Eye on Everything

The Dream King and His Dresden Doll

2009-11-03T14:23:00.009+08:00

I'm incredibly busy this week, with a whole lot of interviews from the Singapore Writer's Festival to transcribe and write up, so I'll leave you with a picture of the two coolest people I interviewed at the festival last week.

Preenting... The Dream King, Neil Gaiman; and his own personal Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer.

PS. If you REALLY need something to read, go to The Dirty Tortoise and comment on my Nanowrimo story!

Introducing... The Dirty Tortoise!

2009-11-02T16:32:00.006+08:00

Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was spending two days straight listening to Neil Gaiman talk about writing, and interviewing other authors at the Singapore Writer's Fest.

Whatever the reason, it 'inspired' me to give NaNoWriMo another chance. So, at the very last minute, I signed up for the mad 50000 words in 30 day challenge once again.

This time, I might actually have a chance of finishing it. My story this time round is based on something my father made up years ago when I was a child and hankering for bedtime stories. My dad made up stories about a dirty tortoise named, well, Dirty Tortoise, who lived in a drain in the Temerloh wet market. While I don't remember the exact stories he used to tell me, I figured I'll just take the main character, and go from there.

My plan is just to come up with a location, a bunch of characters and then just wing it till the 50000 words or the deadline, whichever comes first. It's probably gonna be like Walter Moer's books where I make up anything and everything, so it's gonan be a little haphazard and crazy. That's gotta make it easier to get out of holes I find myself in later on in the story too, I hope. heh heh.

Anyway, so far, so good, I've got more than 3000 words on the first day, with 2000+ in the proper narrative and the other thousand reserved for later chapters.

If you wanna see how the story is turning out, you can check out this blog I set up: The Dirty Tortoise, to read the chapters I've finished. As of now, there are two chapters of rambling and hardly any dialogue, but hey, it IS a work in progress after all.

I set up the blog for two reasons - I wanted some feedback on the story (feel free to criticize or heckle me), and I also want to FORCE myself to finish NanoWrimo this time. I figure if people start reading it and pestering me to keep writing (or stop, whichever comes first), then I'll be more motivated to finish the damn thing.

Anyway, that's the story of how Dirty Tortoise came about. Now on to Chapter Three! WHEE!

Absolut Fantasy

2009-10-30T00:01:00.011+08:00

Contrary to THIS post, I'm actually not THAT big a fan of Absolut Vodka. I mean, I'm a fan of vodka IN GENERAL, and I don't MIND Absolut; but I certainly don't LOVE it. So sue me, but I've been spoiled silly with awesome vodka in Poland, and Absolut isn't exactly GREAT vodka. It's GOOD, but not GREAT.

But at least it's GOOD. Between Absolut and the shite 'vodka' they serve at bars and pubs in KL (the one in Barsonic is especially foul), I'll take Absolut anytime.

I'll say one thing about them though - they have one hell of a marketing team . They have a freaking good ad campaign, and their bottles are pretty cool too. I have a whole collection of miniature Absolut bottles (I'm still trying to get my hands on a miniature Absolut Peppar bottle.. anyone wanna sell me one?).

Anyway, I've tried quite a few of their flavored vodkas too. Some are decent, some are downright awful. Pear, Citron, Apeach and Vanilla I like. Mango, Peppar... I can handle. Raspberri? Forget it. I made the mistake of buying one bottle once, and couldn't finish that huge bottle of cough mixture flavored vodka for a whole YEAR, until one drunken party where an already drunk friend downed the whole bottle all by himself.

I was in Changi recently and saw the Absolut Rock bottle, with all the leather and studs, and went, "WTF kinda vodka is this?" Stone flavored vodka? So hard it knocks you out? What's all this batu-ba... huh? Oh... ROCK.

Anyway, since they seem to be having fun coming up with their legitimate Absolut vodkas, I figured it might be fun to come up with our OWN localised Absoluts as well... Here we go!

----------------------------------------------------

Absolut BKT
Inspired by claims from femes food blogger KYspeaks that bah kut teh is the best after-party supper ever, this strong vodka combines the awesomeness of vodka and bah kut teh in one custom made, one of a kind Absolut-bottle-shaped thermos bottle. It satiates your alcohol craving AND your stomach at the same time! Available in two versions - one with little pork bits, and a vegetarian one with tau foo pok instead.

Absolut Cilipadi
Forget Absolut Peppar. This is the mother of all spicy vodkas. Guaranteed to give you not just a ring of fire, but also make your throat burn when you throw it all up. Inspired by femes blogger Fireangel, because, well, you know, Cili Padi is hot. Never mind.

Absolut Cincau
Vodka with little black jelly bits. Goes well with ice, soya bean and served in little plastic bags tied with raffia string.

