it's gone to pot

I'm a naturally curious person.

So when Pot Noodle flashed their new Piri-Piri Chicken flavour noodles ad over the telly for the past few weeks I wondered what it would taste like?

Now, truth be told I've actually never eaten a Pot Noodle even after living in this country for a combination of almost ten years now.

I've tried once or twice Bachelors Super Noodles and coming from an Asian background I think the Far East does much better (instant) noodles then the West. Sorry, but then again I'm bias because they are the types I'm used to.

Anyways curiosity got the better of me, so I bought one over the weekend to try. I've been lazy the past week and didn't prepare any lunch so I took this into work today.

Now I've eaten a few instant noodles in a cup variety, granted not very often. So I read up the instructions on this Pot Noodle *geek!* and then cautiously filled up the water to the level required.

Oh yes, before that I opened the foil and there was a pack of lime juice. However, very strange thing the top of the noodles were covered in flavouring powder, like loads of it.

So I followed the instructions, filled water to desired level. Waited two minutes, add lime juice sachet, stirred evenly before trying the said noodles.

I was hesitant at first as in the past the instant noodles I consumed, whether instant noodles in a cup or even the one I cooked over the hob with "soup" it was soupy. This Piri-Piri Chicken Pot Noodle was thick and gooey. Such a weird "consistency" so to say.

The flavour was spicy with a real kick, I give you that. But the consistency was just, weird.

Now that I've tried this would I give it a go again?

To be fair it wasn't too bad. But when there are better instant noodles and even the noodles in the cup variety out there, I would not understand why I would give Pot Noodle a try again.

It is just me. As they say on man's meat is another man's poison. I'll give it a skip next time, thankyouverymuch.

Might work for others but it's just not for me.

counting down to Christmas - 23 sleeps to go

Speaking about advent calendars, not sure how many of you have seen the newest style of advent calendars from Lego and Playmobil?

OK, they are not the newest but it is the first year it caught my eye at my local supermarket a few weeks back.

Not trying to sound like a bah-humbug, just as you thought it is bad enough that you can get chocolate Advent Calendars costing around £10 (and I just found out you can get one from Hotel Chocolate for £12), here comes these really expensive advent calendars.

My first impression of Lego and Playmobil advent calendars were "wow, these looked amazing!" and "how cool is that?!". Of course until I saw the price tag.

Playmobil advent calendars costs about £17 and the Lego ones costs about £25.

In this time of austerity and as if Christmas is not an expensive time of the year, expensive advent calendars like these do make you wonder either (a) people have too much money, or (b) I am too poor to buy fancy things like that.

It does make you wonder has the true meaning to counting down to Christmas lost somewhere in the world of consumerism?

I guess for what it is worth, perhaps they are good price. Some may say "how can you deprive children of the excitement to counting down to Christmas?" (with these expensive advent calendars if I may so add).

After all, it is not like we need to manage children's (and people's) expectation. I mean what do you give them next year when this year's advent calendar is soooooo good?

Perhaps I am just annoyed that I haven't received one of these advent calendars. So please don't mind me, as I look for someone who can afford to buy me these cool advent calendars, or these best Advent Calendars (which I love them all including the Ginvent *wink wink*).

Will you be that person, please?

*Please note that photos of advent calendars are taken from various sources from Google.*

bright.talented.young.writers

I enjoy listening to Radio 2 when I am in the car. And I have some exciting to share with you today.

Last Friday on my way to work, I was listening to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. That morning, Chris was broadcasting live from the Hay Festival (of Literature & Arts).

At the beginning of the year, Radio 2 ran a competition asking children under the age of 13 to submit a 500 words essay.

And on Friday, I had the pleasure of listening to the following story, Charlotte Johnson, written by Kerry Maxwell (age 12), and read by the singer Alexandra Burke.

All credits to Kerry Maxwell:

Charlotte Johnson
By Kerry Maxwell, age 12

Charlotte Johnson. That name crosses any persons lips. She is a household name known by everyone.

Charlotte was thirteen when her dream came true.

Dramatic and creative was Charlotte in her early life. She had always known her name was to be known across the world, her voice recognised anywhere. Singing and acting and dancing meant everything to her and now her chance had finally come!

Thanks to the local talent show, she could almost taste sweet victory upon her lips.

