S's Reading Corner

Reading's List


Current Book List (To Read)
Chinese Titles
Park So Hee- Goong Manga Volume 1-15
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Chinese/English)


Japanese Titles
Giles Murray - Exploring Japanese Literature (Japanese/English)
堀田 由美, Hotta Yumi - Boy Meets Ghost ヒカルの碁 -
西尾 維新, Nishio Ishin - Death Note: Another Note
筒井 康隆 Tsutsui Yasutaka - The Little Girl Who Conquered Time 時をかける少女


English Titles
Neil Gaiman - Smoke and Mirror
Neil Gaiman - Fragile Things Short Fictions & Wonders
Tim Heald - Princess Margaret A Life Unravelled


Past (Have Read)
Biography
Antonia Fraser - Marie Antoinette


Business/Finance/Investment
Bill Paul - Future Energy (How the new oil industry will change people, politics, and portfolios)


Fiction
Catherine Coulter - Rosehaven
Catherine Coulter - The Offer
Catherine Coulter - The Rebel Bride
Catherine Coulter - The Heiress Bride
Catherine Coulter - The Hellion Bride
Catherine Coulter - The Sherbrooke Bride

Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day
Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner

Nakano Hitori - Train Man
Neil Gaiman - American Gods
Neil Gaiman - Anansi Boys
Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman - Stardust

Philippa Gregory - The Constant Princess

Sue Monk Kidd - The Mermaid Chair

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (Translated Dorothy Britton) - Totto-Chan The Little Girl at the Window


Literature
William Shakespeare - King Lear
William Shakespeare - King Lear with Detailed Explanatory Notes - FOLGER Shakespeare Library
Dante Alighieri (Translated by Allen Mandelbaum) - The Divine Comedy


Fiction (Chinese) 武俠小说
金庸 - Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 倚天屠龙记
金庸 - The Legend of the Condor Heroes - 射雕英雄传
金庸 - The Return of the Condor Heroes 神雕侠侣

S's Korean Drama Library

's Korean Drama Library - Available For Loan


18, 29 (2005)
Coffee Prince (2007) (4/5)
Fireworks (2006)
Foxy Lady (2006)
Goong Princess Hours (2006) (4/5)
Hello, My Lady! (2007)
Little Bride (2004)
Lovers in Prague (2005)
My Girl (2005)
My Name is Kim Sam-soon (2005)(4/5)
Really really like you (2006)
Someday (2006) (3.5/5)
Spring Waltz (2006)
The Darling Sisters (2006)
Wedding (2005)
Which star are you from?(2006)
Witch Yoo Hee / Witch Amusement (2007)

Heart

Came across this conversation between Rukia and Kaien-Dono [Manga Bleach] which I find rather meaningful.

Where do you believe the "Heart" lies?

Think about it...

Every time you and I connect with each other,
A little bit of Heart is born between us.
Heart isn't something inside you.
But
whenever you think,
whenever you remember someone,
That's when Heart is born.
If,
you were the only one alive in this world,
Heart wouldn't exist now, would it?

S's Movie of the Year

Featured during the closing credits.

Rule the World - Take That
You light the skies, up above me
A , so bright, you blind me, yeah
Don’t close your eyes
Don’t fade away, don’t fade away oh

Yeah you and me we can ride on a
If you stay with me girl
We can rule the world
Yeah you and me we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side
We can rule the world

If walls break down, I will comfort you
If angels cry, oh I’ll be there for you
You've saved my soul
Don’t leave me now, don’t leave me now oh

Yeah you and me we can ride on a
If you stay with me girl
We can rule the world
Yeah you and me, we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side
We can rule the world

Ooooooooh

All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you
All the are coming out tonight
They’re lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you-

Ooooooooh

Yeah you and me we can ride on a
If you stay with me girl
We can rule the world
Yeah you and me, we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side
We can rule the world

All the are coming out tonight (oooooooh)
They’re lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you
All the are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you

All the , are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you
All the , are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you

British flamed for bullying trishaw old man

This subject caused some uproar recently. 3 British tourists visiting Singapore took a trishaw ride, taunted and mocked the old rider, and eventually left off without paying for the ride. These jokers even took a video of the entire episode and posted on YouTube, resulting in the mass public awareness of the matter. They took down their video, but someone else reposted it on YouTube. Local forums started to flame and curse the 3 British, Singapore news tabloids like AsiaOne and The New Paper reported the incident, and even UK Daily Mail carried the news.

Why are we still having manual trishaws in Singapore? I understand about the "keeping heritage" part, but we can easily retain the rides but motorize the trishaws so that the riders do not need to supply manual power to drive the trishaws. The essence of the heritage can still be kept this way. I don't think any normal tourist who takes the trishaw really wants just to see the riders struggling to pedal. They just want the experience of sitting inside a trishaw, and perhaps get someone to explain the sceneries during the ride. Pretty much like the Duck Tour or other tour rides.

