Ramblings & Grumblings

Another weekend gone! Again!

Want to get in a quick blog before I sleep. Hoping to get to sleep earlier today because tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Gotta go help out at one of the ticket counters because it's sales start day, and another long meeting in the afternoon. I don't really understand why our meetings with the system vendor is always so long. And long-winded. Is it them? Or is it us?

Anyway, my weekend was pretty good. Played mahjong with Wyn couple and Yoko at Yoko's boyfriend's place, and had steamboat with them afterwards. I won 1 house win 3 house, so I bought them some beer after their death threats. As for today, me, Ji Xiang couple and PS couple went to a friend's place for a final-final-no-more-anymore round of bai nian and gathering with some friends.

Life after CNY is going to be so dull! Nothing to look forward to anymore! T_T Oh well...

Anyway, I want to complain!

I was browsing through some movie forums the other day, reading up about Donnie Yen's movies (yes, still on him. Maybe until Iron Man 2?) and came across comments from some knn-don't-what-the-shit-they-are-talking-about 痞子s saying that Seven Swords is a bad movie!!!

My gawd! I don't know these people 吃什么长大 one leh! Seven Swords, although not a great epic by any counts, was a really good cinematic experience. The whole movie just draws you in with a kind of primitive wildness and savagery that grips you right from the beginning.

I am not going to go too much into it. I have already done so in 2005

Wah! It's been five years since I watched the film, loved it and became a fan of Donnie Yen! It did not feel like five years at all!

And I just watched the movie again last week and still love it. And don't just think that I am singing the movie's praises because I like Donnie Yen, hence I like the movie. It's actually the other way round. I like Donnie Yen in the first place because I like the movie. And also because he has a SAY-HE-IS-GOD *WHIPLASH* body lar. But this is besides the point.

I am really indignant that these people called Seven Swords a waste of time and a stupid movie. I think these people are a waste of space and a bunch of stupid dumbshits! They would not know if a good movie comes up behind them and bites them on their arse! I bet they are the ones who called Avatar an epic. No offence to the movie, but IT IS a movie about a community of blue beings living in some lushy forest-type place. I like Smurfs too, but I probably wouldn't get goosebumps while watching them.

Goosebumps, people, goosebumps. That's when something inspiring is happening.

27

So the broad has turned 27, arguably the next phase of life. What's next?

Well, honestly, I don't feel any different than I was from yesterday. I don't feel like a lot has changed. I still feel as silly, as 38, as bohliao as I was 10 years ago.

Yet things have changed. I AM older, no denying that, and had a fair share of how difficult, even painful, life can get sometimes.

But the important thing is that it's all good. Had been for a long time.

I know that there are still a lot of things to do, a lot of dues to pay. But it's all in the scheme of things. There isn't much time but there is no need to rush either.

I have been reading more recently. Going to the library is becoming a once or twice a week routine for me. And I am trying to read more of different stuffs, not just the romance sex fluff books that I love so much. Re-discovering that love for reading is somewhat of a wonderful thing to me.

Nothing like reading to bring you to another world and open your eyes to interesting new insights.

It's all part of the good.

Smile

I Will Bitch Slap Everyone That Comes In This Hallway

WIN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Wahahah! So joyous! I am allowed to be overly opulent on my birthday hor!

Anyway, to make it quick, here are my birthday wishes!

I wish for all my family and friends to be healthy and wealthy and be full of joy and happiness always.

And I want to be pretty pretty. No need too pretty also because I almost brimming liao. Just no annoying spots, skin smooth smooth, no lines or wrinkles. Eyes don't always small small, no orh bak ka. Then got fats never mind, all go to the chest area can liao. I don't ask for a lot one.

Last but not least, I want to be happy and healthy too!

钱从天上掉下来啊! HUAT ARH!

说说废话, 又过一天

I am a bit of a Donnie Yen nut again after watching 14 Blades. Twice. *haolian* So I have been looking at some old movies of his. Allow me to draw your attention to this clip.

