A difference of opinion.

I'm such a girly girl in so many ways!
Girl first, geek second. ;)

RIP Steve Jobs.

RIP Steve Jobs.

I may not agree with your corporation making everyone pay for every little piece of shit, but I have to admit you have some pretty good shit.

Ipad is in the shop

Ipad2 had to be sent back to the shop.
Faulty lining popping up. Minor aesthetic flaw, but I thought I'd take advantage of the warranty.
I have to call them back in 14 days & see when I can get a replacement unit.
I wait.

Life rules

FIVE RULES TO REMEMBER IN LIFE: 
1. Money cannot buy happiness but it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
2. Forgive your enemy but remember the b@stard's name.
3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they're in trouble again.
4. Many people are alive only because it's illegal to shoot them.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.

The Perils of Social Networking

Flash Games

You really don't know how many Flash games you actually do play till you have an Ipad and can't play ANY of them. *pout*

It's HIGHLY inconvenient not to be able to Family Feud at home, for example, unless I've bothered to lug my laptop home.

*RASPBERRY* bully to you, Ipad.

The dangers of smoking

I can't help but think this cliché, but the imagery has been in my head for a while. The title, though, I find hilarious. I nearly called it Frozen Food. *laugh*

-------------

She opened her eyes and the world slowly came into focus. Tree roots. Soft earth. Grass. She was uncomfortable, face down in the dirt. What the hell... Last she remembered... What WAS the last she remembered??

Her head hurt. Had she bumped it? She must have...

Awkwardly, she tried to sit up. She groaned softly - muscles stiff with cold. She focused on the ground, blinking slowly till the world stopped spinning. God, please stop the carousel. I want to get off!

A bus. She had been on a bus. She'd been on the way home. A pitstop! Someone had been sick, and the driver had pulled into a truck stand. She'd gone off to the side for a quick cigarette. What had it been, 3 more hours till her stop? She remembered thinking something like that. What the hell happened after that?

She patted her jeans. No phone. Damn. What time was it? She had stopped wearing watches a long time ago. Looking up at the sky was a mistake. The world started spinning again, and she had to refocus on the ground, choking back the need to be sick. Baby steps. Take it slow.

She tried again. Roots, trunk, branches, leaves, sky. It was getting dark. Sundown soon, she guessed. No idea, really. In the city, no one really sees the sun setting. Ambient lighting makes it difficult to pinpoint when the sun moves on and the streetlights take over. No such problem here, she thought, looking around at the trees. No artificial anything in sight. She was in some forest or something. I think. Maybe.

Better move her arse then. The woods at night didn't sound appealing. Where was she??

"Hello? Anyone there?"

The silence was deafening.
She suddenly felt very alone.

"Hello? Anybody?"

Something was wrong - more wrong than waking up, sick to her stomach, face down in a forest. She couldn't put her finger on it though...

Right. Stand up. Slowly...

She didn't appear to be hurt. Other than the dull ache at the back of her head, she grimaced, gingerly prodding her skull. No blood, no wounds. That was good, wasn't it?

No sounds of traffic. Which way was the road?
No sounds of people talking... No sound at all, really.

She froze.

No sound at all. No birds, no insects, no babbling brook... That was it! How could it be completely silent?? Something was seriously wrong. Where was she?? She braced herself against the tree. Moss grows on the... North side? Isn't that what they say?

"Wasting time," she muttered. She didn't know jack squat about life outside the city. Which train to take to the business district? No problem. Which berry was safe to eat? No freaking idea.

Right. She was going right. Just because.

She grabbed a longish twig off the ground & slashed at the tree. Wouldn't do to go round in circles. She started picking her way gingerly, navigating tree roots and noisily beating at the long grass to scare off snakes and the like, before stepping forward. Every now and again, she'd mark a tree.

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?"

It wasn't long before it started getting dark enough to force a decision. Option 1, seek shelter. Option 2, keep moving and risk breaking a limb. She probably shouldn't have moved in the first place. Too late now, Einstein.

Jeans and jumper in the woods? She didn't think she was going to be warm enough. What could she..

She froze.

What was that?

She could have sworn... A blur in her peripheral vision.

"Hello?" she wished she didn't sound as shaky as she felt. "Who's there?"

Her own pounding heartbeat was the only thing she could hear. She gripped the branch till her knuckles were white.

"Don't fucking mess with me," God, I wish I sounded bigger.

