If someone asked me to name the 3 most beautiful people in the world outside of known circle
What i mean here is both beautiful physically and having a beautiful soul.
1) Audrey hepburn
2) Sarah Mclachlan
3) ???

still deciding on the 3rd 0.O

Vertigo

I finally got around to watching alfred hitchcocks VERTIGO. One sentence to summarize: "never seen anything like it".

No seriously, this movie is so different that it makes u wonder how, in the 50+ years that have passed since its release, it can maintain its difference! i mean great movies like the graduate have seen their influences been highlighted in many hollywood movies, but vertigo stands out on its own. very very different.

I love james stewart. He always plays good guys roles and i always love him in them. But the 2nd part of vertigo just shows you how versatile an actor he was. Also the music in this movie seems to never stop, with almost 80% of the movie having some sort of music playing in the background. Its so good that sometimes it scares you way more than current hollywood horror movies and at othertimes elates you way more than current hollywood romances. The movie has something for everyone, go through the first part to understand the 2nd part, go through the 2nd part for sheer entertainment genius. Makes me want to repeat something i keep telling everybody.....

"they just dont make 'em like they used to"

they make them well now and sometimes brilliantly, but they just dont make them the same way they used to. Alfred hitchcock is a genius, he can stand in front of god on the day of judgement and say "god, i gave the world psycho, rear window and vertigo" and god will accept this and send him to heaven (j/k).

Omg, got a very sharp email about my post on culture. Just found out how i can see the comments people make lol. Maybe I should justify my statement by putting a disclaimer...




















































or maybe not. Now Shoo! lol

Apocalypto,

Very nicely paced movie. Thats really the best thing about this movie. The pacing is just so perfect that you dont feel the 2 hours passing by and before you know it its over. Although factually i read that the Mayans were reduced to a few scattered villages (and had nothing the size of the city they show) by the time the spanish arrived, the entertainment value of this movie is top notch. Still cant unseat blood diamond as the movie of 2006 for me though. I cant wait for Mel gibsons next movie, hope its something along the lines of Alexander or Genghis Khan. I know he can handle the depth.

Most people tend to mix up the Aztec, Mayans and the Inca's. It's not too hard to do so let me summarize

Aztecs : 14,15 and 16th centuries in mexico

Mayans : 3rd to 10th centuries in Central America and Mexico

Inca's : South America in the 14th and 15th century. They're the ones who left the mountains of machu pichu the way it is now. As shown in the movie chronicling che guevera's(one of my heroes) life, "the motorcycle diaries". Travelling to this mountain and seeing some of the things which changed che from an idealistic doctor to a revolutionary for whom the world was not ready and will probably never be.

"civilization" is a tricky word my friends, use it wisely

TIA:This is Africa (Blood Diamond)

Honestly speaking, This is leo's best performance ever IMO and he will be hard pressed to better it EVER! I really do hope he gets best actor for his role, he truly does deserve it.I like films with a message and i also like films without a message And this film is excellent even if you put it in either category. The film is very real without being overly dramatic. You tend to wince everytime you see the endless killings that this move has throughout because it feels so real and less like a hollywood production than say Hotel Rwanda (which was more dramatic) probably because Hotel rwanda was a message wrapped around a movie while blood diamond is a movie wrapped around a message. I know that some people might say that unless you have something extreme you can't deliver a message. But sometimes messages are delivered in a subtle manner, under the guise of entertainment, thats where blood diamond is so good.

I loved the african themed music and i hope that the likes of hans zimmerman can rest easy in knowing that someone is gonna carry on the torch of his film music. Djaimon honsou was also excellent and jeniffer connelly seriously has the poise and grace to take over from the likes of jane fonda (specially in her performance in barefoot in the park). I cant stop praising the cinematography enough, Africa is a beautiful country and i hope i can visit it at least once before i die.

Back from the Phillipines

I got back from a business trip last week from phillipines (its my 3rd trip there)and I must say I like the phillipines very much. The people there are extremely nice to the extent that you feel at home right out of the airport. This sounds cliche but let me justify using FACTS.

People in the street like to make eye contact and maintain it. You can read softness in their eyes all way. you can see life burning inside

Body language is very natural and less purpose/objective driven.

There is less focus on "personal space". Someplaces when you get too close to a person, they give you that "scream bloody murder" look. Not in the phillipines, close proximity is A-OK.

well thats just how i felt. Perhaps its to do with my limited exposure and the fact that i was a foreigner there. But hats off to them, Phillipino's rock. Although the cities are extremely developes, phillipinos' seem to understand that money is not everything in this world.

Hi all (if there is anybody),
It would seriously be an understatement if i were to say that I have been away a long time. Seriously!!! anyway this was all thanks due to the fact that I forgot my password and the email acount under which i registered was disabled beyond reclaim. Anyway whats important is that im back online again. Sometimes it feels good to pen down your thoughts, having recently been influenced by 'Babel', i can agree with the whole theme that there isn't enough communication in this world.
Anyway a lot has happened in my life since i last posted. I've graduated from uni, started working and got into the whole rat race thing face first. Let me summarize:

I graduated with a Degree in computer engineering, from the national university of Singapore. I loved my work so I guess studying wasn't really as bad for me as it should have been. I don't know how i managed to get through 4 years so fast, but before you know it its gone and you're wondering how come you tried so hard to get out when now you're yearning to get back in. Ah the damn grass that is always greener on the otherside. Anyway school was good, i have no regrets whatsoever.

