czech (chick) flick!

There are a few ingredients that will make a successful feel-good chick flick worth raving about.

First a gorgeous lead actress a la the likes of sandrabullock, who has nice (big, round) boobs - yeah I am intrigued! Although I shall not venture to explain why.. and nice jet black curls. She has to hold a girly job: writer for a woman's magazine and she has to have an airhead best friend who is not so pretty. (to gush about love interest, get drunk with, cry to and drag along to events that need the presence of a third party)

Then a gorgeous lead actor who is sexy, witty yet SNAGy in the "I can't live without our pancakes" kinda way. He has to be considerably (and charmingly) old. But not old enough to be sleeping in a coffin rather than a bed. He can't be tied down, which explains your joy when you ask him to marry you and he actually agrees. He spoils you enough to tolerate your 9038357 bottles of hair conditioners that take up the ledge of his bath tub and he has to beg you for four inches to place a glass of wine and olives soaked in soap. Ultimately he has to love you enough to write you love letter and be loaded enough to buy ad spaces on subway to post copies of them.

You need a cosy apartment with a balcony for your mother to get to know her (would-be) lover next door. You need the same balcony to hang pretty lingerie, take a smoke, wave to visiting loverboy who yaks too much about his phone obssession and ultimately, for the movie to wrap up poignantly at, with snow flakes falling and family (and lovers) gathering for christmas dinner, all through the window by the balcony. Which reminds me, you need CHRISTMAS! carols.. and you need snow. You need them all in Prague, where all the castles show. (oh! I rhyme!)

The film is complete bc the audience left the cinema pondering if the ideal man is a virus that invades a woman's rationalty. And given how december is nearing, the same audience wondered if the right people will be together on christmas eve, as suggested by the film. But I think most importantly the audience, or some of them, felt hopeful at the idea of the feasibility of finding love in an OLD man, which is essential given how some of them might never marry, and even if they do, might be as old as the old man they marry. At least the lack of spikey hair is traded off for wealth and a passionate and touching love letter on the subway.

HAHA!

EUFF 2006

Hey guys! I thought the EUFF "catch-together" is a gang thing and is supposed to continue as a gang tradition, but no one entered their thoughts on the film that we have watched in our gang blog for documentation purposes leh.

BBBBBUUUUUTTTTT! Have no fear... For Felicia is here... haha.. I have a film review with our collated sentiments. :p I had initially planned for it to be less serious and playful, but I don't know why it turned out semi-serious leh.. Paiseh.. Maybe because I am still under the influence of essay-writing which I had undertaken for almost the entire day. Yucks!

Anyway, do add brief gan xiang-s after the film tmr k! I'm sure we are gonna love it. :D


European Union Film Festival 2006
Brothers (Brødre) from Denmark

A seemingly simple storyline which parallels Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbour, but in actuality exposes the very gruesome truth of the psychological effects of war – very crippling and haunting indeed. It definitely left us 3 MovieBabes agreeing to Serene’s improvised version of ‘The far reaching effect of the bloody Afghan war – The terrorist act of OXXXX and the many lives it had affected’ as a better choice for the film’s title. (kinda long though, something like 'Damn the Bloody Afghan War' would be more poignant. heh)

The only resemblance of a boy eye-candy was Jannik (the Josh Harnett), to whom Serene described as “cute in the sexy, playful I-jam-in-a-band-as-the-lead-singer kinda way.” And YES! We definitely know where that was coming from. I wouldn’t say Michael (the Ben Affleck) is bad-looking, but he certainly lacked the charm which ladies like us would find attractive and sexy in an on-screen character, which leads me to wonder why the “bad guys” always end up as the better looking ones. Perhaps it is the filmmaker’s ploy to evoke some "sympathy" from the viewers towards the “baddies” by appealing to their visual senses. Other eye-candies I thought were Sarah (the Kate Beckinsale) and the daughter Natalia (so young so pretty liao.. model potential!).

