It's fascinating how the English language is influenced by astrology and other pagan references but most people are unaware of it. Take the phrase "dog days of summer". I've always known that it refers to the hot weather in summer but why "dog" not "cat" or other animals for that matter.
I did a random Wiki/Google search and unearthed a perfectly satisfying answer - the ancient Greeks labelled summer days as "Dog Days" cos they were days when Sirius (the Dog Star) rises and sets at almost the same time as the sun!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Season 2 - Close
Here's my spontaneous, emotional and utterly irrational reaction to the last episode of Gossip Girl Season 2 (which I've been saving to watch on a dreamy, rainy day like today). It has a fabulously romantic ending which makes me wanna shout "I love Chuck Bass!"
Monday, August 17, 2009
S'pore on foot
We thought that National Day was a nice excuse to explore one of the yet to be explored "hidden gems" of Singapore - Pearl Hill Park. It's unbelievable how hundreds of people mill around Chinatown and SGH but never seem to notice this ancient(creepy) park in the middle. Guess what's in the the centre of the park? This walled-up reservoir and I mean walls the height of fortress walls! Kaypoh me was inclined to scout acound a little more but chickened out when I remembered we were going to catch Orphan at midnight.
I've come to appreciate the mini S'pore flags given out in primary school and which we took for granted and chucked the moment we stepped out of school. Not only did we have a hard time finding one but the specimen we bought from Sheng Shiong was badly made from cheap plastic. Glad it's not that obvious from the pics!
The weather was hot and neither TR (who probably owns thousands of them) nor I (who buys hundreds of it) had with us a rubber band for the hair! Oh well, no one can blame me for not being patriotic :)
I've come to appreciate the mini S'pore flags given out in primary school and which we took for granted and chucked the moment we stepped out of school. Not only did we have a hard time finding one but the specimen we bought from Sheng Shiong was badly made from cheap plastic. Glad it's not that obvious from the pics!
The weather was hot and neither TR (who probably owns thousands of them) nor I (who buys hundreds of it) had with us a rubber band for the hair! Oh well, no one can blame me for not being patriotic :)
Monday, August 10, 2009
44!
I found myself riveted to the screen while NDP 09 played out to a skin-tingling fireworks finale. I found myself singing along to nostalgic national day songs which I never dreamed that I would hear again ("It's The Little Things"). TR turned to me with an incredulous look, "NDP this year is not bad... The music director got it right for once." It's hard not to enjoy a full-blown musical!
Monday, July 13, 2009
is there a moral reason why all "bad" guys ultimately die?!
Arrgh. I'm still reeling from the last episode of Harper's Island last night. I know I know. Nobody watches the show. But I'm UPSET that my favourite character turned out to be some psychotic killer with a twisted sense of love :( And he died how unfair!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Country Road, Take Me Home
Road tripping is superb fun! It's the closest I can get to a carefree, hippie life. Speeding down the legendary American highways and interstates, getting lost (yes that's possible even with a map and GPS), choosing which fast food joint to refuel (we were on this insane quest to find a Wendy's) and even mundane things like pumping gas becomes a novelty.
I admit my deliriousness was because I cannot in my wildest dream believe that I'm living a song! A Guides song that I always sing (but honestly, never really liked) but somehow it got wired into my brain so yes, that's the inspiration for this trip!
The Blue Ride Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range where its watershed marks the boundaries of the Shenandoah Valley. Confusing huh? Took quite long to match the places to the names.
Dickey Ridge Visitor Centre at Milepost 4.6.
It may not be spring but summer brings with it lots of wildflowers.
The park has several overlooks which allow cars convenient picture stops. I believe there are more than 50 stops so discretion must be exercised! I did some research on which overlooks have the best views but that did not prevent us from stopping at a whim.
Shout. out. LOUD!
I admit my deliriousness was because I cannot in my wildest dream believe that I'm living a song! A Guides song that I always sing (but honestly, never really liked) but somehow it got wired into my brain so yes, that's the inspiration for this trip!
"Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growing like a breeze..."
- John Denver
Ok, here goes my gazillion of pics! Nature provides the best backdrop!
