The City Never Sleeps

Finally...back from the 4D/3N stay in KL shopping holiday.

Nothing much done during the holiday. Should have heed the advice from Paul's blog that rain has been visiting KL for the past few nights. And staying over in aunt's house is enjoyable, not so memorable, but a meaningful one.

Aunt didn't really made much goodies for us, but her delicious food makes up for it. Had boiled chicken, veggies blanched in hot water, some pan-friend fish, stir fry diced garlic and shallots mixed with light soy sauce from Stitawan. Yums... A nice simple fare for the night of arrival.

And heaven shows no grace for the 1st night of arrival. It rained when aunt drives us to 4th Uncle's residency. Never mind the rain that it has not disrupt the journey, but more rather, the house is in danger of having electricity supply cut off when lightning strikes. So, no TV programme to watch when lightning strikes if you do not want your telly set goes up in smoke when liughtning strikes.

Went to Sunway Pyramid the next day and walked around for hours. Had lunch at HK Kim Gary Restaurant when aunt asked what do i want to have for lunch. She was rather surprised and show signs of disgusted with her previous nasty experience in Kim Gary (for the food she had was too salty, that she feels thirsty after the meal.) However, this lunch session proves her wrong, and wins her heart back. I had sweet and spicy chicken chop rice with mango milk and cream soup, while mum had roast spare ribs rice with coffee, aunt had black pepper beef spaghetti and tea. Both ladies choose Borsch (a tomato soup boiled with lots of veggies and ox bones. a common soup served in Russia.) for their soup and yums... Kim Gary not only knows how to make good food (Thanks, Tash.) but also how to employ handsome looking young men and pretty looking chicks as waiter and waitress.

Bought a pair of sexy Skinxwear silk briefs and a Speedo goggle at a sale. Well, it is worth it, compared it to here. Art of seduction begins here...

The next day, cousin drove us to Ikea for Swedish meatballs, and unlimited refills of Coffee. Oh know what? KL's Swedish meatballs are actually beefballs, since directly flown from Sweden meatball that is sold here are banned in M'sia as it contains pork and beef. So, we had beefballs. RM12.90 for 15 meatballs. Yums...

And coffee and tea are sold at RM3 per cup, but hey, you have Lipton tea and unlimited refills of coffee, coffee with milk, cappuccino, latte and expresso there, with substitute sugar and cinnamon powder, compared to purely coffee and tea here. Visited a new shopping mall named The Curve, which is just opposite Ikea. And know what? Cathay Organization opens a new cineplex named Damansara Cineleisure (that area is known as Damansara, just a min's drive away from 1 Utama.)

A bird eye's view of The Curve from Damansara Cineleisure.

And had my lupper (a new term used in The Simpsons, describing a meal in between lunch and supper) at A&W after a 7 years break. Fried chicken and root beer float...yums.

Last day of the trips ends with Mid Valley Megamall, a stones throw away from where uncle and Tash lives. And after 3 hours of shopping in Mid Valley (seriously speaking, please give yourself at least 10 hours, if you want to walk thru the whole mall.) means a lot to me. It is just like walking down the memory lane, where Tash and i had my 1st dinner at Kim Gary, shop for some groceries at Carrefour and had gelato at Lecka Lecka.

Bought myself a pair of Nike Air Presto track shoes and a Nike Borders pouch from there before making my way home, back to Singapore.

Was a nice trip, a real good one. The trip would be better if Tash and Paul could be met in this trip. Sigh...Tash was away for a business trip, while Paul was...MIA, i suppose??

Once upon a time, there is a merchant who owns a chocolate factory. He had 3 wives who stayed with him for years.

The 1st wife oversees the operation of the factory, and ensures that the quality of the chocolate and other chocolte products are produced up to par. Think Wonka's Chocolate factory, minus all of those wonders Wonka created.

The 2nd wife runs a bakery, that manufactures nothing but chocolate related confectionary. No, no. You don't have those lovely pralines displayed on the shelves. Yes, yes. You get your usual fare of brownies (all sorts of brownies. Cranberry, cheese, strawberry, blueberry, peanut butter flavoured...), breads, doughnuts, scones, cakes, cream cakes, birthday cakes...anything you named it from a normal bakery, you have it.

The 3 rd wife runs a Cafe. She sells coffee and tea, and that lovely hot chocolate. She gets her supply of pastries from the 2nd wife's bakery. Though you get Starbucks standard of coffee, the selling point of the cafe is not the little wonder of essences extract from steam and boiling water. The cafe is well known for its hot chocolate. (Nah, not Milo please...)

What is the mircale behind every cup of hot chocolate? She gets her supply of bricks of chocolate from the factory. She cuts a large chunk from the block, put it into a pan, turn on the heat, the chocolate melts. Add milk into the melted chocolate, and a dash of cinnamon and nugmet, place it to a boil. Viola, here comes that cup of miracle. No whipped cream needed, and you get a cup of hot, semi-sweet, creamy and thick, yet it comes with a touch of spiciness.

