Notable Quotable

"You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important"

-- Aibileen, The Help

 Yes, YOU!
Amazing movie by the way!

January Muse

Reading: The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay. I've been on a mission to declutter, downsize and pare down my stuff. When I told my friends I'm gonna TRY to be minimalist, they all burst out laughing, knowing that shopping and buying stuff seems to be my super power. But really, perhaps one of this year's resolutions (I don't do resolutions btw) is to buy very selectively and to give/throw away all the stuff I don't need. This book is awesome as Francine teaches you how to declutter, drilling down to the the psychology of why people hoard their things. I've been decluttering some stuff and I love the feeling of chucking out old stuff and reclaiming space. It's a wake up call that the stuff I chuck out is money too and it's all from my senseless consuming and buying. So from now on, I'm gonna be very selective in the stuff that I get. Wish me luck!

Also reading Time Out Singapore. I check in on Time Out Singapore every now and then to keep up with all the stuff that's happening in this sunny island of durian eaters. Great tips on where to eat, what to see, where to go etc. A must-read if you're bored of your routine and would want something new to do and see.

Watching: Animations from the Ghibli Studio! How I love Hayao Miyazaki's work! My dad started me on it when I was 9 or so when he took me to watch my first Miyazaki cartoon, Laputa, Castle in the Sky. I've been a fan since, with special affinity to Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service because they're my childhood favorites. I've been re-watching Miyazaki animations over the holidays. LOVE them!

Later this month, I'll also be watching Giselle by The Paris Opera Ballet. I can't wait!! And I've got pretty good ticket!

Wearing: Diptyque Do Son Perfume. I got the solid perfume version of this lovely Tuberose scent. Will blog more about it another time. It's super nice and I love the packaging!

Also wearing a lot of my Vamoose necklace. So pretty! Perfect for layering!

Using: The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Cream. I was done with my Ole Henriksen moisturizer and I'm switching a lot of my face and body care to organic stuff. I got The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Cream this time. It smells divine with a nice citrus scent and nice texture that's quickly absorbed. I just started using it for about 2 weeks now. Will blog more about it soon when I can speak more about it, but so far so good.

Drinking: EveryDay Detox tea by Traditional Medicinals. I'm hooked on herbal tea and I'm drinking this one almost everyday. Traditional Medicinals makes really great herbal tea and I've got the night time sleep well tea as well for the occasional insomnia.

Loving: Hardly a sexy thing to love but I must admit I love using the NeilMed Netti Pot. The ceramic netti pot I bought in India broke long time ago and now I've replaced it with a plastic one from NeilMed. It comes with its salt mixture in convenient sachets and it does wonders for my sinus. I rinse my nose every night now. I know it sounds painful and uncomfortable to flush your nostrils but trust me, if you have sinus, this is a god sent! On top of keeping sinus at bay, ancient ayurvedic medicine also says using a netti pot balances the Ida (ying) and Pingala (yang) energy too.

Lusting after: The Dior Oui necklace. I love it. Plain and simple. Oui si vous plait!!

Watch this!

Lovely! Wish I could be as spirited as Agnes Varda at age 80 if I'm still alive at that age. Now I just gotta try and get the dvd on Amazon.

Wonderful World

Beautiful and breathtaking! David Attenborough and the documentary makers are such amazing bunch! I'm always amazed by the patience and hardship of making documentaries in extreme conditions. Happy Friday folks!

But just don't watch the part where the animals get killed for food or polar bear cub got missing and died. Don't say I never warn you! I was mildly traumatized watching the full version....

You and Me

I was going through my music the other day and I remember I love the song You and Me by The Wannabies and it was in the Romeo & Juliet Soundtrack, yeah the one with Leonardo Di-cappuccino, oops, I mean Dicaprio...and I love this track....here you go...

