...♥愛 starless.night 愛♥...

Somewhere out there, there^s something a little wrong about this...

2007-08-23T20:24:00.000+12:00

...but this is undeniably cute eh?! I especially love the Light and L one hehe uber adorable!! And so authentic-looking too!

Anyway, hello ppl and this is oen of those sporadic updates I'd be talking about. I've made major headway in my separate projects though. Still in infancy, especially the travelogue, but I like the direction they're taking. The shopping blog is probably taking walking lessons, if we're going eto be keeping with the childhood development metaphor, but I've got a great many posts down for that. Still not even halfway of what I hoped to achieve with it but I like how I'm going and what I manage to post. Lol it feels like there's such a high turnover though that it outgrows itself before I've even reached into the far-reaches of my closet. Anyway, all that probably won't make sense unless you check it out... Also have a Sims2 (so far lol) photoblog to track my founders&1stgen. That one's purely for fun and to have something to track my indulging in taking creative and "good" in-game shots!

Till next sporadic bout!

Most definitely autumn

2007-04-17T22:52:00.000+12:00

I know I just had my Easter break but I can't wait for the weekend. I'm sooooo tired. And the break was way too short. I had my (tiring-&-body-clock-screwing) week away but I think another week would so make a difference.

In other news, the amazing Mr. BR has hung up his keyboard, in a manner of speaking, and the oh-so-fabulous Brunei Resources is now defunct. Where will I go for pearls of Brunei wisdom~ Much kudos to Mr. BR and thanks for all the posts ^_^ Appreciated your efforts uber-muchly and the blog was a daily read once I discovered it!

Oh, and the separate blog projects are well underway. Damn packed is this year for me so chances are I'm going to have more reason to update those (content-wise) rather than this one. Well, more in terms of ep reviews anyway. Or if I do, probably won't be as comprehensive (or as screenie-laden!;p). Might still have periodic updates on the at-my-leisure sort of stuff that interest me and the occasional non-shopping-etc related rants;)

Catching my breath

2007-04-03T23:04:00.000+12:00

Sooo... Coming back to this blog after so so long feels like I must have fallen off the face of blogplanet rantworld or something lol. I've been busy (yes *shock*horror* even too busy to spare a musing here and there) and it feels like I haven't had a breather in a while. Uber glad for Easter, which is just around the block and I guess squeezing this entry in is to help make me feel like, yeah, of course I can pause a little and just catch a breather...

What's been up circa 2007?...

1. Finished a full run and a 2week run so that's Psych and Public Health 2 notches on my 5th-yr-of-med-school belt;) Currently have a week of Addiction Med to my name and a much awaited break smack in the middle of the 2wk run. Ahh well, all the more time to prep and ace the assessmts let's hope!

2. I...(this is huge!)...joined the gym! Ta-dah~ hehe yeah, yeah all you veteran gymbunnies must be all wth? in your blase-ness but if you know me well enough, you must know that I am so beyond ever being a gymmer it's not even funny. But I've decided I wanna be fitter and the gym is right next door... So far, it's awesome. Lol, i think I'm addicted. Been going everyday and I totally credit the classes for it. They are awesome and an abfab fun way to work out without realising you are (esp the dance class)! I'm awful at motivating myself and that's why I've failed to be much of a gym-goer in the past but this is really working out great for me. Plus it's frickin right next door! The other reason I joined is I wanted something to fill my time... (goes on to my next 2007 milestone)

3. ...to stop me from shopping at my roadrunner/Speedy Gonzales (take your pick) rate. I've made great attempts at being fiscally smart and turning over a financial leaf this year and stop spending so much. I've done what I oughta have come to a realization I should have reached earlier i.e. open a separate savings a/c totally separate from my existing not-really-effective-for-me (myriad of reasons I'm too lazy to get into) savings a/c - it's amazing that I even need a second one, go figure - and it's been working, slowly but surely. (Really making an effort to not dip in and let the cash pile up and my new a/c, new rules policy is so far working out okay)

B U T ... (you saw it coming eh...good/bad - however you look at it;) heheh)

...once a shopaholic, ALWAYS a freaking shopaholic, and *that*, ladies and gents, is a fact of life=p It probably seems like the equivalent of trying to justify a ginormous ecological footprint with purchasing a ginormous forest reserve or something but since it's something I can't seem to have much willpower in dealing with, I'm just going to try and not go *too* overboard and just enjoy a woman's calling in life;) I've opted to write a separate sister blog to convince myself I have enough stuff to last me my lifetime and gripe about the irresistible force that is shopping...heh, it's all in fun really;) So with my schedule as it is, I'll probably be updating that blog more than this for a while but hey, u never know... But if I'm suddenly all verbose again, just give me a little nudge - I should probably be going back to studying my ass off;)

See you in sporadic (if there's hope for my academic success!=p) updates!

And helloooo there!

2007-02-10T00:12:00.000+13:00

Breaking news. Apparently, Israelis have gone and atacked the Muslim holy place of Al-Aqsa. I don't know all the details but what is their deal??! Are they trying to start a fricking jihad?! Can't stress it enough: World Peace is the way to go.

Anyways, here I am back in the land where flocks of whitewoollyfluffy creatures known as le sheep vastly outnumber the humans but, granted, have an internet connection to actually speak of. To more vents and ramblings in the new year -- Happy 2007 everyone!

PS Anna Nicole died... Whoaaa. But hey, I guess you could kinda see it coming. Then again, she might be laughing at the world from Cabo or something! Then again, nah...

HIATUS!

2006-10-22T01:35:00.000+13:00

I'm in the middle of an activity that exasperates me to no end. I might have mentioned before: it is the bane of my young life. It is packing. This is the less cumbersome version (cumbersome = packing to move house *quel horreur!!!!*) but still gets me pretty stressed. Mostly because I'm horrible with limits. Lol so that's why now I'm stressing about whether to take out more stuff...or maybe pack more stuff in? Aghhh I wish we could teleport (the eternal dream=D)! Then it wouldn't be a hassle at all=D

Anyway, there is of course the awesome side to having to pack (it's unbelievable, I know, but there is one...) - it means that I'm packing for a reason and tonight's reason is because it's in preparation for my flight back home tomorrow morning early as! Can't wait! I can suffer now and sleep on the plane, right?;D

Seeing as I'll be going home and thereby removing from my daily routine the endless languid hours of sitting in front of my laptop with broadband at my disposal in favour of replacing it with the joyous activity that involves catching up with my near and dears, I won't be able to post as often and at best, probably sporadically - if at all hehe. No reviews or the like until I get back or have free time on my hands so don't be surprised if it's Lost 2 and suddenly Lost 23-24 or something!

I've got 3 months of good times on my hands and I'll be sure to make the most of it! Take care peeps, thanks for the drop-bys and see ya 2007=D

Quick bit of thought-sharing...

Last night was talking to some friends way into the wee hours of the morning about everything under the sun. Lol and somehow, it drifted to marriage and it's prospects. Anyhow, we talked about how the long traditions can be quite cumbersome and it would be nice to just keep it simple with the akad nikah and maybe a small bersanding session and a reception - all preferably in one go=p After all, in Islam, all the trappings are unnecessary, right? Getting married in a masjid, one simple ceremony...not bad huh? But then we considered how in Brunei, there's that 'keeping up with the Joneses' going on full-force. And thus, there are people who would talk.Even if one didn't care for their opinions about what is essentially none of their personal business, it wouldn't be nice to have such whispers reflected on the family. But mostly, the other side of the coin was that it would be a shame to have the Bruneian traditional culture and ceremonies disintegrate with time, no?

So keep it humble and 'sederhana' or go all out? It seems that to carry out night after night of various ceremonies would really have no other outcome other than leaving one with a considerably lighter pocket;) Just some thoughts. And heh, don't ask me how we got to talking about getting hitched - err, it baffles me too?=p

Desperate Housewives Season 3 Episode 04: "Like It Was"

2006-10-18T14:38:00.000+13:00

DH 4 right at your ~~fingertips~~ mouseclick

What have the housewives been up to? Well, following on from last episode, Edie was the first to witness Mike waking up from his 6-month coma. She is surprised to see him all responsive and rushes out to let the medical staff know of this development. Wisteria Lane is not immune to the powers of the grapevine, and pretty soon, Mike having woken up is the hottest piece of news being spread around the mouths of the neighbourhood. Susan, however, is still holed up in the mountains playing honeymoon with Ian and doesn't catch wind of all the furore surrounding her Mike because of the bad reception at Ian's place. As Edie is tending to Mike, she realises that he has retrograde amnesia following the accident. His memory of the past 2 years are missing! She doesn't waste any time in filling in the blanks to her own liking, badmouthing Susan off to Mike. She paints a nasty, trampy, stalker-y picture of Susan and insists to him that they were never in love. Finally, Julie manages to reach Susan and amidst the static, manages to convey the message. Susan is beyond shocked and starts to feel awful and guilty about not being there when Mike woke up because, of all things, she was canoodling with Ian in the mountains! Upset, she gets Ian to hurry up and get her to the hospital. When they arrive, she tells him that they never should have happened. Ian says to not say that because she's the best thing to have happened to him in a long time. She regrets not being able to return his feelings and rushes into the hospital to see Mike. She finds out that Mike doesn't remember her, shocked to be the recipient of his frostiness. He basically tells her not to bother coming back at all. A stunned Susan acquiesces and leaves. Edie watches her go with a malicious smile on her face before entering Mike's room.

Lynette is trying to teach Parker (I think he's so adorable!=D) to not be a quitter by forcing him to continue playing baseball, even though he sucks and no one appreciates his participation. While watching the game, she notes the kick-ass pitcher and later bribes the young boy with a $50 to make Parker look good! When Parker finally hits the slow-ball, it ends up soaring towards the pitcher to knock him on the head! While tending to him, his parents discover the $50 in his pocket and he points the finger at Lynette! Uh-oh... Parker gets thrown off the team but, unfortunately for Lynette, now has a renewed enthusiasm for baseball! So she bribes the coach to squeeze in just one more game and he'll suck and then he can be off the team. But to Lynette and Tom's dismay, he hits the ball! And starts running round the pitch with people cheering. They groan, realising he's not about to abandon baseball now! Until Parker falls down, hurting his ankle, providing them with a loophole. So, as it is, Parker can't play because of his 'hurt ankle';) Among other developments, Tom had taken Lynette's remarks about not being a quitter personally, especially with her dangling an ad job offer constantly in front of him. He questions her decision to support his dream. (Spoiler: I hear he wants to open a pizzeria! And Lynette is going to be co-owner so she'll be quitting the office!)

Carlos and Gaby are still haggling out their imminent divorce. Gaby has a garage sale featuring Carlos' things ("Oh, the gloves aren't just off...(yells this part to the customers) they're 70% off!"). It's a tactic to get Carlos to pay the alimony she requested. He returns later to say that he has agreed to pay her the alimony she requested, but because of that, he was forced to give up his small apartment. And that means that he has to move back in with her, as he is well within his rights! They have a little war booming in their house with each doing spiteful gestures to the other. One day, Carlos returns home to find that Gaby has changed the locks. He breaks in to the house so Gaby decides to make trouble for him by calling the cops. The cops are disgusted to learn it's just a couple's quarrel. Things backfire for Gaby as it turns out that one cop is fresh of a divorce of his own and takes Carlos' side. A slap to the arm ends up getting Gaby handcuffed and bought to the station as Carlos looks on with a smug expression. Later, Carlos comes to post bail and pick Gaby up. She is less than pleased to see him. In the car, Carlos urges her to drop the bitterness and for them to just say what they really feel. Because they both know they're going to get back together anyway. Gaby scoffs at this statement. Carlos decides to get the ball rolling by offering his confession: He still loves Gaby. Gaby tells him she doesn't love him and hasn't - not for a long time. He ignores this, saying she's just saying it to hurt him. She retorts by smugly saying that if she wanted to hurt him, she'd tell him about her dirty weekend with one John Roland. This prompts Carlos to stop the car and drag Gaby out of it to dump her in the dirt. She objects and huffs after him but stops in her tracks when she notices the murderous look on Carlos' face. Later we see her looking despondent as she tells her divorce lawyer that Carlos can keep the photo albums as they hold no sentimental value for her. Aww...

Bree is trying to play happy families, what with Andrew's return and all. They concoct an alibi, saying Andrew has been at a prestigious drama camp. Attending Danielle's history fair, an older man makes eyes at Andrew and it turns out the seemingly respectable doctor is one of Andrew's clients when he was trying to survive on the streets! Orson discovers this and, fulfilling his desire to not have any secrets between him and Bree, lets her know when she asks what they were talking about. Bree is shocked, but more so by the seemingly respectable very married doctor! She asks Gaby and Lynette about their positions on letting the wife know that he husband has been unfaithful. Gaby advises her to not tell the wife because the messenger always ends up being the victim of the wife's resentment. I liked the bit Gaby said when Lynette says, "So if Tom was cheating, you wouldn't tell me?" "No, but I would hire someone to beat the crap out of him ^_^" Despite this, Bree goes on to tell the woman in question because if it happened to her, she would want to know. Unfortunately, the wife, who always had her suspicions, resents Bree giving her an unwelcome, vivid image of her husband's infidelity. She retaliates with sharing a tid-bit of her own: It's common knowledge that Danielle is sleeping with her history teacher, Mr. Falati! Bree confronts Danielle but Danielle angrily slams the front door on her as she leaves the house, saying that they love each other and Bree couldn't break them up. Andrew goes to sit next to his mom on the stairs. She tells him she's sick of feeling like the worst mother in the world. She's tried so hard to teach them right from wrong, where had she gone wrong? Andrew sagely tells her that they do know right from wrong, they just choose 'wrong' because "Sometimes when you push a kid so hard to go one way, the other way starts to look more entertaining"they do know right from wrong, they just choose 'wrong' because "Sometimes when you push a kid so hard to go one way, the other way starts to look more entertaining". I really like the Bree-Andrew moment. Heart-wrenching. Bree puts her arm around Andrew and they have a moment as she tells him that if he ever wanted to talk about what happened while he was on the streets, there's nothing he couldn't tell her. Andrew looks tearful as he says he's not ready yet.

"We all have our reasons for rewriting history. Sometimes we need to provide ourselves alibis. Sometimes we want to hurt someone who has hurt us. And then there are times we just want to spare ourselves embarrassment. Of course, there are some who feel that to rewrite history is just another way to lie. But what is history anyway...but a set of lies agreed upon?"

Reminds me of what I was talking about in this post of history being what mass perception understands it to be, rather than being 100% honest truth because, after all, how would we know? Anyway, catch next DH ep, Ep 05: "Nice She Ain't"

Desperate Housewives Season 3 Episode 03:"A Weekend In The Country"

2006-10-17T23:02:00.000+13:00

Get caught up~

The housewives are on holiday this week! Bree is off to Bermuda on her honeymoon with Orson. Lynette and Gaby are off at a spa vacation somewhere awesome. And Susan is spending some time with Ian at his getaway house in the country. Everything is going along swimmingly until, of course, interruptions occur.

While waiting for Orson to get his latte, Bree spies a familiar face on a TV special about homeless children - none other than Andrew! He looks battered! When Orson returns, Bree dashes his honeymoon dreams by ending it before they even left the terminal lol. She tries to find Andrew and finally manages to locate him but he runs away from her, saying that he's not her son anymore - he's somebody else now. Bree is distraught and Orson is concerned and worried about her. So he takes it upon himself to look up Andrew. He finds him on the streets and cinches a meeting with the teen by offering him money and lunch. Andrew soon realises, however, that this is his mom's new man. As he had informed Bree earlier, he found out about her marriage via the newspaper. Orson explains that he cares about Andrew because Bree cares about Andrew. And the rage? He knows a thing or two about that and his advice is to let it go. How long does Andrew want to keep punishing Bree? Till he's infected and drug-addicted on the streets? He advises Andrew to come home. Hmm... I have to say, Orson seems to genuinely care for Bree. Doesn't appear to have any ulterior motives so far... I guess Mike is the only clue to his past.

Moving on to the other girls, Susan and Ian accidentally unpack the other's bags and are both equally wide-eyed to discover that (a) Ian's got plenty of condoms and (b) Susan's brought along a sexy little satin slip. With that awkward discovery, both realise that the other is interested in a little intimacy. They get cozy by the fireplace when the conversation turns to Ian having had Jane as his one and only lover, ergo making Susan his potential 2nd. Susan says it's nothing to be nervous about; some have plenty of lovers, some don't, no big deal. Seeing as she had expressed her views in such a way, a curious Ian enquired not so discreetly about her past lovers. And messes things up even further when he asks her her age! Susan stomped off to bed in a huff. Ian comes up to apologize and they make up. But just as they start warming up to each other, Ian makes a blunder by telling a touchy Susan that he's as capable of having meaningless sex as she was! Tact out out the window *tsk*tsk* So again, she humphs and shoos him out of the room. Later, she hears the strains of a melody Ian is playing on the piano. She comes down and sits next to him on the bench. As he motions to apologize, she shushes him and motions for him to continue playing the melody. And this leads to a kiss and towards the end of the ep, we realise they had been intimate.

Lynette is enjoying a promising start to a promising weekend away when Tom calls up Gaby's cellphone, much to Lynette's chagrin, and pleads with her to come pick him and the kids up from their campsite - he'd thrown out his back again. Lynette finally decides to go, albeit resentfully. As she loads up the car, guess who shows up wanting a free ride? Yup, Nora! When Lynette tries to convince her that the both of them going would be pointless, Nora insists that she isn't going to look like the uncaring mom as Supermom-Lynette zooms to the rescue. Nora drives Lynette crazy in the car as she messes it up, scares Lynette with a grab of the steering wheel and then proceeding to insist that Lynette pull over so she can hitch-hike when Lynette makes a not-so-nice comment about her. Things are back at square one, however, as Lynette spies Nora sitting by the side of the road and is forced to get her back in the car. The two women have a mini-makeup session and Nora bemoans the fact that Lynette is Supermom and she's...not. When the topic turns to Tom, Lynette is obviously surprised to discover that Tom has mentioned to Nora, and not her, that he hates advertising. Nora rather astutely remarks that perhaps he was too scared to tell her because she'd been after him to get a job and that she was the sort of person who would let someone kill themselves. Picking the boys up, Lynette tries to be more approachable, encouraging Tom to open up to her. She says that if he's finding it difficult to get a job in the ad game, why not try a hand at something else he's always wanted to do? Whyyy do I get the feeling he wants to be a fricking clown or something?=p

With Lynette gone, Gaby is left alone with a day left to their little weekend away. A lonely glammed-up Gaby bumps into a familiar face - John the gardener! He's all dressed up, mature and successful now. Gaby comes on to him and they end up in bed together. She is enjoying 'Rich John' when suddenly Rich John gets a call on his cell. It's his fiancee, the daughter of the owner of the hotel! Gaby has to get out of there because if his fiancee sees her, he'll be screwed! She huffs but complies. His fiancee enters and there are nervous moments when she explores the hotel room. Finally, he manages to cart out the luggage (with Gaby in it!) under the guise of getting the 'stuck zipper' fixed. As the lift doors are about to close, however, his fiancee comes after him, enquiring suspiciously about a gold watch she discovered in the hotel room. He lies and says that that's what she gets for surprising him - he wasn't able to wrap his gift in time! She is thrilled and drags him with her. The lift doors close leaving Gaby-in-a-luggage-bag alone! Until... a couple enters the lift! Hehe, it was so funny, their incredulous expressions, as they listened to the luggage 'talk'. And even more eyebrow-raising was when Gaby poked her fingers through the zipper and managed ot unzip the bag and get herself out. She tries to maintain a semblance of dignity and leaves with a parting punchline that she had saved herself a bundle on airfare. Priceless XD

Sparks are a-sparking between Julie and Austin! As she blows a fuse courtesy of her high-powered science project, he comes to help her figure out how to get the lights back on. I bet that little closet felt a thousand degrees hotter as Austin trapped you between his body and the fusebox, eh Julie?;) Edie shows up, looking for the CD player she lent Susan before their falling out, and it's kinda hard to ignore the sparks between Julie and Austin, especially for an experienced good-girl-gone-bad like Edie. She imparts some wisdom: stay away from her nephew. She recognises Julie's defiant denial of any attraction as the words of a good girl before she turns bad. At the hospital, Edie is in Mike's room, picking up the CD player Julie had mentioned was there. She makes small talk with the still-comatose Mike and in a total Edie moment, steals a peek at Mike's crown jewels! Lol... Climax was when she turned around towards Mike as she was leaving the room and guess what... Mike's eyes are open and he's blinking. *shock all around*

Till next ep! Ep 04: "Like It Was"

...Happy happy, joy joy...

