Welcome, Friday

Enough

I shall stop for now.

Not due to apathy or laziness.

But due to the lack of success.

Perhaps when one stops, it will happen.

A watched pot never boils?

Rant

Just had the worst BKT evar!

This is the one in East Coast Lagoon food centre... since 1963? Bah!

Soup was flavourless, meat was dry. Pork knuckle was not "lu" enough. Rice was marginally uncooked. Tau pok was too salty.

I didn't finish my food at all. Thats unusual for me. I usually eat up everything if its "passable"

Bah.

Cat Mind Control

Public Service Announcement

Ever wonder why there seems to be more crazy cat people than dog people?

Why we see letters to the forum screaming "death to stray dogs!" but lets neuter and let our fuzzy wuzzy kitties live... even though they sit atop our cars and scratch them, cry out when they are in heat...

Why there are more people who feed stray cats and leave trash around, than those that feed stray dogs?

There is a simple answer.

They are infected by a parasite. Now, don't stop for a moment and think that this is something out of a Hollywood script, or a B-grade conspiracy theory...

Read below, google for more info if you have to.

---

Toxoplasma Gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite the definitive host of which is the cat, but the parasite can be carried by all known mammals including humans. T. gondii infections have the ability to change the behavior of rats and mice, making them drawn to rather than fearful of the scent of cats. This effect is advantageous to the parasite, which will be able to sexually reproduce if its host is eaten by a cat. The infection is almost surgical in its precision, as it does not affect a rat’s other fears such as the fear of open spaces or of unfamiliar smelling food.

If You Need A Laugh This Morning...

And click this link ==> CLICK!

FAIL

FAIL!

Is the Malaysian Immigration Department website not having an English equivalent.

Click on English and it says "under construction".

Another funny fail, above. =P

Distracted

I have been quite distracted recently. Do I know why? Hmm...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Sucked!

So I watched Harry Potter last night. And these are my thoughts on the movie. The content below does contain several spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie and intend to watch it, you can stop reading now.

Word of advice though, it will do you well not to read the book again before watching the movie. Or else you’ll be sorely disappointed like I was.

In a nutshell, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE sucked! Let me tell you why.

Overall, there wasn’t enough “magic”. If we remembered the previous movies, there was always something new and “magical” that we see. Be it moving staircases and people in paintings, dragons, duelling, ghosts, brooming... there was always something new. In the book, Rowling recognises this and spends considerable time in Fred and George’s shop. In the movie, the production was so lazy that in the last scene with Potter in Dumbledore’s room, the pictures were not moving at all! You can’t help but feel that the producers had let the previous success of the movie go to their heads. There were no ghosts, very little peripheral magic effects, all leading to a feeling of blah...

The adaptation was flat. There were very few crests and ebbs in the movie. One couldn’t help but feel the length of the movie. Yes, there was one scene with Belatrix attacking the Burrow (which was uncessary to the adaptation in my view and did not appear in the book). I blame the writers. They revealed the cupboard and room of requirement too soon, without fanfare (as opposed to the book – which drags out Potters frustration of not knowing where Malfroy went). The “budding romances” so beautifully played out in the book were reduced to disjointed scenes here and there. The sessions of counsel which Harry has with Ron and Herminone where he fills them in his suspicions are all missing, leading to you wondering how Herminone knew Harry had gone to retrieve the Horcrux with Dumbledore. And yes, Harry was holding on to the Potions book, but that was not all of it! It made a difference to him in the book. But the way they wrote the screenplay, you wonder why it was called the Half Blood Prince in the first place?!

All in all, the storyline felt like a letdown, an unsatisfying meal. The scriptwriters sucked.

And what is it with them wearing Muggle clothes throughout? Yes, I know they are 17 and doing their N.E.W.Ts. But Fred / George and Percy were in Hogwarts in their N.E.W.Ts and they wore robes!

Dumbledore was supposed to have been weakened by the potion. But you see him standing up, strong setting fire to the Infreti, and speaking with a strong voice to Malfroy on the Astronomy Tower. He was supposed to have been severely weakened! And thats only why Malfroy could disarm him!

