I found some of my childhood memories in the cinema yesterday while watching Ninja Turtles. So many familiar parts yet i can't seem to recall the fact that i understood anything from those turtles when i was young. I guess as a child, you watch Ninja Turtles for the sake of the visuals and comedic effect, hence i didn't really understand them that much. Labels: movies, ninja turtles
The critic reviews for TMNT weren't that fantastic, scoring an average of 2-3 stars, but as a TMNT fan, you won't mind the fact that the plot was a bit disappointing, since you're basically there rooting for your favourite turtle! And my fave is Leonardo, and i guess his everybody's favourite since he's the leader and everyone likes to call the shots.
And like Master Splinter says, you four brothers both have your strengths as well as your weaknesses..I found out that i possessed some of those mutated characteristics in them...
Of course, since they always say Aries are born leaders, are courageous and outspoken, i take after Leader Leonardo best. But also, after watching the movie, i found out we're actually quite the same since we are naggy leaders and don't really know how to deal with subordinates who undermine our authority and tries to cross the boundary.
In Michelangelo, the easy-going side of him shines through. And im also a natural JOKER, so i provide some comic relief for the people around me. Of course, i like to eat pizzas too and everything nice!
I won't say i'm as aggressive as Raphael, but we are both stubborn in our own ways, and hate to admit that we are in the wrong. We are headstrong and like to do things our own ways. And we sometimes feel that we would be the better leader!
I see least of Donatello in myself, since im usually a sucker with machines and those tech gadgets and Donatello is a tech geek. But speaking of the word geek, Donatello might be the representative of new age geek chic, but im everybit the old age geek chick.:)
Well, save for the fact that i don't leave in undergroung sewers + i don't fight evil megalomaniac, i'm almost a true blue NINJA TURTLE!
finished rambling
11:43 PM <3
psst..spent some time figurin out how to manhandle that white psp my sis left at home... Labels: psp
and after that,ta-dah, i was sorta hooked.
NBA Live is cool, though i suck at some of the games, and it's great that you get to unlock cool videos featurin Tracy McGrady, Iverson, Koby Bryant, and Tim Duncan....
Drools*
finished rambling
11:57 PM <3
Labels: America's next top models
imagine my shock when the models were told to go nude for the first challenge!?! Bare it all in the first episode?!?!
Totally culture shock for me. I guess it wasn't a big deal for most of the models, but some really freaked out. But it gave me the feeling that a minority of them were coerced into doing it, at least....they were reluctant.
Would you do some skin baring for the sake of fame? Or to put it nicely, your dreams?
P.S: my current faves are Megg and Christian, although i now know who the winner is, thanks to wiki. it's only the first epi so the tides will shift and change
finished rambling
12:50 AM <3
we had our picnic a few days ago. AND YES, WE SAW THE SUN!!! heh heh. But, though the picnic was themed fun in the sun, we had most of the fun in the shade,lol. Especially Huang Jia Min. I think we can award her with the title of Ms 见光死! She totally stayed in the shade the whole while, which explains why she didn't get the burns some of us got. But luckily in a bid to stay my usual fair, i obediently followed the instructions on my Nivea bottle to reapply sunblock every 2 hours. And i got minimal burns, on places that i forgot to apply them on. Labels: deviant art, movies, photography, picnic
Anyway, Photos as usual:
Sun-kissed moon!
Seow Si Min tries to bury herself
And honestly speakin, it was great fun trying to cover her with sand. And we (by we, i mean me, kanghua and tracy) built sandcastles on weird places on the body. And it was hilarious because i made her so ticklish by patting so hard on the sand. A piece of art..hehe.
loads of food for the picnic
Card playing
Besides playing cards, we played lame games with our mp3s. Gettin someone to plug in loud music with earphones and singin out of tune, so the rest can guess the song. Damn lame, but nonetheless fun!
me and seow couldn't resist playin police and thief in the sunny waters...
