A new THRILL a month!

Hell, this job I would pull for free.
- Mal

My job is sending me places!
November 2005: Hanoi
January 2006: UK
February 2006: Bangkok
March: Phnom Penh

Note to self : Currency Conversion Rates

As of 20th Nov 2005

S$172 - US$100

S$50 - 430,000 VND


That's right. I was in Hanoi.

US$12 for Internet?

I'm paying US$12 for 24 hours of internet access in my room.

Geez.

Melia at Hanoi is pretty nice, though.

44B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
Webpage / email / guest email

My transport's going to be here in less than an hour. Need to shower and run!! Gah, work!

Greetings from Hanoi. Not.

And for
this, I get to
MISS,
miss, Serenity.
For this.

I'm in Hanoi. Staying at the Melia, smack in the middle of town. The past few days, I have been wandering around the old town area, snacking on pate, and poking around dingy little shop houses filled with cheap tourist trinkets.

The roads are filled with motorbikes and bycicles. Everyone travels on those. The air is perpetually tainted with the strong smell of diesel exhaust, and thick with dust.

All the shops and houses are covered in a thick layer of grime, everything is old and breaking down.

The people are friendly, or I hope they are. Everyone seems to be talking to me, pointing at something, showing me something, as I walk past them in the streets.

Today is Tuesday. I have been here since Sunday. I will be leaving on Friday.

And for this, I get to miss Serenity.

Thanks for NOTHING, UIP. Part III.

We've
done the
impossible, and
that makes us mighty.
- Mal

Gah. Now I'm absolutely bitter.

I have 4 tickets to the ONLY big damn screening of Serenity in Singapore, and I will be out of the country that day.

Yeah.

When Alex and his lucky, lucky friends are watching Serenity with my tickets, I will be in Hanoi.

That's right, Hanoi.

On the other hand, I've never been to Hanoi before. So yay, shiny.

Shiny.

Can't Stop the Signal

"And you'd know that because...?"
- Inara Serra

Inara: So, explain to me again why Zoe wasn't in the dress?

Mal: Tactics, woman. Needed her in the back. Besides, those soft cotton dresses feel kinda nice. There's a whole airflow.

Inara: And you'd know that because...?

Mal: You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle. Like woman, I'm a mystery.

(Our Mrs Reynolds - Episode 6, Firefly)

Thanks for NOTHING, UIP. Part II

...Curse your
sudden but
envitable betrayal...

No Serenity movie, but I can still get my fix from the Serenity comics...
These are from a three-part series from Dark Horse Comics. To ensure all characters get equal billing, each issue has three different covers, each featuring one of the main characters.
Of course, I bought my favourite covers, and promptly placed an additional order for one of each.

Now I have one set to read and pass around, and one extra set to store, protected in between acid free boards, stored in a dark, dry, 4 inch lead safe somewhere, then swallow the safe's key.

These are my favourite covers :

Thanks for nothing, UIP.

Serenity in Singapore

Just got off the phone with the marketing director of UIP, Singapore, Flora Goh.

She sounded helpful, but the gist of the conversation was, "we are not showing Serenity in Singapore. you're lucky that we are even having this special one time screening at all. if you can't make it for this one, suck it up. wait for the DVD."

I want to watch Serenity as many times as possible.
I want to bring all my friends with me every time.

I want to give UIP as much money as I can, watching Serenity.

Please, let me give you money for Serenity.

Sheesh.

Serenity in Singapore

*sigh*

This is your chance, oh deprived residents of Singapore.

BOOK YOUR TICKET NOW. ONE TIME SCREENING.




Fuck.

Coconut Pearl

The Most Valuable Botanical Jewel

...Certainly the rarest and most valuable botanical jewel is the legendary "coconut pearl" that occasionally forms inside a coconut (Cocos nucifera)...
<...more...>

...An alleged coconut pearl in Singapore within the endocarp of a coconut.
Suggested price was $60,000 in December of 2003...
<...more...>

...Opinions about the origin of, and the chemical composition of coconut pearls are divided. Some even say, that all of the known occurrences of coconut pearls are fakes...
<...more...>

...There is simply no adequate botanical explanation for the formation of a true, aragonite pearl inside of a coconut. Coconuts do not have calcium-forming tissues comparable with the mantle of mollusks...
<...more...>

Erm, yeah..right. Pearls indeed. *snort*

What the ancient Chinese did for us.

