Feliz Ano Nuevo Chino

Happy Chinese New Year!

To all who need to celebrate it or just bother to XD

May the Year of the Rat bring more luck and prosperity to all of us.

It would be freakishly lame for me to just end this post with a CNY greeting just like that so I'm just gonna go on describing the wonderful new year's eve celebration I've always had whenever i'm in the philippines. To be exact, only in manila perched on a rooftop. It had nothing to do with alcohol, food or people but it was the fireworks!

Yes people fireworks but nothing like what you would ever see in KL. Something worth mentioning though is how fireworks are actually not illegal here! They're only starting to ponder over a total ban on them. Then again there is always a loophole out of any rule of law over here if you get what i mean. An absence of a ban only translates to hoardes of filipinos and forigners alike =) buying boxes of fireworks. I repeat that its fireworks .. not firecrackers .. as in the huge ones we only see at like klcc or bintang walk.

They're even sold right by the roads. That was where I bought mine. Even stalls are put up in hypermarkets and almost every mall. Fireworks are sold all year long but sales are most rapid during the year end holidays. The dominant producer being Dragon Fireworks even has billboards put up along the highways. Sorry but I do not have pictures to prove how amusing it can sometimes be. Maybe next year then.

It was not my first witnessing this oh so loud happening so I was already perched up on our condo rooftop by 11-ish waiting for it all to happen. Some already started by then. To my surprise, a group of condo residents had even prepared to burn fireworks on the rooftop. It was kinda against the condo rules but I couldn't care less since I would watching these magnanimous fireworks popping literally in front of my eyes.

Jennifer and me

At the rooftop, you get a definite 360 view all around you. If im not mistaken I could even see parts of makati and surely eastwood from the top. People already started 'playing' and you could see fireworks popping here and there. However the amount starts building up as 12 am approaches and trust me when the new year came they were just everywhere. There was not a single neighbourhood without fireworks. It is hard to explain in words but fireworks were everywhere. It's like multiplying the amount of klcc fireworks by 100 at every location possible. So is the joy and exhilaration everyone gets once the clock strikes 12.

view of fireworks all around us

Four years ago, there were very few people who knew about the nice NYE views from the rooftop but this time around the rooftop had a much bigger and eager crowd. Going back to the residents launching fireworks on the rooftop, I had an impression they got rich the year before because the amount of fireworks they bought was worth scrubbing your eyes for a second look. There were bags all around off all colours and types. We even thought they were using their unsold fireworks but obviously they had better jobs than that to be residents at Phoenix.

fireworks on top of us

In addition to the 360 view of fireworks sorrounding me, I had fireworks popping right above me which is really something all of you must add to your "things to do before i die" lists. It was nothing like ever before .. they were so huge and loud that you were just left fascinated by it all. I even lost count of the number of times they launched those huge ones. The barrels contaning it all would shake vigorously with that *BOOM* each time.

fireworks on top of us

There you have it non-filipino people. You have now got a rather confuzzled but detailed explanation what a new year's eve fireworks display is like in manila, philippines. You'd better come experience it some day before some silly ban is implemented. Citizens rich and poor alike are willing to spend for this marvellous displays of colour. In the words of my mum, "The owner of Dragon Fireworks is now having his annual great laugh at how he's getting richer everytime someones starts burning his fireworks". His bank account must have grown three-fold in that one night.

Brenda, Mrs Yun, Me, Eric

News bulletins are especially interesting on the following new year's day with the usual 'fireworks related accidents roundup'. Yet another one of a kind 'only-in-the-philippines' kind of announcements. With an abundance of fireworks, these incidents are not at all rare. Back then, there would people going blind, losing teeth, losing limbs, dying etc. The funniest i've heard was when a drunk man placed some lighted firecracker in his mouth instead of throwing it. I doubt if I need to explain what happened to him. It was gory albeit being rather amusing.

Much to my surprise, it was announced this year that fireworks related deaths/injuries had actually decreased marginally compared to the previous years. Sounds sarcastic but its the truth. Another amusing filipino statement in my opinion. The story of 6 year old who has his arm amputated was by far the worst accident this year.

Hopefully the videos (if you bothered to watch) have managed to give you a better perspective of it all. I'll also upload a few pictures of everything that happened to leave you as intrigued and fascinated as you already are.