Nothing.

Right. Back to a tree, get a fire going, I'll be fine. She kept repeating that as she pushed at the ground cover, looking for dry twigs & leaves. Damn she really should have started this earlier.

In the end she just kicked whatever she could towards the base of the tree. It was getting too dark to tell dry leaves from wet ones. That God she had a lighter.

After a while, and a billion false starts, she abandoned all hope of starting a fire.

I am in some Serious Shit.

She stuffed leaves down the front of her jumper, trying not to think of how many bums were found dead in parks, having stuffed newspapers down their coats in an effort to keep warm.

She lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. She watched the vaguely grey trail of smoke as it wafted upwards from her lips. She stared at the lazy glow of the lit end. She was going to be alright. Somehow.

The cigarette suddenly went out.

She froze. Cigarettes don't just do that.

She relit the cigarette. Her hand was shaking. She exhaled, staring hard at the tip, almost daring it to go out.

Something touched her hair.

She started and screamed, scrambling away in the opposite direction, on all fours.

"Who's there?? What do you want??"

Nothing.

Her heart was pounding in her ears again, and she realized she was crying.

"Who are you??" she screamed, nearly sobbing now. "Why are you doing this to me??"

Then she heard it. It was little more than a whisper in her ear, so close she could almost feel the breath on her neck.

"Run."

Scared half out of her mind, she scrambled blindly to her feet and ran, tripping over roots and bursting through bushes. She could hear her ragged breaths punctuating the rustle of leaves as she tore her way forward. It was so dark - she couldn't see - she kept stumbling, grabbing at whatever was at arm's length to break her fall. It had to happen. She fell that last time, and felt her ankle buckle sickeningly.

She couldn't catch her breath, chest heaving from sobs, surrounded by the dark, ankle throbbing madly.

"Now now... You know better than that... Don't play with your food."

It was little more than a whisper.

"Yes, mother."

A whisper.

She opened her mouth to scream.

Glenn: A Multi-User Domain (MUD) story.

I'm re-posting this here because I found it in another blog, tucked away in old, old posts, and I'm afraid of losing it.

---------
Glenn never told me his last name. He was a slight boy, with serious eyes. He was Xenx and he was Bremen. He loved Dalenn unconditionally.

He wanted nothing. He offered everything he had. He took her hand and led her to places in the Labyrinth both wondrous and strange. He set up picnics at waterfalls he knew she would love. He gave her faerie wings and great iron swords. He weakened monsters and mobs, then stood back to watch her bag the glory of the kill. He stood between her and dragons, and piled gold at her feet. He basked in her joy, heart beating proudly when she laughed. He knew he had made that sound burst from her lips, and he was content.

Lyn gave him nothing. She was seduced by security and reality, and didn’t think he was going to be anything but binary code and ascii roses. She dismissed him as a young man who fancied himself in love with Dalenn. He had never met Lyn, never breathed in her strawberry-scented hair, never tasted her apple-glossed lips, never cupped the curve of her hips. Never rolled in the grass by the waterfall she loved. His devotion made Dalenn blush. Lyn couldn't understand any of it. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.

Glenn made Lyn cry, though Dalenn would never tell him. His matter-of-fact tone when he spoke of his broken family and violent father made Lyn ache in unexpected places. Glenn scared her with his stories of blind rage. He would beat and bruise until the red wash left his eyes. He would take down larger contenders because for a while, he was a merciless machine. He was so much younger than she was, but had lived twice the life. She wanted to hug the pain away... or fuck till all that filled the room was gasping breath, no place for anything else. If only she could reach him somehow... But then again, it wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.

When it came down to the crunch, Lyn took the easy way out. It was Dalenn who loved you, Glenn. Sweet, gentle Dalenn, with sunshine in her laugh and starlight in her emerald eyes. Lyn's brown eyes had never met yours. Nick was security. Nick was real. Nick didn't make her ache in any unexpected place. Lyn chose Nick.

Nick eventually broke Lyn’s heart.

Ah well... Life moves on as it always has, laughing at how we thought we were going to die from that little bit of pain. She thinks of him when she least expects it, that slight boy with the serious eyes. She still has a picture he sent her from their days frolicking in the other world. She wonders if he ever found a girl who loved him unconditionally, who wanted nothing, who offered everything she had.

The email address doesn’t work anymore. I know. I’ve tried it.