What the ancient chinese did for us.

1. Canals (Linking Yangtze River and Yellow River)
2. Bridges (Segmented Arch Bridge)
3. The Silk Road (Trade / Commerce)
3. Silk (Longest and strongest natural fibre)
4. Football (Gah, soccer)
5. Seismograph
6. Fast Food
7. Pasta (5000 BC)
8. Restaurants
9. Lacquer (The world's first plastic)
10. Tuned Bells (For universal measurement, using musical pitches)
11. Standardized Units of Measurement (Using tuned bells)
12. Double Acting Piston Bellows
13. Flame Throwers
14. Kites
15. Hang Gliders (Principles of Aerodynamics)
16. Paper
17. Block Printing
18. Paper Money
19. Paper Armour
20. Gunpowder
21. Chemical Bombs


...The ancient Chinese thought they were at the centre of universe. Cut off from the rest of the world for centuries the Chinese developed a unique culture, and made many technological, scientific and artistic advances long before the West...
<...more...>

Inara Serra

...Inara is a highly regarded registered companion (read: courtesan), and the most respectable person aboard Serenity. Graceful, kind and lovely, with a spine of pure steel, Inara's presence is a sore point with the captain, although it's a good business arrangement for both of them; she keeps to her own shuttle and has been known to save the day...
<...more...>

The Man Comes Around

...and the whirlwind is in the thorn tree. The virgins are all trimming their wicks. The whirlwind is in the thorn tree. It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
<...more...>

Joss Whedon is my master now.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

Spike
Spike
Spike
Spike
Spike
Spike

First Buffy, then Speed, then Toy Story, then Alien Resurrection, then X-men, then Firefly, then Atlantis, then Serenity, soon Wonder Woman, now Spike.

Serenity in Malaysia

I'm proud to be Malaysian.

Petronas Towers.
Birth place of the Key Lime.
The Coconut is thought to have originated from here.
World's Oldest Rainforest.
Malacca and Penang
The true origins of Singlish can be traced to here. KL's sarabat culture, come on!
Astro - Satellite TV.
Pulau Tiga
TMnet's super reliable broadband service.

And now...

Serenity will be shown in Malaysia. 12 January 2006.

Ahh... shiny.

A Browncoat before it was Cool.

...According to Joss Whedon, Serenity needed to earn $80 million during its theatrical run to justify a big-screen sequel. It didn’t get there.

Oddly enough, that fact may improve the odds of its returning to television, since Whedon won’t work with Fox Television ever again, and they now own the TV rights to the franchise. Given the movie’s box-office performance, maybe the network can be persuaded to let go of those TV rights and let, say, a cable network resurrect “Firefly.”

That’s the hope that led Chris and me to sign this petition. Give it a read—it’s not your typical “WAAHHHHH!!! I want my toy back!!!!” kind of Internet wankage...
<...more...>

AIEEEEEE

Good News
Serenity : The movie I have been waiting for with bated breath has been out since September 30th.

Bad News
...Unfortunately, distributor United International Pictures has confirmed that Serenity won't be making it to big screens here...
<...more...>

Good News
But to satiate local fans, UIP will run a special screening on 21 Nov. Ticketing information will be announced later...
<...more...>

Bad News
I'm going to be in Hanoi from the 20th of Nov to the 26th of Nov. *wail* *sob* *choke*

Museum of Hoaxes

Museum of Hoaxes

...we take hoaxes to be any form of outrageous deception...
<...more...>

*snort*
*choke*
*giggle*
*hyuk*
*chortle*

Freemasons in Singapore

How interesting is this?

...Author of History of Java (1817) and founder of Singapore, Raffles also founded the London Zoological Society...
<...more...>

...founder of Singapore, was Raised on July 5, 1813 in Lodge De Vriendschap in Sorabaya...
<...more...>

...a lodge in Singapore has been named after him. The coat of arms of Sir Stamford Raffles is displayed in the lodge at every meeting of Sir Stamford Raffles Lodge No. 7444 E.C...
<...more...>

...discussion was conducted at Freemasons' Hall, where all lodges of the District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago in Singapore congregate.

