The "Before..." Trilogy

I spent the last long weekend watching Rich Linklater's trilogy - Before Sunrise, Before Sunset & Before Midnight (or what I call it The Before ... Trilogy). And I loved it, regardless of what the people who wrote a 1 star rating about it in IMDB. It's a love story.

In a nutshell, it's a story about two people connecting with each other. They just talk. About everything and about nothing. In all 3 movies, they talk, that spans about 1.5hrs per movie. No fighting bad guys, no epic journeys, no robots or monsters or ghosts. Just two people talking.
(Yup, my review is as shitty as those people who gave it 1 star, but I'm rating it 4 stars)

Have you ever been in an engaging conversation with someone you just met and you enjoy each other's company that both of you don't want that meeting to end? The first movie is about that.

Then they parted ways, but agreed to meet again after 6 months without exchanging any contact information and leaving it to chance. Of course, they didn't. However, they met again after 9 years and spend the rest of the afternoon talking again from where they left off. And that's the second movie.

In the last movie, it's after another 9 years where they're now together and this last one is a bit more serious where it elaborates the complexities of a relationship.

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Side note: Seeing Ethan Hawke in 1995 is a sight for sore eyes. However, I think he didn't aged gracefully because 9 years later, he looks worse and 18 years later is like he's off a cliff. Well, I think it proves that good looks doesn't last forever. Julie Delpy on the otherhand, ages like wine, better with age (not that I know how wine taste like).
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 In my opinion, what makes this movie about two people conversing with each other INTERESTING is that female character, Celine has her own thoughts and opinions. The male character, Jesse, is not intimidated by her intellectuality and does not condescend her. And both have fascinating conversations.

It is akin to meeting your girlfriends over some drinks. You can sit at the coffee shop for hours and have no shortage of topics to talk about. It did strike an interesting thought that if the male character was swapped with another woman, it'll be a story about two girls having never ending chit chat. Mungkinkah si lelaki ni bersifat seperti wanita? Sebab it is rare to find guys who's like the male character. Yg tak pandang rendah pada wanita dan try to shut down all her thoughts and opinions because he thinks he's better than her in all and every aspects.

Different from the 'commercial movies' ways, the female character is not hypersexualised like they usually are in most movies.

I guess another point of interest that holds the movie together is the subtle sexual tension that exists between the two throughout the whole movie. This movie is like watching two people flirting with each other for 2 hours! hahaha...

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In our lives, we'll meet many people, some of them you only meet just once in a lifetime. For one reason or another, that chance encounter is one we'll remember for the rest of our lives.

That one person you met when you and your girlfriends are out on a holiday trip in another city. A small talk with a stranger at the hotel lobby while waiting for your friends to get ready upstairs, although just kill the waiting time and a bit awkward at first but leads to some interesting knowledge that we have a friend in common. What a small world.

It would have been a passing thing if not for a coincidence that we share the same flight back home. Made way to greet the new friend, who is now a familiar face in a strange city. We talked about general things and stuff that interests us. Went about the airport shops commenting on how lousy and expensive the selections are. A stranger now has slowly transformed into a new friend. Allowing another person to come into your space and enjoy that person's company for a short while because somehow there is a connection.

Upon landing when the journey ends, said goodbye to each other, but secretly wishing that this meeting go on. And then spending the rest of your remaining lifetime questioning your life decisions.

I think this clip sums it up perfectly well. No subtitles, but it's from DDLJ.

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i realise that I was only talking about the first instalment of the the trilogy; Before Sunrise and then went on rambling about something else. But trust me, if you liked the first one, you'll love the rest.

These movies, it not for everyone. It is an acquired taste. So... yeah.

Me Before You but that's not it

It's one of those romantic lovey dovey stories you gush about.

Two very different people with different circumstances fell in love. One of them is in a wheel chair, paralysed from the head down. Having the Finnick Odair guy from Hunger Games as the OKU guy is mainly for aesthetic values.

And half of the casts are familiar faces. Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey people, Harry Potter. I mean, is there only 100 actors/actresses in UK?

Although they didn't directly mention it, or brought it up as the main theme, but we need to talk about euthanasia.

That subject is like Theory of Knowledge Ethics 102. Is it right, or is it wrong? Should the person decides for himself or can anyone else in trust do it for him? Is it akin to suicide? Those are just the basic questions.

Taking the life of others or your own is wrong in many religious beliefs. But considering these scenarios, would you oppose of euthanasia?

1- enduring years and years of excruciating pain with no hope of getting better at all.

2- being in a comatose state for a long period of time that sustaining your vitals are not sustainable at all and is drilling a big hole in the bank accounts of your families, causing them to drown in deep deep debt.

One reason for euthanasia is to give a choice for the patients to end their suffering if they deem that they aren't able to endure it any more longer.

However it is really "our choice" to choose life or death? Life is a precious gift given by The Almighty and whatever the suffering that are inflicted upon us are meant as tests. On a "spiritual level" that is understandable, but what about those who aren't spiritual, is the suffering bring any meaning?

Would love to hear any thoughts.

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Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2

This is not a review, it's a "discussion"

Siapa belum tengok Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 1 (AADC1)? Well, you better watch this first before watching the second one. However I have to say, personally, the magic is gone if you've missed the first wave of AADC1 back in the days 2002-ish.. It was showing on TV a few months back and we were watching it again and my brother (who is seeing it for the first time) said, "I don't get why people keep telling me this movie is so great? It's just a simple movie". Bam!