Tattoo

I'm not really pleased with this, but I've been fidgeting all day and I don't think I will stop anytime soon, so I'd better post it before I change it again. Sigh. Fickle be my middle name.

-----------

I look down at the boy in front of me: the stumps on his back, the questions in his eyes. His father's lips are pursed, the distance between him & his crying wife, telling. He blames her. This could never have come from his side of the family. 

I force a smile. I hear myself asking inane questions like if Batman and Superman were to fight, who would win? Did he like school? What games did he & his friends like to play? All the time, calculating, plotting, planning... It always went easier when they didn't fight it. When they didn't fight me. When they didn't see it coming. 

Did he want to see a magic trick? I could show him one... My hands were like torches. I could make them glow. Did he want to see my glowing hands? See? Weren't they special? Watch them glow... They were warm. See? When I touched him... See how warm they were? Does his back itch sometimes? I think my hands could help with that. They're so warm you see - it'll help with the itch. Yeah it was hard trying to scratch something you can't reach. Why didn't he turn around & see if I could help with that. Look at mum. Look at dad.

"Look at mummy, baby. That nice woman's going to help you. Just look at mummy."

It's hard to hear her clearly through the tears she's trying to choke back, but the boy responds to her voice. 

I lay my warm glowing hands on the boy's back. I feel the familiar metallic burn in my throat. Feel the blood soak into my shirt, making it stick to my back. I bite back what is almost a sob. How the hell did they ever convince me that the pain was my lot in life, my destiny...

The boy cries out. Tries to get away. His mother falls to her knees, reaches for him. Calista makes sure she doesn't get in the way, doesn't interrupt the transfer. I focus on my breathing, beyond the red haze, beyond the buzzing in my ears. Just breathe. Breathe.

I only know it's over when Calista gently lowers my hands. She speaks to the grateful parents. They're always grateful. They always don't know how to thank you. They always say so as they hurry to the door, eager to leave before someone sees them. Calista is all business as she sees them out, locks the door, gets the bowl and the sponge and settles down beside me. She peels off my shirt and cleans me.  She is as silent as I need her to be.

It seems an aeon before I am strong enough to stand. I go to my room & turn my back to the mirror. The wings are magnificent, impossible hues of blue and silver, cascading from my shoulder blades to the small of my back. Had they let him keep them, the boy would have been able to take flight. To soar.

"To escape..." I whispered.

He would have had to. Escape. The stigma. The shame. 

So instead, I took them. His wings. His stigma. There are a few of us who can, who will. The few of us you shun. Whom you pretend you don't see. We know who you are. We display your shame, literally, on our bodies, in all its glory, so you cannot meet our eyes. We are walking reminders of the Vote. The radiation fallout is all of our faults. We will be paying for it for generations to come. Some more than others. 

I have managed to hide the tattoos still - the red & purple vine hasn't yet broached the boundary of my turtleneck. Wearing pants hides the dragon encircling my ankle, weaving its way like a Grecian sandal strap, upwards to my left thigh. Thankfully, the third eye graces my right bicep and not my forehead. I can still manage trips into the city, glorying in ordinary tasks like grocery shopping or having a drink at a bar. I'm safe so long as I'm well covered.

There will come a time when I have to make a choice between hiding who I am and embracing the truth. Till then, I can still waffle between pretension and guilt, between the me naked in the mirror and the me I hide beneath the veneer.

It's a calling, they told me. You're chosen. You have a path. Embrace your gift and accept it with selflessness and pride.

Bullshit. 

They make it sound like you don't have a choice, but with the 20-20 vision of hindsight, I absolutely had a choice. I think that's why they recruit young - when they can weave you tales of the noble greater good, and sell you on how you are serving your people. You're too young to comprehend what you're giving up, what you're sacrificing... You're too raw to understand that though these people need you, they don't have to accept you.

We are isolated like lepers, as if genetic mutation is somehow contagious. As if we have all devolved back to uneducated, superstitious cavemen since the War.

I had never been in love, you see. I had never wanted to stretch out, exhausted, sated & naked beside another warm body and see lust, love & acceptance shine back from their eyes. I didn't know what I was giving up, Calista. I didn't know.

And then the tears came.

