Oscar Movies... As At 31 January 2007...

here are the Oscar movies i have watched so far (in alphabetical order):
1. Apocalypto 
2. Babel
3. The Black Dahlia
4. Borat
5. Curse Of The Pussy Golden Flower
6. The Departed
7. The Devil Wears Prada
8. Happy Feet
9. An Inconvenient Truth
10. Little Miss Sunshine
11. Pan's Labyrinth
12. Poseidon
13. The Prestige
14. The Queen
15. Superman Returns
16. United 93 (on DVD cos it wasn't shown in Singapore)

Oscar movies that i would like to watch (in alphabetical order):
1. Blood Diamond
2. Children Of Men
3. Dreamgirls
4. Half Nelson
5. The Illusionist
6. The Last King Of Scotland
7. Letters From Iwo Jima (the only Best Picture i've yet to watch)
8. Little Children
9. Marie Antoinette
10. Notes On A Scandal
11. The Pursuit Of Happyness
12. Venus
13. Volver
14. Water

Oscar movies that i've missed on the big screen and would like to watch the DVD (in alphabetical order):
1. Flags Of Our Father
2. Monster House
3. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

for the full list of nominees by movie, please visit the Oscar website...

Apocalypto...

went into the cinema without knowing what the movie was all about... only knew that it was in some foreign language (Maya, to be exact)... just like when i watched Pan's Labyrinth... came out feeling disturbed (by the rather gory scenes) and touched (by the abundance of love and emotions)...

the emotions of a group of victims trying to find another place to live in...
the love of a mother who longed for a grandchild...
the love of a man for his pregnant wife and kid...
the love of a whole city of men and women for their country...
the love of a father for his "soon-to-be-a-warrior" son...
the love of another father for his "he-will-take-over-my-land-after-i-died" son...
the love of a jaguar for its cub...
the love of a man for his village people...

* * * * 1/2 out of * * * * *

the movie is nominated for the following 3 Oscars:
Makeup
Sound Editing
Sound Mixing

Monday...

on my way home, bumped into my ex-student from Beatty who lives two blocks away... he told me that he is back in Beatty to complete his "O" levels... he dropped out of school after he failed his "N" levels... went to private school and managed to pass his "N" levels... glad that the school is giving him another chance despite his bad track records of smoking in school and other vices... told him to study hard and hopefully end up in Polytechnic...

went for a run after that... completed 10km in 55 minutes... a personal best, i think...

Bodypump Tuesday night @ Raffles Place Cali... time to work the body...

Out With The Old... In With The New...

Friday night, last minute arrangement to meet up with Kerry for dinner at Earle Swensen's... nice food... quite different from the other Swensen's outlets... had my all-time favourite, Jumbo Frank...

Borat was Boring... one of the worst shows i have seen in my life... if you think Stephen Chow is bad, Borat is 10 times worse...

Kerry brought me to St James Power Station to check out the place... we didn't go in cos it was quite late by then and i have to work the next day...

Saturday morning attended the company's annual business continuity plan... this year it ended early probably because people are more familiar with the procedures...

was played out by my HK friend at the last minute... he had to meet his clients in Penang and could not meet me in JB... bummer... spent the whole Saturday at home...

Sunday was spent spring cleaning my room... tidied the CDs and DVDs and books... and threw away the old magazines... wonder if i should continue to buy magazines when their shelf life is so short... threw away some other stuff as well... it's amazing what i keep...

OUT with the OLD...
IN with the NEW...

will you see the new me soon??

Spring Cleaning...

i hate spring cleaning... sure got a lot of memories flooding my mind in the process...

but...

out with the old... in with the new...

Bonus... Again??

the email finally arrived this morning...
to end all speculations over the last few days...
another 2 months of bonus to be paid tomorrow...
including the 1 month paid in December 2006...
total general bonus for the year is 3 months...

cannot wait for the performance bonus in May 2007...

Borat...

was planning on watching Conversations With God alone this evening at GV Bishan...
last minute meeting Kerry for Borat at GV Vivocity instead...
wanted to watch Borat for the longest time...
best to catch it before it ends its run here...

no expectations...
just going for a good laugh and relax on a Friday night...

tomorrow morning got Business Continuity Plan testing...
afternoon heading to JB to meet a HK friend...

