gUnZ reFleCtiOnS: 12/01/2008

Italy + Brussels Trip Day 1 (26 Apr 08) (Part 3)

>> Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Continuing the walking tour of Brussels...

Palais Royal (Royal Palace)

In front of the Royal Palace

The nice castle garden

Parc de Bruxelles Warande (Brussels Warande Park)

Group photo at the park

Bursts of water

Palais de la Nation

Side view of Cathedral St-Michel

Front view of Cathedral St-Michel

Cathedral St-Michel + Statue

Back at Brussel Centraal Station

The train station can be better with some renovations

Taking the train to Charleroi Sud

Caught sleeping again!

We took the bus to the airport from Charleroi Sud train station to catch our flight to Bergamo in Italy.

Ryanair flight

It was dark upon reaching Bergamo airport and we took the bus that takes us to the bus station in Bergamo.

Taking the local bus in Bergamo

We then made our way to our hostel on foot and it was like walking in a rather undeveloped country. Some of the roads that we took had no pavements and we had to walk by the side of the roads. Luckily, there were 8 of us which is quite a lot or i will be feeling a little vulnerable.

Passing by old and rundown buildings with graffiti strewn walls

We reached our nice hostel safely!

We then proceeded downstairs to a nearby restaurant for our late dinner. We were all quite hungry and we ordered a pizza each.

First taste of authentic Italian pizza, it's not as fluffy (not much bread) and not as filling but the taste is slightly better

Dinner at last!

Buffet and Movie

>> Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Met up with some of my aero friends yesterday for the lunch buffet at Carnivore in Vivocity. We had an extremely full lunch filled with barbecued fish, lamb, pork, honey chicken, beef, ham, sausages, and some veggies and fruits etc. The food was quite good and we ate quite a substantial amount. The price for each person is around $33 nett.

Buffet at Carnivore

Logo

We then did some shopping at Vivo as the post christmas sale is ongoing. Headed to Paradis shopping centre next as the rest of them wanted to play LAN games. I was one of the lousiest players as usual. I would say that my preference for games (actually i don't really play many games) is more strategy style games instead of those walk around or run around killing people games.

We then watched Yes Man at The Cathay. Jim Carrey stars as Carl Allen, a man who signs up for a self-help program based on one simple principle: say yes to everything and anything. At first, unleashing the power of “yes” transforms Carl’s life in amazing and unexpected ways, but he soon discovers that opening up his life to endless possibilities can have its drawbacks. Synopsis extracted from RT.

Yes Man is a feel good comedy by Jim Carrey and he does a great job as Carl, transforming from an uptight and boring guy who frequently watches DVDs at home alone after the breakup with his wife, to a spontaneous, outgoing and gregarious guy who parties late into the night and accepts any challenges and requests given to him.

The comedy works solely because of Jim Carrey's comic abilities. Ask me to name another cast in the movie who can constantly invoke laughter and i'll be dumbstruck for an answer. Still, the movie is quite entertaining and it serves as a good breather/relaxant after a hard day at work. The theme of the movie is interesting as well and it supports the notion that everyone of us should live life to the fullest; enjoying the companionship of friends and family, working on a job that we enjoy, and making the ones we love happy.

Yes Man is not a brilliant comedy for sure (i'm sure there can be more laughs) but it isn't half bad either. It is a little predictable but the story is original and i do enjoy the meaningful theme behind the movie.

***

Sunday & Movie

>> Monday, December 29, 2008

Went to collect Mayday free concert tickets with Ks and we got the tickets unexpectedly even though a staff earlier told us that almost all the concert tickets were given out. Went for some food and shopping next before meeting up with Stephen in the evening to watch movie.

We watched Lady Chatterley at The Cathay. Set in 1921, this is the story of an adulterous affair between Lady Constance Chatterley and the gamekeeper who works for the estate owned by her wheelchair-bound husband.

I think most people will hate this movie as it is often slow moving and full of dialogue. I hated the start of movie (the entire 30 mins) which is really slow-going and snooze inducing. I thought that the movie was aimless and meandering in its storyline for its introduction. As the movie progresses, the story finally starts to pick up and i get the point why the introduction is so boring. The filmmaker wanted to depict Lady Chatterley trapped in an aristocratic hole where she is supposed to abide by the rules and continue living her rather aimless and boring life.

Everything changes when she starts an affair with the gamekeeper and they embark on a passionate romance bursting with sensuality between lovers of different status. Both of them release their long hidden inhibitions onto each other and they crave for each other day and night. The acting is rather good with Marina Hands as the sympathetic and loving wife with unfulfilled desires (as her husband is paralyzed from waist down), and Jean-Louis Coullo'ch as the gamekeeper who is attracted to Connie.

The film concentrates on the humans' wandering eye as well as social status and it succeeds to a certain extent. The drama within the movie is still a tad staid and perhaps following too closely to the book might not elevate the movie to cinematic success.

***

Results out!

