wild dragon chase

Final Fantasy XIII-2

2012-01-31T19:39:00.002+08:00

Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes out in English for North American audiences today!

And I've actually been playing it for about 3 days now, due to my import of it coming in early.

Seeing as I play pretty fast, and that the main scenario for the game isn't very long (about 22 hours or so), I've actually reached the end of the main game, and have been loving every moment of it.

Honestly, after clocking in about 22 hours of game time, I can say that this is one of the best modern Final Fantasy games yet. Based on what I'd heard about the game, I was expecting it to be on par or slightly better than FFXIII, but this game really blew me away.

Pros

- Expansive gameplay. The story is not just non-linear but allows you to backtrack and explore at your own will. In fact I think one of its strengths is that it gives you a reason to go back to the older areas you've been to, such that you'll find yourself wanting to explore even more. By this I mean gameplay elements like the mog toss, item hunting, unlocking more areas and doing quests for fragments.

- Customizing options. Since the 3rd character in the battle party is a monster, you have a lot of options to choose from. I was under the impression that there wouldn't been that much to customize but I was so wrong. There are many opportunities to build strong party members and devise strategies for battle.

- Replayability. Pretty much the whole game is replayable. Like, even the main story. This allows you to try different strategies on the same bosses and discover new things about the story by choosing different paths (and there are many options!). This is in stark contrast with FFXIII, where the game is basically a linear path to the end, and you'll pretty much never see an area again after clearing that chapter.

Cons

- Lack of polish. I feel that in order for them to have implemented all these drastic gameplay improvements with quests, platform elements and so on, they had to compromise a bit on presentation quality. For example, there aren't as many cutscenes with specifically directed cameras panning or zooming from certain angles and timed pauses. It's more conversation and generic actions. I've had a few "open" cutscenes where random NPCs would walk through my conversation. Nothing major but in terms of visual presentation its one step back.

- Short game. The main scenario is a bit short, even for modern RPG standards, but then again its not like the game forces you down one path all the time. The point is probably that people try out the side quests and do various things along the way, prolonging the experience. With all the side quests and the main story included, it probably builds to a decent length, which I'm fine with.

My qualm is mainly with how fast I reached the end of the story - I was enjoying it so much I didn't want it to reach the conclusion so soon. That said, even after clearing the entire game with a Platinum trophy I believe you can spend hours on it creating specific monsters to suit your playstyle.

Overall verdict.
10/10

not like I reviewed FFXIII before in the same way, but if I did, that would have been a 9/10.
This is actually on par with my favorite Final Fantasy (VIII). An unbelievable score, if I may say so myself. Too bad it's not a main lineage title.

Orchids on Parade

2012-01-22T23:59:00.000+08:00

Ok, so this post is ~~a liiiittle bit~~ way overdue, but pardon me, I've been busy.

Did you go for the 20th World Orchid Convention ~~this~~ last year? No? Let me fill you in.

it was held somewhere in that building.

It's basically THE orchid event of the year. If you really love orchids, this event might be what your idea of heaven looks like.

paying to see flowers. not something many people would do, or so you'd think.

I mean, it was literally orchid overdose that day. You could see them in all shapes, sizes, colors. You name it, and it was probably there on display.

For lack of a better word to sum up my experience with the flowers, I must say that they truly are pretty. Very very pretty.

One of the exhibits.

But a huge part of my enthusiasm for going to (and paying for) this event was really the preview of the Flower Dome over at Gardens By The Bay. It's like a futuristic dome that doubles as a greenhouse for temperate plants situated along Marina Bay.

beautiful Gardens by the Bay / futuristic dome!

stuff inside the dome...

beautiful desert rose.

and of course, camwhoring. 花痴！

I thought it was damn cool the way they arranged everything in there. If you like plants and flowers, or if you like fancy futuristic greenhouses for its architecture, go check this place out!

Oh wait, you can't, the Flower Dome only opens in June ~~next~~ this year. Something to look forward to I guess.

Go here for more info on Gardens by the Bay.

catch up with the dragon.

2012-01-19T22:52:00.002+08:00

OMG.

I HAVE TO CATCH UP WITH ALL MY BLOG ENTRIES!

as in.. I've actually quite a few entries drafted out, but because I never got down to editing and sizing down pics I never got to post them. And some of them are months old now.

GAH. It's always a bother to deal with backlog.

And now my goal is to try to clear them all before this coming Monday... partly because its a holiday for me, and also because it's the start of the lunar new year.

According to the Chinese zodiac, its gonna be the Year of the Dragon, which is kinda cool for my blog because it's titled Wild Dragon Chase.

2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, which may look something like that.

Whilst I can't wait for the lunar new year to come (because its a pretty huge festive holiday, and typically quite fun to celebrate), I do also want to start it afresh.

I personally value the lunar calendar new year more than the Gregorian one.. so in this sense I'm really looking at the start of a new chapter coming very soon.

~~And one of the things I hope to clear off before this new chapter starts, is my backlogged blog entries.~~

~~So let the blogspam begin!~~

edit: HAHA NOT HAPPENING. But I do have some posts that are about ready to publish so they're coming out soon.

3 reasons why SOPA shouldn't be passed.

2012-01-19T02:34:00.004+08:00

We're in the midst of the 24 blackout being staged by Wikipedia and various other online portals.
If you're an active wikipedia user like myself then this image should be pretty familiar to you.

(the workaround for this is ridiculously easy, btw)

All this is happening because of the SOPA or Stop Online Piracy Act, which is a bill that was recently introduced in the US Congress. It's aim is stop online piracy, but the ramifications of such a bill, if passed, are severe.

At this point I must say awareness for SOPA really skyrocketed because of the blackout being staged, but a lot of people are blindly opposing it without knowing what it does, or thinking that it does something that it really doesn't. Either way, its gotten A LOT of attention, and rightfully so.

I am personally against the bill, and would like to speak my piece on the matter.
Here are my 3 reasons why SOPA should not be passed.

1. Too Vague

The bill is simply too vague about how it will address the issue of online piracy on the Internet. I am of the belief that this stems from the notion that practically none of the people who wrote the bill have any technical knowledge or experience in the matter they are dealing with, nor did they consult with any subject experts either. This strikes me as odd because the Internet itself is a relatively new and complex form of media that really cannot be dealt with using existing assumptions from other media.

Because of the lack of technical specifications within the structure of the bill, it can be easily abused by corporations who can interpret the bill to their favor, by removing content from entire online portals based on minor infractions. This brings me to the 2nd reason, which is...

2. Lack of Due Process

If passed, the bill allows companies to seek to shut down websites that potentially promote piracy based on the activities of their users. This effectively removes the safe harbor status that most online social sites have been relying on to stay out of trouble. It also means that website owners are liable for actions they have no control over.

The lack of due process kicks in when no proof is required for authorities to take action against websites which have users potentially (or actually) infringing on copyrights or IP. Once again, this makes the paper extremely exploitable, and can be easily used to affect thousands (even millions) of innocent users should any company choose to stake any claims in this manner.

More importantly, it becomes a tool for which Internet censorship can be recklessly dished out. I don't see myself completely agreeing with the notion of a completely uncensored Internet, but if censorship exists, it cannot be done without due diligence on the matter, which won't happen because of the lack of due process.

(This is probably where all that stuff where people are saying "If SOPA passes, there will be no more YouTube, Twitter, Google, Wikipedia, Facebook and many more sites you love to use!" stems from. It technically isn't true at all, but is one of many possible outcomes.)

3. The Price of Ineffectiveness

This bill will NOT solve piracy - I can say that in all brutal honesty. In fact, piracy can never be completely eradicated, just as unemployment or crime cannot. I am not saying that because of this we don't try to lessen piracy, but that this bill is not the way to do it.

For one thing, all this will really do is move the pirates elsewhere, such as to places where legislation is more lax. Chances are that tech-savvy pirates would easily be able to circumvent blanket banning and DNS blocking (which they have already done, by the way), but in exchange for such provisions, both the integrity and utility of the Internet are being undermined.

In other words, the effects of the bill are too much considering the minimal if not insignificant impact this would actually have on real online piracy.

...
As such, I feel that SOPA really shouldn't be passed. I empathize with its intentions, but a lot more work has to be put into the paper before it comes close to being suitable for passing without causing too much damage to users of the Internet.

As mentioned earlier, I feel that the most important things to be addressed are the lack of technical details to the legislature, as well as the lack of due process, both of which combine to give you a bill that could impose unlimited liability on innocent parties.

Maybe a future bill could be passed that would actually work well towards curbing piracy, or perhaps the solution lies outside the realm of the legal framework.

When I made the decision...

2012-01-10T22:42:00.000+08:00

because it had to be said.

When I made the decision to start blogging in 2004, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were. The disruption to my writing style was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that I would not suffer a drastic change in credibility even though I made absolutely no sense. So it is with this recent internet meme. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one to take me seriously.

btw I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with what Grace Fu said. anyone calling for her to step down from office is retarded.

The Story of Bambi

2012-01-09T01:17:00.000+08:00

This is Bambi.

She was one of 2 Shelties rescued from a puppymill in August last year. The two of them served as breeding bitches, being forced to breed constantly to supply pet shops with puppies, in terrible conditions. They were confined in unhygienic spaces and given given little food, care or attention, let alone love. It was like a life of slavery. A miserable existence that no dog should be put through.

And so Bambi was being fostered at my place for the coming months.

this is the deer pose that she does that got her the name Bambi.

(yes I'm aware Bambi is a boy deer)

Bambi was the weaker of the two Shelties that were rescued (the other is Tinkerbelle, who was adopted not long after being rescued). When she came to us she had all sorts of problems, but understandably so, given the conditions she was put under.

She had tick fever, liver and kidney problems, was anemic and had scabies. She was also very scared of any form of human interaction.

As you can see from this picture, she was not a healthy dog. Extremely thin, and she would get nauseous and vomit her food because of her illnesses. At one point she even went for IV drips daily. She was THAT weak.

But she pulled through.

Given the proper care and attention, she was nursed back to good health, with proper meals (which needed to be hand-fed to her at first) that were high in protein and other nutritional stuff and a whole lot of medication and supplements.

see how thin and tiny she was

She now has a clean bill of health and is looking better than ever. She's also much more open to interaction with humans and other dogs.

And so it is with a heavy heart that we have to bid Bambi a farewell, as she embarks on a new journey in life with her new adoptive family tomorrow. Our job fostering her is now done.

looking slightly better

she likes to wander.

ohaidere. fur growing out.

Of all the dogs that have been fostered at my home, I think I've grown the most attached to Bambi, and reasonably so since she's been with us for perhaps the longest time. I'll definitely miss her but am truly happy for her, that she will be able to receive the love and attention that she's always deserved.

Take care Bambi <3

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-06T00:16:00.000+08:00

Happy 2012 everyone!

5 days into 2012, I'd like to take some time to make New Year resolutions, because that's something I rarely do. Let's see if it can become a to-do list for the year.

In 2012, I'd like to...

1. be happy doing what I do, be it at work or if I go back to studying.

2. have more confidence in myself and whatever I do.

3. learn to live life by loosening up even more.

4. take on new challenges in life.

5. never be boring, ever.

6. be more spontaneous.

7. keep fit and stay healthy and not neglect exercise because of work.

8. correct my posture.

9. moisturize and take better care of my skin/face.

10. get my 6-pack and keep it this time.

11. keep a tan.

12. eat healthily.

13. be less frivolous with my spending.

14. set aside more money for savings

15. spend more time with my family.

16. have more dedicated "me time".

17. keep my room tidy.

18. sleep more often, and at better timings.

19. blog more frequently, and with quality entries.

20. post more videos on Youtube.

21. complete the Final Fantasy's that I've fallen behind on.

22. work on projects that I've planned for myself in the past.

23. club and drink less often

24. have more sex, like seriously.

25. not fail my driving test again.

26. find me somebody to love.

One resolution for each year that has passed in my life. Let's see how many I can get done.

Singapore: 2011 in a very big nutshell

2012-01-02T20:27:00.008+08:00

Good evening to bother you.

2011 is over. Did you manage to follow up on everything that happened in Singapore in the past year?
If not, no worries because I thought I'd do a little recap of the events that shaped Singapore over the last 12 months.

Let's start with the economy. Singapore is facing rising prices. I mean, look at the prices of BTO flats and the COE. Like a crazy. About as much as if you anyhowly use Singtel's 3G bridging service in Taiwan.
Even transport prices are going up, like with the taxi fare hikes. I hear SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa also cut costs by riding on a sedan instead.

Times are tough for her la. MRT break down so often, need more money for maintenance also. But the costs are simply breaking through the window!

Hopefully the situation will improve soon so people won't keep swearing "Tuck Yew!" to the MRT staff. I mean, its not their fault also. Very poor thing.

Speaking of MRTs, our geometrically incorrect Circle Line is fully operational and we're well underway in terms of expanding our network with the Downtown Line. It is a piece of news that has moved a lot of Singaporeans. Especially the people living in Rochor Centre. Honestly, it's such groundbreaking news I think even dead people would be moved. Really.

now you see it, now you don't.

But I digress. Singapore's economy is still expanding. That's good news! With our inflation rate at almost 6%, it's only a matter of time before it catches up with our GST. And Singaporeans are doing their part by spending money.

