伤城 - Confession of Pain

Quite a nice show. Though there's no twist in e story ( u aredi know whose the bad guy from the start). But still quite engagin i think.

Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson

Excellent political/legal thriller.

X'mas family dinner '06

Conviction by Patterson

15 years after being sentenced to death, Rennell Price met the new lawyer who took over his case, Terri.. whatever..
Through her team's investigation, Terri discovered that the incompetence of previous counsels, selfishness of witnesses and the inabibility to defend for himself had led to Rennell Price being wrongly convicted, for a horrendous crime that he claimed he was never a part of. It is now up to Terri to prove the innocence of Rennell, or at least save him from being executed through lethal injection. She has 52 days to do so.

A thrilling experience brought by Richard North Patterson. The courtroom exchanges were fast and furious, and as the story went on, the dark secrets of the different characters slowly unravel. At times, one can feel the frustration of the lead characters, at the rigidity of the legal system. Set one's mind thinking, but don't think too much, it's just a book.

A Battle of Wits - 墨攻

Watch this show last night. Quite cool. Never heard of Mozi before, so did a search for him at google.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozi

http://www.chinakongzi.com/2550/eng/mozi.htm

Taipei

Having only 2 x half day in Taipei, have to make full use of it.

Once we checked in into the vienna hotel, we got separated into groups. Me, BF and H went off to Shuang Cheng Street for lunch. I ordered yang chun noodle and some braised meat stuff, BF ordered the oyster mee sua, H, i think ordered roasted meat rice. The mee sua was good, very smooth exture and flavourful. The noodle and the roasted meat was ok only. The braised meat was quite good, similar to what we had in spore but I seems to be the only one enjoying. BF went to buy smelly beancurd, damn, was it smelly! The taste was kinda like sour and salty.. .. In the end I suspect I ate most of them too. BF den bought hot grass jelly and ice mu-er. The grass jelly was special, cos it's melted one, not like the solid strips that I'm so used to.

Next we met up with the rest in Ximen Ding. It's just like Bugis St, only a few times larger. Went into a Tattoo shop and a girl started to bombard me with questions on what I like to have. Den she passed me album after album to look through. In the end I gave a lame excuse and made my way out. XD commented that they looked kinda "underground". Haha.. one of the lady was pretty hot though. Things at Ximen Ding were not cheap, so spent much of the time "people-seeing" instead of really buying things. Went inside a Prankster shop, the auntie showed us several tricks. Den while doing the demonstrations, she suddenly sprayed some foam on me. I thought there's some trick in the foam or something, so I asked, "Ran hou leh?" Guess what she said? "Mei you ran hou. " Shit. Anyway I removed the foam and "shared" them with Gf and XD. hahaha...

Re-org with the guys after about 2 hours, some went back hotel, the rest of us decided to stay backed and hang around some more. So its Ximen Ding Round 2. Bought some gifts for the folks back in spore, and also a ring for myself. As the night falls, we had dinner eating fried oyster and head to Shilin Night Market.

Being a friday night, Shilin Market was incredibly packed. Imagine it as a gigantic pasar malam. It's so packed that I can only take half a step at a time. Din eat really much here, only tried roasted chicken heart, roasted chicken intestine, roasted squid, smelly beancurd (again, with chilli this time), mee sua (it's too good to be missed), papaya milk, and the very spore-like lime juice. Also went to the temple to pay my respect to the several deities inside. Shopped around for more gifts and it's back to hotel.

Bathed and refreshed, we headed to the supposedly most happening disco in Taipei - Luxy. The cover charge was NT800 (gasp), but we still went in. Yeah. We had 2 tables, 3 bottle of drinks (Jack Daniel and Chivas), and they only gave as 6 can of coke for mixer?! In the end some of us decided to might as well drink "need". The place was not bad, quite happening, comparable to MOS some said. The ladies are quite nicely dolled up, but the music left much to be desired. Anyway I drank a bit, danced for a while, and drank some more. WR taught the guys some stupid games to play, oo7, "Beep Beep Beep" etc, so drink again. Left the place around 4am, while waiting for cab, saw a guy slipping over someone's vomit. Eww..