Wah, why his body look so short arh? He always seemed rather okay in movies to me; his torso looks way longer in 14 Blades, and he definitely towered over Jackie in Shanghai Knights. But then again, Jackie is not that tall. And also, a certain percentage of height growth occurs in adulthood. Or perhaps he discovered a kind of martial arts to enhance height. That would be great. I could use a couple of extra cm to make me less Teletubby, more [insert tall woman name here]. OR MAYBE it's simply just the way he wore his pants. So high sia. Last time fashion 不一样...

BTW, Donnie Yen is about 1.73m, that's pretty tall in our culture. And it's a good height. Very normal. Sorry if we don't live in the land of giants where the milk makes everyone at least 2 metres tall. That's just plain weird.

Anywaaay, back to the video! Look at how fast the punches are! Not just Donnie Yen but the other guy too. I don't know how much of this was done using technology and camera techniques, but still, there's some quick fist work going on here! And minute 3:19, kick, kick, kick kick kick, twirl, kick, twirl and kick! Aerobics sia!

Really nice stuff. I kinda like the part where the camera zoom in on the other guy from between Donnie Yen's legs. Fancy! They don't do movies like that anymore now.

There's something very street-like and renegade about the way Donnie Yen fights in this video. Very pai kia. Totally unlike the way he does it in Ip Man. To me, Ip Man fights in an almost structured manner, which makes it very graceful. There is a reason for every punch and kick, and it hits home almost every time. Not just throwing out hands and legs, hoping to score any damage.

Let's peruse.

**Note, this part may be a major spoiler, watch this if you will. But don't be a dumbshit and come kpkb to me like I reveal some 天际. And the movie did come out in 2008. But who knows? Dumbshits will be dumbshits.

屌... I cringe every time I see him dislocate the guy's leg, man. Tough shit.

-Abrupt change of topic-

And I just Googled 屌 (diu)! Ha-ha-ha! Cannot believe that there is an entire wiki article about this word. And another one on the few common Cantonese curses!

Anyway, quoting Wiki：
Diu is a word in the Chinese language... and is written as 鳥 (meaning "bird", pronounced niǎo in Mandarin and niu5 in Cantonese when used in this usual sense). It is used as an emphatic adjective with a function similar to the English "fucking", "bloody" or "god damned".
...
The written form [門+小] is mainly seen in Hong Kong, for example, on graffiti. In Cantonese, it is used as a transitive verb meaning to copulate. In a manner similar to the English word fuck, it is also used to express dismay, disgrace, disapproval and so on. For example, someone may shout "diu nei!" ("fuck you!" or "fuck off!") at somebody when he or she finds that other person annoying.

SMALL DOOR!!! BAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! Okay, I need time to laugh now. KNN FUNNY! BAAHAHAHAHAAHAH!

Kthxbai.

Quote

"I had been trained to know what gave life and what took it, what was right and what was wrong. Then experience had become my mentor, wiping its feet on that pristine part of myself that was idealistic and analytical. It is disheartening when a thinking person is forced to admit that many cliches are true. There is no justice on this earth."

--- "Cruel And Unusual" - Patricia Cornwell

Make A Birthday Wish

Sometimes I still feel like a little girl.

I want a cake with candles for my birthday. Presents too. Cute stuffs with ribbons and lots of balloons.

A garden with flowers of many different colours and a cottage with the wonderful smells of any kinds of pastries baking.

A trickling stream nearby and wind chimes jingling in the wind.

A fireplace and a little puppy.

It's sometimes nice to still be able to believe in your own kind of fairy tale paradise.

And I will never apologise for that.

OMFG!!!

I am going to die!!! *drags hands down face*

I AM SO SLEEPY!!!

First day back at work from CNY is SUCH a dread!!!

我要回家...

>_<

Big Uncle

I visited my Uncle with my Mum today.

I had not seen him in a long while and it was really nice to see him. I always call him 'Big Uncle' in dialect because my Mum had two brothers from my Grandma, and he is the eldest.

With his neatly shaven head and easy smiles, he looked so at ease and accepting of his circumstances, cracking jokes and making funny faces, constantly making me and my Mum break into laughter.

Although if you look closely, the tinge of sadness, regret and resignation are all there in in his eyes. Along with a wisdom that comes with understanding the inevitability of life and the things that are really important.

I remember him as a filial son, a caring brother and a doting uncle, whose only weakness ought to be a love for the easy life and his misguided sense of loyalty, that led him into trouble more often than not.