When I think about it, he's right. It's a very simple movie, about a high school girl having a crush on a brooding mysterious classmate. What makes it great, however, is that the storyline so happens to coincide with our youth; their issues resonates with ours and at the time when our lives revolves around having found a group of friends whom you can form a clique and close bond with. It resonates with you (or is it just me?).

The second movie, AADC2 is sort of like a concluding movie for this cult-ish series.

Clearly the two hasn't got over each other after their improper break-up. Rangga wrote a short 'It's better that we break-up" letter from New York, without any further explanation. In today's age, it's equivalent to sending a break-up message via Whatsapp and then immediately blocking the contact. What a jerk. Nevertheless, Cinta moved on and now is engaged to be married.

What is to be a bachelorette party-holiday (sort of) in Jogja becomes an unplanned rendezvous with an ex-flame, who also happened to be in the same city by coincidence. What are the chances? I KNOW RIGHT??!

Of course he felt compelled to explain why he did what he did back then, she agreed for a breakfast meet-up that turned into a day's date. And thus... the ending is quite predictable.

Poetry, gentlemen, is how you win over your ex, who was very mad at you for years for being a jerk and is about to get married to another man btw. Poetry.

Frankly, I am jealous of Rangga. He creates stuff. Writing articles for magazines, writing beautiful poetries, he takes pictures and making a book out of it. On top of that, he lives in New York. He is doing stuff that he loves and living at a place that I love. And what am I doing? Nothing of significance. I waste my time reading facebook, getting all riled up about some viral posts about politics, pseudo science and instant social media ustaz/ustazah. I don't take pictures as much as I do. I don't write as much as I like.

This is not a problem that can't be solved actually. ok.

Manisnya Cinta di Cappadocia

Cerita petang tadi, nak buat review pasal lama dah tak tengok cerita melayu kat wayang.

Firstly, I realise I have been pronouncing Cappadocia wrongly all this while. Hehe.. selamanya dok sebut dlm hati je, jadi tak de la malu mana pun.

Secondly, maybe a note to other, this is a modern malay love story and also a typical one; rich kids, which have subtle hints of gay pride(?) (I think it's typical of B.Chauly's movies). Although hardliners might oppose it, but bear in mind, the director is not a Muslim, so he's just portraying it from his point of view. And also, I hate to say it, but it's true that to some extend it is relatable to youths today. We all have that one (or two) queer people that we know (friends), etc.

Some interesting points from the story:
Do not proceed to marry a person who has another girlfriend, even if your mother goes berzerk.
Be classy, if you want to slap his face and kick him in the balls, do that in your head only.
Do not treat older single women like they're less worthy. Makcik2 mulut lazer selalu macam ni.
Be careful what you wished for, you might get it.

Actors/Actresses:
Lately, I've started a liking towards Fazura. Maybe it was from that drama Kisah Cinta. She's soooooooo pretty...! I have a girl-crush on her (did i told you that already?) She's ok in this movie. Believable.

Lisa Surihani, I thought she was petit, but she's actually taller than Fazura. Is she standing on a platform? She's ok.

Eja. She had the dramatic scene in this movie and I think this was the most 'dramatic' acting I've seen from her, although it didn't brought me to tears, but it was touching.

Shaheizy Sam, people say he's a versatile actor. I'd prefer if he just keep his role to a smaller variation. It was hard to focus when you look at his serious "Would you be my girlfriend?" look and all I could see was Adnan Sempit face.

There's Faisal Hussein, he's the hot tempered brother in-law. He played his role well. I felt sorry for him during some scenes.

Overall:
Might not top Istanbul Aku Datang in my list, it is a fun girly movie to watch on a day out during Server Down Day.

November musings

I don't think there could be enough days off that would make me feel like i want to go to work tomorrow. a week a home is a blessing, even more so when I have used up all of this year's leave. Some people gets irritated being cooped up at home, but i quite like it. I am a homey (or homie), or maybe I'm just a create of comfort, in which 'comfort' means sitting in a semi dark area, watching daytime tv, or reading a book or doing 'research' on the internet about Unsolved Mysteries of The World (that time travelling guy in the B&W photo is really intriguing) or just unsubscribing to the various newsletters that has been taking over my inbox for quite sometime now.

I picked up a few new things over the course of this one week being at home.

1. I have just finished reading Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace.






This guy is probably one the authors that my brain subconsciously favorited, because I have three of his books; Yes Man, Friends Like These and this one. Although consciously I don't really fancy the way he writes (he sounds like me trying to write a novel), but the ideas of his stories are amazing.

Yes Man was an interesting idea to pick up, also what he did in Friends Like These and this one too. He is like a man of 'social experiments' where you do one thing that leads to another thing, which could be a bizarre thing or a superb thing depending on your luck or fate.

Anyways Charlotte Street was quite a challenge to read at times because sometimes Jason Priestley (not of the 90210 fame) is a drag when he yaps about his life. And his life wasn't a very sad one, or a very exciting one, it's just a bit of a ...drag. or a snag, whatever you like. He seems to be falling off a cliff, then hitting a rock on the way down, hooked on a dead tree branch and then falling some more. A loser.

But in the end, something nice happened. A sweet turn around. Which I think was the sort of ending that was much needed. Felt glad that I finally finished reading it. Perhaps it stirred something in me to go out and do something with my life, or make the best out of it. Or just find some interesting thing to do and called it an adventure.

