PROOF OF LIFE

PROOF OF LIFE (4*) -
"25,000 people are kidnapped every year. Sometimes it is for terror, sometimes money"
"For you it is emotional, for the people holding Peter it's business" "This is a game, a game you play whether you like it or not"
"Peter is not a game"
"You never get a pretty picture. It is designed to shake you up"
"How much is your husband worth?"

Based on "Adventures in the Ransom Trade" this movie tells the story of how an engineer is kidnapped in a Latin American country and held for a ransom of US$3M. Abandoned by his company, his wife is helped by a hostage negotiator played by the brilliant Russel Crowe...you will love his Australian accent. :-))
The neogiations turn tricky and the negotiator decides to go in for a do or die rescue mission along with his mercenary friends. And meanwhile, both the wife and the negotiator have been developing a mutual attraction...faith and loyalty wins in the end...
I watched this movie late one night and have really appreciated it. I recommend it to all (not kids, obviously) :-)

Labels: Movie Review

ICE AGE 2

ICE AGE 2 - (4.5 *) Is a Super Cool Movie! It's been quite a pain that not many theatres in HK are playing the English version. With most people opting to watch the Cantonese version, the theatres playing the English version have been quite EMPTY!!
But that doesn't mean the movie is bad. The sequel to the original Ice Age movie is more fun than the one before. Having watched the original one, you would easily identify with Scrat, Diego, Sid and Manny...This time around all the ice is melting and the valley is going to be submerged...and they need to cross-over to the other side where there is a boat big enough to rescue all the animals. Half way through the journey they come across Ellie, a mamoth who thinks she is a possum and Manny falls in love with her. Her two possum brothers Crash and Eddie are really adventurous!
The dialogues are fun, they expressions are funnier. The attention to detail is fantastic. The best part is that both the Ice Age movies actually tell you a lot about the geographical history of the planet and I recommend this to all parents as a must watch for their kids...So did you miss how the Dodo's went extinct in the first part?!! There you go...you have not been really watching!! :-)) The music is beautiful too...and compliments all the scenes in the movie. A super duper must watch! And don't miss the last part where Scrat almost goes to heaven!! It's hilarious alright!

Labels: Movie Review

Most Runs Off An Over

Most runs off an over!

If you thought that 36 were the most runs scored in an over you are wrong! Its 77!! Check it out!!

And here is the whole list!!

An Ex-Wife's Revenge

An Ex-Wife's Revenge

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar and a bottle of Chardonnay.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods.
She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything - cleaning, mopping and airing the place out.
Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steamed. Air Fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.
Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit.
Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.
Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back.

Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad t he smell was, he agreed on a
Price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she was to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.

A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched
the moving company pack everything to take to their new home....
...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .......including the curtain rods.
I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU?!!!

I Believe In You - by Il Divo / album: Ancora (2005) / céline dion & il divo

lonely the path you have chosen
a restless road no turning back
one day you will find your light again
don't you know
don't let go this time
follow your heart
let your love lead through the darkness
back to a place you once knew
i believe, i believe, i believe in you
follow your dreams
be yourself an angel of kindness
there's nothing that you cannot do
i believe, i believe, i believe in you
someday i'll find you
someday you'll find me too
and when i hold you close
i know that it's true

follow your heart
let your love lead through the darkness
back to a place you once knew
i believe, i believe, i believe in you
follow your dreams
be yourself an angel of kindness
there's nothing that you cannot do
i believe, i believe, i believe in you

all alone, you will go on your way all alone
heart open to the universe
pursue your quest
without looking back
don't wait
for the day to arise
follow your star
go where your dream takes you
one day you will touch it
if you believe, if you believe, if you believe in yourself
follow your light
don't extinguish the flame that you carry
in your heart remember
that i believe, that i believe, that i believe in you

The pic says it all!

Skin Prick Allergy Test !

A gift for someone you love and give up before the candle has burnt out?

I would never dare to invite anybody to try the angel pasta pizza at the Spaghetti House !

The Roasted Pig came late...everybody was falling sick, family members expired, issues at work,,,this was a blessing...my cold increased manifolds after that. :-( Chi Sin!!

The flower in my window...ooh so beautiful ! There were 3 colours...

as seen here...
AD

King's Lodge, TST

King's Lodge, TST

Sweet and sour fish fillets

Sweet fish dish

Drunken Chicken

Xiao Long Bao (Real good ones here!!)

Siu Tong Choi (ooh tender babies)

Fried Rice...an overall good food experience for HK$165 per head...Must go back!
AD

Three songs that will be remixed for years to come...

Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha
Black Eyed Peas - Let's Get It Started
Black Eyed Peas - My Humps

And the funniest video right now -
Pink - Stupid Girls

They are back - June 10

Here comes Bollywood's most awaited comedy sequel. More fun - guaranteed.

for Monday, April 24 :

Supremely dependable, you can accomplish -- and often do -- the work of ten. Just don't make this a habit, or some people could start taking advantage of your reliability. You have a life, too, you know. Remind them of that.

There is nothing wrong in crying your heart out

Some people, like me, cannot show our love for others. It is not that we do not want to. We simply cannot. We are trying. At least I am. But most of the people gave up on me because they thought I didn't love them anymore. That is not true. It is just that I could not show it. It is easier for me to show negative emotion than positive ones. Is it because as a kid I have always been pushed into competing and winning even though I have always wanted to be a simple kid?
Well, I am a kid no more...and not simple neither. So how can I really get on with it?

My Grandma always told me...”never be afraid of the truth...even if you have to die to promote it”. And I cannot lie. I cannot stand a lie.

I had a chat with someone a few months back after Grandma passed away and I could not attend her funeral. This is how the emotions went...sorry for not having taken her permission to publish this.

AD: You want more affection and I cannot show affection easily
AD: we are a bad pair ;-))
Someone: I know you love me
AD: :-B
Someone: and love is to be felt not to be shown
Someone: right
AD: I cannot show it...
AD: I am working on that one...
Someone: even though I keep preaching this but I have never followed that myself
Someone: to be honest I don’t want to be sentimental about anybody as you also know I suffer every time, but still I commit the same mistake
Someone: why am I like this?
Someone: that day I had wanted to chat because I wanted to speak about Grandma only
Someone: I know how one feels
AD: I know.
Someone: when one loses a dear or a loved one
AD: no need to talk about that any more
Someone: she loved you like anything
AD: how do you know that :)
Someone: the only topic we ever spoke was about you
AD: how come?
Someone: I used to tell her that XXX is more affectionate and AD does not know how to express
Someone: she told me
Someone: the amount of love you have for anybody
Someone: nobody can measure that
Someone: it’s just that you never show so people think you are rude
Someone: and heartless
Someone: SHE was the only one who ever told me this
AD: thanks
AD: how did she know that?
AD: You must have asked her
AD: I went to the temple yesterday to pray for her
AD: and I took mangoes her favourite fruit for offering
Someone: AD, this was one thing I wanted to tell you and the other thing was that night at 9 pm we all I mean me and parents had sat for prayers
Someone: for the soul to rest in peace
AD: thanks
Someone: and let me assure you about one thing
Someone: normally if the soul is disturbed, something happens
Someone: I mean some indication
Someone: but I’ll tell you something I am dead sure she is at peace
Someone: no hassles
Someone: no worries
Someone: everything was complete
Someone: no job was left
AD: thanks
Someone: We had had an argument about something; I had gone to Grandma to complain
AD: oh shit… When was that ...sorry
Someone: well later on I realized she was the wrong choice as she loved you like anything
Someone: and anything or everything you did
Someone: was the ultimate thing
Someone: AD, don’t be sorry and don’t thank
Someone: even though we keep arguing
Someone: one thing which can never change is the amount of affection or feelings we have for each other
Someone: right?
Someone: so don’t be formal be casual....he he
Someone: whenever Grandma and I talked, she always mentioned the way you speak or talk
Someone: about your likes, dislikes
Someone: I learnt a lot from her
Someone: in fact at times I remember I used to tell mom that Grandma loves AD more than his Dad
Someone: :)
Someone: You there?
AD: ya
Someone: sorry
AD: no problem
Someone: I hope you are not finding my talks boring
Someone: or annoying
AD: no...
AD: go on
Someone: let me speak today
Someone: as I wanted to say all this
AD: yes grab your chance... :D
Someone: long back
Someone: never found the right time
Someone: I always noticed something which I shared with my parents
Someone: whenever you used to be in Ctc.
Someone: You used to come to HER room
Someone: and used to read something or the other on that rocking chair
Someone: or you used to sleep next to her hugging her
Someone: one of my sweetest memories of my younger days
AD: I loved her more than anybody else I think
AD: can’t believe I am using past tense
AD: she taught me geography, English, math
AD: discipline
AD: to keep everything in place.
AD: neatly
Someone: the day I heard about her departure from the mortal world, I was eating, suddenly I was choked and the only thing I said was AD! Dad gave me some water and told me to calm down; I still remember saying "mera AD aaj mar jaayegaa (My AD will die today)"
AD: I didn’t cry until I spoke to mummy
AD: I cannot describe the pain
Someone: see to be honest I was never attached to her, but whatever sentiments feelings I had it was because of you, you loved her more than anything else and I need not say how much I love you so in turn I started loving everything you loved
AD: when Grandpa passed away on July 24, 1984
Someone: ya
AD: I was a kid...I remember being asked to take XXX and YYY and go play at neighbour's house
AD: thanks
Someone: No, AD, I should thank you
AD: when Granddad passed away, I didn’t cry a single tear...I thought I was strong enough...even Great Granny passed away
AD: I remember fighting with ZZZ
AD: because they didn’t spend enough time with Great Granny
AD: she used to recognize me as Runi's son
AD: didn’t matter whether she recognized others...but she always recognize me
AD: I know how lonely it feels...
AD: when people get old
AD: I don’t know how
AD: but I can feel...
AD: when I was a kid I wanted to build an old age home
AD: still don’t know how I can now...
AD: but like all little aims in my life, someday I will do it I hope
Someone: I always wanted to do something for orphans
Someone: and I’ll do as I know or at least I can imagine how it feels without a surname or your parents
Someone: AD, you always speak so less but you express so much from your eyes
Someone: your eyes have a depth of a lake
Someone: I am not kidding
Someone: or trying to flatter
Someone: I mean it