And this is what draws the crowd to the cafe.

In life, the 3 wife do not stay together with the merchant. Instead, the merchant stays with one of the on alternate days. The 3 wifes would do anything to maintained the heart of the merchant. You guessed it?? It seems that the 3 wives gets along well in business. But afterall, that is the business world ethics. The 3 wives did not get along well in love life. They would do anything to retain the heart of their hubby. Aren't they desperate? Nah, this is not an extract from Desperate Housewives. Never watched any single episode before.

The hubby would be served with different kinds of chocolate goodies from the 1st and 2nd wife, except from the 3rd wife. She serves him hot chocolate eveerytime he reaches her home.

One day, the merchant was diagnosed with the last stage of lung cancer. On his deathbed, he asked his 3 wifes to come to him and bid him farewell before he died. Soon after the merchant passed away, his lawyer came to announce the merchant's will, which he declared long before he died. The will says the 1st and 2nd wife will receive 50% of his total inheritance, on top of their factory and bakery. The 3rd wife ges nothing but her cafe.

Shortly after his death, the merchant's 1st and 2nd wife has green eye on the 3rd wife's cafe. They try all ways to force her to sell the cafe, but she wouldn't give in. Eventually, the 1st and 2nd wife filed a lawsuit against the 3rd wife, forcing her to give up her cafe.

One night, the merchant appears in the 3rd wifes dream. He gave her some advice, and told her to heed his advice. He told her she would not go wrong if she heeds his advice. The very next day, she gave up the cafe to the 1st and 2nd wife, unconditionally. She packed her stuff and left the country.

A year has passed.

The business in the chocolate factory has failed terribly, as there has been several complains filed against the chocolate factory for selling chocolates manufactured from contaminated cocoa beans. As the 1st wife has been doing nothing but giving away money as compensations, more and more complained and demanded compensation. Eventually, the factory goes bust due to financial mismanagement.

The business in the bakery has affected too due to chain reaction. The bakes could not tell that the chocolates were contaminated. Thus, the bakery has seen dropped in sales drastically. The opening of a new bakery right across the bakery accerates the bakery owned by the 2nd wife to wind up the bakery.

What happened to the 3rd wife? Is she doing fine?

I am not going to tell you. You judge yourself. You continue the story. Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Eh...let me count: 16 more days to NS. So, ma and i will be making our way to KL for a holiday, before i step in there at least 2 years later.

Tickets bought, necessities prepared, and now, just sit down and wait for Thurs, where we will take a coach and fly us to KL.

What to do over there? I want to eat at Kim Gary...

Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles created another thriller that makes me finish the whole film on DVD at a go.

Remembered that how fantastic his previous direction of City of God was, i told YaoMing that i wanted to catch The Constant Gardener in theatres, for free. (Cos the thriller arrives our shores terribly late. It opens in Malaysia in Dec last year, while it opens in Singapore a week after CNY, while the DVD hits the shelves of local home video shop three weeks before CNY.) But i didn't get the free tickets, cos there are no free screening going on, and it was made a limited release. (Yeah, why don't they just make it straight to video release, and skip that theatrical release?? Anyway, the VCD was released the very next day when the run comes to an end.)

Ralph Fiennes did not bring home a little golden man statue, but his co-star Rachel Weisz does. And it was real pathetic that The Constant Gardener receives only 4 nomination (and wins only 1 for Weisz for Best Supporting Actress. The other 3 was those tiny winny awards.) in the Oscars and 1 win, 2 nominations in Golden Globe. And very once again, we were brought to the rural areas of Africa. If you have watched City of God, you will know that Meirelles loves to discuss live in the developing countries, or the 3rd world country.

Fiennes is Justin, a British diplomat, who found out his wife, Tesse (Weisz), an activist, was found murdered with her partner, Arnold, a African doctor, while they are on their way to treat the AIDS patients. While it seems that Tesse had an affair with Arnold (while the fact is Arnold is gay) behind Justin's back, Justin investigates his wife's death, and he get more than he bargains for. He discovered a conspiracy behind a gigantic drug company that manufactures drugs to cure and prevents TB. However, they are out there to test the drugs on the Africans and if it succeeds, they will earn millions of dollars from it. If it fails, they just dispose the bodies in the wild, covered with quicklime to covered what they did.

No explosive actions, no flying of bullets around the place, no bloodshed, just peaceful finding of the truth (doubt it would be that peaceful afterall, when Fiennes was beaten up and receive a death threat in Germany.) to prevent millions of lives lost for nothing. It has been a long time since we last seen such films appearing in our theatres. However, it is not that appealing to all. (doubt anyone would enjoy a thriller that requires one to think, especially complex issues were thrown into it.) So, it explains why it is not doing that well in local box office, especially it opens in only 3 theatres.