And of course, a day at the beach, the sun, the waters, the sands, with all these elements present, no photography buff can resist some cool shots (though i wasn't in the mood for serious shooting, i did some weird stuff...):
i'll consider posting them on deviant, i've got to be selective, since they're still far from great. Anyway, i stumbled upon one Singaporean photographer in Deviant who's really good at architectural captures, which i really appreciate since i love Kilk and Kilk's works are urban style photography too. Anyway, this Singaporean goes by lxrichbirdsf and i'm going to watch him. You should too, the link is lxrichbirdsf.
anyway, we caught Forest of Death after the picnic at vee-vo cee-nee-maa, and i'd deeply discourage you from catchin it, unless you're really into psyche sci-fi horror that makes no sense
finished rambling
11:39 PM <3
i cooked again. but i think there's something wrong with the recipe, because it says serves 4, but i ended up with one big giant bowl of potatoes. Labels: cooking, food, recipe, university admission, work
Like they say, don't follow the rules strictly.
Anyway, the recipe:
Potatoes with Spicy tomato Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
-2 kg baby potatoes (they come in packs if you go to the supermarket)
-2 onions
-3 cloves garlic
-1 teaspoon red chilli
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-1 kg tomatoes
-water 250ml
-125g tomato paste
-vinegar
-soft brown sugar
STEPS:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes and place in a baking dish.
2. Drizzle 2 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and pepper
3. Bake 180 degree celsius for 50 mins.
4. While baking, prepare the sauce. First, chop onions, garlic and tomato.
5. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in heavy-based pan.
6. Add onion, garlic and red chilli. Keep at medium heat for 5 mins.
7. Add tomato paste and add some water. Stir evenly for 3 mins.
8. Add 250ml water, tomato, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Heat to a boil and stir.
9. Simmer for 25 mins.
10. Final step is to pour the sauce over the baked potatoes. Ta-dah!
Anyway, i might go apply for the Billy Bomber's job tomorrow. Nowadays, it's either shoppin, the computer or cooking. I'm becoming more like a modern tai-tai, minus the expensive high teas and mahjong sessions. Today, it's headache over who to get to write the appraisals, luckily i got Mr V to agree. Now waiting for Mr Chan's and Reshma's answer..
finished rambling
1:33 AM <3
If I believe in you, will that make a difference? Labels: Gilad Bernari, poetry
If you are never there, does it really matter if you exist?
Why do you keep testing us, are you waiting for us to fail?
If you can do something about it, why don't you?
Do you like it when I pray, or don't you even hear me?
Is there a point to life if it always ends in death?
Does heaven exist? Do people dress casually there?
People are getting confused, would you choose a religion already?
Why don't you come and visit the Middle East from time to time?
Does it really help to bless someone after he sneezes?
When you are down, who do you pray to?
Why?
Are you really a woman? Cause that would explain the mood changes...
A poem penned by Gilad Bernari that i find really meaningful. He's from Israel, and i guess that's where he got his angst.
finished rambling
1:30 AM <3
paroxysm: sudden, violent outburst, paroxysm of violence, paroxysm of rage Labels: dictionary, words, YPAP
acquiesced: consented or complied passively or without protest
nascent: emerging, beginning to develop, nascent middle class, nascent imperialism, nascent republic
impunity: exemption from punishment
been participating in the YPAP forum lately, a very good place for discussions of topics im interested in, and they do their news update really quickly, save for some illogical and totally not sensible comments.
finished rambling
11:53 PM <3
I needed a moment to remind myself of my freedom of expression:
Red was flushed with anger, full of danger,
Red is passion though tender, celebratory candour.
Blue was a downswing of mood, a feeling of dread that time couldn't stood,
Blue is calm cool, like the sea breeze and the birds that flew.
Yellow was mustard yucky, and also disgustingly murky,
Yellow is Mr. Smiley, and deliciously golden honey.
Purple was complexity hard to comprehend,
Purple is sophistication, oh so glam.
Pink was cheap, slutty, everything bad,
Pink is cute, sweet, reminds of the expensive Barbie fad.
White was plain walls which hinted a lack of creativity,
White is beautiful love which speaks of purity.
Black was hatred, totally unaccepted,
Black is universal, your wardrobe's staple diet.