En Passant

In passing, I heard a baby cry, a mother croon & watched the graceful sway of her hips as she rocked it to silence. I didn’t recognize the language nor the lullaby – maybe it was Thai or Burmese, or any one of the dozen other tongues that scatter this small nation with big dreams. The baby was swathed in an old sarong, which looked clean, though bleached by the sun & constant washing. Plump cheeked, rosy from the screaming, the babe looked well cared for, well loved.

In passing, I saw 2 girls walking to school, hand-in-hand. They were maybe 9 or 10, pony tails on either side of their heads, swinging to a secret rhythm only they could hear. The elder sister walked one step ahead, on the outer rim of the road, putting herself between her younger sister & traffic. Their schoolbags trundled along behind them like shadows, bulging, pot-bellied shocks of reds and pinks and blues, perched on their rollers like fat old men on barstools. When did school bags get so full of knowledge that young shoulders no longer could bear the strain?

In passing, I saw the toothless old lady selling keropok on the pavement outside the bank. She is a familiar figure in Bangsar, packets displayed carefully on her tattered raffia mat of red, white & blue stripes: clear plastic bags of deep fried dark caramel banana chips, pale yellow tapioca chips coated with a sweet chili sauce, light-as-air prawn crackers and those devilishly addictive, spicy Indian nibblets flecked with fennel. RM10 for 3 packets, she says. She reminds me of my grandmother. I want to believe that her crow’s feet are evidence that she has laughed at least as much as she cried in her long life.

I sometimes forget to look – when I’m waiting in queue, when I’m in a traffic jam, when I’m walking past - so wrapped up in my little universe, so eager to get to my destination, bitching about the heat & humidity. I forget – that it’s the journey that counts.

52

I am attempting to revive what little I have in creative writing. I'm going to try to write one piece a week, no matter how short, for a year. I know not what is going to inspire nor what I aspire beyond getting the juices running again. Maybe it's escapism, maybe it's an overinflated ego.

In the immortal words of that tank engine, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

James McAvoy

Yes, an entire entry on James McAvoy, albeit, a short one.

Damn boy... those blue eyes can't be natural...

I adored him in Narnia, though I didn't recognize him at first.
I ached for him in Becoming Jane, when she left him in that inn.
I watched Wanted & Atonement because he was in it.
When the trailer for X-Men:First Class came around, I was gleefully applauding the casting choice for Prof X.

Yes yes - girlfriends who are reading this, you know full well how unabashed my obsession with James darkhairblueeyesenglishaccentdelicatefeaturesjustwalkedoutofavictoriannovel McAvoy is, so you shouldn't be surprised that I'm going on and on about him now.

Those luscious lips of his are just MADE for Austin & Shakespeare. I make no pretensions. This is not head-over-heels-love... this is legs-on-shoulders-lust. (Best phrase I heard today, btw...)

Oh and yes, by the way... X-Men First Class was worth the price of the ticket. I don't think it's worth the 3D price though.

4 iPad2: blogging blues

Ok so this damn thing is damn fidgety when it comes to blogging. The keypad is an ok size - I find I'm learning to type fairly quickly. I'm sure that I'll figure out how to navigate the damn auto-corrector too, eventually.

However, if you want to post en entry with a YouTube embedded,  i would recommend you poke yourself in the eye for fun instead. 

Problem 1: No YouTube embed code. 
The pad is designed to overcome the flash problem by automatically switching to a separate YouTube program, which does not come with embed codes. You could copy that from previous entries, you think? That leads me to ... 

Problem 2:  YOU CANNOT SCROLL IN THE HTLM FRAME.
Need an updated version of safari to be able to use the compose tab on blogspot. That's ok though. I edit HTML only anyway. 

However, infind that the damn entry frame is a no scroll zone! WTF?? Which means, to circumnavigate problem 1, if your prev entry is of any substantial length, you have to access the edit screen of the prev entry with the youtube embed, select all, copy, paste in note, delete the flak, reselect & recopy, and paste in the HTML edit frame of blogspot. 

And heaven help you if you go to a previous paragraph and want to go back to end of the piece. NO SCROLLING, remember?! I'm doing this entry in Note as we speak =p

Problem 3: the YouTube program does not give you the video URL.
Open a separate safari window, find the same damn YouTube video, and copy the URL from there. No, by the way, no embed codes here either.

Facebook notes function.
OK this isn't technically blogging, but I use it that way too, when i think the audience is appropriate, or if I'm tagging someone... so I'm putting this here.

