genius loves company...

ray... the story of ray charles robinson...
a biopic that told his life of overcoming his disability and drug addiction...
it wasn't particularly moving... but jamie foxx's performance was definitely worth the award...
not that i am familiar with ray charles... but when i think of ray charles i think of the character that i saw in the movie...
the mannerisms... the showmanship...
but i think the best part of the movie was the MUSIC.. of course it is all about the music..
and my fav song...

You Don't Know Me
(Ray Charles)

You give your hand to me
Then you say hello
I can hardly speak
My heart is beating so
And anyone can tell
You think you know me well
But you don't know me

No, you don't know the one
Who dreams of you at night
And longs to kiss your lips
And longs to hold you tight
Oh I'm just a friend
That's all I've ever been
'Cause you don't know me

I never knew
The art of making love
Though my heart aches
With love for you
Afraid and shy
I've let my chance to go by
The chance that you might
Love me, too

You give your hand to me
And then you say good-bye
I watch you walk away
Beside the lucky guy
You'll never never know
The one who loves you so
Well, you don't know me

they left for java jazz.... boo hooo...

goodbye DOOL

tonight mark the last episode of DOOL...
not that it's ended its run... in fact we are still a couple of years behind what is being aired in the states...
what's DOOL you ask?
Days Of Our Lives... that soap opera set in SALEM that never seems to end...
but due to the poor viewership here in Spore... ch5 has decided to take it off air...
how sad...

it was an on-off relationship....
one of those series that you could just stop watching it completely for a few mths.. and then one day out of the blue turn it on again to find that time really passes by slowly in SALEm... 'like sands thru the hourglass...so are the days of our lives..'
the characters are still the same... ok maybe some switching of partners here and there... a chip inserted into a brain somewhere... but whatever it is... all evil deeds lead back to STEFANO

and so it is done... the last episode they will air... leaving nothing resolved...
will sammi die?
will john marry marlena?
will hope/princess gina succeed?
will lucas tell the truth?
will eric end up with nicole?
will they ever convict stefano?

we'll never know now will we?

oscar nite...

it was a nite where oscar showed who he favours... and those whom he doesn't...

anette benning, kate winslet, johnny depp, leornado dicaprio, martin scorsese.... all went home empty handed yet again...
poor mrs warren beatty lost once again to the gender-defiant performance of hilary swank...
you gotta admit... she tugged all the heartstrings with that performance... but i can never seem to forget that she was the female karate kid back when mr miyagi still had a career with that series...
clint eastwood picked up his second statue too...

the aviator collected all the consolation awards while the million dollar baby came out victorious... winning best picture

it was an entertaining night with a whole lot of beyonce.. performing 3 of the 5 nominated songs... and when the eventual winner (the song for the motorcycle diaries) collected his award, he sang... as if to imply how antonio banderas battered his spanish ballad...

hmm...

and the fashion statment of the night had got to be the long flowy tresses slightly coiffed and teased... did you se giselle bundchen next to leonardo dicaprio?? and gwyneth palthrow? the GALADRIEL hair is in!!

coulda, woulda, shoulda....

i coulda done my work throughout the weeklong break...
but instead i went to the museum, a concert, caught a couple of shows, potatoed on the couch, chilled out with friends....

i woulda been sleeping by now...
but so much left to be done and it doesn't seem like i'm gonna finish...

i shoulda been more disciplined and avoided procrastination....
but its too late now... and i enjoyed the break...

it's payback time...
another dreadful sunday/monday... i dunno which day to consider it as...

this is what the stars say...

February 26, 2005
You've been dealing with the erratic, unusual behavior of friends, neighbors and family members for days now. You're tired of it, and you're just about done with babysitting them. You're even ready to mention that. Good for you. Now, since it's Saturday, you can probably find a place to hide that's anything but boring -- oh, and someone to hide with, no doubt about that. In the meantime, get through the day, and think about tonight.

wow... how uncanny...

plain jane jones

natalie portman deserves all the accolades for her riveting performance in the movie...
closer...

the dysfunctional relationships between dysfunctionals...
achingly beautiful... at times painful... but never once ideal...
at any one point in time... someone is lying... another is cheating... the other is doubting...
and as they each yearn for complete honesty... they wished that the other party had lied...
and the audience will never really know the truth...

dan wished anna had lied to her about sleeping with larry
anna thinks that she loves dan but decides to stay with larry
larry claims to have slept with alice... but alice is actually jane
alice says that she never lied to dan... but never told him her real name...
dan couldn't accept the fact that anna slept with larry but when she was already sleeping with him while he was having that sordid affair with her...

there is no victim here... just individuals tangled in the web of deceit that they've woven...

and seems like after getting dumped by all the women in alfie... and now the two women here... jude law as a commodity has depreciated in value eh?? and one other thing... somehow the role of anna just screams GLEN CLOSE... the bonafide bitch... julia roberts somehow din quite shine...

and amidst all the pretensions... we actually enjoyed the movie.... go figure...

remind me not to buy 4D...

goodbye melinda, jared, sarah, judd...

for those who can't put the name to the performance...