I mean, did you see the queues at H&M when they opened? Or at Abercrombie & Fitch? Its like longer than the ones you find at Gong Cha, which to me says something.

Maybe I should move on to talk about our social and moral aspects in 2011. Did you see the topless guys along Orchard Road or that 3 storey tall ad of a naked man? The decency of Abercrombie & Fitch's marketing antics were a huge talking point among Singaporeans, but in the end nothing much was done about it.

That infamous ad.

Evidently it doesn't damage our family values as much as something related to Halloween. Or maybe its because Isabella Loh didn't have the final say in this. But moral values in Singapore must be going down. There are girls proudly slapping their mothers and wannabe ah bengs threatening to kill people chasing their ex-girlfriend. Hosehbo?

Priest lor, what happened to our traditional family values? I think they all gobangwall already.

OK so maybe our morals are going down, but at least we're becoming more social?
It depends on how you look at it really. Like, people organized a Facebook party at Raffles Place and no one turned up. Never give the organizer any face. Then again, they didn't dare to show their faces either, so its kinda fair.

what a crowd.

And more and more Singaporeans are using social media! Normally I would say that is good news, but there are more angry birds on twitter in Singapore than on t-shirts at your local pasar malam. It seems like most locals prefer to use social media to take part in our 3rd national past time - complaining.

(btw, if you didn't know what our first two national past times are, its eating and queuing respectively)

Yes, we love to complain - nothing new there, and no big deal either.
But when its about an event that happened 7 years ago, I think that we should seriously wake up and smell the curry. By now if you don't know where to find it, you can always head to your nearby MacDonalds.

we must learn to curry on with life.

Social media seems to also be the place for local political expression. Now, before I talk about politics I must say I'm very impressed by some of the things that Singaporeans post online. A lot of it is very creative - even better than the Fun Pack Song.

So the biggest topic in Singapore for 2011 would have to be the elections - both the General and Presidential Elections.

2011 was supposed to the game changer in the Singapore political scene. The month leading up to the General Elections was filled with promises, rallies and fierce debates. But then, like a flash of lightning, it was over and seemed as though nothing has changed. Then again, with all that has happened so far, I'm not sure. Honestly, I don't know what to say!

map showing the outcome of the election

What we do know is that we need a reliable government to lead us - one that will secure our future like cable-ties along the railways of change. Without their guiding hand, we would surely live to repent, like a certain GRC which I will not mention.

Over in Parliament, a new cabinet was assembled. No hammer was required in the process, even better than IKEA furniture. Both our former Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong decided to retire from cabinet. One of them got a new fancy title to be remembered by, and the other was already famous enough with his auto-biography of Hard Truths.

it's quite a good read, to be honest.

(Actually, I stand corrected. He will also be immortalized in a movie about Singapore's independence titled "1965". Sorry, I was having a Kate Spade moment.)

By the way, who else thinks Singapore has the most number of new faces in election this year? Kee chiew! We've got people from all walks of life taking part in the elections, from warehouse assistants to advertising executives and even a former army general.

On a side note, it makes me wonder why anyone would leave the army life for something else. After all, they get to use iPads now, and more and more operations within are being outsourced.

(sorry, I had to)

Ok, back to the topic.

As for the Presidential Elections, it seems only people from the Tan family are worthy to run this year. Personally this election didn't concern me as much because according to what I know, pursuant to ~~section 49 subsection 7E~~ the law laid out in the constitution, the role of President isn't as big as what the candidates made it out to be. If you agree with me, high five.

I once thought the high-five could not be any less cool.

One thing interesting about this years political campaigning is the introduction of the 24 hour cooling-off period, which people have come to call cooling-off day. Personally I think the cooling-off period only just ended.

If you look at our climate lately, we've been cooling off a lot with the amount of rain that we've been getting.
So much so that various parts of Singapore have been taking turns to ~~flood~~ pond, and its no longer just Orchard Road getting the spotlight.

Pond@Orchard, the recurring flash-mob style feature at Liat Towers

But Singapore's water problems aren't just limited to rain and flash floods anymore.. It has extended to other places with huge bodies of water, including the water tanks atop HDB blocks. For a few weeks in a row, we had dead bodies being discovered in different reservoirs in Singapore, some of which we didn't even know existed. Like where the hell is Serangoon Reservoir?

That said, I think the most infamous reservoir would be the one in Bulok. 7 dead bodies found there. But since the 8 religious heads of Singapore prayed for us there, nothing has happened. I guess they really got power one. It's true, we have faith in Singapore.

Well.. wow I can't believe I rambled on this much.

In summary, lets just say Singapore in 2011 was anything but boring, and I totally loved it. Let's hope 2012 will give us more to talk about.

photo credits: I do not own any of the images used. grabbed everything off Google image searches. too many places to list.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

2011-12-31T19:52:00.001+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

The year is drawing to a close and I must say its been a really exciting year.

For me, 2011 was really about new experiences and new things such as...
- joining the workforce / starting a new job
- creating videos and sharing them online
- making lotsa awesome new friends
...and much more.

I look forward to taking on even more new challenges in 2012!

Anyway, I decided I'd end 2011 with a video too! Hope you guys enjoy this. Did it at the last minute today..

Gonna prepare to head out for a New Years countdown party in just a bit.

Have a great 2012 everyone!

Songs of 2011

2011-12-31T14:46:00.001+08:00

It's that time of year, when I look back at the music and the memories.
2011 is one filled with lots of partying, some low moments and generally a lack of time.

Musically, it was a rich and exciting year. Never boring, and something was always in my head.

Lets look at my top 10 songs of 2011.

I think 2011 was filled with songs that beckoned to lose your inhibitions, or to just forget your troubles and have fun and party away. In a way, I felt myself loosen up as a person and become more open and accepting.
These songs contributed in a way.

10. Pitbull - Give Me Everything (ft. Neyo, Afrojack and Nayer)
My first thought when I read about this song was how many singers do you need to collaborate in a single song?! But then I saw hot it all came together. Pitbull's catchy rapping, Neyo's sultry voice, the pounding synth. Great stuff.

9. Shakira - Rabiosa (ft. Pitbull)
Like most songs I end up liking, I first found this to be very annoying. But I also couldn't get enough of it. Funny aren't I? There's something about this latin groove that I just can't resist. Incidentally, Pitbull is featured in this one too.

8. J. Lo - On the Floor (ft. Pitbull)
J. Lo's smash hit of the year. I felt like it borrowed both on the infectious hook of Lambada as well as the familiarity of the accordion similar to how its used in "Stereo Love", but also that she really transformed all that and made it her own. Nonetheless, super catchy so I loved it. Once again, hello Pitbull.

There was a lot of revisiting in 2011 for me - This next song sums up one portion of that nostalgia. I think everyone probably has someone that got away. I know I do, and even though its something I've gotten over, this really taps into that memory.

7. Katy Perry - The One That Got Away
Last year was like Katy Perry year for me, if I recall correctly. This year for me, there was only The One from her. For its emotional sappiness, I think its the perfect end of year song to hit before Christmas. I like that its relatable, and the fact that you can still wail the chorus even when you're crying.

In 2011 I also feel like I know myself, what I am in life, and what I want to be, more than ever before. It used to be such a haze because I'd simply not have known better. In some ways, it relates to this next song, being on the edge...

6. Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory
Comeback de Gaga! I must say, melodically I'm really loving her new stuff a lot more than her Fame era stuff. The Edge of Glory has that feel good that I've never heard from Gaga at all, even though this song is really about dying. This could be my balloon song of the year.

5. Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger (ft. Christina Aguilera)
More club friendly dance music. I like this because its refreshingly not electro compared to the other dance stuff out there. In that sense its really got an old school charm about it.

4. LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem (ft. Lauren Bennett & Goonrock)
Possibly the party song of the year. The one that got the whole world shuffling. Funny how I first heard this when I was doing my in-camp training in some jungle near the sea. Actually made it kinda enjoyable.
Everyday I'm shuffling.

3. Lady Gaga - Judas
Ah-ah.. ah ah ah.. No other singer makes singing oohs and ahs, or speaking in monotone sound as fun. And Judas is the epitome of Gaga-style earworm pop. I call it the Bad Romance of 2011.

I've not been in a serious relationship or heartbreak for a while and in some ways this next song makes me wish I was. I get how raw this is and definitely see myself relating to it. And yet, I know I've never been someone reliant on relationships to find stability, so it is a conflict within me.

2. Adele - Someone Like You
The Emo song of 2011. The one for people to cry their hearts out to, and the one that everyone either loves of hates. I admire Adele for bringing us back to basics, to music that doesn't involve electronic beats or effects, auto tune, nor talks about getting wasted, partying or the like. Without the theatrics, she still manages to deliver a ballad that captures our hearts.

1. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
I wouldn't have expected it, but my top song of 2011 is by Nicki Minaj. Before this I used to hate her because of the way she rapped and did all her trash talk. But this song... its fun, playful and is just a really happy song with excellent hooks. Also, I thought the rap bits were really good too - addictive and catchy, easy to sing along and thats the kinda track I was looking for, and yes you get slapped if you looking ho.

Songs that didn't make the list but get special mention.

Girls Generation - The Boys
I *heart* Girls Generation. I find The Boys strangely catchy, especially the chorus and rap, and a really commendable effort for mostly non-native English speaking singers. (linked the KOR version cos the ENG version is blocked in my region wtf)

Big Bang - Tonight
This year's list is English only, so this wouldn't have made the list even though its really up there. Its also one of the only K-Pop songs I listened to in 2011. I like how they bring 5 different singing styles together in 1 harmonious flow, and better than ever before.

Selena Gomez & The Scene - Love You Like A Love Song
This gets mentioned for being the most annoying song in the world. Unlike other songs that annoy me that I eventually love, this one has remained in the catchy but annoying phase for forever. I think its the Selena Gomez effect.

Anyway. Those are the songs of 2011 from me.
If I had to sum them up.. I'd say they represented opening up, remembering the past, and finding myself.

Looking forward to 2012 :)

Dubious Ditties of December

2011-12-24T17:16:00.000+08:00

Lately, I've been hooked on a number of.. different songs...
...most of which are fairly old... or just random.
It might be a December thing.

But anyway - guilty pleasures are meant to be shared.
In some ways I am a little ashamed to like them, but I'll also tell you why in a bit...

Try to enjoy!

Yelle - Je Veux Te Voir

French song! I think its about a girl asking a guy to show her his small.. thing.
Its so catchy, and even more so because I don't understand a word of French.
If anyone here watches MunahHirziOfficial on Youtube, this is the song they use for their intro of Sex Appeal & Jokes.

Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars

This song has a very chill club vibe to it that really agrees with me. I believe its like a mix of funk and house. And I've heard this song for like a year now. but only recently I couldn't get it out of my head.
Only dubious by association because I've seen a video of involving Ris Low and Dawn Yang that played this song.

The Wanted - Glad You Came

A pretty new song. It's by a British pop group called The Wanted (yes, the ones who sang about what if heartbreak were a physical thing). My contention with liking this song is that it has a very strong Europop (read: trashy) vibe, so I feel very beng for liking this song. Also, obvious dubious lyrics.

KAZAKY - LOVE

Kazaky is like some Ukranian dance group of 4 guys. They seem to also sing a bit.

This is like typical industrial synth fashion runway pop. Equal parts drama and diva. Strangely addictive.

The visual is very gay, but they're effing good dancers, especially since they're wearing heels. Highly impressed.

Afrojack Feat. Eva Simons - Take Over Control

There's actually nothing wrong with this song. I just didn't really like it when I first heard it earlier this year. But its kinda grown on me over time.

Like any of them?

The Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011

2011-12-24T16:28:00.000+08:00

As one of the 30ish (i think) Singapore bloggers who won a trip to attend the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011 (or NAPBAS in short), I was super excited about this trip and the award ceremony because I'd seen and heard so much about the last NAPBAS, which was held in Singapore in 2009.

How different would it be from the Singapore community?

What would it be like to meet other Nuffnang bloggers from the region?

Which famous bloggers would I be able to see there?

Those were all questions that raced in my head. And as the awards ceremony approached on Friday at the Marriott Putrajaya, the hype was rapidly building up.

Us Singapore peeps only managed to get to our hotel rooms at around 5:30pm, and had only about an hour or so to get ready for the night's proceedings, so it was a bit of a rush. Then again it probably wasn't so bad for us guys because we don't have to fuss quite as much about our outfits, make-up and hair as the girls do.
Together with HongPeng, my roomie for the trip, we were down at the reception area for the event by 6:30 as scheduled.

*mingle mingle*

To sidetrack a bit, I'll be blogging about my experience in the trip as a whole in a separate entry so you can check that out for details about the rest of my weekend in KL. This one will be dedicated to the awards ceremony proper.

As it was a black tie event, the whole thing was really formal, like this was probably the most formal it will ever get in terms of blogger events. And I liked it because black tie events give you a reason to dress up in elegant outfits and look all glamorous and yet appropriate to the occasion.

And since we're all bloggers, it meant camwhore opportunities abound for everyone! We took so many pictures on so many cameras that night. Too bad someone had to conveniently forget to pack his camera in after charging it the night before. *sigh*

BUT, that didn't stop me from taking pictures on other people's cameras ^_^

Here's some of the pictures and group shots...