CNY on the other hand was very much more mellow perhaps to my dismay. Haha. There were a few at time but a majority burned the long red crackers. I believe these are the ones who need to proudly declare "I am Chinese unlike you other filthy ones". Do not be surprised but the Chinese community in the Philippines is substantially large with many already marrying locals. They make up a chunk of the population having first arrived to trade just like every other chinese ancestor who made a journey away from the mainland. My 'yew' is actually spelt 'yu' here. Only god knows why..

Another interesting fact about filipino chinese is how each and everyone of them are filty rich. I am proud to say that almost every large corporation here belongs to or was started by someone chinese. Google this up and you'll be very surprised. Therefore I feel much more respected even though im not filthy rich. Best thing is that there are actually NO LALAs here. Not a single one !! Most of the chinese dont even speak their mothertongue anymore.

Nonetheless, my very first CNY out of malaysia was not at all busy yet fun. Certainly is when i'm with my mum. We had our reunion dinner (3 of us) and waited till midnight. I woke up the next day to greet and receive limited amount of angpaus. Certainly not as much as I would have gotten back in KL but im not complaining. My sister helped me collect some. Thanks brenda!

We wanted to make a trip to chinatown in binondo to obtain some more authentic CNY goodies but couldn't make it. Well at least we have cookies from KL and oranges. Something new I found out was that koreans themselves also celebrate the new year like us chinese. So we still had our korean friends here to greet and celebrate. Jennifer came on the eve in her hanbok to greet us all. How adorable..

Before I end this post, one of me friends, the Peako we all know to well, will be leaving or rather has left for trinity in aussieland. Sorry I couldn't be there for your lil farewell but I wish you all the best for your studies and whatever that comes ahead. Don't ever forget me and all of us back home because we know where to seek for you. That sounded so tacky. By the way, I still have not catched cloverfield yet. Haha

-Adios y hasta luego-

A French Mistake

Hola manusia sekalian,

Ignore the ridiculous condolences posted on my cbox because this blog ain't dead yet. It was in a partial coma caused by the endless procrastination of its owner. Plus life in manila thus far has been all but fun. Haha. I said in my last post that I would get a series of 07 posts up but i'm actually still thinking of what to blog about.

Back to business. The title of the post says it all. Those smelly french idiots committed the biggest mistakes in their lives in the last vote they faced. Yes people, i am here to bitch/rant about nicolas sarkozy (there's no need to even give him capitalised initials on his name). First things first, I have opposed sarkozy from the very beginning or rather when the french elections hype started. Someone who incited those violent riots in Paris back in 2006. Even after he won by a slight margin, he still remained on my personal hate-list. A fictional one by the way. It would be really odd if I actually kept one. Besides his role in freeing Bulgarian nurses in Libya, he hasn't contributed much to the progress of France thus far unless gaining headlines on French tabloids can be considered.

A president appearing on tabloids ever so frequently. Doesnt it just sound amusing. Well being the one and only French president in the modern history of France to get a divorce while in power gives you that privilege. This might be a result of marrying a cecilia sarkozy who never enjoyed the confines of the Elysee. The divorce resulted in a slight plunge in sarko's approval ratings. As i am not an anti-divorce person, I really couldn't be bothered by that issue. When I first read about it, I actually had a good laugh at sarko. What made feel even more happier was the fact that sarkozy actually felt sad over his divorce .. or so we all thought. Fyi people, this divorce occured about 4 months ago.

Only a month later, the headlines were blazing yet again. Sarkozy was now going out with that slut-model-singer, carla bruni. The one who has had relationships with men like Mick Jagger and Donald Trump. A young rich gal hunting for rich and powerful older men. It was shocking news for me as thinking about them actually made me wanna puke. The thought of them 'French-kissing' each other was enough to raise my goosebumps. As weeks gone by, people around the world like me soon realised that indeed the item actually progressed into some whirlwind romance. There were the trips around Paris as well as to Disneyland. Come on, what on earth is a 53 year old President doing in Disneyland. Who cares if you've got to entertain your perasan-ted girlfriend. Disneyland just aint the place for you. Go bring her to sotheby's or something. I wouldn't care as long as its not disneyland. Its already wrong that such a high profile couple goes canoddling around town. That's so not how a president acts for heaven's sake.

