Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Butterfly Dreams
Coldplay concert last night was SO GOOD. Of course I couldn't get good photos or anything with it being dark, except the "Lovers in Japan" butterflies (yay posted!). The media comp was in the most expensive section but still way too far away booo.
It's really not fair how talented Chris Martin is. Freak.
It's really not fair how talented Chris Martin is. Freak.
I love how the first pic has the big screen... Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I read about 75% of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain but am a little disappointed. It's supposed to be scandalous but it's not THAT scandalous. I have a feeling it's not the book, it's me, I'm just jaded. Also, Bourdain was quite self-congratulatory over and over again... which I don't like AT ALL in a memoir... I LOVE self-deprecation. Is that weird?
Well now I'm reading Outliers, you know, another bestseller churned out by the guy who wrote Blink. His books are great fun to read, but I actually sort of detest Blink. It's a pop psychology book that could've been written by anyone who did a few hours of research and interviewed a few key people. It's formulaic. And actually, I don't think Blink really had one overarching argument, just that, in general, intuition is powerful. Uh... yeah. I am finding Outliers much more interesting and pointful - so far. Definitely recommended so far! hee.
Well now I'm reading Outliers, you know, another bestseller churned out by the guy who wrote Blink. His books are great fun to read, but I actually sort of detest Blink. It's a pop psychology book that could've been written by anyone who did a few hours of research and interviewed a few key people. It's formulaic. And actually, I don't think Blink really had one overarching argument, just that, in general, intuition is powerful. Uh... yeah. I am finding Outliers much more interesting and pointful - so far. Definitely recommended so far! hee.
Monday, March 23, 2009
By the way it's not for the faint of heart
Seriously this weekend has been really very interesting and cool and great... I hate to say it, even, because I'm so not a "birthday" person, but lots of fun stuff occurred this weekend, one of which was...
In Bruges.
OMG. V.Li had couriered to me about 15 movies two weeks ago. Courier, because it's just fun and hilarious, OK? Anyway, I finally popped one in which I'd been very interested in seeing.
So I think this completes the trifecta of recent funny assassin movies loved by me: 1) Lucky Number Slevin, 2) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, 3) In Bruges
Edited to add: LOL just found out In Bruges was nominated for best original screenplay for 2008.
In Bruges.
OMG. V.Li had couriered to me about 15 movies two weeks ago. Courier, because it's just fun and hilarious, OK? Anyway, I finally popped one in which I'd been very interested in seeing.
So I think this completes the trifecta of recent funny assassin movies loved by me: 1) Lucky Number Slevin, 2) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, 3) In Bruges
Edited to add: LOL just found out In Bruges was nominated for best original screenplay for 2008.
birthday weekend and other notes
I'm not much into my birthday, although I think this year's was pretty good. Got some really nice gifts :) Had several birthday-related meals. My innards are champagne-laden. Played Guitar Hero. Good.
On Saturday I went shopping by myself, which is actually my favorite mode of shopping... I had to go to buy Murad face stuff and they don't sell it in many places in HK so I had to go to Harbour City's Lane Crawford Faces. OK I have never gushed about Murad in my blog but I really ought to because I absolutively swear by it. Like the infomercial interviewees say, Murad acne complex has changed my life. I'm making it sound like I had really bad skin before which isn't exactly accurate, but it was far from blemish-free. And blemishes are day-ruining bastards. About 2 months after using Murad acne complex, my skin was comPLETEly clear and has pretty much stayed that way for the past 1.5 years. As in, it has changed my life. Oh and have I mentioned that I have tried EVERYTHING? An amassment of an enormous collection of trials and errors since the age of 13.
So anyway I ran out and went to Faces to buy it, and of course the Murad counter has no customers... since no one knows about it here, no surprise (the Bliss counter also empty teehee), which, if I really think about it, just means all the better for me, since I am now possibly like their best customer. I had extensive discussions with the salesgirl about the products because I also wanted to get the brightening serum and an eye cream (ever notice how you manage to run out of every face thing at the exact same moment? It's one of those cosmic mysteries). So the deal's done and she throws in, like, HK$500 worth of samples. UH, YAY.
Also: dilemma. I really need some advice about this. I get a free facial from Murad. I don't know if I should accept the offer, because I am terrified of going to the facial and they expect me to buy something! Oh and they just called me and told me to go pick up a birthday gift from Murad HAHA I'm feeling very locked-in to this relationship.