2. A lot of research on the internet, just to fill up my time and curiosity. Well, most of it was to revisit some old blogs that I've bookmarked, read about the Illuminati (what else is new?), Hollywood mind control, what are we to do with them? Is Russia a part of it or are they not? How does North Korea fits into all this secret chaos?

Locally, there isn't anything interesting, but I found that there are Malay atheist blogs, a Muslim gay blog, Malay Christian confessions. Interesting to read their point of views. Now I know why people from Perkasa or ISMA are so worried about. I know it is scary and worrying, But you can't tell others what to believe in, can you? You just can't impose rules on what to belief, because at the end of the day, being religious is a matter of faith. You just can't force someone to be religious if they don't want to be.

I honestly feel that the way to address these issues are not through force or the 'Taliban' way, but through love, understanding and also psychology (do I sound like 2/5 of the Captain Planet team?).

3. In lieu (yes, did just use a lawyer-ish word) with trying not to fall into the Hollywood-Illuminati trap, I went on to find a few independent films on Youtube that I quite like. One of them was Arranged (2009 film). I saw it once before, this is actually the second time watching it again. Some Iranian films. Films about Palestinian-Israelis relationship and a Arab family living in Canada. Well, there's a lot of things to watch on Youtube.

Arranged was probably an endearing one, maybe because it's a friendship story between a Muslim and an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn, where the story revolves around (guess what?) ... Arranged marriage. It was funny and cringe-worthy seeing all the suitors for these two people. Then I was on-board to doing research about Arranged marriage in Orthodox Jew culture, because in the movie it seems to be very... systematic. I also got a glimpse into the lives of the other 'selected group of people of heaven'.

The internet is really a big web (duh), one thing leads to another, I ended up learning a thing or two about Jewish tribes, the Holocaust, the Torah.. and then.... somehow came back to the Illuminati.

One thing I can say is, this thing is very complicated (the Israel-Palestine issue) and also this religious tension and political power tug of war.

4. Since it got too serious and intense, I decided to tune-out for a bit and sat down in front of the TV and watch this reality tv show that is being repeated over and over again on Lifetime, which is Married at First Sight. (what is it about all this arranged marriage thing?).

At first I though it was a silly gimmick, but then I was HOOKED. Like, seriously hooked and watched the whole season immediately. Bingeing at its best.

They call it 'social experiment', but in truth it was an arranged marriage set up by experts (PhD people really). One of the couple (out of three) was my favorite one. They didn't really hit it off at first, but as the show progresses, you can see how the relationship grows and it is really endearing (I love this word). There was another couple, which hit it off very well at first, but towards the end you could see that they went from 0 - 200 kmh, then lost control; crash and burn. And another couple, who were sweet on each other and they were the lovey-dovey ones, which I think had chemistry right from the start.

Of course, my favourite one was the second one (Jamie and Doug) because it was very endearing (this word!). She has emotional baggage (loads, big bags of emotional baggages) and he was the rock, the kind and patient person. Seeing how Jamie starts to warm up to Doug and how she grows to feel comfortable around him from one episode to the next was heart warming. It was like watching a romantic film as a reality tv show. Haha, I guess this is my guilty pleasures. Luckily the seasons ends and I get to go to work with a content heart.

So we have here various outcomes of arranged marriage. One that was right from the start, one that has potential to grow into something positive and one that seems to be a good match, but turns out to be a very bad mistake. Interesting show, isn't it?

5. And maybe one last conspiracy theory, which is a new one to me:
Stevie Wonder isn't blind (!!??)

Isn't that shocking? Why would a person fake being blind for his whole life?
I think he really is legally blind.

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Ending of Things

Quite a number of things that came to an end on Monday.

1. Finished reading "Quiet" by Susan Cain.

Reading this book is almost like reading a scientific study of myself. It kind of explains a lot about myself of the things that I wasn't sure of prior to reading this book.
There is no shame in being socially awkward or the silent observer at a party, or disliking banal chit chat. It is okay to be different and it is important to be true to yourself. Because if you're an introvert trying to be an extrovert, at the end of the day, you'll be unproductive and exhausted (mentally and physically and emotionally).
This book says that being an introvert is not a weakness. Embrace the introvert in you. If this book is anything, it has reinforced my belief that I am an introvert.

2. Finished watching the final episode of Breaking Bad's series finale.

That. Was. The. Best. Series. Ending. That I have never seen in a long time. Like OMG.
Vince Gilligan (Creator) and the writers of Breaking Bad are geniuses. OK, maybe Season 2 was a bit of a snoozefest, but it builds up in the following Seasons 3,4,5.
Following the 'adventures' of Walter White was like riding a rollercoaster. I liked and pitied him in the first season, laughed at his 'newbie-ness' and also his briliance in the second and following seasons. Finally hating him in the fifth, and ended up liking him, cried and felt sorry for him in the final episode. There is an obvious character transformation going-on. And I could say the same for Jesse. He starts from being this douchebag, and only to realise after episodes later that he's like an onion. One layer upon another layer. and everytime he breaks free from Mr White, I secretly hope that he won't go back to his old ways again (but we know he will).
Although the truth of life is that all things must come to an end, including good tv series like Breaking Bad, I am glad that it ended the way that it did.
Yeah, bitch! (this is tv reference Jesse Pinkman, if you don't watch BB).

3. Ryan Giggs has announced retirement.

Ada macam ala2 Johnny Depp sikit kan? Good enough for 15 year old me back then.

