And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

I know it's a bit late, but still... Happy Chinese New Year!

Ahh... I love this holiday here in Singapore, because it surely is a long one. We had a very long weekend and tomorrow is going to be a dreary day at work - for sure.

The picture shown above is Josh coming out from their school activity last Friday. Moms, Dads and Yayas weren't allowed inside their little theater (the glass dors were even covered with newspapers!) So we had to make do with the little pic we had taken when they were released. The gift he's carrying said "First Prize - Nursery"; we don't have any idea what's it for. We'll just wait for his teacher's email updates then. More of his school pics here.

We also went to Wild Wild Wet last Sunday just to fight boredom: most stores are pretty much close in here (no place to go to). We can't go out of the country for it's Herman's turn to support. Pics are available for viewing here.

It was great fun at work last Friday, too; managers gave away red packets (angpow) to staff who are brave enough to approach and greet them a happy new year. I got five packets. We had a little get together in the afternoon: pizza galore, lots of orange mandarins, knick-knacks, and beer. Beer at the workplace... only during Chinese New Year.

Man of Steel in Blue Tights

There are two comic book superheroes I like the most: Superman and Spider-man. For Spider-man, I’ve even read the first issues of adventures over at Marvel. I wish I had asked my grand-uncle to let me have those comic books for they were just stacked in some dingy old wooden box with old magazines and newspapers. But alas! I lack the foresight that those old comic books are such gems. I like Superman because I’ve read the DC comic books, borrowed from friends, about him. And, of course, who could ever forget those Christopher Reeves films that brought the movie industry to whole new level in terms of special effects? When I’ve heard the news that Superman is going to die in comics, I huddled with my college friends just to see that funeral artwork. Man it was awesome!

After two great Spider-man movies (starring my favourite actor Tobey Maguire), we’ll again see the flight of the Man of Steel (or hunky alien) in Superman Returns. I’ve seen the trailer, and it’s brilliant. You’ll hear the familiar voice of Marlon Brando as Jor-El. I now wonder what they are going to tackle in this film. On the trailer, you’ll see that we’re going back to the time when the young Kal-El was discovered by the Kent’s after a meteor shower, and back when the young Clark Kent (Brandon Routh) discovers his supernatural abilities. Is it going to be similar to the first Superman movie with Christopher Reeves? The storyline from the official website doesn’t say so. It is pretty obvious that they took off from where the last film left off. Maybe after years of absence, superman got a facelift.

Bryan Singer, who brought us the first two great film adaptations of another set of comic book heroes The X-men, directed this new film; he opted not to direct the third instalment of the X-men franchise to give new life to the most beloved superhero. We’ll see an even prettier Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) and probably a nastier Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey).

Superman Returns opens on 30^th of June 2006.

Allow children to be happy in their own way, for what better way will they find?

Josh had been attending school for almost three weeks now, and there hasn’t been a day wherein I’m not worried that he might have done something naughty with his classmates. As of now, we already got two calls from his teacher.

He’s such an over-zealous boy, especially, because he doesn’t have many playmates at home except us, adults. So whenever he meets new kids, and takes a fancy over one kid, he could be quiet obsessive (or possessive) with this new friend. He’d follow wherever this kid would go to – even take the kid’s hand and drag her all around with him. And if this kid doesn’t listen to what he’s got to say (which is, in fact, incomprehensible), Josh would grab hold of this kid’s face to make her look at him. He’s annoying, isn’t he?

This is one problem his teacher normally encounters, and she sometimes had to separate the two: much to the annoyance of Josh and a relief to the other kid. Well, I told the teacher to give Josh sometime to get use to having a lot of kids around him and he’ll soon get over it (hopefully!).

Here are some pictures taken during his orientation day and some by his teacher during class.

Frozen

It was always never easy; who ever said that is was? When the hour is upon you, and you felt the beauty all around you suddenly fades, you begin to numb. You begin to lose your place: everything passes you by.

You are at a place you know nothing about, without knowing how you got there. In silence, you screamed and laughed at the mystery of it all. You are broken and frozen in history. How could it have happened? You were stripped of the memories of yesterdays, but you know that they were all that you have.

And then you begin to question whether you are still real or but an illusion. You are getting colder.

Goblet of Fire in DVD

I still haven’t seen Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in IMAX, yet news of the DVD release was already revealed. You can buy your copy starting March 7. Isn’t that fast? I guess they now release the DVD versions as fast as they could to curb the pirated copies made from the theater release.

Here’s the promo ad that you’ll soon see on your TV screens.

And if you don’t have the previous three movies, and want to start you collection, why don’t you try the years 1-4 box edition. It’s an 8-disc DVD set.

sweat is sexy, brawn is beautiful and a little dirt never hurt anyone

Do you have a big bosom (tits, boobies, chest or knockers), a wafer-thin waist, and a pert bum? If you don’t have a job and would like to earn some dollars, Hooters Singapore is looking for you. I just saw an ad yesterday at the local paper and it caught my attention.

And, oh, last time I was in Hooters at Clark Quay, I think you also need to have skills with the hoola-hoop. You may want to check this out, too.