Slim?

met up with the Adlus gang for dinner after my gym... Thomas commented that i have slimmed down... and that my face looked thinner now...

Have You Confessed?

managed to get hold of a copy of Madonna's The Confessions Tour from Guhan after gym earlier...
very tempted to watch it...
but decided to catch only the last part Hung Up...
fantastic concert indeed...
will stay home to watch the whole thing tomorrow night...
THANX Gutch!!!!!

goodnight world...

Deleted...

旧的不去。。。
新的不来。。。
time of the year to do spring cleaning...

it is time to trim my MSN and mobile phone contact lists...

the algorithm is simple...
if chat date is before 1 January 2006...
delete...

did the same to my wardrobe two weeks ago...
threw away 40 tops...
mostly bought during my trips to...
Australia (February 2003)...
Tokyo (June 2004)...
Bangkok (December 2004)...
Hong Kong (February 2005)...
Kuala Lumpur (May 2005)...

Lost In Pan's Labyrinth...

well well well... really lost in Pan's Labyrinth last night... couldn't find the link between the war and the little girl's fantasy world... until Patrick provided me with some insight on our way to the MRT station... and also when i chatted with Roy when home...

kinda disappointed with the movie... not much of special effects... anyway, the movie is nominated for the following 6 Oscars:
Art Direction
Cinematography
Foreign Language Film
Makeup
Original Score
Original Screenplay

Student...

here's a picture of my student who accompanied me throughout my 8 days in Taipei... next to him is his little brother... worlds of difference...

this picture was taken in Tian Mu where we had our hot baths...

Closure...

why are we meeting again?
for a proper closure?
for things unsettled?
for words unsaid?
for debts not repaid?

don't ask why...
just do it...

The Confessions Tour...

got this from the internet...
great remixes...
cannot wait to grab hold of the DVD when it is released...
hopefully Singapore allows it to be sold...
else will have to get it from Australia when i am there in March...

1. "Future Lovers/I Feel Love"

2. "Like A Virgin"

3. "Jump"

4. "Confessions"

5. ."Isaac"

6. "Sorry"

7. "Sorry (Remix)"

8. "I Love New York"

9. "Let It Will Be"

10. "Music Inferno"

11. ."Erotica"

12. "Lucky Star"

13. "Hung Up"

Brain Stormed??

Friday night met up with David and Shaun for dinner... what was supposedly a simple dinner at Seah Street became an ala carte buffet at Wah! Noogeez... hahahaha... what is an outing with David without drinks... we had a bottle of red wine at some wine place near Stamford Road...

Saturday and Sunday was spent at Changi Village Hotel for the company's annual brainstorming... nice place but too bad no time to explore the facilities... Saturday night was spent at a pub in Changi Village to play "chor dai dee"... lost $15.00... hahahaha...

reached home on Sunday evening 7:30pm... showered, had dinner and slept...

Goodbye Nat... Hello Syd & Mel...

so the results of the Project Superstar 2 were out last night... despite being the better singers on the crucial nights, Nathaniel and Carrie were out of the competition... at least now there's nothing to look forward to in the finals... same like last year when Junyang and Xinhui were out...

for every goodbye, there will be another hello... so hello to Sydney and Melbourne... my March trip to the East Coast of Australia has been confirmed... my second trip to Aussieland after Brisbane / Gold Coast in February 2003...

air ticket on SQ to Sydney on 2/3 12:20am (checked)
accommodation in Sydney
domestic flight from Sydney to Melbourne on 6/3
accommodation in Melbourne (checked)
air ticket on SQ from Melbourne to Singapore on 10/3 5pm (checked)

gotta find out more details of the Mardi Gras parade and parties on 3/3... also the schedules for Sydney Opera House... planning to do the walk up the bridge... not sure if they have bungee jumping in these two places...

Borders Thursday...

met up with Ken to discuss about the Australia trip... he brought his Lonely Planet... dinner was at Dome Shaw House...

visitied Borders to utilise more of my 40% and 25% coupons for books and DVDs / CDs... bought Mitch Albom's For One More Day for a friend... and the movie Hard Candy for myself... yeahness to the maximum...

watched the results show of Project Superstar 2 before going to bed...