>> Sunday, December 28, 2008

Thankfully, i did not fail any modules! Lol, yeah failing a module would be unthinkable. I did better than what i expected for Heat Transfer, Aircraft Structures II and Aircraft Design. For Electrical, i did much worse than what i had expected. Prof Comm is within expectations and Control Theory is bad but not as bad as i imagined.

I did deprove this semester as expected but luckily my GPA is still within safe territories and not too badly affected.

1 last semester to go in NTU before graduation!

2 Movies: Ip Man

Met up with my jc friends at night and we watched Ip Man.

Adapted from the life story of Ip Man - the grand master of the Wing Chun style of kung fu and sifu of legendary kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. This movie will be the first important record of the master's life. Ip's persistent devotion to Wing Chun is a classic example of the love and respect shown to wushu and the freedom and spirit it represents. Ip Man is a concept, a spirit, a way of thinking - and it exemplifies a new peak in Hong Kong's wushu movies. Extracted from Sg Movies.

Ip Man is straightforward storytelling with themes of honour and country. The action scenes are spectacular and the fight scenes are definitely enthralling. Donnie Yen plays the martial arts maestro and he portrays his role well with his innately calm and genial character but yet executing acute and lightning fast kung fu moves when the need calls for it. Violence is not glorified here while traditional values like honour, respect, humility, and loyalty are.

The film editing could be improved as the storytelling transition is not very smooth. One moment many villagers and Ip Man and his family (living in a mansion) are doing well, the next scene, Ip Man and his family live in a shabby room during the Japanese Occupation. Another slight issue that i have with this film is that Ip Man is simply too strong, too powerful and a tad too undefeatable. The action choreography is wonderful but i would prefer a little more drama with more vulnerabilities of Ip Man. The comedic elements in the movie are a nice touch to this martial arts film as well.

***

2 Movies: Australia

Went to watch Australia with Mh earlier in the day.

I loved Australia, the movie i mean. The movie is a romantic action-adventure set in northern Australia prior to World War II, the film centres on an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a ranch the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle driver (Jackman) to drive 2000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier. Extracted from Sg Movies.

Baz Luhrmann directs this romantic epic with his usual flair for pizazz, vibrancy, and unabashed melodrama but they are done with fervour and passion. Some of the action scenes are genuinely heartstopping, like the explosive cattle stampede, and the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese forces. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman have incredible onscreen chemistry and they play two distinctly different characters that bond and gel together over time, over adventures, and over hardship. The cast does a great job in the show with the two strong leads heading plus an amicable half-Aboriginal child played by Brandon Walters and an evil nemesis played by David Wenham.

The show is not just a romantic epic but it also encompasses themes of racism of the Aboriginal people in Australia. It depicts many people decades ago in their conservative and racist mindset that the Whites are superior than the Aboriginals and the movie clearly made its stance of its anti-racism views. The themes are still hugely relevant even in this modern society where racism sometimes still rears its ugly head.

All in all, Australia is a hugely cinematic experience with themes of romance, adventure, war, and clashes of different races combined to one and set in the picturesque outback Australia. It is traditional filmmaking that is highly melodramatic but thoroughly engaging and entertaining. Highly recommended.

PS: It is hard to leave an eye dry while watching the show.

****

Italy + Brussels Trip Day 1 (26 Apr 08) (Part 2)

>> Saturday, December 27, 2008

Continuing the walking tour of Brussels...

Passing by another Belgium chocolate shop

Tourists like us can't help taking photos

Ruins of a medieval castle/fortifications

Place De La Chapelle

With a monument

The bicycles can be rented by just putting in coins into the machine

We took a lift to see the Palais de Justice

The view from the skybridge

The prominent building is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart

The sky bridge and elevator

A war memorial

On elevated ground outside the Palais de Justice (Place Poelaert Polaertplein)

This building looks like Charleroi Sud Train Station

In the background is Palais De Justice (Palace of Justice)

Outside another church

Place du Petit-Sablon (We rested our feet at this small garden among the concrete)

Soaking in the early summer sun

Musea Voor Schone Kunsten (Museum of Fine Arts)

A sculpture outside the building

Place Royale

With horse sculpture

Feelings

I'm feeling quite bored these few days. Too little reality shows on tv nowadays and i think computer games are quite a waste of time. I'm also in holiday mood and totally no mood to do anything for FYP.

I can't wait for the new year eve celebration. I'm gonna bring some alcohol to Ed's house.

Last holiday before graduation.
Last week before school starts.

And i am still so aimless in what i want.

Sometimes, i feel that time passes so fast. Sometimes i need to feel that i am alive. Sometimes i just can't stand doing nothing.

I'm just so lazy and i need to get myself moving to do something constructive.

Italy + Brussels Trip Day 1 (26 Apr 08) (Part 1)

>> Friday, December 26, 2008

After returning from Krakow and Antwerp just 4 days ago, the 8 of us embarked on another trip to Italy and Brussels. I had booked the flight to Italy from Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Milan Bergamo Airport for our 10 day holiday as it was our 1 week semester break.

We set off early in the morning to go to Brussels via train. The train ride took about 2 hrs.