2006-10-17T18:06:00.000+13:00

...Euphoria at the click of a 'Read More' caption...

the day started out meh. Had that assessment block. Went home. Went back to campus to study. Uneventful, really. I was glad that the assessment session was over, as that only leaves one final one come Thursday. One more burden relieved, allowing me one step closer to home. What made my day a reason for inner-me to jump about ecstatically is... *drrr* the allowance is out!=D And that, ladies and gents, surely warrants it's very own entry! (Well, I'm too excited I can't keep it to myself anyway;D)

I'll attempt to make it a more substantial entry, however, by expressing some...discontent, shall we say. True that it's a cause for relief, happiness and smiles all around, I'm sincerely very grateful, but the lead-up to this event has been filled with endless laments and gripes. It's arrival, after all, has been much overdue. It's into the 3rd week of October and there's only 5 fricking days left before I fricking leave the country. A lot of ca$h-requiring errands need to be taken care of before leaving. What's so hard about giving the money on time? It has, after all, already been budgeted out. True that it's a 3-month chunk and so the relevant authorities might...erm, overlook supplementing our welfare but they've been doing so well for the last few batches that I thought gone were the days of late laaate allowance arrivals! I thought efficiency was part of the reason they switched to that electronic system. Well, with a history of similar miserable waits for the elusive, tardier-than-tardy deposit, I can go on and on rather heatedly about the matter. But I think I'll just pave way for some constructive suggestions=)

Let's just establish something... If the $ is our primary source of welfare for the given period of time, it should theoretically come before that period starts so that recipients are able to start their surviving. For example, if the mode of welfare is to support one from October through to December, it should arrive the day before, or on the actual 1st of October, so that one would be able to use that money to support one's self from the 1st of October to the 31st of December, right? So suggestions?

1. Ensure a fixed date that one should expect the bounty. Say, by the 1st of each month. The relevant authorities can give it as early as they like or as late as they like as long as it was mutually understood that students can rely on having the mode of their survival by the 1st of the month. This would also facilitate better financial planning as you know the exact lifespan of a budget before supplementaries come into the picture.

2. Since the tri-monthly deposits may understandably pose a challenge on the relevant authorities in their quest to remember to send us students what is essentially our life support while abroad among so many other matters that plague their everyday work-life, why not arrange for an auto-payment via direct debit? Create an account for the sake of categorizing (if feasible) for say, NZ students. Then, deposit the budgeted amount (I don't know the system here, whether they have a large sum to begin with and divide early on, or have continual top-ups to eventually accumulate into the one large budget for the department) for NZ students into this account and have it auto-pay the individual amounts to the individual students at the set dates. Would be tres-convenient and, if my understanding is correct, then the electronic system they now utilise should prove useful in that respect.

3. Well, that's about the actual constuctive suggestions I have so now is a sort-of suggestion in the form of

Personal remarks and opinions shouldn't have to factor. The facts of the matter remain, regardless. What's important is a mutually respectful form of communication...

constructive and inherently well-meaning 'criticism'. Whenever it is asked whether we students have any problems and the matter of late reception of the allowance inevitably arises, it really is well-meant and only brought up in the hopes of there being a constructive change to be made. Remarks along the nature of the following aren't really the most appreciated...

- That we should budget and rely on our savings.
My opinion: Yes, of course. I completely agree. But I think that is the individual's individual matter. The fact remains that the agreed upon source of support should arrive at the appropriate time such that we would actually be able to use said support at the time we are meant to be using it. So, in other words, October $ is to be used for October, not for the remaining half of October. Where goes the unchecked first half? If the student was in truly dire straits for whatever reason, it's not exactly impossible that they face eviction, starvation and all sorts of maladies. And to reprimand with the notion of 'saving' and 'budgeting' is not exactly fair and is actually an unnecessary measure. It's simple: $ for a given period should arrive in the appropriate time to be used for the given period. Anything else is beyond the realms of professional relations and venturing into one's own personal agendas.

- That there is that expectation that our funds are cared for by our parents.

My opinion: I personally think that this is another non-issue, venturing into personal agendas yet again. It's not fair to expect one's parents to support him/her during a dry period. I, for one, don't really like the idea of having such expectations and don't expect that it's my God-given right to receive any of the sort. The reason one works hard for a scholarship is for one's own future and to lighten the load on one's parents. It's not like most individuals are an only child and it's not like one has a fundamental right to such support anyway, I feel. Again, keeping it simple: One person does his job. The other does his. If both ends are well-maintained, there is no reason for discordance, no?

I guess I mean that personal remarks and opinions shouldn't have to factor. The facts of the matter remain, regardless. What's important is a mutually respectful form of communication=)

So, yeah, that was rather emotive, I know, but I always can't help but feel the issues could be handled that much better. Enough griping, though, and I'll just enjoy the fact that it's actually here now and keep hoping that the constructive suggestions will be met next time around=)

The 4th Edition

2006-10-17T14:03:00.000+13:00

Remember Food-spotting v.3? I talked about typical Japanese cuisine, the simplest being ichijū-issai (一汁一菜; "one soup, one side" or "one dish meal"); soup, rice and pickles, and one accompanying dish. Here we have breakfast at the Fujioka house. What we see is consistent with the traditional Japanese breakfast (miso soup, rice, a pickled vegetable and grilled fish). You can imagine how such a breakfast would be very filling and last you throughout the hours! We also observe the chopsticks placed at the very front of the tray near the diner, pointed ends facing left, and supported by a chopstick holder, or hashioki (箸置き). Also, notice the more modern style of serving the food.

^_^

On a non-foodie, still-Ouran note, Éclair makes a comment about the Host Club members being very close and Tamaki says of course, they are like family. She remarks that this game of pretend families is called mamagoto, is it not? I don't know too much about this but what I've managed to unearth was that mamagoto, or mamagoto-asobi, is a sort of educational game of 'playing house', where children emulate the behaviours of their parents while entertaining their friends. Apparently, there are lots of play dolls involved, ranging from actual dolls to little kitchen sets! Sound familiar?;) Well, funnily enough, most of the descriptions I came across indicated that this was a more...feminine pastime. Having said that, there was a Boy's Day, a festival in May that boasted it's own elaborate display of fierce warrior dolls so I guess it could be manly;) Nowadays, it's just the more renowned Hina Matsuri or Doll's Festival celebrated on March 3rd, going by the Western calendar. In the case of the Host Club, though, I guess it just appears to Éclair that they seem to be playing house, what with Tamaki calling Haruhi his daughter and all that. Ahh well, if *you* know much more about mamagoto, drop me a line;)

Burning that midnight oil...

2006-10-17T01:02:00.000+13:00

i'm sitting here, ensconced in an afghan as I sit atop my fuchsia chair in my warm and cozy room. But I can tell that the winds are ferocious outside. How so? The imperceptible intermittent rattling of the windows provided a hint, the forecast professing blustery environs clued me in further, but what sold me was the cacophony of screeching, howling and furious whistling resounding outside...what sold me was the cacophony of screeching, howling and furious whistling resounding outside when I took off my earphones. Brr~ Lucky I'm enjoying my cozy confines in here and not fighting the cold out there=) And that's just how I prefer it! Funny how, back home, overcast days were my favourite. Despite enjoying sunny days more so than before nowadays, I still favour the pretty grey skies (hehe yea, yea, to each her own=p Hey, it's not the getting-drenched-in-the-rain that I'm revelling in...) but I think, besides it being all hot climate-wise back home, that the clincher was because I could enjoy it all while tucked in the warm indoors. And that's how I prefer it;)

Anyway, here I am on a tangent designed to distract me from my studying. It really is, at best, totally ill-advised but *sobbb* I need a break! Assessments for this run is scheduled for tomorrow morning and while the 6 stations sound daunting, truth be told I just can't wait to do the damn thing and get it over with. Then, it'll be closer to finishing the year up and going home!=D

The other day, the trainee intern on my team was telling us about her electives in Cape Town and was talking about the whole land dispute with the white farmers. I must say I thought it was quite...interesting. Then I came across an article about it, triggering my interest again. Basically, during the white minority rule, they dispossessed the blacks of their land. South Africa promised 12 years ago with the fall of apartheid to return a third of the commercial farming sector in black hands by 2014, but as it is, only 4% of the industry belongs to the black majority. Restitution allows blacks to apply to have their rights to the land that had been taken from them restored, or to seek financial compensation from the government. Now, Minister Lulu Xingwana has said that price negotiations with the current white famer land owners would only be held for 6 months and if these talks fail, officials would take measures to seize the land. The local law doesn't enforce the need for the minister to have a court order before proceeding to seize the land. However, farmers may appeal to the courts if they think that the claim on their land is invalid.

Xingwana has noted that most of the farmers have been quite supportive of the government restitution, offering to sell their land without a fuss, but there are the more stubborn ones who are impeding the process and seemingly making the need for seizures necessary. South Africa has rejected any comparison but with the persisting land-owners who are less inclined to quietly sell their land and with there being only 4% ownership currently, memories of the violent episodes of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's land redistribution program in the late 1990s are surely being dredged up...

*Phew~* Heated topic eh?

Ouran Koukou Host Club Episode 26:"This Is Our Ouran Festival (これが俺たちの桜蘭祭)"

2006-10-16T01:33:00.000+13:00

The climax following on from last ep's little cliffie!

Haruhi leaves home without having any breakfast. It's revealed a little later in a flashback to the morning as remarked by her father that the last time she didn't eat breakfast for ages was when her mother passed away. Éclair shows up at the salon and seeks out Kyouya. She makes snide remarks about how he won't be able to inherit the Ootori empire, being the third son and all. She enquires about one Fujioka Haruhi's debt to the Host Club and proceeds to request for her company. She remarks about Tamaki's fondness for them which makes Haruhi wonder about any jealousy on the French girl's part. Éclair informs Haruhi that Tamaki won't be coming in anymore as per her orders. Kyouya later tells a wide-eyed Haruhi that her debt has been paid off and she can quit being a host anytime she liked. The Host Club are still worried about Tamaki's announcement the day before. Kyouya's father leaves Kyouya with a snide remark about wasting time on useless activities like the Host Club when Haruhi decides to step in, not being able to stand the man's treatment of his son. She defends Kyouya, saying that he is capable and that she admires him. He strives to make them happy, isn't that worthwhile? Ootori-san leaves, realising that Haruhi is the special scholarship student.

Chairman Suou and his mother are discussing the Grand Tonnerre company, worrying about their recent Japanese conquests. His mother thinks that with Tamaki's union with Éclair, they will instead continue to prosper even more. Chairman Suou, knowing that Tamaki lacks interest in the Suou family, wonders how the woman managed to get him to agree to make Éclair his fiancee. We learn that by agreeing to this arrangement, Tamaki is allowed to see his mother again. Cruel woman=( (I like how Chairman Suou has all these pix of Tamaki adorning his table!=D) We see Éclair looking contemplative in the shower before exiting to wrap her arms around Tamaki's neck as he sat on the piano stool. At this point, Tamaki's phone rings and she is enraged to be greeted by the smiling faces of Tamaki and Haruhi and a bunch of hearts signifying the phone's ringing. She unceremoniously plops the cell phone into the aquarium, saying with a fake smile that it would be better for him to not be attached to his friends. At this point there is an interruption as the butler announces a guest. It is Ootori-san! He is surprised to see Tamaki there, as is Tamaki to see him, and we discover that Grand Tonnerre is about to add the Ootori medical equipment company to it's list of conquests! We also learn that Ootori-san had intended for Kyouya to be his successor.

At the salon, the Host Club members are dressed up in their French medieval wear and Haruhi questions why she is the only one who looks female. Kyouya is still trying to reach Tamaki's cell phone to no avail, as he laments to the others. He calls the main house phone and reaches the housekeeper who reveals that Tamaki is going to leave Ouran and take a flight to France after the festival! Then Kyouya and the Host Club members look on in shock as they witness Tamaki and Éclair being driven away in a red convertible! They proceed to chase after the car but are met with resistance. Hunny, Morinozuka and Kyouya remain behind to finish off the guards while the Hitaachin twins and Haruhi make their getaway aboard the horse-drawn carriage that Tamaki requested to be imported in for the festival. They reasoned that by using a different, shorter route, they would be able to catch up to Tamaki's ride on the highway. The carriage topples at a pumpkin patch, injuring Hikaru. Kaoru runs after him and Hikaru laments about whether it's good for everything to just end this way. His words move Haruhi, who remembers what her father had said that morning about trying her best and not hesitating. A look of determination passes across her features and she removes her wig and outer finery. In a simple white under-gown and her short locks billowing in the breeze, she takes the reins and continues the chase to get Tamaki back!

She reaches the highway and is conveniently behind Tamaki's ride. He discovers her presence and looks on in wonder, as does Éclair. She tells him that they love the Host Club and want him to come back. She reaches out a hand to take him into the carriage and he stretches out an arm but is stopped by a sad-looking Éclair. Haruhi then gets thrown off by the momentum of the carriage and proceeds to begin her unplanned descent over the bridge. Tamaki and Éclair look on in horror. Tamaki turns to smile at Éclair, saying something to her before going after Haruhi. It's an amusing but Tamaki/Haruhi-shipping scene as they propel over the bridge, succumbing to the powers of gravity, Tamaki reaching out a hand to catch Haruhi who puts her hand in his. He clasps it tightly and hugs her to him with a content smile on his face.they propel over the bridge, succumbing to the powers of gravity, Tamaki reaching out a hand to catch Haruhi who puts her hand in his. He clasps it tightly and hugs her to him with a content smile on his face. Haruhi has an initial look of surprise before reciprocating, placing her arms around him, and then the two fall with a 'graceful' plop into the water below. Éclair looks on and speeds away. The driver enquires about the reason she was so intent on being with Tamaki: it was because of the housekeeper's words about her kind son who could play the piano beautifully, wasn't it? And so we know that the lady in that flashback really was Tamaki's mother. Éclair smiles sadly, remarking that he was an idiot for she would have let him see his mother. She feels happy, however, that he smiled for her=) Tellingly, her opera glasses are left behind, lying atop the bridge as she leaves, perhaps symbolising her new view on life with Tamaki sans ~~rose~~ purple-tinted glasses?

By the banks, a drenched Tamaki carries a similarly drenched Haruhi in his arms before placing her down. She looks up at him and gives him a smile, ascertaining that she is okay. The Host Club members come to greet them. And it is night-time and the Ouran festival is still going strong! Kyouya steals Haruhi's first dance, much to Tamaki's aggravation, before Kyouya tosses Haruhi into Tamaki's arms. The two dance as fireworks are set off, lighting up the night sky. Indoors, Tamaki and Kyouya's fathers are having a conversation. It is revealed that a student investor going by the moniker KO had swooped in in the nick of time to buy Ootori's medical equipment company before Grand Tonnerre could. He figured out it was Kyouya (well, it wasn't much of a disguise was it; KO?! Duh=p) and respects his son's abilities. The two men decide to be friendly with each other, like their sons are. That is, until Ootori-san says he would like to have Fujioka Haruhi be Kyouya's bride in the future. Chairman Suou says he's afraid they can't be friends quite yet because no way is he going to let that happen;) And so, the Host Club watches the fireworks downstairs as Ouran comes to it's end. Tamaki ends with a spiel similar to the 1st ep, explaining how the Host Club profits from entertaining bored rich girls. A game among the rich. In the music room, the members surround Haruhi who welcomes you to the Host Club Room ^_^

Ouran Koukou Host Club Episode 25:"The Host Club^s Declaration of Dissolution (ホスト部解散宣言)"

2006-10-16T00:36:00.000+13:00

The 43^rd annual Ouran festival is underway! =D

Rife with preparations, Haruhi wonders about the Ouran students' rather different approach to organising their festival. In normal high schools, festivals are works of the students' own craft. But of course, Ouran is no ordinary school;) As Kyouya points out, their students are coached to be the future leaders of Japan, so the skills they need to learn are different. More in the ways of leadership qualities and supervising others rather than, heaven forbid, break a pretty nail doing menial labour;)

In common with other festivals, however, is the fact that the festival is open to outsiders. So, the Host Club is busy in action, with their clients bringing in their parents to enjoy the atmosphere. Even the Host Club members' family deign to make an appearance. We see the Ouran's Chairman aka Tamaki's father enter the music room. He appears gruff at first and specifically asks to sit with Haruhi, upon which she discovers that, beyond the same blond hair, he truly is Tamaki's father, what with his blushing and gushing and urging her to call him O-ji-sa-ma... Hehe;) But what I did enjoy was his voice!=D Unmistakably, I don't even have to check, it is Inoue Kazuhiko! Hehe, and as usual, can't help but think of Kaka and thinking of him saying those words. Lol, priceless;D

Also in attendance was Kyouya's father, who slapped Kyouya in full view of the many patrons in the music room. Ootori-san reprimands Kyouya for wasting his time on such stupid activities as the Host Club. Innocent Tamaki feels guilty about having asked Kyouya to join the Host Club. And thennn, in comes Tamaki's grandmother. Hunny says that he hates her. Whoa. She just has to be bad news if Hunny-senpai hates her! And indeed, as Tamaki excitedly comes forward to greet her, she tells him harshly to not touch her, leaving a not-too-discreet parting shot as she walked away, "Filthy child..." She is referring to his parentage, being the son of Suou-san's Parisienne mistress. Since Suou-san is without any legitimate heirs, however, she is forced to recruit Tamaki for the job, albeit putting him through a trial period. She forces him to escort a young woman who has been lurking around suspiciously with her ever-present purple-lensed gold opera viewers. Lightning Thunder - indentally what Haruhi is most afraid of!Her name is Éclair Tonnerre (Lightning Thunder - indentally what Haruhi is most afraid of!), a Parisienne debutante, and part of the Grand Tonnerre empire, which has been buying up Japanese companies big. So by allying with them, Tamaki's grandmother figures that they'll be safe.