Cinema Paradiso

One of  my all time favorite movies is the classic Italian film Cinema Paradiso by director Giuseppe Tornatore and it also happens to be one of my father's favorites too (it's special to him cos when he was young, he used to go to the cinema a lot by himself). And from the movie came one of my favorite cello pieces and it's a duet with trumpet. It's a very very beautiful tune written by Ennio Morricone...it's one of the many reasons why I learn and play the cello cos it's beautiful....this one's played by Yoyo Ma and Chris Botti on the trumpet...

Echoes of the Rainbow

I finally got to watch Echoes of the Rainbow (歲月神偷) and it's now officially one of my favorite Hong Kong films....I've been wanting to watch it since its release in February this year but then when it came to Singapore, it's dubbed in Mandarin and I waited till now cos watching in Mandarin's just not right to the Cantonese milieu and the wait was totally worth it.

It's written and directed by Hong Kong director Alex Law (who also made 秋天的童話, another of my favorites) and it talks of a family of 4 in the old Hong Kong through the eye of a shoemaker's son and the film features Sandra Ng and Simon Yam (both my favorites) and 2 other new commers...a very young boy named Buzz Chung (trust the Hongkie to gave a weird name like Buzz) and Aarif Lee (sounds kinda muslim) and they both performed brilliantly! As usual, the two silver screen veterans, Sandra and Simon, gave a heart felt performance and Buzz was exceptional, considering the fact that he's only 8 years old. And so did Aarif...it of course helps that he's super hot!!! Woot!

But it's definitely one tear jerker! Ah Meow and I both teared but the whole film has this nice nostalgic innocence of the old Hong Kong when the people were poor and things were simple. I find the simplicity the winning formula where every interactions between people (ie all the characters in there) were sincere - the kind of genuine sincerity that's hard to find in today's society. Despite its tendency to make people finish all their tissue paper (to soak up the tears), it's very well-balanced by the playful voice of the 8-year-old son, making it one of those bittersweet movies that makes you smile from the heart while bawling your eyes out. It's a definite must-watch! It received roaring success and it won the Best Screenplay in HK's film award. Simon Yam won Best Actor and Aarif Lee clinched the Best Newcomer. Not to mention it took home the Crystal Bear in Best Film in the Children's Jury in Berlin's International Film Festival! Kudos to Alex Law! And I'm gonna get it in DVD for sure!!!

Mao's Last Dancer....ROCKS!!

Mao's Last Dancer fucks the world! I don't even know how to begin telling you how bloody good this film is and how it's dumb it never went mass market and was actually marketed under the "Art Film" category. It's the real story of ballet maestro Li Cunxin--one of the best ballet dancers of our time.

Well to begin with, there's my favorite Chinese actress Joan Chen, there's what I used to do aka ballet (excuse me, I was a ballerina and I was intending to go to the Royal Academy of Ballet), there's great dancing, there're ballet guys with tight asses and even tighter pants, and an incredible story line of silent triumph.

BB didn't want to watch it with me when I pointed it out to him cos he said "I don't wanna watch another Billy Elliot movie"...grrr...it's NOT Billy Elliot. Billy Elliot is about a boy who wanted to dance in a culture where ballet is sissy and he made it nonetheless after some struggle. Mao's Last Dancer was about a life changing experience of being randomly picked to attend the Peking Arts Academy and therefore escaping extreme poverty. It accounts the story of ballet maestro Li Cunxin's journey into the world of ballet which later brought him into the kaleidoscopic Western world where he went to America as an exchange student. Set in the 70s to 80s, the Sino-US political back drop set the stage to portray the dwindling end of the Chinese cultural revolution with Chairman Mao's death and the beginning of China's slow opening to the rest of the world as Deng Xiao Ping took over. The film also showed Li's unfortunate run-in and struggle with the Chinese government officials when he decided to stay in the US and he was subsequently barred from returning to China. (It made major news around the world during then).