Thanks for the photos - Celine, Rachel, HP, Ann, Amanda, Issac, Marco

The ceremony cum dinner commenced, and we were greeted with a warm welcome by the co-founders of Nuffnang, as well as performances by Viva Circus, Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander and several others.
The event was really well planned, and proceeded really smoothly, aside from 1 or 2 minor technical glitches.

Below: bossMing giving a speech, and the hosts Liang and Nadia Heng

Above: sort of the view from my seat, and super pro pole-dancing by a member of Viva Circus

And I really liked the food. The main course I had was, and I quote.. Pistachio Crumbed Baked Chicken Supreme with Thyme Gravy served with lasagna potatoes and garden green vegetables. I loved it because it's chicken breast fillet and I absolutely love eating that. (It feels healthy).

Oh look, I'm eating.

A lousy not-so-appetizing shot of the chicken I mentioned, and Tiger Crystal.

As for the award winners, I think you've probably seen the list of blog winners somewhere else already, so I'm just going to pick out a few award winners that stood out to me.

Best Photography Blog: photoblog.hk
This HK blog has some very nice photos. And they're presented in a way that the varieties of photos stand out to you but don't overwhelm you at the same time. I think its the layout really. Nice stuff.

Best Food Blog: ladyironchef.com
This was one blog I was actually quite familiar with to begin with. To me it's really the photos taken (that are all very visually appealing) that make this food blog stand out. My opinion is that the reviews themselves are written in a cursory manner.

Best Fashion Blog: cheeserland.com
Another blog I know of. I think Cheesie has really crafted a name for herself in the fashion blog circle. This award just proves that fact, and if that wasn't enough, her outfit at the awards was a true head-turner. Her look for the night was super glam and yet had that playful gyaru chic style to it.

Cheesie with her win

Most Influential Blog & Region's Best Blog: xiaxue.blogspot.com
Congratulations to Xiaxue! I'm so happy for her that she won both most influential and region's best blog awards. I really think she deserves it, because if there is one blogger in the region who has the clout to shape the internet, its her, and she's proven it time and again. Of course, I am biased because I like her. But I also thought she gave a very touching thank you speech - it made me tear up and I know a lot of others who did the same.

And I finally got to snag a photo with her, after attending countless events where I didn't really dare to approach her to take picture ;p

Well, thats about all I have to say about this year's NAPBAS. I was kinda hoping I'd see more bloggers that I knew, but then again a majority of them are Singaporeans and there probably weren't as many SG bloggers in attendance as the 2009 NAPBAS.

Oh yeah.. there was an after-party at Zouk KL! I'll cover that together with my entry on the rest of the trip another day. I want this entry to only have glam pics :p

All the award winners and nominees

In conclusion, the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards was such an amazing experience and I felt like I learnt a lot simply from being able to attend it. From this alone it really inspires me to be a better blogger; a better writer; a better person.
Maybe at the next NAPBAS I'll be able to play a bigger part in it.. like getting nominated or something. One can dream. :)

All this could only be possible because of Nuffnang, without which this awards ceremony wouldn't exist in the first place. And also for allowing me to attend the awards (and covering my travel costs), and being the awesome blog community that it is over these years.

I <3 Nuffnang :)

(almost all photos taken from Nuffnangs official camera and a whole bunch of other's FB pages. thanks guys.)

[FFXI] Voidwatch - Part III : Jeuno II

2011-12-21T01:04:00.003+08:00

The 14th December 2011 update introduced Part III of the Voidwatch system.

View Part I and Part II of the Voidwatch system.

There is only one main path, which is a continuation of the Jeuno path set out in part II, which is why it starts off at Tier 4.

At Tier 6, there are 5 NMs instead of 3.

v0.1 - first draft. let me know if there are mistakes. will do up the exp/cruor and how to obtain later, along with atmacite list and periapt effects. maps added / drops updated.
this is just a version for people to work with until i can get more stuff done.
v0.2 - much fuller version. all drops in. quest details, atma and periapt added.

My True Blood Story

2011-12-19T23:52:00.000+08:00

Warning: the following entry contains photos of blood.
If that freaks you out, I recommend not reading this entry.

I GAVE BLOOD!

For the longest time I've always wanted to donate blood to those who could use it - I just never dared to because I have this mild fear of pain and needles and stuff.
But for the sake of helping others, I overcame that fear!

Ok.. a bit too drama.

Seriously though, I'd never donated blood before. The last time I came across a blood donation drive at a roadshow, I couldn't do it because I'd just done dental work.

It just so happens that Coca-Cola, in conjunction with the Singapore Red Cross, was having a 2 day blood donation drive over at my workplace, and so I decided this was the time for me to give ~~a hand~~ blood to help others.

left: the roadshow Coca-Cola set up to draw crowds, right: the banner in front of the donation room

My blood is relatively rarer than most people. I'm an AB+, which makes me a universal receiver. >_>
I know, sounds wrong.

Anyway... it was neither as painful nor as scary as I'd had previously thought. In fact I think I'll do this more often.

I like how there's a cheery face on the stress ball that's used to help you find your vein.

and.. there I am, smiling to the camera whilst a part of me is being siphoned away.

What's kinda funny was that they were playing songs with the word 'blood' in the room we were donating blood in... like Red Blooded Woman and Blood on the Dance Floor.

Is it wrong that I felt like drinking Ribena after this? I also love that they picked a green bandage for me.

And of course, as a token of appreciation, we get a free goodie bag of stuff, courtesy of Coca-Cola.

There's supposed to be a bottle of Coca-Cola in there, but I drank it :p

But that's not the point anyway. The importance of donating blood is that you can really save the lives of those who are in need of it. Of course, we must also be mindful that the blood we are giving is healthy blood, otherwise it cannot be used, or might even bring more harm to the person receiving blood.

..so donate blood and save someones life :)

For Singaporeans like myself, you can find out more at the HSA website.

Monday Throwbacks: A Song For... the rain

2011-12-19T21:58:00.006+08:00

It rained the whole of today.

Stuck at home fighting off a viral flu, the day could not be gloomier. Somehow the rain usually has that effect on people.

This week's throwback theme is rain.. so here are 3 songs about bad weather.

Stefanie Sun - 天黑黑
Singapore represent! Woo! This song is the debut single for Singapore's biggest music export, Stefanie Sun. I love her music and think her voice is really unique. There's also a very nostalgic air about this song, which talks about growing up in life, and that we need to be resilient even when facing imminent rain. Come to think of it, this song could have been featured last week too. fyi, the song title translates as "dark sky".

Belinda Carlisle - Summer Rain
I love this song. In addition to being my favorite song at Zouk's Mambo Jambo, its probably also the most iconic of the songs they play. This song, to me, captures the mood of rain.. there is a sense of bittersweet painted into the love story of Summer Rain.

中西保志 - 最後の雨
This is the 2007 version by the original singer, Yasushi Nakanishi. I first heard this as a cover by Koda Kumi, who did a pretty decent lounge-ish version of it. I've never really gone and listened to the lyrics, but its definitely a love song, and I'm pretty sure its one about break ups. Anyways, the song title is Saigo no Ame, which means "the last rain".

Abercrombie & Fitch in Singapore!

2011-12-19T19:43:00.001+08:00

It's finally here.

Abercrombie & Fitch, the latest shopping pursuit to arrive in town opened its doors last Thursday.
And this excites me because it's possibly my favorite US apparel brand.

So I had to be there on the opening day. I took leave from work and queued from 8:30am with Von.
The store opens from 10.
But it was a painless wait because we were like within the first 25 people in the queue, and also got to have breakfast whilst waiting in line. Starbucks ftw.

This is what the "queue" looked like at 8:30. By 9:30 it was snaking long.

Our position in the queue. We also sat down for some breakfast.

The doors are opened!

2 hours and almost half a thousand dollars later, I walked out a happy customer.

Stuff I got this time round.

Stuff I intend to get in the near future.
(or stuff you could get for me :p I'm a size S for tees and 30x32 for bottoms. I can't really buy their shirts because the sizes don't suit me. I'm stuck in between S and M for those)

Why do I love A&F?
I think the biggest reason is because I like the image of the brand: preppy, fresh, sporty, virile, clean and simple. There's also the fact that the quality of their clothes is pretty good in my opinion. The prices may seem a bit steep for casual wear, but they don't wear out so quickly either.

And of course, there is the A&F experience. That being, the facade of the store with its wooden louvers, and the decor of the place - dark, wooden with mirrors and mini palm trees, whilst blasting club-friendly music and being infused with the heady smell of their signature scent Fierce.

some of their signature shirtless greeters. (picture taken from yahoo!)

I'd definitely agree to A&F's view that it sells casual luxury. I also have no doubt in my mind that the brand itself is somewhat elitist, appeals to the superficial and heavily sells on sex appeal.
However, those are the very things that attract me to the brand. I like how it's not mass market and a little exclusive - a position cleverly crafted out by their marketing people - and that impresses me.

those who entered the store were given an instant photo, taken with the shirtless greeter

Anyway, I am glad they've opened a store in Singapore, so I don't necessarily have to fly overseas to get my A&F shopping fix.

Now, if only SPAO, Jay Jays and American Eagle came to Singapore, I won't have a need to fly to other countries just to shop for them anymore.

The Exciting December Weekends.

2011-12-19T14:50:00.003+08:00

Decembers are awesome.

Every year I think I'm most busy in December, and then maybe February (because of CNY). But this December is probably one of my most jam-packed ever.

So this month I'll be writing about all my exciting December weekends. ...but because of the way my memory works, I don't remember what happened in the first week, so I'll just start with last weekend.

I think I still can't get over how epic last weekend was, but I'll have to because another one like that won't happen again in a while. And this is why...

Girls Generation came to Singapore for a show!

Being the fanboy that I was, I had to watch this. I'd queued up for 3 hours to get tickets for the Friday show (which was originally the only show until they added a Saturday one).

(said tickets)

And it was fantabulous. They had the crowd going crazy all 3 hours of the concert!

I'd been waiting for years to watch them live in concert and can finally say that I have. They sang all the songs I liked, danced in sync, floated on uh.. trapeze wire (I think that's what you call it) and even opened the show with my fave SNSD song, Genie!

outside the stadium seting, and my view of the stage.

the stage was fairly elaborate.

(just a fyi, I don't take pics or videos at concerts when the performances start, hence these are all the pictures I have)

Watching Girls Generation in concert. Mind = blown.

Next up, there was ZoukOut 2011, only the biggest beach party of the year in the region. Well, I've been to ZoukOut before but never like this. This years party was spent with Su, Marcus and some of their French class friends and I managed to rope in Alex as well.

It's been a while since we all last partied together so this in itself was great fun. But ZoukOut was also phenomenal. The crowd was simply electric and the DJs were bringing Siloso beach down, with stellar performances by Armin Van Buuren, Avicii, Bob Sinclar and many more, including djB's awesome Mambo set.

Su & I, in the hotel room, like a boss!

I must also thank Havaianas for giving me a pair of the limited edition glow-in-the-dark flip-flops specially for this event. mucho gracias :)

our party group

some of what we drank. picture taken on the morning after

We drank, danced and partied the night away.

As Rebecca Black once sang.. I don't want this weekend to end!

It was simply amazing. And only the start of more exciting December weekends to come!

Monday Throwbacks: A Song For... going on long time.

2011-12-12T23:57:00.004+08:00

So now on Mondays I like to remember songs that I used to like for various reasons..

Songs that may or may not have been a part of me. All these, I used to love to post under the "asongfor" tag. Guess I'm bringing it back.

Today, the theme is perseverance, in its varied ways.
Ok, they're all very different, but all come with this theme.. to me anyway.

w-inds. - long road
idol j-pop. there was actually a time i liked w-inds for their teenyboppiness. can't figure out why for the hell of me. it must be a teenage thing

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
its I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. enough said.

Bob Sinclar - World, Hold On
This guy comes to mind because he recently performed at ZoukOut. I didn't attend his set tho, so I don't know if he played this song, but theres no reason why he wouldn't have. Its one of his biggest hits.

2PM - I'll Be Back
Maybe not old enough to be a throwback, but I kinda like this because it doesn't sound very modern for a k-pop song. Since I don't know Korean I'm not entirely sure if its relevant to the theme, but then again, it doesn't matter, as long as I think it does :D

Girls Generation Brings Singapore Out.

2011-12-09T00:38:00.000+08:00

The day has finally come.
The Girls' Generation tour is finally in Singapore.

Tonight, the Girls will bring the boys.. no. Singapore out!

Not like they will see this.. but..
WELCOME TO SINGAPORE! I know its not the first time you're here, but still..

Welcome Taeyeon, Yoona, Yuri, Jessica, Sooyoung, Tiffany, Seohyun, Sunny and Hyoyeon.
I look forward to your performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium tonight :D

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2011

2011-12-04T22:35:00.004+08:00

I don't hide the fact that I love to watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
In fact, I announced my excitement last year.

And this year I'm doing the same..
..whats not to like about the VS show anyway?

Like I said only last year...
The girls. The lingerie. The outfits. The music. The performances. The stage. The wings!