Absolut Death
Strong vodka with a tinge of apple. 89.9% alcohol content. Best taken neat. Approved by evil witches everywhere, for all your alcoholic princess poisoning needs.

Absolut Grog
Tagline: I can't believe it's not rum! Favored by pirates the world over (except in Somalia and Petaling Street), including those of the bargain bin variety. Best consumed after an attack by dangerous rum-burning Kiera Knightleys.

Absolut Finlandia
Two of Scandinavia's biggest vodka manufacturers come together in a bid to out-vodka THE original and still the best vodka makers from Poland and Russia (both countries that produce THE BEST VODKA in the WORLD, BTW. Smirnoff non-withstanding).

Absolut Kopi-O
Coffee-flavoured vodka. Served on the rocks in large quantities, and in plastic cups. Mixture of caffeine, high sugar content (there is a kurang manis version, but it is generally frowned upon by vodka enthusiasts) and alcohol ensures you get drunk but remain alert. Beware of deadly hangovers in the morning.

Absolut Senget
Strong vodka guaranteed to make you senget. Comes in a limited edition senget designer bottle inspired by the senget adventures of the Thirsty Blogger.

Absolut Shite:
Actually gin.

Absolut Single:
The complete opposite of Absolut Love, this is a vodka made especially for The Last Happy Single Girl and all the other single girls out there. Derived from a love potion recipe by the best bomoh in Malaysia (guaranteed to have never been prosecuted for rape or fraud), it is guaranteed to make any guy look handsome and charming after you drink at least five shots. Neat.

Absolut Sweat
Their venture into the isotonic drink market. Now you can workout, and then replenish your body fluids AND get drunk at the same time! Inspired by Suanie's efforts at Bootcamp. Take note, Bootcamp instructors, if you dangle a drink in front of her she might drag that tyre a lot faster...

Absolut Water
Exactly what it says. Alcohol content: 0%. Highly recommended by femes noob drunk blogger Kimberlycun.

Meet the gang

Is That It, This Is It?

2009-10-29T00:11:00.008+08:00

This Is It.
Not a review.
Is That It?
Yes, That's It, folks.
I expected something more.
But this'll do, I guess.

Holy cow that would have been one ballbusting motherfucking awesome concert.
The dancing was fucking brilliant
There's 3D movies, fire, even a fucking BULLDOZER.
His voice was still great too,
Sounds exactly like on the CD.

The best parts wasn't the dancing or the singing.
It was watching him being himself,
Smiling shyly while others praise him,
Standing gingerly on the cherry picker,
Trying to make the music director understand him,
His voice as he gave instructions mid-song,
And all the funny little eccentricities that made him... HIM

Because This Is It ain't about the music.
(It's not like you haven't heard the songs a million times already.)
It ain't about the dancing.
(Though even at 50 that dude could DANCE)
It wasn't about the nostalgia,
(though Man In the Mirror really got to me)
It ain't even about the concert itself.
(Though judging from this footage it would have been AWESOME)

No, This Is It is about the man.
The MJ behind the cameras,
The MJ behind the face masks,
The MJ behind the front he always puts up in public.
This was the REAL Michael Jackson.
You wanted to catch a glimpse of what he was really like?
Well, This Is It.

Rest in Peace, MJ.

Damn Those Little Blue Kinokuniya Stickers

2009-10-28T13:31:00.005+08:00

I was in Kinokuniya just now. Big mistake.

I was there looking for the new Terry Pratchett book, Unseen Academicals. I found it, but they only had the crappy US cover, and the UK one was out of stock. SIIGGHH.

I should have left, just then. But NOOOO, being the glutton for punishment and sucker for books that I am, I HAD to walk around some more, over to the comics section.

And lo and behold, what do I see, but this GORGEOUS sight:

Holy shit, THE ABSOLUTE DEATH? If the title alone doesn't hook you, the damn HUGE, GORGEOUS covers by Dave McKean would. And as if that wasn't enough, Kino was kind enough to slap one of those EVIL blue stickers that say 20% discount with any other purchase!

Damn those little blue stickers.

At first I was content with lugging that HUGE HEAVY HARDCOVER book around to the magazine section and just get a cheapo local magazine to get my discount. But NO, I just HAD to go to the fantasy section AGAIN, to make sure there wasn't a UK version of Unseen Academicals hiding behind the crappy US ones (there wasn't. damn).

And that's how I spied THIS:

ARGH. I'd been longing for another Moers book since I finished City of Dreaming Books two years ago. And it's finally here! WOOT!

And yes, it had one of those dastarly blue stickers as well. EVIIILLLL.

Oh, And Another Thing...

No, I didn't buy this. No money lar.

Will This Really Be It?

