kahchun's Xanga

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:50:31 GMT

Another weekend...

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 03:30:41 GMT

First and foremost... Diwali Valthukal to all my Indian machas. Although the likelihood of any of you guys to be reading my blog is as good as me having a romantic dinner with Jessica Alba in this quiet country town, I sincerely hope all of yous are enjoying a safe and fun Deepavali...

Today marked the second week I'm suffering from this bloody flu. It is terrible when you fall sick again every time you are about to recover because you couldn't resist the temptation of a crispy cold Heineken and a few nice puffs. I know alcohol will block my nasal even more and that nicotine smoke will aggravate my sensitive nose but I'm too stupid to comprehend this very complex scenario. I always thought I know how to take care of myself after spending so much time living by myself abroad but this is one of those things that I have yet to learn. I hate to get sick but yet, I never take enough initiative to prevent or to reduce the pain.

What the hell, anyway this is one of the best weekend I've had for a month despite being a sickie cause I have been working for the past few weekends. Life as an engineer is boring. I'm really satisfied with my job and that I'm making progress in my professional development. But I'm not happy that work has slowly crept in and started to take control of my social life. I go home everyday hoping that there will be no emergency calls from the plant on my mobile and that I can just spend some quiet time watching some classic movies, listening to songs, reading books or to do some sports. All these little things that I've taken granted for during my student days are now a luxury and a thing of the past.

All I'm thinking now is Chinese New Year next February. I'm planning to use 3 weeks of my annual leave to go back to Ipoh. I can't help but to visualise the awesome time that I'll have when I'm back. Ipoh is a sleepy town alright but it has its charming side. I grew up and spent half of my juvenile life there. Things haven't changed too dramatically compared to our neighbours in Penang or KL. And while the local government are fretting over it, I found that this is what make Ipoh so enchanting in the first place. It's as if you are stepping 10 years back to her glorious tin mining days everytime you drive or walk past Ipoh Old Town. The shops are so nostalgic and look so so much better aesthetically and structurally compared to any newly built buildings. It's no surprising why movie makers love to film in Ipoh. The latest I heard was Ang Lee's Lust, Caution joining a host of other movies like Anna and the King and Sepet making Ipoh as their prime filming location in Malaysia.

I'm really anticipating for this trip as I have also included Phuket in my stop-list. Hopefully, everything will turn out as planned. By the way, I watched Malena on SBS last night and gosh, Monica Belluci is absolutely stunning. I don't know what's going on with the current crops of Hollywood actresses and female celebrities; Jess Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton are craps. We need more classy ladies...

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 10:32:09 GMT

Transition (Part II)

I was inspired to write a new post on this forgotten blog of mine when during the last weekend I suddenly realised how much I have changed since my younger days in high school and in college. This might sound all too weird but to be frank, I do think it’s weird when I found myself watching Hayao Miyasaki’s ‘Spirited Away’. Wtf am I thinking?

People have told me that I’ve changed a lot but I never took it to heart because I just weren’t aware of the change myself. But to find myself enjoying a Japanese anime that centres around the adventure of a young girl in the realm of fantasy for 2 hours or more is definitely something that can’t be overlooked.

For the record, the animated movie is certainly very well made and deserves all its due credits. But I was never an anime fan nor do I have much appreciation on them. The last anime that I remember watching was Dragon Ball and we are talking about an anime more than 15 years old.

I still remember when I took a piss at my housemate when I caught him buying and watching ‘Spirited Away’ on VCD with his girlfriend. I laughed at him for that and I guess I owe him one as I’ve now gone the distance to rent the movie on DVD and watch it myself. How time has changed me; cause I would never have watched this movie even if the DVD is right in front of me computer, not to mention going all the way to rent it.

Feeling more curious about discovering my ‘new’ self, I started to look back at old pictures of myself a few years ago and comparing them with the new ones. Boy, did I find some discoveries. The most obvious difference is that I no longer shave my hair and I no longer wear baggy clothes. I now spot a neat and decent haircut and have a liking for body hugging outfits. These 2 are at the top of my ‘no-no’ list when I was in college cause I deemed neat hair and tight shirts as gay. I was a sexist and I am not embarrassed to admit it.

How time has changed as I now take pride with my neat haircut and with my new fashion sense. Bloody hell…

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Tue, 02 May 2006 06:44:51 GMT

Transition

A lot of things have happened to me lately. I doubt if there’s anyone following my blog to know much about myself (not that I complain since I don’t update it regularly) but I’m certainly glad that things start to look all so well again after such a torrid time over the past 6 months.