Also, who is overseeing the operations and welfare of these trishaw riders? Uniquely Singapore? How do the riders determine the prices? Who provides the intervention when a rider gets bullied? Or when a passenger gets scammed? And who ensures the trishaw riders follow traffic rules carefully? I've seen some trishaw riders moving recklessly on the road, especially when tackling right-turn traffic signs in cross juctions or some blind spots. It is only a matter of time and unfortunate chance that something majorly bad happens to a trishaw rider and/or its passengers.

Lots of questions but no answers. I wonder how soon will the people-responsible, if any, make some official remarks on this incident.

[EDIT 2Nov07] Look how much talk this incident has generated! Especially on both Singapore and UK forums! :O

ERP goes up... because we have too few cars?

Just 1 week after our wonderful minister said ERP helps more S'poreans to own cars, the government has decided to increase ERP rates AGAIN. 3rd time this year some more. I wish my salary can also increase 3 times a year.

So, does the government think our roads are too empty, and so more cars are needed, and so ERP has to go up? Let's take a look at the traffic cameras on our S'pore major roads to find out! And please, be sensible. Look at the traffic going AWAY from town area in the MORNINGS and look at the traffic going INTO town area in the EVENINGS. Who would travel to town in the mornings and travel out of town in the evenings? Very few I guess. That's why the roads are under-utilized and we need more cars. Or better yet, look at the traffic only during 1AM to 5AM, where the public transport is not in service. I mean, when there's no public transport, of course you need cars right? How else will the citizens travel during the busy timing of 1AM to 5AM?

===========================================
ERP rates going up again for third time this year
By Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 October 2007 2045 hrs

SINGAPORE : Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates are going up again for the third time this year.

There will also be new gantries erected.

The highest amount will be charged at the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). The gantry affected is the one at the slip road into the Central Expressway (CTE).

From November 5, motorists will pay $3.50 from 7:30am to 8:00am. The amount charged goes up to $5.00 between 8:30am and 9:00am. This is a $1.50 increase in the 8:30am to 9:00am period since February this year.

The latest hike comes just days after the opening of the Kallang-Payar Lebar Expressway (KPE) Tunnel.

The KPE is expected to ease congestion on the CTE when it opens fully late next year.

ERP rates will also go up by 50 cents at six other gantries.

The CTE gantry north of Braddell Road will cost $2.50 between 7:30am and 8:00am.

Three CTE gantries south of Braddell Road will cost $4.00 between 8:30am and 9:00am.

Those travelling along Bendemeer Road will have to pay $1.50 from 8:30am to 9:00am, instead of the current $1.

Drivers on Thomson Road will also have to pay $1.50 between 8:30am and 9:00am.

New ERP gantries will also start operating on November 5.

There will be one on the north-bound CTE just before the PIE exit, and two along the east-bound ECP before the Rochor Road exit and Ophir Road slip road.

There is also another one on the south-bound Bukit Timah Expressway after the Dairy Farm exit before it joins the PIE. - CNA /ls

Blog Template Update

Been using the minimal black design template for quite a while. It's well... minimal. So I figured it's time for a change, so I downloaded a template that S had browsed recently and started modifying it. Some minor details are still not corrected yet. Hopefully I can get everything done within a week or so.

Do you like it? :)

ERP helps more S'poreans to own cars??

Our wonderful government representative has established yet another mathematical shortcut:

A+B+C+D=E can always be simplified to A=E.

Take the following news article for example, that states the growth of car population (E) is attributed by the implementation of ERP (A). Nevermind that the human population growth (B), or the increase in number of millionaires and overall wealth per head (C), or the efficiency (or lack of) of the public transport (D) are conveniently ignored.

This sounds even easier than PSLE mathematics questions.

And the objective of ERP is to have even more cars on the road?? Rrrright... my low IQ brain cannot comprehend such majestic logic and the grand scheme of things. Perhaps that is why I'm not a Minister.

===========================================
ERP helps more S'poreans to own cars: Minister
Oct 22, 2007

THE use of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars.

Responding to a question for written reply in Parliament on Monday, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said this is reflected in the growth of Singapore's car population from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006.

Dr Fatimah Lateef, MP for Marine Parade GRC, had asked the Minister if the ERP scheme has met the objectives that it was meant to achieve and if it has improved the traffic flow on expressways especially during peak hours.

In his reply, Mr Lim said since its implementation in 1998, ERP has been effective in maintaining average travel speeds on priced roads within the optimal speed range through regular reviews and rate adjustments. For example, average speeds on the expressways have remained at above 45km/h during peak hours.

"The use of ERP to manage traffic has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars than we otherwise could, and our vehicle population has grown from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006," he added.

"It has also allowed the Government to rely more on car usage charges and less on car ownership taxes to manage traffic demand, and as a result, vehicle ownership taxes have been reduced. "

The Ministers said the government will continue with a holistic and integrated approach using all the tools available to keep the roads smooth-flowing. These include building more roads, regulating vehicle growth, implementing traffic engineering solutions, managing traffic demand through ERP and promoting the use of public transport.