2009-10-27T12:05:00.005+08:00

Michael Jackson's final flourish - This Is It - opens in cinema tomorrow, and apparently over 20,000 tickets have been sold in the two weeks since advance booking was opened, 10,000 of which were sold on the very first day itself.

Whether the concert/documentary of MJ's final concert rehersals will live up to all the hype remains to be seen. For most of us (yes, including myself) who have never been to his concerts (no, I missed the 1996 concert in KL. sighhhh), this may be our last chance to see him in action. And I would much rather watch this on the big screen than on the little TV.

Will this be the last we'll hear from MJ? Will this really be it? I doubt it. I'm betting that the record label is already greedily remastering, reissuing, re-whatevering his albums, and plan to come up with compilation after compilation or throw together some old demos to make new 'albums' and what not, just to milk as much money out of his popularity as possible, like what they're doing here, and with the new single, This Is It.

If you ask me, the song itself is nothing much to shout about. It's at best, a decent love song, but surely nothing close to his best work (it's only HALF his best work, actually. The other half belongs to Paul Anka...).

I'll be watching This Is It tomorrow night. Movie not review to follow after that. :-D

More Like The B-Team If You Ask Me...

2009-10-26T12:14:00.022+08:00

This is the A-Team:

THIS, apparently, is the NEW A-Team:

The costumes are right but there's something not right about this picture.... oh yeah. Why in hell is B.A. Baracus wearing a SHIRT?

Even Bloggers have Awards now. Good Grief.

2009-10-23T15:50:00.001+08:00

Am currently in Singapore covering the Nuffnang Blog Awards.
Yeah, even bloggers have awards these days.
What's the world coming to, huh?
No, I'm not here as a blogger.
I'm here as a JOURNALIST ahahahha.
Even managed to squeeze in an interview with Mark Waid,
He's the writer of DC's Kingdom Come.
After that, will rush straight to the awards.
Party, yeah!

An Ode To Absolut Love

2009-10-20T10:17:00.005+08:00

(pictures taken from Terence and Suanie)

Wow! An event with lots of vodka in glasses!
We called, "Suanie, Suanie, I can has passes?"
"Absolut-ly, Absolut-ly," she said on her Twitter,
Thus sending our alcoholic hearts a-flutter.

So off we went to the RogueArt Gallery,
Where we met the Blogger who's always Thirsty
We gazed at some art on the way to the bar,
And started drinking a lot of vodka.

Elfie went to drink and relieve stress,
Reta showed off her new backless dress.
Kimberly drank some and started to stagger,
Shaolintiger had to drive home without supper.

After that we went for supper in Jalan Alor,
TerenceG ordered for a party of forty-four
Most of the chicken wings were left untouched,
So I tah pau back for the next day's lunch.

In case you were wondering what the event was,
They launched Absolut Love, that was the cause.
We all drank vodka and had lots of fun,
Plenty of Absolut Love for each and everyone!

Because if we lived in an Absolut World,
Then good vodka will always be available.
In small bottles or huge-ass giant ones,
It don't matter as long as we all get some.

The Hell With Beyoncé. Bring PEARL JAM PLEASE.

2009-10-19T16:00:00.004+08:00

Today, there was a flurry of Tweets complaining about Beyoncé cancelling her concert in KL, and going to Indonesia instead. Based on THIS report, apparently.

ALLO, PEOPLE. Read the date line on that report. That story was published in 2007 lar. Get your facts straight before jumping the gun can or not?

However, apparently there IS gonna be an 'important announcement' tomorrow regarding the concert schedule, so I wouldn't be surprised if it IS postponed (in the same way Rihanna was 'postponed' as well. eheh.)

(Update: yup, it's definitely 'postponed'. Eheh. Official statement HERE)

Truth be told, I couldn't care less about Beyoncé coming to KL. In fact, I haven't been keeping my hopes up that any band or act I want to see will EVER come to Malaysia. less anxiety that way, and no risk of getting my hopes up only to be dashed to pieces. It's probably more profitable for them to go to Singapore anyway, and them Sillyporeans can afford to pay a lot more than we can for the acts.

But for all it's worth, here's a little list of some acts you MAY or MAY NOT get to see in the next three months. I'm obviously keeping my fingers crossed for Pearl Jam here (I've already bought my Green Day mosh pit tickets, BTW. MUAHAHA), but I ain't holding my breath, really.

- Buzzcocks: 8 November 2009, KL (CONFIRMED)
- Pearl Jam: November 2009, KL (MAYBE)
- Moby: 11 January 2010, KL (MAYBE)
- Cat Power: 13 January 2010, Singapore (CONFIRMED)
- Green Day: 14 January 2010, Singapore (CONFRMED)
- Andrew Bird: 26 Janary 2010, Singapore (CONFIRMED)
- Belle & Sebastian: January 2010, Singapore (MAYBE)

Damn, if all these REALLY happen, I'm gonna go broke before February 2010...