Problem 4: cannot write notes.
Yes, at all. I'm using safari here, not some fancy app. Just good ol HTML. Can't do it. You can, however, key in the subject & tag the note... You just can't do any actual writing.

That's all I've come across so far... But then this was my first blog entry. I haven't even attempted anything fancy. =p

The best thing I heard today...

My Ee Poh said, "How are you going home?"
[insert dance of joy here]

Be still my beating heart...

When words fail, music speaks.
Hans Christian Anderson.

I went out dancing last night.
DJ Pietro techno-fied this song, but I could hear the original in my head.
I heard the phrase above on the radio today, and thought it fitting.
Sometimes, the universe speaks, but today it sang like the proverbial nightingale.

Comedy of Errors

Tonight's Comedy Club Asia performance will be held at 8:30pm as per the website, and not 9:00pm as per the ticket. I'm imagining the flood of disgruntled customers & thinking of Russell Peters.

Somebody's gonna get a hurt real bad...

People in PJ Live Arts Centre may need kevlar.

3 ipad2: case files

I decided on the C.E.O. Hybrid case from Marware.
It's as close to bullet-proof that I can get for under RM200.

Click here for website

Case is tough, reassuring in its stoic, ultra conservative finish. It's injection-moulded, and feels solid enough to be Lyn-proof... *laugh*

A brow-furrowing design fault: the clips are tight - as they should be, you may think... but the corner clips closest to the hinge are a little bit too much so, considering that you're constantly prying the ipad out of them so that you can fold it into easel mode.

I expect they'll wear out soon. This will replace my stiff upper clip (pun MOST DEFINITELY intended) problem for the "will it drop out" worry. To be fair, I expect the other 2 clips will prevent that, really...

That being said, now I'm having problems getting the anti-glare, smudge & grease-resistant, reusable, re-washable & colour-swap screen protector that I want: the iVisor because the iPhone.my review leads me to believe that the case may be too tight for the iVisor to fit.

Ricky's solution? "Don't need a screen protector loh..."
My response? "Fuck no! Can't live without one! Already wipe that thing kabillions of times a day. My OCD will KILL ME!"

So...
Step 1: find a local distributor of iVisor.
Step 2: take my toy over & find out once & for all whether it will fit.
Step 3: Pray that it doesn't cost more than the casing *pout*

2 ipad2

This little thing has taken over my life.
Ok it hasn't been a week yet even, so I can be excused for focusing on my shineeyyyyy new toy now, can't I ?! ;)

Tablets make you really anti-social.
Ok, that's both true & false.
When you're focused on the tablet & ignoring the ppl around you, you could be accused of being anti-social... as much as texting/reading the papers at the table does.

However, tablets being the shineeyyyyy toy that it is, you find yourself engaging with the people you're with, talking about it & playing games on it, and that counts as being social doesn't it? *laugh* It does in my circles!

Most of the games I like are not free *pout*
But then again, the games I like are the adventure type where you find things & collect things & go off on quests... in HD... so I don't expect them to be free. The pirateer in me doth protest though *sigh*

The levels I *have* played though, I must say, have graphics worth mentioning! Really smooth rendering & edges, provided you install the ipad versions (as opposed to stretching the iphone ones).

Having said that, with all the games & apps I've been trying out, the fingerprints on the damn screen is driving me CRAZY. Can't wait for the matte screen protectors to be available here.

1 ipad2

I managed to get iTunes to upload all my epub ebooks so I'm Really happy with iBooks, even though they don't really have a lot of free books in the store. I can basically read anything that I want, and the GUI is completely intuitive. Next will be to uplaoad some of the badly done ebooks I have to see how it handles poor conversion - will the ToC work, etc.
These are tiny, miniscule details though.

Out of the box, it's lighter than the iPad, and the dimensions are pleasing. It is heavier than a book though, and I suspect that will be my pet peeve. A peeve I will counter by reminding myself that though it is heavier than the average book, it is MUCH LIGHTER than the 7000 books I could potentially load into it. And I can view manga. :) And it's backlit, so I can read in a bus/car/dark room without external lighting.

The speaker (yes, singular) on the iPad2 isn't bad. Video renders smoothly, and audio doesn't crackle even at max volume. Placing the iPad2 onto the table does boost volume & sound quality a little a it uses the surface to resonate & bounce sound. If you get a case that wraps around the whole ipad, this feature is rendered useless.