He is a good man who was simply dealt an unlucky lot in life.

Several times during the meeting, I felt tears threatening to sprung to my eyes. Especially when he kept turning to smile kindly at me, while listening to my Mum and giving her advice. He also kept pointing to me and gesturing how tall I have grown and giving me thumbs up. He also told me to cherish my Mum because she is an amazing woman.

Carrying me on his shoulders, buying me ice-cream and candy, and teasing me for being a fat kid in a funny way that always makes me laugh.

Big Uncle.

Whatever path you are on, you are not alone. We are here.

男兒當自強

I spent the entire day yesterday watching old Wong Fei Hung movies and started to really like this song.

讓海天為我聚能量
去開天闢地 為我理想去闖
看碧波高壯 又看碧空廣闊浩氣楊
我是男兒當自強

昂步挺胸大家作棟樑　做好漢
用我百點熱 耀出千分光

Don't laugh at me okay? This is actually a very meaningful song. James Bond has his deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng and Ethan Hunt has his deng deng deng deng deng deng deng, our Wong Fei Hung also has his own deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng hor!

Moments like this, I am proud to be Chinese.

How I Am Connected To Donnie Yen

Remember my post about the degree of separation between people? I bet you don't, but it's okay.

In short, every person is separated, or rather connected, to the next person by six people. And hence I am connected to Donnie Yen by way of:

He was in 14 Blades with Qi Yuwu.

I met Qi Yuwu at Moscow Circus a few years ago.

Voila!

It's an even shorter connection than the one I have with Christian Bale!

Nice to know that I am still as silly as I was in 2005.

锦衣卫

Watched 14 Blades yesterday night! Usually I don't like to do extended movie reviews beyond the it's good, he's cute, the movie's so meaningful and stuffs like that, because I don't really like to use my brain to dissect and analyse a movie.

But 14 Blades is so good that I just feel like doing it.

And 14 Blades is good. It's not great because it really isn't, but it's one of those movies you should not have any expectations and just enjoy the ride. A simple formula of a reluctant hero thrust into a dangerous situation and having to go on a journey to find something, whether tangible or symbolic, and along the way find a romantic interest and make some new friends.

It reminds me of those 江湖 movies I loved watching as a kid, centering itself on pure action and human emotions that you won't think to look too closely at the plot which is simply a mechanism running in the background to get the whole show on the road. And the soundtrack is so hauntingly beautiful, contributing to a great atmosphere in the movie.

Now for the character reviews, totally in order of preference.


As usual Donnie Yen brought it, action wise, acting wise. There is something about these old school Hong Kong movie actors. They are extremely believable as the character they portray. Not for a moment did I feel like he is anything but a tortured renegade warrior from the Ming Dynasty. I am also glad that he stop doing that I-am-fierce(!!!) expression with clenched teeth and bulging eyes. It is a really weird expression; cool guy like him should not have strange idiosyncrasies like that. And personally I feel that he really lucked out getting the best costume among the men in the movie. Sort of like a cross between Van Helsing and Scorpion King.


It takes a real man to pull off long, curly hair and a coat dress. *manly grunt*


I have to admit. I am disappointed with Qi Yuwu's character. I like him. I even have a MMORPG game char named after him. And despite being really impressed by his acting in the past, he just did not do much for me in this movie. Of his limited screen time in the movie, half of it was spent alternating between intense angry stare and psychotic crazy stare, like he could not decide if he wanted the character to be a bad-ass or a maniac, and the other half was spend looking bug-eyed as if he was extremely overwhelmed and I-don't-know-what-the-fark-I'm-doing-here. I guess acting in local dramas with 70% rubbish actors and in a movie with a considerably more renowned cast does make a difference.