Next came their holidays in Petra and Luxor before sarkozy's official trip to egypt. The most unbelievable thing happened next. I am sure most of you would have heard or at least guessed. Sarko and carla bruni actually got engaged like 2 days ago. I am most disgusted by this. Who cares if I am not french and can't riot. At least I can rant here. President Sarkozy actually had the most insane idea of marrying the "I enjoy being polygamous" carla bruni only 3 months after first meeting her. Ever since the news broke out, sarkozy's ratings in France have been going down the drain. Fine they've only been plummeting but hopefully it'll reach that point. The people are unhappy that instead of attempting to reshape an already weakening local economic front, he has been focusing on this slutty polygamous model.

They're so ridiculous that Ryanair even decided to use them as an advertising gimmick for one of their promo ads. Carla bruni as can be seen in the ad says this --> "With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding." How pathetic is that. Now both of them are suing ryanair when they're only as cheap as ryanair's fares. I've even seen guys over here perving over her pictures on newsweek going all "wow ganda and sexy talaga ah". Sarkozy's actions have even earned him the nickname President Bling Bling which need not be elaborated any further on.

Even the French themselves insist on making spoofs of Sarko's latest cheap act

This is a funnier one supposedly referring to carla bruni .. trust me it aint porn

Why this is truly a French mistake? Well they had every chance possible to vote for other candidates such as Segolene Royal. She had garnered so much more support comapred to sarkozy early on. Tough competition between the two only existed when the elections drew closer. Segolene royal would have done a far better job in office if compared to shitty sarkozy. She even has the elegance and grandeur fit for the Elysee Palace. She doesnt even look her age from all the pictures of her. Well you frenchys had a chance and you failed. So you're now stuck with sarko and problems with SocGen. Won't elaborate on that.

Moving on, Super Tuesday is coming up real soon. Super Tuesday is happening on a Tuesday by the way. It isn't just some pun. Though related to the USA, a country I dislike so much yet know so much about, I can't help but catch up with developments connected to kicking bush out of the white house at the end of his term. Super Tuesday is part of the election primaries scheduled way back before the official November vote. It is when voters from 24 American states (other states have their own respective primaries) cast their votes for their favourite candidates. I repeat .. 24 .. which makes it the most exciting and challenging of all primaries. With such a big majority, it more or less indicates the winning candidate for President.

Brandon is heavily rooting for the Democrats to lead the way to the White House. The way I see it, the true competition only exists between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, both Democrats. The Republicans have a weaker side as of now since Rudy Giulani and dropped out of the race last week.John Edwards John Mccain and Mike Huckabee would seem too useless. I can honestly inform all you out there that I have been supporting Hilary Clinton's bid from the very beginning. Haven't changed my mind up till today. However a win by Obama would not be as disastrous as having Sarkozy as president. So I am joining forces with all the Clinton supporters who aint american in wishing her all the best in facing Super Tuesday. I am gonna wake up on Wednesday morning local time waiting for the outcome on CNN!

I have got to agree with anyone saying that the US elections are too hyped up when the actual thing is only in november. It started since like early 2007 with the campaigning and all. Seems too much doesnt it or maybe it's just because I live in malaysia where election time seems just like another suspenceful day of celebrations. As hyped as the election fever is, I repeat that it only means Bush is one step closer to being kicked out of the White house. Hahaha. Go to hell bush, you're just meddling in everything unnecessary and causing problems all round the globe. Eagerly waiting for the 4th of december to arrive. Remember the date 4-12-08.

-Adios from Manila-

Wewechu

Without doubt, I may have somehow lost part of that passionate blogging mojo.

The last time I blogged was ages ago about Real Madrid winning the Primera Liga. They're still doing well at that moment without that moody Capello. In fact, they beat Barca last night. Who cares if it was 1-0 , they still beat them. XD

Procrastination works well through my system everytime I attempt to blog or maybe it was all the SPM stress. My Cbox seems to be the only thing keeping my blog alive.

A lot has happened over the past few months which I hope to blog about soon enough in a series of posts. I intend to use me blog to keep track of my life. Haha.

Enough said,

SPM is over .. (which just means no more BM for me!!)

Prom was fun ..

High school is so over =( ..