The mic is ok, but it would have to be because there is no port for an external mic. You'd need to get bluetooth headset c/w mic & sync that, blah blah blah. (Please see previous rant on how Apple makes you pay for EDT:Every Damn Thing).

The best feature I've found so far is the double click on the menu button, bringing up the task bar. This enables you to close the programs that you've previously minimized & frees up cache & RAM for other apps.

iPad2 has landed.

32GB iPad2 with 3G
Available capacity: 29GB
OS: 4.3.3 (8J2)
Micro SIM
WiFi
Bluetooth capable

Black was a good choice.
The white looks *wrong*.


Let the bitching begin.
And trust me, it has.
Fresh out of the box, can't even turn the unit on to view the desktop.
Need to download iTunes & dunno do what else.
Rawr.

When plugged into desktop/laptop, it does not tell you that it's charging.
So you don't really know it's charging or that it's charged.
Till it's not.
Rawr.

I haven't even installed iTunes yet.

Resonance...

This so resonates with me right now... like a F dim chord waiting to resolve.

Chasing Pavements - Adele

I've made up my mind, don't need to think it over
If I'm wrong I am right, don't need to look no further
This ain't lust, I know this is love

But if I tell the world, I'll never say enough
'Cause it was not said to you
And that's exactly what I need to do if I'd end up with you

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?
Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there?
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?

I build myself up and fly around in circles
Waiting as my heart drops and my back begins to tingle
Finally could this be it?

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?
Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there?
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?
Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there?
Should I give up or should I just keep on chasing pavements
Should I just keep on chasing pavements?

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?
Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there?
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?

When did you change, in the aspect of my eye?

Review: Wit

Here heavens appoint
My pilgrimages last mile; and my race
Idly, yet quickly runne, hath this last pace,
My spans last inch, my minutes latest point,
And gluttonous death, will instantly unjoynt
My body, and soule
Holy Sonnet VI: This Is My Play's Last Scene, Here Heavens Appoint by John Donne

Wit (2001), movie for TV directed by Mike Nichols.
Teleplay by Nichols and Emma Thompson, based on a Pulitzer Prize (1998) winning play by Margaret Edson.

Holy crap the writing was good. Lingered long enough to read the credits. Co-written by Emma Thompson - am not surprised. She is, by far, one of my favourites. The movie starts off with her playing Vivian Bearing, cancer patient. Through the movie, we catch glimpses of Prof Bearing, literary chair at some unnamed university. Strong and intelligent, dying of advanced ovarian cancer, on some drug trial.

The script has you laughing at her (for want of a better word) wit. She takes on the whole hospitalisation process with dry humour, sarcasm and (to my utter delight) speaks to the audience directly, looking straight into the camera, explaining jargon, procedures, feelings & why nurse Susie offers her a Popsicle. It's like the movie is a personal conversation.

I am not detracting from the acting - that was really good as well. She is not one to shy from the ugliness of the process of dying. I found myself completely swept up in the power of her utter helplessness (oxymoron intended), the baldness of her head, the pale, cracked lips trembling as she is bent in half with pain... even the stereotypical regret of how clinical she ran her life and her classroom, versus how she nearly begs for humanity from her doctors, and shamelessly fakes a blocked tube to get the same from Susie.

I highly recommend this movie. The prose is as good as the poetry, the story well told. The actors are efficient and accomplished. You'll recognise a few familiar faces I'm sure. It is a simple and effectively-told story with a sad ending, but you expect it. It makes no pretensions.

I adore!

Photo Op

All dressed up for HELP's 25th Anniversary Gala Ball.
:)

Lat, The Kampung Boy: The Musical

I didn't do any research before buying tickets, so I had no idea what I was in for. I went in blind. Mum wanted to watch & that was good enough for me! Tip: If you want to spring for tickets in Istana Budaya, Row J is a really nice buy. Not too close to the stage so you have to crane, but close enough for it to be worth the moolah. Esp if you get aisle seats off the centre!
"Dah ternampak jerawat dah ni..." was a comment from the dude sitting in Row G. *grin*

Show late. *mumble mumble mumble* Yasmin Yusof on the PA System announcing... Dr M & Siti Hasmah, no less! No wonder the show started late lah... It had been raining & I dunno if he still has outrider privileges! Hahaha

Producer: Hans Isaac
Writer: Harith Iskandar (apparently with the help of Kuah Jenhan - can't wait to watch him in PJLaughFest! :))
Co-directors: Hans & Harith

Daniel Eezkandar Azraien as the young Lat was AMAZING! He had a really clear, soaring, precise voice. Watch him. I'm telling you. He's going places! Nicholas Low is going to be a comedian. Anyone who saw him do Frankie knows it. His comedic timing was Spot on! He's going to KILL.