Vacuum Cleaner...

last night met up with Kerry at Plaza Singapura to buy him his "housewarming" gift... a vacuum cleaner, with HEPA filter... kinda interesting to shop for household appliances... something that my parents will take care of at home...

i guess it has been a wonderful, fruitful and learning experience for Kerry this time around... admire him for his enthusiasm and high spirits in moving to his own place in Mountbatten... seriously don't think i can ever do that on my own...

from the initial scouting for a good place...
to all the paperwork and finances...
to the cleaning up of the place...
to the actual shifting (in terms of movers and drivers)...
to the purchasing of washing machines, fridge, furniture, etc...
to the nitty gritties of plates, cups, forks and spoons...

i have yet to hear him make a serious grumble... i salute you my friend...

will appoint you as my personal consultant when i get my HDB flat in 2008...

暗恋桃花源 + 优客李林

anybody wants to watch 暗恋桃花源? it's part of this year's Huayi - Chinese Festival Of Arts...

OR

anybody wants to watch 优客李林?

for more details, please check out Sistic at: 暗恋桃花源 or 优客李林...

王杰 - 爱恋九二零

Wang Jie releases his new nine-song studio album 别了疯子 (translated to "Goodbye, Madman)...
following the footsteps of some artistes, he decided to do a medley of cover versions, including his own 是否我真的一无所有...
title of the song is 爱恋九二零 (translated to Love Nine Two Zero)...
it is the worst medley i've heard in my life...
for those who wish to take a listen, you can check download from the following:
http://download.yousendit.com/8ABCB6D3664CE1B9

作曲：陈志远/王力宏/Davy Chan/涂惠源/光良/Kim Hyung-Seok/Yan Jae Sun/王杰/邬裕康
填词：陈乐融/王力宏/林夕/林秋离/光良/阿怪/王杰/郭子 | 编曲：杜自持

是否我真的一无所有
黑暗之中沉默地探索你的手
是否我真的一无所有
明天的我又要到哪里停泊

Baby　你就是我的唯一
两个世界都变心　回去谈何容易
确定　你就是我的唯一
独自对着电话说我爱你　我真的爱你
Baby　我已不能多爱你一些

如果　全世界我也可以放弃
至少还有你　值得我去珍惜
而你在这里　就是生命的奇迹
也许　全世界我也可以忘记
就是不愿意　失去你的消息
你掌心的痣　我总记得在那里

写信告诉我今夜　你想要梦什么
梦里外的我是否　都让你无从选择
我揪着一颗心　整夜都闭不了眼睛
为何你明明动了情　却又不靠近
听　海哭的声音
叹惜着谁又被伤了心　却还不清醒
一定不是我　至少我很冷静
可是泪水　就连泪水也都不相信

是否我真的一无所有
黑暗之中沉默地探索你的手
是否我真的一无所有
明天的我又要到哪里停泊

我愿变成童话里　你爱的那个天使
张开双手　变成翅膀守护你
你要相信　相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局
我愿变成童话里　你爱的那个天使
张开双手　变成翅膀守护你
你要相信　相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局　幸福和快乐是结局

虽然不曾说　相信你正在懂
就算牵的不是我的手　我真的不难过
不知道在高兴什么　你的笑容
有时候也宁可　当作你在为我加油
不知道在妄想什么　只告诉自己
I Believe　你总会看到我
在某个时候　想让你陪伴的是我

没有人能够　告诉我
没有人能够　体谅我
那爱情到底是什么
让我一片模糊在心头　在我心头
过了今夜我将不再有哦
也许今生注定不能够有
眼看那爱情如此飘过　只有含泪让它走
她的背影已经慢慢消失在风中
只好每天守在风中任那风儿吹
风儿能够让我想起　过去和你的感觉
只好每天守在风中任那风儿吹
风儿能够让我想起　过去和你的感觉
只好每天守在风中任那风儿吹
风儿能够让我想起　过去和你的感觉
只好每天守在风中任那风儿吹
风儿能够让我想起　过去和你的感觉