I shall not be scared

Last night we met Peddy. She is a fortune-teller and Feng Shui master. She confirmed our worst fears that I am falling more sick after moving into the new house because there is something wrong with the house. She said that since the house door faces westwards (actually north-north-west as I verified with a compass later) it has bad luck in the 9th year. This year I have bad luck written for me. And on top of that the house is bad luck. So that makes it double the bad luck.
To tell you the truth, after moving to this house I have been more and more sick by the passing day. Indigestion, allergies, URTI, insomnia, etc.
She identified that if I do not move out of the house this year (the next year is good in the same), I risk changing jobs or may get relocated to another country. The second part is scarier. I have not really planned much beyond where I am working now. Why? Simply because it had been a dream to work at this place and I kind of fulfilled it. But then what? I should have gone ahead and made another one but I have not. And the chances of relocation? Possible! The way I am spending so much time on the India project it looks like I am going to be asked to settle down there for good.
It is a wrong environment for me not only due to the working pace and style but because I have tonnes of allergies...starting from dust to mould to cockroaches. I am also allergic to shellfish and shrimps. Out of these the biggest will be dust. I noticed and others did too, how often I fall sick when I visit my home back in east India. Why? Mostly from these allergies. I had a test done two days back...and confirmed my worst fears. That is the only reason I do not want to work in India. Health is wealth. If I lose it, I will lose.
Well, she asked us to put a few FS items around the house at particular places which we are doing right now. It also involves switching the bed with the computer table (yes, I sleep at the bed now and I am no longer a PC addict, honestly!), 6 coins, 8 fish, water, fish tanks, plants, mats, wind chimes, colours, etc.
I have to give up red in the house this year. I am supposed to give up gold (I have nothing gold except an ear-stud and the watch Dad gave me years ago). I am supposed to wear black, pink, blue and green. AND GIVE UP WHITE. So there go my Korean looks...*sigh*
She told me that after she saw my chart she feels I am a good man with a good heart. Something I doubted before! Hahaha..Kidding.
Other stuff she told me was about my future. I have to work very hard for the next 12 years and then I will get some green paper in my hands and my start off my own business...which I suspect may be my own restaurant...something I have always dreamt of. Throughout this period I shall probably have my job (since I have to WORK hard).
Six years later I will have the worst year of my life when the one I love the most will leave me for someone who will POP UP. Meanwhile I will continue to be admired and turn down all advances. Wow what a nice guy...but it is predicted to be the worst break up ever! Oh My God! As if I have not had my share of broken hearts, lives and pain...there is still one more to come...which we can avoid if we keep travelling in and out of HK or relocate to some other country for a few months...what is this? I hate it...but I will refuse to accept defeat. I will fight it. I will not give up the one I love for someone who just shows up. But how can one really control someone else's feelings...someone else's heart. The Libran in me would ask me to leave them alone and move on. But the Cancer won't give up. I need to rouse Aries to stand up for a fight. I am such a complicated person to read because I have all these signs in me that take over me at some point or the other...as if in cycles.
I may adopt two kids (I already sponsor two!) who will call me Dad! How sweet! I am crazy about kids. The simple innocent smiles on their faces brighten up my day. (BTW, Nelly and Sherman are going to have Brendon soon - watch out this space for the first blog update on the little baby boy!!!)
So may be after I am left heart-broken I will still have my babies around me...and loads of money. Yeah! Hard-earned money!!
I just finished reheating the delicious congee Mom made last night and I am enjoying the off-key singing from my neighbour's house...at least he can play the piano well...
I am thinking of where to begin the moving around of things and may be I should give Peddy a call about the door facing north-north-west as if that would really change anything (she had said North is a good direction). I do have to go down to the Japan Home Center to pick up a few things and then find some time to do Qi Gong. So much to do so little done!
I also called Moms up and let her know that I may be moving in with my friend's family because of the problems I am facing right now. May be we can just take a duplex somewhere so that someone can take care of me when I am sick ;-)) Just kidding.