I think I especially love how they just choreograph everything in place. Like how the girls will walk down the runway to a live performance by an artiste like it was meant to be that way...
This year had performances by Kanye West, Jay-Z, Maroon 5 and Nicki Minaj. I only cared for the latter 2 performances, but the rest of the show was just as amazing.

And you can watch the whole show HERE!
(well, thats provided this youtube video doesn't get taken down anyway)

Enjoy!

[FFXI] Test Server Dat Mine 30/11/2011

2011-11-30T20:56:00.012+08:00

30/11/2011 Test Server Dat Mine

(weapon skills each sold separately)

Read on.

VIDEO: WEAPON SKILLS

WEAPON x1

not 100% sure if new. there were a few repeat weapons i saw.

HEAD x4

BODY x5

Guy version of the 5th piece. Thought it'd be interesting cos the girls one is a skirt.

HANDS x3

LEGS x5

FEET x3

MOBS x1

LIST

MOBS

1/271/18 SKELE MAGE

1/271/85-127

1/272/1-96

WS SETS

1/268/96-109 Hume M

1/269/10-23 Hume F

1/269/52-65 Elvaan M

1/269/94-107 Elvaan F

1/270/8-21 Tarutaru

1/270/50-63 Mithra

1/270/92-105 Galka

Unfortunately I didn't have time to sort through the EQ dats list.

Also, you may find a few older weapon models within that cluster.

Be Positive!

2011-11-30T11:23:00.002+08:00

Every year on Dec 1st (tomorrow), the world commemorates World Aids Day.

It is a day dedicated to spreading awareness and informing people about what AIDS is, how it comes about as a result of HIV infection, and in remembrance of those who have lost their lives to the disease.

World AIDS Day also kickstarts AIDS Awareness Month, which is typically held in December.

Anyway, the theme for this year's awareness campaign here in Singapore is "Lets Be Positive About People Living With HIV". And I cannot agree more.

HIV is no longer the viral death sentence that it used to be, but it still comes with a huge load of stigma from other people.

Instead of being all negative or closed-minded about HIV, we need to be open and positive about it, regardless of the infected person's age, gender, race, sexual orientation or profession.

I realize a lot of this stems from fear. But logically, if you aren't having sex with the infected or sharing needles with them, or if they didn't give birth to you with the virus, there is no need for you to fear it, or them.

HIV isn't that easy to transmit, and you're not doing yourself a favor by showing everyone how ignorant you are about it.

So be positive! It's a powerful message of emotional support that you send to people living with AIDS/HIV, something that can help them lead the normal lives they so deserve.

And if you cannot relate to AIDS/HIV sufferers at all, do it for yourself. This is something everyone should know. Educating yourself gives you power over the disease so that you can always stay positive about it.

Pepsi Pink!

2011-11-29T22:54:00.002+08:00

Being the absolute nice guy that he is, Ai-さんshipped back a bottle of Pepsi Pink from Japan just for me to try (well, I did ask, but only in jest).

In case you didn't know, Pepsi Japan is apparently cooler than the rest of the world because they come up with limited edition flavors like this all the time.

And Pepsi Pink is just the latest in their wacky creations, because its supposed to be strawberry and milk flavored.

Doesn't sound like something you make into a fizzy drink. And that's why I had to try it.

(please tell me you see the irony of Pepsi being served in this glass)

It's a very visually appealing drink. It reminds me of 7-Up Clear Raspberry (which I used to absolutely love, but I've mostly stopped having carbonated drinks now). A nice clear pinkish liquid color.

Strangely, it doesn't really taste of anything. I mean.. its mildly sweet, but that's probably it. I can't exactly make out any strawberry or milk taste. And even though it doesn't taste very sweet, I know it definitely is high in sugar.

While pouring the drink into my glass, some of the fizz splattered onto my hand, and in a very short matter of seconds it felt sticky. My theory is that very sweet drinks will feel sticky faster, and those without sugar simply will not (trivia: coke light will not feel sticky even if you rinse your hands in it. no sugar).

So this is probably extremely sweet.

Oh well, I'm only going to have 1 bottle. Quite the novelty at least.

Anyway, thanks Ai.

ZoukOut in your Havaianas!

2011-11-27T22:58:00.003+08:00

(Sponsored Post)

I am ready to PARTY on the 10th of December!

why? Because I've gotten my tickets to ZoukOut 2011 - only the biggest and most happening beach party of the year. Actually, probably every year.

If you haven't gotten your tickets yet... don't fret because the standard tickets are still on sale. Or better yet, stand to win a pair of VIP tickets and a pair of limited edition Havaianas simply by taking part in a little contest, courtesy of Havaianas Singapore.

All you have to do is Design a Havaianas ZoukOut Beach Ball.
Click on the link above, which takes you to the Havaianas Singapore Facebook page, and get your creative juices flowing!

the interface looks like this.. its pretty easy to use so you can create a design you really like.

the limited edition Havaianas are GLOW-IN-THE-DARK. How cool is that?

I've already got my normal tickets but hey if its VIP tickets, then its worth a shot.

So.. let me show you a few of my designs.
You may come to know I'm not the most creative person in the world.

My first attempt. I call this one Limeball. I used my favorite color Green as the base.

My second. I call it firework. Very NDP inspired.

My third, I call it Pinkball. Because its pink. heh.

Submit as many entries as you like and get your friends to vote for you!
The top 20 entries with the most votes will win stand to win.
Contest ends on Dec 5, so start designing your beach balls now.

As for me, I'll definitely be heading down to ZoukOut, and in a pair of Havaianas of course :)
They're the only brand of flip flops I wear, after all.

Best of luck!

[FFXI] Test Server Dat Mine 25/11/2011

2011-11-25T23:45:00.002+08:00

The festive season is drawing near..

FFXI sneaks in some new holiday gear, amongst other things.

Check it out.

3 x Head ( +1 obvious seasonal event piece)

1 x Hands

1 x Legs ( +1 obvious seasonal event piece)

yay more subligar >_>

And thats actually it. Very minor stuff added.

Here's a few alternate displays on a Hume M.

(mmm ass)

If anyone would wanna be a doll and sort the EQ dats by race/slot.. they're found here.

ROM/268/39-95

(this range includes a re-add of a koenig cesti, for some reason)

GoGreen AfterDark

2011-11-24T01:47:00.002+08:00

(Sponsored Review)

By day, Sentosa is a resort paradise of beach activities, cycling, trekking, and other outdoor activities.

(contrary to popular belief, it does not stand for So Expensive Nothing TO See Also)

But but night, it almost seems like theres nothing to do on the island. Or is there?

The people at GoGreen who brought eco-friendly bicycle rental and segway rides to Sentosa are set to change the notion that Sentosa has no outdoor night activities.

even their segway sign ~~so does NOT~~ look kinda eerie.

And they're doing so with their new night segway tour - a first in the region.
This current GoGreen AfterDark attraction is themed as the Haunting of Blakang Mati, and explores a bit of the history of Sentosa as well as spooky local folklore.

safety video before starting + random shot of a staff member (this isn't part of the segway tour lol).

So as luck would have it, I got to try this. As someone who can't really take scares, I'll assure you that you don't have to worry too much about being frightened. I think logically it would pose a safety hazard if they scared people too much while riding on segways too. As such, its more of a ride that highlights the eeriness of the night and some of the more derelict parts of Sentosa's past. In other words, if you don't scare yourself, perhaps no one will.

our well-dressed guide giving some commentary

If you don't go for any of that scary/eerie mumbo jumbo, you might still enjoy this for the night segway experience. Exploring Sentosa on its bike trails in the night really shows you a different side of the resort island. And it comes with some really nice views.

see how dark it is? also, flash + reflective material = bad shots.

Besides, riding on a segway is EXTREMELY FUN. Seriously, I wish I'd tried this earlier when I saw it. It's such an exhilarating experience! It also requires a bit of skill, but you should be able to get the hang of it after the compulsory 5 rounds on the training circuit to familiarize yourself with the vehicle..

our initial training, and there was a safety briefing before we set off..

Our rides.. And first aid segway on duty.

golden rule: you ALWAYS have time to camwhore.

an early part of the route...

I liked that they made sure that users were fully familiar with the device before setting off. In fact, that brings me to my next point...

Is it safe? They put lotsa procedures in place to ensure rider safety, so you should have no worries taking in the whole experience.

If you may have noticed from the pics above, we're required to wear safety gear, there was a safety briefing and first aid personnel are deployed with the tour. Not to mention we're all made to do a familiarization / warm-up before we start the route, and we're all given lightsticks and a whistle, AND our segways even come with a bottle of water. You can tell a lot of thought was put into making this segway experience as safe as possible for users, and I really commend that.

So if you're interested... Maybe you can give it a go..
Find out more at www.gogreenafterdark.com

(On a related note, I've started saving up to buy my own segway. Target: $13,800.)

...which Muppet?

2011-11-21T23:06:00.000+08:00

Seen the Muppets on Youtube lately? They're become quite an internet phenomenon, especially with them doing all these awesome parodies. Looking at them now, you wouldn't think that the Muppets are at least twice your age (..I know how old most of my readers are :p ) but they actually are.

They just age very well.

Little wonder that they're gonna have yet another movie.

So, today I need to pick my favorite Muppet appearing in the movie, and ~~this is going to be hard for me because I actually like a lot of them~~ hands down, it would have to be Kermit the Frog.

In order not to hurt the other Muppets' feelings, I'd just like to say that every Muppet is cool in their special way. For example, there will never be another diva swine as divine as Miss Piggy, nor another ~~shrimp~~ king prawn with the attitude of Pepe.

Why I like Kermit? Let's make a list.

1. Kermit is Green, and green is my favorite color!
2. Guess who is the most famous Muppet around?
3. Frogs are awesome.
4. He sang the Rainbow Connection.
5. Even Miss Piggy likes him.
6. Have you even seen the M in the Muppets 2011 movie logo?

The answer is obvious now, isn't it? Kermit is the true star of the show.

So with the premiere of The Muppets right around the corner, you know you want to catch this muppet spectacular, especially with Kermit the Frog in it.

Catch The Muppets in cinemas this 8 December 2011 and like the Official Disney Studios Singapore Facebook Page!”

My Nuffnang Story

2011-11-19T17:41:00.006+08:00

Everyone has a story to share.
A story for every journey they make.
And on my journey with Nuffnang,

this is my story.

...the friendships that we forge...

...the good times that we share...

...and the memories that we have...

never forget them.

thank you Nuffnang.

Come 16 December 2011, 500 bloggers from around the Asia-Pacific region will flock to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011 in Putrajaya Marriott.

The Awards aims to not only honour the region's best bloggers, but also to bring together blogger communities from across Asia-Pacific.

The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott.

Do you know your internet memes?

2011-11-17T22:18:00.000+08:00

I am utterly impressed by this...

This band does a medley of songs that highlight some of the most prominent musical themed memes in the history of the internet. As a bit of a internet pop culture geek, I have to say, it was epic.

See how many internet memes you know from watching this.

Delcie's Desserts

2011-11-16T00:58:00.003+08:00

Ever heard of organic cakes?
Or how about dairy free cakes?
..or egg-free cakes?

If you didn't know any of these things actually existed, you may be glad to know that a place exists in Singapore where you can find them.

Delcie's Desserts is one cake shop in Singapore that is very conscious about what goes into their cakes and takes the needs of different kinds of people into consideration, especially if you fall into these categories.

VEGETARIAN
VEGAN
DIABETIC
CANNOT CONSUME GLUTEN, DAIRY, SOY or NUTS

...pretty much every major food category as far as food allergens relating to cakes is concerned, I think. And they're also baby and elderly friendly, and halal prepared.

They're a certified healthier alternative.. and proud to say it. This is also known as their USP ;p

Not everything they make caters to all categories at once, but can definitely be requested.

Personally, I'm lactose intolerant so I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that these cakes were dairy free.

I was there on the opening day, so they had like an opening event and cakes laid out for people to try.

how did it taste? here's my opinion of these 3 things I tried.

Walnut Brownie: pretty good. felt very moist, maybe a little too moist.

Black Cherry: amazing. loved it. I wonder if they sell this regularly.

Cookies: a bit soft for my taste, not sure if due to changed ingredients or being left out.

It seems they use very innovative yet natural substitutes for ingredients that cannot be used.
To substitute dairy milk, they use milk extracted from plants such as brown rice.
For butter (since butter is churned milk), I believe they use healthy organic plant oils such as olive oil.
As for eggs, apple cider is used to achieve a similar effect to beaten eggs.
And to cut back on sugar content, agave is used as well.

chef and owner Delcie gave a speech and gamely demonstrated how their cakes were made in the kitchen

Whilst the final product may differ slightly in taste from cakes made with traditional ingredients, it opens up the possibility to have cakes for those who cannot normally enjoy them. So I think this is just wonderful.

If you're one who has always been restricted from enjoying cakes for diet or health reasons, then this is one place you really should check out. If not, then the cakes they make are still pretty decent and a healthier choice you can go for.

Delcie's Desserts and Cakes
951 Upper Serangoon Road
Singapore 534714
Tel: 9789 2309

Orchids, Flowers, and Golden Showers

2011-11-15T00:18:00.002+08:00

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers, for ~~especially in the month of June~~ whenever.