There were several loopholes besides those above! The Millenium bridge collapse is supposed to have led to several deaths, but in the scene where the bridge was bucking, there was no one on the bridge!

I have a one more other question. Why did Snape gesticulate to Harry to keep quiet in the Tower? Why was it not a blast of Peruvian Darkness Powder and all the Deatheaters rushing into the room?

Oh, did I mention I dislike this Dumbledore? He seems too crazy (his eyes are murderous), too dangerous and not the genial person we are familiar with in the book. I'm so glad he's gone.

Gosh. It was a bad movie. I came out of it angry. But we still have to watch it because for the flow to the last book. Grr... Argh!

Best Collection of Photos from Nature

Click Here.

You'll smile, I assure you.

Damaged

Me. Today.

Procrastination

Been putting off starting a piece of work. Just because I think I shouldn't be doing it. But then again, lets start before I really screw myself over.

urgh...

Stripper Wanted

I'm looking for a stripper.

Specifically, a shampoo which can strip my industrial strength wax from my hair everyday.

Any recommendations?

Fact

Fact. Durians and Beer = hangover.

What A Week!

Seems like its been a mad / bad / drama-filled week for quite a few people I know (not least myself). Its Friday, and I think its a time to laugh those blues away.

Look around you, and look at the funnier things in life. Forget your problems. Enjoy the company of your friends.

Have a beer. Make it a big beer today! (ala Milo advert) =P

Have a good weekend, folks!

I Want To Believe

That sometimes, honesty does pay. Perhaps, you see what you see because of the darkness inside your heart.

Trapped

There are just those days you feel trapped by circumstances of your own choosing.

Almost...

Karma reminded me of something today...

Almost got into a horrific car accident... good thing a colleague screamed and I swerved.

Be good, Brandon. Be good.

Me. Now.

Ommm....

Meditating...

Pensive...

I think its time to re-evaluate some things...

Perhaps I should hibernate for awhile.

Finger Pointing

He who points first gets his story in first.

Whether it is true or not... tsk.

Do Good Boys Even Appeal to Women?

Sigh. Time to be bad.

Quote of the Day

Men marry women hoping they wouldn't change, but the women do.

Women marry men hoping they will change, but the men don't.

- VCSY 2009

Reset

Somehow my blog template reset itself.

I lost links I've added in the last 6 months. The best part is, I can't remember what they were till I need them, and then I forget what they were.

Its like my life has just gone back 6 months.

Maybe fate is trying to tell me something. Hmm...

Finally Friday...

True

Taken off PostSecret

When The Bells Stay Silent...

He looks up at the steeple.

Wishing the church bells to ring.

But they don't.

Perhaps its not time just yet.

Perhaps.

Pensive...

An old adage says, "One should not let pride get in the way".

But one must know when the battle is over and give up.

Perhaps, she's just not that into me after all...

Sigh...

The Fallen

I am confused. How could the reviewer from The Straits Times, Shin Min etc all say that this was a bad movie?

Oh, I forget, they are all the same paper.

Anyway... the movie was AWESOME!

No, I didn't think there were too many fighting scenes (eh, Transformers leh, not My Little Pony) nor too many undeveloped characters.

You must understand, Micheal Bay had to make this movie BIGGER than the previous one. Expectations had been set. In the first one, we didn't know what the robots would look like, sound, or what weapons they will use.

He needed to make it BIGGER, with more explosions, more robots (like Devastator - but it was completely different from what I would have imagined), tell us more about the Transformers race (like how they can be like Gundam and take spare parts from others of their kind), and how they can actually die (with leaking cybernetic fluid off their spinal cords - no one but Megatron died in the first film).

Yes, there were some parts which were out of story. Like how they had too many "clowns" in the movie. Sam's parents, the S7 guy, his room mate, the twins... all served to make the plot jaggered and fall apart at the climax.

But still... love it love it love it. =)