The longest serving player, in my mind-lah. Everytime I read the sports section and see a pictures of Giggsy, I often find asking myself, he's still playing on the field?
I am not a big fan of Manchester United, but I was once. Back when I was 15 years old. It wasn't that I really liked football per-se (sorry football fans), I only 'liked' it because I wanted to be 'in' with the gang. Liking football in an all-girls high-school seemed to me like a unique thing to be at that time. It didn't made me popular at school, but it did helped me have a conversation (more like -oh hensemnya Ryan Giggs (that 15 years younger Giggs)) with my friends. Kalau tak, takde benda nak sembang.
So yeah, Ryan Giggs helped my made friends in high school.


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Four 3-hours Movie Reviews

I've gone to see two movies this weeks. Two equally long movies. Wait, the other last two movies earlier were equally long too. Almost close to 3 hours for each movies. I'll do a quick review for all of them in order of viewing:

1. Jab Tak Hai Jaan
The last movie produced by the late Yash Chopra starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.. And another girl (what's the use of a Hindi movie if there is no love triangle?)

I liked this one because it's a romantic movie, it has nice songs and people wearing colourful clothes dancing. Enjoyable, if I must say so.

I was skeptical about KK as the heroine at first, but Yash Ji proved me wrong, she's actually fit for the part. Shah Rukh Khan is as always 'in character', although I wish he could be younger. Haha.

2. Life of Pi
Superbly excellent movie and it must be viewed in 3D to enjoy the stunning graphic and special effect.

I think this is a very 'deep' movie that deserves an intricate discussion. You can't take this movie at face value (maybe you can, as it will make life easier). A lot of symbolism and meaning behind every character.

3. The Hobbit
What I am going to say might sound selfish and invoke the wrath many Tolkien fans out there. Hehe..

This movie is okay. Maybe I'll love it better if the elves are the leading role instead of the short dwarves. They are more better looking. At least I could see Richard Armitage face better :(
Gandalf should have just called the giant eagles to pick all them up from The Shire and send all those 14 men to their destination and save everyone the trouble of walking a million miles back home.

This is only the 1st of three parts, but I've basically compressed the whole story into this:
14 men who are trying to get rid of a pest that has invaded their home.

4. Les Misérables
One of the most awaited movies this year. Mainly because I wanted to see Hugh Jackman singing.

There were some surprises when I prepped myself for this movie, by watching the 25th Anniversary of Les Mis.
-I did not expect it to be 100% purely singing musical. There are close to little normal talking.
-I failed to see (the first time) that Eponine is actually the daughter of the inn-keepers and Javert committed suicide in the movie.

On screen, most of the time, for every scene we'll get a (very) closed-up for each character singing their parts. So it looked like giant heads singing on screen. Although too close for comfort, everything was executed excellently.

Javert: Mr FancyHat

Jean Valjean: Mr Strong guy who seems to always be at the crossroads of choosing between two important and tough decisions. Singing about his quandary always helps him in making decide what to do

Fantine: Poor, poor lady. Poor, poor lady. I feel really sorry for her, but it's good that she dies earlier on.

Eponine: Was Friend-zoned to the max. Took a bullet for Marius :( whyyy??

Marius and Cossette: Two love birds who fell in love at first sight. Terus kata I was born to be with him/her. Somehow I find that hard to believe, but oh well.

In the end, everybody dies, except for Marius and Cossette. No wonder it is called The Miserables.

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More Titanic

More on Titanic, now this time from the Engineering point of view

http://mianengineer2011.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-engineers-could-learn-from-movie.html

I just really can't get over it, can't I?
I am a sucker for romantic movies like this one.

I will never let go, Jack

I remember the first time I heard about Titanic the movie, it was from my friend at the hostel. She was talking how cute Leo DiCaprio was and all those mushy scenes. Not really my kind of movie, back then. But she said, 'You must watch this movie!'.

I've only seen Titanic (the movie) once when I was a teenage girl. It was on a small 24" inch telly and I couldn't remember where I got the video tape from. All I could remember was blurry images of Jack and Rose at the deck 'flying' (there's a high probability that it was a pirated tape), some fog in a T-model Ford (itu yg aku ingat?) and of course that tired over-played song that goes on and on and on. I did not see what was so graet about Titanic and why it won so many Oscars.

Fast forward 15 years later, I am in a cinema with a bulky and heavy 3D glasses, sitting patiently waiting for Titanic 3D to start.

What then prompted me to do this? It was actually a scene from from Titanic 3D's trailer I've seen while waiting for Hunger Games to start. That scene where Jack and Rose was bracing themselves before hitting the black icy waters. How to put this... that image was shattering. And I thought to myself, maybe seeing all the special effects in 3D would be a really awesome experience (of course I don't expect that 'fogging scene' at the back of the T-model Ford would even make it past Finas chopping board).

I didn't expect anything much from the movies, maybe a few chuckles (or vomit) from hearing cheesy lines like "You jump, I jump" or "Draw me like one of you French girls, Jack". But... what I did not expect was the surge of all sorts emotions to come out of me while sitting through 3 hours and 20 minutes of motion picture.

It won't be a spoiler it I talk about it, right? Because everyone already knew what happened. Well, unless you're a 15 year old and never watched Titanic before in your entire life.