If only the results could come faster.. Best of luck to those PMR candidates obtaining their results in about 2 days time.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

-Adios from Manila-

Campeones de La Liga

Raul draping club scarf over the goddess Cibeles

The hopes and dreams of all Real Madrid fans were answered last week. Final score : 3-1. As i had stated in the last post, Real would have won unless they could slump that badly against Majorca. As always, Real matches are rather unpredictable at the beginning and well their first halves are generally quite bland. The end of the first half of Real matches seem to always leave me pondering over all the high hopes I place over this numero uno team.

even tom and katie were happy over the win
of their good friend's team

So yeah, Real have won the La Liga for the 3oth time. Their first silverware in 4 years signifying the end of the galacticos era as Beckham and Roberto Carlos would be leaving. MU fans seemed to also have a reason to celebrate since they would be obtaining about 2 million pounds from the transfer deals of Beckham and Van Nistelrooy. There was a rather different pace to the 'last' match as Van Nistelrooy, the usual hero of the game limped out of the game during the first half. That was when I felt that their hopes of winning were gone as Majorca had already scored a goal before that while Barca was flying ahead with almost 5 goals in their game.

2nd half started without beckham but everything seemed to be playing out well. Real's first goal from Reyes brought a sense of relief while the 2nd one from Diarra just confirmed the win. The Bernabeu was already roaring with the cheers of fans at that moment. With the third and last one from Reyes again, you just had that exciting urge to just end the match and celebrate right away. The happiness of the fans was bringing down the house. All this is quite impressive especially coz it was about 5 am malaysian time. Very few people wake up at such times just to catch la liga matches. Admittedly, I have only woken up or stayed up for a few matches I hoped to be interesting.

Congrats again to Real Madrid and the whole team. Mixed feelings still remain over Fabio Capello's position as coach. Frankly speaking I wouldn't mind if he gets fired. I've disliked him from the beginning anyway. Till the next season starts lets hope that Calderon will be able to attract more star players to replace the great ones who left. Thierry Henry is moving to Barcelona so Real better do something or risk defeat again next season.

-adios y hasta luego-

Results That Make You Go Loco

Real Madrid is so gonna win this year's Primera Liga !!

I was watching the match and it certainly was full of ups and downs. When Zaragoza got the frst goal in through a penalty kick, it definitely didn't seem to go that well. Zaragoza was leading till the end of the first half. Van Nistelrooy put in Real's first goal while Zaragoza had another ball going in. Their fans were euphoric and Real seemed to be at the losing end.

If Real were to lose, that would signal an end to their hopeful league win. With hearts of fans pounding, Van Nistelrooy managed to score again at the 88th minute. 2-2 it was and at the same time it was announced that Barca had also drawed 2-2 with Espanyol. That was without doubt a relief as Real would still be in the running for the title. One more match left against Mallorca which would lead to Real's almost definite victory.

So what if Real was the dumping ground for MU players. They all seem to make wonders particularly Van Nistelrooy and Beckham. It is gonna be sad seeing Beckham and Roberto Carlos play for Real the last time next week. I highly doubt we would be receiving coverage of Major League Soccer over here in Malaysia.

Let me also congratulate our 'beloved' PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over his wedding today to Jeanne Abdullah aged 53. To Pak Lah, I hope you would be able to fill that void in your heart and achieve greater heights as our leader. To Jeanne (whichever way your name would be pronounced), you are one hell of a lucky woman. Haha ..

someone trying hard to act cute

Many question why a 67 year old man like Pak Lah would want to remarry just 2 years after his ex-wife died but it kind of gets lonely living alone in that huge Seri Perdana. It does however seem rather wrong in the sense that Jeanne used to be the house supervisor of Seri Perdana. Then again .. its better than Pak Lah going for his secretary or PA.

looks tai tai enough for a PM's wife

I have also this view about how PM's look much more presentable and capable with a woman in hand. Datin PM's wife would soon be escorting Pak Lah on his trips overseas and at most official functions. A penultimate end to seeing Pak Lah at official functions together with Datin Rosmah at times without Najib.

-adios y hasta luego-

Glorified Blades

Believe it or not, I did manage to catch blades of glory on friday at klcc. I had seen a trailer of it on a news channel (?!?) a long time ago and was determined to catch it in the cinemas. Unfortunately the majority of reactions I got when I expressed my interest in the movie were "eww, why ?!?!" and "god, it looks sick".

