Anime I'm watching or have watched

1. Marvel Ironman
JW: The early episodes are stand alone and the show came to an end too quickly.
Disappointing.
http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/2010/10/ironman-goes-japan.html

2. Code Geass
JW: It has its typical share of teenager-with-special-powers, and eye candies for boys.  The dark tone of this anime later warmed up.  I liked the deep thought behind the strategies, but the impossibly fast and powerful Gundams Knightmares put me off.
Overall, I enjoyed this series.
http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

3. Kemono no Souja
JW: Was hunting for a new anime to watch and came across this.  Slow paced story telling and drawn with simple lines.  It tells the story of a little girl working behind the lines with her mother, in a land guarded by giant lizards called Touda.
Looks promising =)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemono_no_Souja

Push Your Automated Android to Awesome Heights with These Tasker Setups

It's an app to allow you to setup automated tasks, if you can dream it.  For example, you could set your handphone to silent once you check into a library.  Or you could lower your phone's volume when you're in your house and louder if you're outside.
What interests me in this article is they described how you could set it up to reduced the frequency your sms are checked, thereby saving battery power.

read more: http://lifehacker.com/5601133/push-your-automated-android-to-awesome-heights-with-these-tasker-setups#data

Are COV prices really coming down?

Whenever I mention my oncoming purchase, people are sure to comment on the steep Cash-Over-Valuation.

"I hear prices are already coming down" (I've heard that prices have gone down)

"Are they?"

These are the median COV values posted by HDB.  They're amazing low, considering how most units I've visited, got sold for more than $60k. Nevertheless, even if their maths is flawed, as long as they are consistent in their calculation, we have a picture.

Compiled by yours truly,
source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyResaleFlatMedianCOV?OpenDocument

This graph is from HDB site
source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyResaleFlatResaleIndex?OpenDocument#Weights

Eat, Pray, Love

*Warning: Mild spoilers alert*

Watched the show with ST last night.
Supposedly based on a true story, the movie contains some like-able and inspirational characters. It took its own sweet time to tell the story, which was fine with me.  Julia Roberts put up a good performance and the lines were pretty good, most of the time.
What didn't smell right was that despite the loving attention given to the preparation, cooking and eating of food; not a single bit appealed to me.  For all the mediation she had done; I don't feel her becoming more spiritual.  The love part? Eye contact; hug; sex.  Pfft.

Over the years, I've learned to be less of a critic and accept these kinda of movies as a weekday show.  The good performance by Julia Roberts and two old men made it passable.  A wonderful companion made the evening wonderful. =]

On Ramly Burgers

wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramly_Burger
one Malaysian's opinion on Ramly burger: http://www.waisikkai.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141&Itemid=52

more well known in SG: http://sg.88db.com/sg/HTML/en-us/indexmkt/iRecommend/ramly_burger.html
JW: On this, opinions vary.  Most seem to say, "Malaysia better".  That's beside the point.  We're talking about SG only.  If I'm in Tiong Bahru and let's say there seves the 2nd best Char Kway Tiao in SG, you don't come tell me, "Bedok's one best".  Sheesh; I'll just eat whatever's best in that spot, thank you.  Btw, I've no idea on where the best Char Kway Tiao is, nor what the ranking is.

A mini food run

ST caught some video segments on razor, introducing food around Jalan Besar; so I proposed having it for tea-dinner.
link: http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/lifestyle/46714.html

1st stop - Vinegar Pork Knuckles
Street: Beatty Lane, or 24 Foch Road
Coffeeshop: ??
Stall: Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup

JW: Vinegar was fragrant, meat was soft.  However, the taste didn't quite soak through yet.  Still, one of the better Vinegar Pork Knuckles commercially available (home-cooked is still the best).

2nd stop - Hakka Beef Ball Bee Hoon
Street: 45-48, Syed Alwi Road
Coffeeshop: San Lee Eating House
Stall: The Beef House

JW: Soup was surprising light and fragrant.  Much as I hate parsley, I had to admit that it contributed to much of the fragrance.  The other flavours in the soup seemed to be beef and salt.  The bee hoon soaked up the soup well.  However, the beef balls are tougher than the usual deal.  On closer examination, they taste more beefy than the rest, so it might be an acquired taste?
~

Replacement of camera

Time to replace my fujifilm f60fd.  (see old blog post)

I've more or less settled on Canon S90, based on this review - http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm

While the review was glowing, when compared to my f60fd, it doesn't seem that impressive.
Canon S90 spec
Fujifilm f60fd spec

It has a lower megapixel count (10 compared to 12) and a lower shutter speed (1/1600 compared to 1/2000).  It has a pop-up flash which I dislike.

However, I'm most likely to give it a try, on the merits of its control rings and a higher optical zoom.

Updates coming soon.






pictures from: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0908/09081906canons90handson.asp

Summer Wars

JW: The colours were clean.  The scenes were detailed. The background was beautifully painted with pastel colours.  The fluid animation of the characters gave rise to realistic motion and a chatty body language.
Good use of story telling techniques with a good contrast, trying to tell 3 stories concurrently.  I felt that this was too ambitious; somehow, it managed to stay afloat.
Recommended.