Here are reasons why you must watch Titanic in 3D (even if you've watched it like a hundred times in 1997):

1. It's in 3D. Meaning better visual effects.
The most noticeable improvements was the night scene where you get to the the stars which looks even brighter. The lavish dresses worn by 1st class passengers looks so beautiful. The iceberg. Although the crew still didn't see the iceberg they're heading towards to even with a better vision. However there is one down side to this, wearing 3D glasses for 3 hours plus is not comfortable at all. It's heavy and I think I still have dents of the glasses's fram on my nose and in between my ears.

2. It's haunting sound. I don't know why, but the voice singing in the background at the very first scenes shown in sepia color (not celine dion's Heart Will Go On - that song only played during the credit rolls at the end of the movie) was really eerie and at the same time gives an air of sadness of a fateful disaster that is to come. Yeah, scared and sad at the same time. A very unusual combination.

3. Now that I know what happens in the movie, I get to focus on other stuff that was overlooked before. Just realised that Cameron's main focus was a lot on 'hands'. The sketches. Gloves. Even the part where the most remembered scene on the ship's bow where they kiss. When they were in the water waiting for help.

4. The big screen. Titanic, as its name deserves to be viewed on a very large screen. Not even the largest LED Ultra 3D HD flat panel television could give justice to this gigantuos epic disaster movie. Plus, the surround sound system really heightened the viewer's experience. That moment when the last bit of the Titanic is about to sink into the black abyss that is the sea, I swear could almost feel the icy cold waters of the Atlantic tormenting my body like a thousand knives stabbing at me.

5. The excellent actors & actresses. There is no such thing as over acting here when everything is over the top. I'm not talking about just Leo and Kate, its everyone. They're believable. If none of you cried while watching this movie, I suggest you check with a doctor and see if your heart is made of stone or not. Very painstaking to see some of the people panicking to save their lives and while some tried of calm the crowd was really touching. That string quartet, playing until the very end. That old couple embracing on theier death bed. That decided look in the eyes of the captain and ship designer at their very last moment.... I felt sorry for everyone who died and who didn't died on that fateful night.

So, now I understand why Titanic had won so many Oscars. It truly deserved all of them. RM19 for a movie ticket was actually worth every sen. That huge 3D glasses that was given, was actually not to aid our viewing, but to hide the swelling of our eyes due to excessive crying from public.

I couldn't imagine how Rose could've continued living to the fullest and made each day count knowing the fact that Jack is not with her. I would've sank to the bottom of the ocean with Jack if it was me. Or gone to continuous psychological therapy.

(hahaha.. poyo tak review movie Titanic ni?)

Dinginnya Salju

Sebenarnya tak dingin mana pun masa salju melitupi muka bumi. Suhu terasa agak panas sedikit berbanding hari-hari biasa di mana salji tidak turun.

Akan tetapi malam sebelum turunnya salji, hati seolah2 dapat tahu bahawa pada keesokan harinya saya akan melihat tanah putih dipenuhi salji. Sebabnya pada waktu itu, suhu terasa amat sejuk sekali, sampai ke tulang hitam lah, menggigit-gigit sejuknya.

Heh, cakap macam apa saja... sebenaqnya dalam masa 4 tahun saya dok kat UK, hanya 2-3 kali saja turun salji. Itupun tak sampai 5 inci. lulz. Mat Saleh pun sama excited dengan kitorang nih bila tengok snow.

Baru sahaja selesai baca novel pasal cabaran Malaysian students di Indiana.  (I seldom read Malay novels, to be honest. The last one was Begawan, and it was a really weird book about rearing horses for people to see...them doing 'activities' at night). Terpanggil sangat untuk membaca buku tersebut selepas tengok adaptasi novel dalam bentuk drama tv beberapa bulan lepas. Sangat tertarik dengan cerita itu kerana ia mengimbau kenangan sewaktu kali pertama ke luar negara untuk menuntut ilmu. Novel ini pun tak kurang dekatnya di hati. Ianya berlatar belakangkan Indiana, sebuah tempat yang penuh bersejarah dalam hidup keluargaku. Abah dan Mama pernah belajar di sana dan berkahwin pun di sana. Bulan May 20122, kami sekeluarga telah kembali semula ke Indiana (selepas 30 tahun) sewaktu melawat adik ku yang menuntut tidak jauh dari situ.

Living abroad at such a young age with no supervision from parents is a big challenge, especially in places where the culture is very much different from our own. It is tough and it is also confusing. First, there's moving to a new place where you don't know much of anything, like where's the sundry shop and how to get meals. Then, you have to make new friends with a lot of people that doesn't share the same background or thought as you. And at the same time, you must excel in your studies while managing your finances so that you won't be starving my the end of every third month. And then... there's the local drama, which I don't want to talk about it here.

I've seen a few changes of the heart. Best friends became enemies. Girls and boys living together, although claiming nothing goes on between them. People became fanatic towards certain way of thought. Hijab to free hair. Free hair to hijab.

I really would like to thank Allah SWT that He has sent me there with a group of people who are kind hearted and very nice to take care of me. I am so thankful.

Raving Mad for downton abbey

I just can't explain this feeling that I have buckled down in my chest. It's like my heart is contracting slowly reducing it size down to a peanut, then at another moment it my entire heart is about to burst. Am i getting a heart attack? I can't quite put it down to what it is exactly. Maybe it is just the effect of caffeine working it's way in my blood system. But I only had strawberry flavoured tea this morning. Maybe this is what you are supposed to feel when your heart is breaking and you can't do anything about it. I honestly don't know.