Backed in hotel, bathed in the bathtub, almost fall asleep inside. Went to KM's room for a while to watch TV, den sleep for about 2 hours before the daybreak. First oversea bday, utterly enjoyed myself. The second day event, will post on another day.

I'm Back

Back from Taiwan. The 3 weeks seems like 3 months, mentally demanding, tough, and at times annoying. Came back with many bruises on my body. But I'm not allow to say anything more as the trip is a top secret. Maybe I can comment on ...

The Air, though it smells just like singapore air, it's much drier. My lips cracked, so did the skin on my fingers.

The Sand. Tasted a fair bit of sand in this trip. Think it taste the same as singapore sand, but I have the opinion that they are of finer grain. I could be wrong. They do have a lot of rocks lying around though, round and smooth, they look like dinosaur's egg.

The Sun rises very early, normally by 6am it's up in the sky, night falls early too, 5pm and its almost total darkness.

The weather is rather extreme, at times it's as hot as Singapore. Other times the wind can blow you off, well, it nearly make THE FAT PIG lose his balance.

I would love to post some pics, but like I'd said, it is top secret. So no cameras allowed.

Death on the Nile

Not very nice.

Crap VI

"So what? " says the young man, "I don't really care. I'm

many times richer than you." "But are you really glad?

Fools will never see the Way," the old man remarked, "I,

around for so long, and have seen many like you. Have

me as your master, follow me. The Way, I'll show you."

Uncode it if you can

The nation has once again cried out for my service. Will be away till 19 Nov.

1 unfinished Movie, 3 unfinished Books

Death Note

An adaptation from a popular japanese manga of the same name. I have never read the manga, though I heard it was pretty good. The movie itself was not bad at all, the characters are nice to look at, the plot is engaging enough, in fact the whole show is just like a japanese anime. But there is no conclusion when the movie ended, there will be a sequel, and hopefully it will be released soon.

I knew I will not be able to finish reading the 3 books, especially when I have a new toy at home. Nonetheless I cannot help but borrowed them from the library.

How to be a Billionaire

This is a book that tells you what makes the billionaires, well, billionaires. There are a lot of anecdotes from the famous people that we know of such as Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Warren Buffett etc. After reading about them, I confirmed that I am not going to be a Billionaire. I am not prepared to give what they had given to make it to the Forbes list. In fact what I hope to achieve when I borrow the book, is not really just on tips to be rich, but also lessons that I can learn from them to be successful in life. A very good book, will borrow it again when I have the chance.

Malay for Everyone - Mastering Malay through English

I always wanted to learn the Malay language, but have not been able to find a good book on it. This book was actually quite useful, a lot of exercises at the end of each chapter. But as I never get to finish it, I din get to master the language as well. Lol

Good Debt Bad Debt

If you want to know more about managing your own finances, this book is what you should spend some time reading. Some ideas came across as common senses, which is why we often take it for granted. This book will make u sit up and pay more attention to your own money. You never know, but you might just be a future millionaire if you really manage your money well.

CRAP V

Didn't know the craps that I wrote was known as acrostic poems... ha what the.... anyway, here's Part 5 of the G-styled Crap.. I mean ahem.. poem... Wat a nerd..

CRAP IV

FEEL THE WRATH OF CAPTAIN G!!

Last night Captain G Senior brought his friend to stay over. This morning when Capt'n G woke up, he found out his precious mug was being used to keep that man's disgusting DENTURES! What audacity! He almost want to wring off the man's head with his bare hands!

The mug was Capt'n G's most treasured item. He had been drinking from that mug for almost 20 years. As an unspoken rule, nobody, absolutely nobody can touch the mug without the Captain's permission. It is almost like THE Holy Grail to him. Imagine his rage when he saw this sight this morning!

It's been a long time since Captain G felt so riled. Now Captain G will no longer be able to drink from the mug again. The loyal servant had met such a sad end. If that man isn't Sr's friend, he would be tied up and flogged for 3 days 3 nights! Even that wouldn't appease the Captain. Arrgghhh.. No words can describe his infuriation now.

