Stranger Than Fiction

It takes just one gem of a movie to overcome my writer's block (blog?), and what could be more apt than a film about an author who is miserably trying to get past her writer's block?



To be more accurate, 'Stranger Than Fiction' is not so much about the author, but that about the life of the protaganist in her unfinished book. "Without giving too much away" (quoted from many movie reviewers but which is always bullshit because there's simply no way to review a film without dishing out the plot), I will merely comment that this is a wonderfully crafted masterpiece that combines a highly imaginative and original script, perfectly-timed pacing and understatedly convincing and not over-the-top performances from actors more known for their OTT-ness, such as Will Ferell (Talledega Nights anyone?) and even Queen Latifah.

Definitely one of the better shows I've caught this year, and what a great way to round off an eventful CNY.

Pushing your colons to the limits

Here's how you work those stomach muscles over the weekend!

Step 1: Saturday Lunch Buffet at the Paramount



Head down to East Coast and indulge in a 50-over course Ala Carte Cantonese buffet. Eat like there's no tomorrow (or dinner). Devour salmon sashimi, sauteed scallops, poached prawns and stuff you know cost an arm and a leg in the markets. Discover the heavenly wonders of Claypot "San Bei" Sliced Ostrich Meat. Order another 2 pots. Down everything with 2 bowls of Herbal "Turtle Shell" Jelly served with honey.

Step 2: Hungry Ghost Auction Dinner (same day)

Can't they auction in Cantonese?

Agree to attend father-in-law's annual hungry ghost dinner. Immerse yourself in the dizzy world of Hokkien auctioning. Stuff yourself with strange concoctions passing off as decent Chinese food. Forget what happened at 12 noon. Imagine yourself as the highest bidder for a few sacks of rice. Drink plenty of Miranda Orange to cover up consistent weird aftertaste.

Step 3: Yong Siang Yong Tau Foo for Lunch on Sunday

The Legend

Forget about what went in the day before. Lust after favourite food not eaten in months. Head down to People's Park Complex without hesitation, despite putting beloved Manny through dingy carpark. Ignore 10-metre long queue. Buy 3 bowls for 2 mouths. Gnaw away.

Approaching the Oasis

3-hit Combo

Step 4: Wife's Home-cooked Porridge for Dinner

Think detox. Think liquid rice. Unwittingly overload congee with beef balls, cai xin, pork cubes and can peanuts. End up bloated instead.

And I get people telling us we don't eat enough.

Hard Gay at Redhill!

Hard Gay spotted in Singapore! Currently nested comfortably atop my subwoofer right now!

"Don't I look good? Fwoooooooooooh!"

Special thanks to the BIL (new acronym coined for my bro-in-law...) for bringing it over here from Japan :)

For the clueless, please check out the following 2-part video to find out the origins of this lovely toy!


The making of TOMY's Hard Gay Toy Part 1


The making of TOMY's Hard Gay Toy Part 2

New New New!!!

Yet another attempt at blog reviving :P

This coincides with a fresh beginning in my life.

Have been staying at new place around 2 months now.... just got married...

Bucking the matching wedding bands trend

new car juz arrived...

All set and 'Reddy' to go!

going to start teaching in SRJC... everything seems like a blur.

Hopefully, this blog gets kickstarted into life by these changes!

Mrs Henderson Presents

Now now, what would you expect from a movie that starts off with a solemn British upper-class funeral with a very sombre Judi Dench crying on a boat in the middle of a lake? A long depressing hour plus journey through the rest of the film?

How wrong I was! From the moment Madam Dench parted her 'upper-crass' lips, the show was a totally enjoyable ride. How witty the dialogue! How endearing the squabbles! How enchanting the story!