Classic definitions and cool meanings:

1. Cigarette : A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end & a fool at the other.
2. Love affairs : Something like cricket where one-day internationals are more popular than a five day test.
3. Marriage : It's an agreement in which a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her master
4. Divorce : Future tense of marriage
5. Lecture : An art of transferring information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the students without passing
through "the minds of either".
6. Conference : The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.
7. Compromise : The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.
8. Tears : The hydraulic force by which masculine will-power is defeated by feminine water-power .
9. Dictionary : A place where divorce comes before marriage.
10. Conference Room : A place where everybody talks, nobody listens & everybody disagrees later on.
11. Ecstasy : A feeling when you feel you are going to feel a feeling you have never felt before.
12. Classic : A book which people praise, but do not read.
13. Smile : A curve that can set a lot of things straight.
14. Office : A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.
15. Yawn : The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.
16. Etc. : A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.
17. Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.
18. Experience : The name men give to their mistakes.
19. Atom Bomb: An invention to end all inventions.
20. Philosopher : A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.
21. Diplomat : A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
22. Opportunist : A person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river.
23. Optimist : A person who while falling from Eiffel Tower says in midway "See I am not injured yet."
24. Pessimist :- A person who says that 'O' is the last letter in ZERO, Instead of the first letter in word OPPORTUNITY.
25. Miser : A person who lives poor so that he can die rich.
26. Father : A banker provided by nature.
27. Criminal : A guy no different from the rest... except that he got caught.
28. Boss : Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.
29. Politician : One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after.
30. Doctor : A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills.more apprpriate sequence: ill, pill, bill, will

How to tear apart an iBook and put it back together again? Here is how they do it...

Yeah, that is the inside of your darling APPLE iBook...
;-))

The Qi Gong Files

This section contains my experiences with Qi Gong.

Qi Gong - The Introduction

On Why I Wish To Learn The Advanced Course Of Qi Gong (Chinese)

Qi Gong – The Introduction

My quest for an able cure began months ago while I was crying out of pain in my back – lower and middle. I visited a few bone-setters but it was of no use. Then I tried vacuum cups and acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese medicine. It would look good for a few days before reverting to the old painful state.
Everything until I discovered Qi Gong. As mentioned before, I have always wanted to write on this topic…from now I will write in short about some basic concepts as I understood or wanted to!

The first time I saw someone practice it was when I walked into Mars trying it out; one night…He had told me before about this amazing exercise/art which had helped him rebuild his health from a poor state to an acceptable one. That night his master was supposed to send a healing message at 9pm. And I walked in at around 9:15pm and he was moving around, dancing, hopping, and hitting himself quite vigorously. Honestly, I was more surprised and scared. He had warned me before. But I had no idea of what it included!

He laughed as he began to describe what he was doing after he had finished. Unfortunately for him and as he suspected, I understood very little. But I did want to know what it was…because it included dancing! And had a supernatural side to it…I thought…

A few days later, he asked me whether I wanted to attend Marvin and Janice’s graduation from their elementary Qi Gong class. I agreed to…since it was all for free...
He did warn me though that people reacted differently to it and while some just slept, others danced around like him…J

On their graduation night, we walked into Master Yan’s clinic…it was my first time there and frankly I was a bit surprised to see so many people. I waited until they were ready and then a guy walked up to me and asked me if I wanted to be healed…I said OK. I mean nothing goes, what could he possibly do…hahaha…
Well, he tried to do something. I kept my eyes shut and body relaxed as advised to…but I guess I was still not very relaxed and he gave up after 15 minutes…
Then it was Marvin’s turn. I guess I was more relaxed this time since he was Mars’ friend even though we were meeting each other for the first time. This time I felt more light in my body and mind and I felt my hands wanted to move out on their own…and he kept on asking me to relax them, I did…but they just seemed to want to stretch out sideways!!
Then Mars took over. I guess he was the person I trusted most over there because I knew him the most. So I imagined I was on a beach, walking along it, alone….cool sea-breeze…And then suddenly I felt my waist go out of control! It just wanted to go round and round. I felt a strange force run through my body…like electricity! But not painful at all. On the contrary I seemed to like it as it made me feel a lot lighter and refreshed.
Before long it was over. The students had done their bit.
It was the master’s turn.

