! Of course, no movie would be complete without a bad guy character. In this show, its this champion wrestler called Ramses. The fella's really big.. but he doesn't even say a thing. In fact, I doubt he even opened his mouth other than to snarl. :P

One other thing I did notice however, was that some parts were probably censored before the movie was screened locally here in SG. I'm amazed that they would actually censor this movie. Now I'm not sure if my claim is true or not, and neither am I saying whether its plain BS from me, its up to you.

I'll probably get this when it comes out on VCD or DVD. Its a cool movie and Jack Black is one of the best comedians around. For more info, check out the official site here:

http://www.nacholibre.com

Try out the Kung-Fu game thingy.. its really weird..

Oh yes, before I forget. I was crazy enough to wear the Mexican soccer jersey to the cinema, just for this movie.. heheheh!

LTNS.. World Cup.. and of course.. a rant.

2006-06-15T15:38:00.000+08:00

LTNS or otherwise shortform for Long Time No See.

Sounds lame? Actually not. I've not been blogging for a few months, primarily because of personal choice and for some reasons I will not explain. Let's see.. the elections are over.. and of course, the usual folks are the winners. How boring. Then there was the usual every day stuff. Fish and Zoids, where I'm concerned.

Oh yes, not to forget, the on-going soccer fiesta in Germany, or what we football-fans call the World Cup. I've seen all the matches so far, only missing one, because I dozed off. But this edition of the World Cup has definitely seen some surprises. Why? Because of low scorelines for the so-called "superior" teams from Europe. Wow, I'm definitely shocked. Folks in England must be wondering why on Earth did the lions from England had to win via an own goal? Isn't there any skill left in England's squad? Or should I call them over-paid and over-rated footballers? Before I get England fans throwing bricks at me, I should say yes, I think they're over-rated, but there is definitely some skill amongst them. Let's see how they do tonight against Trinidad and Tobago, a small unheralded team from the Caribbean that held mighty Sweden to a goalless draw with only 10 men on the field..

And of course, I should add this bit. Sometime back I got into a ruckus with this "ethnic Korean" from a South Pacific nation. Wow, this fella was giving me some high and mighty attitude. When I called him arrogant, guess what? He responded via a private message on a forum I frequent with another round of high and mighty attitude. "For the record, I place in the 95th percentile of my country, which coincidentally, happens to be an English-speaking country".. that was what he said that simply irked me to no end.

HELLO MORON.. so what if your country is an English-speaking country, and you place in the 95th percentile? It only makes you look smart but who gives a squat about that? I've scored A's all my life in English and never once mentioned this to him. This marks the first time I've come across such an arrogant b#st#$d. Wow.. I am surprised. For such a prick to even exist is simply mind-boggling.

He's no doubt an ethnic Korean, but I bet he forgets one thing. HUMILITY. Perhaps someone should go straight up to his face and spell it clearly to him, for surely he makes occasional spelling mistakes. For someone who thinks so highly of himself, in terms of mastery of the English language, he ought to ensure that he makes no mistakes in spelling or grammar. So much for his "95th percentile" speech.

Man.. what an asshole, and to think he says some folks regard him as a level-headed fella. Either he's damn good at bootlicking, or they're just saying it for the sake of it. Someone definitely needs to burst his bubble. Ugh.

Pardon the rant.

A Season for Love

2006-02-10T03:27:00.000+08:00

Caught this movie at Cathay Cineleisure and boy was I touched..

The movie is a tale about 4 couples whose fates are very much intertwined at one point or another. The first couple, Ha-seok and Suk-hyun portray that of financial difficulty and just plain bad luck. They've been together for 3 years, yet neither has gone further than they were initially. Ha-seok is a plain loser who has nothing to his name, except for the fact that he's a human punching bag. Suk-hyun works as a cashier at a local supermarket. After 3 years, Suk-Hyun finally says its time to break up. Oddly enough, with this shocker Ha-seok actually lands a job, which, in his own words means.. he has to break others up, in order to keep his relationship alive.

The second couple, Jin-woo and Su-jung are that of bravery yet tragedy. Jin-woo rescues Su-jung's sister, Su-eun from a fire and ends up dating Su-jung in the end. He dies in a fire but leaves behind a message for his girlfriend, whom he was supposed to propose to, but left to join a rescue effort.

The 3rd couple includes Su-jung's younger sister Su-eun, is deaf but very witty in personality. She too finds a love interest in the form of a clumsy artist, who frequents the theme park where she works at. Sadly for her, he has to leave for studies overseas.

The 4th couple is a mother and her child, Hwi-chan. Both of them have difficulties in communicating with each other, but after reading the diaries of his mother, Hwi-chan knows now that his mother loves him very much. Sadly for him, her life is in danger, and she may never come back.

All these shows the tragedy in human life, as well as a poignant reminder for those of us who have loved yet lost someone dear to us. Cherish those around you and savour every moment, for you never know when is your last.

Watch this and you will understand how touching it is as a story. 10/10, for perfect cinematography and a moving storyline.

White Tigers and Prosecutors

2006-02-04T03:18:00.000+08:00

Okay so perhaps the title of this post is a little vague but hey, its really about 3 brothers with a White Tiger tattoo, their tigress of a mother and pretty beautiful prosecutor. :p

Anyway, Marrying the Mafia II is a follow-up sequel to the earlier Marrying the Mafia. I just watched it and boy, it was an entertaining movie. The main chick's a beauty (character Kim Jin-kyung) and the lead actor (Yang In-jae) appeared in the period love story - Bichunmoo.

In this case he dons a tie and a business suit rather than the ninja-like get-up he was in for Bichunmoo.

The story's very well-woven and the humour is actually more like a satire. Nonetheless the performances of the actors are really great and this is one heck of a movie.

Thumbs-up to the director and the cast, excellent job. 10/10 for this movie.

Huo Yuan Jia..

2006-01-29T07:20:00.000+08:00

I didn't know who he was until I watched Jet Li's latest and last action movie - Fearless. Apparently he was a Chinese hero in the martial arts field who had defeated several if not many opponents. Born in Tianjin in the late 1800s, he was initially a weak kid who grew up to be very skilled in the martial arts of his family. I won't go on any further but please, do watch it if you can. You won't regret it. ;)

My rating? : 10 stars out of 10.

A still taken off Yahoo China showing Jet's character in a duel with a Belgian army officer named Hans Herzog. I suppose he's a pikeman.

And another still showing his duel with a Spanish fencing champion whose name I cannot recall right now.

They're screening Jay Chou's music video of the song that he wrote for this movie, also entitled Huo Yuan Jia I think. If you haven't seen it, go watch the movie. One of Jay's better songs and of course, excellent video.

Back To The Real Deal

2006-01-24T10:09:00.000+08:00

Okay so the movies stuff are back on track. I just watched The Long Weekend last night and although it was funny.. it wasn't ALL that entertaining. True enough, its just an anal-retentive movie with less than interesting scenes. They should have brought back the entire American Pie gang. Damn..

Chris Klein is okay but when he tries to pull off the Stiffmeister thingy.. he succeeds to a certain extent and then it goes.. FLAT. He's just not the Stiffmeister. We should have the real deal in action. Seann William Scott.. PLEASE come back to the big screen.