Awie as Lat was ok. Power is there, but sometimes words get swallowed. He's not all that, or maybe he was just tired cos it was the Very Last Show. Sandra Sodhy was Instantly recognizable, but OMG... I did NOT believe it was Rahim Razali as Pak Samad!

Douglas was Douglas (as usual). *laugh* I don't know what Frankie is like IRL, but Douglas was Douglas! He stole the scenes he was in, and got the best laughs of the night.

The music was well written - a really nice duet with Sandra Sodhy & Atilia, but nothing you'll hear anyone humming on the way out. Some of the phrasing sounded off to me - like they were trying to fit jazz lyrics to a samba beat. Kadang tak on. The live orchestra was Fantastic!

Coreography was great. There was always something to keep the eye busy. The entire thing was a little too angsty for my liking. Not enough Kampung & too much on grown-up Lat's battle between family & fame. Stereotyped.

All-in-all, worth the price of the ticket.
And apparently, the best grossing home-grown musical in history!

Movie Review: Sucker Punch

I love love love!

From the Director of "The 300". Nuff said.

Glorious lighting, CGI, background colour, cinematography, it's an action-packed fantasy flick. It looked like the movie version of a manga or video game. From dragons to steam-powered Nazi soldiers... machine guns, samurai swords, sailor cosplay, leather, helicopters, trains, bombs... the eye is never still. If that's your cup of tea, GO WATCH IT! I had a GREAT time!

Not to be watched from your tiny TV or computer - to fully appreciate the effects, pay the price of the ticket. Seriously.

Story wise, it's nothing too deep nor meaningful. The storyline (though somewhat stereotypical & hence predictable) is enough to keep the action going. It's just a filler between CGI segments, really, so expect that.

Movie Review: Battle: Los Angeles

I feel like I've seen this movie before. Several times.
It's Independence Day meets War of the Worlds meets Black Hawk Down meets AvP.

Many things were broken in the making of this movie.
It's a flick you want to see in a movie theatre - to fully enjoy the special effects.
The aliens were ... not the point of the movie.
It's about how an aging Marine rediscovers his usefulness in the face of alien-induced adversity.

(cue violins)
"My men who died are engraved in my mind - I miss them everyday... "
"They're your men - not mine, (but I'll just quietly play hero cos I've been in the service longer than you've been alive)..."
"I need you to be brave. I need you to be a little marine for me, because Marines don't quit..."
And many such meaningful lines are some of the things you should expect of the dialog.

Go watch it in the cinema, it's a blast.
Most times, quite literally!

Malaysia Boleh.... masuk International News!

Those of you who are on my FB would have seen my disbelieving rant when I first came across this little bit of news about my "First Lady".

I mean... You gotta be KIDDING me... Disaster because Japan isn't using "Green Tech" and didn't perform a freaking Site Survey when building?? What does she expect, "Oh. Earthquake Belt. Let's SHIFT THE COUNTRY OVER THERE A LITTLE"???

This isn't a case of a landslide because some idiot didn't check for underground rivers, you moron. What Green Tech would shield the beach from a freaking Tsunami??

And now, she's gone international!
CNN REPORT HERE

I'm so fucking proud of this woman that I don't know what to do with myself.
Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Movies I saw in 2010

A Nightmare on Elm Street
Alice in Wonderland
Avatar (3D)
Book of Eli
Brothers
Clash of the Titans (3D)
Couple's Retreat
Date Night
Daybreakers
Despicable Me (3D)
Did You Hear About The Morgans?
Fame (2009)
Greenzone
Inception
Ip Man 2
Iron Man 2
Karate Kid
Killers
Knight and Day
Legion
Little Ashes
Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Salt
Sex and the City 2
Shrek: Forever After
Shutter Island
Solomon Kane (did not finish)
The A-Team
The Blind Side
The Bounty Hunter
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
The Collector (did not finish)
The Contract
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
The Losers
The Other Guys
The social network
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The Spy Next Door
The Tooth Fairy
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Toy Story 3
Valentine's Day