Nervously waiting in the wings, Charlotte gripped her monologue and song sheet. She felt so tense and nervous. Sweat was pouring from her forehead, the palms of her hands like a tropical jungle damp and warm. But how long was she meant to feel like this? She was the last act to perform!

With six acts ahead of her, she decided to walk outside for some fresh air. As she slipped out of the dark wooden door, her legs trembled.

Immediately, Charlotte felt the cool breeze of the evening hit her. The moonlit velvet blanket above her seemed to be hiding something, like a secret. Tiny little diamonds dotted the sky in odd places. They looked like little pairs of eyes, slyly staring at her. The darkness of the night felt private to Charlotte, and strangely, she liked it. Comparing it to the heated, busy community centre, the stillness of the night was so much more peaceful, so much more relaxing, so much more quiet. She walked down the gravel pathway. And walked. And walked. Her soft, satin ballet shoes tentatively touched the ground. She felt as if she was flying, a delicate little fairy fluttering far away. Amidst her final dance practice beams of yellow light caused her to squint. Her pale skin shone in the light, her dark hair seemed to glow. Then, it went out.

The gentle shine of the bare moon reflected the colour of the car. A silver convertible. Slick, smooth and special was this car. Then, a voice rose up from the car into the sky a deep American accent Hello there, I'm Blake Wethersfield from Starry Eyed. It's a talent agency. I'm on my way to Ribby Talent Show or I am supposed to be. I'm lost. And I'm hoping you can tell me the way seeing as you're taking part!

Erm how did you know? came the strong, clear voice of Charlotte.

Name tag he pointed. So where do I go? Hop in! Blake smiled.

Charlotte grinned. She opened the door and drove off.

That night, at nine thirty, the whole of England knew Charlotte Johnson. By that time the next morning, so did the whole world.

Although Charlotte was not a dancer, or a singer, or a movie star, she had her own television programme.

It was called:

Charlotte Johnson: The Girl who never came Home.

I was moved by how well the story was written by a 12 year old. Unfortunately Kerry did not win in her category (10 to 12 year olds) but was runner up in the competition.

Still, I was very impressed by Kerry’s writing. I somewhat previously had the "privilege" of reading some English speaking country college students' essays / assignments and was appalled at how poor those works were, and way below the standard this young girl and others in the competition wrote.

I don't claim to write very well and would definitely take inspiration from these young children to improve on my writing.

Other winning essays are available from the Radio 2 500 words website.

Enjoy!

j.&.j

Just watched Julie & Julia on DVD last night while TheOtherHalf was out with his workmates.


No surprises that I absolutely adore the movie! Love the storyline, Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child, the determination of Julie Powell, lovely French-y music (my soft spot), the lurve, and the supportive loving husbands of both women.

Yes, it is total chick-flick.

Towdaaallly love it!

Plus, how can you not love a movie with food? I'm Asian after all. Food is our life and you can spot us from far because we will be the one taking photos of food at a food establishment or anywhere that food is available.

*****

Kinda inspired by the movie, I would like to one day go through all the recipes in my collection of cookbooks.

One thing I would utterly love to do, and have been thinking like forever about it, is to prepare an English Afternoon Tea, with scones, cakes, biscuits, and sandwiches.

Actually I could do it this afternoon since it is such a horrible day out there: wintery showers, rain, sleet and snow. And TheOtherHalf is in bed nursing his hangover.

But then, he would not have an appetite to eat all those food. And it is one reason I don't cook/bake as much as I would love to because there is only so much one or two of us can eat.

So I will be contented to make my first batch of scones later this afternoon: plain and cheese scones.

Watch this space!

the.sowing.and.being.sowed.

Last weekend, TheOtherHalf and I caught the latest movie Inception.


I’m sure if you Googled Inception, there will be many blogs, articles, reviews and comments about this movie. For certain, I find this a very good movie, this year by far.

To me a good movie is one that you walk out of the cinema or after watching it, thinking, questioning, reasoning and discussing about it. Whether or not you agree with what was in the movie, or the person you are having this discussion with, be it your own mind or another person; it doesn’t really matter.

Inception was one of those movies.


And Inception without a doubt is one of those movies you’ll prolly have to watch another time or more to truly understand it. This is because we will still continue to question and reason what the story is, what the character represents or what the outcome is or should be.