And the doofus bro.. played by Brendan Fehr. Now tell me, I know he resembles Jason Biggs just slightly.. but he's nowhere as funny as Jason aka Jimbo from the Pie series. But ooh-la-la.. he finally gets to snag a pretty chick who happens to live just down the corridor from his apartment. Lucky bastard he is.

With all the extra nudity and stuff, I suppose it qualifies as soft porn.. Hah!

Next up and later today.. Real - The Movie. Got the tickets as freebies so I don't give a shit. Just watch it and hopefully its not some melodramatic sob story on the lives of the Beckhams and David's affairs. Nuff said..

06.. and better luck ahead I hope..

2006-01-24T09:36:00.000+08:00

I didn't know what I would title this post to be but then again, its been some time since I posted an entry. I lost track of time and everything. Life is not very rosy when you don't have enough money. :-/

Anyway, a big belated Happy New Year to whoever's reading, a belated Hari Raya Haji to my Muslim friends and family and of course, next up, Chinese New Year. Xing Nian Kuai Le.. I hope I got that right. :)

I surely hope this year's CNY will bring me luck, because last year was a little boring to me at least. Even though it was MY year, being that I'm a Rooster, I hope in the Year of the Dog, my luck will pick up alot more. I suppose its time I got myself a stable job instead of hopping all over the place. I need the money for my present and my future life. No use looking back to the past I guess, everyone has to move on sometime. I've been bumming for too long.

Damn.. it was too long. Sometimes I wonder if I should have signed on with the Army when I had the chance. I should have.. though I think to myself, would I like doing guard duty all the way until I complete the 10 years of service? Would I like the extra responsibility that comes with being a regular soldier? I doubt it. Given my personality, I think I'd rather have my freedom thank you very much.

I suppose I keep getting depressed when I see how well some of my friends are doing. Maybe because I haven't been putting in more effort when it comes to job-seeking. I guess so. I should put in more effort and not keep making excuses for my lazy ass.

But then, there's the usual job ads that keep saying.. must be bilingual in Chinese, need to be able to speak/write Chinese. Damn.. why does this keep happening? Singapore IS Singapore, not China. No offense, I'm Chinese too but my Mandarin sucks and I can't read nor write Chinese to save my skin.

That said, some other jobs keep asking for people with degrees as a minimum requirement.. so what's my Diploma gonna get me? I suppose peanuts.. then I should have studied in ITE when I could. No offense but I think an ITC or NTC would have gotten me a real job much earlier.

And of course, the need for having several years of experience. Now tell me, how the HECK does one get experience if one doesn't get employed for ages? Damn the system.

I know I should give university a try or at least get a degree from one of those distance-learning centres like what my GF did.. but I already have a financial burden. The damn repayments to the CPF. Why can't they cut us some slack and burn off that requirement? It is definitely a pain in the ass to keep repaying and repaying and the interest keeps piling up. Its like legalised loan-sharking.. for a lack of a better word. Now I don't have a problem paying up the money to my dad who forked it out, but I definitely would have prefered NOT to have it as a financial burden after I completed NS.

Now.. back to reality.. end of complaining.. I suppose all I gotta do is get a real job, any job, anything that gives me money at the end of the month. Its terrible not having a steady cash flow. It sucks, and I know YOU people know too.

My dream?.. getting 3K a month doing what I love best... FAT CHANCE. Nobody pays diploma grads 3K a month, especially if they have almost zero experience like me. If I had a time machine I'd transport myself back to when I was a kid. No worries.. nothing.

Life is a mess for me right now. Damn. I would type out vulgarities but then it wouldn't be nice for the kids.

When the elections are here, I hope I don't get the usual walkovers and get a REAL contest. For once, can the people in power have some balls and abolish the damn groupie system? Let the folks contest man to man or woman to man, or woman to woman in the separate constituencies. Once that happens I suppose parliament will be a REAL parliament and not some 1 party system.

Plus, I don't see how having a single rep from the minorities in the groupie system will help if 80 - 90% of the reps in power are of the majority race. That my friends, is a major peeve of mine. It is really unfair when the current demographics do not justify such numbers. Why should we have so many majority folks in power when in fact, we should increase the reps from the minorities? Give more say to the minorities, please.

Disclaimer: I know someone or somebody will monitor this but its just my opinion. I disclaim any affiliation to a political party and I follow nobody's ideals but mine. Apologies in advance to sensitive folks who may take issue with my post. Thanks.

Pee and Jee

2005-12-01T16:57:00.000+08:00

Well you might probably be thinking what the title means, but they are the main characters in this quirky Thai movie called Andaman Girl. The storyline was pretty crappy but I tell you, the acting by the folks in this movie made me laugh so hard so many times, it didn't matter what the heck they were babbling about in the first place. Hahah!!

So there's a mafia boss, failing director/scriptwriter, a bunch of has-been movie crew, one crazy jock that screws a banana tree, a haunted hotel, ghosts, psycho ex-soldier.. and a weird story to boot!

What can I say? Go watch it dammit!! :)

Pottermania!

2005-12-01T16:36:00.000+08:00

Okay so I've not been updating of late. Got an excuse. I was sick.. too much kueh and soft drinks during Hari Raya, so I was down with a major cough. Anyway, spent some time out with my gf over last weekend and we caught several more movies.

Of course let's start with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Now this is one very interesting episode, because they added in some other magical students from the Beauxbatons School of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute of Magic. One from France, the other from Bulgaria.. what's next? Oriental mumbo-jumbo? Or maybe some juju magic from Africa. Hehheh!!!

Anyway, Fleur Delacour is a cool chick to watch, but Hermione's the real babe of the movie. Viktor Krum is a major hunk, well, at least that's what the papers say. :p

Go catch it if you haven't. :)

Green Day

2005-11-05T06:17:00.000+08:00

Yup, its Green Day alright, the time of year is here, after a month of fasting its time to celebrate Hari Raya. Yay! Well the festivities started on Thursday, Nov 03, and will go on as long as Syawal in is the calendar for this year. Should be ending sometime in late Nov or early Dec.

Anyway, got some green packets as usual. I should be rejoicing but lets put it this way, the money tap dries up when you get older. Sure, you shouldn't be mercenary but every cent counts these days, especially if you're a young adult trying to make your mark in the world.

Of course I had the usual pep talk by my relatives to get a job soon and get married to my gf. But hey, its my life so I'll live it the way I want. I'll definitely be out looking for a job soon, because I've been bumming around for too long. Who doesn't want to get a job and earn some money? I do, because I want to settle down soon and we're not getting any younger. I guess anything will do at this point. Shucks, like they say "beggars can't be choosers". I'm not begging or anything but I need a job.

So back on the happy track, next up is Christmas and time to celebrate with my Catholic relatives. Then its Happy New Year and a brand new year appears, 2006. Then come February its CNY again and I'll be one happy bugger.. the money tap doesn't dry up there. Haha!

Anyway, Selamat Hari Raya to my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters out there, and happy holidays to everyone else. Visiting relatives is next up on the schedule and to the racist despots out there, damn you and damn your ideas. I'm content with being part Chinese and Malay and happy with the fact that I'm Muslim. :)

Superheroes and Sidekicks

2005-11-05T05:53:00.000+08:00

Yup, its another teen comedy from Disney and this time, its about a bunch of superhero kids and their quest to save the world from the evil supervillains... and of course, from themselves too. :p

Michael Angarano plays the main hero aka Will Stronghold, son to two superhero parents, aka The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). Will's dad is a little over nutty but his mom.. wow, she's a MILF!