Book Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Yet another addition to my Neil Gaiman novel collection. Neverwhere talks all about London, both the London-above that we see, and the London-below that we don't see. Neil leads us through the (mis)adventure of the unlikely hero (who's really a typical-loser-white collar guy at the start) who didn't fit in the pretentious and gloomy London-above life, and was forced to engage in a very different fantasy-like London-below alternate world.

The story does really present like a typical fantasy world... magic, warriors, monsters that talk, quests to fulfill etc etc, but all twisted in Neil Gaiman style. The plot was attractive enough for me to continuously read for 3 nights and finishing it faster than I would have done for a similar-size Dungeon-and-Dragons book. And it makes me kind of want to go UK again to venture the lesser visited places. Damn, if only I can afford the moolah and the time.

People familiar with (or have a liking for) London should like this book, should they be interested in what is Night's Bridge, who is the Earl in Earl's Court, how a bazaar in Harrods might turn out, and what is really going on in the massive subway and sewer networks in London-below.

Overall, it is a lighthearted read. Nice enough for me, but I think it didn't give me the kind of overwhelming feeling that I had after reading American Gods, which I hope to find again in my next Neil Gaiman book.

Oh, and I found out on Amazon that there is actually a comic version of the story, drawn by Mike Carey. I really ought to find the comics and consider purchasing if they are drawn well. :D

L's Reading Corner

I decided to make a post to track books I have read, am reading, or plan to read. This is more for my personal reminder, where I'll add in new books to buy when I see a good review somewhere.

Future (Plan to Read)
SOROS: The Unauthorized Biography, the Life, Times and Trading Secrets of the World's Greatest Investor - Robert Slater

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less - Barry Schwartz

Present (Am Reading)
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing - Burton G. Malkiel

Your Magic Power To Be Rich! - Napoleon Hill

Past (Have Read) - Fiction
300 - Frank Miller and Lynn Varley
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
The Icewind Dale Trilogy (The Crystal Shard, Streams Of Silver, The Halfling's Gem) - R. A. Salvatore
The Dark Elf Trilogy (Homeland, Exile, Sojourn) - R. A. Salvatore
Legacy of the Drow (The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege Of Darkness, Passage To Dawn) - R. A. Salvatore
Paths of Darkness (The Silent Blade, The Spine Of The World, Servant Of The Shard, Sea Of Swords) - R. A. Salvatore
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy (The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, The Two Swords) - R.A. Salvatore

Past (Have Read) - Investments
The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't - Ken Fisher, Jennifer Chou, Lara Hoffmans, and James J. Cramer

Past (Have Read) - Social, Psychology etc
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Malcolm Gladwell
The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History - Howard Bloom
The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century - Thomas L. Friedman

S's Beers Collection

Another list to update... I am going to start collecting beer bottles on top of the HRC short glasses and pins that I have and still collecting (starting from 21-Sep-07):

Here's what we have been collecting so far..
Belle-Vue, Brussels
Duvel, Belgium
Erdinger Dunkel, Germany
Grolsch, Holland
Hite, Korean

What is love?

Found this card and thought it was meaningful.....
Quote []

A student asks his teacher, "What is love?"

The teacher said, "In order to answer your question,
go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn
that you see and come back to me.
But there is a catch: You can go through them only once
and cannot turn back to pick."

The student went to the field and goes to the first row, where he saw one big corn,
but he wonders to himself...maybe there is a bigger one ahead.
Walking forward and true to his thoughts he saw a bigger one.
However, he did not pick it, but thought to himself again:
"maybe there will be an even bigger one waiting for him."

Later, when he had walked through more than half of the corn field,
he started to realize that the corn was not as big as the previous ones he saw,
and he knows that he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted it!
So, he ended up going back to the teacher with empty hands.

The teacher then told him, "...This is Love...
You keep looking for a better one, but when you later realized it,
you have already missed this person...."

In love one must always cherish those that one already possesses.

Unquote []

2 and 3/4 things I have accomplished today

1. Heroes (Season 1) Completed
As like any other shows, Good guys win and they will return in the next season.
Bad guy "Sylar" is like the virtually indestructible "cockroach". The adaptation and resistance to pesticides is an example of a mutation that results in a survival advantage. No further elaboration required cos I believed we all have at least once "up close and personal killing experience" in our lifetime.

Well, so the villain will be back, how many more abilities will he acquired? Will there be a competitor? I just hope that the plots not going to be draggy otherwise it is just going to be too boring for me to continue.

2. Painting Completed
Nothing fanciful. The only accomplishment is that I have attempted to paint with my left hand today. Well, I am a righty. I taught myself to use the left since young. I can basically switch hand with the exception for writing, I still write like a school kid learning curtsy writing. So I am ambidextrous, kind of mixed handed but am I creative or gifted?