In Singapore, with our tropical rainforest climate, its warm, lush and green all year round... and this makes it a great place for members of the Orchadaceae, or Orchids to thrive.
Trivia: a majority of orchids are native to the tropics.

Ok I don't want to sound like a science textbook. We love our orchids. Our national flower is an orchid hybrid. We have a park dedicated to orchids only. And of course, we're hosting the 20th World Orchid Conference this year, which is happening this week.

I've not gone and seen the orchid show yet, and I intend to this weekend.
But to build up hype for it, I went to visit our National Orchid Garden just little over a month ago.

And I just wanted to share a bunch of pretty flowers I saw, all of which I've since forgotten the names for, except the Golden Showers.

Pardon my filthy mind, but these tiny yellow flowers are known as golden showers.

I think they belong to the orchid family. No idea really, but they're a mini highlight in the garden. Pretty golden arches that have nothing to do with food.

Von tells me she likes Golden Showers. I was speechless.

I like orchids. They're pretty. And come in all sorts of colors.
I especially like the ones that come in more unique or vibrant colors.

This one isn't too clear, but it has a very nice light fuchsia tinge. I love it.

And I think these are cool cos they look like salted eggs to me.

But for orchids, my absolute favorite color is orange... the deeper the better.
Something like this is pretty decent tho...

It's not a very big garden, but big enough for the various orchids, and even comes with a cool house that houses flowers and plants that can only take more temperate climates.

Theres a lot of good places for photo opportunities.. and if you like star power, you can check out the orchids named after celebs, like local singer Stefanie Sun and the late Princess D.

Well, that's all.

See you at the World Orchid Conference :D

Excuses Again

2011-11-14T20:50:00.001+08:00

I shouldn't make promises that I can't keep.

So I've decided that I can't do a video every other week. I just don't that kind of time with work and other commitments. Its really sad. I guess I'll only post videos as and when I am able to. I have a lot of stuff planned to be honest...

Anyway, I posted this video a couple of weeks back but I totally forgot to post a blog entry together with it.

It's a mish-mash of topics anyway..

To elaborate with pictures what I meant by a short queue, this was what it looked like.

It took me 2 hours to move to the front of the queue.

And these are our tickets! Woohoo!

Also, here's a link to BenVoda's blog. You can probably find his Youtube channel from there as well.

If you're interested to watch/listen to the Girls Generation remix videos I made, you can click here.

Guess there's not much else to say here. Till next time.

Incredibooth fun~

2011-11-14T01:30:00.002+08:00

I have a thing for camera apps on my iPhone.

If you've ever seen the apps I've downloaded for it, you'll notice that quite a number of them are camera ones.. and they're paid apps too. I kinda think they're the only ones worth buying at times..

Anyway, lately I've been having a lot of fun with Incredibooth, a new photo booth app by Synthetic, at the recommendation of my sis.

It's really cool cos what it does is it mimics an actual photo booth, and using your front facing camera (which means you need an iPhone 4 or 4S), takes 4 pictures and turns it into a photo booth print out.

Incredible Cowboy is the default photo booth, and comes with 4 filter effects. The rest, like Crown Colour (which I like most) can be purchased as an add-on.

The interface for all 4 booths available (i bought them all :p )

What I do like, is that it takes very nice shots for the front facing camera, which also happens to be of a much lower quality than the rear one. Each photo booth also has a bunch of different filters to choose from.

Here's an example of some of different filters you can play with...

you can have fun camwhoring on a cab, or even in your office (it was during break time k)

And what I do like about this is that if you think you like just 1 shot out of the series of 4, you can choose to save it as in individual photo when you review the photo in the app.

Take this pic for example...

By tapping on the photo in the deliver slot, I can find out more info about when I took the picture and what I used to take it.. and then choose to save just one frame out of the four as an individual picture..

Like so...

I kinda really liked this shot. thought it'd make a nice
display pic or something...

Having friends take shots makes it even more fun! Except right now I'm kinda fail at varying my poses.

My esteemed friends are evidently a lot better at this than I am.

right now my fave cam is Crown Colour Booth using Guy M5 (option 2)

So if you're interested you can pick it up at the app store for only 99 cents.
Have fun camwhoring.

Movember?

2011-11-04T00:04:00.000+08:00

I have a new twitter display pic for November!
Its been a while since I last changed it.. but this one is for a cause!

It seems like November is the month to raise cancer awareness among men, at least in Singapore.. and its called the Movember movement. I think its supposed to be like the 'i like it on my..' campaign for ladies, except the focal point is people having moustaches.

So in order for me to make my moustache stand out, I made it a little more.. colourful.
OMG I'm using British English in this entry.

On a serious note, guys.. we have it worse when it comes to cancer in Singapore, so we really need to get our act together and create awareness for ourselves. Our major killers are colorectal, lung and prostate cancer.. and whilst I don't know what else I should say about these cancers to spread awareness of them, you really should go and find out more about what YOU can do to protect yourself through regular check-ups and self examination.

Yes, I'm referring to feeling your balls for unusual lumps. Now you may think this is crude or silly, but cancer is the number 1 killer in Singapore. ONE in FOUR Singaporeans right now die of cancer - which means to say you're more likely to die of cancer than to die healthily of old age (which is ~10%), so early screening and making lifestyle changes is crucial for us.

So please, be empowered and be aware. Cancer is out there.

For more, you can check out the Singapore Cancer Society site. They're the ones backing the movember.sg movement.

Girls' Generation 'The Boys' Worldwide Cover Contest

2011-10-30T23:45:00.000+08:00

Hello all.

As a Girls Generation fan, I was quite excited when they announced their cover contest.
Basically what it is is a contest for people to post their remixes, vocal covers and dances for their debut English single 'The Boys'.

There are 3 first and second prize winners for each category, which means a total of 18 prizes to give away, and the best part is anyone from around the world can participate. So fun! So amazing.

So I decided to take part. I have no intention of winning, I just thought it'd be fun to do.

I ended up creating 2 remixes.

This is the first.

The Boys (Arciel's Reshuffle)
(you can click right above to download it)

This remix was mainly inspired by how I liked the teaser version of The Boys and so I followed that. Otherwise it is mostly the same as the original, but reshuffled in certain parts, hence the name. I also sped it up a little bit.

..and this is the second.

Let Me Think About The Boys
(once again, click on the title to download)

I used the club version of the song "Let Me Think About It" by Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand, which I used to like a lot, to create this remix. I changed the pitch to suit The Boys and slowed this track down while speeding up The Boys to make up the difference.
I was actually rather surprised how some parts fitted quite nicely. But it still isn't a perfect hit and feels odd at some parts to me. I also wanted to avoid all form of vocals on the part of Ida Corr as I wanted it to be more of using the backing of Let Me Think About It, and not have it as a mash-up. Nonetheless it was very fun to make this one.

No copyright intended for all music used.

I love this contest because I've seen a whole lot of great remixes for The Boys coming out from it. Can't wait to see who the best 6 are in each category.

[FFXI] Test Server Dat Mine 28/10/2011

2011-10-28T19:58:00.007+08:00

Test server for Final Fantasy XI got an update.
It came with some new graphical assets.

More below the cut.

Test server update came with a ton of new mobs/reskins. Here's a taste of things to come.

New beetle (finally, but hey look at his foot)

Demon Reskin

Awesome new dragon. Crystal Dragon?

(love the detail)

Check out the glowing wings. (enlarged pic for epicness)

New Ogre/Amaljaa?

New Flan Princess?

More Caturae Reskins

Yet another Pixie reskin

Another set of Naraka/Mantis/Harpeia reskins

Grimoire reskin. (existing one is red, i believe)

New Dvergr reskin + corpselight (awesome moustachey mask)

~~Rio~~ Apkallu reskin

Wivresaurus reskin

A quick video of some of the new stuff.

And finally, value-added service.

Lists.

MOBS

ROM/267/112, NEW BEETLE

ROM/267/118, NEW DEMON

ROM/267/119, NEW DRAGON

ROM/267/120, AMALJAA OGRE?

ROM/267/121, FLAN PRINCESS

ROM/267/122, YET ANOTHER CATURAE

ROM/267/123, YET ANOTHER CATURAE

ROM/267/124, YET ANOTHER CATURAE

ROM/267/125, NEW PIXIE

ROM/267/126, NEW NARAKA

ROM/267/127, NEW MANTIS

ROM/268/0, NEW HARPEIA

ROM/268/1, GRIMOIRE BLACK

ROM/268/2, NEW CORPSELIGHT

ROM/268/3, NEW DVERGR

ROM/268/4, NEW APKALLU

ROM4/9/56, NEW WIVRE

EFFECTS

ROM/266/67, BARD

ROM/267/113, WHITEMAGIC?

ROM/267/114, METEOR?

ROM/267/115, RAISE?

ROM/267/116, RAISE?

ROM/267/117, ?

ROM/268/4-11, NEW DANCE

Somewhere near Bukit Gombak.

2011-10-26T23:20:00.002+08:00

I think a lot of Singaporeans don't seem to be proud of our local attractions, especially the older ones.

But when our national icon is a vomiting sea monster, who can blame them?

That said, there actually are a good number of older attractions that are worth checking out at least once, even as Singaporeans and it showcases a bit of our local history.

One such example is Little Guilin, or 小桂林, near Bukit Gombak, which is named due to its slight resemblance to the mountains of Guilin in China.

It's been made into a local park and was once a granite quarry. Its actually rather small so you could cover the whole area in less and an hour or two.

The real cool thing about it really is that it is one of the more surprisingly scenic "natural" environments in Singapore.

Other than that, there isn't very much to see there, but its also a very interesting contrast to the HDB flats right across the road from it. Such is the juxtaposition of the natural and man-made environs of Singapore. And personally, I love it.

possibly the only place in Singapore where they get to use this sign.

a monkey! good thing this one didn't mind me taking pictures.

As such, you can imagine my disappointment when I have someone local who is like 20+ years of age, telling me that she's never even heard of this place before, let alone visit it.

said person, and some scenery.

Anyway, here comes the sales pitch.
If you're Singaporean and have never been here before, you should be ashamed of yourself. This is a great place to go to pretend that you're living in a Chinese wuxia novel and crack stupid jokes about your martial arts skills.

And if you're not local, well, you might wanna come take a look anyway. It's different from what you'll come to expect from Singapore.

I enjoy being like a tourist in my own country, and this is one stop I would check out.

When in Doubt...

2011-10-24T21:54:00.000+08:00

Pray.

Any respectable deity of your preference will do.

Like this McDonalds ice cream cone idol.

Word on the street is that the Indian guy who won the $80k in the McDonalds Monopoly game might have prayed to this one.

Not being serious.

Tour De Circle Line Redux

2011-10-19T10:56:00.000+08:00

Woohoo.

The Circle Line is fully opened!
Well, the original plan for it anyway..

Little more than a week ago, the Circle Line extended service all the way from Marymount to its terminal station at Harbourfront! This was the part of the line I'd been waiting for the most.. because as I mentioned before it was the part of the line that affected me the most.

random train door and crowd shot

AND...

Just like the last time when the first two stages of the line opened, I went to check it out! On the opening day!
...typical kiasu Singaporean...

For those who were expecting the new stations to be somewhat interesting, you might be a bit disappointed taking the MRT along this stretch because the stations actually look pretty generic and are relatively light on art and decor. In fact, it really pales in comparison to the Circle Line stations nearer to the heart of the city.

most artworks have little plaques that tell more about them

That said, most of them do have at least some form of artwork within the station near the platforms.. and I'll show you guys some examples right now.

as you can see, most stations have the same platform layout with the lift in the center

and artwork or whatnot plastered over it.

This was my fave. Can you spot the ~~cat~~ tiger?

Random wall decor.

found at one-north and Botanic Gardens

Other than visit the stations, I also went out to take a look at the surroundings of various stations :D

in particular, I like the Botanic Garden station for the fact that its a train that stops right outside a more natural setting. Its a very cool contrast imo and they do their best to soften the whole facade of the train station too.

There's lotsa wood and earthy tones used instead of the usual modern polished metal look.

the original Tanglin gate is back in Bt Timah! And a pretty overhead bridge.

Then there is also Haw Par Villa.. which is a free-admission 90s theme park (for good reason, I would never pay to go in now). Maybe more pics of this another day.

Then there was also an interesting ~~getai~~ stage show at Holland V that day. It was crazily crowded.

Hopefully this Circle Line will reduce traffic and speed travel in these areas...
And when the Circle Line extensions open (to make it more like a real Circle) I'll be there to tour too!

Not a train otaku, but I do like it a fair bit. Just clarifying lol.

Girls Generation make 'em feel the heat.

2011-10-16T23:20:00.003+08:00

I JUST HAD TO POST THIS.
SO HOT. CAN'T WAIT.
AND THERE"S AN ENGLISH VERSION TOO!

19th OCT!

and in English...

Lyrics that I managed to catch..

GIRLS BRING THE BOYS OUT!
I wanna dance right now
We can show 'em how the girls get down
Yes we go for more than zero
Number one everyone should know
...Check this out.

Girls Generation make 'em feel the heat
And we doing it we can't be beat (b-bring the boys out)
We're born to win better tell all your friends
Cos we get it in
You know the girls...
We bring the boys out <3

Press F1 for a Race.