With a cast of professional dancers, it's expected that the dancing would be excellent but they've also proved to be multi-talented thespians who did a great acting job. Lead actor/dancer Chi Cao was hand-picked by the real Li Cunxin himself to play the part and it was a job well done indeed. I actually think he looked a wee bit like Hong Kong kungfu star Donny Yan! And with cinema veteran Joan Chen in it, you can't expect anything less than perfect performance. She played Li's mother to perfection, depicting the shy, pure and simple nature of a village lady with so much finesse that it's hard to believe she's the same glamour puss who acted in the movie The Last Emperor of China. And Bruce Greenwood took the role of Ben Stevenson, the American choreographer who discovered Li...Bruce mimicked Ben Stevenson's slightly effeminate and gay-ish demeanor with so much gusto that I actually found myself looking up on IMBD to see if Bruce Greenwood is actually gay.....and coming from a resident fag hag, that's a great accomplishment.

Production quality was good as it suited the theme but the only complaint I have was that the shopping mall scene where Li just went to America as it was a bit too modern looking...it didn't look old enough. But I'm nit-picking here. Aussie director Bruce Beresford did an excellent job and the juxtaposing of Li's childhood memory and his new life in the brave new world in America make great contrast. This is so far the best movie I've watched this year (yes, it's only May) and I'm definitely gonna get the dvd when it comes out. I gave it 4.8 stars out of 5!

It got me so hyped that I started looking for youtube stuff on Li Cunxin (he currently lives in Australia and has switched job to become a full-time stockbroker....I know I know..but he's a great guy). And I found this interview he did and it's such an interesting one cos he talked about his poverty-stricken childhood like how he had to eat tree bark cos there was no food and how the communist propaganda had brainwashed him so much to believe the West was horrible and China was the greatest etc.....it's here and you've got to watch it....even if you're not interested in the film, it's cool to listen to what he's got to say about life in China and I've heard similar tales and fables from my grandma and dad too....Enjoy it!

Clash of the Titans

What a let down....some old movies are better left untouched and un-re-maked and The Clash of The Titans is definitely one of them cos the new one didn't quite do it for me. Yes yes, the Titans shoe is one big one to fill no doubt...But still, with today's CGI and whatnots, I was expecting something better (so don't even bother making movie remake of old classics like Ben Hur and the likes get it?)....The new version lacks mysticism cos the creatures in there weren't scary and didn't invoke any sense of fear or awe that showcase the high and mighty status of the god and the slimy evil. The scary monsters and peeps like Medusa and gang weren't scary and they look normal and fail to make me feel creepy...Production wise it's fine, acting's fine, set is nice, editing is acceptable but it's just so damn corny....like why must all the gods in Olympus had these shimmering lights around them...you know, that godly aura? It's trite! And the lines are kinda corny too...especially the scene where they're about to go into Medusa's lair where Perseus started saying "Today's the day I'm gonna stand up blah blah blah"....or whatever to that effect. Yeah, the lines after he said other than his father, he has met 4 other great men and one chick too....My hair was standing, in a bad way.....Well, 3 stars out of 5...

Miss B's Observations and Notes on The Clash of The Titans

• Oh Jake Sully's in the Titans? Oh no, hang on...it's not Avatar but Sam Worthington's is Perseus and the same kind of role as Jake Sully....Too similar....the flying horse add to it too...the 6-legged horses in Avatar is the equivalent....
• Hades' hair stylist should be fired cos the receding hairline bit was so badly done I can see the plastic thing around the forehead
• If you haven't got money for botox and need a good permanent fix for youthfulness, then learn from Io. Go find some god, seduce him, then refuse him and he would 'curse' you with the inability to age and bye bye botox
• The word "bitch" was used to described Medusa...very gentlemanly of them...come on, Medusa got raped...
• The goddess Athena was probably a bitch cos Io said Hades wanted to hump Medusa and Medusa was calling for help from Athena while getting raped by Hades, but that Athena bitch was disgusted instead and turned Medusa into a monster....so never pray to Athena unless you want bad hair
• Medusa looked hot in the film and had nice tits. perky and not too big
• Poseidon is the mildest of the 3 brothers....he did nothing
• Erm....why is there a robotic owl? BB pointed out the same robotic owl was in the original 1981 make of the movie and the robotic owl in the original has a much bigger role...but the question is, how come there was a robotic owl in the past??
• Oh and since there's a robotic owl, I propose an easier way to kill Medusa....the solution is simple. It's a simple pair of reflective Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses...She can't see your eyes and she sees her own eyes and turns herself into stone? Neat...
• The gods were probably bored...they basically stand or sit around their pedestals and did nothing...
• If your father (or lao peh) were a god and he offered you an easy life, just bloody take it...cos after all, Perseus used the sword and rode the negro flying horse after all
• If you wanna be a witch, don't be one in The Clash of the Titans cos the witches in there are the ugliest ones I've seen....try Bewitched instead
• There's a Star Wars looking creature with blue eyes and tree like face....and he's Japanese...cos of the way he speaks English...he said "Toooo-geee-therrre" (Together) with a cyborg voice...he ought to be Japanese