Best Movies of 2005

Here’s the list of movies for 2005 that belong to the top ten list of Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper:

1. Syriana
2. The New World
3. Crash
4. Munich
5. Junebug
6. Nine Lives
7. Me and You and Everyone We Know
8. Capote
9. Brokeback Mountain
10. King Kong
11. A History of Violence
12. Walk the Line
13. Yes
14. Millions
15. The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Out of the fifteen on the list, I’ve only seen one (King Kong). It wasn’t even on both lists nor did it made to the very top – a paltry eighth place. It could be because some of these films aren’t screened yet in the Singapore theatres or weren’t even allowed here at all. I, however, wanted to see The 40-Year-Old Virgin and A History of Violence, but my viewing partner doesn’t like the sound of their titles much.

I’d be on the lookout for these titles on our local theatre listings or checkout the DVD stores. Check them out yourself.

Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood. – Walt Disney

The battle between faith and reason

I have finally finished The Chronicles of Narnia (all seven books) before 2005 ended. It was a slow read by my standards – even slower than reading Roald Dahl. All seven books are almost of the same length – just give or take a difference of ten to fifteen pages; but the book that probably took me ages to finish was The Silver Chair and I was surprisingly fast when I got to The Last Battle.

I like The Last Battle, aside from the fact that it’s the last book and it gives closure that there won’t be any more visits to Narnia, because of the kind of adversary the heroes faced – it’s all different since it was not magical and simply all about treachery. The ending was long and winding, of course, and can be such a bore to read – even lamer than The Lord of the Rings’ Many Partings chapter.

This C.S. Lewis classic series of books, I hope, shouldn’t be reduced to a mere allegory of the Bible – repackaged Biblical stories or the metaphorical children’s Bible. Though you could clearly see the imprints of the author’s Christian faith in his work, the events in the books are sometimes similar but not exactly the same as what one would read from the Holy Book; Lewis painted a wonderful world in Narnia.

I’ve heard that Disney has optioned this whole series to be made into a movie, but I’d doubt if they’d make all the seven books. Surely they’d follow the Pevensies and up on the list for movie adaptation is Prince Caspian. Boy, am I glad that’d be the last time we’ll get to see Susan, played by Anna Popplewell, (if they wouldn’t make The Horse and His Boy, wherein the kids only made cameos), because her character is so two-dimensional and even stiffly portrayed in the first movie.

So which books are going to look great on film? Prince Caspian on its own is a pretty lame story if told in the language of movies, but it would make one heck of an action-adventure film if combined with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Magician’s Nephew is important for the viewers to fully understand The Last Battle and give the viewers a few explanations and further understand who the White Witch Jadis is; but I doubt if the size of the book would be enough to make one compelling two-hour long movie. I’m not sure if combining The Silver Chair and The Last Battle would be a good idea, though the main heroes of these two books are Eustace Scrubb (cousin of the Pevensies) and Jill Pole (Eustace’s friend). Going to and out of Narnia causes the timetable to go out of whack, and combining the previous two books I’ve mentioned would further cause confusion with the viewers (though it was convincingly presented in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). As for The Horse and His Boy, they could simply throw away this book and forget about it; this story didn’t affect much the entire story arc of Narnia.

What would have been better is that C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia should been approached in the same fashion that Peter Jackson and his team approached The Lord of the Rings. They should have taken the whole picture, chopped them into pieces that would make great films and one great movie series. I wouldn’t mind watching three-hours long movies showed with one-year intervals and I’d gladly buy the DVD box set of the extended versions. Now imagine if Disney approached Peter Jackson with this chronicles and Fran Walsh, together with Philippa Boyens, lifted the text from these books and made them into one whole big story. But that’s all we can do, imagine…

Peter Jackson makes film that tells great stories; hell, we even suspended our belief when we watched King Kong be lovey-dovey with Ann Darrow! If he can make us cry for the 25-foot ape, he can make us love Aslan, the lion, more.

The future comes one day at a time

It’s a brand new year and this is my first post for 2006! To say that time flies so fast is kind of lame and so cliché or maybe passé; nevertheless, I’d still ponder on it.

My little boy Josh, who is forty-two months old now (three years and six months, in the usual reckoning), started his official school day today. He went to school yesterday, however, for the orientation: in his brand new uniform and shoes. I went with him (taking a day off from work) so that he could acclimate himself to the new environment he’s going to be in the next three years.

So, I woke him up early to get him ready for the day (all right, it was me who was excited). He was actually not keen on waking up before eight and would still love to snuggle a bit with his bottle of milk. I told him that he would go to school that day, and he replied, “I don’t want to go to school.” Just imagine the tugging we had to go through: I don’t want to take a bath; I don’t want to brush my teeth; I don’t want that duck shampoo. After his bath, brushing his teeth, cleaning his hair and me getting wet, he finally got excited over the taught of going to school. When he finally got his uniform on, he enthusiastically carried his bag containing his water bottle and towel.

When it was time for them (Nursery students) to line-up, he wouldn’t let go of my hand (luckily mummies are allowed that day). He further warmed up when they got inside the classroom and especially at the play area.

Josh just joined his nursery class, but before you know it he’ll be starting Primary 1 and I’d start worrying about PSLEs and GCSEs. For now, I do hope that he’ll learn his Chinese lessons and do well in class and praying to God that he doesn’t bully anyone.