Inglourious Basterds is Glouriously Brillient Tarantino

2009-10-15T16:36:00.001+08:00

Inglourious Basterds
Not a review.
Glouriously basterdly.
Bluody brillient too.
Brilliently bluody too.
It's Tarantino.
And it's AWUESOUME.

The dialoug is classic Tarantino.
Pay attention to all the LOONG conversations.
They're bloody irreverant,
And bloody brilliant.
And Brad Pitt gets the best damn lines.
No wait.
It's Hans Landa who gets the best lines.
And the way he SAYS them is bloody brillient.
AWUESOUME.

Yeah, that Jew Hunter Hans Landa was great.
He's like, the bad guy.
But WHAT A BAD GUY.
He'd drink your milk,
Have a nice conversation with you first,
And then CUT YOU DOWN.
AWUESOUME.

That Mélanie Laurent chick is quite hot.
Looks a bit like Uma Thurman from some angles.
And there's Diane Kruger.
She NEVER lets me down.
Even when she's in crap like National Treasure.
Her Cleavage Rating always picks the movie up.
This time? Cleavage Rating 8.5!
AWUESOUME.

I wish there were more of the Basterds though.
Or at least one of them indulgent Nazi-killing sprees
But at least we saw the Jew Bear bashing someone's head in.
And we had Hugo Stiglitz!
And Aldo the Apache!
And er... Little Man.
Never mind.
Still AWUESOUME.

And screw that Valkyrie Tom Cruise bullshit.
Sure, World War II didn't end this way.
But who cares? He's QUENTIN TARANTINO.
And if QUENTIN TARANTINO says the war ended this way,
Then it BLOODY WELL DID end this way.
Why?
Because he's AWUESOUME, that's why.

How To Get a Tummy Ache: An Expert Guide

2009-10-14T00:30:00.002+08:00

Take one empty tummy.
Throw in six pieces of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets.
Add two gulps of Coca-Cola.
Sprinkle five fries on it,
Then mix in a whole cup of chocolate fudge sundae.
Dilute the mixture with a glass of vodka lime,
And then mix it all up with two hours of badminton.
After the game, add one glass of A&W Root Beer,
Two pieces of fried chicken,
And finally, garnish with two onion rings.
Voila! One tummyache special!
Serves one toilet bowl.

Rombongan Sambil Belajar Sempena Hari Hijau di Singapura

2009-10-13T16:07:00.008+08:00

HOLY FUCK this is the best news ever.

From Reta's blog:

Lushington Entertainments is proud to present GREEN DAY – the Grammy Award-winning American rock trio starring Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, vocals) and the Tre Cool (drums, percussion).

This will be GREEN DAY's first ever shows in South East Asia with performances on 14th January 2010

YUP! GREEN DAY LIVE IN SINGAPORE!!! WOOHOO!

Yes, it's in Singapore. Don't complain. It's GREEN FUCKING DAY. I don't CARE if they're not playing Malaysia. If they were playing in BANGKOK I'd have flown there to watch them. Heck, if they came to Malaysia AFTER Singapore, I'd probably go watch them AGAIN.

Ticket details on Reta's blog. We're planning to get mosh pit tickets and pegi together-gether. Sapa nak ikuuuut????

Rainy With a Chance of Bah Kut Teh

2009-10-12T13:01:00.000+08:00

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.
Not a review.
Not really a buffet dinner either.
It's more like a light snack.
Or a power lunch.
Or a sandwich on the go.
With coffee on the side.

Yeah, it's a mindless appetizer.
Best taken with a pinch of salt.
Don't go in hungry though,
Or you'll come out craving spaghetti.
Or then again, maybe you won't.
After the food overload here
I didn't feel like eating spaghetti, meatballs or hot dogs.

I'd love it to be rainy with a chance of bah kut teh though.
Or windy with a chance of char koay teow
Or hey, what about sunny side up with a chance of indomie Goreng?
Then again Malaysian food falling from the sky would be weird.
Can you REALLY imagine it raining bah kut teh?
Haiyor so tak halal.
Even the RAIN would get banned then.

Or worse, durian falling from the sky.
Imagine how many people would be killed.
Or banana leaf rice falling from the sky.
The curry stains would be HELL to remove.
And nasi lemak from the sky would be damn gross.
And the leftovers? Wahlau, it'll STINK like hell man.

Oh, and the 'talking' monkey.
Sorry guys, it's been done before.
And Pixar did the 'animal with talking device' thing WAY better,
Even the food doesn't look as good as Ratatouille's
And what's with all the people having such BIG EYES?
It's a bit American-ny too.
And there are a lot of food puns, obviously.
It depends on how you like your sense of humour served I guess.