Ahhh, Jack Sparrow. Yes, it's what everyone is thinking. It was even in the papers. But why? Why??!!?? I don't get it! Why Jack Sparrow? And if you are gonna do it, THEN DO IT PROPERLY! Where is the eyeliner man? Honestly, I don't know what to make of Wu Zun's character. It's so damn comic. Every time he leaps out of no where and shouts "天鹰班杀到!!!" I want to chio my arse off. But that's good, no? Laughing is being entertained and I am totally entertained by him when I watch the movie. Right? I don't know. I am undecided. But he does look good though. Nice touch on saving 20 cents off his costume by cutting off the cloth to show off his abs there, Costume Department. But you are forgetting one thing. Beside Donnie Yen, Wu Zun looks like a scrawny chicken, no? This is something no amount of suave dubloon tossing will make up for, you know. Sigh, poor Wu Zun, I really think he got shortchanged here; even Sammo Hung's few minutes on screen conveys so much more emotion and depth. Wu Zun is really not too bad in the movie, but somehow, he just came off looking funny.


Tuo Tuo~~~ Pretty girl, pretty costume. Not so convincing as a scary killing machine but her facial expressions as an evil bitch villian is pretty ok... Urm... FINE! I ADMIT! I did not pay much attention to her because I was busy ogling at the men! -_- But I do mean what I said. I like her, and if she had more scenes doing more meaningful stuffs like maybe falling in love with Qinglong or even Asian Jack Sparrow, I will like her even more.

That Woman
Fine! I will admit! I don't hate her in the movie. Apart from cringing at the scenes where she gets too close to Donnie Yen, she is rather tolerable and not irritating. And I very much enjoy the fact that there doesn't seem to be much romantic chemistry between them. *pumps fist yeah!* Which is actually apt for the movie, because he is supposed to be this cold-blooded killer of sorts, who finds himself developing a mild *MILD* interest in this girl who seems to believe in things that he has stopped believing in.

OMFG! I am actually done! Had no idea that this post will get this long. My bad. But before I end off, here's another look at the wonder that is 甄子丹.


SAY HE IS GOD AGAIN! *whiplash*

And here's Wu Zun, because the movie did not do him due justice:


"I am NOT scrawny chicken, you ugly bitch! I just have smaller pecs and a tinier waist! I am still sexiness infinity!"

PS: Yeah! Totally managing to reuse all the images from the earlier post about the movie. Recycling is awesome!

Day Uno Of February

Wahaahaha! Looks like my ploy works! Got people tag!

Dear friends, is it BIG enough now?

Welcome to February! The month of Moreen! Woohoo!

Doesn't this resemble the nonsensical ramblings of some drunken woman? Woohoohoo.

!

It's Monday again!

And...

I totally had something to blog about in mind when I started this post. Damn, I am definitely getting closer and closer to old. Hello Alzheimer's!

Sometimes I really wonder if anyone reads my blog. How come when I look at other people's blogs, they always have so many tags and so many comments? While I will be lucky to get a super rare handout tag from my Pinkies, whose comments does not really value-add much to my ego because I talk to them everyday on email and MSN.

Is it because my background is too dark and depressing? Is it because my tag box is too tiny? Is it because my posts are *horror* boring? I refuse to believe that!!! It must be the tiny tag box because my background too is *Barney high pitch voice* awwwwwwesommmmmme!

On the other hand, it may be a good thing that few people read my blog because I do feel embarrassed about some of the things that I blogged about. Because they are really stupid because I tend to do so many stupid things and have so many stupid thoughts.

Yesh, me thinks meself ish sometimes (sometimes only!!!) stupid and ish embarrassment!

And the reason why I don't take down the embarrassing, i.e. stupid, posts is because I want to find them funny and laugh about them in time to come and possibly learn a thing or two about myself.

Besides, when stuffs happen to you in real life, you can't just click delete and have it disappear forever. It's imprinted in your memory permanently. Blogging is about the most therapeutic way I can find to help with the bad imprints, and I intend to keep it as true and honest as possible.

I feel so mature and wise when I typed the paragraph before this sentence.

But it's probably going to be something that I find childish and silly when I eventually turn into a senior citizen and becomes really cranky due to the lack of regular sex because no one wants to sleep with an old, wrinkly hag.

Heeheehee, me thinks meself ish sho funny!

PS: The words "blog" and "blogged" are recognised words in Blogger. Hehheh, good job on twigging the ABCcheck there, Blogger people!

PPS: Title of post is an exclaimation mark because I accidentally typed it there and thought it looks cool.

PPPS: Who else spells "exclamation" with an extra "i" like I do? =P