But hey, know one thing?? The movie was filmed in Kenya, not S.Africa, since it could not get an approval to be shot in S.Africa. And better still, the cast and crew build a school for the locals and helped them with necessities to improve the lives of the poor. Something from what we learnt from school has applied in real life by Focus Features (The coy behind Constant Gardener.)

Sounds too good to be true to believe in??

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387131/

For no apparent reason, after getting some extra allowance from Bro's annual bonus, i went to Yangtze again to kill an lonely afternoon from the repeat telecast of Jack Neo's Crappy Comedy Nite.

軽井沢夫人-官能の夜想曲 aka Madam Karuizawa is the show that i go for. The first time this show makes an apperance at Yangtze was when i was in Sec 4. Yeah, a good old Sec 4 where it was 5 years ago. In fact, this film was made 10 years ago.

Ever after since the practice of not checking tickets from the underage makes the spotlight on The Straits Times, i was, for the first time, being asked for my ID at the box office counter. Somehow while comparing the lobby cards displayed in the boards on the film, it seems that the pics displayed is getting much more racy compared to the past. While the lobby cards of 軽井沢夫人-官能の夜想曲 features only the leading actress 真梨邑ケイand actor 鶴見辰吾 simply cuddle and hug at each other, other films such as Tainted Love and Wildly Available features man and woman stripping and playing SM.

Early birds were entertained with the trailer of the upcoming crappy American production: Temptress. I see nothing but this cheo bu with XXL boobs using black magic to seduce men, men, men and more men. What happens in the trailer was sex was used to perform exorcism (which gives David Zucker, the man behind the Scary Movie franchise, an idea to mock at other movies. Eventually, it ends up more like porn than your comedy flick.) Oh yes, for ya info, this juicy movie is made by the all guy's favourite magazine, Playboy. Unsurprisingly and unamazingly, it was passed under R21 with cuts.

軽井沢夫人-官能の夜想曲 is about Madam Karuizawa (真梨邑ケイ or Kei Marimura in English, who was well known for her Jazz performance in Japan during the 80's) and her rich husband and her young son spend a weekend in Karuizawa's mansion. She met her childhood playmate, Yuri (鶴見辰吾) in the mansion, whom he was employed to work as her husband's financial consultant. When Yuri caught Madam Karuizawa's husband having a sexual relationship with Yuri's ex-wife, they began to get involved in a Basic Instinct like relationship, minus all the bloody suspense. Karuizawa and Yuri had their rendaevouz in the small wooden house they used to spend their childhood, since Karuizawa is facing her marital crisis. In the end, Karuizawa's husband had Yuri' ex-wife strangled to death while having sex, and he was too ashamed to face the truth. His father was so furious that he paid Yuri to take up the scapegoat by claiming that he is the murderer,Karuizawa's father-in-law paid for the best lawyer, he goes into prison for a few years, and upon release, a high paid job awaits him - to replace Karuizawa's hubby in the current post. When Karuizawa realised the ultimate motive Yuri gets along with her (to rip off money from the rich tai tai's), she files a divorce with her husband and allows Yuri to take the scapegoat. She left the family in the end.

As the end credit roles, it does not looks like a movie to me. More rather, a telemovie that was supposingly made for the AV release. I was wondering: Am i watching a concentrated version of Japanese soap drama meant for midnight release? I do not know, and i do not wish to know, cos i know, my tummy wants the piping hot siew mai and ngoh hiang that is selling at Level 1.

Now playing: Pilate - Don't Waste Your Breath

P.S: got the pic of Madam Karuizawa, but not going to show you, since this film is just part of the Jap AV series.

Watched Lie With Me, an Canadian production at Lido Classic yesterday afternoon.

The medium size auditorium (about the size of 2 TP biz school classroom(when you put them front and back) ) which houses approximately 200 seats was half filled with ah peks and lonely middle age men for the 4.30pm show of the soft-core pornography flick, based on Tamara F Berger's erotic novel. Leila (Lauren Lee Smith of The L Word fame) is a sexually active beauty who goes around looking for one night stand. One night, she met David, a average looking guy with a nice looking bod and they had sex. From that moment onwards, Leila feels that she has the urge to do it with David again.

Again...

And again...

And again...

Until she gets addicted to it.

Sex seems to be the area where both not only satisfy their physical needs, but also a channel for solace. Leila's parents are getting a divorce, while David has a bed ridden father to take care off.

Sounds sad that the 2 sensible adults (but Leila does not seems to be that sensible) ended up using sex to find relationship and eventually solace for one another.