When I was young, yes, I fantasied myself to be a heroine. I will paint a scene full of adventure expeditions fighting monsters, rescuing the prince..Hahahaha.. Who does not? All kids fantasized. Just that as we grow, our adulthood rob us of these childlike imaginations. Because we have to answer for own course of actions as an adult. We are not only socially responsible for ourself, we are to our family, friends, community, country, the world, our planet and our environment. We cannot afford to let our imaginations run wild. Our adult instincts will somehow gather all these thoughts and hide them somewhere in the brain, never to let them out unless you become senile. I know I have seem one.

I guess because I am still hopeful, I still need that innate ability to fantasize, that's why I am blogging now.

3. Reading 3/4 Completed
You asked me what I am reading. Here's some extracts. Probably shred you to tears of boredom but well...

"So you needn't think I am afraid of you-you rose-petal prince or whatever they call you. I shall never stoop to do anything that a princess of Spain should not do. I shall never be petty or spiteful. But if you challenge me, I shall defeat you."

"My mother is not just a queen, she is a solider, and she raised me to know my duty and to do it. It is my duty to be happy here and to live here without complaining.
I may never wear armour as she did, I may never fight for my country; as she did, but there are many ways to serve a kingdom, and to be a merry, honest, constant queen is one of them. If God does not call me to arms, He may call me to serve as a lawgiver, as a bringer of justice. Whether I defend my people by fighting for them against an enemy or by fighting for their freedom in the law, I shall be their queen, heart and soul, Queen of England."

Materia Medica

Check this out.

I got this when I googled.

Source from Wiki: "Persistent fever which cannot be explained after repeated routine clinical inquiries, is called fever of unknown origin."

Anyway, from my self diagnosis from the world-wide-web, I reckon I have "gastritis" again. When I googled "persistent vomiting" I have bunch of crappy results. But when I changed the frequency to "intermittent vomiting", I got a better and more reasonable answer.

I hate the medications for gastritis. Makes me puke immediately after I take it. So I am actually paying doctor $ for making me puke.

I wish I have studied harder and be a DOC....

I did my sum, ok.
$25 per 10min consultation for a GP = $150/hr
$150 X 8 hours = $1.2K per day
$1.2K X 20 days = $24K per month minus away the expenses blah blah blah
I reckon a GP earns at least 6.5K per month

My dad has a family's "本草綱目" collections for his reference.
Basically what these "journals" contain are
"Records of date of symptoms + medicines that were prescribed +
HOW much HE paid per visit"

Seriously. No kidding. Such records do exist.

(Well, I find them kind of neat to have...)

$PON$OR$HIP

Was so eager to blog about "SPONSORSHIP" after I got out from shower until I spoke to buddy PT on the phone. "Are we having the same frequency or what?" I said. I got a missed call from him and so happen that I was about to text him about lunch on Friday. Well, he called to postpone our "long awaited" lunch (We are suppose to meet up after I am back.) Can't make out what he said but I am pretty sure he is going to a church camp of some sort. When I called him on his birthday this year. (We are one day apart. We both have the same last name so We "might" jolly well belong to the the same clan long long time ago..)and that's found I found out he has converted. He is surely the last on my most "UnLikelyHood" list to be...Anyway..long story short... I tried not to get carry away..

Yes, lazy bum I am. Lucien, if you are reading this. Monday's lunch out with PT. Coming Fri will be doc in a.m., m/p to follow...and I probably try to meet up GG and get the restore CD...

I figured I should skip the subject on "Sponsorship" as I may end up revealing too much about our lifestyle but I simply can't. I will not be able to sleep if I have to abort it so I will use acronyms instead.

Lucien, you have to figure out what they stand for..Give me a shout if you are unsure 746586-4357. 24 by 7..
But hello I m just beside so.....Anyway, we probably need BB's owner to chip in on item 1.

Top 10 LIST (with 1 being the most priority)
1. HAFD = 7K
2. TON = 5K
3. LK = 5K?
4. GAS = 6K?
5. FBCK = 5K?
6. QZ+R = 800K?
7. CAP = 100K
8. Local/Overseas MBA = 30K/100K?
9 and 10 still thinking...
Total Damages = $$$$$$

Think about it... No choice. We are still in the material world revolving around the Dollar Sign... And Market went up again....

Off to ZZZZZ... Past bedtime... Kodomo Plaster left only 1? hint hint need new supplies...

Ja ne..

Major Beng

I received an email from "Erge aka Beng" last week asking me out for lunch today. Without any hesitation, I agreed. Apparently, he is going to be in town for some courses and so coincidentally at the building I am in.
From the subject, one can guess who he is working for so for him to be in town on a weekday, that is rare.

It have been a good "Whole Nine Yards" ops, I beg ur pardon, a good 9 years since we have had meals together "alone-just the 2 of us" He was my confidant and I always remember him fondly being the only one who came and sent me to the airport on my "maiden voyage alone" to UK. Well, we used to hang out together back then in school and at gatherings and those who don't know us will think that we were "an item".. That was so hilarious...Hahaha.. And yes, we are part of the "Original" 7Wonders.. We still meet up for gatherings but often as a group so chance of us are meeting alone and have a heart to heart talk is so "rare" especially when both of us are attached. His wife-to-be is such a sweetheart and I and everybody else in the group are truly happy for him. Good career, Good family and of-course us Good Friends!