March Muse

Reading: VoCE Magazine (Taiwanese Edition so I can read the Chinese and know what they're talking about).....it's the ultimate vainpot magazine that tells you everything you ever need to know about beauty products.....no rubbish articles like "My husband slept with my maid" or "How to give mind-blowing head job"....
Watching: A Woman, A Gun, and A Noodle Soup by Zhang Yi Mou....my favorite Chinese director!!! Okay, probably going to watch very very soon.....
Listening to: Elgar Cello Concerto by Jacqueline du Pre....ohhhh my all time (dead) cellist and cello concerto! Too bad du Pre died at a young age of 41. Sigh....but this is in preparation for next month's Yo-yo Ma cello concert that I'll be watching and Yo-yo Ma currently owns the "du Pre" Stradivarius cello that costs about $2million bucks USD which is built to play Baroque best and was once so badly abused by du Pre....I'll be happy with the "Sleeping Beauty" Stradivarius...slightly cheaper, only $1.8 million USD ONLY *gasp* ...-_-''
Wearing: Essence by Narcisco Rodriguez....courtesy of BB! Thanks BB! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this scent! It's fresh with a slight hint of musc. It's supposed to be a musc-based perfume but unlike most heady and heavy musc perfume, this one has a sparkling and irridiscent quality of rose petal, violet and amber....it's got the perfect balance of floral and powdery note that's fresh and energising....I get so much compliment from this!
Using: Ettusais Pore Care Wash.....new stuff....great thick creamy lather and it promises to clean out dirty pores to prevent enlarged pores and zits...good stuff cos it's got a faint soft lavendar scent and it makes your skin feels super clean without feeling it's so tight that your skin will break the moment you smile....
Also using the new Za Skin Beauty Two-Way Foundation....nice shiny pink case and super smooth powder that really covers up pores well...it's supposed to keep skin hydrated but it's still not moisturising enough for my parched skin but I'm not complaining cos the texture is super smooth...good value....
One more, also using Oshima Tsubaki shampoo too. It's the same brand from the camelia hair oil that I mentioned some time back, but this one's not available in Singapore and I got mine from Hong Kong. It's really very very gentle and because it doesn't contain harsh ingredient, it's a low-lather shampoo but it leaves hair super soft and even when you rinse off the shampoo, your hair doesn't feel dry and I do think it's possible to even skip conditioner if you have normal hair.....it's good...only drawback is that it doesn't have a very nice scent...not that it stinks cos it doesn't but it's only got a very faint scent...and I love nice smelling ones...but the good trumps the bad...okay, it's not even bad per se.
Pimping: Striped Cotton Jersey "Sailor" double-breasted jacket from TopShop....I wasn't intending to buy this until Ah Meow pointed it out and made me try it and then I was sold and the thrifty Ah Meow approved of me buying so I followed instruction...hahaha...
Eating: Bee Pollen from Chiang Mai.....I visited some honey shop in Chiang Mai where they sell a slew of honey related products and Bee Pollen's supposedly good for sinus and has great health properties and gives you good skin...so I got a big tub back...ONLY to feel bad that bee pollen is actually food for bees and it means that I've robbed them of their food....I promise I won't buy it again :(

Nine rocks!