She asks Tamaki to play the piano for her and there is a flashback still where we see her with a golden-haired woman (Tamaki's mother? Hmm...) Whilst listening to the beautiful strains, she remarks on how close the Host Club are, how it seems that they are playing at being a family. She guilt-trips Tamaki into thinking that he is forcing the members to take up their valuable time with Host Club activities rather than what they would rather be doing. Haruhi enters the room and converses with the two in a rather acid tone. In fact, this ep is nice in that it totally flutters the hearts of the many Tamaki/Haruhi shippers! What doesn't fit quite so much is the lack of believable development in that respect. Anyway, Tamaki is gleeful when he thinks Haruhi might be jealous, but she declares she isn't before leaving the room. As he motions to go after her, Éclair grabs his hand and pounces on him on the couch.

Back at the salon, the other Host Club members are telling Haruhi of Tamaki's past. The Suou successor died and Tamaki's grandmother appointed her son as successor, arranging a marriage of convenience for him. He ended up falling for a girl in France and the result of their union is an adorable baby Tamaki!=D He expresses to his mother his desire to divorce his wife to marry his love and have her and his son live with them. Of course, his mother doesn't approve, and making matters more complicated is the fact that his love is quite sickly away from France. Regardless, Tamaki had a happy childhood living with his mother. Until one day, his grandmother makes a proposition to the two, knowing that Tamaki's mother was having financial difficulties. She stipulated that she would ensure that they would never again have financial problems if Tamaki alone returns to Japan with her. Also, Tamaki's mother would not be allowed to see Tamaki anymore. At long last, Tamaki agreed and no one heard from his mother again. Haruhi is touched, recalling her own experience with losing her mother.

Next thing you know, the salon doors open and two figures are silhouetted on the backdrop of the late afternoon sun. It is Tamaki and Éclair. He announces to them that he is engaged to Éclair and once the festival is over, the Host Club will dissolve.

Kyaaa~ I am liking the deeper development in the plot! And totally enjoying the heavy hints of Tamaki/Haruhi. Doubt that BONES'll act on it, though. Perhaps a second season? (That was a request!=D) I am also loving Tamaki's mature side=D

Grey^s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 04: "What I Am"

2006-10-15T21:03:00.000+13:00

At Episode 4, GA is progressing along=) (Not fast enough for me, though!=p)

This ep, Cristina is pushing Burke's rehab and declares him "perfect" and ready for surgery even though Burke actually still has a tremor. When seeing a distracted Derek for a review, Derek clears him for surgery, especially when Cristina says that she's been involved with his PT at home and affirms that Burke is in great condition. Burke knows he isn't ready and is silently angry with Cristina for having pushed the matter. Later, she finds him practising his sutures on a corpse in the morgue. Tension escalates and Burke finally blows up, saying that she shouldn't have pushed and he shouldn't have been cleared for surgery. Her reveals the still-existing tremor which prevents him from being able to hold a vessel long enough to insert a graft. He rages, saying that his hands are who he is and who Cristina wants. She motions to hold the vessel so he can complete the 'surgery'. Suspiciously, she remarks, "No one has to know." Hmm...not sure I like the sound of that...

Much to Addy and Derek's aggravation, Mark Sloane aka our dear McSteamy has been enlisted in SG's payroll, courtesy of none other than Mr. Chief. He tells Addy that he's arranged to sublet his apartment and sold his practice to come to Seattle. Addy is distracted and can't focus knowing he is around. Meredith is feeling sick and has abdo pain before finally vomiting repeatedly on the hospital floor. She is admitted with appendicitis. Derek and Finn are by her side. She has morphine administered for the pain and doesn't have as firm a grip on her inhibitions as would be normal. She even has a talk with Addy about how she knew Derek was the one, with Addy saying the only reason she's talking to her like that is because she knows Mer won't remember a thing after the high wears off. She reveals that she doesn't actually hate Meredith and wished instead that she had been a better person and stepped aside. Derek spies her exiting Mer's room and calls her on talking to Mer. Addy just tells him not to hurt Meredith again. Derek obviously takes this to heart as he asks Richard why he left Ellis. Richard said that it was because he knew he couldn't make her happy and he loved her enough to walk away. Later, Derek has a chance to talk with Finn and discovers that he used to be married and he loves fishing. He smiles, knowing Finn is a good guy, the better guy, and tells Meredith after her surgery that he's walking away. Meredith later realises that he's the one and breaks up with Finn.

Izzie meets with Denny Duquette, Sr. at Joe's. She is incensed when he insinuates that she's only after Denny's money and she retaliates by saying that he abandoned Denny, was never even there for Denny at the hospital. She knows because she was there the whole time and never even saw him once. Denny's dad reveals that Denny had left his parents, not wanting them to watch him die. Upon finding out, Izzie and Denny Sr. quietly mourn Denny together. Denny Sr. gives her an envelope which Denny left her. Callie is still steamed and George apologises. She invites him over to her hotel later that night but he ends up having to cancel to support Izzie. Callie snaps and says that it's always Izzie or Meredith, never her. She breaks things off with George and goes to the bar across the street where McSteamy is. He had just been told in no uncertain terms by his love, Addy, that she didn't want him around and if he's going to be staying around, then they're nothing more than co-workers. Callie comes on to him and invites him over to her place. He looks at her contemplatively and we find out what happens on that avenue come next ep;) Denny had left a message at his parent's machine the night of his op and Izzie didn't want to listen to it alone, hence George's hand-holding. "Mistakes are painful but they're the only way to find out who you really are. I know who I am now. I know what I want. I've got the love of my life, a new heart, and I want you guys to get on the next plane here and meet my girl. Everything's going to be different now. From here on out, nothing's ever going to be the same. I promise."We listen to a throat-constricting, heart-wrenching Southern-laced message Denny left for his parents about being sorry, and that mistakes are awful but help you reveal who you really are. He tells them of the beautiful Dr. Isobel Stevens who has agreed to marry him and prophetically says that with his new heart, new love, nothing is going to be the same again from here on out. He asks them to catch the first plane in to Seattle to meet his girl. George looks in surprise when he checks the contents of the envelope to see a cheque for $ 8, 700, 000 left to Izzie from Denny!

And now for the bit of surgery thrown in;)

1. Addy's patient is a woman who's in arrested labour who has a 'natural birth' plan but in the name of beneficence, requires a C-section. When Addy gets her mojo back, she insists that the patient listens to her and she'll keep both her and the baby safe. At the end of the ep, she informs Alex that he's off her service but thinks he'll miss her. I'm not sure if this means that Alex is now Mark's intern but judging from his earlier 'lackey' treatment by Mark, he might not learn much surgery, even if he is all for plastics;)

2. Bailey's patient who's meant to be discharged for home the next day ends up becoming Mark's patient when he lights up a fag in hospital while on O2 prongs! It explodes in his face and being a salesman, his wife pleads with Mark to get his face back. At the end, Dr. Bailey humbles Mark when she steps in to save the awkward situation, saying that having the people he loves around him is what really matters the most. Heh, looks like Mark is our typical surgeon type doc;)

3. Mer with appendicitis! Hehe, they all thought she might be pregnant at first, and if she was, it'd have to be McBaby since she hadn't been intimate with Finn yet. But she's not=) And successful surgery. Bailey even gets George, who was the intern for Mer's case, to make up for his S1E01 007 blunder by doing bits of the op=)

Don't forget Oct 19th's Ep 5: "Oh, The Guilt" (highlight below for spoilers courtesy of ABC's site)
Bailey treats a young mother battling breast cancer, Derek learns more about Mark and Addison's relationship, the interns defend a resident's competence during a hospital staff meeting, and Meredith and Addison examine a couple who finds themselves in a rather awkward position.

The Guy With High Notions

2006-10-14T21:07:00.000+13:00

My beloved 一ノ瀬巧 ;D

Okay, just so you can't say I didn't warn you (and in case you hadn't already realised), this is the disclaimer of all disclaimers: I am prone to extensive bouts of gushing and swoon sessions...the disclaimer of all disclaimers: I am prone to extensive bouts of gushing and swoon sessions. When I'm caught in the throes of gush-sesh-subject-matter-induced rapture, I can quite happily stay in this blissful state and go on and on about the sure-to-be-delightful heretofore mentioned gush-sesh-subject-matter. And while my bishie collection may be extensive and not always transcend past the realms of line art or CG into RL (to my bitter, bitter disappointment!), each and everyone of them are tres special to me lol;D So, now that you're armed with that info, proceed with caution as I introduce to you my collection;)

Granted, I must say this a gazillion times, but that is the right I reserve as an über-fangirl: I am so fricking in love with this man! *sigh*
Stats-
Age: 23
Blood Type: O
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 67 kg
Occupation: Musician
Fave ciggies: "Gitanes"

He is the bassist and leader of the hottest rock band in Japan at the point of Hachi's reminiscing as per ナナ-land. He's tall, lean and has beautiful long, black hair. Armed with his handsome looks, fame and fortune, women the world over flock to him so, unsurprisingly, Takumi (タクミ) is a big flirt and quite the player. Our impressionable Hachi declares him as her favourite member (fellow fangirl!=D), so imagine her amazement and pleasure when he opens the door to 707 one evening, greeting her from work, looking all hot and dreamy! Nana O has arranged the sweetest surprise and made Hachi's dream come true. To have a resourceful friend like that;) They don't actually interact much but for when they spend a rather domestic moment together while Hachi prepares the night's meals. He leans against the kitchen cabinet at one point, eating Jun-chan's delicious tomatoes. In fact, he seems to really enjoy Hachi's cooking=) Anyway, this is the start of when he became a prominent character.

After Hachi got fired one day, he called her up. Coincidentally, Hachi happened to be in the area and he invited her out for dinner and a drive. Knowing the implications, Hachi still followed him. They ended up sleeping together and later on, ended up having a relationship. Many people feel that the relationship started purely out of Takumi's desire to stop Nobu from having Hachi, but I think it's more than that. True that he's quite the control freak, but I think he truly did like Hachi as more than just a one-night stand. If he didn't, he wouldn't have left his contact details as he left the hotel room. I think she did manage to make an impression and linger in his mind, and the incident with Nobu and Blast propelled him to take more action. He, being more mature and worldly, sees Hachi for who she really is, right down to the loneliness. He understands her more than anyone, I feel. He steps up when Hachi is pregnant (highly likely to be Takumi's), fully intending to raise the child, even if it was Nobu's rather than his. He offers her marriage. Later on, he provides a house for them to live in together and subsequently ends up marrying her. My favourite moment was when they were in the tub and he realised Hachi's role in his life and professed to her that he loves her. Intimate moment and he meant it=)

He isn't perfect though and is a guy many fans love to hate. He's hot-headed and 'raped' Hachi. He's not without his vices and cheated on Hachi (the one time?) but I think that's more for Yazawa-sensei to portray his guilty conscience and the awakening of his love. To show that he doesn't want to be tempted to do it anymore. He is a total workaholic, with Toranesu being his everything but despite coming second, Hachi is his #1 woman. He is loyal to Toranesu and cares about Reira like a sister. He is noble enough to not take advantage of her love for him, and that shows how he is able to care for someone=) He actually has quite a sad childhood, with an alcoholic father and a sickly mother who later passed away, and this is probably what propelled him to work so hard and be perceived as cold. He's quite aloof and no one really knows of his past but for those close to him. Once he discovered his love for music, he never looked back. He was born and raised in Nana O's snowy hometown in Northern Japan and went to high school with Reira, Naoki, Yasu and Ren. He had quite a reputation as a 'gangster' but became quite popular because of his band. He started Toranesu waaay back when. He once mentioned that he writes songs to showcase Reira's voice.

Why do I like him? He's the kind of guy I usually end up liking lol. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. He's awesome-looking: tall but not too tall, dark-haired, lean but not narrow, bishie but uber-masculine. He's languidly sexy and has a raw, tangible charisma that can't be switched off. He's so damn cool and isn't easily fazed, which I really really like. And when he cares about someone, he really cares. Yazawa-sensei creates characters which are real and flawed, and that's what makes her stuff so good, but for Takumi to truly be ideal, I'd add that criteria of him being a one-woman man who loves completely. Cold he may be to the rest of the world, but gentle and loving when it comes to his woman. That would be great=) And hopefully, that's how it turns out to be! He's got all the makings;)

Well, in the future scenes, we see him with shorter hair, remeniscent of his high-school days, and still married to Hachi (I presume so, although can't say with 100% certainty. Their smiles seemed somewhat...quiet? But tender I think ^_^) and at their Shirokane house. They have a beautiful daughter, Satsuki, who looks like Takumi and obviously loves her parents to bits. He just came back from a business trip bearing gifts, so is Toranesu still big? He has a gentle smile on his face and I hope that's an indicator that they've managed to find happiness and love in each other=) I always think that he sees Hachi for who she is and understands her so well because he recognises loneliness, being lonely himself. Having such a rough childhood, and being so driven most of his life, I think that he just wants to settle down and find happiness and that's why he offered himself to Hachi that time she was pregnant. Eagerly awaiting the new chappies to confirm that they're happy and in love=)

*Cue 'Trigger' as the pix slide by ;D*

View Photo Slideshow

Takumi in his various guises=)
Anime and PS2 (ナナ: すべては大魔王のお導き!?) seiyuu = Morikawa Toshiyuki (a veteran in the VA biz)
Movie actor = The delish TetsuTama=D I totally approve!;)
PS2 seiyuu = Koyasu Takehito (one of my most fave seiyuus!=D Described "sexy" as Takumi in the game by Yazawa-sensei ^_~)

Shh... Sneaking a break! ;)

2006-10-12T18:56:00.000+13:00

...Remembering to laugh a little...

in writing this post, I feel like I've been floating along at torpedo-speed and have somehow managed to grab hold of a window-sill somewhere to poke my head in for a breather! Things have been hectic lately, or at least been feeling pretty hectic lately. Monday this week feels like it happened aeons past and I can't believe tomorrow's actually Friday i.e. my frazzled brain's heralding my much-welcomed weekend as I type! I suppose it's because I've been trying to squeeze in more work and prep lately. It's the 9th week of my Surgical run and you (well, I and the rest of my med buddies do anyway;D) know what that means! The 10th and last (say it with me ladies and gents!=D) week is upon us! Next thing you know, it'll be assessments over and I'll be indulging in the activity that is the bane of my life (read: packing - although, just packing for a trip - albeit a looong one=D - is not as bad as packing to move...) and catching that long-awaited flight back home! So, yeah, this post is just a break I've decided to squeeze in between bouts of prep for tomorrow's tut, to focus on more random rambling;)

So you all probably know by now that Google has bought YouTube but did you know that apparently, dressing extra-hot is an indicator for human ovulation?! Well, that's what some U.S. researchers have surmised anyhow. Human ovulation, they say, is one of the more difficult things to identify, even by humans themselves. (Apparently, we flirt more, look at attractive males more.) Theoretically, we know that it happens halfway through the menstrual cycle, at about the 14th day. But to know for sure has eluded the human population, as attested by the bewildered couples who struggle to conceive, and the bewildered prospective moms and dads with unplanned buns on their way. But the results of this study are suggesting that, joining the ranks of some animals releasing particular powerful scents, others displaying skin colour changes, and others still sounding out their mating calls (ok, I added that, but it's true right?;D Anyway, you get the piccie), human females parade the results of their heightened sense of fashion.

No mistake about it though, it's a subtle process... Rather than piling on the bling, it's all about the heightened sense of fashion. There's no arbitrary standard of dress. Each woman maintains her personal sense of style, but cue ovulation, adds a pretty necklace here, a hot skirt there... Each woman maintains her personal sense of style, but cue ovulation, adds a pretty necklace here, a hot skirt there, stuff they don't usually don on a regular basis. If her usual garb is a tank top and jeans, ovulation time brings out a prettier tank top and a more awesome pair of jeans. There's more skin flashed about but it's not about being provocative. It's about fashion. At a rate of 60% blinded identification, the results are not phenomenal (probably bias because of the subjective nature of the judging) but quite consistent. Formal testing of ovulation correlates with the subjective id of a more fashionable attire. So it's not the outcropping of bloated-wear as they might expect, but the opposite. Isn't that fascinating?!;)

Going on a different facet of anatomy, let's talk about the variety going by the name of "Grey's" (Ep 04 otw guys;D). Apparently, Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey came to blows on set! Well, sort of. Here's the goss: Tensions mounted while the boys were on location last week shooting a camping sequence. By the time the crew returned to LA, something was apparently bothering the actors enough to lead to unrest on the set. Apparently, Washington was prepared to shoot a particular scene on Monday and was annoyed his fellow cast mates weren't equally ready so passing forth from his lips came a nasty remark to T.R. Knight. Dempsey stepped in on Knight's behalf (McDreamy in shining scrubs!=D). Washington then supposedly grabbed Dempsey by the throat and shoved him, all rowdy style. Washington told People Wednesday that no punches were actually thrown. Wisely, ABC has remained mum on the subject. However, it seems that all is well now, if only on the surface.

Quote: "E! Online's source said that Washington and Dempsey both met with the big cheese, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, and proceeded to metaphorically hug it out. "There was an argument on set," a rep for Dempsey said. "In any close-knit family, sometimes people argue. But everybody made up and went back to work." Washington's publicist echoed the sentiment, saying in a statement to E! News: "Differences are inevitable. They were aired, resolved, and everyone has moved on." With their bizarrely good looks intact, luckily. And as for those outdoorsy scenes that the gentlemen were filming last week, Dempsey told E! Online Sunday (the day before the "incident") that it was good being away with the guys and nice to not have to shave for awhile. "We have a good time together," the actor, whose wife is expecting the couple's second child, said. "We bonded a little bit, in a good way."" So there you have it! Tsk, boyyysss~~~ Re-enacting a little on-screen tension there?

And this I got in the mail, which would probably fit in better with the b'day post but oh well, it's still Libra season, no?;)

Women And Their Zodiac Characteristics

By Pankaj Khanna

LIBRA - WOMEN
If you were born between September 23rd and October 23rd, you are a Libra - Woman.

Physical Appearance
Of all the signs, Libra has the maximum share of beautiful women. You are tall with a proportional body. Your limbs are slender but strong. You are attractive, graceful and courteous.

Mental Attitude
You are a levelheaded person. With your fruitful imagination and intellectual capacity you successfully win over the hearts. On the negative side, you are a nagger. You may have negative thoughts and often this may leads to strong depressions.

General Nature
You posses some supreme power in yourself. Use it for some constructive purpose.
Libran's have a spiritual bent of mind. Quite close to peace and harmony. Evade getting into unnecessary troubles. Never intend to hurt the feelings of others and therefore, is famous in the group.

Trading is the natural vocation for you. You will earn lots of money and fame & will play in profits.

You are quite lazy in your life and believe in one sided relationship, where you become a looser and people at the next door gains.

Health
Libran females do not have a well-developed immunity system. Infectious of various kinds will trouble you through out the life. Kidneys, lever and uterus are some of the weak areas for Libra born.

Money
Due to very good business sense you will play in profits. Your needs will also be substantially more than ordinary females. So you will earn and spend it as well. Will be able to make some valuable assets in your life time.

Romance and Sex Life
You are of a cheerful and adjustable nature. You will dress very well and will give a lot of the heed to perfumes you use and the surroundings you are in. This makes you very attractive to the opposite sex.