melinda: power of love
jared: some marc anthony song... he's the young good looking one...
sarah: the one with the big eyes and headlights... janice.. the one u say chio...
judd: the one who did some rock and roll cowboy show thing....

i can't believe that i din get one rite!! well.. i am not america... it was easier last season when all i had to do was name the top two from each show...

idol is back... (part two)

for the girls..
the key words.... nadia, underwood, aloha and vonzell....
altho the judges thot that mikalah was fun... i think that i belong to the half that finds her irritating... seriously, singing NANNY ala fran drescher?? she is entertaining.. give her a sitcom... to much of a dejavu for me... nasal voice and brit bloke...

the two to go...
amanda avila who gave an uninspiring rendition of how am i supposed to live without you.. (frankly i think the guy who sang it earlier did a better job...)
celena rae... she sang I WILL LOVE AGAIn... if any of u can remember.. bland performance.. blander personality....

we shall see tmw if i am rite!

idol is back... (part one)

not exactly my intention to run a review of the show the entire season... but idol talk is always exciting... i still remember when back in cpg we wld hv chain emails bitching bout the ppl who were out of tune.. and supporting the ones that we like... so haha.. let me cash in on the comments!!

the format of the competition has changed this season... the final 24 is split into 12 guys and 12 girls... where each week 2guys and 2girls will be eliminated (those with the least vote).. this is opposed to the previous seasons where the top two of the weekly piano shows are voted in.... i guess this way it makes sure that the best make it to the final 12 and prevents any unfairness that comes from groups with lots of good singers or lots of bad singers...

anyway... after all the talk about how SEASON 4 sees the most talent... the first round of competition was rather disappointing... nothing really stood out except for one rendition of MOON RIVER... diversity is probably what the judges were trying to achieve when narrowing down to the final 12guys...
you hv the stevie wonders... the boy band worthy crooners with swoonsome looks.. the usher wannabes... the rockers.... and the fat one... (just to prove that this contest is about talent... but no fat girl leh....)

Favourite performance of the nite.. moon river by the music teacher with dreadlocks... the dreadlocks seem to hv gotten thinner.... but he's not exactly my fav contestant... my vote goes to TRAVIS... the tRIPLE tHREAT.... but somehow his rendition of my cherie amour was bland and unexciting... but no doubt he should survive the first week's elimination....

the two that i think will be cut this week... the fatboy SCOTT and the pseudo rocker and mr bean lookalike... CONSTANTINE... let's drop the duds and move on...

the girls will come on in half an hour's time.... shall catch up on my tv8 drama

all in a day's work...

as you are reading this... settling into your chair in front of your terminal...
you must be thankful that the lift did not break down this morning...
and you must be thinking what wonderful inventions escalators are...
but still... making ur way to the pantry... or to the loo must be quite a challenge...

*evil laughter: muauahahahahahaa*

miss janny jan... and aggy b.oh... where are my fish wantons??? and free magazines?? (i want STYLE magazine also leh..)

hope you guys enjoyed ur workout...
as much as you guys were in silent misery during the last set of LUNGES... i can still sense your enjoyment... haha...
being the true blue singaporean... who wldn't enjoy a free gym session???

this should be a start to the MARVELOUS MARCH plan...

i should seriously consider career option #03 again.. ;)

*ming ming... i know you must being feeling damn sour rite now... haha.... WHO ASK YOU!!! ask ingrate lim to keep secret from ME... ME!!! after all that i hv done for u!!! humph... but i shall be more gracious... get ready for THURSDAY!

we went there expecting shanghai...

with the glitz and the old shanghai glamour...
a simple jazz band... and vocalist with a smouldering voice...
crooning the hits that i have become familiar with watching Jiu4 Qing2 Mian2 Mian2 (the chinese equivalent of ROLLIN' GOOD TIMES) on tv...

what we got instead... bizzare costumes, tacky balls.... and blinding lights
a self indulgent (on the part of the performer) concert that tries to reinvent the oldies... but lapses into mainstream pop, when its bearable... and at times when it isn't... it morphs into alternative mainland china music that left us errr..... speechless.....

it is easy to be critical....

of course there was EFFORT in trying to make it an entertaining showcase.... the ordering of the songs, seemingly a feeble attempt to weave a storyline... verses narrated to evoke the mood came accross pretentious... the lack of continuity in the repertoire was distracting but not to say that it deserved our attention... the arrangement of the songs unrefreshing... repetitive, employing the same FORMULA to almost every song... (cue_verse_instrumental_vocalist tries to bob along pretending to be immersed in the music_vocalist makes audience clap for the soloists_verse_YAWN....)

it tried to have everything... dancing... props... stage changes... lighting effects...
but succeeded in nothing really... maybe they did cause some of the dead composers to be rolling in their graves due to the butchering of the classics...

but it could have been worse... we could hv paid full price... or it cld hv been william hung singing the songs...

happy birthday charlie brown...

spick and span...