It all started to change after I went back to Malaysia for my Chinese New Year holiday last February. Before that, I was so worried about my future as I have not started to work despite having graduated last August 2005. On top of it, I was still waiting for the results of my Australian permanent residency application. I was really depressed for a period of time.

The moment I reached Adelaide, I promised myself that the next time that I board the plane and step foot on Australian soil again, I’ll be more successful; a man who no longer needs financial support from his family and is more than capable to look after himself. My 2 other friends and I tentatively set a date when we will all return back to Malaysia if we are still unable to get any jobs by July 2006. We somehow realised that we shouldn’t be so obstinate and adamant with our desire to stay in Australia and have to resort in working shitty jobs to support ourselves here. I worked as a glassy in a nightclub during weekends while my other friend worked as a construction worker and another working in a pizza place. It’s just unacceptable to me that people with our qualifications have to succumb and gets trapped in this sort of work. Not that I despise the job or anything but it’s appalling that the 3 of us had wasted a valuable 6 months of our life doing nothing much and have completely lost a sense of direction in life. It’s even more mind-boggling as one of my friends is a top student in the engineering faculty; he’s a first class honours degree holder who was on a full scholarship with the uni. He has since went back to Malaysia because he has all but given up his hope and desire to stay back here in Australia. It’s a wise decision anyway because people with his qualifications and excellent academic results should not have any real problems in securing a good job in Malaysia.

Fast forward to April 2006, my fate has taken a complete twist. Not only have I been granted my Australian PR, I bought my first car, a ’98 Mitsubishi Magna and had been offered a 2 year Graduate Mechatronic Engineer position by Kraft Foods Ltd in Victoria. I couldn’t really ask for more considering all my friends here are having troubles in getting a good head start in their respective careers. Some are either unemployed and has to do labour jobs or are working in some shitty companies as technicians.

Thinking aback, although the past 6 months had been the most unproductive and depressing period in my 22 years of life, it has taught me a few good lessons.

Lesson 1 – Value your family, friends and anyone around you

Lesson 2 – Don’t be afraid to sacrifice because you won’t be getting any benefits without first making sacrifices

Lesson 3 – As much as you judge other people, you are also being judged yourself

Lesson 4 – Be humble and true to yourself

Lesson 5 – A great man is not judged by his success but by the way he picks himself up each time he falls

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 02:20:09 GMT

My first tattoo

After much pestering and putting up with ear-numbing lectures, I finally managed to get approval from parents to let me to get a tattoo. I've actually made a decision to get a tattoo when I was in highschool but I was denied by my parents and also because I was still studying back then.

To ink a tattoo on your body is a life-long decision. One should never get one simply to look macho or be fashionable. Poor quality or bad design tattoos will not only make you look like a wannabe but it'll haunt you for life. During conversations with my tattoo artist, Bobby, I was told that there were many people coming to look for him because they were unhappy with their tattoos inked by other artistes and needed his help to cover it with a new one.

There are 2 important considerations that should be carefully appraised before one decided to get a tattoo. One is the search for a good and experienced tattoo artist and the other one is the search for a good design. There are people who were really concerned with the pain during the tattooing process but from my experience, the pain is bearable. Besides that, if you happen to get a good and experienced artist, the pain is minimal.

I'm actually quite lucky to get hold of Bobby due to my sister contacts in Singapore. My sister's boyfriend happen to have a share in a tattoo centre there and he recommended Bobby to me. On the first day, I spent much time thinking and coming up with a design with him. I can tell how good he is because he rejected any proposals to do simple objects and tribal designs because he claimed those tattoos lacked spirit and can be done by anyone. At the end of the day, we finally came up with a design that both of us were happy about.

I went back the next day to ink the tattoo. The first step was Bobby tracing the tattoo design on piece of paper and then sticking it on my arm. It's very much like making a carbon copy. Once he removed the paper from my arm, the tattoo outline can be visibly seen. He repaired some lines that were not visible with a pen and then the inking process can be started.

The first inking process required him to do an outline on the tattoo. This time is not by pen with tracing paper but with a tattoo machine. The machine looks like a handgun and the needle is at the tip of it. There are various different sizes of needles avaiable for different needs, apparently. My tattoo required 3 different needles. Throughout the process, the artist will occassionally dipped the needle into a special ink to get the tattoo colour. The frequency of it will affect the overall colour and its brightness. Also, the skills of the tattoo artist is very important during inking as you don't want to damage your skin cells. Good artists are able to know how much strength he/she needs to apply in order to avoid the needle to penetrate too deep into the skin; thus damaging skin cells and caused bleeding.