Libra women are experts in conversation and you like to talk a lot. You can talk effectively about anything under the sun. The idea of romance in your mind includes a lot of talking.
You have a very strong need of company of the opposite sex. Hence, you will be prepared to be a bit out of way to get the man which pleases your eye.

You are full of romantic blues therefore, fail to see the real qualities initially and may repent later on.

Either you are a sincere lover who will marry the same guy whom you have liked too or your parents might have chosen. Or you are fun loving changeable lover-who will try to trap every male that suits your eye. As it is very difficult for males to resist you, you may have number of short affairs.

Small of the back and buttocks are the hot spots for you.

Marriage
Your deep desire for companionship may lead in early marriage. In your home life, you will tend to be very nice and peace loving. You can create a home which is glamorous and at the same time comfortable.

You are tactful, thus, you wount let any inter-personnal tension in your family. You are always successful in keeping your surroundings happy and cheerful.

You can plan the finances of your house in such a manner that all have enough and you can save too, especially for short trips to beautiful places.

Ideal Match
Leo, Gemini and Aquarius born are best suitable for you.

Caution
You spend beyond from your means on luxuries things (sooo true huhu~) and thus, may face financial problems later on. You cherish pleasure in your life, and this may also ruin you in the long run.

You may develop an attitude where you covet other's to go out of their ways and help you. While you are never prepared to take any pains. This can lead to problems with all whom you deal with and may cause frustration and depressions to you.

Lucky Days, Numbers And Colors
Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Saturday are lucky days for you. Your lucky numbers are:- 1, 2, 4 and 7. And lucky color's are:- White, Red & Orange.

Recommended Gemstones

Blue Sapphire and Diamond are the lucky gemstones for you. The gem that you wear should have a vibrant aura and should never been used before. The weight of the gemstone shall be decided as per your body weight and age.

Okay, and before I finally drag myself back to the ~~(sarcasm)~~ joys of Haematology (*sigh~*), I just wanna say that I think I'm part of a secret community of "Commuters & their mp3 players". It's like the equivalent of cranking up the cool tunes in the car, I suppose. Except we have our legs. And have earpieces dangling tellingly around our necks. And smile to each other and think we're part of a secret community. Yup, time to get back to work now...

"When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut..."

(My fortune for today...=D)

Food-spotting v.3 =p~

2006-10-09T21:12:00.000+13:00

~ G o t . k a r ē ? ;) ~

(from top: Kaoru's karē rice with fukujinzuke, rakkyo and tamago; karē rice RL; Kaoru dining ^_^; rakkyo; traditional red fukujinzuke; orange fukujinzuke and fukujinzuke without additives)

In HachiKuro II 12, Kaoru sees the light and celebrates with his father's celebated karē raisu, or rice with Japanese curry, which is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. There are three forms Japanese curry is commonly served in: karē raisu, karē udon and karē-pan. The fact that curry is very easy to make compared to many other Japanese dishes is one of the reasons for it's popularity in Japan. It can be made from a ready-made curry sauce mix, or roux (カレールー), in under an hour! Mixes come in the form of a sauce mix block or in powder form (which can be turned into curry gravy by adding water).

Japanese karē is usually thicker, sweeter and not as hot as the Indian version. A wide variety of vegetables and meats are used to make karē. The basic vegetables include potatoes, onions and carrots. For additional sweetness, grated apple or honey can be added. As for the meat, it is pork, beef and then chicken, in order of decreasing popularity. Pork is the most popular meat for curry in Tokyo by far, while beef is the most common in Osaka. Katsu-karē is a deep-fried pork cutlet in breadcrumbs with curry sauce. Surprisingly, in Japan, curry is categorised as a Western dish rather than an Asian dish. It may not be as surprising, however, when we realise that the reason is because curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1869 - 1913), at a time when the British colonised India.

How to make karē? Sauté chopped vegetables and meat in oil, margarine or butter; pick your ~~poison~~ choice. Once the onions have softened and the meat has browned, water is added and the mixture is brought to a boil. The ingredients are then simmered under low heat for about 20 minutes. If more tender meat is desired, then the simmering process can take longer. Finally, the curry mix is added, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes in order to thoroughly dissolve the mix. Et voila! Karē ready to be served!;D The karē is served in a large soup bowl, with white rice on the left side and karē on the right side, never to be poured on top of the rice. The preferred variety of rice is the sticky and round Japanese small grain, as opposed to the medium grain variety as per Indian and Chinese dishes. Usual garnishes are vegetables pickled in soy sauce as Fukujinzuke (福神漬け) or Rakkyo (辣韮), which are only eaten with curry dishes. The typical drink served with curry is water, and this is because no other drink compliments the strong taste of the curry as well.

And don't forget nabemono;D I blogged about it in an earlier entry=)

With Honey and Clover=) Chika Umino's culinary version of the union of her favourites: Spitz's Hachimitsu and Suga Shikao's Clover. I don't know how pancakes would taste with the clover, but the honey would predominate and taste mmm~~~

And this is from Harukanaru 19. Kotengu-chan is a-feasting on typical Japanese kaiseki cuisine! Looks like the standard ichijū-sansai (一汁三菜; "one soup, three sides") where you would have gohan, tsukemono and soup with three dishes, each employing a different cooking technique; raw fish (sashimi), or grilled, simmered (or "boiled" in translations from Japanese), steamed, deep fried, vinegared, or dressed dishes. Ichijū-sansai often finishes with tsukemono like umeboshi and green tea.We can see Kotengu-chan's gohan as his shushoku, with accompaniments including the likes of miso soup, tsukemono and okazu like the grilled fish. Okazu are usually designed "salty" to eat with shushoku in order to facilitate synergistic harmonization. Thus, in Japan, they are not usually expected to be eaten alone.

Kotengu-chan also demonstrates the typical serving style of kaiseki meals. Remember, Haruka is set in the traditional Japanese era. Japanese table settings has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table which was common during a given era. Before the 19th century, diners were served meals atop small individual box tables (hakozen, 箱膳) or flat floor trays. By the beginning of the 20th century, larger low tables (chabudai, ちゃぶ台) that accommodated entire families grew popular. By the end of the 20th century, western style dining tables and chairs took over. In general, traditional table settings are based on the ichijū-sansai formula. Typically, five separate bowls and plates are set before the diner and nearest to the diner are the rice bowl on the left and the soup bowl on the right. Behind these are three flat plates to hold the three side dishes, one on the far back on the left side (on which a simmered dish might be served), one on the far back on the right side (on which a grilled dish might be served), and one in the center of the tray (on which boiled greens might be served). Tsukemono are often served to be eaten at the end of the meal, but are not counted as part of the side dishes.

Observe Kotengu-chan's similar style of kaiseki servings atop hakozen! So Haruka is pre-19th century Japan=) Cool eh? I love wiki!=D

Bleach 98: "Confrontation! Zaraki Kenpachi vs. Ichinose Maki!

2006-10-08T23:37:00.000+13:00

New Bleach: Bleach 98, complete with new op&ed! I love 'Baby It's You'!=D This ep, not much to say...

Kariya, as we know, has begun his attack on Seireitei. Ichinose Maki has stayed behind to ward off the stragglers. His Nijigasumi is kidou-based and utilises light to attack his enemies. Hitsugaya and Renji almost came to blows when the light particles influenced each to think the other was Ichinose charging at them. *phew* close call~ They were saved when Zaraki Kenpachi, the 11th squad captain, blasted off the reiatsu-powered light with his own larger-than-life reiatsu. Amazing man! Ichinose silently apologises to Kariya as, instead of annihilating Ichigo and the rest, he chose to let them escape in favour of fighting Ken-chan and taking his revenge on the despicable man who killed his own taichou. This despicable man who had no goals, who had no sense of justice, who fought to fight.

They battle it out, each pitting his strong reiatsu against the other. Before the end, Ichinose asks why he chose to fight him. Just for the fun of it? Ken-chan subtly makes it known that it is for Ichinose. As they were, each fighting the other, Ichinose choosing to remain...was it not for his own goals, by his own will, finally? Serving Kariya and fighting alongside the Bounto, it is just Kariya's goals that he is carrying out when, all this time, Ichinose has really been getting stronger to fight Ken-chan. So Ken-chan is fulfulling his wish=) When he reaches clarity and finally decides to come at Kenpachi full-force, Kenpachi proves the stronger man, killing Ichinose in one fell swoop. Yachiru looks on and pays her respects to Ichinose (kyaaa~ check out her adorable pink zanpakutou hilt!) before leaving aboard Ken-chan's shoulder.

The golden for the ep was just 4th squad officials having an audience with Hanatarou. He offers his employment papers with a konbini in the real world. The punch line was when the vice pleaded with the taichou to talk to Hanatarou and she asked Hanatarou to please get her some make-up ^_^

Haruka Naru Toki No Naka De: Story 19 "Unstoppable Desire"

2006-10-08T22:50:00.000+13:00

Haruka 20 entitled 'Unstoppable Desire'. Guess whose desire we're talking about here? And for who/what?;)

This ep is centred around the Genbu pair trying to find their seal. Meanwhile, Akram has instructed the demons to place a curse on Kyou. Ikutidal tries to convince Inori to let him see Akane to tell her of Akram's plans. One wonders why he's being so helpful because he really seems honest enough. And we know he expressed his concern about the people of Kyou when talking with Akram. Anyway, during his casting the curse, the Genbu pair battle it out, with Eisen finally using his Hachiyou powers to dispel the curse. And Yasuaki...*phwoarrr*...did you see the way he kicked Ikutidal's sculpted ~~ass~~ derriere?! And without his Hachiyou powers too. I wonder if it comes with being an Onmyouji... The ep also shows how hard the others, but for the Seiryuu pair who have gotten theirs, are searching for their respective seals. Also, Tenma is getting Yorihisa to be more tough with his training.

Anyyyway~ The desire is held by non-other than Eisen-sama! And for our dear miko, Akane-dono=) He who has sought a life of solitude and virtue comes to grips with his falling in love with Akane. Tomomasa, the Emperor's confidant, notices and keeps it in mind to let the Emperor, aka Eisen's brother, know of this little development. It's so cute the way Eisen blushes! Later at his sanctuary, Akane seeks him out and he blurts out the question: is Akane in love with Tenma? Akane is blustering through her surprise, trying to reply, when the whole dilemma with Ikutidal's curse comes about and they rush to the scene. At the end, Eisen looks at the miko and wonders if it's alright for him to fall in love with her...

Cue the pretty melody and 19's proverbial saying=)

And gratuitous shots of Ep 20, which I just had to include! Well, mostly gratuitous shots of Takamichi looking hot as, hence the necessary inclusion;) He looks good with his glasses but *man*, he looks fiiine without them! I think that angered expression he has on helps fan my flames too lol. Because Haruka bishies makes a girl squeal;)

Harukanaru Toki No Naka DeStory 18: "The Fourth Chamberlain and Princess Akane"

2006-10-08T21:29:00.000+13:00

This was one of the funnier eps of Haruka (and set to be one of my faves!). I found myself laughing continually. A change of pace from usual and there wasn't even a sight of Akram or mention of the search for the seals at any point! Sigh, Haruka is sadly underrated! But hey, all the more for me;)

This story centres around the fourth chamberlain and Princess Akane, as is obvious per the title. They are lovers but his parents are hesitant to accept Akane-hime into the family. She is living with her uncle's family and is generally lonely and not well treated. In fact, the uncle goes so far as to foist her off onto this old, rich priest. Akane and Akane-hime meet by chance on her way to visit Ran. Following the fourth chamberlain and the princess a while later, she and the Hachiyou with her figure out their involvement. Tomomasa reiterates when he tells of how the fourth chamberlain actually confronted him to a duel almost when he mistook the mention of Akane-dono to be his Akane. Hehe, boys in love...so cute;)

So, Akane decides to help them out! She enlists the Hachiyou and the chamberlain in a plan to capture Akane-hime on her way to the priest's house. Yorihisa is to be the thief, along with blonde demon-like Shimon. The princess is to make her getaway with the chamberlain with the help of Inori while Tenma and Eisen stand in as fakes for the chamberlain and the princess. Tomomasa provides the alibi (Kyaaa~ Can't help but be reminded of Kakashi;D But make no mistake about it, I love Tomomasa himself;) In fact, I love all my Haruka bishies) and we have our Hachiyou and miko a plan! Needless to say, they succeeded=) Takamichi tracks the people down via his rank. Yasuaki later is invited by the chamberlain's parents to foresee what happens if they accept this woman into their family. He fulfils his part of the plan by saying that they will gain great posperity and fortune in doing so. And later we see the chamberlain holding his dearly beloved's hand in his and they are happy=) They wonder who the Hachiyou are who have helped them achieve their happiness=D

Ahh... I love Haruka bishies;) And equally, I love Haruka chibis! Hehe... There was a surplus in this humorous ep=) Hilarious moments? The time serious Yorihisa is sooo affronted at having to be a thief and staking in his rep as a warrior, then later on passionately declaring he'd give it his all for Akane. Yasuaki monotonously faking the foretelling as per his onmyouji duties during his audience with the chamberlain's parents. The young chamberlain was quite funny as well, especially when all chibi-fied, he vowed to give the plan his best shot! Lol... And what i love about Haruka as well are the proverbial verses they give at the end of an ep (hence I love it when they sub it!=D), in time with the gorgeous opening melody of the end. This one was really sweet...

Grey^s Anatomy Season 3 Episode 03: "Sometimes A Fantasy"

2006-10-08T19:30:00.000+13:00

Grey's Anatomy Ep 3!=D The long and short of it...

Meredith is in bed. Naked. She smiles and turns to kiss Derek good morning. It is a lovely morning... She stretches. Then turns to kiss Finn good morning. Did I say lovely? It is a fantastic morning. As both men reach in to kiss her, a loud thud crashes Mer back to reality. A dream?! A fantasy... The clunking noise is courtesy of a grumpy George, who is expressing to Mer and everyone but Callie that he's not ready for them to move in together. Izzie lets the others know that she's coming in to SG to see the Chief today about getting her internship back (but she ends up lingering in front of the hospital for hours). In fact, Bailey has practically outright told the Chief that it is a personal favour to her to talk to Izzie about all the hurdles involved in getting back into the surgical fold. Cristina thinks Burke is Super-Burke and that he's just milking his injury and not really seeing him as a patient. Mark aka McSteamy is sooo into Addy (now that's another woman it'd be niiice to be=D Except for, you know, the finding of a pair of McPanties in her McHubby's pockets) and he knows they had something, has something as per last season's declaration that he loved her. He knows, or at least is pushing Addy to see that he's no "transcontinental bootie call". Finn and Derek are all boys with their toys, each trying to one-up each other in their quest to court Mer. From "dating is fun", Mer is driven crazy by their antics and tells them she wants them to be looking at her, not each other!

The med front... There's a girl Alex admits who is a foster child. She came in with a huge, ugly gash on her leg in need of stitches. He notices other bruises and cuts and *shock, horror* a deep cut on the inside of her arm that has been freaking stapled together!! So, he immediately jumps to the understandable conclusion that this poor girl has been abused. But she denies this vehemently, instead telling him a secret: she has superpowers. She's always getting beaten up because she protects the weak and one time, just to convince a guy of her superpowers, she let him punch her 25 times in the stomach and once with a baseball bat. She doesn't feel the pain when she removes the staples crudely from her gash. When doing the cold pressure test, she is revealed to have an abnormally high pain threshold! On imaging, the docs discover massive internal bleeding because of all the trauma, what with the punching of her stomach. They deduce that she has a genetic condition that makes her less responsive to pain at a normal level, and because she's been bounced around foster homes so much, it wasn't discovered earlier. Needless to say, they cleared her foster parents of abuse. The little girl has the whole hospital looking for her when she refuses to go under the knife, fearing that she'd lose her superpowers and her foster parents wouldn't want her anymore=( Alex finally finds her and tells her that she may not have superpowers, but she's still a hero and who wouldn't want a hero for a kid=)

Callie aka Dr. Torres has an ortho patient who's in for an ankle replacement. This'll be his 4th surgery in such a short period of time that George doesn't quite agree with this. He brings it up with Callie, expressing his opinion that he doesn't agree with the concept of letting a man run his joints ragged then just giving a quick-fix, only to have him ruin it again. Callie feels that if they can do wonders, why shouldn't they? So, George takes him up on his earlier request to meet the guy who's his cadaver donor. When looking at a young dude who died on the op table due to complications for lipo, the patient remarks that he didn't think the dude would have lipo. George not-so-subtly remarks that lots of people have procedures they don't need. But that's not his guy, this is, and he reveals a body in storage with a flourish. The patient is aghast: why would he get such an old donor?! He is even more aghast when George reveals that this super old-looking guy is actually 2 years younger than he is. Needless to say, the patient self-discharges. Callie is furious. She arranges for George to see a super-cool surgery and he meddles?! George is obviously still stewing about the whole living arrangement thing and they have an argument. He says that she's always moving at warp speed and inadvertently blurts out that he isn't ready for them to move in together. Callie is disgusted and says that he should've mentioned that the first few gazillion times she'd asked so she could tell him that she wasn't either and she'd look for her own place in a week. George feels the guilt...

Another patient has seizures and is to undergo a corpus callosotomy to repair this. He wants to go through with the op despite his wife's misgivings because he wants to be able to take care of their baby. Heartbreakingly, after the procedure, he is unable to form the words to identify things around him. Even his wife and, even worse, his baby's name, eludes him. This is normal post this procedure and it will take a while for new connections to be made but he needs his wife's support. Cristina takes this in and we see later when she comes home that she slaps 3 pieces of whole chicken on the kitchen counter. She hacks neatly through the middle of one and tosses a suture kit from her bag and tells Burke curtly to put it back together. She finally understands that Burke is depressed but she's not about to let him rot either. She's offering her support this way and hopefully, Burke'll go on to get his strength and dexterity back=) Izzie is still standing outside come evening and Alex goes to her on his way out. He recalls what Bailey said earlier about the little girl being a poster child to show that pain is important. Pain is necessary. Pain is there for a reason. Alex asks Izzie where it hurts and she says, "Everywhere". He takes her home. We see Addy, Callie, Richard and Mark all checking in to the same hotel. Neither sees each other except Richard who makes small talk with Dr. Sloane, asking him what he's doing in Seattle. Chief, I presume he's still after Addy;) And in Mer's room, she shares the strawberry ice-cream Finn gave her (when he date-crashed ala boys-with-their-toys again to take revenge against Derek's lunch actions) with Izzie and George.

Next ep: Episode 04 "What I Am". Addy doubts her abilities as a doc, Cristina pushes Burke's rehab, one of the interns have their own medical emergency and Izzie gets the surprise of her life! Don't miss out! Not that I ever need to tell you guys;)

Some McFamily-out-shopping photos! McDreamy buys organic. Is it any surprise?;)

HachiKuro II Chapter 12 ~Season Finale~ "With Honey And Clover"

2006-10-08T01:42:00.000+13:00

The last ep of HachiKuro! I finally got around to watching it... Lol, catching up is a slooow process when you're swamped with work and your 24 hours are limited. I don't follow HachiKuro manga so I don't know whether this is the end the end, since I didn't know HachiKuro II would be happening, but if I'm not mistaken, I remember reading somewhere that this is the end? Well, maybe the manga-readers can clarify this for me=)

Anywho~ This season has been more mature, for lack of a better word. 12 leaves off from 11 where there is again an awesome Morita and Hagu moment! You understand that Hagu is in love with Morita and Morita is in love with Hagu but Hagu chooses Shuu-chan, not because she doesn't love Morita but because she chose drawing really. A strong woman=) At the end of the ep, Morita leaves a fabulously huge pile of cash at Shuu-chan's door and gets him to confess (to Hamabi as well inadvertently!) that he loves Hagu! I'm still not clear whether he loves loves Hagu (is it ok?!) but I'm getting the feeling that's the sort of love we're dealing with here.

