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Headed to Expo after work with Edwin and Terence as they had intended to buy laptops.

For people interested in budget laptops, Compaq has $999 Dual Core laptop (1.4 ghz, 512 mb ram, windows vista home, 120 gb hard disk) with free HP printer. Another one is the Lenovo G400 Dual Core laptop (1.6 ghz, 1 gb ram, windows vista home, 120 gb hard disk) selling for $1099 with free air ticket to either Bangkok, Phuket, Langkawi, Penang or Jakarta. However, the air ticket is not inclusive of a $20 admin fee, as well as airport taxes and fuel surcharges.

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Beowulf

Met up with my jc friends as most of them had finished their exams. We watched Beowulf at Vivocity yesterday night.

Beowulf has astounding animation which has incredibly lifelike characters. The lifelike characters include the courageous Beowulf who constantly shows off his six pack muscles, Grendal's mother (Angelina Jolie) who is always unclad, and Grendal who is a totally disgusting demon that terrorises the town near his lair.

The story is about Beowulf who arrives at the kingdom which is perpetually attacked by Grendal. Beowulf is there to defeat the evil monster and he eventually faces another demon who is the incredibly seductive and mesmerizing Grendal's mother.

The score by Alan Silvestri is haunting and apt for the action thriller fantasy movie. The action sequences are commendable for an animated film and much effort had been put into making everything look realistic, even for the monsters. However, animation still can't defeat the real and subtle emotions portrayed by humans and it would be better if the movie consists of real life characters. Amazing visuals and animations nonetheless.

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Premonition

He sensed something was wrong before he went for the trip. Click here and you will get what i mean.

I'm beginning to reflect on life in general. Do i want to just go with the flow or really achieve things in my life? I'm a slacker (other than during exam periods) and i don't deny that fact. The problem is that i don't push for more except when it is necessary. I gotta change my mindset. Gotta be what I want myself to be. Of course, they are just words and putting it into action is much harder than merely saying it.

Perhaps a question that i would like to pose to myself and everyone is "What do you want others to remember you to be?" A nice person? I'm sure many people would say that but i am still very far from leaving a legacy. Perhaps it's time to change.

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Unfortunate Demise

This is one of the piano pieces from one of the dragon boaters who drowned in Cambodia.

Shenmue Medley by Reuben Kee

Do check out the video coz it's a really touching and sad piece by a talented pianist.

Sad news indeed.

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The Kingdom

Met up with Edwin and Meibin for dinner at Billy Bombers and watched The Kingdom next.

The Kingdom is a fictional account of a terrorist attack in a Saudi Arabia high security oil company compound where many Caucasian expats are living. The movie starts off with the terrorist attack which is chillingly realistic and disturbing. The hand held camera work adds to the realism as well as the aerial helicopter shots and the videotapes the terrorists normally record.

There are numerous weaponry deployed which are rifles, shoulder-launched missile weapons, grenades, machine guns, car bombs, etc. These weapons or weapons of mass destruction are fully utilized and they satisfy the audience of adrenaline. Also, the movie has a noble ambition which is to entertain and educate audiences (of the horrifying consequences) at the same time.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't delve too deep into the characters and some of them like Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper are reduced to accompanying pieces for the action, which is the lead character. The action is top-notch and no expenses had been spared for the attacks/war/fighting sequences. The show is intense and we hold our breaths everytime the FBI agents engage with the terrorists.

The final message that violence begets violence is truly haunting and it is evidently spiraling out of control in real life.

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Places I wanna visit

Another country that I wanna visit is Malta. Malta comprises of 3 islands in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and Tunisia. The history of the country dates back thousands of years and it is evident in the photos below that i searched from the internet.

Valletta medieval cityscape

Azure Window

Ggantija temple

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Assessment over

Did my report over the weekend and my ntu supervisor came over yesterday to collect the report and talk to us.

1 more month of work! Will be looking forward to the days that i can wake up later than 6.45 am.

Will be looking forward to catch up with friends that i haven't seen for quite some time coz of the exam period as well.

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Dates

Janan, Kian Shing, Zao Min and I will be leaving Singapore on 24 Jan at night to Amsterdam transiting at London. We are traveling via British Airways as their baggage allowance is the most at 46 kg. Booked the return flight for $2067. Will be doing a stopover at London before coming back to Singapore next year on 30 July.

6 months and 5 days abroad, it will be my longest trip away from home.

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Built To Last

Built To Last by Melee

Love this song...

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Songs

Been listening to the radio after getting tired of listening to my outdated mp3 songs. Some of the songs that i enjoy listening to are...