Ok ok, it's fun.
And not too heavy.
Like I said, it's a mindless appetizer.
It's a light snack you watch to isi perut.
If you want a really gourmet meal, go watch Up.
If you want fast food, go watch this.

Backspacer is A Pearl of a Jam

2009-10-09T15:11:00.004+08:00

I have to say, this was utterly unexpected. I actually liked Pearl Jam's latest album - Backspacer. Why unexpected? Because I wasn't very impressed with Pearl Jam's past few albums, and beyond a couple of songs, I can't remember anything they released after... Yield (which was almost TEN YEARS ago).

Backspacer is great though. Not in the league of Ten or Vs., of course, but at least it's got some great songs, and Eddie Vedder actually doesn't sound as angsty and moody as he used to.

My favorite on the album has got to be Force Of Nature. I can't seem to get it out of my head, for some reason. The chorus was what caught my attention first - melodic, soaring, and utterly singable, for a Pearl Jam song, no less. then as I looped it over and over again, the verses got me and the song just kept getting stuck in my head... all DAY. Definitely one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs... EVER. And it doesn't even sound like a song Pearl Jam would come up with...

Other songs on the album I liked are the fun Johnny Guitar, the folksy Just Breathe, and the pretty cool Unthought Known. Everything else other than that... I can't remember. Because when I try to remember how those songs go, the chorus for Force of Nature keeps taking over. Now that REALLY is a Force of Nature indeed...

Kate Strips in the Cold and White

2009-10-08T15:06:00.012+08:00

Whiteout
Not a review.
It's a cool movie.
No wait a minute.
I mean... it's a COLD movie.
(It's set in the Antarctica, what did ya expect?)
IT was so COLD that I was practically FREEZING in the cinema.
Or maybe that was just the air-con.
Whatever.

Whiteout was also really white.
No, I mean, REALLY REALLY WHITE.
Not just that all the actors were white.
Oh wait there was ONE non-white.
Other than that, EVERYTHING was white.
There was hardly any color at all.
Even Kate Beckinsale's underwear was white
Oh yeah, it's got Kate Beckinsale.
(Who was the reason I went to watch this in the first place)

You gotta love a movie that has Kate Beckinsale,
AND has her stripping down to her undies,
Bending over to show off her er.. behind,
Before taking off her top (kenot see anything lah)
And going for a shower.
All within the FIRST TEN MINUTES.
AWESOME.
(not much of a Cleavage Rating)
(But the er.. Behind Rating was way off the scale)

Other than that, nothing else to report.
Except that it was cold,
It was white,
And it had Kate Beckinsale stripping.
Story? Just a so so thriller/whodunnit
Not THAT thrilling actually.
And I guessed whodunnit from a mile away.
I think I'll go read the graphic novel instead.

Autobuns, Swiss Roll Out!

2009-10-08T09:29:00.008+08:00

THIS has got to be the dumbest exploitation of poor old Optimus EVER.

Seriously, people. Give the bot some dignity, will ya? It's bad enough he was turned into a Michael Bay character (and had to say dumb shit like GIVE ME YOUR FACE), Mickey Mouse, a Mr. Potatohead, and space comet turd. Now you've turned him into Optimus Breadstick?

And your caption... TRANSFORM THE WAY YOU SEE BREAD. Wow, how original, did you come up wth that all by yourself, Bread Story? And what's that all over him... is that CHICKEN FLOSS? EWWWWWW.

In case you were wondering, I saw this in Singapore, and was so appalled that I just HAD to take a picture of it. Sigh... poor old Optimus...

Cheapass But Kickass! Mari Bertumpang Glamour!

2009-10-07T17:09:00.011+08:00

(Yes, I'm really late with this post. But think of it as a precursor to the NEXT MTG... :p)

Malam Tumpang Glamour.
Not a Review.
Not a promo either.
It was the best of parties,
It WASN'T the worse of parties.
but one thing is for sure...
It was a CHEAPASS party,
And it also a KICKASS party.
Thanks to Inked Tattoo Studio!

Why did we have it?
Because partying in KL is FREAKING EXPENSIVE, that's why.
The booze costs a bomb,
There's always a stupid COVER CHARGE,
The people are dumb and pretentious,
And the music SUCKS (most of the time).