Colours were taken for granted,
Colours are embraced for their meanings, though not fully deciphered.
finished rambling
5:19 AM <3
Picnic details(people going and the stuff they're bringing) Labels: picnic
Moon--maybe sushi
Jiamin--mp3, cards, utensils
Simin--cake
Choonyan
Yvonne
Tracy--speakers
Rui Long--drinks
Huixin--Potato salad
Kanghua--muffins/sandwiches
Hui Xiang
Weitingxiaomei--potatochips
LiYuan
temporarily, these are the confirmed ones. So maybe prepare food for 15 pax.
finished rambling
1:33 AM <3
We all hope it's not a name change for the sake of a name change, but it's officially reported in ST in today's papers that the ministry is leaving behind the TRIM AND FIT CLUB name for another programme named the healthy lifestyle programme. I guess this news is a piece of hope for those pudgy little ones who already have unhealthy varicose veins the size of pregnant ladies, and also for those who don't own a neck. The auto-stigmatisation a kid faces for getting grouped into this club is usually too hard for a young being to face, and this feeling is oh-so-familiar to me. Labels: TAF
In primary school, i was the borderline plump kid, who don't get teased but was occasionally prompted by my mum to cut some weight. Then, in Secondary One, i accidentally over-ate on the day we were supposed to stand on some scales for recording of some discriminating numbers, and ta-dah, i was in (we all hope in our mind that it was just some accident). Then came the recesses and breaks when you don't jump up with joy when the bell rings, since it's usually time for some step-ups and running around the school compound. And if you're a long-term member of the club, you'll understand that yes, exercise does do you good, but it doesn't when there are thousand pairs of eyes looking at you when they pass by the "TAF" compound, at least not psychologically. And you get it much worse, if you are an overweight plump adolescent boy barely past your puberty stage, and you need carbo to keep you going, hence in the last five minutes of the recess break, you dash for the canteen after exercise, and gorge yourself with calories that'll last you through the day after the intensive exercise. Now what good will that do?
I was in and out of the TAF club. After every weight-taking routine, i'll immediately refer to the weight-height chart's 120% column, and i went "YEAH!" twice in my secondary school days when i luckily escaped "blind exercise without proper dieting weight-loss club days". It doesn't help that i stopped growing taller since primary school days.
This morning, after reading the article,i rejoiced for the greater good for schooling-beings, but not for long. Education about proper diets and motivation for more exercise all sounds so cliche to me, and it's like some boring N.E lessons. Yes, parents say their kids won't be judged by their sizes anymore. But, who knows? It might just be another case of pure name change, and nothing else more.
finished rambling
12:59 AM <3
Please note that you are only allowed to book
a maximum of 4 tickets per show.
Event Information
Name: River Island Rocks The Runway
Date: Sat 24 March
Time: 3.00 pm
Venue: Ngee Ann City
Sorry, tickets booked out for this show.
Imagine my disappointment...aww too late. AGAIN! This is my second attempt at getting into THE TENT. THE TENT.
And this one is like free! and does not require invitations!
I guess there are alot of runway lovers in Singapore who are dying to get those tix and are faster than me. Because i was really slow. Tsk.
Anyway, guess what, it's officially Mar 16, and the hiatus is over. Which means i can hit the shops and fill those bags again. Anyway, i already went window shopping at Vee-vo-see-tee...the other day, spot some cool tops at topshop and forever 21 with reasonable tags. Yippee.
Anyway, noticed those trapeze dresses in the shops lately..well, they're supposed to be some fad, but i thought they were disastrous. They wouldn't look good on my non-anorexic shoulders and should just tamely stay on the Olsen twins instead of straying into the shops.
Fashion is takin me over....soon.
Signing off,
the shopaholic
finished rambling
7:59 AM <3
Haven’t been to the night safari since I was born…wootsx that’s a long 18 years, so I just had to go! And it just had to rain, but well, it stopped at the right time, so all’s well!
But trust me, it’s hard to endure the long journey, the people who decided it’s location on the map should actually shoot themselves.It’s a whole 2 hours ride on the bus, then train, then bus again, and those stretches of Mandai Ulu roads…
I guess that’s why the restaurant is named Ulu Ulu Safari Restaurant, really ulu loh, though the food was good. We tried the Chicken Briyani and Chicken tikka and naan sets, but each of them cost a whopping 18 bucks.