我知道这样不好
也知道你的爱只能那么少
我只有不停的要　要到你想逃
泪湿的枕头晒干就好
眼泪在你的心里只是无理取闹
以为在你身后　是我一辈子的骄傲
原来你什么都不想要
我不要你的呵护　你的玫瑰
只要你好好久久爱我一遍
就算虚荣也好　贪心也好
哪个男人对爱不自私　不奢望
我不要你的承诺　不要你的永远
只要你真真切切爱我一遍
就算虚荣也好　贪心也好
最怕你把沉默　当做对我的回答

是否我真的一无所有
黑暗之中沉默地探索你的手
是否我真的一无所有
明天的我又要到哪里停泊

Weekly Schedule...

this is my typical weekly schedule...

Monday - home for mum's home-cooked dinner...
Tuesday - 8:50pm Bodypump at Raffles Place Cali...
Wednesday - free
Thursday - gym or movie
Friday - free (hopefully sex)
Saturday - gym + free (hopefully sex)
Sunday - breakfast with family + home / friends

this weekend burnt... got corporate event...

Golden Globe Awards...

The Golden Globe Awards Go To...

1. Jennifer Hudson (American Idol finalist) won best supporting actress in a motion picture for Dreamgirls...

2. Eddie Murphy won best supporting actor in a motion picture for Dreamgirls...

3. Meryl Streep won best actress in a motion picture - musical or comedy for her role in The Devil Wears Prada... HOORAY!!

4. Happy Feet's The Song Of The Heart won best song... *puke*

5. Cars won best animated feature film...

6. Elizabeth I won best mini-series or motion picture made for television...

7. Sacha Cohen won best actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy for his role in Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan...

8. Best foreign language film went to Letters From Iwo Jima...

9. Martin Scorsese won best director for The Departed...

10. Ugly Betty won best television series - musical or comedy, beating Desperate Housewives...

11. Babel won best motion picture - drama...

12. Dreamgirls won best motion picture - musical or comedy...

13. Helen Mirren won best actress in a motion picture - drama for her role in The Queen...

14. Forest Whitaker won best actor in a motion picture - drama for his role in The Last King Of Scotland, beating Leonardo DiCaprio who was nominated twice in the category for his roles in Blood Diamond and The Departed...

15. Grey's Anatomy won best television series - drama, beating 24 and Lost...

for more details, please visit the official website: Golden Globe Awards

Sunday Mahjong

met up with Patrick, David and Melvin for mahjong at home... had great fun... so much of socialising... laughter... wonder if someone ate "buns" for breakfast that morning...

dinner was prepared by mum... everyone enjoyed her culinary skills...

United 93

slept at 4+am this morning...
was watching United 93 on DVD...
bought it using my 25% Borders coupon... after discount it's only S$21...

United 93 was a sad yet courageous show...
very touching... i actually cried when the passengers fought back...
and shots of them talking to their loved ones before the plane actually crashed...
was surprised why the movie didn't make it to the big screen here...
probably it showed the inadequacies of the US authorities in handling such crises...
it was indeed one of the best movies of 2006...

also bought Paulo Coelho's Like The Flowing River with my 40% discount coupon...
only S$14...
SO CHEAP!!!!!
will print more coupons and buy more next time...

woke up at 8am to go market with my parents...
thought i should play my part for the mahjong session later...
it's been years since i last stepped into a wet market...
one word to describe it: STINKO...
especially at the fish and chicken stalls...
picking the potatoes left a sandy / muddy feel on my hand... eeks...

came home and helped to peel the potatoes for the curry chicken... hahahaha...

think i will go take a power nap before the battle begins...

ps: the DVD i bought has a different cover... hehe...