That's why we decided to start our OWN parties.
And call ourselves Syarikat Tumpang Glamour.
(Because well... we tumpang other parties' glamour mar)
DJ Glamour (The Glamour Queen. Makes Pagoda T-shirts look sexy)
DJ Tumpang (The Tumpang King. Gets more lucid when drunk)
DJ No. 13. (Princess of The Smoker's Stairwell)
DJ Mata Mata (Prince of Pointless Lucky Draws)

Our party concept was simple: Cheapass but Kickass.
No one pays stupid cover charge... only ONE RINGGIT
(We got RM76 that night, all went to Furry Friends Farm)
No freaking DRESS CODE
(Wear anything you want. Just follow our theme of the night...)
Booze is either CHEAP or FREE.
(You were also free to bring your own. NO corkage charges)
The music had NO HITZ FM CRAP.
(We played our own music from an iPod wtf)

Our FIRST Malam Tumpang Glamour was AWESOME.
It had EVERYTHING....
BOOZE (thank you Tiger beer and people who BYOB'd!)
BASS (pounding and happening, thanks to Hi-Volt & DJ Cinta)
BABES (some of whom were dancing on the pool table)
BOYS (who unfortunately outnumbered the babes. Bah)
BRAWLS (in the rain, no lest)
BLOOD (Long story involving a wuss, 2 cars, and some gangsters)

There was a lucky draw.
Suanie got a Twilight T-Shirt!
Kimberlycun got SMASHED! (Er. after one Tiger).
ShaolinTiger was there with EmoCharlie!
KYSpeaks was skulking in the Smoker's Stairwell!
MyHorng and Rachel came with moustaches!

So that's it for Malam Tumpang Glamour.
Our next party is coming up.
What where who when how?
We have the date.
We (almost) have the place.
Now we need le booze.
Stay tuned.
Want an invite?
You gotta be our FRIEND first....

The Many Houses of The 2009 Fall TV season

2009-10-05T12:03:00.011+08:00

Just realised that the Fall TV season is three weeks old and I haven't mentioned any of the shows here (I did on Twitter, but that's like... TWITTER).

Anyway, I've acquired quite a number of shows, mostly old staples like Bones, Lie To Me, House, Heroes, Dexter, Dollhouse, Fringe, the three CSIs, True Blood, Californication, Mad Men and The Mentalist.

There are a couple of new shows as well, but unlike last year where we had Dollhouse, Fringe, True Blood, The Mentalist and Lie To Me all making their debuts, this year it's been a bit lean on the 'promising new show' side. The only ones I bothered with were FlashForward, Warehouse 13 and The Forgotten.

So far, the best new show I've seen is FlashForward. It's got a very very intruging concept and idea, mainly - the entire world loses consciousness for two minutes 17 seconds, and during that time, everyone gets a glimpse of their future. What happens next is that everyone has to come to grips with knowing their future, no matter whether it is a positive or negative future. It's an intriguing plot, and I really can't wait to see how it pans out.

Warehouse 13 is pretty cool too, like a very light-hearted version of the X-Files (which some peopel apparntely don't like), but I like it just precisely because it's kooky and fun. It's about two agents who have to hunt down supernatural artifacts and bring it back to the titular Warehouse 13 for storage. Remember warehouse in the end of Raiders of The Lost Ark? It's kinda like that kind of warehouse. The show's not bad, and the story gets better towards the end of the season, so give it a chance...

Anyway, of the old shows I've watched so far, my favorites have been House, Dollhouse, Lie To Me and Dexter. I haven't bothered with Heroes since halfway through the last season, and I only just finished watching Fringe's first season yesterday (it turned out to be be quite brilliant in the end, and can't wait to start on the next).

Haven't watched The Forgetten though. It looks like just another procedural drama, so I'm not in THAT big a hurry to watch it yet.

Dollhouse is still one of my favorite shows - it's smart, intriguing and the story has amazing potential. But apparently Americans are too dumb to notice that, since it's ratings were really really low for the second season. Sigh... I hope it doesn't get cancelled...

Dexter's first ' episode was not bad, and so was Lie To Me, CSI and CSI Miami. But the one that's my favorite so far is House, obviously. (Hmm... between House, Warehouse 13 and Dollhouse, it seems to be a real year of houses huh?)

The two hour season opener, which picks up where last season left off - with Hosue checking into a psychiatric rehab facility - and this time, HE is the patient. great stuff... Now THAT is a season opener to match your season finales, Dr. House. Now go forth and win that Emmy next year!

How to NOT Spend Too Much Money at the Penguin Warehouse Sale

2009-10-01T16:53:00.005+08:00

Yes people, there's ANOTHER Penguin Books Warehouse Sale, and it runs from tomorrow (2/10) to 11 October, 10am-7pm.

Here's the address and map to the sale:

Now, if you recall the LAST time I went for the sale, I spent a bit too much then. I'm a sucker for book warehouse sales, ok?

So... how do you avoid spending TOO MUCH this time around? WEll, the answer is simple....

DON'T. GO.

No, really. Don't go. Not unless you want to get sucked into a vortex of cheap books you cannot resist and end up buying books you know you don't need but MUST HAVE ANYWAY BECAUSE IT IS SO CHEAP AAARRRGGHHH!!!!