Especially when 12 opens with Ayu in shock, confronting Shuu-chan. Mayama flies in from Spain, having heard the news from Tange-sensei. Later when Ayu and Mayama talk, she questions whether she may have done something unnecessary in bringing Morita into the picture. She thought Hagu was in love with him but she chose...Shuu-chan? Mayama sagely says that Hagu is in love with Morita, but perhaps her purpose in life is not love, but to accomplish something. And we know this; art is Hagu's life. Rika and Shuu-chan have a moment when she visits their old place that he is leaving due to his Hagu-rehab-induced sabbatical.

Kaoru is looking for a house, and it turns out to be his and Morita's childhood abode. It has been leased for next to nothing to the family of the man he took revenge on by ejecting him out of their father's old company. He sees their family together-ness and realises that this is Morita and Shiroyama's doing and I think, comes to terms with what really matters in life. He calls up Shiroyama and tells him he's coming back. And Morita walks in to the cafeteria (?) to see him eat kare, what their father used to celebrate with=D Later that night, they talk into the early hours of morning at their secret base. Morita says he plans to join Peter Lucas' company, that he enjoys it there and tells of how happy their team is. Kaoru asks what of the girl i.e. Hagu? Morita talks of what she said to him, of how she is a strong woman who saw that he was on the verge of abandoning everything (during that super MoritaxHagu moment!!=D) and tells him not to run away, even if it's easier. That she will watch him...forever. Something about that makes a guy feel he has to do his best, Morita says. As light filters through their blinds, both men start to understand what their father meant about heading to the light.

At Shuu-chan's place after spring has come, the gang are together minus Morita. Takemoto and Hagu have graduated and they are watching a tv show starring Peter Lucas and Morita. They talk of how this is the last time they'll be together, what with Takemoto leaving to join the temple restorers, and there is an awkward silence. Hagu and Takemoto are sent out for ice-cream and the remaining 3 express how close they came to tears. On Takemoto's bike, he and Hagu talk and he assuages Hagu's fears that she won't be able to return anything to Shuu-chan. He says Shuu-chan is a strong man and what he needs he will find. She says that the temples he will be restoring are very lucky. The next day, it is Takemoto aboard the Shinkansen to Morioka. Hagu shows up with a furoshiki containing...something. Takemoto greets her at the door of the train and hugs her. The train leaves. He opens the furoshiki and there are pancakes/sandwiches. He lifts a slice to see a spread of honey with a four-leaved clover in the centre. He lifts the next layer and the next, and he spots a four-leaved clover adorning the centre of all the slices. Takemoto is moved to tears and finds an answer to the question that has been grappling him. Is there meaning to a failed love? Is something that will disappear the same as something that never existed? Now he knows, there is a meaning. There was a meaning (in his heart?) and he's glad he fell in love with Hagu=)

Sigh~ And owari, to the best of my knowledge. The seiyuu for Takemoto did a pretty good job (his original seiyuu was involved in an accident) but it was a little weird, trying to get used to the different voice. The closing scenes show what goes on to happen. Mayama and Rika happy in Spain. Ayu seems to be moving on with Nomiya =D =D =D Kaoru seems to have got his mojo back and Morita is still the CG artist with Peter Lucas' company (check out his and Kaoru's identical grins!=D) Shuu-chan is overseeing Hagu's recovery. She is working with clay like the doctor said would help her in her recovery. And Takemoto is working with the temple restorers he met while on that long solo soul-searching bike ride he embarked on last season. He says that while memories will come to fade, that one memory of all of them searching for a four-leaved clover together will forever remain a bittersweet one for him... *sigh* I feel like I'm letting go of someone close! But I think that this is the end. It says end and they have that credit thing after that which I can't recall them doing for last season. Plus, I'm not sure where they can go from there anyway. Ahh well, we'll see... And it was an awesome journey=D

Naruto Moving Special! Revealing Episode! Ninja^s Sweat and Tears Best Five There^s Also a Guest Appearance Special!

2006-10-07T18:57:00.000+13:00

Okay, so this is the unofficial Ep 202 of the Naruto series so does that make it 201.5?! Hehe who knows, but well, this special is to celebrate (and probably remind viewers ^_~) the move to Thursdays at 7.30 Japan time commencing on the 5th of the 10th with a 90-min 3-ep special!=)

Nothing much to say about this ep... Naruto and Sakura are our host and hostess for the special and it takes us through the top 5 battles in the Naruto world as we know it, as voted by loyal viewers!=D

5. Naruto vs. Sasuke ~Konoha's Rooftop~
4. Chouji vs. Jiroubou ~Fatty vs Fatty~
3. Kiba & Akamaru vs. Ukon & Sakon ~Howl! Two-headed Wolf~
2. Hyuuga Neji vs. Kidoumaru ~Byaakugan vs. Kumo Nenkin~
1. Sasuke vs. Naruto ~The End's Ravine~

And some Side Battles (Best Fights Not In Ranking Order) which show-cased the awesome Kakashi vs. Zabuza Wave Arc and the silly Kakashi vs. Gai Janken match hehe. (Warning: gush sesh coming up... Ok, I'm going to go on a little tangent... We know that Kaka's HOT but say that Kaka was real, he'd be a perfect example of my favourite type. He's tall but not too tall, he's lean but not narrow, he's muscled for function but not too brawny. Mmm, and even though he's not dark-haired, his silver hair is pretty nice ^_^ And Inoue Kazuhiko (I prefer to think of it as solely Kakashi the character though...)'s voice is sex-yyy~ ;D)

The little special guest appearance...guess who?;) Well, first we have the reporter on the scene, none other than Jiraiya-sama! And he's in a strange place... And he presents to us...Orochimaru! In the spirit of the special, he tried to get Sasuke to feature in the ep but Sasuke didn't respond. And then we see a grumpy Sasuke chiding Orochimaru and saying he'd meet him at the dojo, in a scene reminiscent of the manga! (Off the top of my head, was it Ch. 307? Not sure...)

And that sums it up! Next is the 90-min special with eps 202, 203 and 204 back to back! The Decisive Battle of Love And Hate Between Teacher And Student, Jounin And Genin Cut Loose and Go Wild!=D

Lost Season 3 Episode 01: A Tale Of Two Cities

2006-10-07T01:07:00.000+13:00

Ooh~ Back to back Lost!;) Well, here now we have the much-awaited season 3 premiere! "A Tale of Two Cities" is a change of pace from life lost and confused on the mysterious island in the eyes of the survivors of 815. Now they are lost and confused but in the realms of the Others, who are much less so.

The scene opens with a woman upset, cheering herself up by singing along to the music playing, as she goes about her business. It all seems very normal, very ordinary, very suburban... So just why are we watching her and her book club blathering on about bad books and Ben, who I presume is the reason she's upset. A lover's tiff? A break-up? Oh well... And then her house starts to shake and after the shaking subsided, the book club went outside to check out what's happening. Wait, is that creepy Ethan?! And hey, it's Henry Gale stepping out of that house yonder! What is going on? The Others' pasts eh? So we join them as they look out at the sky in puzzlement and we see the source of the commotion: a plane is flying past, lower than usual. The plane tears apart and there's smoke and the tail and fuselage lands on 2 different sites on the island. Henry dispatches Ethan and Goodwin to the site and pose as fellow survivors, if there are any. Ahh, so it's all tying in now... Henry walks up to the upset lady from before and looks at the book in her arms. You can feel their tension. I presume he is the reason for her being upset, ergo that would make him Ben? We'll see.

The lady's name is Juliet and she gently tries to get an imprisoned Jack to abide by her rules. She gives him food if he promises to behave. The first time, he doesn't and attacks her as she makes her way from the other side of the Plexiglass to open the door to his "room". He jumps on her and the plate of food shatters to the floor and he creatively uses a shard of the broken plate to threaten her neck. He forces her out and gets her to open a door. She refuses saying that if she did, they would die. Henry materializes out of nowhere and agrees. So he told Henry that if she didn't, he'd kill her. And Henry says go ahead, because if that door is opened, they'd all die anyway. And I swear there's a moment between Henry and Juliet. Hmm, I guess they're giving us hints... Jack, as stubborn as ever, opens the door. Water gushes out and Juliet gets him to press the emergency button which drains the water before knocking him out. He comes to and we know that they are underwater in another one of the Dharma Initiative's stations: the Hydra. We learn Juliet is a doctor.

The flashback shows Jack growing obsessed with Sarah and their divorce, and more importantly, the man she is with. He even goes so far as to call all the names on her phone list because one of them is him. When he finds out that she's called Christian, his father, he questions why that is. His dad says that Sarah called him for help because of Jack's obsession. Later when Jack sees Christian laughing and talking on his cell phone, he follows his dad to a hotel and barges into the room his dad entered. He confronts his dad with his worst fear: his father is the other man. But it turns out that he has barged in on an AA meeting and the co-ordinator said that his dad has managed to be sober for 50 days, for which they're proud. Jack scornfully talks about his dad's boozing and how maybe the reason for his abstinence is because of his new lady friend before storming off, his father calling after him. Later, we see he is in jail and Sarah has come to bail him out. He is ashamed and when chasing her out, he sees the other man (not Christian) and demands Sarah to tell him who that guy is. She is in tears and said that she came because Christian called her. And she could hardly understand him because he was so drunk. Heart-breaking=( In the present time, when Juliet asks him if he'd like to know something (she has this huge folder on his life - the Others are damn freaky. Although, Juliet seems pretty accessible so far.), he just asks if Sarah is happy now instead of his name like we'd expect. Juliet says yes and he cries, breaking down as he agrees to play by Juliet's rules.

Meanwhile, earlier on, Kate has been asked to shower and wear a dress before being brought to a nicely laid-out breakfast table by the sea. There's Henry and he tells her to put on handcuffs. When she prods him about where her clothes are and everything, he tells her they burned the clothes. He tells her that she's there so she can feel calmed and look out at the sea and feel comforted that Jack and Sawyer are alright somewhere, looking at the sea too. He tells her that he gave her that dress to wear so that she would feel like a lady. Because the next two weeks are set to be hell. Sawyer has been locked in a cage with a food dispenser (?!) which he manages to get a fish biscuit and grains plus some water out of after figuring out the way it worked. Across from his cage is another cage where a young guy is locked in. When this guy tries to escape, he picks Sawyer's lock too and tells him to run. But they get caught. Juliet shoots the dart that they used in the season finale to subdue the 4 and he falls to the ground, writhing, before being dumped unceremoniously back in his cage. Later, we see Kate being brought to occupy the recently vacated cage across from Sawyer's. She looks so upset and Sawyer looks heart-broken to see her upset. He asks her if she's hungry and tosses her the fish biscuit.

From before, as Jack is crying and leaning against the back wall, we see Juliet stepping out from the room behind the Plexiglass, about to bring some food to Jack. When she steps out, who is there but Henry. He tells her that she did a good job. She simply replies, "Thank you...Ben." Well, that settles it. He is Ben. And those 3 have got it rough eh?=(

Next ep: Episode 02 "The Glass Ballerina"

Now, let's discuss what has been bothering me personally... Where is my Rodrigo?!

The Mystery of My Missing Hottie

Okay, I should explain. I've been excited for ages now since I learned a few months ago that my beloved Rodrigo Santoro would be part of the Lost cast! *squeal* A reason to melt into a puddle of bliss in front of my screen;) So then when this episode started rolling, I catch sight of his name in the starring list as plain and sigh-inducing as day.

But I watch the entire ep with eyes wide open and he never even materializes! Sob sob sob. Sooo I figured if he was credited, he simply has to have featured at some point, right?! So I play the ep over again and watched like a hawk. I figure he can only be one of the Others, and must feature minutely in one of the scenes with the Others. And finally, I centre in on some blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenes that could be him. It was hard to take screenies because "he" seriously just whizzed by! There was never a clear shot to indicate that yes, this is the man I've been waiting for. But yeah, I think that the guy in yellow that tanned girl is talking to is him. He also features as a blur behind Juliet in the last 2 screenies. Of course, I can't be sure but I'm going to think so for tonight;) The best shot I have is the one where he's talking to the tanned girl and it kinda looks like him;D

On imdb, someone had written that he's going to feature in 4 eps (so far?), one saying his name is Neil on "The Glass Ballerina" ,which was written as Ep 3 of the season, and another saying he's Paulo (which sounds far more likely) on "Further Instructions" which is slated to be Ep2. He obviously can't be both (unless he lies about his name or something in Others-esque fashion) but, short of watching the eps or being in the Lost loop, there's no way of knowing for certain. We don't know how right the source is because, while the summary that Sayyid puts Jin and Sun's life on the line when trying to determine Jack's location is true, "The Glass Ballerina" is the next ep, not the 3rd. The only thing that's against my theory that he's the guy in yellow and one of the Others is that back when I heard he was going to be one of the cast, he was supposed to be one of the background survivors with 2 other females and they're meant to have been on the island all this time. He's supposed to be attached to one (Kiele Sanchez) and her name appeared on the premiere's starring list too (the tanned girl?). Rodrigo said, "I'm going to be one of the survivors from the plane that apparently was on the island all this time. I'm going to be a character with a past." So hmm? It doesn't sound like he's been there all this time as one of the Others... I was actually under the impression that he's one of the 48 survivors. Ack, I really don't know. Maybe their names just appeared prematurely? Wait and see I guess... I think he's meant to appear early on so I'm thrilled and waiting for that!;)

What could he be doing on Lost? Threatening to de-throne the yummy Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox?;) Well, maybe, maybe not. Writer Damon Lindelof says not to necessarily expect to see him as the show's 'new hunk': "On [Lost], what you see is never what you get. We also think he is an incredibly talented actor. He's a guy who's perfect for Lost because he's a face that the American audience is not familiar with, but he's been in the business long enough, you know, [that he's also] an awesome actor that makes some really interesting choices. And he's certainly not interested in being the hunk on the show, nor are we interested in writing that for him. Although I think when people start to see him and surmise what role he's going to play on the show, that's the place they're going to go to. 'More eye candy for Lost!'"

The reason why Rodrigo is one of my most favourite guys to love is not just because of his extreme hot-ness, although he is that gorgeous. He's also humble and not bothered about being a big stud. He's successful and famous and rich but he tries to remain calm and humble. He still meditates and does sports when he can and he refuses to move to LA. He treasures his home, his shelter: Rio de Janeiro, where he can listen to The Doors, read Shakespeare and watch movies starring his favourite actors. He's too cool for school. I think that's my thing. Hehe, because my list includes the likes of Takeshi and Johnny Depp. Too cool to care about silly things=) I love that. And he's the exact type I like too (okay, if you haven't noticed, I have a gush sesh going on so you can divert your attentions if you feel so inclined ^_~): he's tall which I really like, but not too tall. He's lean but not narrow and muscled for function and not packed, which I also really appreciate. Plus, he's damn bishie!=D And yet masculine. Another of my ideals met. Ahh...I could go on but just in case any of you are still reading lol, I'll spare you and instead leave a pretty pic to feast on=D

Lost Season 3 Episode 00: A Tale of Survival

2006-10-06T23:36:00.000+13:00

This was a recap pre-season 3 just to refresh our memories about the goings-on of seasons 1 & 2 past. Briefly, let's remember what's happened in the world of Lost!

Oceanic Flight 815 famously crashed on a strange island with mysterious "powers". 48 people on board the middle of the plane landed on the beach on one end i.e. Dr. Jack and his fellow Losties and a minority landed on the other side i.e. Ana Lucia and the Tailies! On Jack and crew's side, they discovered a hatch and Locke is convinced that it was destiny that they crashed there to open the hatch. Jack is skeptical typical of the classic Science versus Faith conundrum. Desmond has been in that hatch entering a set of numbers with freaky connotations. Locke is eager to relieve him and Desmond leaves. They find a tape made by the Dharma Initiative explaining that they needed to enter in the set of numbers within 4 mins every 108 minutes or something bad will happen. So they've been doing that... Crazy kids=) Michael couldn't stand the thought of Walt growing up on the island and decided to build a raft to get them off the island, helped out by Jin and Sawyer. They set sail and were euphoric when they bumped into a nearby boat. That is, until they proved to be the baddies and stole Walt before blowing up their raft and landing a shot at Sawyer. The rafties came to shore a while after and met up with the tailies. They explained the other group's existence on the other side and they travelled to the other side and both groups were re-united=)

Michael goes crazy with Walt missing and while on shift one day, a message popped up on the computer claiming to be Walt! Is it a trap set by the tailie-dubbed "The Others"? He stole some guns, locking in Jack and Locke, and set out to find Walt. He was caught by The Others. Jack and a few others had a meeting with some of The Others and were told in no uncertain terms to hand over their weapons and keep away. That the only reason they're alive is because they let them live. It is their island so don't cross "this line". The survivors capture a self-claimed fellow survivor named Henry and they lock him up, suspecting him to be one of The Others! Is he? When he beat up a taunting Ana Lucia, he tellingly rants about how she killed two of their "good people" so i guess he is! Locke discovers a map of other stations on the island that time he was trapped and heard a weird voice over the speakers and the lights going out. His curiosity about the map led him and Eko to a discovery of another station, The Pearl, whose role was to observe their hatch's behaviour! Along with Henry saying he never pushed the button, Locke's faith is crashed when he feels idiotic for having pushed the button for so long! He printed out that station's log.

Back at the camp of The Others, Michael is teased with a short audience with Walt and was told that he would let him have Walt back if he brought 4 people there: Kate Austen, James Ford, Jack Shephard, Hugo Reyes. A crazy trigger-happy Michael shoots Ana Lucia and Libby when he comes back to their camp to execute his plan. He tells the chosen 4 about how he found them and how they should go and get Walt. The 4 agree and leave with Michael. But a suspicious Sayyid made a plan with Jack that he'd go by sea and scout the camp of The Others; how many? armed? and the like, and then send a signal to Jack. But it was too late when he discovered that the camp was deserted! Michael had succeeded in delivering his friends to The Others, who subdued the 4 and brought them back to wherever. Traitor Michael=( Meanwhile, on the day of Ana and Libby's funeral, a boat comes into sight. It is Desmond! Locke tells him that what he'd been doing for the past 3 years, pushing that damn button, it was all trickery! Not real! He shows the log to Desmond during their experiment to see what would happen if the button doesn't get pushed and the timer actually went down to zero. Desmond looks on in horror when he spots the familiar "System Failure" message on the log that appeared on his screen that fateful day he ventured out and left pushing-the-button for too long. It was on September 22! The day of their crash and he was convinced that he must have crashed their plane and that they should push the button because it's all real! You see, pushing the button stops the huge magnet in their hatch from building up force, neutralising it's effect, hence "saving the world".