Yes, the special effects were amazing and the accompanying music selection was complementary. And who would doubt the concept of the movie? Just amazing isn’t it?!


Also, don't you think that the part where Cobb and Ariadne sits at the sidewalk cafe and it started 'bursting' is so Sony paint advert? (Which by the way was real and made in Glasgow, the flats has since been torn down.)

If you argue it from the point of view that ‘it’s all in the mind’, yes, I would agree that a lot of quotes regarding the mind reminds us of it.

If you argue that the dream is more real in the dream than after you wake up, that rings true if you like chasing dreams in your sleep.


There are so many interpretation on the movie and I am not here to summarise it all, for each their own after all.

Recently I read a review by film critic, Devin Faraci, Never Wake Up: The Meaning and Secret of Inception. It was a well written and interesting analysis on the film. Whether or not how true it is all about director-writer Christopher Nolan’s perception of film making, a lot of things in the movie does seem to explain what Devin thinks. And as far as my theory of a good movie is, a review with almost 500 feedbacks and increasing proves that this is a good movie.

Of course, would anyone ever thought that Inception was just a story that Christopher Nolan conceived, without really thinking about any hidden meaning; but one that he wanted to leave viewers providing a variety of opinion and interpretation on it?


On this note, perhps we should just enjoy reliving Inception with this well created video clip featuring Edith Piaf's mesmerising voice on Non, Je ne regrette rien.

All pictures from Inception website.

mistake.&.fraud

The MPs expenses scandal continues...

Was in the kitchen earlier watching the news and can’t help wondering how in the world can MPs ‘accidentally’ claim or submitted expenses by ‘mistake’.

How?

HOW???!!!

Does one not review their expenses before submitting?

I mean how can it be a mistake if one has to (typically) fill in an expenses claim form, submits receipt and get it approved?

How?

And again, who approves or scrutinise before approval???

Goodness!

What has been happening in the past weeks of the expenses scandal revelation are MPs showing off on TV the cheques they have signed off to be submitted to Inland Revenue and an apology.

‘Oopps, you’ve caught me. Here’s the refund. I’m sorry.’ And then get back to their work.

Whether or not it is going to happen again, who knows?

Some of the mistakes seemed so deliberate that it can be classified as fraud!

And all it takes is here is the money, sorry, and back to work.

In a typical organisation, if you are caught for fraud, what happens to you?

You lose your job and might even be arrested!

Noo... MPs have special immunity.

So, why being a British MP is the best job in the world?

#1. High salary: £64,766

#2. Unlimited expenses claim. Even though there are rules to it.

#3. Immunity on ‘mistakes’

Once again, good life for some...

Anyways, well done to those who were sensible enough not to abuse their expenses claims rights.

Why is this topic the ‘highlight’ of my day?

Well, just because these MPs are using my tax money to fund for their ‘extravagant’ lifestyle!

I'm curious to what are the allowable expenses for Malaysian politicans? Hmmm...?

ever.considered.being.a.british.politician?

For weeks, all you hear everyday on the UK news is exposure of what UK Members of Parliament (MPs) has been claiming for expenses.

You see, in the UK, MPs receive allowances to cover the costs of running an office and employing staff, having somewhere to live in London and in their constituency, and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.

Sounds fair enough, right?

But it has come to light that expenses claimed by the MPs covers from pay-per-view adult films, to magazine subscriptions. From dog food, to home repairs and luxury furnishings.

On top of all that, the annual salary for an MP is £64,766!!!

Was there no one who sets what can be claimed under expenses?

Someone who checked if all the expenses were valid?

Does the MPs not realise that they should have known better not to use tax-payers’ money as their bottomless purse to pay out their monthly expenditures?

Dog food? Come on!

It started initially with MPs employing their family members to be their staff, with good salary, mind you.

Nepotism? What Nepotism?! Doubt they even know what it really means.

So, each MP is allowed expenses for two homes - one in their constituency and the other in London.

Can the government 'impose' that the MPs constituency home to be the first home and provide accommodation in London?