the time is 0511hrs.. and i hv just spent the past 6 odd hours cleaning up ard the house...
janice thinks i'm mad...
but i think it is somewhat therapeutic.. (but don't start thinking that i will clean any of your rooms...)
it's almost like a ritual cleansing of oneself..
throwing out the rubbish... cleaning the windows and curtains that i hv, for the longest time, ignored in my weekly cleaning routine... well, the weekly cleaning routine is just so that the room looks bearable.. while such large scale cleaning are for reserved for special occassions like the term break! (heh.. finally a saturday without the PMS: pre-monday-blues symptoms..)

of course the room is still far from IDEAL.. but it will hv to do...

just a little hint of my list of chores..
*taking out the trash
*changing the sheets (which incl ironing the quilt cover before putting it on..)
*folding the laundry...
*sweeping
*propping up the makeshift table...
*taking down the curtains and cleaning the windows...
*washing the curtains and hanging them out to dry
*putting up temporary curtains
*arranging my shelves
*washing the toilet

i am amazed as to how domesticated i am... but i don't exactly sew or do pottery.. or make teddy bears for that matter (rite charles??)

and after a nice shower... i am about ready to go to bed... looking forward to an eventful sunday.. SAM and jazz concert... i shall take it as a nice little reward for my hard work...

procrastination catches up with you....

a student of mine has sent me an email to ask for the COMMENTS/FEEDBACK from their presentations so that they can work on the 2nd part of the assignment during this term break... *&%^!@#
hence i had to do some work out of the hours that they are paying me... how crappy is that!!?
oh well...

18students down... 12 more to go...

3 min blog....

just waiting for my noodles to be ready....
anyway its the much awaited TERM BREAK!!! gosh... i look forward to the weekend with much enthusiasm... ok so pity bout the rest of you who will be hvg studio during the break... but err.... take some time to chill???
actually i am looking forward to catch up on some work during the break too... and some sleep perhaps...

but of course much has been planned.. part 2 of the russell wong exhibition... botero at the SAM... haha... TV DAY at boh's... and the shanghai jazz concert...
ming: i hv pris' matric card for u...

edwin, who is reading this in shanghai via some feeder thingy.... hang in there yar? i know it feels helpless and hopeless.. staring at something u dunno how to do... and coz its the only thing u hv to do rite now... the prospects of the year to come seems bleak... hey.. things will prob get better when sch starts for you.. and when you are able to make some sense of the codes... yup... dun fret!

ok... noodles are ready!

i'll be back...

my white chair!!

my white chair...
Originally uploaded by lepetitmac.

backaches be gone!!
all the way to ikea... a long wait in town... assembling at admiralty....
only to find that the height LOOKs the same... but feels different... i hope its worth the trouble....

a breather....

the flurry of presentations that followed immediately after the brief lunar new year break sure was stressful....
and with the sniffles, it is just that much harder to cope... the body just wants to sleep.... the brain is dead from all the spicy prawn rolls...

i was all prepared to play truant for studio on monday... since i spent whatever waking hours i could manage reading some feminist crap... for the presentation for CONTEMPORARY THEORIES... and just as we finished the presentation at 1145am... a sms came telling us that studio had been postponed till tuesday....

its fate... there is no running away from this... so it was a LONG WEEKEND... ie: and extended sunday... so much for thinking that all horrors wld end on monday... but such is life... and the thing is i'm not even taking an elective this semester... i cannot imagine how the rest manage...

presentation came.. and it burned a tiny hole in my pocket... had to take a cab down to school... *sigh*
sugar mummy ming.... wld you like to contribute to my emergency cab fund???
and the printing too!! education is expensive... and what do we learn???

presentation went... not too shabilly... my spate of bad luck ever since crossing paths with china (hong kong, taiwan included) tutors seems to be coming to an end... once again proving the point that i can sell my song and (interpretive) dance routine to a non-china tutors and ang moh females quite effectively... keeping my fingers crossed that i am rid of the curse for good....

yuanxin... hope u are feeling better... not sure if u can surf the net at TTSH.... but get well soon!!

it's now just a little past midnight.... and i am pleased to say that i shall be hitting the sack soon... a pretty decent time i would say...

under the blasted weather...

*rubs eyes*
just woke up... nose is stuffed... throat is feeling scratchy and dry.... neck feels stiff.... lips are red...
the full blown effects of all the bingeing and coke during the past few days...
the weather isn't helping...

but there is work to be done... yet another sunday...
i can't wait for tuesday...

coke coke everywhere...

its the third day of the lunar new year...
and i am back in no man's land.... henceforth known as ADMIRALTy... like i was telling charmaine... it's like jb.. but u don't need a passport... neither will u get your hands on cheap dvds... so that's the trade off...
anyway...
i am back coz two presentations await me on monday... *sigh*
but of course my mandatory two day lunar new year visiting has been fulfilled... played my part of the filial boy... haha... wishing everyone a prosperous new year... eating everything that they shove in front of me... and smiling away whenever the qsn of marriage and the significant other popped up... sounds familiar eh?

my hands are itching for a good game of mahjong.. ie: i win... heh.... queen of gamlers: when do u wanna take me on??? hahaha after i single handedly made you as good a player as niki!
my kidneys are probably failing from all the coke consumed in the past three days...
and my waist expanding from all the sambal prawn rolls that i've consumed....
things that only happen during the lunar new year... can't wait for it to happen all over again...