It started after a night's bingeing of Downton Abbey. I can't help but relate to one of it's characters. The anguishing relationship between Cousin Matthew and Lady Mary is simply torturing. Duties of the eldest daughter. The expectations and anxiety of her parents and other relatives for her to quickly get married and 'be happy'. Isn't that a familiar territory? Sigh...

Rasa nak nangis lepas setiap episod. Feeling macam cerita ni betoi saja.

2of 366

had the family over for the week. was great.
i think 2011 and 2012 is the same. just numbers.
days passes so quickly. you open your eyes and wake up in the morning then blink, blink, blink and a whole day has turned to dusk. i wonder what have i done today that made Allah pleased with me.
people change. you change, i change. deal with it.
i might say i like blue last week and i will only sotong only if they're deep fried in flour.
then you'll see me next week with a new favorite colour, yellow, and eats raw squids from the sushi bar. please don't shake me and say 'what the hell, dyanna?'
from the perspective of someone who sees the glass as half full, change is what makes life interesting, and maybe up to a point exciting.
but from the eyes who perceives glass as half empty, change will only bring misery, difficult challenges and a lot of risk.
change is only good when it goes according to our plan. when it doesn't we wail, cry, shout and throw tantrums. try to look at it from a bigger point of view. maybe it's not so bad after all. still half full.

unfriended a few people on facebook. who cares? do you think when you meet those people, they would get all angry and ask "Why U unfriend me??". nope, don't think so. even if they do, just create an excuse. they just want to feel good about themselves. we think too much about what other people think... about ourselves. social network is a glorified vain pot.

on a totally different tone and note:


Went through a collection of hindi songs on youtube yesterday. did you know that while doing the movie Kuch kuch, Salman and Kajol were not in talking terms with each other (not sure what the reason was) but you don't see that on the screen right? good actors got us fooled. just watch that video clip.

Kuch Kuch was a really great movie. The first time i saw it was on a bus from Johor to KL. dok teriak sepanjang perjalanan ataih haighway. evil bus driver, tak patut pasang cerita sedih on the bus. crying inpublic is embarassing. cried again watching it the second time at home. such a sad love story.

sapa2 tak pernah tengok Kuch Kuch, aku tak tau la nak kata apa kat dia, kecuali, pi la tengok.

hindi movies are very good at playing with our emotions. especially at making people cry. if you really want to cry your eyes out, watch Kabhi Kushi.

anyways, my favorite actress is Rani. but favorite pairing is Shah Rukh and Kajol. Salman was really charming before, but now he's just fat and old. aamir had a lot of hair in Mann, now he's sporting a short hair and picks good roles in movies, like 3 idiots and Taare Zamin Par.Kareena is always in every movie in i see, now i just get sick looking at her in every movies. like in EVERY effing movies! like give it a rest la please. More air time to Preety, Priyanka (god, she has a really hot bod), and Aishwarya. A lot of good actresses in the past have gone out of the screen, but i wish i could see them again, like Sridevi, madhu, manisha, karisma..

I was really pissed at tv3 last saturday because they did a really bad job at editing Kal Ho Na Ho and 3 idiots. that was not editing, it was more like butchering with a dull knife. even the dead carcass could feel the pain.

Generalising Hollywood Movies. (1)

This year's summer movies are quite awesome. I liked Thor very much, maybe a little bit too much that I promised myself That I'd go watch all other 'superheroes' movies that will come out afterwards, like X-Men, Captain America, Green Lantern, etc. X-Men did not dissapoint at all.

I went to see Super 8 last Monday and I think it was really outstanding. I wonder if the rest of the movies this summer will be as good as Super 8?

This post is not a movie review, but I'd strongly suggest you go see Super 8. If you had to choose, then choose Super 8.

I think I watch too many movies that I've started to notice that the black dude will be the first one to die. However, if there's an Asian guy, this changes everything. The Asian will die first, followed by the black dude and the rest of the cast. Obviously the hero and heroine will live to tell the tale of their brave comrades who had fallen in the line of duty.

This Is It and that is that

I went to see This Is It yesterday evening immediately after work. I recently found this 'golden' movie time and it really works for me.

I wonder why myself that I didn't start doing this a few years earlier? During this time, I find that the line to the ticket and food counter is shorter (1-3 people in front of me), the ticket is cheaper on weekdays and the best part is that the cinema hall is less than half full. It beats going to the movies on weekends where it's always pack and there's a lot of annoying disturbances from all four angles of where you're sitting.

In the past, on almost all occasion, I was almost soaked up with all this bottled up anger towards that person sitting next to me who was continuously texting throughout the movie, the idiots sitting at the back who keeps kicking my seat, the brought company who keeps asking "What happened?" etc (aren't you watching??!!), the latecomers who sits in front of me or in the same row.

Okay Miss Grumpy, stop.

This Is It was yesterday's choice. You know what, i won't spoil the readers, but if you're a fan (like me) you then should go and watch it. I really enjoyed it. The man got so much talent and creativity, so much energy, so much knowingness about music and so much love to everyone. You know where his heart is. When it comes to the ending, honestly, I felt a little depressed and sad, because it means that that's just it. No more. It's hard to believe that there won't be nothing more from the King of Pop. Does this means the love stops here? :'(

With all the props, dancers, computer graphics, pyro, fire and everything else prepared for the big show, it is such shame that no one will never ever get to see the actual This Is It concert planned. Such a shame... It would have been a great one.

Go and watch This Is It you fans out there.