After my little Faces excursion (also signed up for the Faces VIP card... sigh, have I become their bitch?... and the free gift was a Bliss sample, YES!), on to my next stop, one of my top 5 favorite stores in the world: BCBGeneration... formerly known as BCBGirls... yeah it sells all the lower lines under BCBG... and half the store was 70% off. OMG. I tried on 8 things. Went home with 3.
One of the most eventful things of this weekend didn't even happen to me. Well it's more like, one of the most holy-frick things I can imagine occurring... Tim went to a concert by himself (uh, sorry for outing your awesome level of lonerdom - but hey I'm going to the Coldplay concert by myself this Wednesday! (Only managed to get one media comp, you see.)) and ran into none other than Marie Digby! He went up to her and started talking to her about his friend who's obsessed with her. Hahaha! They took pictures! THEN he was really pissed because he should've asked her to record a birthday message for me LOL omg... I would've flipped. That would've been insane. Woulda coulda shoulda. Heehee.
On Saturday I went shopping by myself, which is actually my favorite mode of shopping... I had to go to buy Murad face stuff and they don't sell it in many places in HK so I had to go to Harbour City's Lane Crawford Faces. OK I have never gushed about Murad in my blog but I really ought to because I absolutively swear by it. Like the infomercial interviewees say, Murad acne complex has changed my life. I'm making it sound like I had really bad skin before which isn't exactly accurate, but it was far from blemish-free. And blemishes are day-ruining bastards. About 2 months after using Murad acne complex, my skin was comPLETEly clear and has pretty much stayed that way for the past 1.5 years. As in, it has changed my life. Oh and have I mentioned that I have tried EVERYTHING? An amassment of an enormous collection of trials and errors since the age of 13.
So anyway I ran out and went to Faces to buy it, and of course the Murad counter has no customers... since no one knows about it here, no surprise (the Bliss counter also empty teehee), which, if I really think about it, just means all the better for me, since I am now possibly like their best customer. I had extensive discussions with the salesgirl about the products because I also wanted to get the brightening serum and an eye cream (ever notice how you manage to run out of every face thing at the exact same moment? It's one of those cosmic mysteries). So the deal's done and she throws in, like, HK$500 worth of samples. UH, YAY.
Also: dilemma. I really need some advice about this. I get a free facial from Murad. I don't know if I should accept the offer, because I am terrified of going to the facial and they expect me to buy something! Oh and they just called me and told me to go pick up a birthday gift from Murad HAHA I'm feeling very locked-in to this relationship.
After my little Faces excursion (also signed up for the Faces VIP card... sigh, have I become their bitch?... and the free gift was a Bliss sample, YES!), on to my next stop, one of my top 5 favorite stores in the world: BCBGeneration... formerly known as BCBGirls... yeah it sells all the lower lines under BCBG... and half the store was 70% off. OMG. I tried on 8 things. Went home with 3.
One of the most eventful things of this weekend didn't even happen to me. Well it's more like, one of the most holy-frick things I can imagine occurring... Tim went to a concert by himself (uh, sorry for outing your awesome level of lonerdom - but hey I'm going to the Coldplay concert by myself this Wednesday! (Only managed to get one media comp, you see.)) and ran into none other than Marie Digby! He went up to her and started talking to her about his friend who's obsessed with her. Hahaha! They took pictures! THEN he was really pissed because he should've asked her to record a birthday message for me LOL omg... I would've flipped. That would've been insane. Woulda coulda shoulda. Heehee.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Quest for the pretty
Our company camera's lens is in the repair shop right now (OK, it miiight have been my fault...) so I borrowed one of my dad's 300 cameras to take pix for work. The one I borrowed rocks... it's small (no big lens or anything) and good looking and the pictures turned out really well. I'm just so happy with how these pix turned out so here... and I'm guessing the camera is way beyond my budget.
Look, I used major zoom and it turned out crystal clear:
And I am very adept at flower function now. "Macro," I know:
This one was just pretty. Hong Kong Park is pretty amazing, really really:
And... I adore this pic:
Look, I used major zoom and it turned out crystal clear:
And I am very adept at flower function now. "Macro," I know:
This one was just pretty. Hong Kong Park is pretty amazing, really really:
And... I adore this pic:
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Finally uploaded the pics that have been on my camera for months...
