CITY OF GOD

5The 'Second Amendment': Set in the housing slums of Rio de Janeiro, warring hoodlums engage in sanguinary ghetto battles to determine territorial sovereignty.

This is one flick I bet my bro & buddy Allan Ang will definitely dig. Here's what I had to say about it in my 2003 nutshell review: "No other foreign film in recent memory possesses more vitality than this voluble, violent, pumped-up Brazilian version of Martin Scorsese's GOODFELLAS". It's still true.

Acropolis 2049

/ the new acropolis of athens has been fortified with a \ plexus of steel \ to protect citizens of the citadel from neo-darwinian dorians /

Sunset Bridge

Bridge over Ganges Avenue illumined by afterglow and incandescence from the street lamp...

x Gridlock x

Going home can be a real bitch during peak hours (6 to 8 p.m.) - whichever mode of transportation it may be. Was taking the taxicab home this eventide (after doing OT in the office) when it practically stopped at one traffic light after another, and another, and another... Out of utter ennui, I fished out my 6230i and clicked at the nearest object outside. Talk about imbecilic immobility?

If the WGA Strike Persists...

24 will become 8760; everyone will kiss and make up in BROTHERS & SISTERS; cases in CSI will involve dead guppies and stolen stationery; the HOUSEWIVES of Fairview will get even more DESPERATE; nobody will fall ill on GREY'S ANATOMY; HEROES will see Hiro freezing time every episode; the castaways in LOST will spend their days - and nights - building sandcastles on the beach; the truth will come to light in PRISON BREAK, thereby ceasing the chase and bringing everyone together for a round of chua dai di; UGLY BETTY may never become pretty...

Mouse Hunters

Beneath this innocuous (or some may find ominous) window is a deadly mousetrap holding a helpless, squeaking rodent captive. (Behind that window, I imagine, is an evil household akin to the Carters from THE HILLS HAVE EYES.) Call it fate. Call it Karma. Lucky for the prey, unlucky for the hunters, I was there. I set it free. For all we know, our poor little friend may be snared and slayed same time tomorrow. But today, this evening, it gets to live.

OFCC

Senior citizens spending a leisure post-png evening at our nearby Kim Seng Community Club (they don't call it 'Centre' anymore). Ah Ma's browsing Lianhe Wanbao for upcoming line dancing classes while Ah Gong's checking out The New Paper for racy adult chat lines. Oops!

CoCo vs Landy

These two R&B high priestesses of Taiwan popdom have been compared to each other since A Love Before Time [sic] - be it in terns of raw talent or sheer sex appeal. But when it comes right down to the wire, who has the edge?

5I favor the 32-year-old CoCo Lee, who not only possesses powerhouse pipes but a curvaceous bod to boot. Bruce Lockowitz is one lucky bastard.

5Landy Wen, 28, is in a class of her own and shines in slow numbers. She may lack CoCo's glam factor, but her legendary 'dian dong ma da' (see: gyrating hips) more than make up for anything else.

Before & After

gordon the gorilla before his scheduled ten-minute indoor tanning session...

twenty-two minutes later...

Celestial Conquest

Just as the underperforming Far Coast is winding up its business here (or so it seems) after barely a year in spite of its heavy backer Coca-Cola, fellow International Building lessee Goldheart cleverly steals the limelight by launching yet more exquisite bijous that'll make any mortal man broke (and subsequently file for bankruptcy). The Celestial Diamond, for example, which is "the world's first 73-facet starburst" (and I'm assuming this is a really big deal), costs an average accountant his entire three-month bonus. Just kidding. But you never know, right?

blythe2609

My 'confidante-in-need' moondancer, who lent me a listening ear and timely support when I was down in the dumps, appears to have found her niche - and nirvana - in Blythes and photography. Who said big girls can't play with dolls?

Public Phone

Now that satellite communications is so advanced and mobile phone technology has become such a strategic R&D area in most developed countries, it's no surprise then we're seeing fewer public phones around - let alone the ones that require you to dong lui (read: insert coins) every two minutes or so. Filipino maids - God bless them - no longer have the excuse to 'run errands' when in fact all they do is hog pay stations and gab on for hours at length.

Professor Tan Eng Chye

At last Friday's NUS Annual Giving Donor Appreciation Tea @ Nexus, University Hall, I was pleasantly surprised to meet my former Mathematics lecturer Professor Tan Eng Chye BSc (Hons) NUS PhD Yale, who's now Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost.
I remember back then, from 1995-98, when he was the Sub-Dean of Science and always conducted his classes without the use of a microphone. Haha. Definitely one of my fave lecturers XD

M&M's House

In anticipation of Christemasse, the management of Shaw House has once again leased out the event space outside Isetan for another year-end carnival of candies and curios.

The M&M's cottage returns with more "melts in your mouth, not in your hands" confection (diabetics beware!)...