2011-10-10T23:16:00.000+08:00

Whilst clearing my phone of pictures I realized I hadn't uploaded any of the photos I took during the F1 thingy I went to back when the races were on. So here I am, doing a little photodump with words to go along with it.

I got to go on the Friday (that being the practice race day) because Yvonne managed to get awesome last-minute passes from ~~**cannot be disclosed**~~.

said F1 passes

So anyway we got to go see what the fuss about F1 was all about. I'm not a motorsport fan, nor is she - but if you have tickets to a world-class event, the least you could do is go and take a look...

..and so we did.

Unconcerned as we were about the actual cars moving about we took our time to explore the area around the circuit.

I love taking pics of the wheel.

Rides on the Singapore Flyer were free so we boarded a flight to see the Singapore skyline on this exciting weekend.

the next cabin...

We got to see the track from above. Kinda cool when there are actual cars in the circuit.. and there was some smaller race (small prix lol) going on, borrowing the F1 circuit for a race or two...

We could also see where our seats were from up above.. which was in the pit grandstand. Supposedly the best seats in the house.

proof that no one cares about the F1 ~~practice races~~

But what I loved was the view of Singapore all lit up...

chio.

and this next place, the Gardens by the Bay, which is a park that will open soon..

It just looks so cool from a distance.

(it probably is, its a cool house for temperate region plants)

Anyway... when you're on the Flyer, one of the things you absolutely must do is camwhore. After all, its 37 minutes in a tiny room smaller than the size of a bus. What else can you do?
I'll spare you the brunt of the whoring by just leaving 1 pic of me and Von.

Ok, back to the F1 race.
It's really noisy.
And when you're sitting by the track.. you can forget about holding a conversation with anyone over that noise, even with earplugs on.

Guess who the main sponsor is.

It's actually pretty cool watching, hearing and feeling the F1 karts whizz by you. It also gives you a mild neckache if you try to track them as they go by.

And since I know next to nothing about the sport, the main thing I'm taking back from this is really the fact that I was this close to so-and-so famous Ferrari/Mercedes/Mclaren/etc driver as he raced by... I guess.

The only one I really knew was Michael Schumacher anyway.

The other really fun thing I found myself doing was trying to capture an F1 car in the frame of my photo shot. It's not that easy and your reflexes need to be really quick... but with so many zooming past us and since we didn't care who it was anyway, (besides it would always turn out as a blur), we got a whole lot of opportunities.

My fake mood shot

it took me so many tries to get this pic.

Honestly speaking it gets boring really fast and it was just really warm there (I blame the lights).

Thank goodness for my trusty foldable fan.

The night ended with some revelry.

We got to see this mardi gras like parade go by.. with the whole bateria and semi-naked women shimmying their way down the street.

See attached Annex A.

Annex A

And we ended it off with performances by Seungri and GD & TOP, which is basically 3/5 Big Bang, at the Padang stage. It's really an awesome stage. I kinda hope there are more concerts like this.

And I kinda like Big Bang too.. most of their songs anyway.

Pretty nice way to end the night.
I might actually make it a point to specially go for the F1 next year.

That Concert Atmosphere

2011-10-06T23:41:00.001+08:00

There's no question that I love concert atmospheres.
It's just so supercharged and a real emotional experience for me, and even better if the performances are really good.

I'll admit I'm a bit more of a pop concert person, but whenever I go to watch my favorite singer / band / group in person, it really isn't so much to see them live, as it is to soak up the energy of the whole performance.

A bunch of concert pics I grabbed from my old posts tagged with "concerts".

And I think I'm well versed enough on the topic to say this. After all, I have a bad habit of buying/collecting concert DVDs of artistes who I like enough to sit through and listen or respect enough in terms of their performance and showmanship. And also watched a number of concerts in arenas around the world.

Now, my enthusiasm about this has gotten to a point where I've come up with a list of artistes whom I wanna watch live, and also a list of venues to watch performances at, before I die.. lol.

A number of these artistes are simply people I've liked since a kid, or are legends in the showbiz industry, and the venues themselves are remarkable because sometimes it makes all the difference. A grandiose setting helps set a grand stage... so here's the list anyway.

I'll be adding the ones I've already done too to know where I stand lol.

People I want to watch perform, places I REALLY want to watch performances, and specific combinations of the two.

Artistes:

~~Michael Jackson~~ - Yes, he's dead, but I caught him perform twice in Singapore before. It was spectacular.
~~Janet Jackson~~ - I suppose she's another in the 'old guard' of performers in my mind. Watch at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Cher - I missed my chance in Vegas. She wasn't playing the week we were there. So upsetting.
Rihanna - I like her.
Black Eyed Peas - Missed them the last 2 times I had the chance :\
Leona Lewis - hearing her voice live would be absolutely amazing.
Katy Perry - would be fun.
~~Lady Gaga~~ - watched before at Fort Canning, but I'm hoping for an indoor arena this time. Would watch again, and preferably in a renown arena.
Justin Bieber - I'm serious.

...for Asian languages...

~~Sammi Cheng~~ - I've watched her no less than 10 times. Fan boy aren't I? But I want to catch her in the HK Coliseum, where her stage is crazily elaborate and the costumes are awesome. I can safely say there is no one who can beat the standard of performance and showmanship that she sets in HK.
~~Stefanie Sun~~ - watched in SG too.
~~Ayumi Hamasaki~~ - watched her live 3 times in Japan. Twice in Yoyogi for CDL. It was amazing. I'm obviously biased, but I think she does the most theatrical concert performances in Japan.
Utada Hikaru - still not yet. She doesn't do concerts often, and is currently on hiatus anyway.
~~SHINee~~ - watched a couple of times, most recently on the SG leg of their tour.
Girls Generation - waiting for them to come to SG, or maybe I could watch them in S. Korea.
~~Siti Nurhaliza~~ - I've watched her at the Esplanade before.. but I want to watch a full scale concert.

Theres a disproportionate number of girls to guys, mainly because there aren't enough guy acts that are popular or prolific enough to hold concerts that aren't boybands. I don't really care for those. Maybe Usher... Also, its really true - divas do concerts better.

Arenas:

New York Madison Square Garden - cos it seems like a great place. I don't really know which is the best place in NY. I mean, its more iconic and I've heard the Garden get more mention than Radio City Music Hall...

Los Angeles Staples Center - seems like the place to be in LA. idk really.

Las Vegas MGM Grand Arena - always thought it was a grand place, also because any Asian artiste who is big enough to tour in LV goes here, of all places.

London O2 Arena - Mainly cos it seems like the place to be in London. And any show in the O2 is a big show.

Nippon Budokan - another really famous arena, this one in Tokyo. You need to be somebody to perform here...

Hong Kong Coliseum - The place to be in HK (probably the only place lol). I want to watch Sammi in her home turf here.

Ok so I've not watched at any of these before. I guess it's something to work towards.

This is just for pop concerts anyway. Performing Arts Theatres will be in a category of its own.

Video #4 - Observation Test

2011-09-30T20:59:00.000+08:00

Lo and behold, it is the 4th video.
And the second one in my fortnightly cycle.

To be really honest, I sometimes have no idea what to upload, so I usually just wing it. I can't really say this video was planned in that sense, but then again, I can't say it wasn't.

Watch here.

First of all, I must say what must be said.

No, you may not have your 5 minutes back.

Second of all, well.. if everyone has at least 1 video out online which makes themselves look like total ass, then this is probably it for me. For now anyway.
But I can see why it would be a common occurrence. It's so fun to make a fool of yourself. And here I actually got into character and dressed up a little and all.

That said, I didn't even bother to pick songs that I knew well. I barely know the lyrics for any of them (hell I don't speak Korean) and so lip-syncing was a real bitch. Only thing is that all of them were kinda stuck in my head fairly recently. I think I know how drag performers feel now, kinda.

There was actually a 4th song in all this, but I cut it out partly because I was lazy to edit it in (this shit is tedious), and also because maybe it didn't fit the feel of the video as much. Perhaps one day it will surface in Part 2 of this kind of Playback.

Anyway, there are probably real questions about observation skills to make here. There's a very specific pattern I used for each song in the video, and similarities too. Maybe you can have fun pointing them out.

The intention of this video wasn't to get people to hate me for wasting their time, but rather to laugh at me for looking stupid. I HOPE YOU DID. If not.. well.. too bad. Maybe 2 weeks later.

P.S. the slut feel of Copper Bell is a tribute to Goldie. She pwns.

Training in Japan, part 2

2011-09-29T00:00:00.003+08:00

Ok, part 2.

So far in part 1 (read it here) all I showed were trains, monkeys, ponds and a hotel room.
Now you should probably know that my hotel stays in Japan weren't all that great. Well, its kinda to be expected when you pay as much as I did (except for that ryokan-hotel anyway).

Not that it was bad. Some were really nice (like the Swissotel Nankai Osaka), but since I don't intend to spend the entire day in the hotel room, it doesn't matter that much to me.

Here's what some of the rooms looked like.

The good.

The spacious

And the pathetic.

Anyway... back to Seikai and its food. I think kaiseki is a bit too atas for me to enjoy - or maybe it's because I don't quite like to eat what I don't really know. But its all so pretty anyway. Food pic spam.

Above: Dinner. Below: Breakfast.

Don't ask me what I had. I don't know for sure.

Speaking of food. It's so nice to eat in Japan. I love Japanese food so I have absolutely no problem eating it everyday. But apart from the traditional stuff what I love are the desserts, the pastries and the convenience store stuff. Conbini's are amazing. They sell all sorts of stuff.

You heard it here first. Pudding is my weakness.

Also, instant ramen from famous brand names. So cool!

Anyway, more food pic spam.
(note that I don't have sushi or sashimi anywhere here lol)

Osaka Ohsho!

not exactly REAL Japanese food, but still Japanese, if you know what I mean.

Left: Nagasaki Chanpon Right: Gyoza and Mapo Tofu.

Okonomiyaki. One of the famous foods in Osaka.

It's pretty good for fried cabbage.

Matcha Latte and Souffle. Délicieux.

One of the countless bowls of ramen we had. We like ramen a lot.

I dunno if this is a chain store or something, but this is really damn nice.

I don't remember what they actually call it, but its basically gelato + granita.

Curry Katsu Rice. came with a very interesting conversation in Japanese with a Bangladeshi guy.

I love how considerate the Japanese are with lactose intolerant people.

All soy drinks come with the soymilk card to make sure your order definitely uses soy instead of regular milk.

For those who don't know, this is Starbucks btw.

random sweet things: pastry puffs on left, crepe ice cream on right (from Harajuku)

Oh and this, is from McDonalds.

There is a rule that no matter where you travel to on holiday, one meal has to be McDonalds.

..and preferably something unique to the region.

Finally, Tonkatsu from Wako.

Big picture because this is the best tonkatsu I've ever had in my life. I am serious.

There's this awesome fruit parfait place that Ai brought us to in Tokyo that was just amazing. I'm not sure if I should reveal the location because he likes to call it his place to bring people when they're in Tokyo (that most people wouldn't know to go to).

Looks good yes? That's all I can show you :p

Ah.. and yes, I did have lotsa fun meeting up with Ai over in Tokyo. He studies there alone and took the time to meet us, so it was really nice of him. At least I brought him curry powder.

Singaporeans are good at doing one thing when they meet up. Eating :p

We had "viking" BBQ. (that means buffet apparently)

イケメンAi-san, Marcus, and the pork.

We went karaoke and explored various Tokyo districts and ate a lot. It was real fun. Thank you. :)

Left: our karaoke room, Right: a pic of me he took which I though was nice, so don't waste.

Strangely enough I didn't feel compelled to shop in Japan at all. Pretty much all the brands that I'd wanna find in Japan are now available in Singapore, and the current street fashion isn't really in line with my style either. I blame globalization.

The two things I spent most of my money on. UFO catcher and Square Enix goods.

That said, I did spend yet another small fortune over at the Square-Enix Merchandise Store. Accessories, T-shirts and posters. I can be such a fanboy.

Oops, I still have some pics I picked out that I haven't used anywhere else. Random pic spam time.

I coulda come up with a lotta captions, but I'm lazy :\

So anyway... Late summer in Japan was really a totally different experience.. and I must say I do prefer the country a little cooler. But it's still a different experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Hmm.. when should I go to Japan again?

Training in Japan

2011-09-28T20:12:00.002+08:00

I love Japan. I've always regarded the country as my second home outside of Singapore and would never turn down the opportunity to visit. In fact I once made it a point to visit Japan at least once a year, but sadly that plan didn't last more than two years.

Anyway, I got my chance to go to Japan again less than a month ago, and needless to say I enjoyed it. Seeing as I've been to certain parts of Japan like Tokyo and Osaka a countless number of times, I was determined to make this trip a vastly different experience, and it really was.

This time round I was with Marcus, whom I've been to Japan with before. It's kind of our ORD trip redux, except Alex couldn't join us this time. It was also our first time in Japan in the heat of Summer.

So the reason why this post is titled "Training in Japan" is because I literally took the train everywhere for my trip this time round. Tourists traveling in Japan can get to exploit the JR rail network if they get a JR pass, and exploit away we did.