I must say that this is by far the most Nacho Libre-like movie I've watched so far but trust me when I say that it is better than Nacho. The combination of sick twisted laughter with a weird sense of gay competition between Jimmy MacElroy played by Jon Heder and Chazz Michael Michaels played by Will Ferrell. Almost classic story of two enemies becoming team mates after they both get banned from men's figure skating as a result of their own actions.

There was generally something funny to laugh about every five minutes or so throughout the whole movie. What would you expect with such a hilarious cast. Who could forget Jon Heder on Napoleon's Dynamite. Another movie with a great production team who could crack out such lame stuff. There was this short part showing some dangerous kick-ass skating move being performed in North Korea which I found rather cool. Blek

Blades of Glory is a MTV Movies production apparently. Never heard of MTV Movies but are there any other movies they've produced ?? Pretty sure there are more movies like this to 'entertain' us.

Overall Rating : 3 / 5

-adios y hasta luego

Cancer

Some very interesting and simple facts on cancer that I got through an e-mail :

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime..

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

Cancer cells feed on :

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one
important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. A better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastrointestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

A few other preventive measures :

1. No plastic containers in the microwave.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.

Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is 'nuked', the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Just a friendly health reminder ..

-adios-

Welcome to TEMASIK

I am very sure every football fan in Malaysia knows of the ongoing row between the AFC and well Manchester United since like half of Malaysia is filled with MU fans. This is all because MU's tour match in KL clashes with that AFC Cup which I've never even heard off. I guess AFC realises how unknown their 'Cup' is that they dare not face the competition from MU. Come on, no one I know would actually bother watching unless they hear that Malaysia plays Japan or something.

AFC wants MU reschedule their tour but MU won't budge even after a meeting a few weeks ago. Even PM Badawi wants the match to go on because of the VMY 2007 campaign. The match is of national interest and it was organised by Tourism Malaysia so AFC have no business at all to bother. Even Khairy Jamaluddin has expressed his support for the match to go on.

Imagine how shocked I was to find some of the comments of these damn unopen-minded jakun malaysians in the papers on why the MU match should be cancelled. Just comes to show how some malaysians still have this fucked up kampung mentality ..

• How can Manchester United get us the Merdeka feeling? Looks like we still love the people who colonised us
• We got Merdeka from England 1957. We r Asians. Don't support them again. Our future with AFC.

Football is about uniting the world and it has nothing to do with supporting your past colonial leaders .. Vision 2020 ain't gonna work with you jakuns around ..

This comes kind of late but I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 at Times Square aka. lala-land last Saturday. Wanted to catch it on Friday at KLCC but no one wanted to tag along.

I must mention that Saturday made me hate Times Square even more. There was this fucked up lala-convention to promote some taiwan tv show with that lesbo-like S.H.E. woman and some fahrenheit guy. The whole entrance was filled with these *insert word* people. Just looking at the way they dress and talk makes me wanna puke. Borders seems to be the only place to regain a touch of the real word in that dreadful mall.

1st things first, I was kind of shocked at first to find out that Pirates 3 was almost three hours long but then again it's worth it considering it cost me Rm 11 for a ticket. Two and a half hours for the second installment was long enough that I was holding my bladder to the max throughout the movie.

There had been many mixed reactions about this movie but personally I found it nice. It may have been rather draggy at certain parts but Jack Sparrow's lame yet spontaneous acting can definitely overcome any boredom whatsoever. Pirates is one of the few series-like movies which have to be watched from the start. If not, you'll just end up dozing off like my sis's friends sitting next to me . Haha

I must add that the animators involved in the production have done a pretty good job with special mention for the various fight scenes. Coolest being the part where two ships were sucked into the whirlpool of water. The topsy-turvy way of getting out of Davy Jones Locker was something interesting too. I must say that they could have done something better when Calypso reappeared bcoz I found that a little crappy. Who could forget the part where Will proposed to Elizabeth and well the way they were unofficially married.

The idea of the Brethren Court was plain cool. Its like a United Nations for pirates. The location of the fourth meeting was another fascinating animated one with odd looking structures and lights. The Mistress Cheng there was very freaky (chinese female pirate lord) while the indian pirate lord was just strange. There was a Spanish one too , Villanueva !!