He made us sit on chairs in that room and dimmed out the light. Music started to float…soothing. Mars told me tried to translate. He told me that I should imagine a white light from up in the sky, entering my body through my head…that’s all I remember. Next moment my head was between my knees and a force just pulled me down to the floor! What the hell was happening? I was fully conscious of my environment, I was not drugged, my defense-mechanism was on alert and yet I felt completely relaxed and pulled downwards. Someone came and put their hands on my shoulder. Mars whispered to me. He asked me to just lie down on the floor…and that’s what I did…
I could not get up even if I wanted to. The force just moved through my body moving my hands, legs and head. And I loved it.
Before long, it was over…the session was over…but the force still rushed through my body and I felt very energized!
We had a small dinner at a nearby restaurant and we headed homewards.
What was it? It was nothing spiritual or supernatural. I could not explain it because I had no ‘scientific’ knowledge of it…and I am supposed to be an engineer! Hmmm…interesting…I decided to join the course.

Rights or Wrongs?

Yesterday, as I was walking down to St.Alps to buy dinner I was confronted by two Amnesty International marketting girls. The first one was interested in explaining how they work and what work they do. I was surprised that she was surprised that I had heard of them. I mean what the hell do you take people to be? She was more surprised that I was from India and I had heard of them...that in itself is a racist remark and they are actually trying to promote anti-racist feelings in school children by printing books...may be they should read it first. Anyways, when she mentioned about making a donation, I agreed, since human rights is at the core of my heart. But I wanted to make a one-time small donation and I asked them what fund-raising events they calendared so that I can join in if possible. But the second lady came up and both of them started asking me to use my credit card to pay for it...and it was actually a rolling monthly donation. I was still ok to donate for 1 year...but I wanted to do a direct debit or online payment rather than use my credit card....simply because I wanted to be able to handle it online through internet-banking in the future...but they went on insisting that I shoul pay using credit card (they also said their website has technical issues with online payment and direct debit payment is delayed by 1 month due to setting up - so what?!!) and I walked away saying I was going to get them my bank card first...they even asked me if they could call me up for my account details. OK STOP! I am a good guy who wanted to donate...but by simply being too pushy, they triggered my in-built defence mechanism and as I was walking away, I decided to chuck the idea of donating in the first place...Amnesty cannot afford such stupid sales...seriously.

Following is an extract from an article on the scmp on equal rights for unmarried partners.

Many people in de facto relationships assume that, with Hong Kong's common law tradition, they are accorded a measure of protection. But lawyers warn that's a big mistake.
Discrimination on the grounds of marital status is an offence in Hong Kong. Under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, "direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another person ... with a different marital status".
Nevertheless, unmarried couples - heterosexual or homosexual - aren't recognised under the law. In some situations this leads to mere inconveniences, but in others it can mean heartbreak.
Besides being denied fertility treatment, they cannot claim a housing allowance (unless they have a child). Nor are they eligible for home loan interest deductions or disabled dependant allowances. One partner cannot give consent for emergency medical treatment on behalf of the other; nor can they make automatic provisions for each other in insurance and pension matters. And should the relationship break down or a partner die, the other has no inheritance rights, lawyers say.
"Let's assume you have been living with your boyfriend for 10 years and you have no will," says Sharon Ser, a partner at legal firm Hampton, Winter and Glynn. "If he has a heart attack and dies, everything goes to his mum." Or, if you haven't been working and he refuses to provide support after you separate, there's no avenue in the courts, he says.
The only cases where one partner can claim from the other is if they can prove they were totally dependant on the other half.
"With inheritance, if a woman can be seen to be dependant on that person who dies and hasn't made any provisions in his will, she can make claims on this estate," says Catherine K.G. Por, a partner at Stevenson, Wong & Co. "The key is to be wholly or substantially maintained."
One note of comfort for unmarried couples with children is that, whatever happens, the child's rights are always protected under Hong Kong law.
And that is not all...you cannot even enroll your partner as your MPF beneficiary!
So what can unmarried couples do to protect themselves and each other?
Get a will or cohabiting agreement, lawyers say. Couples should decide from the outset what belongs to whom, what can be claimed if there's a breakdown, and what can be inherited in the case of death.
"Couples can draw up a cohabiting agreement, which can clarify issues," says Ser. Although the courts may not regard the document as being fully binding, it would be "highly persuasive".
There are times, though, when a will simply won't help. When Yeo rushed to the hospital after her girlfriend was hurt in a car accident a few years ago, she didn't expect to have to fight to see her.
"The nurses asked me to get out of the ward," Yeo says. "I had a fight with about three or four different nurses and doctors before they allowed me to be there. But if I hadn't been so insistent they would have kicked me out."
That is so bad!! Can you put yourself in that situation and feel what Yeo must have felt at that moment!! The one you love is seriously hurt and you cannot see him/her because of a stupid law...laws are supposed to protect citizens not hurt them!!
Despite such cases, the Equal Opportunities Commission says its hands are tied. The commission can't protect the rights of unmarried couples when the law doesn't recognise their status, officials say. "Issues pertaining to matrimonial law should first be resolved before issues under our anti-discrimination laws can be looked into," says spokeswoman Mariana Law.
Hong Kong is a world-city. We have to catch up on human rights!!!