Would it not be easier for the government to provide a purpose built accommodation, i.e. a one room / studio or two room apartment for each MP to live in when in London for work. The government pay for the accommodation and bills, and any additional expenses like a Wii console or fancy plasma screens, will be bore by the MPs. After all, the London 'home' should be somewhere to live in when working in London. Adequate and comfy, not the presidential suite of the Ritz-Carlton.

Do they not live in their constituency home and serve the community there? If not, then why run for election at your constituency?

Why bother?

During one of my visits to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, there was an extract of an MP's diary. It said that she travels to Edinburgh from her (undisclosed) constituency and stay in the Edinburgh accommodation (could be home) for a few days and then travel back to the constituency home where her family lives.

Now, why can she do it but not the others down in London?

I think if I said to my boss that I want to keep my Aberdeen home and need expenses paid for my Glasgow accommodation, I’m sure he will tell me to sort it out myself from my own pay.

In the current economic climate, it doesn't make sense that the people's representatives are having a good time - good pay (£64k, I won’t complaint) and bottomless expenses, when employment is at a record high.

Forget Hamilton Island. It does seem that the best job in the world is being a British MP. On top of a rather comfortable pay, you can claim for bottomless expenses.

Good life for some...

And people wonder why I don't have faith in politicians.

visit.to.little.chef

Last Friday, I decided to travel up north earlier than usual after my site meeting.

On the way, I was starving from not having anything since I woke up. Halfway through the meeting, someone was making toast in the kitchen and my mind wandered elsewhere thinking of toast and fried eggs sunny side up... Yum!

Anyways, I decided to stop at Little Chef somewhere after Stirling before Greenloanings exit.

I often travel pass Little Chefs along the motorway tearing travelling between Glasgow and Aberdeen. But I actually got to know Little Chef a little better through the programme 'Big Chef Takes On Little Chef' earlier this year.

Anyways, since I was starving and requiring to stop for lunch, I grab the chance of having my meal at Little Chef.

I had the Fish Pie and a glass of Coke.



The meal felt like a long wait. Perhaps I was really hungry and it was just cooking at the normal time scale. But the meal was worth every minute!

The fish pie kept very hot for a very long time as it was cleverly cooked in the ovenware. It was a little salty for my taste but the filling was tasty and the fish was cubed evenly and neatly.

I planned to have dessert after the meal but was stuffed.

Service was really good as the waiting staff who served me was attentive and perhaps a little over 'enthusiastic'. Except for him trying to clear off the sauces while I was still having my meal, I would say service was perfect!

Overall, I think the price was reasonable, about the same price of a meal at a proper pub. Which is good, as more often than not, rest stop meals are often over priced and taste awful (according to TOH's words).

I find the place look really charming. It may still have the same red covered seats, the fading table tops, but it provides a charm. Perhaps a new lick of paint and brighter lights might help during the winter days, I donno. I was there, sitting by the window basking in lovely sunshine. But, why would anyone wants a contemporary revamp of the place?

Plus, the toilet was clean and tidy. They even provide you a selection of toiletries!



, it's not a big selection but tell me how many restaurant / cafe provides this kind of selection. LOL...

Not forgetting, a nice lolly for the journey too!



Overall, food was fresh and tasty; decor was clean and service was excellent! I would definitely be back there again, with TOH in tow of course!

songsmith

Songsmith eh?

Sounds like a good idea. Until everything in your life becomes a song.

Still a good idea?

heinz.deli.mayo

I know. I love my ads and I've been watching some or wanting to blog some for a while.

So here is one by Heinz, their new deli mayo ad. I think it is quite nice. Although it is a bit wrong. Just a bit...

grow.grow.grow.

Really cute Royal Mail ad. Very smart.

unbox.the.box

Ad with cute line animation transforming a box.

Oh yes, and it has a really good tune: 'Take Me Riding'.

we.did.it!

Yes, indeed we did it!

What? You say?

We completed sixty 40-minutes episodes of the Chinese series - The Drive of Life!!!


Probably in record time. At least, in our record time.

Interestingly, the series made so many references that you can learn a lot of things in life from manufacturing, to business, to even a pair of shoes!

Anyways, we spent nights watching episodes after episodes of the series just trying to complete it before mom and SA return to Malaysia.

I admit that it is not everyone's cup of tea and there can be so many other better stuff to do. Instead the main thing here is that we did it all together. Us crazy bunch of people.

