Bodyguards and Assassins 十月圍城 (2009)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

Hmm, the fighting and action scenes are great. The acting are pretty alright, although at some places they seems a bit cheezy. The plot is pretty straight-forward. But i do have a gripe with the censors, cos the y make the film a bit dis-jointed...

Official Site:
http://www.bodyguardsandassassins.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403130/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodyguards_and_assassins

The Storm Warriors 风云II (2009)

Rating:	★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

I must confess, I'm not a 風雲/天下 fan, so I'm not sure whether this plot of this film follows the manhua. But in terms of story-line, I find this to be much weaker than even the first movie adaptation. The special effects are okay, nothing fantastic. Maybe my expectations too high? :P

Official Site:
http://www.thestormwarriors.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1186371/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Storm_Warriors

on what makes us human

       What makes us human? is it our weaknesses? Our sins? No. Our immortal souls that have a rational intellect and a free will are what makes us human and what makes us created in the image and likeness of God. Those who claim that the sinlessness (also called impeccability) of Christ makes him less human are incorrect because it is not the ability to sin that constitutes human nature. The ability to reason and to make freewill decisions is human. Animals act out of instinct and computers operate on programming. Only human beings can reason and make moral choices that re either good or evil. Jesus' inability to sin does not diminish or negate His humanity or human nature or even His human free will. As Pope John Paul the Great once said, "Freedom is not license." It is not the ability to do anything you want, but the opportunity to do what you ought to do - the power to do the right thing for the right reason.

- From The Catholicism Answer Book, answering Question 36 "Could Jesus sin?"

Cousin's Wedding march in

The first walk in during the wedding lunch reception

Cousin's Wedding Lunch (06 Dec '09)

Lat Sunday went to attend my cousin's wedding lunch at Marina Mandarin. Met a lot of long lost distant relatives, who all still remembered me (although I don't really remember them). Congratulations to Roger and Bee Fen!~

Office Retreat '09 (04 Dec '09)

Last Friday, thew hole of Singapore office went to East Coast Park in the morning for a day of office retreat. We gathered in the morning at Burger King for a time of breakfast fellowship, followed by our International Director leading us in a time of a devotions. We played some ice-breakers game within the restaurant, before heading over to the sheltered soccer courts for a time of "physical work-out".

After that, we went for a nice lunch at C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe Express. It was great eating the hot food after being caught in the sudden downpour. Had a really slow and good lunch, before we moved off to Kallang Leisure Dome for a game of bowling (or two). XD It's been too long since I last bowled. Kept getting gutter bowls for my first 5 throws~ Managed to improve only after the competitive rounds are over. (That's why I kept telling them need to have warm up session first...)

For dinner, we traveled to Marina Barrage and tried the steamboat dinner at 7th Storey restaurant. Due to the weather, we opted for indoors; which was kinda regretful, since their famous charcoal steamboat is only served outdoors. The oysters were very fresh though, and we had a nice slow dinner. It was slightly marred by the technical glitches of teh electric steamboat not working properly. But on the whole, it was a good meal. Thus ends our 09' office retreat! Thanks to Nicole, Eddie & Hnin for organising all the activities that day.

Dome Night Out (02 Dec '09)

We went out on last Wednesday for a nice dinner at Dempsey to celebrate the birthdays of Eileen and Mark. Didn't take much pictures, as I was more focused on eating and the fellowship. :p

Happy Flight ハッピーフライト (2008)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

From the director who gave us "Water boys" and "Swing Girls". It's not as quirky as the aforementioned films, but it has its moments. Who knows that taking a flight can turn out to be so exciting? There are some really nice shots of the aircraft taken magnificently taken. For all aviation enthusiasts~

Official Site:
http://www.happyflight.jp/index.html

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156447/

AsianMediaWiki Entry:
http://asianmediawiki.com/Happy_Flight

Christmas Chocolate from our landlord (03 Dec '09)

Heh heh, our landlord sent us a nice present of chocolate this year. Mmm mmm, so thoughtful of them! :D

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

Haha! A great entertaining movie. The stop-motion animation is very good, kept laughing throughout the film. Great voice acting, definitely a must-see!