The Sakura Shinkansen and a bunch of tickets..

To give you a rough idea of how much we were "training", we went from Tokyo to Nagano and back, then Tokyo to Osaka, then to Kyushu, then around it, and then all the way back to Tokyo.

check out the Summer sun!

Yudanaka is near Nagano. Some of the train/station shots there.

the train goes to "USA" :p

I thought the left pic made for a nice object 'mood' shot lol. Nice sky color in the right.

Taking the Shinkansen is pretty fun after all. It's comfy and fast, but the amount of time we spent traveling on train probably amounted to an entire day spent. Seriously overkill, but thats what you get when you try to overreach yourself.

I like this shot cos it shows you that the Shinkansen moves faster than the iPhone's camera can process/capture an image.

But hey, I got to try all sorts of ekiben this time round. Ekiben are bento sets they sell at train stations that include food that is exclusive or special to that particular region.

Bentos are awesome, but they're also cold. Onigiri on the other hand, is love wrapped in laver.

Training everywhere also has its benefits, since we got to go to places we probably didn't want to spend too much time at, but still see the interesting stuff..

We did a bit of a trek through some forest stretch just to get to where we needed to go.

Very rare, for Marcus.

Beautiful wood. Bad place to roll down.

"are we there yet?"

So we are... This is like your quintessential Japanese hamlet.

Did you see the mist? It's from the geyser... Smells of sulphur.

Funny sign, imo.

But this was what we were here for...

I see monkeys! They don't give a shit about me!

It's so relaxing for them it must be rather dull.

Ohaidere cute little one!

Take these pretty Japanese Macaques for example. They're really cute. And you can find them if you travel to Nagano, then train up to Jigokudani, which means Hell's Valley.

Strike a pose.

I think we were kinda obsessed with going to hell or something, cos one of our other stops was in Beppu on Kyushu island. Beppu is famous for its hot springs and a bunch of them are collectively known as the 9 Hells of Beppu. Sounds peachy doesn't it?

Ooh.. ominous looking. No artificial coloring too.

Anyway, I just had to go to hell. Actually, I went to 4 of them.

The Tatsumaki and Blood Pond Hells. One's a geyser, the other just a hot spring pond.

Comon guys, you're in a hell, be a little more cheery about it yeah?

(side note: I brought really few T-shirts on this trip, so you can see me wearing the same thing lol)

This one's the White Pond hell.

And a more chirpy tourist pose.

(I swear, the local girls next to us snapped a photo of me doing this sign)

Last but not least, the Sea Hell. It's the color of a clear blue sea.

No swimming though, you'll boil first.. like these eggs in a basket.

Walking around hot springs really makes you feel like eating eggs.

Hot springs in the Summer.. you'd think people find it a little too warm for soaking in an onsen, but not us (and apparently a lot of Japanese). We stayed a night over at a nearby luxurious ryokan-hotel (which cost us a minor fortune) to enjoy the natural hot spring water.

The place is called Seikai anyway...

We wanted a traditional Japanese-styled room but they were out of those so we took a modern/hybrid Japanese-styled ryokan room.

The most comfortable bed I had this entire trip...

I have a thing for Japanese style shower units, by the way.

Ryokan-hotels are super lavish and cost a lot but thats also because they come inclusive of dinner, which is usually an exquisite kaiseki. More on that later on. Our room was like a fully furnished Japanese apartment. Sea view. Came with an en suite onsen too. Awesome place.

The private onsen. There's a bigger one upstairs which is communal for hotel guests, but still awesome.

Me after a midday soak. I had to go up to the baths alone because I wanted more space and someone was too shy to show his peepee to strangers.

Anyway, said sea view.

The ocean is so breathtaking.

Ok.. I declare that there are too many pictures in this post. Going to break here and start a part 2.

[FFXI] Voidwatch - Part II : Jeuno and Zilart areas

2011-09-20T04:29:00.013+08:00

The 20th Sept 2011 update introduced Part II of the Voidwatch system.

Click here to view Part I of the Voidwatch system.

It is split into two different paths, the Jeuno path, which requires completion of Part I of the system, and the Zilart path, which does not require anything.

Preliminary charts were only made possible this early on in the update due to the presence of the Test Server. With that, I was able to find out relevant information about the 2 systems even before they went live here.
But as a disclaimer, any changes made between test server version and the current have not been made known or highlighted so until then the information is taken to be accurate.

v0.1 : map for Quicksand Caves coming soon. I just got my Loadstone so I can scout without a Galka.
v0.2 : all maps added. more drops listed.
v0.3 : more drops added.
v1.0 (Jeuno) : no further updates are likely to be made.
v1.1 (Jeuno) : clarifying and making changes for quest progress.

v0.8 (Zilart) : only minor errata and clarification left to be made.
v0.9 (Zilart) : added details on quest progress
v1.0 (Zilart) : rearranged sections. Qilin atmacite now only reads Promises. The game may still have it erroneously named as Exhortation.
v1.1 (Zilart) : error with Gushing Spring, pointed out by Trigun. thx.

[FFXI] Sept 20th 2011 Version Update

2011-09-20T02:04:00.003+08:00

It's that time of the year again. Another major version update for FFXI.

Not exactly expecting a lot of new models and graphic assets this time round since a lot of it got picked up on the test server, but no harm seeing what we've got.

More under the cut.

Ok, almost everything I found was already added in the July update or Test server additions (click to see their dat mines).

The only thing entirely new that wasn't added in the test server either was Dynamis zone maps, which to me look identical to the real ones..
And this Caturae which was also in the test server already but I just missed the last time.

So here they are anyway.
(P.S. sorry was so disappointed didn't bother to crop around maps)
P.P.S, for those interested in the location of the new map dats. they're ROM/267/112-123

Video #3 - Languages

2011-09-19T01:49:00.000+08:00

So this week starts my fortnightly cycle of posting videos regularly!

Before I begin with this weeks video, I want to apologize for the quality of this video. I really need to find some good lighting to film in because evidently my light source isn't good enough for it. This led to either very dim and even blur footage. Ended up cutting out a lot of stuff because of that.

Anyway here's the video.

This week I talked about languages. It's something I just happen to like. Also because I couldn't really think of anything better to talk about.

I hope you caught the TKL reference. It was so not subtle.

A good chunk of what I wanted to say about Singlish was cut out cos it was both dim and blur, but in case you wanted to know what it was, it was me saying that I intend to do entire videos in Singlish in future - that should be exciting huh. Also, the link to the wikipedia article on Singlish is right here.

Finally, I seem a tad more serious here than I usually am. I don't even know why. But thats going to change. I hate being serious on camera, especially when I'm not.

Very disappointed with this weeks video, partly because of the overall quality and also because I ended up putting it out like 4 days later than originally planned. I really need to work on improving my video capturing and editing skills. Won't want to disappoint my fan, would I?

SHINee World Concert Singapore..!

2011-09-12T13:26:00.000+08:00

Remember how I said I was gonna go watch SHINee at their concert in Singapore many months back?

Well.. I watched them on Saturday! It was phenomenal.. They are every bit as good as I'd expected them to be...

The Singapore Indoor Stadium was packed in really early. Officially the concert starts at 6, but by 5:45pm, almost everyone was at their seats. It was going to be a full house show.

What was more interesting was that the show actually started nearly on time. 6:10, the lights dimmed and the show was ready to begin. This is probably a first in all my years of concert-going (actually second, since new year concerts are timed to start just in time for the countdown), but then again I think it majorly depends on how filled the concert arena is before they decide to start.

The stage was huge with its extension...

As you can see above, the stage.. and the only pic I took throughout the show. I'm one of those people who believe that I pay to watch a concert, not to be a cameraman, so I usually just sit back and enjoy. Photography was also prohibited, but people don't usually bother (until they get caught anyway).

Anyway.. SHINee was amazing during their 2hr 30min + concert. Almost 30 songs. They kept the energy level up all the time, dancing, singing and putting in so much effort in whatever they were doing on stage. There were also theatrics like being strung on cables and floating above the stage and gratuitous use of pyrotechnics :D which ultimately weren't necessary considering their performance caliber. So this is the shining exuberance of youth... It really does show.

Given that they don't exactly have a very extensive repertoire, they did perform all the songs that I like from them, along with a bunch of covers for their solo performances. The highlight of the night for me were their powerful performance of Lucifer nearing the end.

Other interesting points in the concert were Key's solo song where Taemin dresses up in drag to perform along with him.. Onew's Nessun Dorma and the encore segment where they started playing with water.

All in all, I must say I was very impressed both by their performance and the staging. It really lived up to expectation and affirms my reason for liking SHINee as my favourite K-Pop boyband all along.

The only thing which I really didn't enjoy so much about the concert was the fangirls screaming. It's kinda okay to scream.. but they did it THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CONCERT. It was NON-STOP, except maybe when the band members were talking, at which point it quietened down a little but never completely stopped. I guess I really wasn't expecting that...

I look forward to catching SHINee again soon. Hoping for more great performances and music from them in the future :)

SHINee fighting!

Off to the Southern Ridges

2011-09-09T12:35:00.000+08:00

Did you know that Singapore has an extensive network of park connectors that allow you to travel from one park to another with relative ease?
It's so awesome that you could easily plan a bike route and travel from the east to western parts of the island.

Why I mention this is because I recently attempted a really enjoyable trek across a few of our local parks.
The trail, which is collectively known as the Southern Ridges, spans 4 parks from West Coast to Harbourfront, near Sentosa.

What I love about this trail is that each of the 4 parks offer a slightly different experience, so you don't exactly go through looking at the same thing all the way along the 9km long walk.

This trail has been open for years but I never managed to get anyone to go with me, so I'm really glad I've finally gotten down to trekking through it.

These are the 4 parks the trail cuts through.

Kent Ridge Park
Here lies the Canopy trail, where you walk among and get to see the canopies of trees like the Tembusu up close.

It's really nice to look out from higher up.

HortPark
This isn't really a nature park but a nursery cum landscaping park. It's still an awesome place tho, because of its diverse display of flowers and landscaping ideas.

I got a little trigger happy at HortPark...

The Alexandra Arch connects HortPark to Telok Blangah Hill Park

Telok Blangah Hill Park
This park offers the tree top trail experience in a similar vein to the canopy trail and also a more challenging Earth trail which takes you down on the ground. This park is notably more serene, imo.

Von. Posing.

Mt Faber Park
Home of the Jewel Box, which is one of the starting points of the cable car that leads to Sentosa. This is probably the most popular of the 4 parks, what with it also being the highest hill in Singapore and having a few cosmopolitan attractions like food and drink.

Somewhere in Mt Faber...

This may sound random, but the toilet at the Jewel Box is gorgeous.

One of the most notable things about doing this trail is the Henderson Waves, which is also Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge, that links Telok Blangah Hill Park to Mt Faber Park. The view from there is really amazing, and the structure itself is quite a sight to behold.

It felt like a good place to camwhore ;p

So if you haven't tried this trail before, do give it a shot. But dress lightly and bring water, because the weather can be a little punishing (it depends really). I brought a hand fan - such a good decision.

Gonna go try out other parks and trails after this. Love wandering the parks and trails of Singapore because they're so well connected and thought out.

Video #2 - Coming Soon

2011-09-07T11:29:00.000+08:00

After mulling for a really long time on what to do on my personal youtube channel account, I decided that it'd be a good place to start by doing one video every fortnight, or 2 weeks.

Thing is, I had many ideas for my 2nd video... but it didn't seem right to jump right into it after like not putting anything up for 2 months after the first video. Because of that, I recorded my second video 4 times on different occasions before finally settling on the one I'm posting. If you haven't watched it yet, here it is...

So basically, its a teaser video.
Next week I start the cycle of posting videos every fortnight.

The format I have in mind is.. well.. not much of one. I figured that if I structured myself too much I'd not know what to record for my videos. I foresee myself doing tutorial videos, skits, "experience" vlogs and probably a bunch of other things. The key factor really is that its a fun thing to me and I really enjoy the process - and I hope you guys will too.

One thing I will make note of, is that every video will come with a blog entry not unlike this one.. and this is something I haven't been doing (and won't do) for my JBK videos. Too much effort la.

random notes:
- I've also decided to take the leap and record my videos on a camera instead of my laptop. Good thing is the video fits Youtube's default aspect ratio and its HD-able. Bad thing is my face is HUGE LIKE XBOX.
- I recorded this in my toilet for the lighting, but it also made my voice sound very echo-ey. Don't think I'll be doing that again for a while.. unless I'm singing *grin*

Goldie Cheung and her Copper Bell

2011-09-02T19:58:00.001+08:00

Usually when I get linked to an X-Factor video on Youtube, the person is either really good or really hilarious...
And in this case, I think this contestant is really really funny.

Here, Goldie Cheung, a contestant formerly from Hong Kong, performs and wows the crowd in a really amusing way.
Her HK English accent, the shameless way she performs and her overall energy is just.. so.. entertaining.

As much as I don't think she can sing well, I cannot deny that she has amazing stage presence. But I should probably give her the benefit of the doubt, since she wasn't feeling well and was throw up.

Since none of the videos of this audition allow embedding, I'll just hotlink to it right here.

GO WATCH IT!