Never did i had a encounter of getting intimate with a beautiful girl, but some of my friend does.
After leaving the clubbing scene for close to 1 1/2 years, i was wondering if anyone would seek a casual exictement at the toilet, back alley or bedrooms in budget hotels?

Amazingly but unsurprisingly, some of the ah peks and uncles behaved as if they are watching a cheesy B-porn flick at Yangtze, where they put their legs on the seats, yak on the mobile and self stimulation. If you do not get it, just imagine they are watching a movie at Yangtze cineplex, but Yangtze has shifted to Orchard Road. :P

And that's what i said when Mrs Loy K J, our APEL 3 tutor cum careperson in Yr 3 of TP life asked for bad deeds done by teen today. Months later, a group of young reporters from The Straits Times Teens wants to prove that there are teens who make it to the theatres to watch restricted films, and i do not mean NC16 films.

Thus, they test the water at 6 cineplex in town where R21 films are allowed to be played, and one of the theatre under the list of the test: Yangtze cineplex.

The results: Out of 20 attemps to buy the ticket, 15 make it through. Out of 6 entry in the theatre, 5 make it through. Yangtze, was unsurprisingly, one of the theatre that make it thru.

In the test conducted, Yangtze, Lido, Bugis, Cineleisure Orchard, Suntec and GV Marina were the contenders for the test. (If Golden was included, it would have failed the test, since the staff had strict control and checks on selling R21 flicks tickets to the youngsters. I am barred twice when i attemp to watch Yong Fan's Colour Blossoms and Yoichi Sai's Blood and Bones at Golden. Thanks to that auntie, i missed a award winning Japanese flick highly recommended by Time Magazine.) And the results? Yangtze and Lido passed the test. (And that explains why i could watch Brokeback Mountain at Lido earlier on.)

Movies under the test are: Brokeback, Transamerica (with Felicity Huffman from our favourite Desperate Housewives playing a man who becomes a woman.), Running Scared (before Paul Walker ride with 8 doggies in Eight Below, he brought us the flick featuring sex, violence, drugs and tonnes of blood), The Hills Have Eyes (why not screen the original R21 version, but rather, edited to M18?), Hard Bounty, Lust for Freedom, and Extramarital. While the 1st 4 opens in mainstream theatres, Yangtze carrys the last 3, and no where else.

Yangtze do not carry out the checks frequently, since most of the patrons aged 50 and above, said the manager of Yangtze cineplex. Grrr.........

Have this report make it to the papers a year earlier, i would have paid Yangtze a visit for David Lynch's Blue Velvet (a classic erotic drama that will make its way to home video soon, under M18 rating, where it was previosuly rated R21.) Pedro Almodovar's Matador, Brian De Palma's Body Double, Atom Egoyan's Exotica (and it seems that Yangtze seems to have a penchant of the Egyptian director flick. First we have Ararat, then Exotica, and now Where The Truth Lies.

Anyway, the test shows us one thing: that there are teens who are underage but matured to know what is going on, and those who are an adult but inmatured in thought. Barring one from watching a flick that carrys a strong message yet classified as a R film seems to be unstoppable for those who wanted to watch. I was told i am not allowed to play the R rated version of Marc Foster's Monsters Ball for my sociology project presentation, where it carrys a strong message of racism. But hey, why barred someone from watching a R rated film when the person is not going to learn those wrong values in the film???

Blood and Bones was slapped with a R21 for few rape scenes, but it deplicits the hardship the early Korean immigrants suffered in Japan during the 50's and 60's through the view of a Korean immigrant family.

Brokeback Mountain was rated R21 for potraying a gay romance between two cowboys, Ennis and Jack. But hey, there are tonnes of gays out there in Singapore. We cannot pretend that gay do not exist in Singapore. Even Goh Chok Tong says, homosexuals are allowed to perform more intimate jobs today, and the government sees them equally as the straights.

Monsters Ball potrays racism, and it wants to prove that love has no boundaries, even among different races. While Singapore has been talking about peace, harmony and tolerance among different races, why do the government banned the uncensored version just because it contains sex between Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton??

City of God was censored for an M18 rating for strong violence and drug content. What happens in the film may not happen in Singapore, but it is a common sight in developing countries such as Rio De Janerio. The message behind City of God: Peace and harmony in Singapore is not taken for granted.

I could not think more of titles with a strong message that has been classified as R21, but such films deserved to be made open to teens who are matured to know what is going wrong in our society. But such films do have an message behind the film, and definitely it educates the young but matured mind. Rather than allowing cheap B-grade seedy Korean flick such as Mongjungi (Wet Dreams),Yeogyosu-ui eunmilhan maeryeok (Bewitching Attraction), Seom (Isle by Kim Ki Duk) or seedy American flick like those that i mentioned above or Hong Kong Category III flicks, why not allow more such films to be make available to those who are young, but matured in mind??

At least i know i am not going to rape someone after watching Blood and Bones.