...but before you enter, M1 & M2, who recently recaptured their tag team titles from B1 & B2 of Bananas in Pyjamas, want to challenge you to a stipulated 'No Holds Fudge' street fight.

A Can of Shirt??

"Remove collars, shorten sleeves and eliminate buttons... In an enthusiastic rhythm, the temperature rises so as to wear out the whole summer. Put aside the trivialness and bondage of the city... Sexy, or decadent, or Hip Hop, or Punk... Therefore, simple and connotative clothing is used to decorate them. T-shirt expresses our intrinsic desires, which means persistence and individuality and is also the expression of a life attitude."

Ed: Well, never could understand those Japanese blurbs. Anyhoo, thank you Ke Li Si Ding for the innovative present!

'Bad Color'

lucius hunt may wanna exercise more caution before crossing into these forbidden grounds again...

Yeti

The Pang-boche Hand is an artifact stolen from a Buddhist monastery in Nepal. Beside it is a purported Yeti scalp. Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm a an aficionado of all cryptids big and small. When it comes to the great apes, I have equal love for both Bigfoot (AKA Sasquatch) and Yeti (AKA Abominable Snowman). Do I believe they exist? You bet!

Ranjit and the Amazing Technicolor Carpet

No offense or disrespect to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Viktor Vasnetsov. Ranjit Singh is just a humble second-generation trader from Punjab who supplies modern-day Sinbads and Ali Babas with 'flying mats' so that they can go aero-gliding from the peak of Bukit Timah (164 m). His shop is located along Hoot Kiam Road. Each rug costs between 50,000 rupees to a lakh. All major credit cards accepted.

33/m/sg

Fiona likes the curves in the number '3'; I've got two.

The Summit

There are only a few things scarier than having the 13th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, hosted in Singapore and saw areas gazetted by the SPF as 'protected', punctuated by a homicide at my workplace Orchard Towers. One of them is having a theme song(!) for the event and having it sung by Stefanie Sun!
The greater Asia help us.

Manga Express

Now that the PSLE is a thing of the past (next stop: 'O' level!), pubescents like this MRT moppet can (momentarily) reimmerse themselves back into the magnetic world of manga. It's a good way to while away time and trains you how to read from right to left.

SAVE_US.222

There's only one entry today - tonight, rather - and it'll be adequate.
When the WWE was in doldrums, they looked to one savior - a leaner and meaner Y2J - to turn the company around. (Hence those cryptic 'SAVE_US.222' videos.)

Likewise, when I feel I've reached a bottleneck in blogging (it happens), I find my deus ex machina in Great World City and every breathtaking shot containing it. (I know I sound more repetitive than a SEINFELD rerun, but the architecture's simply magnificent!)

The Riddler

"Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's afraid of the big black bat?"

Korean B.B.Q. (For Real This Time)

For the sake of this blog (talk about steadfast dedication), yours drooly tried something different for dinner last evening at Tiong Bahru Plaza's typically populous Kopitiam mamak. I ordered myself a $6.20 Korean B.B.Q. fish and chicken set served on a sizzling hot plate and, boy, did I lap it all up! This satisfied customer will be sure to go back for seconds, thirds and fourths soon!

Fairytale Christmas

Can any zoological expert enlighten me on what this animal is? It looks like a moose, but I'm really not sure. Whatever it is, we hope it's not like the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge who hates Christmas - for this year's festivities will take place from the faraway, fantastical land of fairytales!

Squeeed! (M18 for Profanity)

"oei! tell you all guys many lan jiao times already, hor. don't fucking blur like sotong, can or not? kan ni nah..."

Vampire | Writer

Nataline Lin (right) my dear 'vampiira raven' sent me - via MSN - a 3-page short story (titled The Violence Chronology and composed by herself) last night that I thought was laudable for someone her age. Keep that up, blackcharade, and you could be our next Catherine Lim!

Taunt

Cocky rookie driver Paulo Romero (fresh out of Kaki Bukit) recently found out the hard way that it was both uncool and unwise to taunt fellow road users with this in-your-face rear window sign. The 21-year-old student from an international school got hauled out of his vehicle, pummeled to a bloody pulp by six burly men, and then left to die by the turnpike. For better or worse, he lived to tell his tale - but now has a glass eyeball permanently engorged in his right socket. Ko lian dai.

NYC Cops Love 'Em

You've seen 'em in American movies and TV shows - police officers in the Big Apple simply love scarfing down sugar-coated donuts/doughnuts whenever they're on patrol or stakeout or back at the station. Is there some rationale behind this??

For Your Eyes Only

After ten weeks of ogling HANDSOME HUNKS and BEAUTIFUL BABES from the various varsities of Singapore, the sand has finally settled on the gawkfest that is Channel U's HEY! GORGEOUS.