Packed Saturday...

bought breakfast for my family from the coffeeshop downstairs...

left the house at around 1pm to meet Ken... we checked out the air tickets to Sydney and Melbourne in March 2007... doing Mardi Gras first, then off to Melbourne to meet up with two other friends...

wanted to attend Deepak's Yoga at Raffles Place Cali... but ended up in Novena for Bodycombat... couldn't find the entrance to Novena Cali... asked the security guard and was told it's on the third floor... hahahaha... i also didn't know i was at the wrong class until i went into the studio and saw that no one has a yoga mat with him... my first Bodycombat in months... at least this latest set was much easier to handle...

after class shopped a little in Borders, utilising my discount coupons... met up with Triston for dinner at Sun With Moon... passed him the CDs from Taipei... and he gave me a box of cookies from Hong Kong Disneyland... had a good chat... left at around 10:30pm...

wanted to watch a movie at Shaw Lido... bad timings... walked to Cineleisure... also bad timings... decided to head home instead...

Friday Movie

watched Big Bang Love Juvenile A with Shaun @ The Picturehouse...

as i've been pre-warned by numerous people, i went into the theatre without any expectations... the show was quite ok lah... as for the story... kinda confusing about the murders... and difficult to figure out when is now and when was the past... cos of the use of flashbacks ever so often... i find the set minimalist simple and beautiful... one thing we couldn't understand was the significance of the triple rainbows... but never mind lah... take it as a twisted murder mystery...

it was raining by the time the show ended... and we headed to TCC @ The Atrium for coffee and cakes...

Stanley 黄立行 - 无神论

my favourite song now...

Stanley 黄立行
无神论

作词：黄立行 / 作曲：黄立行

我希望 相信世界有 奇迹出现
我想要 我们的童话 不只是瞬间

我希望今后都能快乐 永不分离
但我上不去天堂 我不能够陪你
不存在一种永恒 不相信世界有神

死亡是不是终点 会停止想念
不能再亲吻你的脸 不管我有多怀念

我真的希望我们快乐 永不分离
只有你能上天堂 我到不了那里
不存在一种永恒 不相信世界有神

死亡是不是终点 会停止想念
不能再亲吻你的脸 不管我有多怀念

只要想念没改变 不管多远 我会在你心里面

死亡是不是终点 会停止想念
不能再亲吻你的脸 不管我有多怀念

死亡是不是终点 会停止想念
不能再亲吻你的脸 不管我有多怀念

New Auditor-General

Singapore is having a new Auditor-General (AG)... apparently the Constitution was changed in the late-1990s such that one can only be AG for a term of not more than 6 years...

i was working in the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) from July 1996 to December 2001... when the current AG was heading the Organ of State... how time flies... since then i have been on three other jobs, excluding the relief teaching i had in September to October 2003...

Last Week...

my first official entry in 2007, since my Taipei and KL trips...

Thursday (4 Jan) - met up with Arun who was back for the Christmas and New Year holidays... gave me the idea of visiting Sydney in early March 2007 for Mardi Gras...

Friday (5 Jan) - my ex-boss farewell dinner at Boat Quay Penny Black... it has been more than a month of planning and coordinating... luckily everything went smoothly... Cynthia from Penny Black truly made sure that everything is fine during the whole event... appreciates her... and they actually do not have service charge...

Saturday (6 Jan) - went for my first gym class of 2007... Bodybalance @ Raffles Place conducted by my all-time favourite instructor, Wai Han... ran on the threadmill for 30 minutes and covered 5km... time to shed those weights from the two trips...

Saturday (6 Jan) - met Shaun for The Queen... Helen Mirren was superb... the struggles the Queen has to go through for what she believes in is truly amazing... cannot blame her for being such a cold and unfeeling person for most of the time...

Saturday (6 Jan) - had a good chat with Shaun at Coffee Club... managed to catch the last train to Ang Mo Kio and possibly the last bus 132 home... one of my resolutions for 2007 is to save up... was on the net until 4am...

Sunday (7 Jan) - woke up at around 11am... had breakfast and continued to sleep until 1pm... met up with Kerry @ Parkway Parade at 3:30pm... shopped for his pots and plates, cups and spoons... went over to his studio apartment that he has moved into recently... nice cosy place... much better than the old Tiong Bahru colonial flats... dinner was at some Hong Kong cafe along East Coast Road... nice food... the weekend ended with dessert (gelato) at a friend's shop, Fresco... nice place to hang out in... but thought it was a little pricey... but probably the price includes the sofas, boreardgames, etc...