I've done ten episodes (on Marriage of Inconvenience) on my own, and it is waaaaaaay more fun doing it with others.

We had a common goal.

Of course, the living room became a temporary sleeping ground. At one point there wasn't a reason to clear the temporary 'beds'.

Having to watch each CD (ten 40-minutes episodes), there were six CDs altogther in this series, from the night before until 7am the next day is not an easy feat.

In the end, it was a different way of spending time together. Now, we just have to find a super long series for our next family meet.

Thanks for the company y'all! xxx

song.and.dance

The year end holiday season holiday has provided the perfect opportunity for us to watch two wonderful performances in the city of Glasgow.

*****

On Christmas Eve, the gang trooped to Theatre Royal for The Scottish Ballet's clever interpretation of Sleeping Beauty.

I enjoyed the ballet performance. The dancers were extremely graceful, the costumes were amazingly colourful, and the story was enchanting. Even the male dancers were really good.

Contrary to many who thinks that men who dance ballet are camp and gay. The men were strong and yet graceful, not overly macho or clumsy... except for one scene. It was the scene where the Prince and the Bluebird were dancing. It was quite a shocker and so wrong.

Nonetheless, it was just amazing! I'm so glad we went to watch it.

*****

Yesterday evening, we went to see Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Clyde Auditorium (a.k.a Glasgow's Amardillo).

It was another great performance, colourful and catchy songs. The costumes were not as elaborate as Sleeping Beauty but cleverly written and sung. Prolly it is one of the few performances which has more male casts compared to female (there were only five).

There were quite few good looking men. The ladies were really good dancers as well.

Craig Chalmers who played Joseph had the blondest blonde hair and whitest teeth, too white in fact. Tara Bethan who played the narrator can sing really high soprano notes. However, her overly energetic aerobic-resque dancing can get quite annoying at some point, especially when she danced at the highest step of the stage.

There were plenty of legs to see too (goodness I sound like a bloke!). Eve Marchant's legs went on forever - so envious. And there was one female dancer that sadly danced like she has the fits (mean! mean!).

All in all, everyone had great voice, even the little kids who were the Joseph Choir had so angelic voices.

*****

I'm so looking forward to next years event!

3.47.am

It was 3.47am.

In the silent of the night a rumble was heard, masses of earth moved, enveloped upon homes.

It was 3.47am.

They were sound asleep. Unknowingly to some of them, that was their final sleep.


Ever since I arrived home, all I see was development – high rise apartments and condominiums, new townships, more houses, and land clearing.

And all that I often said was ‘KL is over developed’, ‘Why nobody controlled these developments?’

Even the beloved Taman Melawati which had minimal or controlled development in the past was not spared. It is going through major developments and has even gone through a big change compared to my childhood days.

Do we need all these multimillion Ringgit projects? Or more of it?
Do we need more homes?
Do we need high migration?
Do we need more cars?

KL is getting more and more congested - with human and vehicles. Every home owns at least 2.5 cars. But public transportation has not improved much.

Are all these expenditure worth the lives who were buried under the landslide?


What about the lives that were lost?

What about the children who were looking forward to their school holidays?

What about the parents who had hopes, dreams, and aspirations for their children? For their family?

What about the people who were looking forward to a nice long weekend break?

What about their homes?

Did anyone realised the increased of developments caused more harm than good?


The influx of these developments has caused increased cases of flooding due to loss of water catchments areas.

Each time it floods in KL - our capital, home to the world tallest twin towers - The Petronas Twin Towers, it is a loss of tens and hundreds of thousands Ringgits.

These flooding prompted the government to spent RM1.9bn (USD514.6m) on the SMART Tunnel (Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel).

Has anyone ever put one and one together?

Has anyone ever thought of controlled development? Planning permission?

Yes, we could argue the benefits of all these projects - government spending, developing nation, reputational projects.

But do we want to be famous for the further loss of green areas?
Do we want to be known as a capital of flood?
Do we want to continue to waste more money during a flood?
Do we need a second SMART system?

And do we need further loss of lives?

Did anyone realise how much it costs for those rescue missions?


It was 3.47am.

The emergency services have been wailing its sirens periodically ever since.