Finally! I got to watch Nine and I love it!! I'm rating it 4 stars out of 5! Here are all the low-downs of what I think of the movie:

The Good:

• Excellent production quality! 
• Good directing with a good intersperse of music and it wasn't a musical overkill....
• Great acting from the cast!
• Catchy music
• Fantastic choreography! My favorite number's the scene where Fergie was doing the dance on the chair with flying sand and the tambourine. Fergie is superb in there! For that little bit of screen bit Fergie got, putting on 9kg for the role seemed to be quite a big sacrifice in my book....but she's got nice voluptuous boobs I feel like squeezing....very jealous....
• Sofia Loren looks regal in the film!
• Daniel Day-Lewis looks ever so suave and charming...despite being a prick
• The baby blue Alfa Romeo is super cute! And so are the rest of the old school Fiat vans! I love!
• The scenes were beauuuutiful...Italy is beauuuuutiful

The Bad:

• I hate the fact that they all speak Italian-accented English instead of Italian...Yes, I know it's a Hollywood film but it's still not okay for me....though they got the "Pronto" correct while picking up the phone........
• The wardrobe looks too modern to be in the 60s....the cut of the outfit isn't quite from the 60s and after awhile, you kinda forgot that you're watching a movie based in the 60s...and the pointed bustline of the 60s was so exaggerated in the film that if a balloon fly by, it'll burst...costumes are important you know?
• The sexy dance by Penelope Cruz is a bit scary because her hair looks more psychotic than bed-head...but other than that she did a great job! I love her still!
• Nicole Kidman's got a bit too much botox and her forehead looks like a flatscreen tv and when she was singing to Guido Contini around the fountain...she looked almost expressionless :( It ruined the scene
• Dame Judi Dench was rather scary with her low cut outfit....don't get me wrong...I love her but it's a bit scary to see crinkly saggy jiggly boobies that were about to spill out of her bra cup

Moral of the Story:

• Never get involved/date/marry a player....a player is a fucker who'll screw your life with no remorse and he will not change....
• Trying to commit suicide by overdosing with 5 to 6 pills will not kill you and will only make you look like a zombie with very dark rings around the eye (aka the Penelope Cruz scene)
• Don't over tan yourself or you'll look wrinkly and leathery ala Sofia Loren (don't get me wrong, I love her!)

Thing is, I really love Penelope Cruz' and Nicole Kidman's characters cos they resonate with me the most cos it's a bit of a "Been there, done that" thing whereby at some point in my life, I've been stuck in shitty ratty romantic situation like that.....no, not involved with a married man but more like an asshole whom I couldn't quite bring myself to cut him off....sigh...it was almost poignant watching Penelope Cruz begged Guido to not leave her etc....it's heart-wrenching...sometimes I wonder why people (not just woman obviously) put themselves in shitty situation like that....oops...digressing... but anyway, the most important thing is, I'm happy now and Nine is a kick-ass musical....BB, who actually said "I don't like musical" confessed that he actually found the song and dance numbers in the movie fascinating and he said "I was hoping the normal drama part would go away quickly and then fast forward to the singing and dancing"...haha.....

Two nights; Two movies

Friday night: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Saturday night: New York I love You

Friday...........