Very deep in thought...
A car to match its driver (passenger)!
A very pretty highway. Blessed with good weather :)
Wendy looks adorably like Anne of Green Gables with her red hair and freckled cheeks! Maybe that's why I like it so much.
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growing like a breeze..."
- John Denver
Ok, here goes my gazillion of pics! Nature provides the best backdrop!
Very deep in thought...
A car to match its driver (passenger)!
A very pretty highway. Blessed with good weather :)
Wendy looks adorably like Anne of Green Gables with her red hair and freckled cheeks! Maybe that's why I like it so much.
The north entrance to the Skyline Drive - one of the most picturesque routes in the country.
The Blue Ride Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range where its watershed marks the boundaries of the Shenandoah Valley. Confusing huh? Took quite long to match the places to the names.
Dickey Ridge Visitor Centre at Milepost 4.6.
It may not be spring but summer brings with it lots of wildflowers.
The park has several overlooks which allow cars convenient picture stops. I believe there are more than 50 stops so discretion must be exercised! I did some research on which overlooks have the best views but that did not prevent us from stopping at a whim.
Shout. out. LOUD!Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wordel!
I'm addicted to WORDEL! It's this online tool which helps you to create a word cloud from a text.
For example, when I inserted this paragraph from my previous post:
I got this customizable word cloud!
For example, when I inserted this paragraph from my previous post:
(1) ascend Rockefeller Centre or the Empire State Building (cloudy skies, bad view);
(2) visit the MET or MOMA or any other museums (museum fatigue after DC);
(3) visit BodyWorks (keep procrastinating on the belief that the exhibition will always be there);
(4) visit Coney Island;
(5) eat pizza at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn;
(6) watch a Broadway musical or play.
(2) visit the MET or MOMA or any other museums (museum fatigue after DC);
(3) visit BodyWorks (keep procrastinating on the belief that the exhibition will always be there);
(4) visit Coney Island;
(5) eat pizza at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn;
(6) watch a Broadway musical or play.
I got this customizable word cloud!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Covergirls
Yivon messaged me last night about some "nice" photos of me she uploaded on her blog. I had my suspicions hahaha. See what they amounted to!
Looking vague? Probably cos of the wind in my face.
Family or friend??
Best friends pretending to be F4.
Looking vague? Probably cos of the wind in my face.
Family or friend??
I'm going to send this pic to SIA...
Models who flopped at their first photoshoot.
Best friends pretending to be F4.
Never knew ECP bore any resemblance to the Australian outback!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Theatre Night!
I'm quite satisfied with this trip to NYC. I've accomplished most of what I planned: explore the different neighbourhoods, visit certain shops and streets, drop by the touristy attractions. My failure to complete everything on my list is largely a result of: (1) my laziness; (2) my penchant for exploring the streets rather than visiting attractions; (3) the weather and (4) lack of $$.
Hence I did not:
(1) ascend Rockefeller Centre or the Empire State Building (cloudy skies, bad view);
(2) visit the MET or MOMA or any other museums (museum fatigue after DC);
(3) visit BodyWorks (keep procrastinating on the belief that the exhibition will always be there);
(4) visit Coney Island;
(5) eat pizza at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn;
(6) watch a Broadway musical or play.
The last "miss" annoys me the most. I refuse to pay US$150++ for a good seat or $70++ for a bad seat. I refuse to queue at TKTS for discounted tix cos I figured that the time spend queuing could be better employed (anyway they don't have discounted Wicked tix). It's kinda ironic cos in the end, we paid US$25.00 to watch Terminator Salvation and Drag Me to Hell (don't remind me) when we could watch them at half the price in S'pore.
I did managed to visit a theatre, albeit not a Broadway theatre, and was part of the audience in an extremely entertaining live show for US$17!
According to Wikipedia, Apollo Theatre is "the most famous club associated with African-American performers". No surprise that it is in Harlem or that we were one of the few Asians that night (inc. a few Jap tourists). Amateur Night is a talent show or, to quote Cui, "American Idol on steroids". The audience (and everybody) were crazily enthusiastic. Thankful that I could hide in the shadows and rest my weary feet!
