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.