Water - A must watch

I watched this movie last night. I am currently on sick leave and all I do during the day is sleep, check office email, follow up on email, sleep, eat, take medicines, sleep...yuck...and then go to the hospital.
Today we shall go to an astrologer. I need to know if the Feng Shui around the house is bad...why am I falling so sick all the time!!!

Anyways, this write up is not about sickness. It's about this lovely movie.

Water is a serious movie highlighting the plight of widows in India. It tells you how the Hindu society followed rituals laid down in scripts dating back 2000 years...When your husband dies, you have to move into a Widows' Home. You don't have enough money and you give up all your worldly attachments including your sweet tooth.
According to Manu, widows should live a life of suffering or burn at the funeral pyre of their husband's or marry the younger brother of the husband if the family was ok with it. That is so cruel and stupid. These are some of the reasons why my belief in Hinduism has grown weaker over the years. I believe in equality...no matter what the background is - caste, creed, sex, gender. Who cares. Life is so short as it is. Most of the time we are running after things that will make us happy in one way or the other...where does one have the time to spend on hating and ill-treating others. This is such a waste!
Anyways, the story revolves around a kid widow by the name Chuiya (or mouse). She is suddenly pushed into living a life of so-called piety and deprivation after her father abandons her at one of the widow homes. There she comes across many kinds of widows. Most have accepted that there is no other way out and hence follow all stupid rituals...they continue to accept the ill-treatment from other people and say nothing about it. She also meets Kalyani who is a beautiful young thing that is used by the head widow to get money from a rich man. The son of the rich man falls in love with her without having an inkling of how his father actually exploits these poor widows and especially Kalyani.
Kalyani draws support from another widow, Shakuntala, who helps run the home. She runs away with the young man on encouragement. But when she arrives at the young man's house she learns that the rich man is actually her lover's father. She gives up her plan and returns to the home. That night she commits suicide.
The head widow sends the kid widow to the rich man, who eventually rapes her (well, you guess that part and not see it), aided by a eunuch (that is actually Raghuvir Yadav, if you recognised him). When Shakuntala learns of this, she sends the kid away with Kalyani's lover to Gandhiji.
The movie was shot in Sri Lanka since Deepa Mehta faced a lot of violent protests from the so-called pure people, especially from the holy city of Benaras. The scenery is beautiful and very tropical. If you give all that a miss...i.e. why she claims this to be situated on the banks of river Ganges) you will love the movie.
4.5*/5.

Labels: Movie Review

Little Mikey

Helen and Surjit have a new baby! Arjun has a little sister now. Her name is Priya. So Cute!
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Mysteries of human nature

To make a woman happy ..... A man only needs to be:

1. A friend
2. A companion
3. A lover
4. A brother
5. A father
6. A master
7. A chef
8. An electrician
9. A carpenter
10. A plumber
11. A mechanic
12. A decorator
13. A stylist
16. A psychologist
17. A pest exterminator
18. A psychiatrist
19. A healer
20. A good listener
21. An organizer
22. A good father
23. Very clean
24. Sympathetic
25. Athletic
26. Warm
27. Attentive
28. Gallant
29. Intelligent
30. Funny
31. Creative
32. Tender
33. Strong
34. Understanding
35. Tolerant
36. Prudent
37. Ambitious
38. Capable
39. Courageous
40. Determined
41. True
42. Dependable
43. Passionate

WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:

44. Give her compliments regularly
45. Love shopping
46. be honest
47. be very rich
48. Not stress her out
49. Not look at other girls

AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:

50. Give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself
51. Give her lots of time, especially time for herself
52. Give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:

53. Never to forget:
* Birthdays
* Anniversaries
* Arrangements she makes


HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY:

1. Leave him alone

SmartTouch-XL Electric shaver HQ 9070

With Rik showing off his new Samsung credit card sized phone (left) worth HK$ 4480, I was pushed into going for that one sleek shaving machine (below)...cost a whopping HK$ 2188. Hope it is worth the protection for my skin.