Also, we were opened to a perspective of Denmark, albeit a limited one, Danish rolls - yum! Danish fashion sense and Danish cinematography. Serene being the fashionista and soon-to-be-exchange-student-to-Spain, took time to examine “what the female lead wears and how to match coats with scarves and sweaters in order to still look chic”, while Huimin was captivated by the direction of the camera as it incorporated many close-up shots like “the lips when the couple kissed, the hands of the dad at his son's 'funeral', the eyes lit up by the bit of sun coming in when the soldier was held in captive”. I am still baffled by the significance of the repeated snapshots of the cat-tail like plant and blue pupil (the part of the eye lar) and my feelings were particularly stirred up when the kids were so traumatized by their father's estranged behaviour.

A thought-provoking question which impressed upon me, as well as Huimin, was whether I would club a fellow comrade to death in order to save my own life. Whichever, the outcome is so inconceivable that no one should have to make such a decision.

Despite what I would call a “limp” plot, watching foreign films for a change is definitely eye-opening and very insightful in many ways. That explains my eagerness to watch our next EUFF2006 film later. Can’t wait!

Hellowello

Hallo everyone, I know I haven't been updating much but bear with me! Photos soon ok...

And to Serene:

1: Qantas and BA operate a lot of their flights together. So if you're booking either of them, you just might book a Qantas ticket but take a BA flight and vice versa. Are you flying to Barcelona straight? I don't think it makes much of a difference. For comfort, maybe BA is better, if you could choose. But in the whole terrorism thing, maybe Qantas is better. Check out their websites before booking with STA if you want to make sure that STA is not overcharging. But if you're booking straight from airline website in any case, tell them you're student and you should get luggage allowance of 30kg at least. But of course STA will garner the 40kg allowance.

2. Shoesshoesshoes! Haha..so cute la, such a girly question to ask. Boots are fun to wear, although I don't have a pair yet. I don't suppose you want wellies even though I don't mind having a pair because it rains a lot here and then I can also wade about in wet long grassy areas without soaking in (and I don't mind looking kiddy from time to time la huh). My feet don't get very cold or maybe I acclimatise quickly. I wear alot of the shoes I wear in Singapore over here in Notts. For a start of course, don't wear open-toed shoes in the winter I guess. Basically just try to have less skin exposed between the shoes and trousers and you'll be less cold la. Wear socks, and this brings me to:

3. There're loads of stockings and stocking-type wear here in Europe! There're the long-knee socks if you don't like those that go right up to your waist. Look for denier in the leggings, especially if you want black (and opaque) ones. The number will indicate the warmth. Denier is not scratchy. I have a pair of woollen tights. some people find wool scratchy but I don't really mind so I use them when I wear skirts and dresses.

Hope this helps ok! You'll have lots of fun I promise! :D

for huay

hello HUAY! hows it going?

anyway i have a few questions:

1. british airways vs quantas. in your opinion which is better? (im booking thru STA)

2. what kinda shoes do pple wear in cold weather? (other than boots which i am not thinking of getting)

3. you wear stockings right? like in the cold. or is it called something else?

for flea (and of course the rest)

FELICIA!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9SE_qJ_hkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUkujLCCKs8
you wun believe i found it! - both: at the back!!

ps: im fine with any films i suppose.. sunday? ok too. ;) i love eurofilmfest!

http://www.sfs.org.sg/event.php?id=41
hey folks.. are we trying to catch the EU film fest this sunday?

this are a couple of films tt i might wanna watch
1) brothers - sun (15/10) 930pm
2) offside -- thurs (19/10) 930pm
3) the fever -- sun (22/10) 130pm
4) from subway w love -- sun (22/10) 930pm

5) 4 weeks in june -- sat (14/10) 7pm - i cant make it cause it's my ah ma's bdae
6) my summer of love -- sat (14/10) 930pm - i cant make it cause it's my ah ma's bdae

these are just a couple of suggestions..
let me know if u guys wan2 watch other stuff.. i dont mind actually..
cya guys soon!

lighten up

told u about the hilariously twisted dark comedy arrested development which i am obssessed with. this is the episode i encountered when i first chanced upon the series. episode 109. in 3 parts. enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TQpCSGwsXM

Haha go memorize the lyrics people!!