But back to the teen stuff, Will attends Sky High, which is a high school in the sky built for superhero students. The usual high school problems appear in the daily activities (bullying, girl problems.. etc.) but nonetheless, there's the standard nefarious scheme hatched by some uber-nasty villain. In this case, the chick with a pacifier and her jester sidekick called Stitches.

I won't give away any spoilers but one of the characters called Warren Peace, just happens to be a cool dude with a penchant for being a firestarter. He sure burns like mad alright. Its an entertaining movie but best watched on a weekday. Save your $$ for upcoming movies like Narnia. :p

Treasure Island - Korean Style

2005-11-05T05:41:00.000+08:00

You could see it coming, a take on the usual treasure island.. Korean style. Cool stuff in this movie. Bundle in a gangster with a corrupt cop, in search of a chick who ran off with a big boss's Lotto jackpot, plus some crabby ol' ladies, you get a pretty serious dramedy.

Not very realistic at times, but the idyllic life on the island where the two bumheads head for is pretty believable. So they get bullied into doing work for the native islanders, who just happen to be single old women. No offence but it looks like a oldies version of an Amazon village.

(Amazon here refers to those legendary spear-wielding female warriors of Greek mythology)

A series of slapstick moments come along in the movie and slowly it cobbles along until the fellas happen to find a BIG field of ganja.. sorry I meant cannabis, nope, hemp in this case. Bah, all the same. Its still marijuana. :p (Note : Please don't do drugs)

I bet any drug dealer who sees a freaking gigantic field of nothing but hemp plants would go crazy.. and so the corrupt cop did. The big boss who finally turned up on the island to search for them, finds the field too and in exchange for the girl's life, he would take possession of the island and the hemp fields from the women. Too bad for him the police turned up soon after and poof!.. his dream is gone. So much for stoning yah!

Presenting.. the Masked Bandito!

2005-11-05T05:20:00.000+08:00

And yes the big black Z himself, Zorro (who else?) returns again to the big screen. This time with a little kid in tow called Joaquin de la Vega. Joaquin is just like his dad, a naughty little prick with too much play-time. He treats teachers like crap and he oughta be spanked for being such a nasty kid.

Then again, his momma's a hot lady.. Catherine Zeta-Jones.. ooohhhlaaalaaa.. as Madam Elena de la Vega, Zorro's wife and "sidekick". She must be every man's wet dream. Hahah!! Too bad she's taken.

Anyway, the plot's a little leaky at parts but I must say the last few fight scenes were very very "stylo", so to speak. Zorro's horse was a feisty quadruped too! Catch it if you must, but on a weekday please. Save some $$ for slightly better movies.

Transport Me

2005-11-05T05:14:00.000+08:00

Okay so this is about Transporter 2, probably a little late but its a cool movie. Excellent action scenes, plot's a little weak though. Kate Nauta is damn cool as a Euro-trash anti-social chick with her two submachine toys. :p

Jason Statham again plays the cool transporter dude with an attitude and a nasty car. This time round, it doesn't blow up. Haha!

No Shu Qi this time but I suppose Kate will do just fine. Go catch it if you haven't.

Crap Service

2005-11-02T02:24:00.000+08:00

Yes, crap service is the topic of the day. Here I was, with my gf at a big mall in the far west of Singapore, looking for a place to eat. We ended up having a meal at one of the local fish'n'chip specialist restaurant. I won't say the name of the place but the entire thing was a disaster from the start.

My gf and I, plus a number of people were already forming a queue at the entry point. Guess what? The staff didn't even bother to make eye contact or ask us if we wanted a seat. They were too busy running up and down to the counter to send food and drinks to the customers. Oddly enough there were a good number of staff and they didn't even have one person to attend to the people waiting at the queue. And to think they were given an Excellent Service Award in 2004.

Ptui (colloquial for spitting..)! They don't deserve it at all.

So after 10 or so minutes of waiting like fools, we finally got a seat. Orders were made for the usual fish'n'chips, soup of the day and drinks as usual. I asked for some chilli sauce from the manager and he said okay. Guess what? The moron forgot and he didn't even come back to say sorry. Bloody bastard. At least one of his staff was kind enough to bring me the chilli sauce I asked for... and that was only after I had asked her for it.

The food was less than delectable. The fish was more or less coated with some flour that looked like some goreng pisang flour mix. I think I would have gotten a better deal at LJS at a fraction of the cost. Damn.

A few minutes later after finishing the meal, I wanted my refill for the drink, which I had specifically ordered earlier. So I requested for it nicely with one of the staff. Guess what? The fella forgot it too! After 20 minutes, my drink finally came, and for that I had to go and tell the counter staff personally.

I asked for the bill and they took another 20 minutes before the damn thing came. Total time wasted : 1 hour +++. I was one angry man when I left the place with my gf. I tell you, I swear I'll never eat at that shitty place again.

Call me a picky customer but that was one of the shittiest forms of customer service ever, and waiters say customers are a lousy group. Hey who's paying their salaries anyway? Given this kind of crap attitude from most of the staff members, including the manager, they should be given the boot for displaying such lousy customer service. The outlet really doesn't deserve the award they were given in 2004.

I paid $52 for crap food, crap service and crap ambience. Should have spent that money at the table BBQ restaurant. *bleh*

Tom Yum Goong!

2005-11-01T07:28:00.000+08:00

Okay so this post ain't about the Thai dish called Tom Yum. Now that's one spicy concoction involving lemon grass etc.. (okay so I don't know the full recipe.. so sue me. :P)

Back on track, its the title of Tony Jaa's new action flick. He's the kickboxing dude from Ong Bak : The Thai Warrior. Poster of Ong Bak on the left. Tony played a village dude in that movie, who went to Bangkok to retrieve the severed head of the village's Buddha statue. Some morons stole it and he kicked their asses nicely. Cool movie and he's even cooler now. I'll never forget the Muay Thai moves in Ong Bak.

Now on to Tom Yum Goong, Tony plays a young man named Kham, who grew up with elephants. His dream was to be an elephant guard. Now all goes well until his elephant Por Yai, and Por Yai's baby, Korn? was kidnapped by some poaching idiots who sold them off for some bush-meat restaurant based in Sydney, Australia. And so our hero goes on a mission to rescue his pet pachyderms. I won't spoil the movie so go watch it when you can. You won't regret it, trust me. :)

Visit the official website for more info and pics of the movie.

Revenge and Red Eyeshadow

2005-11-01T07:14:00.000+08:00

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, an interesting film indeed. Lee Young-ae plays the character named Lee Geum-ja I think?? (can't remember anyways..) and her performance was excellent!

Geez.. she kinda made red eye-shadow a trendy fashion statement. But then again, that make-up gave me the creeps. She returns in this film to get her revenge on the man who caused her to be jailed for a crime she did not commit. I would call this erm.. "divine" retribution. Well at least in this case it wasn't via "divine" intervention but rather by her tenacity in hunting the poor bastard down. I don't pity him rather. The folks had a good reason to slice/smash/stab and bleed him to death.

The last instalment in a trilogy of films by director Park Chan Wook, this one is a superb piece of film-making.. at least in my view that is.