Official site:
http://www.fantasticmrfoxmovie.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Mr._Fox_%28film%29

Office Christmas Decor '09 (01 Dec '09)

Whoopee! Got the Office Christmas Decoration up on teh first day of December! :D All thanks to Blossoms who came down to give her expertise and Nicole who helped out in putting up the Christmas tree and Christmas decoration. It's starting to feel a little more Christmas-ty now in opffice. Huat ah! XD

Dinner Outing (19 Nov '09)

Haha, last night we took our Filipino teammates, Chris and Dolly to Bugis area for bak ku teh. After that, we took them to "jalan jalan" along Orchard Road, and see the Christmas light-up. I find this year's light-up so-so only. Still prefer the classic blue and silver a couple of years ago. :P

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版: 破 Evangerion Shin Gekijōban: Ha (2009)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

If you're thinking this is just like the old series with spruced up digital images, be prepared for a shock. It's actually a re-imagining of the Evangelion universe, so there are significant plot changes. If you loved giant mecha and lotsa heavy doses of mythology and sci-fi/philosophy, then this is your movie!!!

Official Site:
http://www.evangelion.co.jp/

IMDB Entry
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0860906/

Wiki Entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelion_2.0

Babies who came to office (November '09)

The Supardis brought their son to office last week. At first Lucius was kinda shy, but once he warmed up to us, he played heartily with us. :D

Our Cambodian co-worker, Charia is in town for a family holiday with her husband, Thearith and daughter. The little one is so cute!*



*oh no, I sound like a BTSS...

今日金句：樹不要皮，必死無疑。 人不要臉，天下無敵。

Office Birthday celebrations (04 Nov '09)

Today, after staff meeting, we did a celebrations for all the November and December birthday babies. A lot of them are not around~ so we had more cake to go around for those who are in office. :p

Amalfi/ アマルフィ 女神の報酬 (2009)

Rating:	★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

Ah, forgot to update on this one. Went to catch it last week. Didn't have high expectations of it, even though it was touted to be Japan's version of "Angels and Demons". The plot is nothing like the film or the novel of "Angel and Demon". Feels more of like a "Japan Hour"'s special of touristy places in Italy. The acting was pretty good, just let down by a so-so plot.


Official Site:
http://www.amalfi50.jp/index.html

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1417032/

Cake Cutting

My friend celebrating her daughter's one year old birthday. Here's a video of the family cutting the birthday cake together

Gwyen's 1st year old party (01 Nov '09)

Went to an friend's child's birthday's party. Great time seeing my ex-colleagues again, though not much time for catching up. All those that were preset are married with young kids, and they were busy running around the place, feeding and playing with the young. Kinda surreal, sitting down on the couch watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with the young kids... :p

P.S. I was kinda glad I'm not in their current life-station... XD

Abel's and Mel's Engagement Party (31 Oct '09)

We went over to the west side on Saturday evening to witness the joyous occasion of Abel's and Mel's engagement ceremony. It was a cozy affair with family, church friends and colleagues of Mel. She and Abel gonna have another one when they fly back to the States. Hopefully we'll get some pictures of that too~ :)

Eddie's birthday night out (29 Oct '09)

Yesterday was Eddie's birthday. Some of us went down to meet him at Bugis MOF for a sumptuous Japanese casual dining experience. After dinner, we took a stroll around Bugis Junction before settling down at the Tea Dot at Iluma for a nice time of chit-chat.

Blessed Birthday, Eddie-O, my boy~ :D The Lord bless you with all that you need in the days ahead!

Office Luncheon Party (29 Oct '09)

We had a feast in office today to celebrate Mel's new milestone in life with the love of her life, Abel. Mel will be leaving office soon to start her new journey, but she'll always have a place in our hearts~ :)

We also took time to celebrate Kathy's upcoming birthday. Wishing her all the blessings the Lord will pour forth upon her and Paul in the new year ahead~

P.S. Kudos to Jonathon for the extra pictures! Gum xia!~

Baptism day in church (25 Oct '09)

Yesterday, we had a big group of people being baptised in church yesterday. We went to witness the baptism of one of our CG friend, Hong Peng. Had a wonderful time with the rest of the church family as we witness 66 of of brothers and sisters' public declaration of faith for Christ. :D

Lunch at Botak Jones (23 Oct '09)

Took the guys out for an "American meal in a local neighborhood" experience~ XD

Mel's Night Out (22 Oct '09)

Went out with our bride-to-be and let her had her Asian food cravings, before she flies off to far away America. :p We'll definitely gonna miss our sister, who's the fun and life of the party whenever she puts her mind to it :D

We are really happy for Mel that she found the love of her life, and can't wait to make her cry in the upcoming office appreciation party the following week... :P bwahahahaha!!