Actually, it should be Saturday wee hours since I caught The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus the Friday midnight slot and boy......what a time slot to watch the movie cos it's really like Dorian Gray tripping on acid. One look and you can tell the heavy Monty Python influence thanks to director Terry Gilliam but I walked out of the cinema not knowing exactly what to say about it...the accumulated fatigue from the insane week and ungodly hour obviously didn't help but this morning, after some deliberation, I've decided it's actually quite an awesome movie. I wouldn't suggest you watch the movie for the plot or storyline but watch it for the spectacular and stunning visual effects, the excellent cast and the last acting effort of my very much beloved and unfortunately very dead Heath Ledger. Of course the cameo of the smoking hot trio aka Johnny Depp, Colin Farrel and Jude Law really gives the movie an extra edge and a refreshing surprise.
To summarise, it's a fantasy movie with Dr Parnassus (played by Christopher Plummer) having a dirty deal with the devil Mr Nick (played by Tom Waits the singer...oh I LOVE HIM!) Dr P took the audience through his little world of imagination into the special mirror that exposes every human's deepest desire and setting them free from it. As nothing good would ever come out of dealing with the devil, the same goes for Dr P who in the end lost his bets with the devil.......I would bet you my Chanel bag and a box of Laduree macaroon that Gilliam wrote the script while under the influence of some serious Grade A acid washed down with a line of coke cos the whole movie has a dream-like quality of a good hallucination.
Heath's performance was superb as expected and somehow, I felt sad watching the movie because his death was indeed a great shame and I remember feeling incredibly sad the morning I knew of his passing. He died while the movie wasn't even half done and then Gilliam quickly cast the drool-worthy trio in. Gilliam's direction wasn't shabby at all.....and it's quite an interesting movie which will make you feel as if you're tripping on acid, not knowing what you'd expect next....I give it 3.5 stars out of 5...

Saturday......

 

New York I Love You had an insurmountable feat of filling a very very big shoe of its successor Paris Je'taime which happens to be one of my favorite movies...thing is, Ah Meow from work told me New York I Love You sucked big time and I was preparing for the worst when I walked in to the cinema...and I perhaps got to thank her for telling me that it sucked ass cos well, I was expecting worse. It didn't turn out to be half as bad as I thought though it by no means can measure up to Paris Je'taime....

For those who're not familiar, the movie's a montage of short films by 11 different directors and the stories all revolve around love with the Big Apple as the backdrop. Now it fell short to its successor because this film is meant to be an art house film but then you can literally see the "trying too hard to be artsy and non-hollywood" element in it. And some of the stories and the way it's shot and directed were a wee bit trite that makes you feel that this is indeed mainstream Hollywood pretending to be art house. The cinematography and directions are really typical Hollywood that's all commercial BUT, I absolutely applaud the segment directed by Shekhar Kapur...that to me, is the BEST film inside and it features Shia LaBeof as a hotel bell boy with a really bad limp from scoliosis and Shia did a pretty good performance and actually acted as opposed to his silly role in Transformer. Now I went from not liking him a lot to actually not liking him less....I hate to say this but I'm mildly impressed by his performance and well, congrats Shia, you're now a real actor in my book....Kapur's segment is so emotionally charged that I actually had tears in my eyes cos the sadness Shia LaBeouf and his costar Julie Christie portrayed was hauntingly poignant and I could literally feel it. The two feeding on each others' melancholy. It's absolutely beautiful

 Thing is, it's got a pretty decent cast of famous names but I wonder if that's the reason why I like it less cos the direction's already mainstream, the familiar collection of Hollywood mainstream faces makes it feel very commercial....Also, despite the fact that it tried to have a better flow of linking one story to the next, all the stories don't gel that well and you can tell the obvious attempt to make them sync and gel in. Paris Je'taime on the other hand had a very fragmented approach where you can really tell the end of one segment and the start of another but yet, they flow so seamlessly....

Overall, it's still a good film I would say and if I have never watched Paris Je'taime, I would probably love it even more. I like it but I'm not immensely impressed but I'll give it 3.5 stars out of 5 also. It's worth watching actually.....

Now a stupid frivolous note....I went to Mulberry to see the Alexa and I now have a very very serious itch that I have no idea if I would scratch...it's painful....arghhhh why must the Alexa be so nice!!!??? 

P.S...someone just asked me "You mean that Mr Nick in Dr Parnassus is a singer??? What the hell did he sing? I never heard of him" Here's your bit of education...that Mr Nick is Tom Waits and he's bloody good! He's a singer song-writer and click here to listen to my favorite Tom Waits' song Hold On.....he's got this very very rough nice voice...very soothing....the type you'll drink and smoke alone to...

One great movie, one favorite tee & three new knickers

I'm blown away. I'm smitten. I'm satisfied. I'm moved. I'm in love!
I had a great Saturday....I went to watch the Golden Horse Award Winner of Best Picture of 2009 with OGT. It's a Taiwanese movie called 不能沒有你 (Not without you) or  No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti and I'm totally blown away and I'm totally loving the film!