Check out the food and streets

My India Trip Pics

No more angel hair!!

Cold evening. Its suddenly started to rain and become cooler...Nice. The dinner I had at Spaghetti House in Mong Kok had a 50% discount for HSBC CC holders. But the food was crap. The menu had an angel hair pasta pizza...which is the dumbest creation I have ever eaten!! It's Angel Hair pasta over pizza! So its pasta on top of a thin and crispy pizza base which was as brittle as popadum. And it tasted yucky!
Hmmm. It seems Ice Age 2 is playing in Cantonese in almost every theatre save UA Times Square and one in Tung Chung. How thoughtful, really!!.
Well, been up all night. Will go out tonight to check out Sugar babe...lets see where it takes me.

Teasers and Trailers

Here are a few trailers and teasers I picked up for you.

Poseidon - May 12, 2006 - Must watch

M:I: III - May 03, 2006 - Agent Ethan Hunt is back and we are in time on this round.

Lady in the Water - Summer 2006 - Lets see what MNightShyamalan has in store for us this time after the debacle of The Village.

The Simpsons Movie - July 27, 2007 - My favourite cartoon character...too long a wait!

IMAX Deep Sea 3D - The 3D version is out now! This is a cool doc.

Hard Candy - A must watch for all people hooked to online chatting and what follows after that!

Summer Storm - Life happens without warning. Choose between friendship and love.

Water - When Deepa Mehta made Fire and Earth, she was already breaking barriers. The objection to filming this elemental movie made her complete in 5 long years. She could not shoot in the holy city and hence she picked another location. But the story is still true and sad. Its about how widows are condemned to live a life of misery and how the Brahmanical society has treated them over the centuries. This is one side of India that we want to mend.

She's The Man - Another comedy with a totally confusing storyline. Just for fun.

Marie Antoinette - Fall 2006 - History, clothes.

Guys and Balls - What has football got to do with gender? Enjoy the game.

Unknown White Male - This is a doc based on a true story. What happens when you cannot remember a thing about your past, yourself and everything is new...as if your memories were on a slate someone's wiped clean?!

Big screens

While at Mumbai I pursued my passion for watching movies on big screen again.
Last time I had watched - Rang De Basanti, Syriana, Maalamaal Weekly and Taxi no.9211.
This time I watched three more...not many simply because there were not many good ones on show at that time.


Being Cyrus (5*)- I called it Being Serious. This is a great movie. Though the accent may be an issue to foreigners (and may be some Indians too) this movie is 99% in English and the 1% in Parsee splits the stomach. The language is funny, rough and so are the scenes. You always feel it is so funny and it is serious at the same time! Saif simply dazzles in the movie and so does Boman Irani. With due respect to all the established art movie actors (and actresses) in the same, these two are the ones to watch out for. The story begins with a flashback where Cyrus tells you what he did in the last one year. And through his words you begin to realize that you are actually living it. I shall not reveal the story since it is supposed to be a suspense thanks to Muks for telling me the ending beforehand. I wanna kill him!


Transamerica (5*) - This is another movie that is really well-made. It tells the story of a man who feels he is woman inside and wants to have a gender change operation to have a more satisfied life. A few days before the operation he gets the news of his son from a previous love affair. He has to take care of his son and at the same time he cannot tell the truth about himself. On top of that he wants to go ahead with the operation. This movie brilliantly portrays the confusion, challenges and reactions of that character both as a man and a woman. The strong message in the story is that you should believe in yourself and live the life you want to live no matter what others say or advise you because the most important person in your life is you! You have every right to be happy and do what you want to do with it as long as you don't harm anyone physically. Its not about them loving you or not. Its about them respecting you. Everybody on earth should be respected for who they are when they mean no harm. It is a bold movie and the scenes are very well handled taking it way beyond any pornography which most people would suspect it is (after reading the storyline). And by the way, Felicity Huffman is amazing in the main role!


Banaras (3*) - This another movie I was hoping would make it big. Mid-way through the movie I realized why it will not. Firstly, the music director's creativity is very dim. Apart from using famous slokas and mantras, his lyrics are banal, tunes are non-catchy and very very ordinary. So much for the hype he generated on SaReGaMaPa show...That said, the cinematography is great. You should just watch it for the sake of the beautiful scenary. People normally expect a suspense-filled story from Pankaj Parasher (my spelling...) and this is a love story which has strong shades of enlightenment (as in Buddha's enlightenment), after-life, etc. which make it quite supernatural. Tell you the truth, the promos were so promising but the hero was a let down. The acting was poor and Urmila is simply too young to play the role of a Devi and how the hell did she land up in Mauritius?! Just a bit too super.