*pant pant pant*

I was there for 30 minutes today (it was the media preview MUAHAHAHA), and suffice to say, I bought quite a bit. And I haven't even gone through the paperback novel section yet...

I bought:

The Vertigo Encyclopedia (RM24)
Marvel Chronicle: A Year by Year History (RM60)
Zits & Dilbert collections for RM12 and RM15 respectively
Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef series (three books, RM30 each)
M Is For Magic by Neil Gaiman (RM15)
2 Eoin Colfer books for RM10 each
Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox for RM10
101 Ways to Kill Your Boss (RM8)

Thank god there wasn't any comics there or I'd be broke even before the month began. And I didn't even go through the fiction novels side yet...

What else did I see there?

DK Visual Guides for Star Wars, DC and Marvel going for RM20-30
A huge ass Bob Dylan hardcover book containing lyrics to ALL his songs for RM50
Neil Gaiman's Coraline, Stardust, Mr. Punch, Me Is For Magic
Loads of Roald Dahl, Terry Brooks, Eoin Colfer, Susan Cooper (including the ENTIRE The Dark Is Rising Sequence for RM15 each), er...
The Twilight and Harry Potter books,

And way too many things to list down here.

The sale starts at 10am onwards, people. If you want to save money... DON'T GO! Else, don't say I didn't warn ya...

Not exactly 9 Reasons to Watch 9

2009-09-29T11:57:00.006+08:00

9
Not a review.
No no, not District 9.
And not that Nine movie with all the hot babes singing.
It's the animated feature.
That's not coming to Malaysia, BTW.
Saw this in Singapore with Fireangel.
Who didn't understand the story either.

Maybe it was the old school crappy cinema.
(note to self, don't watch movies in Shaw House Lido's Hall 6.)
(And to that idiot behind me who kept asking... "What is 9 about hah?")
(JUST WATCH THE DAMN MOVIE CAN OR NOT!)
After the movie we were both going HUH?
What happened? Why was it like that?
And why is the cinema so crappy?

Sure, it looks damn good, and the animation is brilliant.
But the whole movie was a bit underwhelming.
And the story a bit 'HUH?' lor.
And the voices not very memorable.
IT sounded like the actors were just reading their lines,
Without bothering to add anything to it.

Anyway, it's actually not a bad movie.
Maybe my expectations were too high.
So many good reviews mar.
It's produced by Tim Burton,
And that Timur "Night/Day Watch" Bekmambetov guy.
And has Elijah Wood, Jennier Connelly, Martin Landau,
John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover...
And oh, Christopher Plummer.
Who seems to be having some fun in CGI animations these days.

Like I said, the story was a bit 'HUH?'
Why were they created in the first place?
Why did they have to do THAT?
Why did THAT have to do THIS?
And if the 9 stitchpunks are what their creator said they are...
Then how in hell did one of them turn out to be a GIRL?

It's a fun movie though.
Not quite as clever as most reviewers have made it out to be,
But it's gorgeously animated,
And it's pretty dark and gloomy.
Probably not exactly one for the kids,
But it IS worth a watch.
Just don't expect too much.

I'd love to see the short film this is based on though.
I bet it was much better.
Especially without the cliched 'star' voices,
And without having to stretch the story to feature length.
Then again, without the movie...
I wouldn't have heard of the short film anyway.
So hurrah for the er... third best animated feature this year!

Temper Your Muse With XX Passion Pit. Trippy.

2009-09-24T11:43:00.008+08:00

I was going through my music library the other day, and realized that I have WAY too many songs to go through. I mean, for 2009 alone, there are 3000 over songs to listen to, more than four DAYS worth.

Therefore, I've decided that the only way I can go through them was to listen to them one album at a time, and separate them by a specific genre every day. Yeah, I tend to be a bit of a stickler for this kind of organization.

Yesterday, for instance, was a Indie Rock kinda day. So my playlist had the following albums:

The Xx is a brilliant little band. Them, and The Temper Trap are probably my favorite new bands for 2009. Passion Pit is not too bad either, though I found it harder to get into. And Yo La Tengo? Like a friend of mine said, the sum of the age of the three bands mentioned above would still not be as old as Yo La Tengo... And they haven't disappointed yet. Don't dig the 13 minutes songs though, guys...

Today, it's a 90's Rock kinda day.

Pearl Jam's new one Backspacer is pretty decent stuff. Not groundbreaking, but it's still easier to get into than their last one, which I totally don't remember at all. Alice In Chains? Can't really tell yet. I'll tell you when I've heard more of it. Third Eye Blind is decent stuff too, but still a lesser shadow of its Semi-Charmed Life days. Ditto Our Lady Peace. Nothing very memorable, really...