After making an outline, Bobby started to use a bigger needle in order to fill in the colour for the tattoo. After 2 and a half hours, my first tattoo was done. The pain was bearable. However, be warned that bony areas such as your shoulder, elbow, collorbone etc will bring far greater pain and anguish. As my tattoo stretched from my upper arm, Bobby did the top part near the end. Hence, all the great pain was reserved till the end. It's hard to describe the pain but just imagine how you will feel if someone poke you with a needle or a knife on your skin and repeated it for almost 3 hours and around the very same area! Pain + agitation...

There was a time when I felt really agitated and wanted to punch something or just walk away. But there were quite crowd watching both me and Bobby as the centre is located in a shopping complex. More imperatively, there were quite a few girls who were interested with tattoos came inside to watch us. As a pride Leo, I had to forcefully put a brave macho face despite all the pain.

The next one week involved applying soothing lotion on the tattoo area as the skin will dry up and eventually peeled off. Just for this reason alone, I bought a few singlets so that the I don't further irritate the skin.

The name of my tattoo design is called Maori. It's a Samoan tradition to get Maori tattoos and culturally, each tribe will get a Maori tattoo called Ta Moko to signify their positions in the tribe. Although my tattoo is based on the Maoris, it is not Ta Moko in principal because Ta Moko tattoos involved traditional inking process and each tribe/family has a distinctive Maori design that can only be applicable to their tribe/family members. More info from http://www.tamoko.org.nz/

My tattoo design is blended with Maori influence but I have no intention whatsoever to imitate Ta Moko because Ta Moko tattoos represented deep cultural significance and importance to the Maoris.

My tattoo comprised of a large central circle at the top and is surrounded by 5 stripes that stretched downwards from the circle. The circle actually represented the unity and strenght of my family. As this part also bought me the most pain during tattooing (it's bony cause it's near shoulder area), it also represented the pain and sacrifices of my parents. The 5 stripes represent the 5 members of my family; my father, mother, elder sister, me and my younger brother.

I have friends who have asked me how to get tattoos that can carry meaningful messages. They have to understand that there is not textbook on the meaning of tattoos. Every tattoo can carry personal messages. Even common designs like flowers, lotus, butterflies etc can have its own unique messages.

At the end of the day, I'm truly satisfied with the results. In fact, I don't have to pay a thing for this tattoo because of my contacts. This type of tattoo normally costs around $300... I also need to mention the professionalism of Bobby. Bobby is not a full time artist and only occassionally come over for the sake of his interests and challenge. On the day of my tattoo, he actually had to start his work shift at the hotel at 3pm but he only left me at 2.55pm. Instead of rushing it out, he took his time to explain to me on some post-tattoo care and even took his time to take pictures with me. I was really really impressed with his professionalism and commitment. The fact that he's not charging me anything further impressed me.

Sadly, Bobby will be leaving for Borneo soon and Malaysians and Singaporeans alike will lost an opportunity to meeting one of the best artists in this region. My best wishes to him...

For people who are staying in Singapore or nearby and are interested with tattoos, feel free to drop by this tattoo studio:

Dragon Pearl Tattoo Studio
100 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-12 F Pearls Centre
Singapore 059812

Bobby + Me.

Me + Raymond. This dude has really good tattoos all over him...

Me + my brother. They said we looked like twins... although I'm actually 4 years older than my bro... >.<

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 10:10:07 GMT

I’m back

Whew… it has really been awhile since I last updated my blog. There are heaps of stuff that I need to blog about but I doubt I can really pen everything in details. It’s been a very interesting November for me. On the eternal issue regarding my Australian PR application, I was requested to take an IELTS test by the immigration department. I’m one of the unlucky ones as most of my mates are exempted and have already been granted their PRs. Me on the other hand, need to spend an additional $220 on this bullshit exam because they do not recognise my previous IELTS result which was dated 15 months back. I was later told by an immigration agent that a new regulation has been imposed with immediate effect from November 2005 requiring all PR applicants to obtain an average band of 6.0 in their IELTS test in the previous 2 years as most of the previous applicants couldn’t find jobs in Australia due to poor English. Tragically, my application form was processed on the first week of November and I have no other viable options but to get ripped off.