Anyway, its still showing locally in SG. Go catch it if you haven't. Check out http://www.geum-ja.co.kr for the official website.

Now you know why I said her make-up gave me the creeps? She looks damn nasty in this image.. but hey.. I'd love to shag her. Hahah!!

Festive Blues.. blehhhh..

2005-10-31T17:39:00.000+08:00

Darn, couldn't get my "baju kurong" last night at Geylang. Sadly I have to go down there again and thinking about the big crowds doesn't help. Just hope I can find the one I want. Understandably its not easy given that I have to fit my gf's kebaya colours, which happens to be a darker shade of baby blue. Hopefully I find a suitable satin turquoise/aquamarine or light blue baju kurong. Don't want to look odd though so I MAY try green instead. :p

Went back on a taxi and while on the ride, the uncle said "queue of hope" while chatting with my parents about 4D. Haha, yes its indeed a queue of hope for the thousands of folks who part with their cash every week just to give themselves a chance of hitting the bloody jackpot. Sadly most don't get anything anyway.

Anyway, failed my driving test AGAIN today.. damn I was so pissed that I struck the kerb while turning right into the S-course. Oh well, hopefully its 3rd time lucky when I do the test again in late Jan / early Feb 2006. 3 months is a super long wait, but I guess I have to bear with it.

Will be doing the movies soon. I watched several over the weekend so I'd probably be reviewing them shortly. Getting the Korean bug lately.. hahah!!

Love Is In The House.. Part III

2005-10-27T06:13:00.000+08:00

Sorry but I just had to post this up. I'm looking for this particular OST.. see the cover image shown. If anyone has seen this for sale anywhere, please, let me know ASAP. Thank you for reading this post. Kam-sa-mi-da?? I hope I got that right. :P

And just for my "itch", here's a pretty nice postcard-perfect image of the two screen lovebirds. Their on-screen chemistry is excellent and quite intense. I wouldn't be surprised if the rumours about them being an item is true. Then again, I'm not a rumour monger so the media should leave them alone. :)

Love Is In The House.. Part II

2005-10-27T05:55:00.000+08:00

Call me obsessed, but I've been out looking for the OST for Full House but apparently its no longer in production. Then I realised, the show was released somewhere in September 2004.. that's like 1 friggin year ago! Dang! I gotta catch up with the times.

Anyway, I found out that the main love song is called I Think I, and its sung by an artiste called STAR I think?? I know the song's featured on Rain's album, The Rain's Soundtrack, or something like that. HMV had that CD and another compilation set featuring hits from all of the popular Korean dramas and movies. I was contemplating whether to buy it but decided not to since it only contained 2 songs from Full House's OST. I know there's at least 4 main songs on the OST and that alone is enough to keep me enthralled for hours. I suppose if I was downright desperate, I'd just go buy the combo CD or Rain's album. Hmm.. to buy or not to buy???

So to satisfy my urge for more info, I went around digging on the web and lo and behold, I found out that the lead actress, Song Hye-kyo or Song Hae Gyo in some circles, shares the same birthdate as I do.. only that she's a year younger than I am. Found some great pics and gif animations when I was Googling for info and pics. Hye-kyo isn't that pretty most of the time, but with make-up... ooohhlaaalaa.. she's one cute hottie! To prove my point, check the pic above, and this GIF animation out. :p

(Taken from Joyzee's Blog, a Filipina fan of Rain)

Gee.. I'm beginning to go idol-crazy here.. Eeeks!! But then again, she's cute. *grins*

Arghhh.. apparently the GIF's a little cranky. Pardon the quality.

Love Is In The House..

2005-10-25T22:34:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, love is indeed in the house. Geez, I thought I won't be enthralled by Korean sappy love dramas but dang! I was pretty much mesmerised by the drama series Full House, starring the following main actors/actresses:

Song Hye-kyo 송혜교 as Han Ji-eun
Rain 비 as Lee Young-sae
Kim Sung-soo 김성수 as Yoo Min Hyuk
Han Eun-jeong 한은정 as Kang Hye-won

The story's pretty straightforward, but its the acting of the characters that kept me watching. I was very very intrigued by the day-to-day interactions of the characters. Although there were love triangles, etc. added into the plot, the whole thing was a seamless effort on the part of the director. I loved the slow scenes, and boy.. call me weak but those crying scenes by the ladies were just too emotional.

Definitely, this drama got me hooked big time. Bad news is.. my dear wants me to learn the Three Bears Song!!..

And of course, the cute couple taking a break on their usual bench.. haha.. cliché ain't it? Heh.

For more info, visit HanCinema for extra stuff on Korean dramas and movies.

Spacecake

2005-10-15T16:02:00.000+08:00

You're probably wondering what the title stands for but it refers to the drug-laden cake that Deuce eats in a Dutch cafe. Mmm.. how I'd love to have a taste of that spacecake! Hahaha!!

Anyway, Deuce Bigalow : European Gigolo is a pretty half-baked sequel to the 1999 hit Deuce Bigalow : Male Gigolo. Now the first one was a fun and wacky movie and Rob Schneider played the role of Deuce to good comic effect. In the second, they go for drugs and anti-American sentiment.. and then gay issues and of course, the Golden Boner Award. With character names like Assapopoulos and Heinz Hummer, it should have been a funny movie. There were some good laughs but the storyline just became draggy.. and the crude jokes.. ultra crude. :(

The sequel didn't come up to expectations but I don't see why the series should stop here. One plus point, at least Eva Voorsboch (Deuce's new squeeze), played by Dutch actress Hanna Verboom, is alot prettier than Kate from the 1st movie. Ooh.. laa laa.. gimme Eva anytime. :p

Official Site:
Deuce Bigalow : European Gigolo

The Bae Strikes Again!!... with snow this time

2005-10-15T15:49:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, another Bae Yong Jun movie with a soppy love story. He and Son Ye Jin play two characters whose respective spouses had an affair with each other. And so the story goes.. one traffic accident, comatose wife and husband.. and then you get to the affair bit in retaliation for the adultery of their partners.

Nonetheless the movie moves along well. The story's pretty good but the camera just loves to focus on Bae's forever sad look on his face. At times the movie does seem like a soft porn flick.. but hey, I think Son Ye Jin is hot! *grins*

Official Website:
April Snow

SPG on radio

2005-10-07T04:46:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, SPG herself was on radio earlier this morning with the Mutton boys from 98.7FM.
Pretty interesting interview I'd say but her accent was a little offish. Something like a cross between the Singlish accent and the Brit accent. Well its her life and her choice so who cares if she talks like a fake Brit?

During the interview there was a very big HINT that she was having some sort of an online spat? with another "famous" local blogger, who was unidentified. But of course everyone knows who that other blogger is. I suppose if she was tuning in to that interview, she wouldn't be too happy so yeah, I'd really like to see what she has to say on her blog of course. :p

And of course, the final question wasn't a shocker but it was interesting enough. One of the DJs asked her something like this:

"your blog is just (I forgot this part) or just plain exhibitionism?"

And her reply was.. Option 2. At least she has the guts to say so and besides, she doesn't actively court readers to her blog. So yes she's an exhibitionist but at least some of the pics were artistically done, at least better than an over-pinked blog elsewhere. :p

40 and still not laid..