There are eight lodges and more than 300 members in Singapore who are part of the United Grand Lodge of England...
<...more...>

...at the fall of Singapore many brethen were among those interned or captured as members of the Armed Forces. Both categories were imprisoned in the notorious Changi Prison Camp...
<...more...>

Things to do while I'm in London from the 6th to the 21st of Jan

Things to do while I'm in London from the 6th to the 21st of Jan (Part I)

1. Gawk at Cleopatra's Needle (<500m walk)

...Cleopatra's Needle is located on the Thames Embankment in London close to the Embankment underground station...
<...more...>

...The nearest stations are Embankment Station (Underground; Circle Line, District Line, Bakerloo Line), and Charing Cross Station (British Rail). It's easy to find the obelisk...
<...more...>

2. Giggle at Nelson's Column (<300m walk)

...Nelson's last and most famous battle was fought off the Spanish cape of Trafalgar, when he defeated Napoleon and the French and Spanish fleets...
<...more...>

3. Run around noisily in the National Gallery (<300m walk)

...houses one of the greatest collections of European painting in the world. These pictures belong to the public and entrance to see them is free...
<...more...>

Fun with Trivia

Fun with Trivia!

All you ever wanted to know about Cordyceps and was afraid to ask.

Learn about the World's Biggest Organism. Yes, even bigger than your ego.

Everything you ever needed to know about the biggest, oldest, smallest!

The Office

...A mockumentary about life in a mid-sized suboffice paper merchants in a bleak British industrial town, where manager David Brent thinks he's the coolest, funniest, and most popular boss ever. He isn't. That doesn't stop him from embarrassing himself in front of the cameras on a regular basis, whether from his political sermonizing, his stand-up 'comedy', or his incredibly unique dancing. Meanwhile, long-suffering Tim longs after Dawn the engaged receptionist and keeps himself sane by playing childish practical jokes on his insufferable, army-obsessed deskmate Gareth. Will the Slough office be closed? Will the BBC give David a game show? Will Tim and Dawn end up with each other? And more importantly, will Gareth realize what a hopeless prat he is?...

<...more...>

*gasp* *snort* *chortle* This IS hilarious.

Maybe even enough to take my mind off the obsession that is Serenity / Firefly.

More than a month since...

Firefly
Joss Whedon

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

Joss Whedon is my Master now.

... The Buffy the Vampire Slayer mastermind has officially lassoed the writing and directing job on Warner Bros.' big-screen version of Wonder Woman...

... No word yet on who'll play Whedon's leading lady Diana, but the Internet rumor mill has been churning out names like Rosario Dawson, Jessica Biel, Buffy vets Charisma Carpenter and Eliza Dushku, and even Kim Basinger, for an older, wiser Wonder Women...

<...more...>

I put my vote up for Morena Baccarin.

Self-immolation : Monks in China and Japan mummified themselves in ye ancient times.

...In Japan, too, a type of sacred auto-mummification sometimes took place. A number of monks would slowly starve themselves to death by a special diet. Their bodies were embalmed and stored in an underground stone chamber for three years, then exhumed and dried, and shredded for consumption....
<...more...>

...After psychological preparation, prayers, meditations the devotee entered the final stage of his life that had to last at least 1000 days. The main principles of this stage were stillness of body, detachment, contemplation, and a specific way of breathing...
<...more...>

...According to the hagiographies of Buddhist auto-cremators, burning the body was rarely a spontaneous act; usually it required weeks or months of preparation, both mental and physical. The physical preparations involved a change of diet, usually expressed as "abstention from grain," accompanied by the ingestion of materials such as pine needles (a fairly common foodstuff to this day for ascetic practitioners in East Asia), herbs, resin, incense, and various types of oil...
<...more...>

...The Buddhist priest and mystic, Kukai, who died on 23 April 835, is believed by his followers to have become a 'Buddha in his own body' by mummifying himself while still alive. The preserved body of Kukai is now in the internal shrine of a Buddhist temple on Mount Koya, in Japan...
<...more...>

...one had to prepare very thoroughly. After psychological preparation, prayers, meditations the devotee entered the final stage of his life that had to last at least 1000 days. The main principles of this stage were stillness of body, detachment, contemplation, and a specific way of breathing. The food quantities they eat at this time slowly decrease and do not include all the nourishing components such as amyloidal substances. The devotee's organism became transformed into endogenous state - that is started consuming its own tissues...
<...more...>