I have to quit now otherwise I will get too cheesy. Anyway,I can't seem to concentrate now.

Sick cat with "Kodomo" plaster signing off.

My Dad

Today is my Dad's lunar birthday.. We had our tradition mian xian, red egg and creamy cake for lunch...As usual, Dad being the birthday boy did the cooking. He always cook when I go back home for meals..and he always cook for me first. Even our little cousin who came over to stay were placed third in the list after me and lucien. The ranking do matter in a way cos I feel that Dad has placed me as one of the "important person list" after so many years of misgivings that he favored my bro and we always quarrel about it. We reconciled only after I moved out of the house. Absence makes the heart grows fonder and that really applies to us.

We have in fact celebrated his birthday on Friday over at "zhi char". And it was over dinner when we were placing order of "our(Bro and I)" favorite foods and Dad mentioned that he can't eat broccoli and I was surprised. He then mentioned that he had pasted "it" on the wall..My Dad has thus habit of communicating things to us by cutting articles that he feel that we need to know and paste on the wall. I used to frown at his "eccentric" ideas when I was younger and anything that he pasted, I will voice out my opinions and rebuke.

After the sumptuous lunch, I walked to the "notice board" and took a look at the "announcement".
The subject reads "Diet for Gout Patients".
Eat as much as you can:
Milk, Egg, Most vegetables, Most fruits, Bread, Butter or Margarine, Cheese, White Meat

Restrict your intake:
Asparagus, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Mushroom, Oat Meal, Whole Wheat Cereal, Red Meat

Abstain Completely...
and a whole list of food.... And Dad loves the food here on the restriction and abstain list.. I was so upset and started to have migraine as I wrote down the list...He can't even have Carrot, Spinach, Beancurd, Tomato and even Tomato Sauce. Can you imagine how bad it is?
At first I have no idea what "Gout" mean but as far as I know, it is not something that I should treat it lightly.

On our way back home I couldn't help crying.

I couldn't help crying again when I took the shower. How I regret all those nasty things I have said to him...And to think I have never write an essay about him before back in school. I have wrote about my Mum my Grandfather but never him.
I used to scream at him, telling him how "I hate him"..
I was so rebellious so willful but then. Everyday were like living in battlefield and back then, but I always feel that I have won the battles one way or in another by saying any thing that I can provoke or make him upset.

I blamed him for my childhood, for mum, for grandfather and the "stupid chili punishment" when I rebuked him..

But again if not for his persistence, I may have not have lived. When I was 5-6 years old, I did something stupid to myself and forg0t about it. Obviously I was too scare to remember and it sometime bring chills to me, it was a classic story that I shared with friends. My Dad discovered that I was not breathing properly when he hugged me one day. I remembered that was when I was primary 1. So almost 2 years of "that thing " living in my body. If not for his persistence and seeking the doctor again and again, I will have "that thing" with me for rest of my life. He keeps the bottle that the doctor gave him and told me that he will show it to the grandchildren when I am older... I wonder where is the bottle now, probably some in that safe.

He can be very eccentric at times. Not that he is always right. As I age with him, I can now comprehend with him what his thought process is. And the problem he is, he thinks and reads too much but whatever he does, his intention is for this family...

God makes him my Dad for a reason. He is the only father that I have for this lifetime and how many X of 30 years can we spend together? I can't undo all those things I have said in the past, the only thing I can is NOT to repeat now and in future. And pray that God will make him well again...

I feel so sad to see how he had aged so much with all the white hairs and how much weight he had lost...

Even so he is still my handsome Dad(everyone used to praise him how good he looks.)

Sunny is my Dad.

Andromeda

I have always loved looking at the sky especially when darkness falls..

Sky full of stars...and I really get excited when I see one.

However, from the city I come from and especially when I am staying in a low floor...I hardly have the chance to see one....

I asked L if he know which constellation I love most last night when I was working on the star projector. A gift from our cousin. He got it right and spot on. "Andromeda" a constellation named for the princess Andromeda in the Greek mythology (I used to read a lot of these stuff when I was younger)

Here's the story I extracted (I am no good with story telling so I "google")
Quote [ ]
Its heroine is beautiful Andromeda, the daughter of the weak King Cepheus of Ethiopia and the vain Queen Cassiopeia, whose boastfulness knew no bounds.

Andromeda’s misfortunes began one day when her mother claimed that she was more beautiful even than the Nereids, a particularly alluring group of sea nymphs. The affronted Nereids decided that Cassiopeia’s vanity had finally gone too far and they asked Poseidon, the sea god, to teach her a lesson. In retribution, Poseidon sent a terrible monster to ravage the cost of King Cepheus’s territory. Dismayed at the destruction, and with his subjects clamouring for action, the beleaguered Cepheus appealed to the Oracle of Ammon for a solution. He was told that he must sacrifice his virgin daughter to appease the monster.