Also for those curious to know what song "Copper Bell" (which is now unfortunately stuck in my head) really is, it's actually a Mandarin Chinese song called 長籐掛銅鈴 (Chang Teng Gua Tong Ling) and is from like the 60s swing era. I think this is probably the original version).

This song has been covered numerous times, but the one that Goldie used was done by the late Anita Mui, a cantopop legend in her own right. You can watch her version here.

I think this song will be stuck in my head for a while... ;o

...ding dang ding dang ding dang....

[FFXI] First Test Client Model Dat Mine highlights

2011-09-02T15:33:00.002+08:00

Hi!

So, I was on holiday when the test client came up and didn't get to look at the files until now..
And some of the stuff are things that already made their way into the prep update.

But there are a few minor notable things that were added.. so I'll show them here.
The rest of the new stuff is just animations.. although I'm pretty sure I spotted a few Cait Sith BPs and the next Fenrir BP in there.

A new (? not sure if really new I don't fish) fishing rod design, with animation for all races.

A pair of mandragora wands. One of them is in a conductor outfit. Cute stuff.
There is also musical note animation that accompanies it, I'm guessing when you attack stuff with it.

Not going to do a video of the animations cos there are too few notable ones, and too many indistinguishable ones.

Recharged for September

2011-09-02T15:17:00.000+08:00

I'm back!

Well, I never did say I went away.. but I did, actually. I was in Japan for 10 days and had a ball of a time. Between taking a bullet train everywhere, seeing monkeys, soaking in hot springs, eating A LOT, wasting money on UFO catchers and meeting a twitter friend for the first time ever, there were many other highlights to share but this post isn't about that.

I felt like I really needed a holiday because somehow I'd found myself increasingly tired of everything. I needed a breather to break from the monotony of what I was doing and this trip managed to do just that.

Now I'm back and charged up, ready for the month of September.
Of course, September looks to be an interesting month based on my circumstances, but I'm going to make the most of it.. I hope.

More to come soon :D

Meanwhile, here's a bit of awesome Engrish I saw in Japan... It still cracks me up.

We can collide.

2011-08-21T14:17:00.000+08:00

One of the artistes for whom I'm really looking forward to a comeback is Leona Lewis. She's got such an amazing velvety rich big voice.. and I think its really a pity that such talent is being overshadowed by auto-tune and commercial pop sell-outs these days.

Her last album (Echo) was consistently good but it was a little too safe and didn't have the help of any stellar hits (like Bleeding Love, Better in Time and Run) and suffered from a lack of promotion (with 2 plugged singles only).

Personally, I'd like to see her try something more daring and dancepop-centric, and the lead single from her upcoming album does show some promise. Titled "Collide", it already shows a slightly different side of her voice than we'd usually expect.

It hasn't caught on with me as much as I'd like, but this Afrojack remix definitely has. It highlights the best parts of the song and her vocals. And what a shame, considering it isn't the radio mix and most people aren't likely to hear it.

Give it a listen!

Born with a Soup Spoon in my mouth...

2011-08-18T00:37:00.004+08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I'm a huge soup person..? as in, I'm the kind of guy who could just have hearty soup for an entire meal for days in a row and be contented with that...

I have, of course, conditions to meet. The soups themselves have to be good and of a sufficient variety that I won't get bored. And this is never a problem whenever I dine at The Soup Spoon.

I've been a Souperholic (its the name of their loyalty card thingy) since they first set up shop in Raffles City some (very long time, I think 10 years) ago - in fact, when I was still in JC. I liked that they served a variety of hearty soups and was thrilled by the notion that there was a place that catered to soup lovers like myself.

So fast forward to today, I still love to dine at The Soup Spoon, but these days I have to battle crazy queues during lunch hour just to sate my Tokyo Chicken Stew cravings - its worth it I tell you. And just last Saturday I had the honor to be called along by Calvin for a little food tasting at The Soup Spoon. So happy! How could I refuse!?

Anyway, this tasting was to showcase their new chef special soups (for this month) in additional to several items already on the menu. In the presence of a number of esteemed food bloggers, I got to see them at their work, and also share with them as we got to try all these dishes prepared for us.

These were the 3 chef specials.

French Ratatouille

I'm personally no familiar with Ratatouille because, um.. I'm not that fond of French food.
Still this stew of vegetables and (I believe) sour cream is hearty and very nutritious.
It's also vegetarian.

$6.80

A Mid Summer Night's Beef Stew

It's hard to go wrong with beef stew. This comes with like carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and some other stuff. Very hearty! Out of the 3 specials, I liked this one the most!
$7.90

Braised Chicken with Wolfberries and Daun Salam

This one is really unique for its Asian taste. It tastes like a fusion of Chinese and Malay food (in other words, kinda Nyonya) and this shows when you see that it uses ingredients like red dates and daun salam (bay leaf) together for a very interesting taste.

$7.60

Other stuff we got to try.

(we got Tokyo Chicken Stew after someone mentioned that this was my fave :D )

Top: Tokyo Chicken Stew ($7)

Middle: Indochine Prawn Wrap ($9.90), Smoked Salmon Sandwich ($9.90)

Bottom: Thai Tofu Salad ($8.30)

Everything at a glance...

I thought this water line design on the bowls was cute.

If you've noticed I've mentioned hearty at least 3 times above. It kinda tells you what I expect soups to be. And I like that soups at The Soup Spoon always bear this in mind. Even as a soup person, you're not going to like every soup, but you'll know that the soups they serve are wholesome and nutritious.

tl;dr, I <3 The Soup Spoon

(P.S. I'm not endorsed or sponsored in any way for this. I really just like it a lot
Once again, thanks to Calvin for inviting me along for this)

Coming (not so) full Circle

2011-08-11T20:22:00.000+08:00

If you're an MRT buff like I am, you'd already know that Stage 4 and 5 of the Circle Line will be opening on October 8th this year.

This would mean that the Circle Line stations from Caldecott to Harbourfront will soon be accessible to commuters. I am no doubt overjoyed, because it means a faster commute for me - or at the very least, a new MRT station that is actually close to my house.

For the record, the MRT station that will be closest to my house is Holland Village, and this means it'll be more convenient for me to get to other parts of Singapore through the Circle line, and all the other networks connecting to it.

Notable stations I'm happy to be able to commute to with relative ease or far greater accessibility -
one - north : finally a train that goes right to my gym.

Botanic Gardens : my fave park, now more accessible!

Harbourfront : now I only need to take ONE fast direct train to be at the doorstep of Sentosa!

And so the original Circle line is complete. Of course, there's a bit of irony to the fact that the Circle line isn't actually a full circle but rather just a huge arc. There will be a future extension that links the Promenade station to Marina bay, but even then its not close to being a full circle, but more like a bent arrow.

What it'll look like...

Word is that in future, that extension up to Marina Bay will see an even further extension to Harbourfront, finally making a real full Circle. Some people will be like, oh finally, its a circle.. but personally, I'm just happy Stages 4-5 would have already been opened!

Then I can do a Tour de Circle Line part 2!
CAN'T WAIT!

Down by the River - we Kayak!

2011-08-08T01:56:00.001+08:00

My weekends have been filled with so many fun activities lately! I cannot wait to blog about all of them.
Its just me adopting a more active weekend lifestyle and doing outdoor activities, but I've never had so much fun.

Alex, me and the Singapore Flyer.

So two weeks ago I went for a kayaking course.
To get me one-star certified.

This means to say I'll be certified to kayak anywhere around Singapore without supervision!
Excitement! ...although I seriously don't see myself kayaking in unprotected waters..
For now I'll stick to the peaceful Kallang Basin.

getting our feet (and the rest of our body) wet, literally.

Before this, I'd always known that water sports such as dragonboating were popular in Singapore but I never realized why. Apparently, its because the water is fairly clean, and to add to that the temperature is just right for water sports. Even when the land is warm, the water is cool but never cold, so its really enjoyable.

I also got myself slightly sunburnt during the 2 day course, but it was really nothing compared to the extreme fun I had.

I wish my cheeks were this rosy all the time.

In the course, we got to learn stuff like doing the capsize drill (which I HATE TO DO!), rescuing kayaks and the various different paddle strokes that one could use - my favorite thus far is the skulling draw. Graceful classic strokes!

cap!

left to right: I just wanted to say I love my shoes / random fish jumped into a kayak / tired me after day 1.

the coach was very patient with me, thankfully..

and my god I look so pasty.

theres always the time to camwhore

venturing out as a group

What next? Dragonboating? Wakeboarding? Sailing?! I don't know! :D

P.S. Special thanks to Alex for coming with me on the course. I would probably have been super anti-social without you. And also thanks to Edwin for the referral.

If you're interested to try this, you can go to the Singapore Canoe Federation website for more info.

Fist of Dragon

2011-08-02T16:17:00.000+08:00

Sponsored Post

I think I've always been decently supportive of regional and local movie productions, so when I got the opportunity to attend the gala premiere of this movie titled "Fist of Dragon", I decided to take it.

The local movie industry is still really in its infancy and I'd say a lot of genres have as yet been untested.

As such, it was quite refreshing to see that this movie was going to a fighting action one.

Fist of Dragon is an action packed fighting movie that stars local artistes like Henry Thia and Fiona Xie, with the lead role being held by the director Michael Chuah.

I must say the premise of the story is typical for any martial arts action movie, but this one really stretched it with the evil man with the diabolical scheme of *spoiler* *spoiler* weapons and having a *spoiler* expert as his personal *spoiler*.

Not going to spoil anymore of it, but I must say this movie has its fair share of very long fighting scenes. Whilst they could have been more elaborate, and used with less sound effects, I'd say it was still a valiant effort to portray the fight scenes well, especially with them being the bread and butter of an action movie.

I also did like that the fight scenes used a very steady style of directing that allows you to actually see the fights happen, unlike say.. old TCS fighting serials that purely involve frantic camerawork and people twirling around by themselves *coughcondorheroescough*.

Given a choice I would have made the story a little more focused and cut down on the scripts dialogue which seemed a little too formulaic. And featured more Fiona Xie - this movie reminds me of how much I miss her haha.

I'd still say it was a decent movie, but I've just personally been very spoilt by big budget productions. Even so I'm glad I watched because well.. Fiona Xie is awesome and Henry Thia is such a funny actor.

SHINee World in Singapore

2011-07-27T22:15:00.000+08:00

This is a bit of an information repost..

but...

SHINee is coming to Singapore to hold a concert!
It's on the 10th of September at the Singapore Indoor Stadium (thats a Saturday).
Its a 2hr 30min show that starts at 6pm, which means its a full concert.

Tickets are priced at $138, $168 and $218, going on sale this Saturday at 10am on the SISTIC website, or 9am at the roadshow at SCAPE.

Good stuff :D
My favorite K-Pop boyband is coming to town so I'm quite excited to see them live again.. But considering there's only gonna be like 6000 ticketed seats in this 1 night only gig, I fully expect the tickets to sell out pretty fast.

Let's hope I can get my hands on them.

The Next Frontier

2011-07-25T23:28:00.002+08:00

For a while, I've been thinking of how the Singapore blogosphere has gradually been evolving.
I'm not sure if its moreso just a matter of my perspective or an actual shift, but it feels as if the local blogosphere is actually stagnating.

It used to be a rather vibrant community of bloggers who would interact with one another and then generate new ideas and do fun things.. but now its more like just people who take on advertorials and only blog about what advertisers and corporations want them to do. I'd say the biggest difference is that a good number of the bigger bloggers out there are just pandering to sponsors and no longer feel like the free creative individuals they once used to be.

Another shift is really that when the more popular bloggers stop putting out content and kinda lose their popularity, there really isn't anyone coming forward to take over from there. And this is due in part to the underlying expectation that anyone new who wants to being a 'bigger' blogger has to somehow be like the older popular bloggers. It's almost like.. in-breeding creativity. And that's just stifling.

However, on a positive note, there seems to be more attention given to video blogging and it seems that our community has decidedly reached a stage where we're ready to take on the vlog world. It is, so to speak, the next frontier.

Personally, I've never considered myself to be a 'real' blogger but someone who takes part in the blogging community. My passion for writing lies in a different place. But I've also been trying my hand with vlogging for a few months now, thanks to my contribution at JailBaitKids.. and gradually improving as I figure out what works and what doesn't on video. It's so much fun because you can be that much more expressive and people don't have to read as I drone on and on about something.

I've thus started my own YouTube channel meant for personal vlogs. It's kinda bare because my second video is constantly being delayed due to me being busy.. but I expect to see myself putting out videos more often in the future. It's totally fun after all.

Guess I'll just leave the first video here haha. Will work on a new page to archive all my vids.

Twenty Six

2011-07-17T19:37:00.000+08:00

...and over the hill.

We all need our bread and butter.

2011-07-13T02:29:00.003+08:00

I'll keep this simple.

TOAST BOX has come up with a new range of Thick Toast.
And I like Thick Toast, because I like toasted bread, and the new ones are pretty special.

So, go and try them because they're available for a limited time only.
I'm gonna go try the Butter Milk Thick Toast. Sounds simple, but looks awesome.
The Tom Yum Garlic one also sounds really appealing to me. You can always depend on BreadTalk to come up with "game-changing" creative ideas for food, especially bread.

Now to find the nearest Toast Box to my office :p