2005-10-07T04:39:00.000+08:00

Haha, yes I suppose the post's title should be a little more straightforward but heck, its my blog and I write what I want.

And so we come to the movie called The 40-Year Old Virgin. Now I wonder how a guy can keep his smokin' gun in his pants for 40 friggin years! That's just mind-boggling but I suppose some guys just don't have the luck.

The main character is Andy, the virgin of course and so ensues a string of hilarious segments in the story in which alot of the word F*CK is used but hey, the jokes aren't that crude and they're not the usual frat-boy and college jokes we're used to like the ones in American Pie. That said, the whole cinema hall wasn't very packed (guess cos' it was a Thursday night) but at least everyone laughed at all of the funny scenes. That to me, is a sign that this movie rocks!

So for a good laugh, go ahead and go watch the movie. Its showing now in the cinemas. :)

Hillbilly Time!

2005-10-05T10:56:00.000+08:00

Caught a dose of hillbilly action on the big screen last night with the Dukes of Hazzard. I must say, it was an excellent movie. I simply love the on-screen camaraderie between Knoxville and Scott, playing Luke and Bo Duke respectively.

Great job on the comical parts and damn, somebody gotta tell Sheev to wear pants for once and stop killing them armadillos! And boy oh boy.. if I had Jessica Simpson parading her ass and them Double D tits for me to look at, I'd smack 'em with no hesitation and I'd probably boink her too.. *oops* Naughty naughty! Hahahaha!!

Anyway, I don't think we'll be seeing any Dodger Chargers here in SG.. but damn that's one fine classic car model. Love the sound of the new horn though. :p

Till "Death" Do Us Part...

2005-09-29T00:48:00.000+08:00

Finally got to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride with my gf earlier. Although we missed the 1st 10 minutes or so of the movie, we didn't miss the rest of it. Nice graphics and animation. A little drab but given the ghoulish factor, it wasn't too bad. Nice storyline but my gf found it uninteresting. Oh well, probably it was too short anyway. At roughly 1 hour 10 minutes in running time, it wasn't exactly the best of animated films anyway.

It did have some funny scenes but they were outnumbered by the constant reminder of death. The characters however were really interesting, like for example, the maggot side-kick of Emily, the widow spider, the pirate captain and of course, the dude with the body cut into two halves.. :p

In comparison with other animated movies like Chicken Run and even Wallace and Grommitt, I'd say those two win hands down. The Corpse Bride had a good storyline, but when you try and weave in stuff like murder and conspiracy, it gets just a little way beyond the "animated" factor. With the good animation and song pieces, I'd say it gets a few points, but the whole entertainment factor wasn't fully there.

Oh well, lets see how the next movie fares. Until next time.. Till "Blaah" Do Us Part..

The Myth.. continued..

2005-09-27T23:52:00.000+08:00

Okay, did some research on the subject and there was a legendary general named Meng Tian in the Qin army. He did have a brother called Meng Yi, but that was just about it. The state of Dasar didn't exist in India if I recalled correctly. Even characters like Princess Ok-Soo and General Nangong Yan are fiction since I can't get anything from Google. Oh well, I suppose most of the story is just a good ol' story but it really got me thinking.

Since its just a movie based loosely on historical facts, I suppose they have the artistic licence to play around abit with known history and intertwine it with a little fiction. :)

Nice touch with the song sung by Jackie and Kim Hee Seon. Title was Endless Love and it was sung in Mandarin and Korean as a duet by both individuals. Now all I got to do is to find the MP3 or at least a clip so that I can listen to it again... hmm..

The Myth and a tale of levitating tombs

2005-09-27T16:41:00.000+08:00

Finally watched Jackie's new movie on the legendary tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Interesting movie but there were several bloopers that I am sure did not go unnoticed by the viewers.

In one part if I recall correctly, the sword that belonged to General Meng Yi was exchanged with the Prince of Dasar after their duel over Princess Ok-Soo, or Concubine Li of the Qin. But the odd part is, in the scene where he tries to save General Xu Gui from the rebel ambush, he is actually using his OWN sword and not the sword of the Dasar Prince. Strange isn't it.. *scratches my head*

Nonetheless, there are tales on levitation and incarnation weaved into the storyline and it actually becomes slightly believable at times. The movie was average at best but add in the fight scenes and it becomes worthwhile to watch.. on a weekday though. :p

In The Dog Bowl

2005-09-25T23:09:00.000+08:00

Going back into the 70's, Stacey Peralta's movie - The Lords of Dogtown - examines the lives of the 3 boys (Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Peralta included) and their friends who created the sport that's known as skateboarding. Skateboards were already available back then but it was the exploits of these 3 fellas from Venice Beach, California that ignited the spark in the sport with the high rolls and the flips from the skate ramps.

Improvising on drained out swimming pools during the drought that hit southern CA, they made a hit out of themselves on the competition circuit and actually made it a world-wide phenomenon.

Coming from very humble and sometimes troubled backgrounds, the boys started out as budding surfers with Peralta fumbling when it came to riding the waves. Nonetheless, he made good when he took part as an independent candidate during a competition and tied with his good friend, Tony Alva for 1st place, but due to some inept officials, Alva got disqualified and Peralta won the trophy.

And then the story goes deeper into the development of each character and the splits that made them fall apart.. Alva going for fame and fortune, Peralta going for the stable life and Adams remaining as the rebel at heart. All the actors played their roles well and I went home thinking alot more about skateboarding and its history.

Go watch it. You won't regret it. Thumbs-up for this excellent movie.

How bittersweet life is..

2005-09-25T23:04:00.000+08:00

You're probably guessing what I'm going to write but nah, its not some melodramatic post on my daily life.

Anyway, its about the Korean movie A Bittersweet Life, starring Lee Byung Hun. Excellent action scenes and he's a very cool dude. I didn't want to watch it at first but after being egged on by my gf, ended up watching it. Really caught my attention there. The story's pretty predictable actually but it is indeed an excellent movie. Go catch it if you must. I won't do any spoilers here. :p

A Visit to Waseda Shibuya Senior High

2005-09-19T12:56:00.000+08:00

As the post title says, I visited Waseda Shibuya Senior High School at West Coast yesterday on Sunday with my gf and her sis. Her sis's bf was supposed to come along but they had a last-minute change of plans. Oh well, I went along and I did enjoy myself a little.. nothing too special though. Anyway some images of the place.

Image of the front gate and the sign board the students created.

A replica of a kiddy-like golden lion gatekeeper statue. Looks cute huh? Check out the next one.

Here's the smaller of the two lions. I find this critter even cuter. Looks like a cross between the lion and a pygmy hippo. Hahahaha!!

Anyway, back to the stuff we did. We played some games in one of the classrooms. Me and my gf's sis managed to dig up two capsules during the treasure hunt game. I was made to dig in a small pit filled with pieces of styrofoam. Man.. that was fun. Being a big guy, I almost threw out all the styrofoam while digging for the prize capsules. End result? I won two sweets because the other capsule was a no-win capsule. I'm not sure what my gf's sis won though.

Then we played this game in which we had to fish out balloons with some water in them by using a curved "hook" tied with a pretty weak strand of rice paper?? Anyway, I managed to fish out 2 balloons for my gf and her sis. If the hook and the strand got soaked in water too long, when it comes to lifting the balloons out, the strand would break and you would lose the balloon. This was by far the hardest challenge.