Harlem comes with its share of horror stories but I'm very sure I'd be less jumpy if Cui did not keep reminding us of them as we walked the streets. It did not help when I saw that the counters at Popeye's Chicken have a solid wall of fibreglass between the servers and the customers. "In case there's a shoot-out", Cui says calmly. !!! With my mind occupied elsewhere, I realise that the area's more dingy than the other parts of Manhattan and the people more shady but otherwise it's fine in daylight and in groups (we're on 125th St. It gets worse as the numbers increase).
While waiting to enter the theater, Cui decided to use the make shift "blue screen" to take some "studio-worthy" shots with her pro/expensive SLR while I fiddled with my expiring point-and-shoot.
Hence I did not:
(1) ascend Rockefeller Centre or the Empire State Building (cloudy skies, bad view);
(2) visit the MET or MOMA or any other museums (museum fatigue after DC);
(3) visit BodyWorks (keep procrastinating on the belief that the exhibition will always be there);
(4) visit Coney Island;
(5) eat pizza at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn;
(6) watch a Broadway musical or play.
The last "miss" annoys me the most. I refuse to pay US$150++ for a good seat or $70++ for a bad seat. I refuse to queue at TKTS for discounted tix cos I figured that the time spend queuing could be better employed (anyway they don't have discounted Wicked tix). It's kinda ironic cos in the end, we paid US$25.00 to watch Terminator Salvation and Drag Me to Hell (don't remind me) when we could watch them at half the price in S'pore.
I did managed to visit a theatre, albeit not a Broadway theatre, and was part of the audience in an extremely entertaining live show for US$17!
According to Wikipedia, Apollo Theatre is "the most famous club associated with African-American performers". No surprise that it is in Harlem or that we were one of the few Asians that night (inc. a few Jap tourists). Amateur Night is a talent show or, to quote Cui, "American Idol on steroids". The audience (and everybody) were crazily enthusiastic. Thankful that I could hide in the shadows and rest my weary feet!
Harlem comes with its share of horror stories but I'm very sure I'd be less jumpy if Cui did not keep reminding us of them as we walked the streets. It did not help when I saw that the counters at Popeye's Chicken have a solid wall of fibreglass between the servers and the customers. "In case there's a shoot-out", Cui says calmly. !!! With my mind occupied elsewhere, I realise that the area's more dingy than the other parts of Manhattan and the people more shady but otherwise it's fine in daylight and in groups (we're on 125th St. It gets worse as the numbers increase).
While waiting to enter the theater, Cui decided to use the make shift "blue screen" to take some "studio-worthy" shots with her pro/expensive SLR while I fiddled with my expiring point-and-shoot.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Arlington National Cemetery
Day trips are one of my favourite activities so I made sure to plan for a few hassle-free ones. My decision to visit Arlington National Cemetery arose from a National Geog article that I read some time ago. I couldn't believe how beautiful a cemetery could look or that it is such a popular tourist attraction.
Arlington Cemetery is in the state of Virginia but it's just across the river from DC (I'm still not used to imaginary state boundary thingy.) The train ride took us 30 mins at most. It sounds morbid to visit a cemetery but you can see from the manicured lawns that it looks more like a picturesque national park than a creepy graveyard.
The symmetrical neat rows of tombstones is mesmerizing. I wonder how they keep the thousands of tombstones sparking white?
I like how TR uses his colour accent function to create two similar yet different shots.
Arlington Cemetery is in the state of Virginia but it's just across the river from DC (I'm still not used to imaginary state boundary thingy.) The train ride took us 30 mins at most. It sounds morbid to visit a cemetery but you can see from the manicured lawns that it looks more like a picturesque national park than a creepy graveyard.
Many famous people are buried there and JF Kennedy is one. See the eternal flame that burns on his tomb?
The symmetrical neat rows of tombstones is mesmerizing. I wonder how they keep the thousands of tombstones sparking white?
I like how TR uses his colour accent function to create two similar yet different shots.
Changing of guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
The Narnia-esque amphitheatre.
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