Weird ppl

Some ppl are weird. They can be mean, rude and insensitive all day long, den at the end of the day when going on separate ways, suddenly will act all friendly and shake ur hand, give a hug. say thank you, pretend to be sad or whatever.

Wtf? Damn Lame. If you wan to leave a nice impression, be good to others throughout, not just at the end. Real lame... *Shake head*

Oktoberfest 2006 in Munich!!!

Aaaah.. the Oktoberfest 2006 just ended.. I must go there one of these days!

Haze a Nut

For the past few days, the island has been coated with a creamy layer of haze. The cause is supposedly some forest fire in the neighbouring country, but I suspect the buzzing activities in the city has something to do with it too. There has been reports of people having breathing difficulties, but I have not feel any of the effects so far. In fact I thought the haze is pretty neat, makes me feel like being in a dream, or perhaps that's how the Heaven is like. Cty-dwellers are so pre-occupied with their work that they have forgotten how to be romantic and imaginative. Though I agree the temperature can be cooler. It's way too hot in this part of the world.

"if you bring this note to the police and get them involved, i'll kill an old woman. If you don't go to the police, i'll kill a young blond teacher. You have six hour to decide."
Billy found this note on his SUV after work. He dismssed it as a prank, and a teacher was killed. The second note was similar, whether he goes to the police anot, someone will die. But te deadline is shorter.

Another excellent work from Dean Koontz, the villain this time probably stood out from all his books. Psychotic, dangerous yet impeccably brilliant. Sends a shiver down my spine as I tried to picture that he did.

Miami Vice

Not very nice.. The story ok only.. And some steamy, erm, I mean intimate scenes between the Colin Farrell and Gong Li were being cut off! Not that I really want to watch, but want to cut also cut properly la, the scenes just ended so abruptly.. might as well dun show at all. Make me lose my mood..

Damn Damn Damn

To get injured while squatting down to wipe your dog's pee is the most idiotic thing that you can do to yourself.

The Ultimate Gamer Test

Think you are a gamer? Or are u just a
wannabe? Take this test now!!

Good lobang for you girls

Http://donnacouture.blogspot.com. My sis's online store. Lots of good stuff. Those who knows me personally can get further discount by mentioning my name.

ANGELS and DEMONS by Dan Brown

When a scientist was cruelly murdered and branded with a symbol of an ancient secret society, Harvard Professor of Art History, Robert Langdon was called upon for his expertise in cult symbology. As he decipher the ancient clues and secrets, he find himself embroiled in probably the longest lasting war of all time, one between Science and Religion.

A prequel to The Da Vinci code, the premise is almost identical. Langdon met up with an attractive woman, whose loved one had been brutally killed. Together they must seek out the murderer and sort of "save the world". Some say Angels and demons is better than Da Vinci Code, but I though otherwise. I wasn't as engaged this time round. But after reading Angels and demons, it does reminds me of a Michael Crichton's science thriller, State of Fear. All in all a nice book to read.

The body works in a strange way

Scenario: I had an appointment at 1.30pm, so I took a nap, setting my phone to ring at 12.45, so I have enough time to prepare. I was really tired, as a matter of fact, I was awake at 12.00, but just too tired to get up.

At 12.15pm, I got a call from the person I'm supposed to meet, asking to cancel the appointment due to some reason. Immediately I got out of bed, feeling refreshed, and can't wait to start playing my PS2. The enormous fatigue that I experienced only moments ago was gone miraculously. Incredible.

The Banquet

starring Zhang Ziyi, oops, I mean Ziyi Zhang is a horrible show. The movie is moving at such a slow pace, that I dozed off so many times during the movie. And why is all the fighting sequence in slow-mo? Utter waste of time and money. This is the second Ziyi Zhang's show that I paid to watch, the other one being the House of Daggers, and I'm let down for a second time. I have enough of Zhang Ziyi or Ziyi Zhang of whatever she wants to call herself, and I doubt I'll be watching another China movie for a long while. Qi si wo le!