Thankfully I’m still financially secure at the moment as I’ve found a part time job at a local nightclub as a glassy. I work on Friday and Saturday evenings but it’s good enough because I earned enough to pay for my house rent. It’s certainly not the most glamorous job in the world but heck, I’m not complaining when it pays so well. Plus, I really enjoy working alongside all the friendly and good-looking people in the club. Emily, the manager of the club is really cool and I can get free drinks from her most of the time. I got 3 free tequila shots from her on my first night at work (it doesn’t stop there as I normally grab drinks at the bar whenever I’m thirsty and bugged). Ahh... all the lovings....

Oh yeah, I finally get over with my long hair and has opted for a shorter hairstyle. I don’t know if I look better or worse with this haircut but I doubt I’ll ever keep my hair long again coz it felt so good and fresh with short hair. Check this picture out for my new haircut taken during my housemate’s birthday.

Front (L-R): Mami, birthday boy and Ting
Back (L-R): Big Nick, Cheah, Small Nick and me (we've 2 Nicks in the house and we use big and small to tell them apart for their obvious height difference)

Gotta go now. I’ve got a driving test in 2 hours time. Wish me luck.

(edited 4 hours later...)

In another twist of unfortunate event, I just screwed up my driving test!! Arghhh... I can hardly believe this coz I always have confidence with my driving skills. Both the instructor and examiner had actually 'expected' me to pass the test considering I've done all the manouvres correctly. Instead, I screwed it all up by failing to give way, which brings to immediate fail. I do question the judgement of my driving instructor to book my time slot during rush hour 5-6pm and choosing that busy route for my test. Pfft... I know it was my fault anyway. I should have taken my time and be more careful (instead of feeling cheated and or unfairly treated). Failing the test is one thing but I'm most perturbed that I now need to rearrange my schedules and have to sort out myself financially. Just when I thought the worst is over...

After going through all these unfortunate and occassionally frustrating events, I wonder if feeling optimistic and having confidence are a good thing. There's a chinese saying 'the bigger hope that you have, the bigger is the dissapppointment'. Frankly speaking, I was never a pessimistic person but after all these, I think I really need to keep my head down and stay as humble as possible. I don't know if I'm telling myself this to keep myself happier but I'm trying with my utmost ability to learn and improve myself from all these sad chapters in my life.

Obstacles seems to hit straight up at me like the never ending waves of tsunami but I do understand that sometimes things will just not go my way. I'm not a believer in luck and I'm certainly not one of those people who will blame on God or hard luck whenever bad things happen. I'd rather put the blame on myself for not doing enough preparation or putting enough efforts on it. After all these turbulence to my ego and confidence, I realised that keeping oneself to be humble and self critical is vital for self-improvement and to improve self conciousness. Plus, I do feel much better after doing the analysis. But of course, I do hope that the worst is over...

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 10:57:54 GMT

Quest for the GIANT lobster

4 young men set out on a quest to hunt for the giant lobster rumoured to roam around a small town of Kingston, almost 400km away from Adelaide on a fateful Saturday on the 15th of October. The penultimate objective of the quest is to capture this behemoth and to put it on our dinner plate. The journey slated to start at 7am sharp, ultimately set off at 9am...

We made our first stop on the Princes Highway at Tailem Town, a town that still preserves an odd 100+ old buildings. Despite having the courage of a rampaging bull, all the 4 of us were literally put off by the excessive admission fee. That was not the only reason of course. It takes more than that to startle the guts of the 4 knights. Despite being listed as one of the highlights along the highway, the town boasts only 2 visiting cars, one of which is ours, on a fine Saturday afternoon (the whole carpark has only 3 cars with one of them belonging to the one and only working staff there ).

Amid the creeping silence of the quiet town and the horrible flies, the 4 knights insisted to take a picture to bring home as a coin of memoir.

We continued along with our journey; with me and Nick (the guy in green armour) alternating turns to drive.

The target of the mission is spotted to be resting at the entrance of a restaurant at Kingston. Much to the surprise of the 4 men, lobsters are NOT on the menu in any restaurant at Kingston at that time ~.~!! This makes the knights edgy as it has passed 2 in the afternoon and they had traveled over 400km on an empty stomach to Kingston just for the fresh succulent lobster. Being as vigilant as usual, we managed to find out the strange habits of most of the visitors who were at Kingston on that day. They came to the restaurant merely to take pictures with this giant lobster. None of them had made any contacts whatsoever with the waiter-cum-chef working there for food (apparently, there's only staff in the restaurant).

Despite all these setbacks, we persisted to go on with our mission. We resisted the temptations to take any fast foods in the town as we are fully committed with our goal ie lobster for lunch. In the end, we end up at a fish-and-chips shop near the beach and found our lobster (cold that is...).

