Ashton's Lunch (30 Apr '09)

Last time missed out on having the steak, so I decided to go back to Ashton's today for lunch. Ordered for myself the Prime rib Xtra cut, medium rare. :P Because we were among the earlier customers, my beef was done to perfection! Nice pink centre with plenty of juices ooooooozzzzing out the meat. The mushroom sauce was set aside in a separate small dish bowl, so that one can savor the rich juiciness of the original beef.... mmmmmmmm~

Ay carumba, a great lunch indeed !

Parents' appeal to Education Minister Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parents_sex_ed_appeal?e
lai lai, something for you to "sar pork"
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I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.

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Gou-Gou Datte Neko de Aru / グーグーだって猫である (2008)

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

Based on a Japanese novel, told through an interesting film narrative. Reminds me more of French film story-telling, although you can still catch the Japanese distinctive manga-ish quirkiness. Contrary to expectations, this is not only just a story about the cat Gou-gou. Even though he didn't dominate the screen time, his presence is still felt.

I like it because of its interesting and refreshing story-telling. Probably because it's unconventional. And dare I say it? - Fritzy hair never looked so attractive! XP

A must-watch for cat-lovers and people who wanna steal time to be another world.

Official Site (Japanese)
http://www.gou-gou.jp/index.html

IMDB ENtry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255872/

Eiga Wikia Entry:
http://eiga.wikia.com/wiki/Gou-Gou_Datte_Neko_de_Aru

Les Choristes / The Chorus (2004)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

Didn't catch this when it premiered at the big screens. Last night they were showing this film on free-to-air channel so caught in at the leisure of mt home. The plot was pretty straight-forward, ala Sisters Act 2. While the story may be conventional, the acting is superb! XD Loved the "baldy" supervisor who managed to tame the "wild beasts" with music.

Just goes to show a little love goes a long way.

Definitely not the principal's way of "Action - Reaction"!

Official Website (French):
http://www.pathedistribution.com/accueil/filmcatalogue.php?IDFilm=498

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372824/

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

My New Toy (24 Apr '09)

hahha, yesterday went to roam around ONe Tampines. Came across this toy figurine at 新天地 and brings back nostalgia. Decided to buy back and put it in office. XD



http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Master_Roshi

世界中の誰よりきっと - 酒井法子

Great song to start the weekend

Super Old Skool j-pop

Noriko Sakai!!!!~

Lunch at Ashtons' (23 Apr '09)

We went out to celebrate two of our colleagues' birthday today at Ashton's at Bedok. The rest had steak while I had soup and a burger*, cos I was still full from my "chai tau kway" breakfast. Blessed birthday Don! and happy pre-birthday to Pauline too!

* a "Beefy Jack" burger to be precise. A prophecy to my future state? :p

the A-team at work.MP4

the actual process of working on the server in our office

IT guys at work (22 Apr '09)

Our IT guys doing some work on the server. They're the best-est! :D

Belated Birthday gifts (21 Apr '09)

Haha, even though my birthday has been over for a month, I'm still receiving gifts for it :D. Thank God for friends who blesses me with stuff~ XD

Night shots of city skyline (21 Apr '09)

My friends wanted to try out the night-shot functions of my camera. So let them play with it. Surprisingly the shots turned out quite nicely without the aid of a tripod.

Dinner around Raffles Place (21 Apr '09)

Last night went for dinner with my friends from VCF days. They wanted to celebrate my birthday a month back. We had a authentic Japanese ramen dinner ala Hokkaido style, with gyoza!

Films: Chicken a la Carte by Ferdinand Dimadura

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte
My friend sent me this clip. Although it's 4 years old, still very moving.

WARNING:
May cause discomfort. Do NOT watch this before meals.

Lunch at Kimly Seafood (21 Apr '09)

the assam fish, "sedap!"

Went to the new "zhi char" place to celebrate the belated birthday of our ex-colleague. They had some pretty nice lunch-time offers. The assam fish was absolutely finger-licking good! Too bad, it didn't have enough of the sweet-sour "zhup" (gravy sauce). Blessed belated birthday, Charis!

on did Jesus wash between the toes?