And then came the ball-throwing game where we had to throw balls made of paper and masking tape at some numbered boards slotted into the window grilles. By hitting more down, we could put our names on the scoreboards. LOL, I sucked at this game. Had power but no aim. Cock-eye aaahh... My gf and her sis did better than I did and I'm sooo "pai seh" I lost to two girls. Oh well, its a fair result. *shrugs*

Murder.. she wrote

2005-09-14T08:43:00.000+08:00

Aptly enough the title of this post. Another Filipino maid gets charged for the murder of her fellow countrywoman. Brings to mind the previous case of Flor Contemplacion, also a Filipino maid and hanged for the crime of murdering a fellow compatriot, Della Maga and the young son of Della's employers.

I suppose I'll see alot of SG flag burning go on in Manila if the maid is found guilty as charged and is sentenced to death. It is the irony of such situations whereby people tend to shift attention elsewhere when the problem is really much closer at home.

Migrant workers are always on the move and are usually away from their beloved families for many months in the year. Divided by a large distance and spurred by the need to support their families back home, sometimes I wonder, what would force these people to turn to crime? Its a difficult question to ask and perhaps even a criminal psychologist might have a problem in giving a proper analytical answer to that query.

Sometimes the feeling of loneliness can give way to odd thoughts and this is precisely what bothers alot of people. Heck, I'd go crazy if I didn't get to see my family every now and then. But crazy is as crazy does. Some people turn to finding solace with fellow compatriots, or in some cases, finding a temporary "soulmate" and perhaps a part-time partner to spend their time with.

In such situations, migrant workers usually band together according to their country of origin. I seldom see Bangladeshis mix with Filipinos, unless of course they're dating that is. The thing is, having a fellow compatriot that speaks the same language as you do and having the same customs as you actually makes a conversation a whole lot easier. Imagine two folks speaking two alien languages to each other and the whole conversation turns into a major comedic event. Its not hard to envisage a situation like that.

Now back to the main issue. Sometimes the real problems may lie closer to home and people are just oblivious to it. I bet many people still believe Flor was innocent but if she was, why did she not protest her innocence when she met with diplomatic staff from her home country? Why did she tell her side of the story to a prostitute while in jail, instead of saying it out aloud to people who could have helped her? Why she did that still boggles me. Read the link below to get a good piece of info on the case of Flor.

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6142/flor.html

Unfortunately she didn't escape the hang man. Even after being tried and convicted as a murderer, people practically sanctified her and turned her into a sort of martyr to showcase the plight of migrant workers all over the world.

My question is, if one cannot follow and adhere to the rule of the country where they're in, why bother even going there? If Singapore's laws are draconian, uninspiring or even boring, then why do they still come here? Respecting the laws of the land is one thing, breaking them is another. If they broke the law, regardless of who you are, one must always accept responsibility for his or her actions and accept the punishment regardless of how terrible it might be.

Sadly for some people, that is not the case. They thought they could get away with crime via a petition or diplomatic help but they forget, this is Singapore, not some lawless land in a crazy world that we all live in, and in Singapore, the men in blue are definitely the best law-enforcing outfit I know of. Perhaps Michael Fay might be able to tell you more about his prison time in SG and how shitty it was.

Skip the murders and foreign worker issues and you'll see, its a bigger picture out there.

Sedi-what?!!

2005-09-14T08:24:00.000+08:00

On a sidenote, I read with great interest about 2 bloggers being charged with sedition in court for inciting racial hatred. I'm not in any position to judge but my two cents worth, they deserve what they get if racism was involved in their malicious posts whatsoever.

Racist bastards should live in the era of apartheid and perhaps if they became the oppressed, they might know how it feels like to be in the shoes of the people they hate so much. And to think the whole hullaballoo was about a question regarding dogs in taxis. A simple enquiry via the ST Forum page in the papers and it got some goons all flustered.

Funny that these goons also happen to be supposed "dog-lovers" who took offence at the comments of a lady who asked the question based on religious grounds. I'm not sure how that question would offend a normal person but these hotheads just had to shoot their mouths off without thinking of the consequences that might arise from their half-witted attempt at a barb against the lady's community and religion. Whatever pet peeves they might have with others, they simply had no right to denigrate a race or religion.

Under SG's laws, I'm not sure what the punishment for sedition is but I hope its big and nasty enough to deter other pea-brained attempts by others who might want to tread that same malicious path as those two.

Oh yeah, the charges on those two fellas really sent shockwaves in the blogosphere. Even the resident SG "king" of the glob.. not blog, (nick with-held since everybody or somebody knows him anyways..) himself, had some comments to make on the case on TV no less.. champion lah.

Free speech on the web is pretty free, but when it runs into murky waters and starts involving race and religion, rest assured that the authorities will not hesitate to come in like vultures and pick away at the nutjobs that thought they would be free to shoot their racist rhetoric online.

Parting Shot:

To the racists, whoever you may be, I hope that from being the perpetrator of racial hatred, may it backfire on you and turn you into the victim instead. Only then will you and your fellow goons understand how racism can affect a person deeply, and hopefully, affect you enough to change your ways.

Kong-ified!

2005-09-14T08:16:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, I was Kong-ified alright. Finally succumbed to the lure of the big hulking gorilla and got myself an EZ-015 Iron Kong with a CP-11 Manuoevre Thruster Unit. Got it cheap in a bundle set.. you don't get this all the time and what can I say.. the lights in the cockpit are damn cool, at least to me and perhaps the fellow Zoids nuts out there. Here's a shot of the bugger with the lights in the cockpit.

EZ-015 Iron Kong (with CP-11 Manuoevre Thruster Unit) - lights up mode

Its Simply Not My Desk!

2005-09-09T18:49:00.000+08:00

Found a link while surfing for the term "beat box". Oddly enough I'm not into beat-boxing but got pretty interested when the DJ on 98.7FM was interviewing the only female contestant.. err.. Kyoko Mori I think, for the beat-box competition at the Liquid Room this Saturday. The winner gets to open for the Black Eyed Peas when they perform here in SG soon.

Anyway, go read the link, pretty excellent stuff and I love the cynical way the essays and stories are written.

Not My Desk - Temporary Insanity

Severed Body Parts

2005-09-09T18:47:00.000+08:00

Yikes, another severed body parts case in SG. Some lady's severed head was found near Orchard MRT. Well I hope the police finds out who she is and gives her a decent burial. Catch the perpetrator and chop his head off too.

Blog Spammers

2005-09-08T08:27:00.000+08:00

To people who just sign up for a blogger account just to spam, please don't. Restrict your LAME ASS activities to email and I'll be thankful for your "kind" gestures.

For the assholes who love to hack blogs, please stop your antics. Hacking doesn't get you anywhere. In fact if you fail to cover your ass aka trail, then the police will have a field day in whooping your ass. Don't believe me, go look at what happen to the freaks who unleashed viruses online. Don't be one of them and you'll save yourself from having some "quality" time in the cage.