Then comes the part about my work. I love my work, I love it so much that I would do it for free (well not for free, but I really Do love it and yeah i am prone to the monday blues occasionally). I have wanted to work at the company I work for ever since I was small (like i'm BIG now). I knew this was where i wanted to work and I had absolutely no interest in any other place. I dont think that i'm a workaholic, but I'm passionate about what I do because I feel I am part of something which is contributing to the development of mankind (as opposed to moving money around and making a few bucks off it). Where do I work? well thats something i'd rather keep secret. I'll give you a hint, It has something to do with every technological innovation/invention that you see around you.

Well apart from that I dont know what to say, this about sums up the last year or so of my life (boring!). But now that i've gotten back on the whole blogging thing i'll be writing quite often(i hope anyway). I'll flesh out more details later...
Later...

A dedication to the 80's

Well i've heard from a lot of people that the 80's were the best times ever. with funky hairdo's, bell bottoms, Soul and roxette you cant really argue much. Sometimes I wish that I could have experiences the 80's in its full glory, when life was slow and money had value (not to mention people had it as well). Movies those days were also not so much about character development, cinematography or deep plot/storylines as they were about fun and entertainment. I'd like to list a few 80's movies which I think are must watches.

The Breakfast club - Well if you want to find yourself, look at the breakfast club. Guaranteed that you will find more than 5 of your character traits within the 5 people here.

Mannequin- Watch it just for wonderful fun and Kim Katralls wonderful screen presense (not to mention one of the best pairs of legs hollywood has ever seen- some of you may remember the starship song "Nothings gonna stop us now", thats from this movie

Streets of Fire: The best rock and roll fable ever. No plot, no story, just Diane Lane (Sigh...) and a whole 2 hours of fun and entertainment

Dead poets society : well I cant say i enjoyed this one so much. But its a must watch to understand a lot of subtle american humor "oh captain my captain"

The elephant man: ok this is a great but extremely sad movie. A lot of current movies claim influence from this. Makes you think who the real "freaks" are in society.

FootLoose : Kevin spacey made it big here as a boy who discovers a new dancing technique. very 80's ish and who can forget the famous kenny loggins number ;)

Grease: olivia newton johns and john travolta's summer love. Very nice movie, almost all hollywood romances are influenced by this in a way.

The Karate Kid : Well this one is pretty self explanatory, but remember when you hear the words mister miyago, its from this "feel good" movie.

Pretty in pink : This is like the hollywood movie that is the godfather of current teen movies. Lots of nice to remember catchphrases like "may i admire you again today?"

The Rain Man: Wonderful performance by dustin hoffman bagged him the oscar that year. This is a must see movie in ANY book ANY where, if you havent watched it, thats ur problem.

Rocky: Although the original rocky didnt belong to the 80's its about the same. I am a huge rocky fan and believe that basically the world is devided into 2 groups, those who love Rocky and those who are yet to watch it. I own all 5 on DVD. "his whole life was a one in a million shot" - this has to be one of the best movie taglines ever.

Scarface : lots of people who've watched the GodFather dont know what scarface. Well i would say its part of the package. They should bundle both movies together. The poster for this is something which i've dreamed of owning all along. Shows that there is good/bad in people in equal shades.

The saturday night fever/Staying Alive movies: If you can sum up the 80's in one sentence, the names of these movies would be it.

The Shining : Well what can i say, Its a Kubrick. you're violating a law by not watching this.

Crocodile dundee : very kiddish move that still rocks my socks when im 23, specially the final scene (the sequal is trash)

BeetleJuice : If you havent watched beetlejuice, there was probably something wrong in your childhood

Breathless : this movie forever made Richard Gere a hollywood hearthrob. But must say that the romance is pretty intense.

Gandhi, monster squad, bmx bandits and goonies (my dad took me and my sis to watch these 3), The original nightmare on elm streets' , platoon, Raging bull, wargames, wierd science , Top Gun, Days of Thunder, terminator, the supermans, robocop, raiders of the lost ark, neverending story, mad max , gremlins, land before time (if we hold on together made this famous), hellraiser, ghostbusters, friday the 13th, the evil dead , the beverly hills cops series, Speak to me (Alphaville's forever young is from this), 91/2 weeks etc etc....

whew I HAVE WATCHED EVERY SINGLE MOVIE ABOVE. so you can just imagine how much i've waster my life. lol! no I think its not a waste of time, i've managed to do about everything i wanted to actually. I've been watching 2 movies a week from the time I was 12 so you can figure out how many movies i've watched during before i became 18

There prolly are other 80's movies which I have forgotten to mention, so when I watch them i'll update this post. If you havent watched any of the above, i Seriously recommend that you do. I think i'll write a bit more about the rocky movies someday soon, I feel they deserve a seperate post =)

A dedication to the 80's

Well i've heard from a lot of people that the 80's were the best times ever. with funky hairdo's, bell bottoms, Soul and roxette you cant really argue much. Sometimes I wish that I could have experiences the 80's in its full glory, when life was slow and money had value (not to mention people had it as well). Movies those days were also not so much about character development, cinematography or deep plot/storylines as they were about fun and entertainment. I'd like to list a few 80's movies which I think are must watches.