Saw many animals i couldn't name since im no Safari experts, but I'd say many people actually lied to me. They say you usually can't see many animals in the Night Safari since it's all pitch dark. You're lying! I saw so many animals *Gasps* Those who lied, you should swallow your tongue. *evil
Though i saw many nocturnal animals like the really cool fruit bat(i got a really blur pic of it), the clouded leopards, the noisy otters, the smelly pigs, but i stick to and swear by my all-time favourite animal: The huge elephants and their really cool ivories. To those chinese medicine practitioners, don't kill elephants for those tinkle white ivories, because they look better on them and not in your stupid shop display window, thank you.
And the giraffes were really handsome too....like wu zun..(paiseh)
Photos:
and the really cool fruit bat
finished rambling
7:43 AM <3
should call in the pest control soon!
finished rambling
6:58 AM <3
Labels: deviant art, photography
please visit...new series of Sentosa Flowers up. Comments most welcome.
My deviant art account
finished rambling
5:13 AM <3
Labels: picnic
(click to enlarge)
Finally done!
You are eligible if: You know Simin, Moon or Jiamin. That's all. It's as simple as that. GIRLS ONLY!
Contact either one of us to let us know you're going and what potluck contribution you're bringing along.
We're going to get mats and it'll be a day of chillin' out, games in the sun like frisbee, beach volleyball and more. You can plug in your mp3 and do some suntanning. You can even build a grand sandcastle! And we can all make new friends!
SO LET US KNOW SOON!
finished rambling
3:03 AM <3
Well, in my lifetime of a mere 19 years, i must have witnessed countless open houses, attended some and organised a few. Labels: open house
and gosh do i hate them!
Sometimes, open houses is mere playacting by a group of individuals that may be or may not be committed to a particular instituition or organisation. It appears to you that you're likely to learn more about the instituition and find out more information, but in truth, it sometimes is nothing more than a venue for some expressions of propaganda which usually does not work.
Maybe i'm being too cynical, but i don't think open houses have any part to play in my decision-making. Anyway, about finding out information, everything is explicitly laid out in their respective web-pages, and the internet drive is stronger than any long and dull speech by some weird prof.
Thus, i find Simin/Jiamin's idea of having the talks posted on Youtube a brilliant suggestion. The younger generation do always have a "warped" logic or thinking, but it sometimes entails some creativity too.
Maybe they should consider that next year. Though going down personally to ntu and nus gives us a glimpse of what campus life and the environment is like, SPARE US THE TORTURE OF HAVING TO LISTEN TO LONG TALKS!
Ok, i'm being weird here because we actually have a choice in whether we want to attend them. hahaha. i might just have to delete this entry after all.
finished rambling
12:09 AM <3
marionette: puppet manipulated from above by strings attached to its joints Labels: words
hermetic: literally it means something is made airtight by sealing. Can also mean isolated, and hence not affected by outward influence
strident: sharply insistent on being heard as in strident demands and strident positions
unilateral: undertaken by one party only as in unilateral approach or unilateral decision
neoconservatism: moderate political conservatism advocated by former liberals or socialists
lampooned: ridiculed or satirized in writing
ebb and flow: decline and increase, constant fluctuations
finished rambling
11:59 PM <3
Photos of food and delicious food, people and deliciousss people: Labels: Azabu Sabo, Cope, food
Omelette curry was really good. The curry wasn't too sweet, and the omelette was just heavenly...
Jac's Teriyaki chicken
SM's seafood rice...
And desserts!
strawberry dessert..
the green tea ice cream with red bean sauce. which looks like some idiotic tortoise.
soft ice cream with green tea sauce and sweet potato!
I'd recommend only the desserts at Azabu's...heh. those were really good.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWo0Wav_9EBjltTkg_9oQnryxEATyWgCK_rFCgCTzJCslKjAITaG1tS1ZKzuWtTLIRd8QRsLbRtyobpnUImK_v_RVQp1i_0hwFBBgWMHMi5UuYoo4Bldd-m6S26pCFNbkHGarEES503dq/s1600-h/IMG_2139.JPG">
Us with Ms Lim at Volunteer appreciation nite!
finished rambling
11:14 PM <3
2 free bus rides for the day! Labels: International women's day
It's International Women's Day and 293 Townlink rides are free, and i get a free sanitary pad! Haha. YEAH!
