Tuesday, October 18, 2005
My sandwich and salad girls.
Meeting MJ for lunch equals one thing, "no ang moh food, ok." It's often so hard to find anyone who would want to eat sandwiches/salads for lunch. J used to be my only healthy-lunch pal, and now I've found T, my colleague who also has trouble looking for friends who want to eat ang moh food.
Recently we've been lunching together and today we were off to toast. I love these places, healthy food can be so yummy, and so many varieties too! The best bit is, I usually feel extremely bloated or get hungry easily even after a heavy lunch, but never so with sandwiches/salads!
p/s And whenever my pocket feels the pinch, I know there is always subway round the corner.
Meeting MJ for lunch equals one thing, "no ang moh food, ok." It's often so hard to find anyone who would want to eat sandwiches/salads for lunch. J used to be my only healthy-lunch pal, and now I've found T, my colleague who also has trouble looking for friends who want to eat ang moh food.
Recently we've been lunching together and today we were off to toast. I love these places, healthy food can be so yummy, and so many varieties too! The best bit is, I usually feel extremely bloated or get hungry easily even after a heavy lunch, but never so with sandwiches/salads!
p/s And whenever my pocket feels the pinch, I know there is always subway round the corner.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Lan Yu: A review.
First there were the weird and seemingly dirty old men in the cinema. Quite a few of them, apparently early mornings are the times to catch 'em in action at their respective R21 picks where (normal) movie-goers barely trickle in. The lengths I go to just so I get to watch that movie - as fate would have it, I did and at 10.30am on a saturday morning (tickets were sold out the night before when I reached the cinema). Early but definitely not a morning gone to waste, my mind loves the intellectual stimulation even as my body attempts to catch up (J and I walked in five minutes late, in the dark).
Amid depressing undertones, Lan Yu tells a story of two men spanning ten over years although we couldn't really tell if not for specific age references over time. Han dong was the typical (maybe not so typical) successful well-connected businessman who developed a taste for same-sex liaisons with teenage boys (first lan yu, then a certain fling with a teenage athlete) in his promiscuous lifestyle. But lan yu, gave his all despite being told by han dong that their relationship would only last as long as their passion could, and not a day more. Thus began the ninety minutes we were given to observe of a long-drawn relationship that ended in a tragic finale of refused familiarity.
Stanley kwan is adept at painting subtleties on a canvas long unaccepted by the asian society at large. At times, dirty talk in chinese just seemed so strange (yo we are definitely exposed to western erotica too much!) but I reckon it more a matter of getting used to it than anything else. Explicit scenes (plentiful in the original internet novel version) are limited to post-coital conversations or playful gropings, which to me at least, are in much better taste than the first 10 minutes of wong kar-wai's Happy Together. And not to mention also, definitely less demanding on the two straight-in-real-life actors.
Overall, among all the gay-themed movies I've viewed so far, this certainly takes the cake as a must-watch. Lan Yu provides a brilliant insight into single-sex relationships - not all that different? - and explores the issues couples (both homosexual and heterosexual) encounter, surprisingly alike in more ways than we thought. The tensions, the insecurities, the well-meaning surprise-turned-bad are admittedly not anything new.
Who doesn't know the stronger party in a relationship is often inevitably the one who receives more than gives, being in control and leaving the weaker person to suffer in all his capacity to love. Sometimes it is not even a question of reciprocality when time simply runs out on you. So you see, we all really aren't that different. That's probably the inner world stanley kwan wanted us to see for ourselves.
First there were the weird and seemingly dirty old men in the cinema. Quite a few of them, apparently early mornings are the times to catch 'em in action at their respective R21 picks where (normal) movie-goers barely trickle in. The lengths I go to just so I get to watch that movie - as fate would have it, I did and at 10.30am on a saturday morning (tickets were sold out the night before when I reached the cinema). Early but definitely not a morning gone to waste, my mind loves the intellectual stimulation even as my body attempts to catch up (J and I walked in five minutes late, in the dark).
Amid depressing undertones, Lan Yu tells a story of two men spanning ten over years although we couldn't really tell if not for specific age references over time. Han dong was the typical (maybe not so typical) successful well-connected businessman who developed a taste for same-sex liaisons with teenage boys (first lan yu, then a certain fling with a teenage athlete) in his promiscuous lifestyle. But lan yu, gave his all despite being told by han dong that their relationship would only last as long as their passion could, and not a day more. Thus began the ninety minutes we were given to observe of a long-drawn relationship that ended in a tragic finale of refused familiarity.
Stanley kwan is adept at painting subtleties on a canvas long unaccepted by the asian society at large. At times, dirty talk in chinese just seemed so strange (yo we are definitely exposed to western erotica too much!) but I reckon it more a matter of getting used to it than anything else. Explicit scenes (plentiful in the original internet novel version) are limited to post-coital conversations or playful gropings, which to me at least, are in much better taste than the first 10 minutes of wong kar-wai's Happy Together. And not to mention also, definitely less demanding on the two straight-in-real-life actors.
Overall, among all the gay-themed movies I've viewed so far, this certainly takes the cake as a must-watch. Lan Yu provides a brilliant insight into single-sex relationships - not all that different? - and explores the issues couples (both homosexual and heterosexual) encounter, surprisingly alike in more ways than we thought. The tensions, the insecurities, the well-meaning surprise-turned-bad are admittedly not anything new.
Who doesn't know the stronger party in a relationship is often inevitably the one who receives more than gives, being in control and leaving the weaker person to suffer in all his capacity to love. Sometimes it is not even a question of reciprocality when time simply runs out on you. So you see, we all really aren't that different. That's probably the inner world stanley kwan wanted us to see for ourselves.