Here's one final look at the Top 20 guys and gals before they return to their humdrum school lives for good...

男 の 子

5Rippling pecs and washboard abs are what maketh the man - and these BOYS sure come a-packin'!

女 の 子5Basking in the sun and sea are these GIRLS with bodylines curvier than Alexis Bledel's.

Knights of the Round Table

Some of the more 'pressing' issues that'll be tabled at today's meeting include the next Checkers Challenge and Lao Chek's chiropractic consultation. Is everyone here yet? Who's taking minutes??

Offal Offering

I know these innards look 125% nauseating, but rest fully assured I'm not freelancing for Lions Gate to conceive one of their new SAW posters. These fresh entrails are what mudder feeds to the neighborhood crows every early morning. Yes, homies, you heard me correctly.

B A-mazed

Feeling bored and restless on a thunderous Sunday afternoon? Try solving this convoluted conglomeration for a start!

Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang?

After four magical years of enchanting adults and children alike at the London Palladium, two years on Broadway (before the stagehands took to the streets, that is) and a record-breaking U.K. tour, Ian Fleming's runaway stage musical CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG is taking flight to Singapore! For those reluctant to remit SISTIC S$170 for a VIP Box, we'll gladly accept cash payment of S$1.70 for an equally thrilling ride on the good ol' 'springer'.

Call the Locksmith!

Got a momentary scare the other evening when I found myself unceremoniously locked out of my own room (for the first time, I might add!). Mom & I immediately rummaged through stacks of flyers (hitherto as useless as a one-armed juggler) and managed to engage a self-employed locksmith on short notice. We were billed 75 singles, but I guess it was money that had to be spent.

White Elephants

How many 'white elephants' does it take to make you realize it's time to give your 'financial advisor' the proverbial pink slip? Unless you don't fathom the allusion or have pockets deep enough to hide ivory tusks - either way, I know I'm basically rambling rubbish here. But, hey, at this hour, who could blame me?? :-S

Harvest of the Sea

Whatever, mite, as long as it doesn't involve Peranakan grande dame Margaret Chan or any mention of crushed cockroaches. You mean, you TVholics still remember that soap? Time to move on - to VR MAN!

LOST IN TRANSLATION

5Drifting in Tokyo: Aging movie star Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Yale graduate Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) strike up a friendship, which turns into an unconsummated romance, amidst loneliness and alienation in downtown Japan.

There are so many wonderful and whimsical moments in Sofia (THE VIRGIN SUICIDES) Coppola's sophomore feature film LOST IN TRANSLATION that are still etched in my memory - like the shooting of the Suntory whisky commercial ("For relaxing times..."), the hysterical Japanese harlot ("Lip my stocking"), the karaoke session (Roxy Music's More Than This) and that parting whisper everyone was talking about.
Makes you wanna just drop everything, travel to a foreign land, lose yourself, and then find yourself again.

Steamboat (disambiguation)

Seemingly, 'steamboats' are more widely associated with steam-propelled vessels than our commonly known hot pot (or Chinese Fondue). Road agent Richard Blood may be torn between the two...

Hallelujah!

praise the lord almighty! tgiw(eekend)!

Jane Who?

Jane Ng Meng Hui (黄 明 慧) - currently spottable in Channel 8's 7 p.m. drama serial MAN OF THE HOUSE (男 人 当 家).
Last epi tomolo!

No Bikes. No Ideas. No Shit.

Confessions of an avid blogger: (1) I always take a photograph before I think of what to write (2) I don't always have something to write about (3) My ideas run dry once every 187 days (4) I can ride a bicycle (5) I cannot ride a motorcycle (6) I pass motion every morning (7) I use copious amounts of toilet paper (8) My shit is smelly (9) I feel like joining the WGA picket lines.

The Little Orphan

The crowded street his playground is, a patch of blue his sky.

A puddle in a vacant lot his sea where ships pass by.

Poor little orphan boy of five, the city smoke and grime.

Taint every cooling breeze he gets throughout the summer time...

- Edgar Albert Guest

NTU Had It Won

NTU Civil Engineering undergrad Peggy Chang (right, with feisty host Fiona Xie) was crowned Miss HEY! GORGEOUS last Sunday.

Calcium Loading 1, 2, 3...

"Magnolia Milk is the No. 1 fresh milk brand in Singapore. Established over 65 years ago, generations of Singaporeans have grown up with the pure, natural goodness of Magnolia Milk. Magnolia's reputation for delivering 'ONLY THE BEST FOR YOUR FAMILY' has firmly positioned it as one of Singapore's most trusted, loved and best known brands, a reputation which has led it to being awarded the Gold Award for Singapore's Trusted Brands by Readers' Digest." (Source: Internet)

Ed: Don't much like repetition of words in the same paragraph, but that's just me.