Tonight I may just hop down to MCL KornHIll to catch Ice Age 2.

Labels: Movie Review

The Exam Matrix - HK Sudents Do It All

To know what it really means...

All projects big and small...

Programmer to Team Leader:


"We can't do this proposed project.**CAN NOT**. It will involve a major
design change and no one in our team knows the design of this legacy
system.
And above that, nobody in our company knows the language in which this
application has been written. So even if somebody wants to work on it,
they
can't. If you ask my personal opinion, the company should never take
these
type of projects."


Team Leader to Project Manager :


"This project will involve a design change. Currently, we don't have any
staff who has experience in this type of work. Also, the language is
unfamiliar to us, so we will have to arrange for some training if we
take
this project. In my personal opinion, we are not ready to take on a
project
of this nature."


Project Manager to 1st Level Manager :


"This project involves a design change in the system and we don't have
much
experience in that area. Also, not many people in our company are
appropriately trained for it. In my personal opinion, we might be able
to do
the project but we would need more time than usual to complete it."


1st Level Manager to Senior Level Manager :


"This project involves design re-engineering. We have some people who
have
worked in this area and others who know the implementation language. So
they
can train other people. In my personal opinion we should take this
project,
but with caution."


Senior Level Manager to CEO :


"This project will demonstrate to the industry our capabilities in
remodelling the design of a complete legacy system. We have all the
necessary skills and people to execute this project successfully. Some
people have already given in house training in this area to other staff
members. In my personal opinion, we should not let this project slip by
us
under any circumstances."


CEO to Client :


"This is the type of project in which our company specializes. We have
executed many projects of the same nature for many large clients. Trust
me
when I say that we are the most competent firm in the industry for doing
this kind of work. It is my personal opinion that we can execute this
project successfully and well within the given time frame."

when you run out on luck?

I had a terrible terrible day at work due to flu...the medicines have somehow not taken effect...the doc (on my 2nd visit) prescribed the same batch saying that its the lack of sleep and hence I am to go on the pill tonight...I am off on sick leave tomorrow so that I can really get the flu out of the system. The mangoes taste so yummy!!
I walked the hot sunny path to Urbtix outlet at City Hall. It seemed like David had one ticket left for me..Yeah folks..thats the luck part. It was the only ticket left from his 3 shows...
And I surprised myself and someone else by actually not taking it. Sometimes one moment in life can make you feel how little you really know yourself. I had been wanting to go to that concert...but in the end...love rules...? Hahaha...don't push it too far this time...
What a humid night it is!!! I am going crazy...it's been more than 25 hours already.
You should take a peek at the redesigned Food Court at City Plaza...woo hoo...the xiao long bao is very good...and the range of food is a wow wow. Try it out.

All Green with the MASK on

Kaantaa Lagaa...

THe hEAt was just too much on that sunday...So you mean the tongue matches the tee?

One Flu Over To HK

This time the trip was frustrating...Though I did buy 2 pairs of shoes (and no jeans unlike last time or books for that matter) and lots of mangoes, the flight back was a big pain...in the throat... I got completely dehydrated from riding around in a cab in the hot hot sun for 4 hours! Chi SIN...aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh...and headache, throat pain, sleeplessness...and all the 5 beautiful airhostesses on cathay pacific flight could not put humpty dumpty together again...hmm..yeah..I have been hogging lamb meat due to the ban on chicken...And yeah, I have put on weight...what am I gonna do about it...? The darned laptop would not play any of my music workout videos...and I was stuck there for 2 weeks with nothing...so I am finally going to kick some @$$ at california...but they charge too much (remember SC helped out last time). SO I am asking CL and DH to help...lets see...I just wanna join the dance workout classes not the stupid weight-lifting ones...
I did catch up with Nila, Muks, Chels and Shinds...Mahesh's baby looks so very cute! Nazar naa lage!! And he did a little dance for me :-) I got it on video...
Nutty's phone hunt was a jam-packed issue...filled with rude salesgirls and ugly people. eeks...reminded me of myself...hahahaha...its SUMMER and I have not shed anything!!! chi sin..all my resolutions have gone to drain...its the time for desperate measures...I really need to redesign a more physical workout side to my life before I break all my bones from carrying the heavyweight body around!! Yeah yeah...I owe you guys loads of pics...how about we do it tomorrow? If your highnesses and lownesses and middlenesses can wait?

Love Can World Tour 2006

I fell in love with his music last year and I have almost all his songs...and would I miss his tour?...Until this weekend I was not sure...tomorrow I shall walk down to City Hall to get the tickets...his songs mean so much to mean on an emotional front..I just cannot miss it..Lets see if I can get any tickets at all.