I found the ending to the movie so-so. I think it would be difficult for the producers to create another sequel with such an ending. Elizabeth and Will evolving from being lovers to pirate lords ain't very appealing to viewers in my opinion. It was a relief to see that the 'fish-people' in the Flying Dutchman had transformed back to normal humans.

Chow Yun Fatt was very lame at the beginning with all the "more steam" parts. Plus, what kind of pirate lord resides in some stinky old bathhouse filled with low-class pirates. "Welcome to Singapore" was even worse. Since when did Singapore which is supposed to be Temasik become a pirate 'hub'. Why not something like "Welcome to Larut" .. fine, that's even lamer. The movie's depiction of Singapore was one hell of a under-statement though.

Something many of us including myself didn't know was that there was actually a scene after all the credits where they showed Will and Elizabeth reuniting 'after 10 years' with their apparent son which was strangely the little boy whom was about to be hanged when he started summoning for the Brethren Court .. my sis only bothered telling me after the movie ended ,, arghh

Overall Rating : 3.5/5

I still want to catch a few more movies during the holidays ie.

1. Blades of Glory
2. Shrek 3
3. Ocean's Thirteen
4. The Last Mimzy
5. Fantastic Four 2
   

-adios y hasta luego-

Cloud Nine

Not many of you know but there was a new addition to the Spanish royal family (!!) last month. The Crown Princess Letizia gave birth to her second child which was yet another daughter. The delivery was done at Ruber Internacional which I can proudly say I've been to and where my mum went for her check-ups while in madrid.

Infanta Sofía de Borbón y Ortiz was born at 4:50 pm on the 29th of April by means of a caesarean section. She weighed 3.3 kg and was 50cm long at birth. Infanta Sofía was named after her grandmother, Reina Sofia. She will most probably be given the additional name of de Todos los Santos (of All the Saints), at her christening making her Infanta Sofía de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz.

It thus remains a question as to whom would assume the throne in time to come. Unless Infanta Sofia's elder sister becomes Queen Leonor, Crown Princess Letizia would have to conceive again to produce a male heir. I give my upmost respect to the simple Spanish royalty who are loved and admired by their people. The difference between them and the British or Japanese royal families is so obvious. Crown Princess Letizia didn't even suffer from any stress related disorders unlike Crown Princess Masako who could not bear a male heir to the Chrysanthemum throne or face the media. Maaflah tapi saya tidak berapa suka akan keluarga diraja di Malaysia.

Video of Infanta Sofia's first appearance outside Ruber

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark also welcomed their new daughter who has yet to be named on the 21st of April. It is a Danish tradition that the royal babies only be named during their official baptism. A very 'perasan' tradition if you ask me since news of Infanta Sofia's birth was announced in Spain through SMS. By the way, Crown Princess Mary is actually an Australian who met her husband in a bar during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Sounds like every girl's dream fairytale but it is true ..

Enough of royalty and babies, I will now move on to my favourite subject - airplanes. If you think i'm insane, you might as well skip the next part. Don't even bother letting the pictures load .. haha

These are some of the new airline liveries I so absolutely love ..

Cathay Pacific's livery to celebrate the delivery of its 100th aircraft. This B777 has surely flown a lot as it has been spotted at many airports.

This specific livery doesn't look permanent but it's aim is to promote Hong Kong. Well, it does state "Asia's World City". I guess it's similar to MAS's 'Freedom of Space'.

Qatar's new one is one hell of a eye-candy to me. This new livery comes at a right time when they are rapidly expanding their network. Their old one looked really outdated. I like how the fonts are now much bigger and that their antelope-like logo gas been enlarged. Thumbs up for QR. Most probably gonna fly QR to beirut at the end of the year.

This Jet Airways livery was launched about two weeks ago and this is the first aircraft with it. Definitely looks better than their old livery. Much more modern-like which makes you wanna fly with them.

United Airlines livery ain't very new but I just like the different shades of blue. The logo on the tail looks fantastic too. I feel that they should do something like extend the words "UNITED". Very empty body towards the tail.

This one here is dedicated to jiam since she was uberly excited when I first mentioned how the outside of the Aer Lingus plane was coloured. I'm not lying and this ones from Ireland. They were asked to fly to KLIA but had not enough aircraft to do so.