Office Photo (23 Oct '09)

We gathered in office to take a few group shots, as today is the last day the guys are in office before they fly back home. It has certainly been fun with the new face (and old faces :p) in office, hanging out and hanging around. We wish them a safe and blessed journey back home, and hopefully they aren't too traumatised by us (me) :p

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Independent

"The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug" - Chris Hedges

Great show. Found it to be really good exploration of the psyche of the characters, though my brother found certain parts of the film a bit slow-moving.

Official Site
http://thehurtlocker-movie.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hurt_Locker

Day out around town (19 Oct '09)

We took our co-workers from overseas and brought them around Singapore. The theme for the day was places of worship, so we took them around Chinese temples, Hindu temples, mosques and churches. We also took them around Chinatown and little India, just to see the local cultural hubs.

P.S. George just passed me all his photos, so I'm putting them online right now. He took a lot more nicer pictures than I did! Great going George! and thanks!

P.P.S. Shakti just passed me his set. They're great too!

Keeping the Faith: In the trenches with college football’s worst team

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Sports
Author:	Shawn Fury

Well, I'm not a fan of American football, but this book has certainly piqued my interest. It documents Trinity Bible College's football team, the Lions' experience in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division III 2003-2004 season.

It's really interesting for me, cos I have never been much of an athlete in school, and the struggles which some of the players and coaches go through are really foreign to me. Still, it's an uplifting story, that despite the losses, God is not absent in the life of these people.

Author's site:
http://shawnfury.com/

Read the book's intro at
http://shawnfury.com/keeping-the-faith-intro.php

Birthday Lunch at No. 2 (15 Oct '09)

Aiya, din take much photos, as was too busy eating... :P

Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend (10 Oct '09)

Last Saturday got invited over to the Phillips to join them for a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. Met new friends and old. Had a fabulous time of eating and fellow-shipping, and giving thanks to God for all we've been through.

Surrogates (2009)

Rating:	★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

Wasn't really keen to watch this, after my colleague's dismal critique. But one of my friends wanted to catch a show, and I can't imagine going to watch "500 Days of Summer" with a big burly guy :P The plot was decent, the CGI wasn't that fantastic.

Overall, there's no dramatic "peak", so it's felt kinda flat. There are some twists, but noting that's not been done before. Go watch on a weekday, or wait for the DVD.

Moral of the movie:
To feel pain is human...

Official link:
http://chooseyoursurrogate.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrogates_%28film%29

Office toys (10 Oct '09)

Finish my work liao, but it's still drizzling quite heavily. Decided to take some of my colleagues' toys and pose them for shots. Enjoy!~

Saturday OT companions (10 Oct '09)

Had to come back to office to settle some operations stuff. Thankfully didn't take long to finish the tasks. Here are my "companions" who made coming back to office on Sat morn a much more enjoyable experience. Huat ah! :D

Funny People (2009)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

Another serious show from Adam Sandler. More of drama than comedy, it has its funny moments. Especially Merman, and "Shm-Ira" :P Oh, lotsa sexual jokes and cussing, it's M18, so dun bring your young ones there.


Official Site:
http://www.funnypeoplemovie.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201167/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funny_People

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs (2009)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

Absolutely enjoyable! Thoroughly entertaining on the big screen, colorful, bright and silly, kids will really enjoy it. It's made for the kids, with kids' humor a-plenty. And there are enough visual gags & jokes that the adults will chuckle at. The voice-acting is superb, so you'll get absorbed into the story. Oooo, the use of pixels and nerd-jokes and cliches - catchy! geeky! funny! wonderful! so 80s!

The people who made this aren't afraid to leave their signature all over the movies, from the opening intro right up to the end credits; And they make fun of all nationalities, so nobody feels left-out; And it even got Mr. T* in it! So you betta go watch it, 'foo!