The Breakfast club - Well if you want to find yourself, look at the breakfast club. Guaranteed that you will find more than 5 of your character traits within the 5 people here.

Mannequin- Watch it just for wonderful fun and Kim Katralls wonderful screen presense (not to mention one of the best pairs of legs hollywood has ever seen- some of you may remember the starship song "Nothings gonna stop us now", thats from this movie

Streets of Fire: The best rock and roll fable ever. No plot, no story, just Diane Lane (Sigh...) and a whole 2 hours of fun and entertainment

Dead poets society : well I cant say i enjoyed this one so much. But its a must watch to understand a lot of subtle american humor "oh captain my captain"

The elephant man: ok this is a great but extremely sad movie. A lot of current movies claim influence from this. Makes you think who the real "freaks" are in society.

FootLoose : Kevin spacey made it big here as a boy who discovers a new dancing technique. very 80's ish and who can forget the famous kenny loggins number ;)

Grease: olivia newton johns and john travolta's summer love. Very nice movie, almost all hollywood romances are influenced by this in a way.

The Karate Kid : Well this one is pretty self explanatory, but remember when you hear the words mister miyago, its from this "feel good" movie.

Pretty in pink : This is like the hollywood movie that is the godfather of current teen movies. Lots of nice to remember catchphrases like "may i admire you again today?"

The Rain Man: Wonderful performance by dustin hoffman bagged him the oscar that year. This is a must see movie in ANY book ANY where, if you havent watched it, thats ur problem.

Rocky: Although the original rocky didnt belong to the 80's its about the same. I am a huge rocky fan and believe that basically the world is devided into 2 groups, those who love Rocky and those who are yet to watch it. I own all 5 on DVD. "his whole life was a one in a million shot" - this has to be one of the best movie taglines ever.

Scarface : lots of people who've watched the GodFather dont know what scarface. Well i would say its part of the package. They should bundle both movies together. The poster for this is something which i've dreamed of owning all along. Shows that there is good/bad in people in equal shades.

The saturday night fever/Staying Alive movies: If you can sum up the 80's in one sentence, the names of these movies would be it.

The Shining : Well what can i say, Its a Kubrick. you're violating a law by not watching this.

Crocodile dundee : very kiddish move that still rocks my socks when im 23, specially the final scene (the sequal is trash)

BeetleJuice : If you havent watched beetlejuice, there was probably something wrong in your childhood

Breathless : this movie forever made Richard Gere a hollywood hearthrob. But must say that the romance is pretty intense.

Gandhi, monster squad, bmx bandits and goonies (my dad took me and my sis to watch these 3), The original nightmare on elm streets' , platoon, Raging bull, wargames, wierd science , Top Gun, Days of Thunder, terminator, the supermans, robocop, raiders of the lost ark, neverending story, mad max , gremlins, land before time (if we hold on together made this famous), hellraiser, ghostbusters, friday the 13th, the evil dead , the beverly hills cops series, Speak to me (Alphaville's forever young is from this), 91/2 weeks etc etc....

whew I HAVE WATCHED EVERY SINGLE MOVIE ABOVE. so you can just imagine how much i've waster my life. lol! no I think its not a waste of time, i've managed to do about everything i wanted to actually. I've been watching 2 movies a week from the time I was 12 so you can figure out how many movies i've watched during before i became 18

There prolly are other 80's movies which I have forgotten to mention, so when I watch them i'll update this post. If you havent watched any of the above, i Seriously recommend that you do. I think i'll write a bit more about the rocky movies someday soon, I feel they deserve a seperate post =)

A Catch-22 Situation

I've noticed that a lot of people seem to use this term without knowing the true meaning of it. Well here's a litte note on how to use it correctly.

It's actually derived from the book Catch-22 which was later made into an appalingly bad movie (someone like yossarian just doesnt exist in this world). Catch-22 is about bomber pilots in the 2nd world war who basically dont give a damn about the war. As a result the army has included several laws to prevent these guys from finding loop holes to get out of duty. most of these laws are Catch-22's. For example yossarian asks the doc, "so if I claim insanity can I get out of bombing runs" then doc says "of course, the army would have no choice but to take you off duty, we cant let insane people drop bombs" . Then yossarian says " so then i'll claim im insane and get out of duty" then the doc says "well, by the fact that you have claimed yorself to know that you're insane or not, the army will judge you to be perfectly sane". There you see it, so a catch-22 is actually a no-win situation which you cant get out of similar to the above. use the term wisely =)