Friday, October 14, 2005
I dig chinese arthouse flicks.
Looks like I have to work late tomorrow and so there goes my movie date. I'm not much of a movie-goer and it has to happen in one of the few times I find a movie I so so want to watch. I guess this has to be my only consolation for now. There seems to be no slots in the weekend, thanks to a screwed up site, I can't help but wonder how people get their tickets when movies-watching is all the fad in this city. Let's hope it will still be playing next week, fingers crossed. I really better be working late (like past 8pm) tomorrow, and I mean it.
Looks like I have to work late tomorrow and so there goes my movie date. I'm not much of a movie-goer and it has to happen in one of the few times I find a movie I so so want to watch. I guess this has to be my only consolation for now. There seems to be no slots in the weekend, thanks to a screwed up site, I can't help but wonder how people get their tickets when movies-watching is all the fad in this city. Let's hope it will still be playing next week, fingers crossed. I really better be working late (like past 8pm) tomorrow, and I mean it.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Monroe shows us it is possible for some flab and sex appeal to co-exist happily.
Never let this intolerant world mislead you. Look to this if you're ever confused and wavering but then again, this is no excuse for stuffing yourself silly with a trashy diet or not heading to the gym when you need it.
Never let this intolerant world mislead you. Look to this if you're ever confused and wavering but then again, this is no excuse for stuffing yourself silly with a trashy diet or not heading to the gym when you need it.
Superduperstuff.
Honestly this can't qualify as a review because I've only had the chance to listen to two songs sent over via msn by a dear friend in beijing... and I'm already hooked. I think they've got incredible potential if they'd wean off the soundalikes and develop more of their own style in time to come. These boys aren't your typical mainland flash-in-the-pan acts, well they are anything but. With heavy indie-brit/pop rock influences (think chinese-infused coldplay), 果味VC makes refreshing easy listening tunes this summer with a new album 《来自VC的礼物》. Go chekkit out!
Honestly this can't qualify as a review because I've only had the chance to listen to two songs sent over via msn by a dear friend in beijing... and I'm already hooked. I think they've got incredible potential if they'd wean off the soundalikes and develop more of their own style in time to come. These boys aren't your typical mainland flash-in-the-pan acts, well they are anything but. With heavy indie-brit/pop rock influences (think chinese-infused coldplay), 果味VC makes refreshing easy listening tunes this summer with a new album 《来自VC的礼物》. Go chekkit out!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Ok they win we lose.
This is so hilarious it almost made me laugh at my laptop screen and was decidingly effective at getting rid of that bored on monday doing unexciting tasks stupor. And speaking of the strange new virgin birth concept (sweepingly mentioned in link), alright it isn't new exactly but it does seem so rare nowadays. Putting decadence and emotive aspects of indulgence (which asian parent generations don't buy into) aside, I'm sure it has something to do with certain environmental factors i.e. early coupling/ pre-arranged marriages in the old days and the current societal postponement of marriages. I mean, people then don't have to wait so long and that probably puts matters in their favor. Eh it does make plenty of sense, ain't it? Ha ha.
This is so hilarious it almost made me laugh at my laptop screen and was decidingly effective at getting rid of that bored on monday doing unexciting tasks stupor. And speaking of the strange new virgin birth concept (sweepingly mentioned in link), alright it isn't new exactly but it does seem so rare nowadays. Putting decadence and emotive aspects of indulgence (which asian parent generations don't buy into) aside, I'm sure it has something to do with certain environmental factors i.e. early coupling/ pre-arranged marriages in the old days and the current societal postponement of marriages. I mean, people then don't have to wait so long and that probably puts matters in their favor. Eh it does make plenty of sense, ain't it? Ha ha.
Day out with the cousin.
While waiting for a bus that suspiciously never came, ok my bad.
Gorgeous flower prints on a bag from hk.
Late afternoon sun on office buildings.
Yummy sashimi salad.
Lobster salad sushi is not bad too.
Salmon maki satisfies that thirst for salmon sashimi, cheaply. You can actually taste the salmon in generous chunks indeed, unlike the usual elsewhere.
Kiddo on conveyor belt.
Happy birthday P, almost a big girl already!
While waiting for a bus that suspiciously never came, ok my bad.
Gorgeous flower prints on a bag from hk.
Late afternoon sun on office buildings.
Yummy sashimi salad.
Lobster salad sushi is not bad too.
Salmon maki satisfies that thirst for salmon sashimi, cheaply. You can actually taste the salmon in generous chunks indeed, unlike the usual elsewhere.
Kiddo on conveyor belt.
Happy birthday P, almost a big girl already!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Reality check.
During the weekends, I eat too much, and sleep too much, not to mention play too many silly games.
During the weekends, I eat too much, and sleep too much, not to mention play too many silly games.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
I'm secretly morbid inside I know.
I saw a little toddler kid standing by the glass railings while waiting for N with A last night. Then something lit up in my mind:
The last thing she heard was the sound of her own scream.
And I like it the way it is.
I saw a little toddler kid standing by the glass railings while waiting for N with A last night. Then something lit up in my mind:
The last thing she heard was the sound of her own scream.
And I like it the way it is.
Friday evening reception.
Did I tell you this is my favorite painting of the lot?
Did I tell you this is my favorite painting of the lot?
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Hear ye!
I'm surprised I can actually post after such a long while, well long to me in blogging days.
I'm surprised I can actually post after such a long while, well long to me in blogging days.