Official site:
http://www.cloudywithachanceofmeatballs.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844471/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudy_with_a_Chance_of_Meatballs_(film)

*okay, not Mr. T per se, but he's voice-acting in the film. How cool is that??^

^actually, not that cool... :D

Watami Singapore

Rating:	★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Japanese / Sushi
Location:	ION Orchard #B3-23 2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801

Mmmm, in terms of service, its staff are much more prompt and ready, and warrant more than 2.5 stars. However, the food selection is much lesser though, as I don't recall seeing bento sets on the menu.


Official Website:
http://www.watami.com.sg/

Dinner at Watami (05 Oct '09)

Last night went to Ion@Orchard, to try out the Watami restaurant. The menu looks ok from the menu, and the decor looks pretty ok. The way to order your food is pretty "duh" though, cos they are no codes to identify food items when placing order. "No system "ah, as my friend puts it. Oh, this is a super duper belated birthday treat for my army buddy, hope he enjoyed the company better than the food!~ :P

Lunch Gathering at Fanny's (27 Sep '09)

Yesterday went for lunch at Fanny's place. Good gathering as a lot of us haven't caught up with one another since moving on to different stations in life. Great food and wonderful fellowship. It's amazing that after not being around each others for so long, We still much talk the same stuff (crap :p) and the bond is still pretty strong there.

Ooooo, and we tasted Theresa snow-skin durian mooncakes*. Ichiban! And Fanny brought out stuff bought from her recent Japan trip. Yesh, it's pigging out again! :D

*Made to almost legendary status^ by her colleagues' FB rave reviews... :D

^ but not legendary as Mrs Fung's durian cake...

Hike along new Diary farm trail (26 Sep 09)

Complete set! tadah!

Spend the sat morning exploring around the new Diary Farm trail. It's a pretty good trail to walk along, gentle slopes and all. After a while, decided to go off the beaten track and went "jalan jalan" along the mountain bike trail up towards the the Singapore Quarry. Got lost and had to make a few turn-backs, but when I finally found the place, its' a great view!

Met a lot of cyclists and photographers along the way. They are friendlier than your Summit path people, as in they would smile and greet you "Good morning". Somehow, that just makes the whole hike much brighter :P

My camera ran out of battery juice, so the last 5 pics were taken with my handphone. All in all, a good hike and work-out. May go back again and walk the other ways.

Soul Cravings Cafe

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Other
Location:	114 Neil Road Singapore 088852

Last night after my run, went to my friend's office in town to have dinner. Heard from another friend there's this nice restaurant called Soul Cravings Cafe. The online reviews of this place are pretty positive, so decided to check it out.

Me and my friend took the long/wrong way from his studio in Jiak Chuan; nonetheless, it was an interesting 15 minutes of exploration, as we discovered more happening places along Bukit Pasoh, Duxton, Craig & Neil Road. When we finally reached the palce, both of us thing the facepalm expression as we had both failed to take notice of it, even though we passed by it earlier.

The ambiance is pretty cozy and quiet. The waitress was prompt and helpful. The food was pretty yummy, tinged with that home-cooked goodness. It's not high end "atas" western cuisine. Still the food taste tres delicieux. Perhaps exercise and hunger makes the best sauce? :P

I ordered the lamb chops, while my friend had the grilled chicken. We are allowed a choice of 3 sides, so I chose garlic bread, coleslaw and garden greens. While the coleslaw was so-so only, the garlic bread and garden greens was fantastic! For an additional $4, you can add to your main course a choice of soup and dessert. I picked pumpkin soup and creme brule. Again, nothing fanciful, but it just gives you that warm glowy feel after you eaten it.

I also ordered 2 glasses of house pour, 1 red and 1 white wine. Preferred the red to the white, as it tasted better on the palate. For that satisfying meal, I spent only $25 nett. And all i can shay ish... huat ah~ :D


Pictures are at
http://jacks51.multiply.com/photos/album/318/Dinner_at_Soul_Cravings_Cafe_25_Sep_09

Dinner at Soul Cravings Cafe (25 Sep '09)

Go to my review for the full pic :P

http://jacks51.multiply.com/reviews/item/334

Casting Crowns - Until the Whole world Hears

Another great wake-up song on k-love~ From Casting Crowns, latest single!