When they let the timer go down to zero and the hieroglyphics show up, Desmond heads off to the failsafe to turn the key and save them all. He tells Locke that while he doesn't know what made Locke lose his faith, the whole thing is real. When he turns the key, a huge explosion and a blinding light goes off across the island. We see the captives and The Others on the other side. The leader of The Others turn out to be Henry! They keep their word and let Michael and Walt go with means of getting to rescue. Hurley was let free to tell the rest of the camp that "they can never come here". The other 3 are to be going home with The Others. *Shudder*.

"And so it goes... People lost in their journey, lost in their lives. But this island provides opportunity. Some may rise, some may fall. And you wonder: who will lose faith? Who will survive? And who really are the good guys?"

The ultimate cosplay...So excited!=D

2006-10-06T18:52:00.000+13:00

My beloved NANA... I have a huge cynicism threshold when it comes to live-actions, particularly when it comes to stuff I love to the point of obsessionI have a huge cynicism threshold when it comes to live-actions, particularly when it comes to stuff I love to the point of obsession. The morbid curiosity incited by cosplay that shouldn't be translated to the real world... The straying-from-the-actual-plot that piques my annoyance and frustration... Let's just say it isn't very pretty. So it is with understandable doubt and a huge dose of cringe-worthy apprehension that I jacked up the volume on my player and sat back to enjoy the first movie. Hey, I'm optimistic enough and as I think I might have mentioned previously, I adore any fresh shipment of my love-cum-obsessions in all their shapes, sizes and audiovisual delights. And I loved it. It moved me to tears! Granted, I'm so biased, the level of bias goes off the scales, but I honestly thought that they didn't do too bad a job. I was pleased with my sub and I quite enjoyed watching the live cosplay of sorts lol. I think that to really approve of a live-action...

1. I usually have to approve of the plot and I know that's what anime's for, but I can't take live-actions seriously if they stray too far off the plot! A little tweaking for a standard movie time-frame and to meet the limitations of the real world is acceptable but it has to be understandable in the eyes of us fans.

2. Approve of the cast. In terms of looks and how well they suit the characters, the way they act, and matching the way they're supposed to interact with each other. So obviously, to play Hachi, say, she's got to be cute but not outstandingly gorgeous, small-framed and importantly, manage to portray all the character traits that make up Hachi: her fan-girling, her naivete, her child-like qualities, her loneliness, her selfishness, her wackiness, her hyper-activeness, her puppiness...lol the list could write itself for hours on end. All that is important to make the character believable. And what I mean by how characters are supposed to interact with each other, I not only mean the obvious character dynamics, like how the 2 Nanas are with each other or how Blast are together or how Nobuo is towards Nana O versus Takumi and things like that, but also the obvious aesthetics, like how we can't have Hachi be taller than Yasu or Nana O be more fleshy than Nana K or how Shin can't be built too big! I could go on...

3. Great acting! Duh, this is a total pre-requisite! We've got to make a movie here;) Director's capabilities and excellent script goes hand in hand here too.

4. And an extra for a music-oriented package like NANA is the need for awesome music that steps up to the NANA plate! So pleased that Mika Nakashima and their Blast as well as the fabulously amazing voice of Yuna Ito and their Trapnest don't disappoint!=D

And all this combined should give a fan a sense of fufilment and satisfaction...give us the same feeling we get when we usually indulge in their world. And that is how a fangirl is sated=D

So the reason for my current bout of i-love-love-looooooove-my-NANA fangirling at this very moment in time? *Sighhh* The press-conference pics for the second movie is out! The roadshow is on 9.12 and none of us fans will be forgetting that date any time soon will we? There exists some reasons for disappointment peppered throughout the year for us fans and equally, there are reasons to overcome the disappointment we experienced with the first movie. We'll miss Aoi Miyazaki for Hachi but maybe Yui Ichikawa can portray her well=) Matsuda Ryuuhei has been replaced and while I wasn't truly satisfied with him as Ren at first, he grew on me. And I guess only the film reel can convince me that Nobuo Kyou can truly play Ren because the stills don't tell me much about how satisfied I'll be with his height or bishie-ness yet hehe...but then again, I'm easily convinced and I'm not familiar with Nobuo Kyou and I've only seen this one set of stills;)

Hongo Kanata will replace Kenichi Matsuyama as Shin and will be more believable I think=) Because while Kenichi Matsuyama makes an excellent L for Death Note, he was too big and much older-looking than expected for a 15-year old pretty boy. Hongo Kanata's delicate-ness and teenage years should portray the decadence of his relationship with Reira. I always wondered about the choice of Reira because I thought Olivia would be more suitable but Yuno Ito does have that excellent Reira-esque voice as well... And I suppose Reira is supposed to look pretty Japanese query mixed and Olivia looks totally mixed if not completely gaijin. I totally loved Mika Nakashima as Nana O. She was Nana to the stick-thinness! My only grievance was that her eye-makeup should be more dramatic to suit the role. Well, she'll be back as we all know! She is quite the big star;) And what completely satisfies me and incites my blissful squeals and sighs is that TetsuTama (back during NANA 1, I learned of his role to my pleasant pleasant surprise!) will still be playing the role of my most beloved Takumi!=D *sigh* Had enough fangirling?;) Hehe well then let's indulge in some press-conference highlights, shall we? (Hiroki Narimiya's hair looks spikier than in the last movie. Hope this means that the new movie shows Nobu-worthy spiky hair!=D)

And some scenes from the much-awaited movie!!=D Kyaaa~~~ Trapnest performance! A vid?

The big 2-2!

2006-10-05T14:20:00.000+13:00

Okay okay, so it isn't actually a milestone as the world knows it per se, but hey I've lived another year, been through a lot, learned many things (hopefully some sticks!;D) and most importantly, it's that day of the year again that reminds you that you are loved! (Okay, so in this case, it's a day that reminds me that I am loved but you know how to apply it to your own lovely self=D)

Anyway, with all the well-wishers and happiness-infused greetings, I decided to scour some birthday trivia to carve a niche for this celebratory post in the blog. For instance, did you know that the most common birthday in the USA is October 5, whereas the least common birthday is May 22. Fascinating! In early human cultures, birthdays were not celebrated since there were no calendars to enable accurate recording of one's age. With it's emergence, Egyptian, Chinese, and Roman societies began to recognize the birthdays of royalty and other important figures. Some historians suggest that this is the reason why, even today, the birthday boy will often wear a crown whilst a birthday girl might wear a tiara to celebrate!

There exists the concept of East Asian age reckoning where a newborn starts life as 1 year old, and subsequent New Years' add a year to their non-Gregorian age. In Japan, for example, the word sai (歳 or 才) is used as a counter word for both the traditional and modern age system. The traditional system of age reckoning i.e. kazoedoshi (数え年), was made obsolete by law come 1902 when Japan officially adopted the western system i.e. man nenrei (満年齢). In 1950, however, another law was established to encourage people to use the western system since the kazoedoshi was still so widely used. Today kazoedoshi is used mainly by the elderly and otherwise, it's use is limited to traditional ceremonies, divinations, and obituaries.

And the Birthday Paradox?! Well, in probability theory, the birthday paradox states that given a group of 23 (or more) randomly chosen people, the probability is > 50% that at least two of them will have the same birthday, and this is a paradox, not in the sense of leading to a logical contradiction, because mathematical calculations contradict naive intuition: it can't be > 50%, surely much lower a probability! Calculating this probability = birthday problem. The mathematics behind it has been used to devise a well-known cryptographic attack known as the birthday attack! Wow~

“Happy Birthday To You” a.k.a. “The Birthday Song” a.k.a "most popular song ever" as declared by the Guinness book of World Records, was written by sisters Mildred & Patti Hill. The tune came from a song they composed in the 1890s, but Patti changed the lyrics and copyrighted the song in 1935. The copyright survives to this day and still generates royalties any time the song is performed on radio or TV. Imagine the riches;)

Did you know that back in the Middle Ages, the English used to put a variety of symbolic items like gold coins, rings, and thimbles inside their birthday cakes? Find the coin, and you'd be wealthy. Find the thimble, and you'd never marry. (No thimbles in my cake please!;D) Did you know that back in 1989 on this day, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination of Tibet? Did you know that in some schools, a half-birthday or unbirthday is sometimes celebrated for those whose birthdays do not fall on a school day (especially vacation periods). That all racehorses traditionally celebrate their birthday on 1 August in the Southern Hemisphere, and on 1 January in the Northern Hemisphere?

And we know about birth stones (opal & pink tourmaline ) and zodiac stones (peridot) but did you know that the day you were born gets a special little trinket too (Born on Friday so I get a topaz...)? And what about birth flowers?! October gets Marigold/Calendula (used to show sacred affection! It's creation was recounted in the myth of Clytie and Apollo) and the Cosmos (symbolizes peace, modesty, creation and wholeness. And Cosmos are meant to be very fragrant. Apparently the chocolate cosmos even smells like their divine namesake that we know and love!)

So there you have it. Today, as is everyday (since someone's sure to be celebrating a birthday as we know it=D) is a constellation of many wonderful things that make it special! ~Happy birthday~ to all the other 5 Oct-ies out there! May you be blessed!=D

Naruto Manga Chapter 326: "The Cursed One"

2006-10-05T12:40:00.000+13:00

Another excitingly fast-paced and disappointingly too-short chapter from our Kishi! "The Cursed One" continues from where we left off last chappie with Asuma slicing Hidan's head off only for the Konoha shinobi to be left stunned when Hidan opens his mouth, which is attached to his decapitated supposedly left-for-dead head, to verbalize. We knew it wouldn't be that simple though, with all the hints of Akatsuki's Hidan being seemingly immortal.

So...let's get down and dirty shall we?

Kakuzu is still holding Hidan's dismembered head, Hidan still has his freaky reverse-print self going on, the Konoha shinobi are still stunned, and the fight must go on! Shika is up to his limit, Asuma-taichou's injured... Izumo and Kotetsu surmise that with Hidan out of the picture, the odds should still be in their favour though. That is until, as they watch in horror, Kakuzu unceremoniously reunites Hidan's severed head with his neck and proceeds to sew them back together! Just what are these two?! Well, we learn that Kakuzu sure has some domestic prowess there;)

Izumo and Kotetsu charges. Kotetsu wields this cool seashell-like multiple-horned weapon while Izumo casts a Suiton Jutsu ("Ensnaring Syrup Trap"/"Liquid Glue Field"). Their attack is basically: Izumo traps opponent (i.e. Kakuzu) via his glue field, and Kotetsu charges with the ferocious-looking weapon at the trapped opponent (i.e. Kakuzu). It doesn't quite work as planned, however, when the extent of Kakuzu's domestic inclinations unveil themselves as his forearms un-stitch and extend by tough threads to grasp a stunned Izumo and Kotetsu by their necks in a choke-hold.

Meanwhile, Hidan is battling it out with Asuma (surprised he didn't go straight into threatening Shika's hide!) and Shika is just stuck on the floor, at his limit, watching on helplessly. Asuma smirks and mocks Hidan's stale attacks when Hidan reminds him that the reason he keeps doing the same thing is "because it works, retard!". Asuma's expression changes to one of horror when he realizes that Hidan has managed to nick him and get his blood into the ritual circle. And that he's coughing up blood as he registers the sensation of pain. Hidan does have his three-blade impaled through his own torso, after all, and the whole mutual pain thing seems to be back in action. Which does not bode well at all as Hidan yells out that he's about to make Asuma feel the ultimate pain...death! Izumo and Kotetsu can only whisper "Captain..." in horror as Kakuzu smirks, "Too late". Shika forces himself up and begins running towards Hidan and Asuma, yelling, "Stoppp!!!". But Hidan doesn't stop. He drives his weapon through himself in a final blow and leaves a hell of a cliffie!! Kishi, you cruel, cruel man...

Aghhh, I knew I had a bad feeling about Asuma possibly dying=( I'm still hoping that it isn't going to turn out that way. That, despite the way the odds are stacked, something will come through! Maybe Asuma isn't actually under the influence of Hidan's jutsu and everything post-"The same thing again?" is an act. And aren't Konoha expecting reinforcements?! I guess we can only find out come next chapter which, hopefully, doesn't disappoint!=D (Huhu~ No Konoha deaths please! Or Itachi! Hehe I know he isn't even in the frame but just in case=p)

PS: It seems that Naruto Buzz is taking over Jinchuuriki's projects. Ah, so that's why they've been out of the pic! This week's scan is mq and it doesn't have that surreal almost-greyscale effect as per last chapter's but hey, it's the manga I'm after;) And this clean is really pretty good! And on a totally different note, Sassy-chan has decided to turn her balance-themed one-shot into a fic!=D Loved the first chp~

Desperate Housewives Season 3 Episode 02: "It Takes Two"

2006-10-04T21:19:00.000+13:00

"The perfect couple. We've all met them, haven't we? That man and woman so clearly made for each other, we feel certain they're on the road to happiness. But that road has many detours, and even perfect couples can find themselves at a dead-end."

And so Mary Alice's disembodied monologue starts DH 3x02! Bree's bridesmaids, aka Gaby, Susan and Lynette practise their bridesmaids' tact when dealing with the various jobs Bree has assigned them to. Bree's wedding is in 2 weeks and Susan feels that Bree should talk to Orson, postpone the wedding, just clear evrything up and don't make the biggest mistake of her life! When Bree overhears her passionate opinion, Susan cleverly covers up her blunder by "confessing" to their hideous key-lime bridesmaid dresses as being Bree's possible biggest mistake. Susan and Ian go out for a date and things are getting off to a charming start when, uh-oh, Jane (Ian's comatose wife)'s parents materialize in the exact same restaurant! Ian panics and creates a huge hole when he declares Susan to be a new neuro-specialist on Jane's team! He really shouldn't have when they only assumed she was someone working in his publishing place=p (Hilarious moment: Susan hearing her phone"vibrating" to make a getaway. Stat!) Ian, Ian...tsk~ Later on, Susan says that he must have panicked because part of him still feels like he's cheating on Jane and is surprised when Ian confesses that he has thought of her as more than just a friend for a while now. When he doesn't want to just be friends, Susan decides to cut ties with Ian. Bree firmly believes and stands by Orson, even when he tells her that he would understand if she wanted to back out of marrying someone "under a cloud". The police investigate a body they found, which was perfectly preserved due to having been buried in clay, and attempt to discover who it is. Tellingly, the female corpse had all her teeth taken out. Ooo~~

Lynette is going crazy over Nora's inserting himself into their family life and is oh-so-relieved when Nora finds a trucker boyfriend who really isn't all that awesome and freaks when she breaks up with the guy. Being in charge of Bree's seating plans, she invites Nora and dumps her on a table with a lot of single friends of Tom's. Edie threatens to shoot an intruder (she has fire-arms! Wisteria Lane is really not as idyllic as it seems! But we already knew that ^_~) who turns out to be her nephew, Austin. He meets Julie and oooh, the chemistry. They have a less than friendly first encounter, typical "bad boy" against "good girl", but the lingering looks they give, you know they've taken to each other. Hook up abound guys! Should be interesting with Edie still having the mother of all grudges on Susan;) Gaby and Carlos are having it out at the divorce mediator's. He comes by to the house later on and lets her have his mama's pearl necklace, a precious family heirloom. Gaby's reciprocal gesture is to invite him to Bree's wedding reception which will be held at their house and which he will be paying for! He asks for a kiss on the cheek and she indulges him. All in the name of jewellery! All their "flirting", as Carlos perceives, makes Carlos think that there's a chance they might get back together, but Gaby is of the firm belief that no, hell no, that's not going to be happening.

Susan acts on her uneasiness about Orson when she spots him angrily cutting off a 'Just Married' sign complete with cans off his car. She seeks out Carolyn, Orson's ex-neighbour, and she finds out that the police had searched Orson's old house but found nothing. Not just nothing nothing. But absolutely nothing. No skin cells, no source of DNA. "Like Alma had never existed." He cleaned the entire house with bleach! After their meeting, Susan called up the detective in charge of the case and found out that Orson was not only a suspect in Alma's disappearance, but that he was the only suspect! And he was never charged because a body was never found! She shares her information with the other bridesmaids and they confront Bree. Pleaded with her to re-consider, to talk to the detective, postpone the wedding. But she denies them, saying she has no doubts about Orson. And she walks down the aisle like the beautiful bride she made, and just before the reverend starts the rituals of matrimony, she pauses the wedding to talk to Orson. Lol! He tells her he did not kill his wife and when he's upset, he cleans! She relates and she believes Orson. And they are wed in the eyes of man.

Nora is complaining about the "losers" at her table and Lynette is going crazy over Nora's existence. She just wants to shove Nora off to some unsuspecting single man and get rid of her from their lives. Enter a dejected Carlos, who Gaby said she had no chance of taking back, and Lynette guides him to her table. Carlos and Nora must have hit it off, to say the least, judging from the way they were dirty dancing on the floor. Gaby is furious. Nora declares Lynette as the culprit. While Gaby quarrels with Carlos, the pearls explode in Carlos's tugging hands. As they crawl on the floor to collect the little opalesque pretties, Xiao Mei shows up and her water breaks..."I think, maybe it's time." At the hospital, Lynette brings over a change of clothes for Gaby, who is still furious with Lynette. "Carlos will never be fair game. You know the rules." Lynette confesses that she was desperate! Ever since that woman (read: Nora) forced her way into their lives and refused to leave them alone, she has been going crazy and the anger has been building and building inside. She's mad at herself for being mad at Tom for a mistake he made 12 years ago! She can't take it anymore. Gaby looks at her and takes her hand, fingering her wedding ring. She tells Lynette firmly that Tom and her will get through this episode in their lives. Lynette asks her how she can be so sure. Gaby sadly replies that some marriages are made to last and others aren't. She knows the difference... (Choked-up moment!)

Meanwhile, while Xiao Mei is pushing Carlos and Gaby's offspring out of her uterus, Gaby and Carlos put aside their differences in preparation of bringing a new life into their world. Until...the doctor delivering the baby reveals the new-born to be definitely-not-Hispanic, but an African-American! (Hilarious moment: When Carlos fiddles quizzically with the camcorder's colour settings!) The fertility clinic had messed it up, and there's no baby to switch with because their embryo didn't take=( Carlos later says that at least their divorce will be less complicated. It's a bittersweet moment as she departs his car and they look at each other as Gaby prepares to enter their house. Sighhh...

Ian had made his way to the wedding reception and declares not-so-discreetly to Susan that when you find someone who brings joy into your life when you never thought you could feel that way again, you just don't give up on her, all under the guise of giving a toast to Orson and Bree. A detective shows up and asks for Orson to identify a body at the morgue. Orson tells them that it's not Alma. The detective has that look where he knows something the rest doesn't and is testing Orson, when he asks him to clarify, "Are you sure?". Orson says, "Absolutely", and is shocked (and nervous, it seems?) when Carolyn walks in to give a second opinion. But it really isn't Alma. She gives Bree a fresh warning but Bree tells her to leave them alone, that she will never doubt Orson again. But what she doesn't hear is Orson lingering at the door, whispering, "Tu me manques, Monique", which translates to "I miss you, Monique." What the fudge?! What does that mean?? Obviously, he knows this poor Monique. Another ex-wife? And what about Alma? I have this feeling that the detective has something up his sleeve, and we don't know that he doesn't actually have Alma's body hidden somewhere. We don't know that Monique is the same body with all her teeth pulled out. Hmm... Maybe Orson is a crazy dentist who went to jail for pulling out women's teeth? Ex-wives' teeth? Maybe that's the jail-connection with Mike and their history??! Ahh well, more to reveal as the season unfolds! All I can think is poor Bree, she always get the weirdos...