District 9

For the most parts, I felt like I was watching Cloverfield.  The story was pretty predictable for most parts, which makes it boring, plot wise.  I liked the imagination that went into the design of the aliens and their thinking.  The tanks and ships were cool.

It's rather enjoyable, more so than Cloverfield but the dumb and predictable plot really spoils it.

Public enemy: review

Johnny Depp was the reason I went for this show.  I went in blind without reading any reviews. 
Guest what?


Warning!  Spoilers!!

[The review]

-Starting scene
ta-ta-tat
ta-ta-tat
ta-ta-tat (firing sound of a repeating gun)

-Most of the story
ta-ta-tat
ta-ta-tat
ta-ta-tat (firing sound of a repeating gun)

-Ending
bang!
bang!

Great movie isn't it?  Hope I didn't spoil the movie too much
 

2 Rolling Balls of Metal: Part 2

[good]
Action was somewhat better. Now you can see who is fighting who. However, near the very end, it becomes a fight between 2 rolling balls of metal again.
Story was somewhat better; albeit with holes. However, I can't discuss this without giving spoilers.

[bad]
Bad scripting.
Annoying, flat Human characters. With the exception of.. John Turturro.
Annoying, flat Transformers characters. With the exception of Optimus Prime.
Part of the show feels like a porn show, with lame sexual jokes.
Pointless and annoying circling of the subject with the camera. Does it really help build any mood?

[Verdict]
If you enjoy watching a porn movie with 2 hot actresses, with lots of light and smoke. This movie is perfect; the average film goer would love it.
If you are approaching this with a fan boy's loyalist heart; stay far far away.

3rd time eating at Qun Zhong, Neil Road

edt1: added Tong Lok
edit2: clarify the ranking is on what

Cheryl and Skinny Norman have brought me there on separate occasions. Both times, I was peeved by the unresponsive service and long waiting time to get in. I found the food above average but not top-rate. If an equivalent word could be found in English about their attitude, it's called "stuck-up". I decided not to patronise them again.

Today, for Fathers' Day, we went there again. This time, the waiting was a mere 10 minutes and the food was pretty light and fragrant. The stuck-up-ness was not evident. Maybe times changed and so did my mood. Guess how bad mood can affect the taste-buds, huh?

Anyway, I still prefer my Xiao Long Bao from Ding Tai Fong. The skin is strong yet thin enough. The soup is generous and nice. At Qun Zhong, the skin though stronger than the average fare, can still break. The soup is not enough to my likling. The skin though is soft and taste like those from Shui Jiao.

So my ranking on Xiao Long Bao...
1st Place - Ding Tai Fong
2nd to 4th Place, Crystal Jade or Qun Zhong or Tong Lok, in no special order
Sucky Trophies, all the rest....

Would I go ahead?
Well maybe. It's 2 bad experience to 1 good experience. So maybe I won't suggest that place but I won't protest if someone wants to go there for dim sum.

Not very nice Indian Food

Not very nice Indian Food

Between a Killiney Coffeeshop and Orange Lantern, there is an Indian restaurant.
The prata is fine but the curry was watery. That is amusing cos the name of the shop is *** Curry.
The teh tarik at $2 was also a tad watery.

After the dinner, we went for a movie. I had to send my gf home early as she had an upset stomach. My stomach was only feeling cheeky - cracking jokes all the way back. I guessed we're just not used to watery curry and tea.
~

Ong Bak 2 sucks

Ong Bak 2 sucks
The fighting is not entertaining.  It's just fast and vicious - that's it.  Break arm; break leg.  Tear throat; break neck.  Repeat.
Mix in agonising slow flashbacks that failed horribly to wring tears.  Add in a childhood girl friend that he promised to return to.  Have him stare into the night over and over again.  Have a dance sequence where you know that the girl has grown up.
If you relish a throat tearing brawl with constant reminders (aka flashbacks) of why watching this movie is a bad idea, then this movie is for you.

Rating: somewhere there with Hero
~

The experience at Marina Mandarin

The food was decent; not bad as banquet goes.

Service was a bit lacking for a big name like Marina Mandarin.
I'm usually annoyed by the incessant topping up of drinks, so the total lack of this here was welcomed by me personally.
Other than Shark's Fins, food that required portioning out like Lotus Rice and Yam Paste were left to our own devices.
There were not enough hands delivering food; one pair of hands solemnly stood between tables, scanning for soiled cutlery to add on to those in their hands; one stood by the drinks which never seem to get poured.

I attribute this to the young help and the lack of professionals in the service industry. With the heavy emphasis on academic studies; who else but students would want to take up a profession as a banquet waitor?
~

Macross Frontier: Ending

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Transformers: The new movie (review)

Warning. Spoilers.

Transformers: The new movie

Noooooooo!.....

Freedom Writers

The story isn't new. Put a motivated teacher in a problematic school and expect a heart warming story. However, with Hillary Swank, I was willing to give it a try. That or it is "Ninja Turtles" with Prawnkid. Don't get me wrong, I'm thinking of kids...

It turned out surprisingly good. How easy is it for a movie with 20 odd characters to leave an impression in you? Well, this one did. There are several themes but my personal "favourite" is "jealousy and resistance to changes".

Letters from Iwo Jima

Acting is generally good but the story isn't that engaging. Felt like one long soap opera. Still, glad that I got to watch it.