Rescue efforts has been aggressive - the police, the army, the fire and rescue services, civil defence department, ambulances, local authority, SMART (Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue) team, helicopters, diggers, and even dumper trucks, rushed to the scene providing their best efforts.

Are we as smart as we think we are?

Is this another event where ministers come out to show their faces and sympathies?

Another event for hoo haaas - ‘No hillside development’, ‘Planning permit required’, etc.

Do they not understand it is not all about hillside development - it is about over development!

Did anyone remember that on 11 December 1993, a very high profile landslide tragedy happened not far down the road from here, caused a residential block - Highland Towers Block 1, to collapse and claimed 48 lives?

And what about the numerous landslides around the Ulu Klang area?

Or the various landslides that has been happening in KL of late?


It was 3.47am.

I woke up to the power cut.

It was 3.47am.

A landslide happened in Bukit Antarabangsa, destroying the homes and lives of many.


When will we ever learn?

All pics are from The Star Online Gallery, for more pics click here.

wet.floor

You know you are in Malaysia when...
the toilet floors are wet!

bail.out

RBS, to the unknown is the forth biggest bank in the world, has been announced the biggest partly nationalised bank in the UK, with taxpayer owning 60% of the bank.

It happened when RBS and merged Lloyds and HBOS received £37bn bail out from the government.

Interestingly, the London Stock Exchange raised 8% and NY Stock Exchange raised 11%.

But, bank shares fall despite bail-out.

What does it all mean then? We'll just have to wait and see.

A report few months back detailing how the big wigs at the banks and City Workers received big bonuses of millions of pounds and thousands of pounds respectively.

One may argue that, 'they get high pay and big bonuses because they have high responsibilities'.

But then what happens when the top guys muck up? They leave their jobs. Sad but perhaps not.

Because they had prolly squirreled away their thousands and millions of pounds salary including bonuses. And a nice little 'gift' for their resignation / early retirement.

*sigh*

There is still a lot to learn...

that.over.the.sea.country

There was a Scouting joke I heard when I was still actively in Scouts.

Every two years (if my memory serves me right), the Malaysian and Singaporean Scouts will participate in the bi-annually Goodwill Camp (or Goodwill Camporee or Kem Muhibbah). The camp will be held alternately in either country.

One of the Scout badges or one of the activity as part of a badge (I can’t remember which one because it has been that long ago) requires a Scout to have ‘foreign’ or ‘overseas’ pen friends - and Malaysia and Singapore are separated by the sea (Straits of Johor, to be exact). Hence, the Singaporeans recognises Malaysia as an overseas country, even though we are just a drive over the causeway away - actually any country other than Singapore itself, is an overseas country because they are an island after all!

Anyways... back to the point of this post...

So there I was watching the interviews during the pre-Singapore F1 race, and they interviewed the President of Singapore, S.R. Nathan.

As if having the first F1 night race and first Asian Street Circuit wasn’t awe-inspiring already, seeing that their president (without trying to sound overly prejudice) is an Indian, really intrigues me on what this country over-the-sea is all about.

If you like me, believe and wanting to see true unity in diversity, will understand where this post is going to go to.

I mean, I know where Singapore is. I know what it is like, I’ve been there a few times, I’ve friends from or living there but I think I need to know more about this cili padi of a country.

So, I Googled them.

And yes, I know - take everything you read (online or not) with a pinch of salt.

Where were we…?

Yes. As far as I know, English is their first language, their national anthem is in Malay, and their prime ministers have been ethnic Chinese.

Well, their past prime ministers have been and currently is still held by an ethnic Chinese. Will this change? We can only wait and see.

The national language of Singapore is Malay, hence, the national anthem? - is in Malay.

However, one of the official language and the language of administration is English.

Okaaay...

Moving on... their current president is a Singaporean ethnic Indian and their past presidents have been a mixture of Malay, Eurasian, Chinese and Indian descendant.

Perhaps the only lacking in the whole equation is a woman in position.

I’m sure that there will be complaints or dissatisfactions by Singaporeans on their political scene there but on the surface, it does seemed like a country that embraced unity in diversity, in a balanced manner, in the sense of everyone who qualifies has and it has been proven, that they can be a president (for now not inclusive of the role of Prime Minister) regardless of your ethnicity.

Now, what are the chances of a non-Muslim being elected the Prime Minister of Malaysia or *gasp* a Sultan for that matter or *gasp*…?