They should make everyday International Women's Day!
finished rambling
2:38 AM <3
Saw reports on CNA about the tremors felt in S'pore due to the earthquake 6.3 on the Richter scale in Indonesia's Sumatran coast. And i got a first witness account coz weiyingermei was in St Andrew's Village when it SHOOK. Overheard on the phone was that the lamps and benches in the canteens shook, and i asked my sis:WAS IT FUN? out of nonchalence. This is a comment so typical of a Singaporean who has never experienced anything more than a boogy shake. :) Labels: dictionary, Iraq, Islam, Shi'ite, Sunni, TIME, tremors in Singapore, wikipedia, words
Anyway, they had an early dismissal and the principal told them to walk out solemnly since CNA reporters were around and the school should uphold the image without students behaving misappropriately. Typical of a Singaporean school too. LOL. And they had to pray for the people on the Sumatran Coast, and i wish for their safety and wellbeing too..
Some words:
Chasm: it literally means a gorge or an abyss. But can be used in the context of a breach in relations,or a divergence of opinions between persons or groups.
Rancorous: from the word rancor (synonym:enmity). Meaning full of bitter resentment.
Venerate: Regard with respect, venerance.
Schism: Separation or division into factions (as in Islam's case)
Pagan: an irreligious person
Pejoratively: pejorative means belittling. Thus pejoratively means deprecatory
Bestial: Without reason or intelligence, such as in the use of bestial torture, or bestial treatment
Anyway guys, highly recommended is that you read the article in the current issue of TIME, "Why they Hate Each Other". A reasonable analysis of the relationships between the 2 Islamic factions, Sunnis and Shi'ites.
And here i have a brief summary plus additional stuff on the differences between them and their practices:
Sunnis:
1. Men with names like Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman (early Caliphs, viceroys of God who, in the Shi'ite version of events, were hostile to Propher Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali are almost certainly Sunnis.
2. Dulaimi, Samarrai and Bakri are Sunni tribal or family names.
3. Sunnis pray with one arm folded over the other, just below the rib cage.
4. Islam requires Muslims to say their prayers five times a day and Sunnis have five separate prayer times.
5. When calling the faithful to prayer, Sunni mosques invoke God and the Prophey Muhammad.
6. Sunni mosques tend to have domes and minarets. They tend to be more austere, and portraits of any kind are regarded as a form of idolatry.
7. Sunnis likened reverence for the Prophet's bloodline and the Shi'ites' fondness for portraits of some of the Imams to the sin of idolatry.
8. Sunnis tend to favir calligraphy-quotations from the Koran in their own home. They display a white flag when they have returned from the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
9. Sunni insurgents have been known to stop cars with stickers of Ali and murder the passengers.
10.Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt are widely known as Sunni Arab countries.
11.After the murder if Ali who became the fourth Caliph, the majority who were Sunnis backed the claim of Mu'awiyah, Governor of Syria, and his son Yazid, and killed Hussein (backed by Shi'tes) in a battlefield near modern Karbala when the two sides met.
12. About 90% of Muslims worldwide are Sunnis, and imperial patronage at that time made Sunni Islam the dominant sect.
13. Sunnis have historically had a lock on political power.
14. Sunni elite treated Shi'tes as an underclass.
15. Sunni dominance was cemented after the Ottomans eventually won conrol of the Arab territories.
16. Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda which began a bombing campaign against Shi-te targets is regarded as a Sunni jihadi group.
17. Though Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army is widely regarded as a Shi'te militia, Sunni politicians during the battle of Fallujah, spoke of an alliance with the Mahdi Army.
18. Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi was largely blamed for the operation in Samarra, the holy Shi'ite shrine, and Iraqi Sunnis had to endure the bloody fallout.
19. Sunnis were incensed when Saddam was hanged at the hour of morning prayers on one of the most sacred Muslim holidays(Iraqi Sunnis celebrated the holiday one da before the Shi'ites).