The gist: Father & daughter living in extreme poverty in the suburban Kaohsiung prefecture. Mom left and as the Father tried to register her daughter for school, he got shit from authority and was basically fucked around by the imbecile government policy. Ultimately, daughter was taken away by social welfare group and they were painfully separated...Okay, I won't elaborate more for those of you who might be catching it but it's actually based on a true story. There's also a very strong underlying political message to vent the Taiwanese's frustration for their imbecile government system too. That really shows through and my dear OGT pointed out that one of the super lousy "No Action Talk Only" legislator looked uncannily like the much-hated and once publicly bashed-up Chen Shui Bian...hahaha...Nice touch!



The Direction & Cinematography: Excellent! It's so damn good!!! It marries a great story-line with excellent art direction unlike last year's winner, also a Taiwanese movie Cape No.7, which was more commercialized. You can see the director Leon Dai's thoughtful use of camera angle to set the mood and his cinematography is so good and each and every single frame was so super well-shot that you can literally splash all the frames in Esplanade and each single frame can be its own picture perfect post card! It was that great! And the whole movie is in Black & White and it aptly sets the mood to the storyline. 


So yes, it's an absolute 5 stars movie!!! I was actually crying and tearing at some point and well, the couple sitting next to me were sniffling and that happened to quite a lot of people too! Catching an excellent film really made my day!!!!! I love Taiwanese Movies......thus far, this is now one of my 2 favorites and the other one is a much older film called 愛情來了 (Love Go Go!)! Check that out too if you have the chance...it's a bittersweet poignant movie about urban loneliness....


And oh, I was wearing my favorite John Lennon & Yoko Uno tee shirt from Topman yesterday and someone asked me to take a picture of it...so here...it's now my favorite  tee shirt!

Fav tee with Topshop Bodycon black skirt, Marc Jacob pendant watch, CCSkye chain necklace and my lovely lovely Mulberry Roxanne bag! Ohhh you got a peep of a corner of my room too!

Because the movie is somewhat depressing, I had to take a fag after the show....and then I went to get some cheap thrill to put myself back into the chirpy mood...and here are the super cute new knickers I got! Woot!

Okay, I have a thing and obsession with buying knickers...see the Saturday & Sunday embroidery words on the pink and red ones...cute!

There're two Day of the Week ones with Saturday and Sunday and a super cute polka dot one with a big red bow...I'm sure the other Miss B I know would love it...yes no, Bianca?

Avatar Rocks!!!!!

I want to be a Na'vi! I want to live in Pandora where I can go ride horses with 6 power legs and fly on the back of reptilian bird named Ikran! Planet Earth pales in comparison so make me a Na'vi NOW!

Well, if only it's real that is! But it's official, Avatar's the best movie I've watched this year in terms of overall dramatics. Coming from someone who don't normally relish mainstream Hollywood movie as much, it says a lot when I nominate Avatar as best. I thought I would crown The Inglorious Basterds to be the best movie I've watched for movie direction (well, it's a Tarantino after all) and Coco Avant Chanel for best movie screenplay, but Avatar really beat them, hands down. It's so hauntingly brilliant that after I got home from the show last night, I found myself surfing the net for Avatar information and learning the Na'vi names of all those funky creatures of Pandora! And I frantically texted and msn-ed my family in Hong Kong and ordering to go watch Avatar PRONTO! This morning when I woke up, I'm STILL thinking of the movie! (And oh, I also telling my ex-boyfriend that he actually looks a bit like the lead actor in Na'vi if I flatten his nose and paint him blue, sorry Roger, but it's really a compliment!) And of course it really does help heaps when the lead actor Sam Worthington is a hottie!

James Cameron came up with the idea and script in 1995 and could only make it all happen more than a decade later cos he was simply waiting for the computer graphic technology to be advance enough to do what he envisioned. And it's a wait worthwhile indeed.