For a country that strives for self sufficiency, there are a lot of reading materials out there to backup Singapore's desire and will to be that. How about that?!

Does seemed like a ‘where there is a will, there is a way’ country.

...that over the sea country.

one.liners

Movie updates. Am going to attempt to review them in one line.

*****

Hancock


Unexpected love story.

*****

Kung Fu Panda


Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift;
that is why it is called the present.

*****

Mamma Mia! Movie


Thank YOU for the Music!

*****

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan


Bush: for cushion or strangulation/suffocation, your choice.

reading.update

My Bump and Me: From Morning Sickness to Motherhood – An Honest Diary of My Pregnancy by Myleene Klass


Right. Before anyone gets any idea, I am not pregnant whatsoever. So don’t you dare start!

I actually read this book quite a few months back, and enjoyed reading it thoroughly, but it took me a while to decide whether or not to blog it.

Anyways, the only reason I picked up this book from the library (this is where I get my supply of books) was because Myleene Klass was on the cover and she wrote the book.

Myleene Klass, in both our (TOH and my) opinion, is hot. And I was curious of her experience. And my favourite reading genre is life experiences (biography, autobiography, etc).

Anywaaays, this book is written with a lot of down-to-earth-ness, none of those I’m-a-celebrity-I’m-writing-this-book-to-cash-in attitude. After all, it is Myleene’s pregnancy diary.

I suppose unless you are some kind of a snob making up stories as you go, you would write your diary as honest as it is. The book details Myleene’s experience and emotions being pregnant. It is very informative - diagrams, explanations, recommendations, and a man’s input as well, in the form of her partner.

Interesting accounts on what expectant mothers can do or go through. The diary is not a medical guide, as it is a diary, like duh.

Great read (and gift) for first time mothers and very addictive to read.

*****

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden


A good novel is something that you don’t want to put down, even when your eyes are heavy and you are waaaaaaay past your bed time.

Memoirs of a Geisha is one of those books. And reading this book back to back with My Bump and Me deprived me of sleep.

I enjoyed reading Memoirs. The first night, I read the first two chapters - 'Translator’s Note’ and ‘Chapter One’. After that I had a quick flipped before going to bed.

However, in the last chapter or ‘Acknowledgements’ it says that 'Although the character of Sayuri and her story are completely invented...', I was like, ‘wait a minute, what is this?’ made me even more curious of this book.

It has been very enjoyable reading Memoirs of a Geisha. I resisted watching the movie until I read the book.

I suppose unknown to many, a lot of people believe that Memoirs of a Geisha is a true memoir.

Actually, it is not. If you have a check on the cover of the book it says ‘fiction’.

Yes, there was the lawsuit, there was the book countering this novel. But why can't a book be a book or a story be a story? It is not the X-Files, where the 'Truth is Out There'.

And honestly, how many things out there are true anyways?!

Reading this book, made me realised how much effort and research Golden has put into writing this piece of work. Whether or not each of the details is true and authentic, Golden’s effort must be commendable.

After all, it is a fictitious piece anyways.

*****

Whatever Makes You Happy by William Sutcliffe


The catchphrase for the book: Three Men, Three Mothers... One Week.

Whatever Makes You Happy is a story of three mother’s love for their thirty something unattached sons. The ladies, three close friends, decide to launch a co-ordinated attack: they will arrive, without warning, and stay with their sons for one week; to find out more about their son’s lives.

Reading this book, I realised how much things a parent can do for their children, especially going out of their comfort zone and being confrontational, etc. Add on a recent conversation I had with GB, it is interesting to know what parent(s) will do for their children.

A lot of times we wonder why parents do what parents do.

A lot of times we never know why because they never tell us. Likewise, a lot of things we do that we never tell our parents or explain why.

A lot of times parents tell others but not their own children.

A lot of things we will never understand until we become a parent ourselves.

I suppose like anything, if we resist accepting and continue to fight without understanding, we will continue to be upset, disappointed and even be miserable. Often we want others to accept us for who we are but have we ever thought of, are we accepting others for who they are or even try to understand?

Whatever Makes You Happy is one of those easy to read novels. It is funny, had a good mix of characters and relationships, and interestingly written very well by a man.