Hence the blameless Andromeda came to be chained to a rock to atone for the sins of her mother, who watched from the shore with bitter remorse. As Andromeda stood on the wave-lashed cliffs, pale with terror and weeping pitifully at her impending fate, the hero Perseus happened by, fresh from his exploit of beheading Medusa the Gorgon. His heart was captivated by the sight of the frail beauty in distress.

At first he almost mistook her for a marble statue. Only the wind ruffling her hair and the warm tears on her cheeks showed that she was human. Perseus asked her name and why she was chained there. Shy Andromeda, totally different in character from her vainglorious mother, did not at first reply; even though awaiting a horrible death in the monster’s slavering jaws, she would have hidden her face modestly in her hands, had they not been bound to the rock.

Perseus persisted in his questioning. Eventually, afraid that her silence might be misinterpreted as guilt, she told Perseus her story, but broke off with a scream as she saw the monster breasting through the waves towards her. Pausing politely to ask the permission of her parents for Andromeda’s hand in marriage, Perseus swooped down, killed the monster with his sword, released the swooning girl to the enthusiastic applause of the onlookers and claimed her for his bride. Andromeda later bore Perseus six children including Perses, ancestor of the Persians, and Gorgophonte, father of Tyndareus, king of Sparta.

It is said that the Greek goddess Athene placed Andromeda’s image among the stars, where she lies between Perseus and her mother Cassiopeia. Only the constellation Pisces, the Fishes, separates her from the Sea Monster, Cetus. Star maps picture Andromeda with her hands in chains. Her head is marked by the second-magnitude star Alpha Andromedae, originally shared with neighbouring Pegasus where it marked the horse’s navel. This star is known by the two alternative names of Alpheratz or Sirrah which come respectively from the Arabic al-faras, meaning ‘the horse’, and surrat, meaning ‘navel’. The star is now assigned exclusively to Andromeda.
Unquote [ ]

When I re-read again, I am amazed by the story. How fate brought us together. It was mentioned that the constellation Pisces separate her from the Sea Monster. L is a Pisces and born in the Year of Horse. How coincidentally can it get.. I just realized today...

Pity that we can't project the stars on the ceiling cos the image is blur... L has to do something about it...

A week in London

Saturday 25th’s London was a very beautiful and clear day. Never have that kind of weather when I was there the last 4 times. London to me has always been grey and gloomy…
Good weather we had only for the first couple of days and the erratic weather emerged across London until I left a week later…

Amid the incident I had with the car transfer, I managed to get around to our cousin’s place safe and sound but it cost me a cool freaky 66 pounds….. Welcome back to one of the highest standard living cities in the world…

HJ’s place is within walking distance to Tower Bridge… Fond memories came flashing by as I start exploring the area again…

And every time, I walked past Tower Bridge, it will just remind me of the famous London Bridge and how irony the structure turn out to be…

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

London Bridge has never been featured as one of the tourist attractions. You will think that it is so famous that the government don’t need to. After all, how often do you have a folk song that named after a bridge? And I have always suspected this conspiracy theory. Getting around London is so damn expensive. One source of generating extra revenue is to capitalize on visitors in spending $$$ on transport to locate this famous bridge emplacement in the world. And often, people mistake Tower Bridge as London Bridge and when they realized the blunder, they will mark around and try to locate London Bridge. I did. If Tower Bridge is so magnificent, can you imagine how London Bridge will turn out to be? Hahaha, when I finally locate it, how disappointed you can imagine I was…

Anyway, here are some shots of the Tower Bridge I took on my first evening there. Look at the skyline, look how beautiful it is at dusk. I managed to capture few shots too with the bridge fully open to allow a ship pass through. Mind you, you don’t get to see it daily, ok?



HJ took me to this pub overlooking the river. I kept staring at the moon for some reason. Very cool and breezy place to chill out if only they are no spiders keeping us as companions...



The next few days were just exploring and shopping. My best friend HL dropped by too on Sunday and I bunked over at her hotel for a night and we have lots of fun catching up. This is the first time that we have met each other in a foreign country so the feeling was very fabulous and fun and of course, we were very well-behaved. And I totally forget about the Total Lunar Eclipse but the sky was too cloudy to see anything... Well, just consoling myself. I learn I can't possibly have the best of 2 worlds somewhat..

Back to reality on Wed through Fri and yes, I feel so exhausted when I have to keep my mind fresh and operating throughout the Asia/GMT and sometimes Mountain-time zone but I guess it was worth-whiling since I got things accomplished along with some fun. I was introduced to 2 fun-loving ladies. Pity that we didn't take photos together on the Friday's night over at dinner.

Here some photos I took from the Sheraton that I was staying in. I am going to start painting ref one of the photos here. You got to guess which one though. I cannot believe that they do not have a kettle in the room. I was so craving for instant coffees at night to tide me through the long nights… And so much so for paying few hundred pounds a night. Not that I am being calculative, even if you stay in a budget hotel, they will provide you a kettle…



Well enough of this… I didn't complain about the number of Starbucks every where (I am a Starbucks person but I just couldn't stand seeing them everywhere, hello the English suppose to drink teas right? And yet I hardly see one around...) I just thought of the big picture in the living room. Hehehe somehow, I enjoy staring at the picture. Not sure if I can clone that though. Maybe not, I will draw something else. At least another inspiration for the start...