Forever Odd by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas can see dead people. One morning he woke up to see the ghost of his neighbour, step-father of his childhood friend. He went to the dead man's house, only to find the corpse of the old man, but his friend is missing. He saw a stranger, and was shot with a Taser, leaving him paralysed while the stranger fleed.
By kidnapping his best friend and not killing him when given the perfect chance, the intent of the agressor is obvious. He wants Odd to go to him, with reasons unknown. Using a weird sensing power, what he called psychic magnetism, Odd Thomas needs to find his friend fast.

This is a sequel to the book "Odd Thomas", which I rather enjoyed. "Forever Odd" sprang no surprises, as Koontz stuck to his winning combi of supernatural phenomenons, love and friendship and some philosophies on life. Throw in a couple of psychotic bad guys and the set was complete. I find the middle part quite boring though, since Odd is mostly alone, a large part of the book is just pure narrative. The last 1/3 of the book, when Odd meets his enemies, the confrontation and dialogues were more interesting and was where I enjoyed more. Overall, its not the best book that I'd read from Dean Koontz, but still a fairly entertaining read.

A tribute to Steve Irwin

By the time I posted the blog, the world would have known the the famous "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin had passed away due to an accident out in the ocean. I'm not a fan of Irwin, only watching his shows occasionally. But I always admire his passion and his boundless energy towards animal conservations. His love for animals is evidently seen through his antics in the shows. It may seems exaggerated at first, but after some time, one will realise it came from deep inside his heart, and the emotions were real.

To lost such an iconic figure and representative of the animal conservation is truely a loss for the animal kingdom. Hopefully his work will be continued. And all the best to his family, hope they remain strong. CROCS RULES!

Agassi retires

Tennis great Andre Agassi Finally retires. Still remember when I was a "mini tennis" player in primary school, he's one of the players I watch, the other two being Pete Samprass and Michael Chang. From his flowing golden locks to the current botak hairstyle, Agassi is always the coolest among the three, since Chang never lives up to his promises, and Samprass is rather boring.

The matches between Agassi and Samprass is always exciting to watch, two very different players, rivals and compatriots at the same time. Chang and Samprass had retired for some time. With the retirement of Agassi, probably the last of that generation, tennis will never be the same again.

Sad

PS2 lives, but PC died... so depressing..

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by AGATHA CHRISTIE

Detective Hercule Poirot was on a train to Paris when a murder had occurred during the night. The victim is a rich american, who had approached Poirot for help the day before. He was found with multiple stabs to his body, with several innocuous clues left at the scene of crime. As always, the murderer has not left, everyone is a suspect.

A very nice book. I purposely chose it because it was thin and light enough to be carried around. I tried to guess who the murderer was as I read the book, but it turns out to be more clever than that.

The Taking by Dean Koontz

When Molly and Neil woke up one morning, the town was engulfed in a strange rain.
The rain was strangely luminous and scented. And there is something eerily evil about this rain. Gradually the communication with the rest of the world starts to breakdown. Telephone lines, televisions, even the internet. Leaving their house, Molly and Neil gathered with neighbours and residents from the same town, trying to seek support from numbers. Being as clueless about the situation as everyone else, they know what they need to do - to rescue any children stranded in this horrendous rain.

The build up of the story was good. I was waiting to see what Koontz can pull out from his magical hat this time, but the ending was more philosophical than a final showdown between Humans and the evil beings. Though I thought the ending seems a bit idealistic, it was indeed a refeshing change. Once again Konntz prove that you can never guess his ending till you read the end of the book.

Pickup lines doomed to failed

Haha, this is cute. Naruto pickup lines..

my personal favourite..

For more click here

Courtesy from deviantart.com

The Broker by John Grisham

Joel Backman was sentenced to 20 years of jail for the breaching of national security. Only 4 years later, he was pardoned by the outgoing President of America, and send to a new country with a new name and identity. The reason of his pardon was unknown to him, but it is clear that there are people out there who wants to kill him. To survive, he needs to learn the new language and culture, and hide under the radar as far as possible. The identity of his killer is not only of interest to him, but also the CIA, who had been watching him since he left the prison.