I found a website that is dedicated to the fact that his death was a hoax. I follow that site just to fill my curiousity and there are some amusing stuff that people can dig out sometimes. But honestly, I believe that he's gone for good. Why? Because you know he loves his fan so much that faking a death would be a the most outrageous thing to do. Breaking the hearts of millions is not something that Micheal would do. But then, whenever I visit that site, I don't know what to believe anymore. But then again, we are still waiting for Elvis to come out from his hiding place.

This is a very emotional-laden entry.
So I will switch to another mode. Crazy.

After reading this next section, you might think that I am a loony and a total nutcase. But as of this morning, I am happy that I am not the only person having this problem. I googled this because yesterday, after coming out from This Is It cinema hall, it was really, really bad. The hall was very, very cold that time. It might be the temperature change that's causing it.

Sometimes whenever I go for a walk, especially when it's slightly cold, I will get itchiness on the legs. It starts with a little itch, like on the sole of the foot and the itch slowly grows into what feels like a burn to the whole legs . Then I'll start to get uncomfortable and have this big urge to scratch the itch. It can come to a point that I'll scratch the skin until it leaves scratch marks and bleeds. I just feel like I want to cut open a coconut and use the sabut or get a very coarse sand paper or grow several claws to scratch the itch away.

And it's really distressing and a very big problem when I'm out in public, you can't just sit down on the floor and start scratching can't you? And when I don't scratch and try to ignore the itch and the burning feeling, it makes me feel irritated and angry and the same time, I will break out into a phobia and panic and it makes me think that everything feels unclean, especially the ground I that I am walking on, be it tiled floors in the mall, the grass in the park, pavements, etc. It just feels very dirty, like I've stepped on something very nasty eventhough there's obviously nothing there. Sometimes I seriously think that I have to walk on stilts to avoid all everything gross on the floor and on the ground. I will look down while I'm walking to concentrate on where I'm stepping, to avoid the nasties, just in case. Sounds more like a mental health issue.

I still feel I need those stilts.

What a relief to know that there are others having the same problem like me and they're equally happy to know that they're not alone in this world with this problem. But this doesn't solve any problem does it?

Twilight

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Aah...peace and quiet. What a peaceful Monday. I don't know why I always like to blog on Mondays lately, but it seems relevant enough be say Hi to everyone once a week (at least). No, I don't work today, so please don't expect me to rant about that, there's nothing much I could do to make things any easier there. I'm overly spent at that place and my body decided it could not stand it anymore and so, it did something and took control.

I had a fever and I had to stay in for a couple of days. To be honest, I'm secretly glad that I had a fever. It was the only way I could rest and finish reading Twilight. Yes, you read it right.

The Book.


I'm a bit late catching the Edward Cullen bug if I might say so myself, but it's simply because I was a bit skeptical at first. What? Another vampire story? I had enough of Buffy, Angel and Interview With the Vampire stuff already. I was running out of books to read, and there it was, sitting on the shelf, looking devilishly inviting... whispering quietly to me, to pick it out off the shelf and read it.

In the first couple of chapters, I felt that Bella is a bit of a 'poyo' person. I mean, 'Apa ni?"what's wrong with this girl? Gets irritated easily by people calling her by her full name, the attitude and everything... I almost closed the book for good. Then Edward Cullen and his family came into the cafeteria and then it all changed and things became more interesting. Bella is just a distraction.

There's nothing more to this book other than the mysterious family of vampires. I just can't help but to think Edward is like a cat who is playing with his food at first. Waiting for that moment for him to pounce on her and finish her off for good. But that did not happen.

Everybody loves a love story. But a painful love story with one of them being an undead, that's something different that some people couldn't understand as what S.King said about the writer: She can't write worth a darn. Hmm.. looks like somebody's been a little bit grumpy after the last H.P. book came out. No more little wizards for you.

But anyway, he's right. If you put aside Edward's smooth porcelain white skin and nice body odour, you'd see that he's a creepy possessive stalker. Most of the boys (the human boys) in this books have a crush on Bella, and it really drives her crazy that these boys keep following her around. Edward Cullen is also doing the same thing too! But because of perfect masculine feature, handsomeness and super human powers, Bella doesn't care if he sneaks in her bedroom every night to watch her sleep and follows her everywhere she goes.

I don't know, I love and hate the book both at the same time.

The movie. [Yeah, I'm also a movie buff.]

The only scary thing here is Edward's Hairdo.

Twilight The Movie. You might laugh if I say I think this movie is a cross between many series such as Beverly Hills 90210, Pocahontas, Batman and everything else all at the same time. LOL! Well, no matter how corny or cheezy this movie is, I'm still going to put it into my Ipod :D

It's hard to find a movie that actually complements it's original book. All I could say is that, this movie helps with the visualisation.

Chick Flicks

I've watched like almost half a dozen (5 or 6 je) last month. Some of them were the serious, heavy drama type of movies that requires a lot of brain energy such as Slumdog and Final Fantasy. Some of them are just so tense and gory and makes me hide underneath the covers because it's just to scary to watch such as Kill Theory and The Punisher. Others are just straight dumb types that makes me think twice and ask myself "Why am I watching this?", Role Model and some movie about a fast food restaurant that has the waitresses wear skimpy clothes.