Got this in my e-mail a couple of days back. Interesting question, which I never did considered


GRACE@WORK MAIL 16/09
> April 17th, 2009 Edition.
> This ecommentary is sent out free but your donations help this ministry in
> its commitment to bring truth to life. Details below.
> (Grace@Work Mail is a ministry of Graceworks: www.graceworks.com.sg)
>
>
>
> Commentary: Did Jesus wash between the toes?
>
> I confess. This was the first year I participated in a Maundy Thursday
> service. What is Maundy Thursday you ask? It is the Thursday before
> Easter and it commemorates the events that took place on that night two
> thousand years ago. This includes: Jesus washing the feet of His
> disciples, the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jesus praying in the Garden
> of Gethsemane, and His betrayal by Judas.
>
> I guess I was always put off by the term "Maundy" which sounded like
> some high church, bells and incense kind of thing. To my embarrassment
> I found out that Maundy comes from a Latin word that means "command"
> and it is a reference to Jesus' command to His disciples to love one
> another (John 13:34), a commandment He gave on the original Maundy
> Thursday.
>
> One of my pastoral colleagues had strongly suggested that we do a
> Maundy Thursday service. That provoked the research that led me to
> understand the meaning of Maundy Thursday, which led me to participate
> in my first Maundy Thursday service, and to my washing the feet of some
> of my church members.
>
> I think Christians are the only people who worship a God that washes
> dirty feet (John 13:1-17). Does Jesus washing the feet of His disciples
> blow your mind? If it doesn't it probably means that you have been in the
> church a long time and that this account has become part of the
> "theological white noise" of your faith. But just imagine how shocking the
> foot washing must have been to the disciples and to the earliest readers
> of the book of John. To appreciate the food washing incident we must
> understand the conditions in Jesus' time.
>
> [... the customary hospitality of the time ... presupposed that guests at
> dinner would have bathed before coming, but their feet, dusty from
> walking to the host's house would be washed by a servant before the
> meal. (Lamar Williamson Jr. Preaching the Gospel of John, Louisville, KY:
> Westminster John Knox Press, 2004,166)]
>
> In those days people wore open sandals and the roads would be shared
> between humans and animals. The "toe jam" of the day would have
> consisted of dead skin cells, dried dung, dust and dirt in a base of sweat.
> Washing the feet was a dirty job but somebody had to do it, usually the
> most junior servant in the house. It was unthinkable that any leader
> would stoop down to do this. I can just imagine the stunned silence in the
> room as Jesus went around the room washing His disciples' feet. The only
> one who spoke up was Peter (of course) and he spoke what must have
> been on everybody's mind, that it was just not right for Jesus to wash
> their feet.
>
> After the events of Good Friday and Easter, we now know that Jesus would
> do much more than wash dirty feet. He would die on the Cross for our sins
> and indeed if we do not allow Him to wash our feet/wash away our sins, we
> can be no part of Him (John 13:8-9). But there is more. Not only does
> Jesus wash our feet, he expects His disciples to wash each other's feet
> (John 13:14-17). As my good friend L.T. Jeyachandran of RZIM reminds us,
> if Jesus had said, "now that I have washed your feet, you can now wash
> my feet," the disciples would have been jostling to get in line to see who
> would get the honour of being the first to wash the master's feet, fighting
> for the honour of being the most humble servant. But Jesus does not ask
> for them to wash His feet. Instead He asks them to wash each other's feet.
>
> This must have been the second shock of the evening. Just imagine the
> disciples looking around the room, the truth sinking in that they would
> have to wash the feet of some people that they do not like. Imagine Simon
> the Zealot, an alumnus of anti government rebel forces, having to wash
> the feet of Matthew the tax collector, a one time hated collaborator with
> the occupying forces. There must have been many such awkward match
> ups as the disciples washed each other's feet. But Jesus is clear. If they
> were really His followers, they had to wash each others feet.
>
> Foot washing is visceral and concrete. It's one thing to intellectually love
> someone you don't like. It's quite another to actually touch that person and
> serve him or her. It is also humbling to allow someone you don't like, wash
> your feet. Washing each other's feet is therefore an exercise of grace, a
> recommitment to the Maundy Thursday command to love one another as
> Jesus has loved us (John 13:34). (And I guess if your love is genuine you
> would do a proper job and also wash in between the toes. I am sure Jesus
> did, even for Judas.)
>
> Of course the act of foot washing has lost much of its power in a day and
> age when we rarely wear open sandals, where we ride in cars, buses and
> trams, and have tarred roads. However, I have to come to see that even if
> it is a symbolic exercise, foot washing is worth doing especially when we
> are clear as to its implications. I was honoured to be allowed to wash the
> feet of some of my church members as part of the Maundy Thursday
> service. It was a powerful reminder to all, that in the church of Jesus the
> Footwasher, to be a leader is to be a servant. It felt good to be reminded.
> And yes I did try to wash in between the toes.
>
> I am not starting a campaign for all churches to commemorate Maundy
> Thursday, or for all churches to have feet washing ceremonies. Indeed,
> Maundy Thursday and foot washing can easily become meaningless
> symbols if we are not careful. But we are commanded to love one another,
> and we are told to love, not just in word, but also with concrete action
> (1John 3:18). So just how do you do "foot washing" in your church?
>
>
>

===================================
 
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(image taken from http://www.drfoot.biz/id12.html )

on a trivia that made my day...