I guess I will be visiting London again in near futures, until then....this time more and nice Fish n chips and Beers!

じゃまた

Anime Review: Brave Story

Managed to grab tickets for Brave Story at Cathay AMK Hub last night :)

The cinema theatre was decent. We got "couple" seats... except that the person initially issued me one seat from one couple seat, and another seat from another couple seat!! :( The leg space was ample, and the theatre was only 1/3 filled with no annoying crying babies. Screen is a bit small and the sound system is so-so... wait, I'm not reviewing the cinema theatre here... oops.



Brave Story is a 2hr fantasy anime based off the same titled manga. Obviously you can expect a very long adventure story shrunk down to just 2hr so a great deal of details were excluded. It was however sufficient to cover the gist of the story, which features a young boy Wataru from the real world, having encountered a family crisis, went into an alternate fantasy world called Vision in attempt to wish for his family crisis to disappear. The story revolves around Wataru exploring the different places in vision, making friends, getting popular and eventually making tough choices like deciding between personal wishes, helping friend in astray, and sacrificing for the greater good.

As expected of typical fantasy targetted at the young, most of the characters in the story are friendly looking animal humanoids like cat-girls and lizardmen, and not so friendly looking creatures like giant toads and fire-breathing dragons and black flying monsters with sharp teeth. There are also typical character classes (heros, magicians, priests, highlanders (barbarians) and what-nots) and magic (monster summoning, colorful spells of different elements, transformable weapons) and treasure hunting (collecting 5 different gems before a wish can be granted).

The ending was also expected, you know, the hero making a politically correct decision that impacts the world, and overall it was a reasonably happy ending.
S might have more to talk about this but she doesn't want to blog this review, so, well, no further comments.

As mentioned, a great deal of story details were excluded by shrinking a manga series into just a 2hr movie. So there was this karaoke part where a song is played and a majority of Wataru's adventure just flashes past with bits and pieces of information. I felt it would be better if the manga was converted to an anime series of 13 episodes rather than just a 2hr movie, to give the whole story more credit.

Having read manga and watched anime of similar genre/storyline like Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken and Dragon Quest: Emblem of Roto, I find Brave Story to be a little less exciting than what I'd like it to be. It is decent enough to entice the younger and new people to this genre of manga/anime, but it is not fantastic enough for me. I had watched the trailer months ago and waited in anticipation, and I was almost tempted to purchase the manga series before I watched the movie, but I decide not to after the show.

I give the movie a 7 of 10, mainly for a good attempt to introduce this genre of anime/manga to this little island. Hopefully there will be more good anime movies introduced here.

The "Hungry Ghost Month" Rant

Warning - this is a rant post. Whatever is written here is my personal view and I'll simply delete away any flame comments.

I absolutely dread the Chinese 7th Lunar Month aka Hungry Ghost Month. This is when religious Chinese burn joss sticks and joss papers and other fancy papercrafts as a tribute to their ancestors, supposedly allowing them to receive the burnt stuff in the form of money and luxury items in the dead world.

Ok, all these sound really pious and good, loving acts for the ancestors. And no offense to those who burn offerings with a caring mind to think of others. But I simply cannot tolerate folks who burn the joss papers everywhere like nobody's business and as if they own the whole bloody common void deck and greenery. Hello, the government provided free recycled giant oil drums to let you burn your stuff inside it so that you won't dirty the grass patches and cement floors. Why do you have to ignore the oil drum that is only 1 metre away and insist on burning your stuff on the grass patches and cement floors and drain covers? Do you know how dirty it gets with all the ashes flying around with the smoke into the windows of your helpless neighbors who happen to live just some floors above where you commit your burning acts? Do you know how dirty it gets in the aftermath, especially if it rains, that the poor road sweeper have a hell-of-a-time trying to clean up the leftover mess? Do you know when the ashes smear onto white shirts and dresses they almost can't be removed? Do you know the black circular patches of burnt grass are nothing as pleasant looking as crop circles?

To be fair, let me try to put myself in your shoes. Ok, so you absolutely cannot use the oil drum because everybody else uses it and you do not want to accidentally mix up your burnt donations among others and in the end it doesn't get delivered to the correct recipient... Wait, the location where you are burning now doesn't belong to you, or your daddy, or your great-great-grand-daddy. It's a common green and common void deck. It's not the backyard of your kampong hut anymore, wise guy. Are you 100% certain that burning on this drain cover will let you successfully deliver your tributes to your ancestor?

Let me offer a better solution to you. You want to plant joss sticks to direct your ancestors to the correct location? Plant them along your windows. You want to make sure your burning offerings get delivered correctly? Burn them inside your own home. Your 100sqm or whatever-size home is what you own and where you stay. Nobody will question what you burn inside there, and you can be sure this is 100 times more accurate in terms of delivery. Wait. The firemen might object, but that is another issue altogether.