So I'd thought I give myself a break and treat myself with something that's light that I can just soak my feet into it and feel comfotable. Chick flicks. I've choosen to watch Bride Wars and Made of Honor. I feel good about myself after watching these two movies. Although I think the title for Bride Wars should be renamed to something more appropriate because it just sounds so 'overwhelming' but there's nothing inside that movie that could sum up into a war, exect for the part where Anne Hathaway flew in the air to strangle Kate Hudson down the aisle. Maybe Bridal Rivalry would be much more suited. And then there's Patrick Dempsey. Patrick Dempsey.

These two movies made me miss my girlfriends. We hang around a lot those days. Coffee drinking, movie going, monopoly playing, shopping going, loud laughing, travel planning, food cooking little group. :D Chick flicks makes me feel good.

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Image thanks to: Screenhead

It doesn't take a genius to find out why this movie won the award the other day. Although it was shot a couple of continents away from America, it lives up to the American Dream. An orphaned boy who had nothing to start with, comes from the poorest part of Mumbai city and is searching for his long lost childhood sweetheart, found himself sitting for the final question that's worth a million dollars. The actual reason why he was sitting there in the first place was not actually to win the prize money at all.

This is a story about the real India. The ones that you and me are not exposed to and not the ones that people would go and see if it wasn't for this hype. All we were shown are mostly two lovey-dovey couples and other beautiful people dancing and having fun. No, not in this movie, you won't get that. It's about pain, about losing and getting what you are fated for at the end of the day. And you will also see is a kid that falls through a 'jamban' hole into that yek-yek stuff and laugh about it.

All I can say is that, the innocence of childhood is taken away by the corrupted morals of the adults and their irresponsibilities.

Ratings: **** 4 stars (and not 5? Why? '-maybe because the dances at the end of the movie are not really that good for a Bolly fan')

Bobby, dewan yang panjang dan jambatan

Sayalah Raj. Sila tunjuk ajar kerna saya naif.

OK! Terkejut tak tengok muka mamat ni hari ni?! Hehehe... macam comel.
Alright, I just had to get it out of my system. Ever since A$tr0 showed the 1973 Bobby last January, I just can't sit still because I can't believe the clothes they wore in the movie. OMG! OMG! The palette combinations are just colourful (who would wear red pants together with a red shirt?). Now I can vividly visualise the '70's being so disco-rama and fuyoh! And the hair... what's that about?
If I see guys wearing something similar these days, they'll definitely be listed down as queer.

Bwahahaa! But me likes this movie because of the songs. Scroll. scroll.scroll.

==================================

I was really swamped out during the week. Things are just flying over our heads and we had to try our best not to get hit too hard on the head. Adoi...

Below is a picture of the first wedding for this year. My, what a ver long hall! They only put one table alongside the red carpet and I think it's a great way to give the guest a close up view of the couple. And the red carpet could double as a track for the 100m dash to the pelamin.

Ada laksa penang di serve. Pelik gak.

This is a view from the Penang bridge from my handphone that still have old fashioned buttons (no I wasn't driving) at sunset. That's Pulau Jerejak in the background. You know, there's no other place in Msia (that I know of) where you can have a very scenic view like this while on the way to the office EVERYDAY! It's pretty awesome and very therapeutic. Kalau kerja tempat lain, takkan dapat 'perks' macam ni.

Here's Raj and Bobby again with their 'loud' fashion choices:


..another one:


And another one:

(ok better stop, now I'm just spamming my own blog).

Movie List Updated (2)

The broken Astro decoder last week gave a chance for me to catch up with some more movies:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I say it's worth an Oscar. Brad Pitt is cute.
  
• Bolt
• Madagascar: Funnier than the previous movie. The penguins are my favorite characters.
  
• CJ7
• Leatherheads
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Made of Honour
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: This is the drama that I needed after watching a lot of comedies, actions and thrillers.
  
• Burn After Reading: A funny movie in a way that is not meant to be funny (??). Don't try to mess around with conspiracy theories. Brad Pitt plays a weird guy.
  
• Igor
• Eagle Eye: Okay, okay! Enough with evil artificial intelligence system that tries to take over the world. The fault actually lies in the software programmer itself who wrote an in comprehensive program scripts, how they got hired by the US Army is beyond my imagination.
  
• The secret Life of Bees
• HSM 3
• Saw V: Declined in quality (compared to previous installments), but there's a lot of blood though.
  
• Changeling
• Australia
• Doubt
• Yes Man: Hahaha! A funny take on life, by saying "Yes" to everything. Jim Carrey is in his zone.
  
• Step Brothers: A weird and gross funny movie where two 40 year old guys acting like a 10 year old boys.
  
• Kidulthood: Disturbing movie about a bunch of 15 year olds living in the poor side of London town. Keeping it real I guess?
• The Rocker: Funny

Movie List updated:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Bolt
• Madagascar
• CJ7
• Leatherheads
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Made of Honour
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• Burn After Reading: A funny movie in a way that is not meant to be funny (??). Don't try to mess around with conspiracy theories.
  
• Igor
• Eagle Eye
• The secret Life of Bees
• HSM 3
• Saw V: Declined in quality (compared to previous installments), but there's a lot of blood though.
  
• Changeling
• Australia
• Doubt
• Yes Man: Hahaha! A funny take on life, by saying "Yes" to everything. Jim Carrey is in his zone.
  
• Step Brothers: A weird and gross funny movie where two 40 year old guys acting like a 10 year old boys.
  
• Kidulthood: Disturbing movie about a bunch of 15 year olds living in the poor side of London town. Keeping it real I guess?