Another golden livery to entice travellers. Belonging to Gulf Air the proud-est sponsor of the Bahrain Grand Prix. I guess they copied us since their circuit is located really close to the airport that you always get a picture of their planes together with the track. Sad to say that their livery does not attract enough passengers on their flights.

LAN's livery is really nice too. I guess i'm easily attracted to bluish liveries. Funny thing is that this livery only looks good on certain aircraft (my own opinion of course) ..

Last but not least, we have Finnair which is supposed to have started their Helsinki flights via Bangkok to KLIA last week. There's no news about it on their website or our local news. Perhaps they decide to postpone the launch ?! Many have enjoyed Finnair's advertisements over the past few years. My favourite is the ad promoting their business class lie-flat seats which includes an animated panda travelling. You can watch it below ..

-adios y hasta luego-

In About 120 Words

I have been a very lazy blogger. Lazy's just not the right word .. boring / non-existent seems more like it. Though it would be more logical to say that I was on hiatus, I must admit that I was either too bored or lazy to blog. Notice that these giant pauses in blogging always occur at about the same time every year.

A LOT has been happening since the 4th of April. The mid term holidays are going on at the moment which probably means that this blog would hopefully be getting sudden spurs of posts. These two weeks of holidays has been a much needed yet awaited one. My time this year's been passing like the wind. It's been homework and studying ever since form 5 started.

Then, the exams came. Doubt so if I would need to explain all the stress involved in cramming as much facts as possible in that precious brain of ours. Brandon has been a very bad example to follow in the two weeks that the exam was on. Procrastination just fills my life forever. You have matthews in the first week of may going "If you don't start studying now, you are a fool". I have that ringing in your head but the moment I reach home, there's take a nap, go online, watch more tv whispering in my ears. It wasn't till the weekends before the exam that I started revising. Some was even done the night before till like 2 am once.

Thank god I could go through every paper considerably well though I was dozing off half way through some of the papers. I actually had to be woken up by that goldfish dorothy during moral. I just hate moral and don't be surprised if I end up going for classes after school with matthews. Probably gonna fail miserably again. All I could remember was the first nilai (don't we all) and the last three. You can only imagine much tembak-ing I did in the span of two hours. In spite of all this, me and jiam share the same sentiment of eagerly wanting the holidays to end soon so we could get hold of our marks. Not sure whether you all out there got the same feeling but it is plain strange. Better just enjoy the holidays first.

Anyway, this is what's been happening throughout my apparent hiatus ..

Mummy back again --> but from beirut this time .. rather last minute as she had to attend my step-bro's graduation in manila first. Left April 23 .. was here for about 2 weeks

beloved hip mamma

Good Charlotte Live in KL (21 April 07) --> yet another 'let's wait and see whether I get to go' event .. my cousin surprised me with the 2 extra tickets he won from some MTV contest. Lo, One Buck Short and Estranged were the opening acts. They were boring except for Lo. GC's performance was not what I expected. Long and under-rated. Having Joel go "I wanna move to Malaysia" about 3 times ain't entertaining at all. Muse was so much better =)

Sports Day (21 April 07) --> Mummy got lost on the way there. Almost left out of the march past because I forgot my tie. Thank god for Johann's extra tie. Nothing spectacular. Yellow house won and red house was last

Physics PEKA Practical test --> Performed horribly. So little time given yet so many tasks to do. Couldn't finish a lot and simply screwed my measurements up. Yeah, I still cannot connect my own electrical circuit .. pathetic.

May was rather uneventful. Studying, exams and now holidays ..

So as not to bore you people any further, I'll just be posting some pictures of our favourite reality tv stars. Everybody loves their reality tv stars ! X)

Eric and Danielle - they won the Amazing Race All-Stars edition

ANTM Cycle 7 winner Caridee !! -- my favourite to win other than Brooke

I still hate Melrose . . she should have committed suicide after losing .. so i hoped


Another consecutive season of AI with me hating the winner. Sorry you Jordin fans but she's not appealing to me at all. I was counting on Melinda all this while but looks like she wasn't 'hot' enough for the american audience. Blake wasn't that bad too but his beat-boxing was just inappropriate at times. Hands down, i'm remaining 100% anti jordin.

-adios y hasta luego-