"Have you met the perfect couple? The two soulmates whose love never dies? The two lovers whose relationship is never threatened? The husband and wife who trust each other completely? If you haven't met the perfect couple, let me introduce you. They stand atop a layer of buttercream frosting. The secret of their success? Well, for starters, they don't have to look at each other."

Next ep: DH 3x03: "A Weekend In The Country" Spoiler: (highlight to read) Ian and Susan get away!

Satisfying that epicuriosity - in bulk!

2006-10-03T22:15:00.000+13:00

Wanna take a (vicarious) bite?;)

A little round-up of the various gastronomic ventures I've embarked on that I actually remembered to commit to the immortal borders of digital photography. Enjoy~ =)

Quickie: Some reading material I've indulged in...

1. Chp 6 of Serenanna's The Way of The Sword: Ichiraku Confessionals! Fluffy ^_^

2. Dear Annie by JanuaryEclipses over on ff. A light high-school AU fic (SasuSaku, NejiTen, InoShika and NaruHina). Her writing style is very fun, very readable.

It is that time of the month again. Sobbb. Reached my dl cap for the month=( Even after I upgraded to 20GB/mth=( I must need internet for several businesses or something lol. My ideal internet service? Unlimited dl cap, high-high-speed, damn stable connection. My dream come true=D

Grey^s Anatomy S3 Episode 02: I Am A Tree

2006-10-02T16:56:00.000+13:00

Bet you've all heard about how Canada got a free show on the 21st/09 the other day. Eager viewers tuning in to CTV to watch the season premiere of Grey's with bated breath...and what do they get? The 2nd ep! And that's why the 2nd ep has been circulating for awhile;) What a spoiler!

Anyway, what they sampled of Grey's was this...

Meredith still has her choice between 2 very choice men: McDreamy or McVet? McDreamy or the guy who brings lunch for your sad friend when you're not even home? (Aww...) Seriously Mer, I think a lot of ladies would love to be in your scrubs;) The sad friend is, of course, Izzie, who's still distraught over Denny's loss and is dealing with it Izzie-style: baking lots and lots and lots of muffins. Yummy muffins at that. Cristina is hot for Burke and she arranges a private rendezvous in his hospital room...and then the door opens! Burke's parents watch on in shock the sight of Cristina straddling their precious son in nothing more than red lingerie. Oooh. Way to make an impression! Preston Burke is most definitely a mommy's boy, or more fittingly, a mama's boy=D Bailey is on the warpath, feeling guilty about Izzie's situation, and is angered some more when the interns request that she talk to Izzie and get her to come back because they don't want her surgical talent to go to waste in the land of muffin-baking. Bailey snaps even more when she spies Mer's lost panties tacked on the bulletin board!!=O

And she thinks they're Cristina's (by virtue of the vignette about her stripping in Burke's room spreading around the hospital)!! Cristina is urging Mer to claim the panties when Callie steps up to the plate and claims them as hers (I'm growing to accept the girl=D). This incites George's bout of jealousy since he's never seen these panties before and just what are they doing all lost to be found in the hospital?! Addy requests a day off to drink and come to terms that her marriage is over. Derek is itching to find her to officially have it all be over. Richard has been kicked out of his home post the bust-up with Adele and is living in his office. He discovers Callie in the middle of an embarrassing scantily-clad "performance" in her "home" at the hospital and he basically tells her that while he respects it, she can't stay. And so, he has to go too to set an example. George, admitting to his jealousy, walks in on the seemingly compromising situation with Callie in her panties sitting next to a casual-clothed Richard drinking coffee together. Callie chases him to clear the misunderstanding and she lugs her luggage with her to stay at his place i.e. Mer's casa=)

On the medical front, there's a woman who has apparently shied away from being wild in favour of being the good girl all her life, staying clean and all, but what does she get for it? Lung cancer. Sucks eh. So she proceeds to shun surgery in favour of really living and making the most of what she's convinced will be a short life anyway. While she's drinking at Joe's, she chats up Alex for a little tryst. Another patient is a guy who has a brain tumour affecting the frontal lobe and therefore, messing up his personality. He says whatever comes to mind, be it insulting or just plain rude, and you have to tell him straight that it's rude, otherwise he won't know he's being rude. Quite sad really=( Only his sister is left who accepts him and is there for him. Rather than being impulsive as Mer dubs him, he really is as Cristina says: sick and brain-damaged=( He died, I presume on the operating table.

And ahhh, I see now... The last patient sheds light on just why Ep 2 is dubbed "I Am A Tree". A 14 year old guy went street-luging with his friends and got hit by a car before catapulting 20 feet away to land on a pile of tree trimmings and having a tree go through him=( His dad is crazy scared and later at Joe's, tells Miranda that it's his fault. Yes, kids go wild sometimes but it was his job as a parent to be there and look after him and rein him in. He knew better as he let his son leave the house to go out street-luging with his friends, but stuff had been happening and he didn't step up when his son needed him to. This strikes a chord in Bailey and she finally decides to seek out a still-furiously-baking Izzie at Meredith's. She says that it was partly her fault, the whole situation with Denny. Izzie denied that Bailey could have stopped her but Bailey disagrees. She says that she could have stopped it, would have, but had grown soft after having her baby (and I think, after growing attached to the interns as her little brood too!). She says she's going to bring Izzie in to the hospital to try and get her internship back and grabs the ladle in Izzie's hands, firmly saying it's time to stop baking.

Meredith has decided. She calls both Finn and Derek to Joe's and tells them that she likes them both. And she would like the opportunity to consider her options via some old-fashioned dating;) Neither boy wants to back down so I guess she's dating them both! This should be interesting!;D Derek goes to the hotel room where Addy's at, after finally finding out her whereabouts I suppose. She's in a robe. They go over to the bed. They sit. And they accept that their marriage is over. Derek mulls it over and says it really is sad that that chunk of their life is...over. That is, until the bathroom door opens...tendrils of steam dissipate...to frame a very familiar man who steps out post-shower. Guess whooo... Why yes, the luscious McSteamy!!! (phwoaaarrr=D) Derek laughs to himself, I suppose reflecting on how ironic it was that while he was having a little mourn over the death of their marriage, Addison sure didn't waste any time! He downs her champagne and leaves.

And now we wait for next ep: Ep 03 "Sometimes A Fantasy". Wow, I'm still fanning myself! Eric Dane is set to be a regular cause to fog up our screens, alongside the yummy McDreamy and McVet! (I shouldn't forget the boys in the gang - they're pretty awesome too=D) So make sure you tune in (I don't think I need to tell you ^_~) on 5th/October (i.e. my birthday=D *wink wink*nudge nudge*;)) and enjoy the episode;D

Btw is it just me or does Derek's jaw seem less well-defined than usual? Hmm... Well, I know that the current shadow he's sporting there is a little thicker than usual and less to my liking=s

Mama Lisa?!

2006-10-01T20:50:00.000+13:00

Was Mona Lisa pregnant?

That's what the National Research Council of Canada are saying! They've been studying high-grade 3D scans taken of the painting (ergo the colour-coded elevation level contour map above, which provides an accurate record of the shape of the poplar panel on which Mona Lisa was painted) and have come up with evidence that she either was pregnant or had just given birth at the time she sat for the painting. Apparently the garment she wore on her shoulders is a fine, gauzy veil known as a guarnello, something women of the Italian Renaissance wore when they were expecting, similar to the one in Sandro Botticelli's "Portrait of A Lady".

As the painting aged, the veil darkened until it was hard to interpret the colour of her dress, much less the fabric around her shoulders. This would confirm art historians' theory that the circa 1503 painting of the Mona Lisa (or Madam Lisa) is that of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that Giocondo requested for a painting of his wife to celebrate the birth of their second son. In France, the painting which is on display at the Louvre Museum, is referred to as La Joconde, which is the French version of her married name. The scans also clearly show that Mona Lisa does not have her hair down, as it appears. Most of her tresses are pinned back into a chignon and covered with a veil.

“We know how the painting is painted with very thin layers,” Bruno Mottin told reporters in Ottawa, Canada. “That’s one of the things we couldn’t see by the naked eye, and that Canadian technology brought us.” John Taylor of Canada’s National Research Council said there were no signs of brush strokes. “That includes the very fine details of the embroidery on the dress, the hair,” he said. “This is the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of Leonardo. The genius. We don’t know how he applied it.”

Huh. Fascinating stuff=) Doesn't it just make you want to pop over to the Louvre and squint at the painting this way and that and convince yourselves to your heart's content? Too bad I'm all the way across the globe but Parisiennes or those close-by should go check it out. It seems La Joconde really has a reason for that secret smile;)

Psst...Read the article I read here.
Check out my new pets!=D Scroll over to the end of the page and check out speedy turtle, sexy wolf and crazy panda...So cute! And you can feed them too. ^_^

Naruto Manga Chapter 325: There is no "after"!

2006-10-01T03:16:00.000+13:00

Such a powerful page eh? What with Asuma neatly slicing Hidan's head off;)

So this eagerly-awaited chappie promises to deliver a stunning plan as produced by the sheer cerebral brilliance that we have come to expect from one Nara Shikamaru. As Asuma said in Chp324: "In an instant and with his fingers like that, Shikamaru has the great analytic prowess to think of 200 different possible attacks. And he possesses a sixth sense that allows him to choose the best attack from all those." Does he disappoint? Let's find out;)

Shika has analysed the situation concerning Hidan and his freaky abilities as per last chapter and he puts his plans into motion. Using his shadow technique to bind Hidan, he starts initiating the movements that Hidan would be forced to imitate and Hidan realises that the kid had figured it out. You see, the way Shika saw it, Hidan has this huge three-blade weapon whose sole purpose is to hit the target. Why? To draw blood. One cut is all he needs and then he can start his macabre plans. As per the incident with Asuma, Hidan had managed to nick his cheek before proceeding to lick the blood off the blade. Once he did that, his appearance transformed into that weird reverse-print version of himself and he hot-footed his way to a circle he had created on the ground. Why? So he can finally begin "the curse". Sooo that's why Shika deducted that he needed to be in the circle to start his curse and finish his opponent. And that's why, by virtue of his shadow technique, Shika forced Hidan to move out of the circle in order to dispel the jutsu. Asuma, Kotetsu and Izumo look on in wonder at Shika's brilliant power of mind! (It never fails to amaze me how they give away all their knowledge in battle like that=p I know it's for our benefit and all but it's just amusing heh)

Anyway, he manages to move Hidan out! Asuma tests to see if the mutual-pain jutsu's really been lifted...and it has! (Did you ever even doubt that for a second?;D) Shika binds Hidan completely, entrapping him. He can't hold out much longer! Asuma understands and swoops in, making quick work of Hidan, ergo the descriptive pic of his slicing Hidan's head clean. And all was over...

...until Hidan's decapitated head started verbalizing to Kakuzu, indignantly asking for his body to be brought over. What. The. Fudge.??! Well, they did say Akatsuki's Hidan was invincible (did you really really think that it was over?;D) and here's to proving it! Konoha's shinobi look on in amazement as Kakuzu picks up Hidan's talking head. Uh-oh... Kakuzu hasn't even showcased his skills (wonder what that might be...), Shika's used up a chunk of his chakra (and Hidan has got it in for him!!=O), Hidan is pretty much invincible (once he gets re-attached to his body), I don't know how Kotetsu and Izumo will do and I hope Asuma's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve! I realize that the plot has to progress and reach a climax and everything but hopefully, Konoha prevails and *gulp* no one dies=( Chapter 326 preview: Hidan, Kakuzu, finally these two are getting serious!! "The cursed one".

PS: Isn't the page pretty? I dl-ed 325 done by a new group of scanlators, Naruto Buzz, and was just *blown* by their clean. It looks almost grayscale. Very neat. I'm not into dl-ing the raws so much so I can't say if there's been any hq raws circulating, but if this is what we readers can expect, then keep your oculars on this group!

To check out a drabble I just read (implied Kakasaku): 'Pretend' by FallenXAngelXMystery. Angsty but good.

Lol so hot right now;)

2006-09-30T21:15:00.000+12:00

Think this is an ordinary pair of goggles? Hoho you'd be wrong... This trusty gadget is no normal pair of goggles, it serves a truer purpose: Ensuring your onion-cutting ventures remain tear-free. Hehe, ahead of the times eh;)

And aren't these Sony Vaio laptops gorgeous? (And one in pink too!;D) The screens are 13.3 inches and there's 802.11a/b/g wireless connectivity and a DVD burner built in. At 5 pounds, these babies are light too! What's not to lust?;)

Did you know...

Rabbits are born hairless and with closed eyes while hares are born covered with fur and with open eyes.
The cheetah is the only cat that can't retract it's claws. Poor feline needs a mani!
Fingernails grow faster on your favoured hand.
Cabbage is 91% water. Ultimate diet food, ladies!
The average eyeball weighs under 30 grams.
Clams have a row of eyes around their shells 0_o
Owls are apparently the only birds that can see the colour blue.

If you think this is a photo...

2006-09-30T03:03:00.000+12:00

...think again.

I can easily understand how you might be fooled, though. It got me too. This piece of art (no other word can do justice!) was created by virtue of the talents of one Wayne Forrest using Adobe Illustrator. It's a masterpiece made possible by the use of a gradient mesh to create photorealistic vector art. Brilliant eh? For more on these photorealistic masterpieces, clicky this linky. This blog entry also features some other beautiful pieces done by other artists=)

And before I completely forget to post my little gush-sesh about Kyouya's awesome-looking mansion as seen in Ouran 24, here it goes;)

Gorgeous eh? While I mull in my head whether this could actually work as my future home one day, the features I definitely like are...

1. The floor to ceiling windows. Look how pretty the lights look showcased like so! I have an official thing for floor-to-ceilings, even if I know that they'll be beelzebub to clean. Of course, if I was rolling in the $ sufficiently enough to have earned me such a fabulous abode, I would hope I could more than certainly manage it's upkeep;) And of course, to fit floor-to-ceilings in more feasibly in my future home (because I think I definitely definitely want to=p~), I'll figure out a way to maximize gorgeousness with easy cleaning. (Having a roof may help hehe...and ceilings which aren't too high...) I'd probably figure out a way to have efficient drapes which hopefully won't cost the world=p

2. The balcony on the top floor=D I(You can see it better in the winter shot.) Isn't it gorgeous? Probably a personal bedroom balcony. I suppose that you could even have a balcony all around the top half of the building, like a mezzanine, from the way the two stories are structured. Although, if I were to do that, I'd find a way to have a more private bedroom balcony...

(3). Special mentions are the recessed staired entryway and the arc-shaped arrangement of the house. (I imagine this just spans the front, because i think it would be less artistic and more ridiculous if the whole house was round or elliptical or the like!) Nicely fits in with the floor-to-ceiling windows. All you need is a breathtaking vista to behold and you're set! Just imagine that you've got a huge jacuzzi somewhere strategic and you're looking out at heaven-on-earth while you're soaking. Ahh...

Some other stuff I've come across...

1. Did you know that swans are monogamous? That's what it says here. A German swan couple set to join the star-crossed ranks of Romeo and Juliet! A rare black swan has fallen in love with a white plastic paddle-boat designed in the form of a swan and biologists are worried that this poor swan will spend it's life pining away for the plastic swan! Aww...true love XD

2. A 3-year old buys a car on ebay! Haha, so cute! I read another article which said that he loves cars and made the $17, 000 "Buy now" purchase using his mom's ebay account, which she was still logged in to. I think the car was pink and I remember the mom saying that he just shifted coyly in his seat when quizzed as to whether he knew what he'd been up to. This article says he's a whiz at computers so ooh, you just know little Jack Neal's going to own a flash car when he gets his license. Although, he may not decide to wait that long;)

(if you like the true-to-mail-provider images I've got on my contacts/msn list on the sidebar to your right, check the site out ^_^)

Blurring the lines of history on a Friday evening; Fact vs. Fictional Fabrications

2006-09-29T17:53:00.000+12:00

It is the weekend again and I can almost hear every single millimetre of my body, inside and out, resounding a collective 'Ahh...', which would, granted, be seven kinds of undeniably-freaky but I wouldn't blame them;) I feel as if I've been running around ragged finishing up all the assignments that are due, as the weeks start drawing towards the end of the run soon-ish (3 weeks closer to catching that plane home=D). But for the moment, I can just take a step back and just...breathe...and relax while catching up on fun (sort of)!=D

Mr. BR blogged about something really interesting today. He talked about how the original Bruneian rulers may have been Chinese. How Ong Sum Ping may have been the second Sultan, Sultan Ahmad, and how Sultan Abdul Majid Hassan died in China, a fact which seems to cue that lighbulb over my head to turn on anyhow;) There was even a mention about Brunei and a Bruneian King naming a mountain "Darussalam" in Chinese records some 1000 years before Sultan Muhammad (I'm presuming Sultan Muhammad Shah)! Fascinating stuff. Of course, we can never know what really happened way back when, or (dare my skeptical side say it?) if the truth may have truly been left to someone's imagination, so to speak.

I have a feeling my skepticism may have been a little amped by some anecdotes a friend was regaling earlier. There was a prank issue of the uni student mag and one alumnus was saying that in the lead up (or was it after?) to their graduation, they decided to pull a massive trick. They decided that NZ would spot some UFOs one fine day. Being spread out across the country in various campuses, they planned the whole operation so meticulously; from fabricated pictures to calls to the police from various parts of the country reporting a UFO sighting at their calculated times of when a flying object of that kind may theoretically traverse that part of the country. It was soooo well-planned that the news made the front page! And 20 years later, a conspirator comes out with the actual truth: they were faking it!

Another tale along the same lines was about this Peter Jackson documentary about NZ and how a Kiwi, and not the Wright Brothers, invented the airplane. And the docu also recorded the discovery of a lost city in the Fiordlands somewhere. This friend goes tramping there and she says that people who tramp there would know that there couldn't possibly be such a lost city of wonderful proportions there. But it made the documentary. And 10 years later, guess what, the documentary was professed to be a fake.

Remember the whole drama with the discovery of DNA? (Sorry, it's Friday afternoon, names are failing me at the moment and I'm too lazy to do my research=p) It was actually that lady who died because of too much radiological exposure who really made headway, but those 2 dudes published first and got the Nobel! If she wasn't acknowledged, us future generations would never have even known of her very existence!

So I guess my point is: how much of what we know is what truly is? Especially, as I've demonstrated, what we have come to know and learn and teach as facts may have been a lie, a mistake or a misunderstanding? Or even, as particularly applicable to inventions, medicine and royal lineage and the like, may not have been etched into history until the next one comes along with the same invention or title and has it in records? It seems that whoever speaks up his claim and whoever has the pen makes history. And most importantly, whoever believes and perceives this to be fact marks said history as the future's truth.

It would be amazing to know what really went on between the lines, behind closed doors, underneath the underneath of the pieces of history that we have come to know as facts=) Oh, to have been an immortal (slightly-more-attractive-being-than-a-) fly on the wall!