Movies movies movies! 2011

On my "Gotta watch" list for 2011:

Beastly
Bourne 4
Captain America
Cars 2
Fast & Furious 5
G.I.Joe 2
Ghost in the Shell (LIVE ACTION)
Ghostbusters 3 (BELIEVE IT BITCHES)
Green Lantern
District 10
Hairspray 2
Hitman 2
I am No. 4
I,Frankenstein
Iron Man 3
Jumper 2
Kick Ass 2
Limitless
Margin Call
McGyver (Yes, I said McGyver)
National Treasure 3
Pirates 4
Priest
Rise of the Apes
Sherlock Holmes 2
Sin City 2
The Lady
The Mechanic
Thor
Transformers 3
Twilight 4
Wolverine 2
X-Men 1st Class


The Jury is (still) out
Battle Los Angeles
ContaigonHangover 2
Neuromancer
Prometheus
Real Steel
Rise of the Apes
Super 8
The Change-up (Ryan Reynolds, baby)
The Hobbit
Unbound Captives
Upside Down
Water for Elephants
28 Months Later

Things that terrify me:
Arthur with Russell Brand
Cowboy bebop with Keanu Reaves
Cowboys and Aliens with Daniel Craig
Fathom with Megan Fox
Ghost Rider 2 with Nick Cage
Mars needs Moms with Seth Green
Max Steel with Taylor Laudner
Piranha 3DD
Rambo 5 with Sly Stallone 
So Undercover with Miley Cyrus
Shark Night 3 with Katharine McPhee
Terminator 5 with Christian Bale
The Smurfs
The Green Hornet with Seth Green (I see a pattern forming)
Total Recall with Colin Farrel

Where to find the time???

Happy Valentine's Day, love.

This Valentine's day, I'm taking stock of those I love.

Them who are there to hold your hand, for a hug, who feed you, medicate you, who tuck you in...
Who are there to drive you when you're drunk (and sometimes insist that you get drunk!)
Who are there with willing bodies to help with whatever, who are there in spirit, cheering you on...
Who pepper with sarcasm, scatter with light, roll with laughter, bless with tears and nag nag nag
Who let you dance, even if they can't understand the music
Whom you turn over in bed to spoon, reach across to kiss...
Whom you sms in  the wee hours when you can't sleep, or early in the morning for breakfast
Them whom you miss, and who miss you.

You, family
You, soulmate
You, friend
You, lover

My life is indeed rich.
I am indeed blessed.
I thank you for the kaleidoscope that is the tapestry of my life.

Happy CNY!

May the year of the Bunny bring HOPpiness and BOUNDing prosperity! :)

Uncle Cheng

My uncle Cheng passed away on Sunday morning.

It's a bit of a relief, I admit. To say that he's been having a rough time is a supreme understatement. Stomach cancer, dengue, ripping migraines, cancer redux in the brain, blindness, hearing loss... To watch him was torture. Being helpless was worse.

It's over. He's in a better place. At least he won't suffer anymore.
They say if you hear something often enough, you'll believe it.
I'll miss you, my Ultraman uncle.

Do you feel lucky, punk?

I spent Sunday afternoon at the shooting range! With Live Ammunition!

Got there at about 3, had a half-hour briefing where they showed you how to stand, hold a gun, load a magazine, aim, muzzle discipline, etc... then on to the firing range! I was the first up & they made us run the first shot without earphones so that we wouldn't be shocked by the noise thereafter. I was so gobsmacked by the crack and the ringing in my ears that I stood there shell-shocked & the marshal had to remove the gun from my numb fingers.

That having been said, I soon got into the rhythm of things. What the marshal said is true! Girls are Way better than boys at shooting.
With a Glock 17, at 5m, I got a perfect 50 points! *boggle*
At 13m, I got a bulls-eye! (I'm conveniently ignoring the 3,4, 7 and 8 that accompanied the bulls-eye *grin*)

One more thing to add to my "been there, done that" list.
It was *disturbing* how much I enjoyed myself.
Now to find a therapist... I had no idea that deep inside, I am somewhat of a sociopath. *laugh*

It's ABsolutely Official!

Kiss frequently
Love deeply
Anger slowly
Forgive easily
Have trust
Have faith
Have a sense of humour!
The rest is icing... :)

Congratulations, Choon & Jason!