Blog Wars

2005-09-08T08:10:00.000+08:00

Hmm.. strangely enough the local SG blogging community has gotten quite enraptured with the on-going blog wars involving some famous blogging names like Xiaxue and Kenny Sia. Even our local queen of self-proclaimed SPGs aka SPG herself has gotten involved. Here's my take on the on-going war:

Man.. the war is simply spiralling out of control. Personal attacks are getting a little crude and underhanded at best and the worst part is that most of the attackers prefer to remain anonymous. Of course, the web gives one the opportunity of anonymity but if the hatred for one party is so high and people are taking potshots at these "poor" folk (read poor because they think they're being victimised) I think its only right that these people identify themselves and if they really have balls, go ahead and screw the ones they hate.

I don't like to judge but frankly speaking, who creates a hate site for her own self and maintained by herself? Publicity stunt aside, creating a big hooha on both sides of the Causeway by slamming Malaysian people in the capital city of KL only serves to inflame passions of two very competitive nations that were once united as one. When race is dragged into the picture, it really makes me seeth. Yes she (Xiaxue) has the right to complain and bemoan her experiences in KL but who gives a rat's ass if you got overcharged or you paid extra compared to what you would pay in Shenzhen? Damn.. its your own frigging fault if you didn't bargain or you didn't settle on a flat fee for the cab ride. Mind you, in Malaysia most cab drivers don't follow the meter. Perhaps her visits to Ipoh, JB and Melaka didn't TRAIN her enough to know that meters don't "apply" in Malaysia. I love Malaysia and frankly speaking, if she can create an online war between our brothers in Malaysia and Singapore, to hell with her experiences. And calling a Malay a fucker just because one Melayu failed to respond to her query only makes her look like a big buffoon. If I called a Chinese a fucker just because he/she didn't respond to a question I asked, is that warranted?

Xiaxue, if you're reading this, feel free to diss me all you like on that pink-addicted blog of yours but really, who gives a rat's ass on what you blog on nowadays? I won't sink to your level and make you look bad but please do look in the mirror the next time you think you're prettier than others. Most of your images look like they're Photoshopped. Editing images is OK but when you over-edit to electronically "enhance" your looks then believe me you're just afraid of your own look. Judging others doesn't mean others cannot judge you and slam you for your lack of tact or feeling when you slam other people. Deal with the insults and verbal shenanigans against you but then again, you only have yourself to blame. Like they say, you reap what you sow, so don't friggin' complain!

And by the way, Malaysia Boleh! and Singapore OK!

Ina's Wedding

2005-09-06T08:19:00.000+08:00

Attended a good friend's wedding last Sunday but I forgot to post up the pic. Not very clear since I was shooting with my Nokia 6230's on-board cam but I think its pretty decent. We've been friends since secondary school and it was a good thing that she's finally settling down. Man.. she was a stunner in her traditional dress and headgear. Her husband better treat her right!

The happy couple.. pretty tired too. I would be.. if I was them. Hmm.. so when's my turn? No $$$ so not yet. :p

Anyway, met up with some old pals at the wedding reception and I spent the entire wet afternoon (it was raining) with an old gal pal from my class. We had a great chat while having a round of dessert at Bukit Timah Plaza. Thanks for the chat Fiz, you know who you are. I thought I was getting paranoid about marriage but she's just as paranoid as I was! LOL

The Hamster Debuts..

2005-09-06T08:17:00.000+08:00

Thought I'd share a pic of my bro's female hamster. The male decided not to be photogenic. :p

Presenting.. gee I don't know the bugger's name?? What about.. Piglet, since she's always a fat ass anyway. Heh Heh Heh!

The Longest Yard... plus some add-ons

2005-09-06T08:02:00.000+08:00

YES! Finally caught Adam Sandler's new movie - The Longest Yard. Excellent show, great humour and alot of sick jokes too. The final match between the Guards and the Prisoners was done well and Sandler did a great job as a quarterback. However the scene-stealers were the supporters and a very "sassy" cheerleading squad backing the prisoners. See the movie to catch what I mean... heh heh heh!

And today, I finally caught The Perfect Catch aka Fever Pitch. Nice romcom but not exactly top-notch. Good movie though, except for some hiccups here and there. The ending wasn't exactly great and it was a pity because the rest of it was quite nice to watch.

Thanks to a special someone, I finally got my hands on two limited edition Zoids units. Great fun building them and I am so damn happy I finally got them... at a good price too! Many thanks to the guys at The Falcon's Hangar for making my dream come true.

EPZ-03 Great Sabre (a souped-up version of the Saber Tiger / Zaber Fang with a custom CP-02 Assault Unit)

RPZ-07 Shield Liger MK-II (another souped-up edition of the standard Shield Liger in a different colour combination and a set of GOLD-coloured CP-01 Dual Beam Cannons)

In short, today was a SUPERB day.. and we topped it off with a meal at Swensens! Crayfish pasta anyone? :p

Tale of the Fried Mobo

2005-08-31T07:49:00.000+08:00

Yes.. my precious limited edition translucent red motherboard decided to FRY on me.. first time I saw smoke coming out from my PC's casing. Hell, that gave me one heck of a shock. Damn damn damn. All my precious files in My Documents all erased when I had to re-install the OS.

Anyway got myself a spanking new motherboard from Gigabyte and a superb graphics card from Sapphire. I'd say with the 512 MB of DDR RAM on my mobo.. hell yeah! Played some graphics intensive games and I'm pretty impressed with the results. :)

So back to my daily life. Let's see, what did I do yesterday. Oh yes, finally caught March of the Penguins at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. It was a nifty piece of movie-making.. bar the dumb-ass lyrics on the lame songs in the soundtrack. I love those cute lil' penguin chicks.

Apart from that, please go catch the latest Korean movie in the cinemas now - Innocent Steps. About two very different souls coming together through ballroom dancing. The male protagonist, Young-Sae, was a promising dancer and one of the best in Korea too (according to the movie that is) but he was sabo-ed (in local SG lingo) by a rival named Hyun-Soo, the son of the national dance director I think.

The female protagonist is a North Korean? Chinese? girl called Chae-Ryn, from a place called Yongbyon, who impersonated her sister, Chae-Min, who was the true dancer that some guys had brought in to pair up with Young-Sae. Chae-Ryn is a cute little character who loves fireflies and has that childish innocence in her that touches my heart. She's just 19 but still so pure and innocent.

Anyway, I don't know where her accent comes from but she pulls off the role of the country bumpkin with great efficiency. I'd say she did a SUPER job on that role. I'll never forget the term she used to called Young-Sae ... Ah-zi-bai.. or something like that. Supposed to mean Mister but the term sounds different in the South.

Go catch it if you must. Its a touching movie and I just love the dance moves. Puts J.Lo's performance in Shall We Dance to shame!

My rating? --> 5 out of 5

Back from the dead

2005-08-22T01:03:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, after ages away from blogger, I've returned from the dead. Damn.. sometimes I feel alot tired than I should be.

Anyway, back on topic. National Day's just over. So what's the big deal about turning 40? Hmm.. that we've become a great city state in that space of time? Not really. What's so great about this city state when the taxes and costs rise every year? Call it whining but I don't give a rat's ass.

We're saddled with alot of financial burdens year in year out. Even with a high-paying job, the taxes, paying for the home's mortgage.. etc. will just burn you out. Its a good country, very secure and all but in short, if its a constant rat race I'd rather live on Mars.