"Agnus Dei" - Worthy is the Lamb

Came into office, and started the day listening to this song on iTunes.

Indeed Christ is worthy! May this bless your day! XD

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”- Romans 15:7 Note the tense of the verbs used. Because He first acceptED us, so we can accept others with that one same acceptance from God. Not to just people in the church, but to all people. By doing so, you are praising your Heavenly Father.

Clair de Lune

Am smitten with this tune, since watching Tokyo Sonata. It captures a certain spirit, of wandering and searching and pining wistfulness...

 

For the violin and piano piece, goto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKd0VII-l3A

Tōkyō sonata / トウキョウソナタ (2008)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

Was a toss-up between this or the Korean show Thirst. In the end, chose this because the movie started earlier at the Cathay :p A good show, nonetheless. Great casting, as all the actors and actresses displayed solid emotions.

A typical Japanese family drama film, about dysfunctional relationships. A must watch for all fathers and father-to-be. Moral of the story: It all start from the head of the family! :p

Personally, the piano piece at the end alone is worth half a star.

Official site:
http://www.tokyosonatamovie.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938341/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Sonata

Protégé/ 門徒 (2007)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

Watched this VCD at a friend's place last night. Really educational film, about the mechanics of the underground heroin trade in Hong Kong. Heavily star-studded cast make the show even more compelling. The new word I learned for the night is "alkaloid" :p

Official Site:
http://www.protegethemovie.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841150/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prot%C3%A9g%C3%A9_%28film%29

Mad Jack

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Eclectic
Location:	various locations

Bwahahahahahahhaha!!!

A food place name after moi~

BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Seriously, the food's good and affordable. Haven't tried the most expensive lamb shank and beef, but the chicken dishes and cakes are nice. Must try the health drinks!

http://www.madjackcafe.com/index.asp

可怜鸡

Eating the chicken using one hand and one fork... the tedious way :P

Lunch at Mad Jack (19 Sep '09)

Went to lunch with some friends in town, despite the rain, it didn't dampen our spirits. :D Had a great time fellow-shipping over food and drinks. It's quite a nice quiet place if you go there just after noon. I'm guessing the rain kept most people sleeping at home, so that was why we had the whole place to ourselves for about the first 40 odd minutes. Oooo, must try the healthy fruit juices and nice desserts! very very da nice~

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Cult

Another cult classic, that needs to be seen on the big theatre screen to be appreciated in all its magnificence. Being a Tarantino film, it has many of his signatures. And though it's set in the World War 2 era, it has the feel of a cowboy western movie. First time hearing Brad Pitt doing the hillybilly accent, it's a riot! XD

Official Site:
http://www.inglouriousbasterds-movie.com/site.html#/home

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglourious_Basterds

BKT and Tea night out (10 Sep '09)

Just realised I ahevn't uploaded these pictures from our Bak ku teh (肉骨茶) and tea night out on last Thursday. We took our Taiwanese ministry director to try BKT at Bugis, since he said he haven't had a chance to try that out. After that, we went to nearby tea-joint at Iluma to chill and relax. It was a good evening of eating and enjoying the presence of one another that night.

Chris Tomlin - How Can I Keep From Singing

Great vid and song to start the day！May you be blest!

9 (2009)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

Dark yet humanistic in its telling, ala Tim Burton's style. I see it's mainly CGI, as compared with his previous stop-motion works. Actually, now that I read the wiki entry, Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (of Night Watch, Day Watch and Wanted fame) are the producers, while Shane Acker is the director.

The story is pretty gritty and grim, set in a post-apocalyptic world. The characters are pretty cutesy, reminds me of Little Big Planet (except they more humanoid in shape, as compared to LBP super-deformed ragdoll). The voice acting, cinematography and use of dark environments and haunting soundtrack contributes to a pretty good story. The pacing may be a tad slow for those who're expecting mega-explosions and fly-by-the-minute action.

Official site:
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/9/splash/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

Wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_(2009_film)

Pictures from course last week (10 - 11 Sep '09)

Went to attend course on Communications and Relationship Management last week. Had a great time relearning basic pointers about good communication and building up positive relationship. Thanks to Corina for sending us these pictures!