I took this picture a long time ago in front of Links of London... origami hydrangeas... very cool and very much like what I used to do... ok I'm really interested in display-case origami, for obvious reasons... but I tried taking a picture with my normal camera and got shooed away, wtf! Haha. Just taking a pic of your window display, geez. Why are stores so anal. Anyway, I found this cool... all white, pretty typical... showcases the products very well when the products are colored... by the way, I have grown to love Links of London. They have some really cool stuff, although the prices are outrageous.
I took this picture a long time ago in front of Links of London... origami hydrangeas... very cool and very much like what I used to do... ok I'm really interested in display-case origami, for obvious reasons... but I tried taking a picture with my normal camera and got shooed away, wtf! Haha. Just taking a pic of your window display, geez. Why are stores so anal. Anyway, I found this cool... all white, pretty typical... showcases the products very well when the products are colored... by the way, I have grown to love Links of London. They have some really cool stuff, although the prices are outrageous.
Another note about the Oscars
I just want to say that I really enjoyed those category introductions at the Oscars this year. I love those kinds of montages. And they were very well done. Heartfelt. Succinct. Well written. I was very impressed. They actually made me want to keep watching. They made every award seem more significant. And the nominee introductions were nice too.
I really want to see Man On Wire!
I really want to see Man On Wire!
1:30AM
I'm usually not up at 1:30 at night. My capacity for sleep is astounding these days, and I get a lot of it. But I'm up now because I took a 3 hr nap after getting home from Slumdog Millionaire. And I'm sitting here and out my window in the apartment building literally a stone's throw away there were a few lights on just moments ago. It makes me wonder what they're doing in there. What they're watching on TV, whether they are happily reading in bed, who they're getting ready to sleep next to, and whether they are in the winter of their discontent, like me.
Went to Jennifer's birthday dinner tonight, bet they're still having fun right now with the ice louge hahaha (I bowed out early le).
Went to Jennifer's birthday dinner tonight, bet they're still having fun right now with the ice louge hahaha (I bowed out early le).
Watched Slumdog Millionaire today *SPOILER ALERT*
My opinion... it was filmed well. It's conflicting though, because the story... it's like a fairytale, as V.Li says. But at the same time it shows you some really brutal things. It's like Pan's Labyrinth except without the fantasy adventures. Or Life is Beautiful.
It also seems to have a very intentional goal of showcasing many facets of India, all tied together a bit too conveniently by Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Again, it was filmed really well. But the story... it's as if the writer had to tie a bunch of somewhat unrelated scenes together with some kind of theme... the unifying element will be the questions in Who Wants to be a Millionaire, that'd do it! It's like the default solution when trying to insert a symbolic scene that seems totally out of place, or showing something about a character's psyche--a dream sequence, that'd take care of that! You know what I mean, too easy.
Also, speaking as someone who has watched loads of Who Wants to be a Millionaire (although not the Indian version), the way it was done was pretty off. The last question would not be about novel character names! Too easy. Also, the fact that he had a phone-a-friend was downplayed until the very last minute, which obviously is driven by plot/script needs, was super unrealistic.
My favorite line. The second time she says "I'm Latika" toward the end, but flashbacking to her saying it in the beginning as a girl. I love that kinda crap.
It also seems to have a very intentional goal of showcasing many facets of India, all tied together a bit too conveniently by Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Again, it was filmed really well. But the story... it's as if the writer had to tie a bunch of somewhat unrelated scenes together with some kind of theme... the unifying element will be the questions in Who Wants to be a Millionaire, that'd do it! It's like the default solution when trying to insert a symbolic scene that seems totally out of place, or showing something about a character's psyche--a dream sequence, that'd take care of that! You know what I mean, too easy.
Also, speaking as someone who has watched loads of Who Wants to be a Millionaire (although not the Indian version), the way it was done was pretty off. The last question would not be about novel character names! Too easy. Also, the fact that he had a phone-a-friend was downplayed until the very last minute, which obviously is driven by plot/script needs, was super unrealistic.
My favorite line. The second time she says "I'm Latika" toward the end, but flashbacking to her saying it in the beginning as a girl. I love that kinda crap.