Finally fulfilling our objective, we managed to get to the jetty to snap some pictures to celebrate our triumph.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:25:37 GMT

Dream

I had a very strange dream yesterday; a dream that I could hardly recall. I dreamt about my high school, my primary school friends and some very very familiar faces that I couldn’t even remember their names . The next thing I knew when I woke up was that I was asking myself a great many questions about life. What is my ultimate goal in life? Will I be content to just lead a typical life like everyone does? What am I really looking for?

This is certainly not the first time that these thoughts linger around in my fairly complicated mind. But never does it bother me like today. I’ve been asking myself lots of questions that I don’t even have an answer to. But I’ve got a definite answer that I would certainly not content to live my life like any typical engineer does – build a steady career, start a family, work harder to support their needs, invest for my children’s education etc etc. You may think that I’ve been thinking too far ahead but these things will certainly come back and haunt you not too far in the distant future. I don’t want to only start contemplating my life at that point and in the end, starts regreting. It spells a term called ‘mid-life-crisis’.

I’m not here to breed (for the records, I’ve got nothing against children and I wish I could find a better word that breed... ). I’m certainly not the one who will say that my purpose in life is to find my other half to spend my remaining lifetime with. I will also not be content to live a life that consists of waking up at 8 o’clock in the morning so that I wouldn’t be late for work at 9 every weekday, leaving work at 5 (or 6, maybe?) and do the same repetitive work that will earn me a few grands per month until I turn 55. What do I achieve in the end? What will be the story if I don’t even have a family for instance?

For this reason, I sit down again today and watch ‘Fight Club’ for the third time. A movie about a typical single middle aged man who earns well and looks successful from the outset. A man, who appreciates practicality and common sense in design, admires the sensible Scandinavian approach and philosophy in life and values the importance of back-up/contingency plans i.e. insurance. Unknown to anybody, social insecurity, loneliness and insomnia developed from work pressure lies deeply beneath him. The character bears resemblance to me although thankfully, it’s only his life approach and not his illnesses.

Spending the remaining of the day in thoughts, I’ve somehow listed down a set of ‘goals’ that I wished to realise before the end of time. Not all are possible but I guess beliefs, zeal and fortitude are the qualities that set the boundary of success and failure…

Travel/backpack – some of my preferred destinations are Tibet, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, South Korea, Mauritius, Seychelles, Japan. I reckon I should start off by making a roadtrip around my own country first...
Adopt a family/children – I’m seriously considering adopting a child through www.worldvision.org. But I guess, I can only do that when I’ve earned enough to sponsor own self.
Own a small inn near a beach – I’ve this idea after watching ‘Summer Holiday’ starring Sammi Cheng and Richie Ren that was shot at Pulau Redang in 2000. It’ll be awesome to own a holiday inn near a beach which will become my little getaway haven. Crystal clear water, the smell of the ocean, soft sand, seafood, scantily clad girls (opps!). It’s also a great feeling to meet so many different people who share a spot for travelling everyday.
or alternatively, have my own bar – I’ve a plan to open up a sports bar in my country, preferably my hometown, Ipoh. A sports bar that boosts a large projector with acoustically-enhanced surround system for better viewing of live soccer matches or sports events. The bar will take out at least 2 double-storey shops where I’ll make the upper level a pool hall. Patrons will be able to catch glimpses of a live game while playing a game of pool, overlooking from above.

Ironically, I need to join in the rat race in order to realise any of these ‘goals’ of mine. I still can’t avoid the inevitable harsh reality of life. Nevertheless, I’m working on something that derives happiness and satisfaction, for my self at least. I’ve no plan to build a mansion so that I can live like a king or own a sports car so that I can drive beyond 100 kph at will on the freeway. I do not intend to be famous or to seek glamour, I only seek happiness and satisfaction. The great thing about setting a 'goal' or aim is that you wake up wanting for more every morning.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 07:07:07 GMT

Seven Swords

Been doing nothing much lately (for the past 2 months to be precise) but I guess making a personal review on Seven Swords should make a good entry . Australians are very unlucky not to be able to catch this great epic from old master Tsui Hark as they are not showing it on local cinemas here and I think it’ll take ages even if it does. I count myself to be very lucky to have a housemate who is able to download the latest movies and TVB series during a period where time seems perpetually abundant to me (to set the record straight, I certainly would have gone to the cinema to watch and support this movie had it been shown here). And the best part is that the movie is DVD-ripped and is in its original language – Cantonese. This is a blessing for people who grew up watching dodgy pirated movies that occasionally captures the candid sights of cinema-goers going for a toilet break right in the middle of the scene. Plus being Ipoh born ABC, Cantonese is the only language that I understand apart from Malay and English.