20. Religious leaders of the Wahhabi sect who preached a hard-line form of Sunni Islam were often bankrolled by members of the Saudi royal family.
21. Rafiq Hariri, former Lebanon Prime Minister was a Sunni.
22. The Palestinian Fatah group is Sunni.
23. Sunni schools of law are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.
Shi'ites:
1. Muslims with names like Abdel-Hussein, Abdel-Zahra are most likely Shi'ite.
2. Sa'aedi, Moussawi and Rubaie are Shi'ite's tribal or family names.
3. Islam requires Muslims to say their prayers five times a day and Shi'ites have the option to pray three times, doubling up on the prayer on two occasions.
4. When calling the faithful to prayer, Shi'ites invoke God, Prophet Muhammad and additionally mention Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law.
5. The sombre ceremony of Ashura is uniquely Shi'ite as it commemorates the killing of Ali's son Hussein by Sunni enemies.
6. Shiites often worship at Husseiniyas, which combine the functions of a mosque and community center and don't necessarily have domes. These places are usually festooned with traditional green and black flags and are decorated with portraits of Ali and sometimes of Hussein.
7. The Shi'ites' fondness of portraiture extends to their homes, where the image of Ali often hangs on the walls of their living room. They may unfurl colourful flags on their roof.
8. Shi'ites often have pictures and stickers of Imam Ali on their cars' rear windows and hang religious amulets from their rearview mirrors.
9. Iraqi cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr's Shi'ite militia, Mahdi Army is blamed for thousands of Sunni deaths.
10. Iran is known for being the culprit who instigated the Shi'ite tide rising across the Middle East.
11. Shi'ites see themselves as the oppresed as they are treated by Sunnis as an underclass, limited to manual labor and denied a fair share of state resources.
12. Shi'ites were Ali, the fourth Caliph's supporters and they agitated for his son Hussein for the role of Caliph. They saw Hussein as a just and humane figure who stood up to a mighty oppressor. Hussein was killed by Sunnis on a battlefield.
13. Ashura is the most spectacular of Shi'ite ceremonies, as it is the annual mourning of Hussein's death. It involves a faithful march in the streets, Shi'ites beating their chests and crying in sorrow and the extremely devout will flagellate themselves with swords and whips.
14. Shi'ites venerate the Imams, descendants of the Prophets until the 12th Imam, Mohammed al-Mahdi disappeared in the Samarra shrine. They believe that al-Mahdi is mystically hidden and will emerge on an unspecified date to usher in a reign of justice.
15. Shi'ites form the majority in modern states of Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan.
16. One example of Shi'ite uprisings is Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini's 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.
17. Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former dictator, kept the Shi'ites firmly under his thumb during his rule.
18. A Shi'ite coalition swept to power in Iraq's first post-Saddam election in Jan 2005.
19. Shi'ites turned to militias like the Mahdi Army to avenge the desecration of the holy Samarra site.
20. Shi'ites are now politically dominant in Iraq.
21. The Hisballah militia in Lebanon and the government led by Hamas are Shi'ite groups.
22. Shi'ites believe in the five pillars of Islam but have different categorisation as Sunnis.
finished rambling
11:44 PM <3
I feel really blessed when i've just had one small little cup of Japanese green tea ice-cream...
And you can try hypnotising yourself into thinking that you've become slimmer after a tiring badminton session too...
That helps!
=) =)
finished rambling
2:45 AM <3
i'll load the flowers photos in deviant. check it out soon. will update u guys! Labels: photography, Sentosa Flowers
finished rambling
2:45 AM <3
the photos finally: Labels: Sentosa Flowers
my virgin trip on board the Sentosa Express!
the freaky fairy
Some elvis parsley and pigs rhyme..
Ah Hua and the cute little pig
pretty...colourful windmills...
itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
we looked cuckoo under the green shade
the old woman who lived in a shoe
my joker friend and Simin's imitation of tyranny king!!!
i went crazy singing burung kakak tua!
crazy games with the characters!
looks like that crazy dude from ice age!
baa baa white sheeps
row row row your boat
totally lame, though cute
yeah!
finished rambling
1:11 AM <3