With the recent hoo-haa on the Elected Presidency, I felt kinda sad when I couldn't exercise my right to vote. What gives the PEC or whatever that council is, the right to thumb down an applicant just because he's not rich enough, or his qualifications are not there? I'd rather have a coffee-shop uncle as president than some fella selected by the council to be the "best" man for the job. Read "best" because he wasn't elected by the people.. he was placed on the pedestal.

Kudos to Prez. Nathan for being a good dude and all, but surely, a contest would be much appreciated. Sadly that was not the case. Reading an article on the Straits Time by a lecturer from NUS?? .. some Dr Thio Li Ann? I hope I got that right. He/she summed it pretty perfectly when the question turned into..

Elected or Selected? That is the quintessential question. I leave it to you, the reader to surmise what that means.

Below is an image of one of Martians from the movie Mars Attacks! from CNN.com. That what I feel like doing right now to the people on the council.. *just kidding*

Flunked!

2005-07-28T11:47:00.000+08:00

Took my traffic police test for my Class III license and damn.. I had to knock down the outermost pole during parallel parking.

Damn depressing, got hit for 16 points there. If I hadn't made a mistake in there I would have passed already.

890&%^&^546$R%#@$#!@$!@#$!#@~@!~ssshhhiiiitttttttt!!!!!!!!!!..............

I'm utterly depressed. -_-

McGregor's Hoverbike.. Drooling in Progress

2005-07-23T07:14:00.000+08:00

Now tell me, who wouldn't want a hoverbike like those featured on The Island! Damn.. I want one... somebody gimme one!! *schemes*

The Island

2005-07-23T06:51:00.000+08:00

Well the post's title says it all, here's my review on the movie The Island that I just watched a few hours ago with my gf.

Its an excellent movie dealing with the themes of cloning and ethics. And there's a Lottery too, where the supposed "winners" get to go to The Island.. the so-called last "pathogen-free place on the Earth". Damn.. what would we do without them microbes?

Nonetheless, I won't do a spoiler here (even though I feel like it.. hah!) but there are several scenes reminiscent of Gattaca and other sci-fi flicks that involve DNA and cloning, etc. All along I thought Scarlett Johansson was some other nubile young thing. WOW.. I was blasted away. She's a babe in this movie and damn.. she's got some great martial arts moves. She can manhandle me anytime.. :p

Ah.. how I wish I was Lincoln Six-Echo. Hahah!!

Excellent review of the whole movie here (plus spoilers :p )
--> MTV.com Movies

Anyway here's the poster from the movie. Hope its clear enough.

Tiddler Fest!

2005-07-18T01:35:00.000+08:00

Went guppy fishing today with my cousins. Damn fun. Here's some images of the guppies I brought back.

Males to the top, females to the left. Cute huh? :)
If you look closely at the pic of the females, there's one of 'em to the right of the container that has a colourful tail.

Mongjunggi

2005-07-16T07:49:00.000+08:00

Just so you know.. here's the cover for the first Wet Dreams movie from Korea. :P

Wet Dreams ? Gotcha!

2005-07-16T07:42:00.000+08:00

Managed to catch Wet Dreams 2 yesterday with my GF at the local cinema. Funny show indeed but I found the first movie to be much better. Anyway, here's a poster of the show. Great fun to watch if you're into horny teenage flicks like American Pie.. ahh.. one of my all time favourites!

My new pet

2005-07-10T04:27:00.000+08:00

Thought I'd post up an image of my new pet catfish aka a beautiful female Akysis prashadi, hailing from Lake Indawgyi, Myanmar (or Burma to other people). :)

Ain't she cute?

Crying Out Love In The Middle Of The World

2005-07-10T04:16:00.000+08:00

Bleh, decided to post anyway after a long time away from blogger.

Yes people, that's the title of the Japanese movie I just watched last night with my GF. Man.. what a depressing movie. The roles were superbly played by the actors and actresses. Wonderful scenes but a very very moving story. Its good for a tearjerker. Go watch it with someone you love, then you'll learn to appreciate the time you spend with each other.

Remember.. never leave any loose ends in a relationship. If you made a mistake, deal with it and apologise. If you can make things better, do so but never forget the people around you and those that remain dear to you.

Back to the real deal, I'm feeling a little nervous already since my driving test is around the corner.. July 28th! I hope I pass it and finally get my Class III license.. its a wonderful feeling to be holding a driver's license. *grins*

Spongebob Day!

2005-03-19T23:21:00.000+08:00

Yay!! I won one of the friggin auctions!.. forced the other fella uptil USD 35 just to get his fish.. hahahah!! How evil can I get? Serves him right for trying to buy something I had always wanted to get. Come to think of it.. I should have pushed up all the way up to USD 40. Then he'll feel the pinch. :p

At least I won the chacoensis auction at USD 26. Good deal I might say.. since a pal is sharing the cost with me. He's drooling already but I won't stop him since he's paying half of the cost. :)

Went to watch Spongebob Squarepants the Movie with my gf and her sister. The movie was funny but really corny. I was half bored, half entertained.

Had dinner at Sakae Sushi again with my gf and her sister. The staff weren't too friendly this time round. I think they had some disagreements perhaps. My gf ordered a dish called Seasoned Scallops. The thing that arrived looked more like a plate of rubber flatworms. Really rubbery stuff.. and I thought that scallops were meant to be juicy :p

outbidded!

2005-03-19T04:38:00.000+08:00

Argghhhhhh.... what a way to end my Friday.. sheesh. got outbidded on both of the auctions.. should I follow? Should I not? hmm.. (getting a little too expensive for me. :*(

Watched the Boogeyman just now. Great show with great scares.. but a little corny.

Went for my interview this morning. I think I nailed it.. I FUCKIN HOPE SO!

Had a great piece of news about 2 days ago... ME... YES ME!.. passed HIS final theory test.. FUck YeaH! YIPPPEEEEEEEEEE.... *twirls*

Oh.. shan't blab about this biker bastard that dissed me at the 7-11 a few days back.. Shit. that was a SHITTY day.. damn. But anyway.. shit happens so this fucker can go fuck spider for all I care. Fuck it. :p

At the movies (Part 1)

2005-03-10T17:55:00.000+08:00

Watched Team America : World Police recently and it was helluva great show. Damn horny bastards of them puppets. LOL

And last night, me and my rabbit caught Robots at WM again. Superb show and great voiceovers by Robin Williams in the role of Fender, the ass of a robot.. make that, major pain-in-the-ass of a robot.

The test

2005-03-10T17:53:00.000+08:00

Finally did my test yesterday. Didn't blog it cos I didn't feel like it. Anyway I thought it was easy and hopefully the results are great. *grins*

2005-03-09T04:22:00.000+08:00

Ah yes, back to the normal stuff. Woke up late again today. Grr..

In a few hours I'll be at the driving centre trying to pass my Final Theory Test. Hopefully I get a great result and then the REAL DEAL begins.

But the bigger problem persists. I need money and do so, I need a job. Probably just a 7-11 stint might work for now while I learn driving. *Grins*

Getting the hang of things

2005-03-08T03:59:00.000+08:00

Ok finally I'm getting the hang of things. Hopefully this thing doesn't screw up.

testing this damn thing

2005-03-08T03:47:00.000+08:00

I'm not a tech dumbo but this blog thingy is a pain in the ass. Looks simple though so here goes the first god damned post.