For serene

for felicia!!

look what i found haa :)

full moon!

view from my bed room window... :)

zhong qiu jie kuai le!

a present from a patient :)

top view of a triangular lantern!

a lit lantern!

remember this corridor?
the corridor to my house..
my neightbour has kindly put up lit lanterns to decorate her corridor and these lanterns greeted me when i came home :)

花好月圓人團圓

Dear gang..

Happy MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL!!
how is everybody? although we cant really celebrate the festival together.. but now that i'm looking out of my window at the full moon with a weird orangy hue (due to the haze).. i'm thinking of you guys la..

hope everyone is getting on fine with everything..
eating mooncakes and enjoying time with frens/family/urself.. :D
dint play w lanterns tonight.. mayb i'll try lighting a few candles later la.. haaa

btw have u guys heard of 花好月圓人團圓?
i was asking peiyun wat's the last 3 words after 花好月圓 and she told mi she has never heard of it.. then alot of other pple didnt whole it also.. so got myself doubting myself.. wondering if i came up w it spontaneously from no where.. but a google search proved that countless of web pages have it so haaa i probably heard it from elsewhere..
EVIDENCE:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%E8%8A%B1%E5%A5%BD%E6%9C%88%E5%9C%93%E4%BA%BA%E5%9C%98%E5%9C%93

hee ya la.. food for thought..
today i'm in an exceptionally good mood. never felt so good in a while, surprisingly
yest laughed alot but still inherently down.. but today i feel good.
maybe cause a patient gave me and py a handmade purple handphone pouch tt's really nice.. ll post the foto soon if i can.. and many little things la..

so hope everyone keeps the good spirits up.
wish me n py n fel luck for tests coming up..
may all of us feel some joy amongst this festivity.. :D

-laoda
over n out.

i dreamt of u

allo! haha again! hey guys. i dreamt of u 2 nights ago. i walked into an auditorium and saw it bustling with lotsa pple. BUT i saw our venerable laoda sitting on stage, at a table with a panel of other pple. (in my mind, in the dream, i immediately attribute that to a medical conference or some sort.. hehehe)
then i saw empty seats faraway and crossed the stage to go sit. when i was there, the seat was taken. but i looked around (bc someone said a bright and cheery hello - and the person is sasha!) i saw the entire row of 209ers waving at me saying hi! there was michellelim, amelia, dhanya, even liling waved!!! (haha yes suhui was beside her.)
and i was so happy. i turned to my right and flea was standing (towering) behind. huay was busy orchestrating some massive activity somewhere (bc she is the chairman watttt) and py was with yy on the top row! wat a familiar feeling! haha. and i woke up smiling can??
i miss u guys. heh.

ps: oh flea! today during my interculturalcommunications class, the prof showed (guess what?!) GOODNESSGRACIOUSME!!!! hahahaha. eh one of the segment was damn funny! i was tell u when we meet okk. hahaha. u will die laughing. (do u rem the mouse trap and the tingling of the indianpundit sketch that i was telling u about one day in sec4 after watching it the night before? omg and do u rem we used to act out those scenes? with alloallo and whoselines as well? AHHAHA!)

ok as u can see im self entertaining. trying not to laugh out loud in class. ok la. see u guys soon. blogblogblog more! i dun wanna monopolize this place. ;)

CRAVINGS

allo gang! i miss toapayoh days leh. this is bad. lets go there soon to makan! like sakae.. or swensons or crystaljade. hawker centre also can. bacohmee cravings nowadays still not sudsided. haha.
that place brings back much nostalgia.. remember bread talk.. going to the ntuc, bodyshop, gio and even popular (and cd rama to buy certain cds!) haha. kinda like see-gin-giahs yeah?
hazey days call for reminiscence.
im surprisingly slack nowadays. maybe cos my workload not very heavy and ahem.. more importantly i have been doing consistent work. ;) heh! so im bored and itching to engage in (mass) activities like meeting up.
ok nuff of my nonsense.