A very exciting book. Quite different from his other books as the story has less courtroom drama, but more on spies and espionage. The dialogues are interesting and engaging, and Grisham gave a lively description to the various cities. Very good.

Gifted Scholar

I think I am a Gifted Scholar, aka, Cai2 Zi3

CRAP ＩＩＩ

CRAP II

CRAP

Seated at my humble desk,
Observing the thin cold air.

Beginning to feel fatigue,
Oh my god, it's so early.
Reaching out for my note pad,
English poem for all to share.
Dictionary I really need.

I love my Home

How to develop great patience

If the first thing you do every morning at 6am is to wipe your dog's pee all over your living room, you will have got the best training in the world for patience. Trust me on that.

The Runaway Jury

A cigaratte company is facing yet another lawsuit against them, with the lawyers from the plaintiff side determined to make them pay this time. The stakes were high, a defeat would see the company losing hundreds of millions in compensation, not to mention the disastrous effect it would have on the tobacco industry. To secure a favourable verdict, the defence were willing to do whatever it takes, or whatever it costs for that matter. What is unknown to both side, is that someone had already plotted to make use of the trial for a personal revenge, and to make a huge fortune out of it.

The story is good, too bad I need to rush through it so that I can return the book to the library in time. Very interesting topic, enjoyed the ending. I remembered listening to a person working for a tobacco company, and he defended his stand, saying they are just offering another choice. If I had read this book earlier, I would have know how to answer him. haha

No Topic

The Five Love Languages

My primary love languages are probably
Physical Touch and Quality Time.

Complete set of results

Physical Touch:		7
Quality Time:		7
Receiving Gifts:		6
Acts of Service:		5
Words of Affirmation:		5

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

The Lake House

The Lake House was a remake of the korean movie "il Mare". The story is about a man, Alex, and a woman, Kate, who had lived in the same lake house, but two years apart. By chance, they realised that using the lake house's mailbox, they can actually communicate with each other through letters. Hence a romantic story about 2 persons who lived at different times begins.

I quite like the show as it is light, simple, funny and has two good-looking leads. I'm glad I did not watched the korean version 'cos I'll probably view The Lake house with a biased mind. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are so natural and eased into their characters effortlessly. Though I predicted the "climax" correctly, the show still managed to excite me a little at that part.

Stories to do with the concept of time and changing of history always raise a lot of questions, but I think it is best to forget about such details and enjoy the great chemistry between the two leads and the oh-so romantic sceneries. Damn the house by the lake is beautiful!

The Last Juror

It was in the early 1970s, a young man named Willie Traynor had just bought over a newspaper company in a small town. The company was on the verge of closing down, but Traynor decide to give it a new life. It was at this time that a gruesome murder had happened in the town. A young widow was raped and killed, and everyone was demanding a death penalty for the murderer. Being the owner of a newspaper, Traynor got heavily involved in the reporting of the trial, making a lot of friends and enemies in the process.

Over the next nine years, the case was slowly forgotten by the public. Traynor’s newspaper got bigger and better; life seems to reach a stand still in the town. And then the jurors for the trial nine years ago were killed one by one…

The back of the book gave a very exciting summary, and I thought the story was about the serial killer. The story began with a bang, then it starts to slow down, and down, and down…. Before I knew it, the story seems to take on another direction. By the time I finished the book, I still do not know what the focus of the story is. Is it about the serial killer, the court drama, the Traynor’s success story, or the friend who Traynor visits every Thursday (reminds me of Tuesday with Morrie)? Was kinda disappointed, especially after the high that I’d got from reading “The King of Torts”.

Sagging face

I think my face is sagging.. oh no.. a sign of aging...

Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

Jimmy Tock was borned just moments after his grandfather died. Before the man died, he made 10 predictions about Jimmy, including 5 terrible dates that Jimmy will face. Shortly after the birth of Jimmy, 5 of the predictions had came true, now the 5 terrible dates awaits...