Maybe tomorrow, I'll do a Brit Rock kinda day, since I've got the new Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and Jarvis Cocker mucking around the iPod. Might even throw in a little Mika... ok, maybe not.

Muse's The Resistance is one great album. Matt Bellamy seems to have gone more Freddie Mercury than usual this time round, one song even sounds a bit like Bohemian Rhapsody. Kasabian's songs here actually sound better than they were live, to tell the truth, though I may have been too tired to enjoy them at the MTV World Stage then. Arctic Monkeys? Great album too. Cornerstone is one of the best songs of the YEAR. And Jarvis Cocker... I'll tell you when I listen to it again tomorrow k? haha.

BTW, I was trying out something yesterday. This is seriously trippy:

1) Sort your iTunes songs according to 'Time'
2) Starting with the song with the SHORTEST time, start playing the playlist IN SEQUENCE.
3) Doesn't matter how short it is, or what it is, just play EVERYTHING in sequence.

This makes for a really trippy listening experience. Within the five minutes, I had Homer Simpson singing Spider Pig, the Theme frome Life, some voice-overs, some weird Janet Jackson interludes, Eminem cussing, and some weird instrumental shit from the likes of Beirut and Sufjan Stevens.

Once you get to the one minute and above 'songs', the actual songs start comign in, but everything before that is just serious weird shit.

Yes, I have too much time and too many mp3s. So sue me.

Parody It Like Pratchett!

2009-09-23T12:23:00.004+08:00

Heads up, Pratchett fans. IT's that time of year again!

Yes, our beloved nutty writer will be releasing a new DISCWORLD book next month!

Ok, that is one ugly ass cover. Forget that one. I'm getting THIS one instead!

As you'd probably noticed from the above cover, the story's apparently gonna parody FOOTBALL, so this should be one cracker of a book. My money's on the Librarian being the goalkeeper.

I wonder what position Rincewind's gonna be in though. And will he be running away from the ball a lot? Count on it.

Get Lost, You Damn Brown Symbol

2009-09-18T13:01:00.000+08:00

I was at Kinokuniya this morning, and this book was all over the place:

Has anyone read the damn book yet?
Who does it offend this time?
Are the lines as bad as the worst Dan Brown lines ever?
Is the plot generated from the same Dan Brown Sequel Generator?
Does anyone think it's the greatest book ever written?
Does anyone feel compelled to go visit Washington and look for the symbols?

More importantly, was anyone suckered into buying the bloody expensive hardcover on the first day? SUCKAS!!!!!

(50) Reasons Why This is THE Best Romantic Comedy of the Year

2009-09-17T14:07:00.013+08:00

(500) Days of Summer
Not a Review.
Here're (50) reasons you should watch this.
No, not on DVD or downloaded.
IN THE CINEMA.
Because small, brilliant films like this deserve to make more money.

1) Zooey Deschanel
2) It's a rom-com, but NOT a rom-com.
3) It's like the ANTI-rom-com
4) This is not a love story
5) But it IS a story about love
6) It's WAAAY better than The Ugly Truth
7) It's WAAAY better than The Proposal
8) Heck, it's WAAAY better than any rom-com this year

9) Like, no fairytale meetings,
10) No far-fetched plots to get the two together
11) No I-hate-you-you-hate-me-but-we-are-actually-in-love plot
12) It feels real and familiar
13) It feels like something YOU've been through.
14) or at least, something I went through
15) And it is one bittersweet, quirky, magical journey.

16) It'll make you happy
17) It'll make you sad
18) It'll make you laugh
19) It'll make you tear up
20) It'll make you wanna yell BITCH!
21) It'll make you singalong
22) It'll make you sigh for Tom's broken heart

23) It's quirky and inventive,
24) It's got some brilliant jokes
25) It's got some awesome gimmicks
26) And it's got pretty damn good acting
27) It's got Cobra Commander!
28) Best of all, it's got Zooey Deschanel

29) Zooey Deschanel's smile
30) Zooey Deschanel's voice
31) Zooey Deschanel's eyes
32) Zooey Deschanel's singing
33) Zooey Deschanel's laugh
34) Zooey Deschanel's heartbreakingly melancholic look
35) Zooey Deschanel's apartment
36) Zooey Deschanel's knees

37) Oh, and the music's brilliant too.
38) The Smiths
39) Belle and Sebastian
40) Simon & Garfunkel
41) Feist
42) Black Kids

43) Because nothing is pre-destined - it's all coincidence
44) Because if you've been in love before, you'll like this
45) Because if you've been heartbroken before, you'll like this
46) Because all of us have been through the same things before
47) Because sometimes you need to remember the bad parts as well.
48) Because life is full of ups and downs and love found and love lost.
49) Because life ain't like what Hollywood rom-coms makes it out to be.
50) Because if you don't watch it, I'll call you a bitch.