Needed something to boost my spirits, so went surfing on the net, came across this thread:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2342631

In it, was this classic kung-fu video



You just gotta love the classic cheeziness!

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A1%80%E6%BB%B4%E5%AD%90

the mrbrown show: The Mosquito Song

http://www.mrbrownshow.com/2009/04/20/the-mrbrown-show-the-mosquito-song/
i say, shd vote this to be NDP 2009 main theme

Geocache 2.MP4

the second cache

Press wrongly.MP4

My friend tried to use my camera to take pictures but she pressed the worng button, and took this video instead

Geocache 1.MP4

Cache numero uno

Interesting Chess Sets (18 Apr '09)

After the lunch, asked my friend whether can pop by his home nearby to take a shower. While at his place, he showed me his chess sets collection. They're pretty unique and cool.

Lunch at Botak Jones (18 Apr '09)

We had a great lunch at Botak Jones at Bukit Batok, to let George and Shakti try out the lcoal American food. George found the place pretty cool. He and Shakti traded stores of themselves with wry smiles, and it certainly made the session a relaxing yet edifying one.

Geocaching Saturday (18 Apr '09)

the Guam geocachers community got their own tee-shirt

WooT! Yesterday George took sone if us to go around treasure hunting using GPS units i.e. geocaching. Was certaininly a good work-out, cos walking around under the crazily hot sun definitely make us sweat out some calories. :D

P.S. New photos, kudos to Nicole and George!

Durians for Dessert (16 Apr '09)

What comes after dinner? Dessert! We went to a friend's new durian shop nearby and ate D-24 durians. A bit the more expensive, but the quality is good sia. There goes the efforts of the badminton workout... again :p

Dinner after workout (16 Apr '09)

After the workout, we went to a Hong Kong cafe along East Coast road for a nice quiet dinner. The "yin yeong" (coffee and tea) was fantastic! Almost as good as the ones in Hong Kong

Office Badminton session (16 Apr '09)

It's been a while since I last took photos of our regular badminton session. So today decided to snap some pics. There weren't as many people, since some of us had to attend training. Still, it was a good workout for those of us who went.

on the price of love

Subject: 戀愛的常問句─你會為我而死嗎？

一對年輕情侶…正在瘋狂的熱戀…姑娘痴痴的對另一半說：

男的一聽這句話…臉色大變…



許久無法說出話來…（因為愛…這個代價未免也太大了吧…）


但那男人實在太愛這個姑娘了…


沒有辦法…畢竟…

這就是愛…



於是…那男人…就…



挖了挖自己的耳朵…




用力的塞進他女友的嘴裡…




因為男的把：你會為我而死嗎？聽成（你會餵我耳屎嗎？）


不管大家有沒有聽過這個笑話，我真的笑翻了…跟大家分享…

Filmgarde@Iluma

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

Quite enjoyed the theatre No. 8 at this new cinema in town. The seats are a bit tight and stiff, but there was plenty of leg room. The sounds system is good, VERY good. And the best part? No advertisements. Just trailers and then, straight into the film. Still need time for the new cinema smell to go away though. Definitely will go back again to the theatre.

Location:
http://www.filmgarde.com.sg/new/contact.asp

IED@SG 2009

https://www.iedier.com/
Internet Evangelism Day @ Singapore 2009

Fast and Furious 4 (2009)

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

Hmm, the show didn't really worked for me. Not sure it's because I didn't catch all the other 3 films. There was only 1 street race, and I didn't find it spectacular. Still, there was ironic humor between Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Don't catch it on a weekend...