Judi Dench stars as an ultra-rich English widow who has just inherited her dead husband's massive fortune. She passes by a run-down theatre called the Windmill and decides to buy and rebuild it in hope that it'll fill the boredom and loneliness in her life. Bob Hoskins co-stars as the theatre manager whom she hires to run the Windmill, and acts as the perfect foil to the feisty lady of the show. The chemistry is amazing between the actors and their conversations so natural that it is hard to believe that they are actually working on a script. Another actress who left an impression is Kelly Reilly who I personally feel is a splitting image to Julie Delpy. Her somewhat convincing performance as a tenacious young star however, inevitably falls short of the commanding presences from the leads.

Come to think of it, there is only one commanding presence in the film, which makes it easy to understand why Judi Dench is once again nominated for the Oscars. She switches from cheeky sarcasm to dead seriousness with ridiculous ease, which makes it such fun watching her strut her stuff onscreen. As Mrs Henderson, she doesn't just own the theatre but the entire movie as well, so overpowering her presence that the pace drops significantly everytime she is not in the frame.

Without giving too much of the story away, you can expect to hear plenty of good songs (the show's a part-musical), indulge in excellent dialogue, and witness many 'insightful' moments (alright alright, there are many naked ladies on stage). Lovely story, great acting, bright lights, nice music, eye-popping assets, free movie tickets... what more can I ask for?

Bowled Over!

That's my score at bottom row!

I'm thrilled! Best score ever, beat my previous best of 160 set all the way back in Junior College days! Can't believe the record stood for 10 years. From student then... to teacher now... Gosh.

When bigger means better...

Two weeks ago, the W's sis gave us a lunch treat at Tung Lok, Liang Court. The food was fabulous and did not disappoint. I guessed quality justifies the cost in this case. What caught our attention apart from the food, was the menu.

Intimidating book of food

Well, if impact was what was intended, they sure did achieved it. The sheer size of the menu was complemented with gigantic fonts and pictures on the inside. Definitely the largest menu we've ever seen.

After lunch, we explored the very seldomly visited Liang Court and found ourselves in a furniture store. Yet again, something apart from the main course caught our eyes...

Poser alert!

A runway! Probably a mini stage for their product photoshoots. The W and I took a few shots on it (while the salesperson wasn't looking) and gave our best wannabe model poses! Just couldn't help it, especially since we were ardent fans of Project Runway.

We certainly didn't expect to find little surprises like these on a lazy Saturday afternoon at a much forsaken place. Guess sometimes things around us aren't so predictable after all.

The Chronicles of the New Home

26 years. That's how long I've been staying in my place. In a few months' time, my past residential years will be firmly behind me as the W and I shift to our new home.

It all began a few months back, when we submitted our HDB application and eagerly hoped for the best. The chances of getting a satisfactory queue number for unit selection was slim, a mere 1 out of 7 or 8 chance.

The letter finally arrived and we were awarded a somewhat acceptable queue number. It was reasonably good fortune, considering the odds. The selection process was covered by my dad (we were bound for Taipei on that very day) and we miraculously managed to get a high-level unit.

Keys collection will not come so fast, so despite not being able to enter the flat, the W and I went down to pay our future home a visit!

That's our kitchen!

Corridor leading up to the new home

View from the corridor

Looking down to the road

Can you spot the giant Xmas tree on Mount Faber?

Before we left, I couldn't help but give it a try...

Ding Dong!!!

Yup, that's me pressing my future doorbell, which did not ring, of course. Treasure this rare appearance of the Grandmaster Cubic on the blog, heh heh.

It'll be at least 1 month plus before we will be called up to collect the house keys. Really looking forward to that day and the exciting (and hopefully not too frustrating) home renovation that will follow!

Post-Christmas Blues (or Greens)

All packed and ready for the 'holiday'

Sigh. Well, a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.

See ya folks in the new year!

Ringing in the new year...

... with a nifty new phone!

The Sony Ericsson K750i

Despite my initial reluctance to give up my sleek and compact Samsung E630, which has served me well for the past eight months, the allure of the feature-packed K750i proved too much to resist. So when the W offered to buy the phone as a (belated) birthday present, I traded in the E630 for my dream phone.

So, here's a last look at my beloved Samsung:

The old faithful