Apologize by One Republic feat. Timbaland

Potential Breakup Song by Aly and AJ

She's so Lovely by Scouting for Girls

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Stressed

My ntu supervisor just informed us today that he will be coming to my company next wednesday for the final visit. It wasn't his fault that he had to change to an earlier date though. "They" just informed him that he need to submit the grades by the end of this month.

Gotta rush and finish the final report plus logbook by next tuesday.

Good luck to all my friends during this exam period as well!

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New Laptop!

Muahaha...

Got a good deal from my colleague who just won this laptop at my company's dinner and dance 10 days ago. She already has 2 laptops and does not need the new one, so I decided to buy it from her for 1k.

It's Dell Vostro 1400 with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.00 GHz, Windows Vista Home, 2 Gb Ram and 160 gb of memory. Quite a steal but the warranty period is only 1 year.

I was planning to go to Sitex at the end of this month to get a cheap laptop but i got a better deal instead.

New laptop

Opened up

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Multiple Movie Reviews

I'm getting really lazy to blog nowadays. I haven't even finish blogging about my Vietnam trip.

Anyway, i shall do brief movie reviews on 3 movies that i watched recently.

Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, C'est Tout)

A French film about 3 good friends living together. Good character development and acting by Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet. The cast brings out the best in the otherwise staid storyline about domestic squabbles, relationships and an old granny to take care of. The ending seems too abrupt and idealized though, a contradiction to the realistic portrayal of friends living together in the rest of the movie.

Lions for Lambs

This talky politically charged drama on the Iraq Afghan war is respectable for its noble convictions. What do some politicians do other than talk about strategies on how to win the war and dispatching soldiers to their deaths? This film raises questions about the already highly publicized debate on the negative consequences of the wars that the United States have sustained. The media which plays an important role in influencing citizens judgments are brought to attention, as well as the loss of precious lives at the war occurring in the same time frame as people who were enjoying their safe havens and not doing enough to end the bloodshed.

The movie boosts good performances from Tom Cruise as the ambitious and bold senator who implements new strategies for the Iraq-Afghan war, Meryl Streep as the acute and deftly sarcastic journalist who interviews the senator regarding the new strategies, and finally Robert Redford as the insightful and politically aware professor who shares his ideals and beliefs with his students.

This movie is to the point, precise and emotionally relevant on the atrocities committed. However, the movie feels a little cut up as the 3 pieces of the stories (war frontline, interview, and student-teacher exchange) do not merge. They coalesce in terms of ideals and beliefs although no clear solution is brought out, and the audience could probably do better with a longer and more indepth movie plus real life interviews of soldiers in the frontline and politicians and their stand.

Stardust

First of all, i really enjoyed the movie. I must say that some parts of the movie is silly but they definitely add to its entertainment value.

The best things about the movie:

1) Michelle Pfeiffer

What can i say about the cruel, vampy, centuries old witch played by Michelle Pfeiffer? Simply awesome. She puts up a hilarious performance infused with playful magic and dirty tricks amidst her rapidly deteriorating beauty. Her character is so vibrantly rich and colourful that she steals a lot of the limelight away from Claire Danes, the star she is looking for.

2) The Magic

The exhilaration when a magic trick gets unleashed is universal and we are so amused with the animal-human, human-animal, male-female and finally human-ghost transformations that the evil witches concoct. The magical world of Stormhold is so fascinating that i dare say is better than Hogwarts.

3) The transformation of Tristan

We believe that Tristan is the shy and awkward guy next door who is a pushover at the beginning of the movie. The transformation from a supposedly weak guy to someone who knows how to protect a girl in danger, someone who welds a blade like a seasoned pro, and someone who is charismatic, gentlemanly and matured is amazing. We cheer along with the hero of the movie and guys would wish that we would be like Tristan at the end of the movie.

4) The fairytale romance

I'm definitely not a sucker for romance film but this film got to me. The magical backdrop definitely adds to the lovely ambience and the audience get engrossed with the romance developing between Tristan and Yvaine.

This film is a no-brainer but it ranks high in terms of entertainment value. It is a fun, enjoyable and hilarious film with interesting plot and characters.

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Subara Impreza Challenge

I've been sick for the whole of this week and got 1 day mc tomorrow.

Diagnosed with bronchitis and been feeling unwell for the past 7 days.

Anyway, i will be getting a flu vaccination before i head to Netherlands in january so that i will have lesser risk of falling ill in a foreign country.

Despite my illness, i went down to Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza to support Edwin as he is participating in the Subaru Impreza Challenge.

Go Edwin!

Total of 400 participants

Newscaster reporting

Break time!

Car full of white hands

Stretching and resting

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