And some more frivolous reading;)

1. Chapter 10 of Beautiful Fighter by ronsmyhero is up!=D
2. The eagerly awaited Chapter 325 of the Naruto manga is up!! Can't wait to find out the workings of that brilliant mind of Shika's!;D

Some frivolous reading on my to-read list...
1. Lover Eternal and sequel Eternal Flower, which I think may be SakuSasus, by Kiasidari Ixari.
2. A KakaSaku Sins and Tragedies by Kjata.

Desperate Housewives S3 Episode 1: Listen To The Rain On The Roof

2006-09-26T22:12:00.000+12:00

Come Season 3 and we have our women of Wisteria Lane back! As I mentioned in the review for the special, S3 starts 6 months down the track post the S2 finale.

It starts with a little back-story of one Alma Hodge. Yup, Orson's ex-wife. We see how much of a particular neat freak (much like Bree!) he really is, with her cleaning up after house in the very meticulous way that he instructed her to. She finally snaps and decides to leave once he left for work. Her plans are delayed by her talking parrot escaping and refusing to return to it's cage! Meanwhile, Orson notices a stain on his sleeve and decides to make his way back home. In a cruel twist of fate, the bird flies back it's case unbidden, just as Orson walks through the front door and observes Alma's suitcases and guilty, terrified expression. Great sense of timing, Baby. Their nosy neighbour makes her way over unannounced when Alma fails to turn up for a get-together they planned and she finds Orson cleaning the floor. He tells her that Alma has left him and she probes the matter deeper but he denies any knowledge. It was then that the bird tellingly screeches repeatedly, "Orson, no!" And the wheels of suspicion start to turn in the neighbour's head...

Back on Wisteria Lane, rain is pouring heavily. Orson has asked Bree to marry him and she said yes. She excitedly lets the girls know and invites them to her engagement announcing party. There's no other place to put this delicately but it was so amusing I couldn't leave it out! Bree visits the doctor in haste after lying with Orson only to find out that she has been cheated all her life of experiencing her first orgasm! Anyway, Lynette has had enough of 6 months of Nora as a price of dealing with sweet-natured Kayla but she puts up with the crap because she's his wife and Tom comes first. Nora tests her patience some more when she inserts herself into their Christmas family picture and when she makes her enraged self bothersome by hunting one of the boy's birthday party down, thinking that Lynette lied (and lied she did;)) about just having Kayla over for a quiet afternoon. As she puts it, no her, no Kayla. Tom finally says something to Nora, albeit at Lynette's challenging "Do I still come first?", and Nora leaves in a childish huff. Seriously, Tom, I know you love little Kayla, but grow a backbone! I really feel for Lynette, stuck having to live with her husband's mistake for life.

Another housewife getting her American dream similarly dashed is Gaby. She's stuck having to wait on her hubby's mistress hand and foot, all because she made the regrettable decision to have Xiao Mei be their surrogate. They hate each other's guts and Xiao Mei abuses her position as the baby's container by being snotty with Gaby. After calling Gaby a bitch, Gaby exclaims over how fantastically glad she'll be when Xiao Mei pops the baby out and she can send her ass to the rice paddies of China! There's no love lost between those two! Xiao Mei then disappears. Gaby is forced to make contact with Carlos to check if Xiao Mei is lurking there. He follows her on her goose chase to Chinatown where she exchanges insults with Xiao Mei's restaurant friend and ends up leaving with the contents of a plate of Mushu Pork served down her designer-clad front.

Susan has been caring for Mike ever since he's been in the coma and is feeling lonely. She wants Mike to wake up so badly. In the hallways, she meets Ian, who is similarly miserable over the comatose state of his wife across the hall, and has been for the past 3 years! Poor guy. They hit it off and before you know it, he asks Susan on a date, but only if she's ready since she's only been 'mourning' Mike for 6 months versus his 3 years. She 'talks' to Mike, wills him to wake up, explains ho lonely she is...and finally, looks on his comatose body as she leaves the door, assuring him that it is going to only be dinner. Sigh. Amazing what Marc Cherry comes up with. I mean, there's a dilemma. How long do you keep waiting before you move on? Well, it should be interesting when (no question about it, no one kills Mike Delfino;D) Mike wakes up from his 6-month slumber and Susan should have another triangle-shaped dilemma;)

Edie has been polishing her realtor skills, trying to load off the Youngs' and the Applewhites' properties on to new buyers. It's proving a little hard when it seems that the grapevine is quite lengthy and a lot of people have heard about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the Young's house in particular. During one of her open call tours, she opens the door of a storage closet to show off the space to 2 prospective buyers, only to discover the missing Xiao Mei! With caterer food for the open call on hand! She lets Gaby know and Gaby picks her up. At Bree's party, everything is looking gorgeous and going along swimmingly until a knock on the door brings an unexpected guest. It is Orson's ex-neighbour and she reveals to the room that Orson was responsible for the suspicious circumstances surrounding Alma's mysterious disappearance. That he murdered her. Bree is thrown for a loop. Orson denies the accusations. And being the impeccable hostess she is, after pulling herself together, she opens the buffet table. It must be so hard to have to stand there and take the humiliation in front of your guests and worse, have doubt cast on the man you've decided to marry. She has really had so many bad experiences. In fact, all the housewives' plights, I wouldn't wish on myself or my worst enemy!

And the rain keeps on falling...And each housewife hopes that come morning, the rain has washed all her worries away...

Colour makes the world go round~

2006-09-26T17:12:00.000+12:00

I had this inkling to go re-read this poem I got in an e-mail once upon a time. Such perspective! It just reminds you of the need for love in this world =D Racism is obviously a well known concept that, unfortunately, the world has yet to conquer (Pandora really screwed the world over when she opened that box!) but with insight shown by youths like these, maybe one day=)

It was apparently nominated poem of 2005 for the best poem (I'm not sure by who though), written by an African kid...

When I born, I Black,
When I grow up, I Black,
When I go in Sun, I Black,
When I scared, I Black,
When I sick, I Black,
And when I die, I still black..
And you White fella,
When you born, you Pink,
When you grow up, you White,
When you go in Sun, you Red,
When you cold, you Blue,
When you scared, you Yellow,
When you sick, you Green,
And when you die, you Gray..

And you calling me Colored ??

- Aly El Sahly

Here's another good one written by 16 year old Amy Maddox...

Empathy

He prayed - it wasn't my religion.

He ate - it wasn't what I ate.

He spoke - it wasn't my language.

He dressed - it wasn't what I wore.

He took my hand - it wasn't the color of mine.

But when he laughed - it was how I laughed.
And when he cried - it was how I cried.

And a quote from Martin Luther King:

"When we look at modern man we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit, which stands in glaring contrast to his scientific and technological abundance, we’ve learned to fly the air like birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas like fish, and yet we havent learned to walk the earth as brothers and sisters."

On a less virtuous avenue, some other stuff I've been reading as part of the KakaSaku fandom are:

1. The Way of The Sword by Serenanna. Good writing! It's actually based on a fanfic by ronsmyhero (shizune_senpai) whom I mentioned in a previous entry and it doesn't disappoint! And surely the fact that this is a fanfic of a fanfic speaks volumes about ronsmyhero's works. I can't gush enough=) Chp 5 is now up!
2. Some light, hilarious fun: Too Young To Love by internet pencil. Coincidentally, Chp5 of that one is also up on ff. What amuses me is how the fandom now has this fixed standard of Genma as a loud, semi-obnoxious flirty jounin sidekick of our Kakashi. Hehe I don't know how that started but I know how it stuck, seeing as the character is so likeable! It's just funny going back and watching/reading Naruto with him all serious and knowing Kishi really hasn't developed his character much as of yet=p

Annnnd it was my turn to cook today for our dinner-cum-sungkai. *Sigh* i forgot to take a pic but it fulfilled it's ultimate purpose as our sungkai=D Assam fish and tamagoyaki plus steamed rice and some leftover soup etc from yesterday. I just wanted to commit the tamagoyaki (with lamb and crab filling & topped with nori smileys!) to the immortal borders of my hard drive huhu~ But ooh kurma (truth be told, I'm not so huge a fan though) and air bandung on the table..touches of home=)

Desperate Housewives S3 Special: Time To Come Clean

2006-09-26T01:46:00.000+12:00

My DH S3 Ep 1 is on hand (yay!) but its good to refresh beforehand since the season kicks off 6 months since the S2 finale. This was a People magazine special and Marc Cherry, the DH crew and the People ppl (hehe) said their little vignettes amidst recap scenes. Also nice to see was some sneak scenes from the upcoming season premiere!

I remember feeling all choked up while watching the last season finale. I think I wasn't feeling my best at the time and watching this melancholy, disillusioning episode left me feeling really empty. And I just thought that all I want in this life is to be happy and satisfied. Let me have that and leave the drama to DH!

Things that happened...

Gaby
- Gaby miscarried when she fell off the stairs that time Caleb broke into her house and freaked her out. Ironically, now that she wanted to have a baby with Carlos, that little mishap cost her the ability=( So they had the bright idea to beat the system and getting a baby quick-fast by using their maid Xiao Mei as their proverbial oven. Things get complicated when Carlos is taken in by their surrogate's innocence, all that Gaby's not, and Gaby catches him cheating=( With the maid! She kicked him out but houses her baby's mother and so now she and Xiao Mei are stuck under one roof totally hating each other.
S3 Spoilers: Gaby is forced to wait on Xiao Mei who is carrying her child and Xiao Mei is being a pain. The both of them clearly hate each other and Xiao Mei (grrrrr) sits on the bed with her feet propped up ordering Gaby to rub her sore feet at one point! And she even calls Gaby a bitch. Gaby looks as homely as we've never seen her, looking after her house!

Susan and Edie
- Susan inadvertently becomes the third woman in Edie and Karl's breakup and when Edie finds out, Susan has hell to pay. And she's got it bad when we realise that Edie has it in so deep that she even takes pleasure in burning Susan's house. Susan and Julie move into a trailer, Susan turning down the house Karl bought for "his girls" (we know he's still in love with Susan). More will happen in S3 with Edie's revenge I guess! (Sooo funny that scene with Edie's swollen-out-of-human-proportions bee-stung face!)
- Susan and Mike still love each other and they set up a romantic date. Karl bumps into Mike at the jewellery store ring-shopping (we know he's still in love with Susan) and lets slip that Mike is going to pop the big Q during their little slug-fest. So Mike's on his way to their date when he gets hit by a car - on purpose. And who that driver was? None other than Orson Hodge, the dentist dude Susan ropes into pretending she was on a date with back when she and Mike were still estranged and she bumps into him with his movie date. We don't know why Orson had it in for Mike but possibly because Mike, sent to him for a dental appointment by Susan, thought he looked familiar? And Orson didn't want to reveal his seems-to-me-to-be-very-questionable past?!
S3 Spoilers: Mike is not dead! But he is in a coma and has been for the past 6 months. We see a scene where Orson whispers to his comatose self "Payment in full" so hmm, I wonder what happened there...Some history for sure! Susan looks after Mike endlessly throughout the 6 months but meets a "coma buddy" in an Englishman (Dougray Scott!) with a comatose wife across the hall. So does she decide to let go of Mike, who she doesnt know for sure was going to marry her and who she has no idea is going to wake up ever again, or move on and pursue a promising love?

Bree
- Bree's discovered that Rex was killed by George! She ends up letting George pull his suicide stunt and he dies. Bree loves her alcohol a little too much and ends up volunteering to attend AA meetings to be a good and upstanding citizen and foil Andrew's emancipation plans. She has something going on with her AA sponsor Peter who, as it turns out, is also a sex addict who wants to keep away from her advances. It is the last straw for Bree when Andrew finally breaks her when she walks in on a compromising scene and learns that her son and her boyfriend slept together. She drives to a remote place and abandons Andrew there with some money because she just couldn't take it anymore and Andrew has his emancipation. Heartbreaking though because for a second there, you really get the feeling he's little boy Andrew again and he's sorry as he begs her not to leave him.

But she does.

She checks herself into a psych institute for observation because she feels she's going to have a nervous breakdown. That's where she meets Orson Hodge, Susan's dentist friend. He shushes about her escape (Matthew Applewhite was the baddie and he's with Danielle!) as the psych place are determined not to let her check out. And last we see, Orson stops by Bree's house to give her flowers. Uh-oh...
S3 Spoilers: Previously-married Orson asks her to marry him. Bree is totally into the fact that Orson knows more about getting rid of stains then she does lol! She asks him at their wedding whether Orson killed his wife (?!) and they have their angry-Orson tense wedding dance. Can't wait to watch the wedding. Should be fun!=D (I even saw Carlos there hmm)

Lynette
- Lynette back at work! Tom is the stay-at-home parent. It was a semi-heartbreaking moment yet again when I was watching and thought Tom was cheating on his wife too! (Though I always had that suspicion that he was with his ex from the office. It was more than suspicious, that "I have a secret" dialogue with his dad, after all...) She discovers that Tom's been making trips to Atlantic City! Finally, it turns out that his dark secret is Nora, a strong and sort of unstable woman who he had a one-night stand with and fathered a child with! So now Nora is going to bug Lynette to no end because Nora has moved mere minutes away and insists on her and her daughter, Kayla, being part of the family!
S3 spoilers: Lynette is stuck with having Nora as a thorn in her side. A very big, very annoying thorn. She's stuck with having this unwanted forced extended family. i wonder if her marriage with Tom might be threatened. I wonder if Lynette might feel threatened by Nora? I wonder if there might be issues where Lynette ends up feeling like Nora's a second wife!

Something in common with an owl?!

2006-09-25T11:05:00.000+12:00

For all intents and purposes, I have to say I'm a night person. I love sleeping in and don't enjoy waking up at 6 in the morning to get ready for school. In fact, in my world, the sun rises close to noon. (I must operate by a different time zone...) I get that afternoon lull otherwise referred to in recent commercials as three-thirty-itis. I need that sugar fix to keep alert and even then, I just...can't. seem. to. concentrate. By evening, however, I feel myself 'waking up', being more alert and productive. It's not that I don't get productive during the day but more like I reach my peak in the evening. And then I can go all hours of the night. Say there was a need for last-minute studying for the next day's big final, I'm one of those who'd pull an all-nighter rather than wake up early to do the job. All things considered, that's why I love the weekend. Weekends allow me to exercise this routine at my leisure. Catching up on my paused-for-the-week recreation, it's no surprise I end up slumbering past the time I should really be.

It's no problem during the weekends because I get to make up for it by waking up whenever the next day, but like last night, it's a nightmare trying to get to sleep. I toss. I turn. it's like I'm searching for that elusive comfortable position that will magically make my eyes go heavy and be my ticket to dreamland. I will myself to breathe slowly, breathe deeper. Fool my body into approaching deep sleep. But my mind is furiously working all the while and therein lies the problem. Even if I was physically worn out, if my mind isn't tired then it's half the battle lost. So I tell myself, "Stop thinking. Think of nothing." But this doesn't really help considering that I am officially still thinking. I wonder if I will ever get to sleep. I yawn. Excitedly, I prepare to slip into sweet sleep...but I don't. At some point I end up asleep as proven by my jolting awake to the alarm's incessant ringing in my ears. (Already??) But I have to wonder if I was ever really asleep or caught in that state between waking and dreaming the whole time...

This morning, a post-mortem/autopsy was part of my early morning plans. Sounds like a gruesome way to start a day but you have to attend what you have to attend I suppose. It was the 4 of us students. 1 scrubbed in to assist/have close contact with the action while the 3 of us sat in the viewing gallery of sorts, which is basically sitting behind a pane of glass. I was a little apprehensive about the experience but told myself it probably won't be too bad. It was just that...the idea of more real-looking dead bodies with most having questionable deaths...and the high probability that the face would be exposed...I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Our lady was a suicide case. I won't go into the gory details so much as skim through the proceedings. Basically, the body is laid out, nothing is covered. What needs to be done is to make 2 cuts across and down the middle of the thorax and then remove the ribcage and subsequently, all the organs en masse. Then you remove the brain.

The need for a post-mortem is to figure out the cause of death when you aren't quite sure how they died. So this is either stuff like homicide or suicide, or funny deaths in the hospital query cause. Then the duty pathologist will form a hypothesis and section the organs to figure out the pathology. So my experience? Well, sitting through it wasn't too bad. What got me was the smell. It was bad but tolerable and worse once you get to the bowels. But I'll spare you my thoughts. I breathed through my mouth the whole hour and a half and I kept yawning so I guess excess carbon dioxide does contribute to yawns lol. It was a really strange sensation, watching the post-mortem being done. I mean, in surgery, only the part you cut up is exposed and the cuts are little neat ones made with a scalpel. Here, the post-mortem knife just goes *gssshhh* through and the guys just snap through the ribs and skull like nobody's business. Even dissecting a cadaver, which I suppose is as close as you can get, is just not the same since a cadaver is fixed and this was just...bloody. And watching everything opened up, it's like the organs are wearing her as a costume. Weird. They do stitch the bodies back up afterwards though which is good, funeral purposes or otherwise.

It's a shame that in the end her emotional pain led her to ending her life (and it's always worse for those left behind) because her organs were textbook pristine really. She wouldn't have had any problems for a while. Clean arteries, smooth liver, no signs of smoking in the lungs. A whole new meaning to beautiful on the inside;)

Are you listening?

2006-09-24T22:50:00.000+12:00

You know you've been trawling the Net way too long (which isn't necessarily a bad thing IMHO XD) when you've done your usual rounds of your usual hit-list 3 times in a row. Minimum figure.

Anyway, I was lurking on Global Voices and got myself a pretty badge (click on said pretty badge on the sidebar to your right to check their site out!) To quote, "Global Voices Online is a non-profit global citizens’ media project, sponsored by and launched from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School." A bunch of bloggers worldwide blog about their respective regions, some doing the rounds of their local blogs to come up with their most interesting posts (their "daily roundups") and a whole bunch of others contribute posts; all this culminating in the Global Voices Online! Pretty neat eh. Have a read!=D

A post from Turkey alerted me to the fact that Ramadhan is referred to as Ramazan there. Granted, there are probably a gazillion different inflects and variations across the globe but it's nice to stumble upon a reminder of that fact once in a while ^_^ So it's that time of the year again... Ramadhan has already started today for those practising back home and due for us in NZ tomorrow at the start of the new week. Since the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycles, the dates and months don't correlate with the arbitrary annum of January to December that the world centres around. As such, the months annually creep up in relation to the standard year and such is the cycle.

The previous 3 Ramadhans we've had in NZ has been quite the gruelling test. Occurring so late in the year, it was close to summer here as opposed to what Ramadhan would be like in the UK. Our Subuh would be at around 4ish and Iftar as late as quarter to 9. This year promises to take less of a toll on my body (currently similar to Brunei but will probably lengthen as the year progresses) which is much welcomed considering that of late, it's more sensitive to low fuel levels and the consequences manifest more as the more horrifying faint spells and incredible headaches, rather than plain old cumbersome borborygmi, albeit of gastronomic audible proportions.

~Ramadhan mubarak, to all those practising!~

Another year of abstinence from yummy local sungkai food and family iftars... I can, however, look forward to the very-real-I-can-almost-taste-it possibility of not missing Raya/Eid what with our academic year due to pave way for an early summer vacation in oh, about 4 weeks;) My feet are certainly itching to catch that plane...

(One of my brothers turned 18 today. May he always be blessed ^_^)