Aside from the impressive graphics and special effects, Avatar is so emotionally charged and being someone who's a supporter of the green movement, I resonate with its underlying message of Na'vi's connection to their mother Earth Eywa, just like ours to Gaia, which has unfortunately taken a backseat to industrialization and mass destruction. I teared when the Na'vi's home tree (aka their habitat) got burnt down. I cringed when the humans attacked with ghastly violence. It's a fantasy world but yet, it flawlessly showcases human greed and selfishness while displaying a utopia world through James Cameron's vision of the Na'vi.

So yes, I'd like to be a Na'vi where they have strong connection with mother nature, where they live in harmony and respect the earth they live in, where everything works on bonding with the natural world, where they believe that everything's made of energy flow and whatever energy you have is borrowed and will have to be returned one day, where they mate for life (no more bastards behavior), and where everyone in the tribe is one and there's a strong sense of brotherhood devoid of the ubiquitous human selfishness. But unfortunately right now, I can only dream of the James Cameron make believe world...

Psssst...by the way, there's a Pandora "encyclopaedia", click here!

December Muses

Reading: Nylon Magazine...it's been my favorite for a loooong while. You don't get rubbish like "My husband slept with my maid" or "How to give good blow-job" trash. Pure good articles and good photoshoots on fashion, beauty, music and culture. Also reading Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates...been wanting to read this. Good thing I didn't watch the movie

Listening: Birthday by The Sugarcubes...Bjork's old band before she went solo. Morning in Rio by Sergio Mendes...a very nice Rio carnival spin to some very classics...energetic, vibrant and light

Watching: The Fantastic Mr. Fox. LOVE LOVE LOVE this animation! It's funny, it's cool and the animation rocks!

Using: Chanel Rouge Allure in Naive...very natural color, gives your lips a hint of shade and a very nice sheen. Very comfortable to wear. I wear it like a lip balm cos it's very moisturizing too.

Wearing: Fifi Lapin Limited Edition Brooch!!!! I just ordered this yesterday and I knew I MUST have it. Now I'm waiting for it to be shipped over....so exciting! Fifi Lapin is my alter ego! You might as well call me Fifi! Also wearing Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nile...very lovely perfume with a citrus top note that's refreshing and airy, definitely not something you smell on everyone everywhere

Loving: Alexa Chung! The ultimate inspiration, she's bubbly, charming, witty, gorgeous and with great fashion sense to boot...I love everything about her...I'm so gonna name my daughter Alexa

Eating: Meiji Poiful Jelly Bean...the best jelly bean out there really. Also eating Kanro Okinawa Salty Candy in Ume & Lemon flavor from Meidaya (sorry, can't find the image). It's super nice

Lusting: Mulberry Alexa Bag in Oak Brown Large. In a phase of my "Alexa Chung Mania", I want the Mulberry bag named after my favorite girl. Well, actually I just need an IT bag that's very practical and not too precious...Heard there's a waiting list now and the earliest that it's available is in January..bwahhh

November Muse

Reading: Fountainhead by Ayn Rand....Ohhh, it's one of my favorite books and I just have to re-read it to be inspired....

Watching: Grey's Anatomy Season 6...after so many seasons, it still hasn't lost its mojo unlike Gossip Girl...

Listening: 1)Ingrid Michaelson "Be Ok"...old album but still her best 2) Lily Allen "It's not me, it's you"...I'm STILL listening to it after so long 3) Rilo Kiley "Under the Blacklight"

Wearing: J Brand ankle grazer jeans, Juliet Has a Gun Miss Charming perfume...smells a bit like Stella McCartney but well, cool name, cool packing..., good old Tommy Girl Perfume...just suddenly like its freshness all over again

Using: Ettusais Eye Zone Massage Essence & Eye Zone tinted color essence

Eating: 1) My very own pasta! White wine cream sauce with clams, mushrooms and capsicum topped with freshly grated parmasen cheese...yum! 2) See's Gourmet Lollipop..simply divine! Pity Singapore doesn't sell it!