Official Website:
http://www.fastandfuriousmovie.net/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013752/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_and_furious_4

Dinner Outing @ Bugis (14 Apr '09)

Somne opf us from the office decided to head to the new theatre at Iluma to try it out. Before that, we had a scrumptious "bak ku the" (肉骨茶) dinner at Rocher centre. Song sia, the "bak ku"!

the mrbrown show: funeral too

http://www.mrbrownshow.com/2009/04/10/the-mrbrown-show-funeral-too/
Nuff said... :P

School Days with a Pig / ブタがいた教室 Buta ga ita kyôshitsu (2008)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

Interesting story, of how a rookie teacher uses raising a pig to teach his 6th graders class a precious lesson in life. The film starts without preamble straight into the tension of a class in dilemma, then uses flashback to the past to play out the story. Good insight into the everyday life of children growing up in Japan. Might be a tad slow for those who are expecting a comedy.

Official Site:
http://www.butaita.jp/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1293094/

Asianmedia wiki:
http://asianmediawiki.com/School_Days_with_a_Pig

Shinjuku Incident 新宿事件(2009)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

eh, it's a pretty good story, albeit a pretty well-used one. The casting is great, as you see many familiar faces from Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Japanese artistes pitching in. You don't see much of Jackie Chan's usual repertoire of expertly-cheorographed fighting here. Still, not a bad watch~


Official website:
http://shinjukuincident.emp.hk/en_main.html

IMDB entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1075419/

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

Rajah Inn Restaurant

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Asian
Location:	302 Tiong Bahru Road #02-13/14/15 Tiong Bahru Plaza Singapore 168732

Went for the porridge lunch buffet. The porridge's texture is just right, not too gooey or watery. The fried fish is absolutely fantastic, especially when freshly fried. The service is fine, even when the crowd is thick. DO go early (before 12 noon) to get a table, cos it fills up pretty quickly at lunch time.


Telephone: +65 6835 0080
Fax: +65 6483 4517
Email: info@rajahinn.com.sg

Operating Hours
Opens daily: 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Last order @ 9:30 p.m.

http://www.rajahinn.com.sg/

Porridge Lunch Buffet (10 Apr '09)

Went out with some friends to Tiong Bahru Plaza and tried the porridge buffet at Rajah Inn. Ate 4 bowls of porridge, with lotsa side dishes. The fried fish is absolutely addictive! : had a fun time eating and chatting, brings back memories of filling fei-lou-ship. :D

the new "office staff suggestion box" (08 Apr '09)

Though April Fool's day is over already, we are still having fun in office~ :D

TGIW: Nekko!~ Meowr

Everything in its time - Corrine May

My friend just forwarded this link to me. Am pretty much ministered by the lyrics and the music. May it bless you too~

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E V E R Y T H I N G   I N    I T S    T I M E
Written by Corrinne May Ying Foo & Carole Bayer Sager
Copyright 2001 Corrmay Gourmet Music (ASCAP) / All About Me Music adm. by Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)

Sometimes I wonder what lies ahead
How long till my hunger is fed
They say it's hard to make it in this part of town
So many people on this merry-go-round

Some folks try astrology
Some turn to crystal balls
To find an answer,
To get through it all
I just fall on my knees and I try to pray
In the silence I can hear Him say

The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign
Everything in its time

I often feel like I'm two steps behind
Somebody must have moved that finish line
There are a thousand reasons
Why I should give up
But I'm stubborn in the things I believe

The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign

'cause maybe there's another plan
One I still can't see
A little surprise, like your love in my life
Funny how time changes how we see

The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign
Everything in its time
Everything in its time

Knowing (2009)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Mystery & Suspense

Another "neither here nor there" film. Quite suspenceful, certain parts can give you a start. Was gonna classify this as "science fiction", but really can't find that much sci-fi stuff ion it (save the bit about the solar flare). Honestly, you'll come out of the show scratching your head, and asking yourself, "What was all that about?"


Official Website:
http://knowing-themovie.com/

IMDB entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448011/

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

ハンサム★スーツ Hansamu sûtsu / Handsome suit (2008)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

More of a 2.5 star for me. The "fat guy who finds himself" plot has been overdone. Plus the pacing is really uneven for this one. Still it has its really funny moments. The Handsome Suit itself looks really hilarious - reminds me a lot of Stay Puff Marshmallow Man from "Ghostbusters". And the female lead is really cute!! Can watch on a weekday bah~

Official Website (Japanese):
http://www.handsome-suits.com/

Other
http://www.encorefilms.com/handsome-suit/
http://www.moviexclusive.com/review/handsomesuit/handsomesuit.htm

IMDB entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1279943/#comment

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgedgvRIAs

TGIF: Gervais + Elmo = Hilarity on 'Sesame Street'

hahahahah! "See bei" hilarious...

Jenga in action