End note, people should learn the essence of traditions and implement the good points wisely, not follow steps of traditions like dummies.

L's Anime Corner

What is Anime? Can eat one? ... Oh! I noes! Those Kids Channel shows like My Little Pony issit?

Better late than never, a long awaited gathering

after more than X years of "PLANNING", finally we have a gathering at home.
almost 2 weeks of heads up and confirming...finally, Saturday came.

Preparation started on Friday's evening and yes, I finally succeeded with my 2nd attempts of Mango Puddings!

If you need the recipe, you have to contact me at 1800-SINJUN(Toll free) provided that you get through and even you get through, it won't be me answering. I got it from the internet and too bad I ain't going to reveal the source. I have good reviews from the guests and yes, I have already started planning on my retirement plan ...


Other dishes for the day:
"Stirred" Japanese Rice - My 1st attempt to use rice cooker to cook the rice with the rest of ingredients and in the end, it became "Fried" Japanese rice cos I almost burnt the rice cooker again... Jason, if you read this, you will tease me again...

Mentaiko Pasta was not quite a success cos I unwittingly bought the wrong type of pasta so it ended up being Mentaiko "Bee Hoon"... Paid attention to the label next time.. I just see spaggetti and cook in 2 mins so I grabbed it... Reminded me of the Low Fat milk I bought this morning. Was Banana Low Fat milk. Damn I didn't see the small print..


The other success dish is "Sunshine Salad". My "virgin" creation as well... Not bad right??
I am not going to describe the ingredients. You can tell from the picture. See See!



Food wise, 3 thumbs up I gave myself!

Fun wise, I couldn't rate... Folks you got to loosen up, you guys don't seem to feel very comfortable (we last gather last year). I really miss the days when we were so young then teasing each other... As we grow, somehow, we lose that magical feelings... Next gathering, maybe we have to drink enough.. , I well bring more beers and wines... if I have to make you drink to loosen up.... August 18th, looking forward to this gathering...

Until then.... ............ ...........


Ja na....

I am the Master of my Fate; I am the Captain of my Soul.

... read from Your Magic Power To Be Rich! by Napoleon Hill, originated from Invictus by William Ernest Henley.

Instructions:
- face mirror and read aloud once every morning and night.
- repeat faithfully.
- incease dosage as required :p

Book Review: The Only Three Questions That Count by Ken Fisher et al

Finally crunched through this 400ish page investment book, not that it is a bore, but I'm simply too lazy to spend lengthy time on reading at one go. Ken Fisher is good. This book is good. It is a 'investment for dummies' book that caters to the 'slightly-financially-informed-and-want-to-have-a-go-at-investing' masses out there, myself included. The book far from those thick boring financial textbooks with minute font sizes, and it definitely covers many issues that are not covered by typical textbooks. It is certainly a must-read for anyone interested in investing more successfully. Want to know the relevance (and irrelevance) of stock prices to PE ratio and oil prices and country debts and president elections and many other things you may have never thought about? This is THE book to start off with. While I'm convinced by the three questions strategy highlighted in the book, I'm again, too lazy to be asking the questions diligently and frequently enough in my attempts at stock investments. Nevertheless, I believe I have gained very useful knowledge from reading this book, and I will certainly recommend it to everyone else who plans to have a hand at stock investments.

More Than Meets The Eye

We watched the Transformers movie last weekend with some relatives, tickets courtesy of one of the cousins. Oh boy, what a mixed feeling we had after we got out of the theatre...

The good: The special rendered effects were awesome. Fantastic Four's effects looked like child's play compared to Transformers. The movement and transformation of the robots seemed natural (robots... natural... I'm probably contradicting myself...) and they even threw in matrix-like-slow-motion action scenes (robots in slowmo of course, not Keanu Reeves). Ok, I think that's about it for the good part.

The bad: I grew up watching the ORIGINAL transformers cartoon, so I'm probably a little prejudice about this, but everything else about the movie (except special effects) were bad >:| with the following in particular:
1. Nothing about the robots' appearances look like the original ones, except Optimus Prime's head and Bumblebee's yellow coating. Megatron looked just like Starscream who looked just like Jazz (especially in the confusion of big battles).
2. The background story was majorly revamped. Now there's a Cube (which can transform from a BIG cube to, er, small cube) and people can use its power to create Decepticons.
3. Lots of screen time wasted on the human actor (who isn't handsome) and his cheezy teenager-falls-for-sexy-girl-does-stupid-things-then-acts-heroic adventure.
4. Missing iconic Transformers theme song. Unforgivable.

Thus, I conclude and give the movie a 7/10 purely because of the amazing special effects. I actually don't mind watching the movie again for the effects :p

The movie obviously gives much room for a sequel (or many sequels) so we'll see how the director redeems himself in the future (assuming he isn't slaughtered by Transformers fanatics by now).