Old master Tsui Hark

I first acquainted with Tsui Hark via a famous HK comedy flick ‘Aces Go Places’ (there are actually 3 parts to it) that co-starred the grandmaster himself and features Sam Hui, Karl Maka and Sylvia Chiang (the movie is best remembered for its themesong called ‘Best Partners’). Tsui Hark is never a great actor himself (with all due respect) but it is his originality and creative talent behind the scene that set himself apart from other fellow actors. Boasting a resume that includes directing/producing epic HK movies like ‘A Better Tomorrow’, ‘Peking Opera Blues’, ‘Dragon Inn’, ‘Swordsman’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ is a great testament to this. Tsui Hark seldom make mistakes with his wuxia films. Always setting new standards and nevertheless, creating new craze for such movies when romantic-comedy still remain as the favourite choice for typical movie-goers. Ironically, my favourite Tsui Hark movie is the tragic supernatural romance ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’ that starred the late Leslie Cheung (immense swordplay is still imminent in the movie nonetheless).

A Chinese Ghost Story

The chance to catch the latest wuxia film from the old master after the disappointing ‘The Legend of Zu’ is certainly welcoming despite the lukewarm reviews that it has received since its premiere. Personally, I would say that Seven Swords should satisfy most fans of its genre but it could have been better. The swordplay is very stimulating and engaging. The 7 swordsmen slay apart their enemies’ armour and buildings (yes, it’s true) just like when one of the guys in Iron Chef cutting tofu. Action director, Law Kar Leong’s introduction of various oriental weapons and the innovative designs of the 7 swords are certainly noteworthy. Knowing that he is the one behind ‘The 36 Chambers of Shaolin’ is not an understatement.

Although all the fighting sequences and swordplay are entertaining and compelling, it lacks fluidity. Yuen Woo Ping would have done better in addressing this but I think Law Kar Leong is more suited to this movie. Yuen never fail to charm viewers with his fluid and stylish fighting sequences but since the swords and NOT the fighting art is the main attraction of the movie, Law in my opinion, is a better choice. I would also like to point out an additional fact that Law has a direct association with Leong Foon (a student of Wong Fei Hung) as his father’s sifu is Leong’s direct student.

Aside from the action sequences, the editing of Seven Swords could have been better. The romantic plot involving the most senior disciple of the Seven Swords, Chu (Donnie Yen) and Korean actress Kim So Yeon is confusing at times. Plus, I would prefer there is a more elaborate storyline development on the seven swords and their respective masters. All the 7 swords are unique in their usage, design and characteristics (check for more details from Seven Swords official site, link given below). Aside from Charlie Young (youthful as always) character as Wu, the story behind the remaining 6 swordsmen is underdeveloped.

Character wise, Donnie Yen is a surprise package as a romantic hero and he did it quite well too. Charlie Young is as likable as usual and so is Kim. Leon Lai is a bit of a disappointment though. As I've mentioned earlier, the storyline behind all the 7 swordsmen are underdeveloped and I guess this might have an implication on the performance of the main characters eventually (Leon can't use this excuse though).

In conclusion, Seven Swords lift up to its hype but is still a bit lagged judging a director of Tsui Hark's stature. Nonetheless, I'm waiting anxiously for its sequel...

official site - http://www.sevenswordsthefilm.com/english/sevenswordsthefilm.html
good review from the folks at loveHKfilm.com http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/seven_swords.htm

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 12:37:30 GMT

Greenday - Boulevard of Broken Promises

I walk a lonely road
The only one I that have ever known
Don't know were it goes
But its home and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Blvd. of broken dreams
Were the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone

My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I'll walk alone

Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh
Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line of the edge
And were I walk alone

Read between the lines of what's
Fucked up and every things all right

Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive
And I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I'll walk alone

Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh
Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh

I walk this empty street
On the Blvd. of broken dreams
Were the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a..

My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I'll walk away!

Really enjoyed listening to this song at the moment. Mainly due to its lyric and of course its addictive chorus+tune. In fact, I like it so much that I even post up its video on my friendster profile. I've made an effort and has mentioned it before in my old post that I'll not make meaningless entry in my blogs or filled it up with quizzes(spelling?), polls, questionaires etc but I can't help myself this time around. This song deserves an entry...