I read before that the author Dean Koontz is known for his endings, and I couldn't agree more. The action right from the start of the book kept me going till the end. But what I like about Life Expectancy is really about the numerous twists of the story, especially at the later part. Many times I told I had guess it, only to be told otherwise by the author. And after all the ordeal, it has a happy ending. I love it.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Picked up this book for several reasons.

1. I'd read "Crooked House" by Agatha Christie many years before and it was a very enjoyable read.


2. Recently there was a cartoon on tv that shows the work of Agatha Christie and her famous story characters.


3. I read in "Odd Thomas" about this particular book.

Count it lucky that I found this book in the library, and I am not disappointed. Roger Ackroyd is a rich man, the man of a household. When he discovered a secret of his lover, he was murdered. As expected, everyone in the household became immediate suspects. Hercule Poirot the famous detective is subsequently involved in solving the mystery.

As I mentioned above, this book was brought up in Dean Koontz' "Odd Thomas". Hence before even reading the book I knew who is the murderer. I tried to look for clues that give him away, but the story gets more and more complicated that I wondered if Dean Koontz got it wrong. Amazingly, like what people always say, "the jigsaw pieces start to fall into places".

I'm truly shocked by the ending, despite knowing who is the murderer beforehand.

Are You In Love with a Scorpio? (Oct 23 - Nov 21)

Found this article in the Internet. Those who wanna love me better take note.

If you are in love with a Scorpio man or woman, give him or her your full
attention and devotion. Sharp as a tack, this person definitely notices
everything. You will be able to keep no secrets here; this individual is
an expert at ferreting them out. Truthfulness is well appreciated by this
mate. Emotions are extremely important to a Scorpio and you must be
willing to explore the range (the valleys as well as the peaks) in order to
keep this partner happy. Passionate and possessive, he (she) needs a lot of
physical statement. This mate often even defines his (her) relationship to
you by the amount of actual physical connection. If you are not interested
in touchy-feely, you might want to look elsewhere for true happiness.

Loyalty is also very valuable to this individual as he (she) will want to look at you as being his (hers) alone. Should you stumble in this area, you may be forgiven but don't think that your Scorpio lover will forget (with such a sharp mind, little is forgotten). Of course, this works both ways and a more devoted mate would be hard to find. You have in this partner an extremely strong personality. This relationship works best if you! can maintain some of your own strength and keep things equal. Finding other arenas to excel in by yourself can also help here as very few signs can successfully compete with Scorpio. Don't ever try to force something on this mate, either; coaxing works better than brute force here.

Be aware, too, that Scorpio's power is often of the hidden variety. You mustn't take this mate at face value only. If you delight in challenges, enjoy the world of emotions and are also a sturdy and strong personality, you may have
just your cup of tea here. This is one individual who is going places and,
if you can keep up, would be happy to take you along.

The King of Torts

Clay Carter is a struggling lawyer in The Office of the Public Defenders, viewed as a loser by his propective parent-in-laws. A street killing case that was handed to him seems to be just another random murder that occur every so often in the Washington D.C. What is unknown to him, is that the case is linked to a corporate secret that is much more complicated than he thinks, and he finds himself in-charge of settlements that add up to millions of dollars. The subsequent chain of events was beyond his wildest dream, in a few months time, he is to become the newest kid of the block, the latest KING OF TORTS.

My previous book by John Grisham was a disappointment, but with "The king of Torts", I finally understand why some readers worshipped him. The main character was so real that I almost feel that I am him. How he felt when he was put down by his girlfriend and family, how he hope that he could have a career that people can only dream of, and when he is presented by an opportunity that can change his life, how he was overwhelmed.

When he made it, his urge to show off to those who have looked down on him was so understandable. Predictably, his meteoric rise to "stardom" can only lead to one thing, catastrophic downfall. I guess the book has to be morally correct ultimately, though I have often put myself in the character's shoe, and thought I might have did almost the same thing. A wonderful read, I'll be picking up more of John Grisham books for sure.

PS: Singapore is one of the place mentioned in the book too. Guess more and more ppl will get to know the small red dot.