Truly Bloody Fringe Knights

It's been TV show galore for the past few weeks, and it all came to a head last week when I was in Hong Kong and managed to er.. 'acquire' AND watch almost EVERY episode of EVERY show I wanted, thanks to the lightning-fast Internet in my hotel.

Anyway, let's not talk about the old shows (Sarah Connor is intriguing, House picks up in the second episode, Bones is funny as ever, and Heroes is giving me a headache). Let's talk about some new ones instead.

I've already talked about Fringe, and how the pilot episode shows much promise. I've since watched two more episodes of the show, and to tell the truth, it's beginning to wear me down a little.

Every episode just seems too similar to the previous one:

1. Weird often gross shit happens in the prologue.
2. The team is roped in, with the young guy making snarky remarks along the way.
   
3. The chick goes around investigating with the young guy in tow, making snarky remarks.
4. Massive Dynamics is always involved somehow, as is the old guy's past research (cue young guy's snarky remarks)
   
5. The old guy gets some brilliant and whacked out idea, accompanied by young guy's skeptical snarky remarks.
6. The idea works, which shuts up the young guy's snarky remarks for good. Best part of the show for me.
   
7. Voila! Case closed.
   

Hey, at least the banter on the X-Files was interesting, ok? And Gillian Anderson is still hotter than Anna Torv. On Fringe, the only character I really like is John Noble's old scientist guy, mostly because he seems like a cross between Denethor, Yoda and Bilbo Baggins. And I hate the young guy, can you tell?

Moving on, I've watch all three episodes of True Blood so far (and have just 'acquired' the fourth), and to tell the truth, I STILL really can't decide whether I like this show or not.

On one hand, I can't stand the Southern accents the characters talk in (which as so thick at times that I thought the vampire's name was Vale for the whole of two episodes... before I found out that it was actually BILL. WTF.) On the other hand, the story of vampires and humans co-existing side-by-side thanks to the invention of a synthetic blood drink called Tru Blood, throws up a lot of possibilities for the story. It's like what would happen if Dracula was living in Louisiana and went to your bar for drinks?

Anna Paquin's telepathic Sookie IS cute though. Although no one ever explains WHY she's telepathic, and whether anyone ELSE has such powers. Which is a little weird, somehow.

Unfortunately, the main vampire, the aforementioned Bill is the typical Angel-type brooding sort who doesn't seem to do anything besides mope, sulk, bare his fangs a little, lust over Sookie and mope some more. Vampires were so much more fun on Buffy. Doesn't help that the story, especially the love affair between Sookie and Bill is more like Twilight for adults (read: more sex).

There IS a lot of sex going on in the show though, which strangely seems to be the norm these days with shows I've been watching (i.e. Californication, Dexter etc). not that I'm complaining, of course, though I keep wondering when Anna Paquin's gonna get her kit off and have some hot vampirirc sex.

Ok, moving on....



Knight Rider 2008!
What a car! (is it a Transformer?)
What cheese! (not as cheesy as the original but hey, it's not the 80's anymore ok?)
What a gratuitious naked hot chick moment! (hubba hubba)
What a stupid show! (ok it's just the first episode, but seriously, guys...)

A Graveyard Helped Me Survive Hell

Yeah, I finished this book:



It helped me survive through almost three hours in one of the many levels of Hell, also known as a Taiwanese boyband concert.

And this book:



It helped me while my Internet-less days away.

And am currently halfway through this book:



It's currently taking up my blogging time. Go figure.

The Chair of Old Master Q

This is a chair in the lobby of the hotel that I'm staying in in Hong Kong now
I love it.
I wanna bring it home.

The Dumbass Who Came Up With The Last 2 Minutes of Eagle Eye Should Be Banned From Making Movies

Eagle Eye.
Not a Review.
Hey you,
Yes you, the guy who came up with the last two minutes of this movie.
Go to hell.
You ruined an perfectly good movie,
By deciding to add those two, completely out-of-place minutes.
You should be completely banned from making movies.
Like, FOREVER.


(Shia's new Transformer buddy wasn't quite what he'd expected)

Oh don't worry, no spoilers here.
What am I talking about?
Let's just say this movie was pretty decent.
Fast-paced, action-packed, and thrilling,
Lots of good twists and turns,
But it was completely RUINED by that last two minutes I mentioned.
At least for me it was.


(Damn. No cleavage rating)

Don't let that stop you from watching this though.
The movie from start to finish was exciting.
Those last two minutes didn't ruin the film much.
It didn't stop the flow of the story,
(which was ok as long as you don't try to think too much about it)
It didn't interrupt the action (which was messy but decent)
And it had a GREAT ending.
Then came those two minutes.


(oh look, Shia's on the phone)

What those two minutes WAS, was deflating.
The movie was rising, rising, rising up till the climax,
Then suddenly with those two minutes,
Everything went FLAT.
I felt SOOOOO deflated.
Like a balloon full of excitement just popped,
And all the excitement inside just went ssssssssssss.... out.


(Hey, deja vu... he's on the phone again)

Anyway, enough about those two minutes.
The movie was pretty darn entertaining.
A pretty good thriller, with lots of BIG action.
It even managed to make you forget to be annoyed at Shia,
Who did a lot of running and talking on the phone.
And who actually wasn't as annoying as he was in Indy 4.


(Run away! CGI monkeys are about to attack!)

Sure, the car chases gave you headaches,
And everything was a mess of lots of running around.
But that chase in the airport was BRILLIANT.
Edge of the seat stuff.
And the technological premise is intrguing too.
Way better than that Will Smith Enemy of The State crap.
Now excuse me while I go smash up my cell phone.
.....
Ok maybe not.


(Wow this kid can really run...)

But GODDAMMIT whichever studio boss decided to tag THOSE completely out of place last two minutes into the movie should be banned from making movies FOREVER.

Pratchett Forges a New Nation, Gaiman Counts down to a Graveyard

Ooooh, look what I found in MPH Mid Valley this morning!



And no, it's not a Discworld NOR a Tiffany Aching book. Here's the synopsis, off the jacket of the book:

--------------------------------------------------

On the day the world ends...

... Mau is on his way home from the Boy's Island. Soon he will be a man.

And then the wave comes - a huge wave, dragging black night behind it and bringing a schooner, the Sweet Judy, which sails over and through the island rainforest. As the ship comes to a crashing halt, only one soul is left alive (or two, if you count parrots).

The village is gone. The Nation as it was is gone. Now there's just Man, who wears barely anything, a trouser-man girl who wears far too much, and an afwul lot of big misunderstandings.

And a lot of not-knowing-what-to-do, Or how to even say that.

Together they must forge a new Nation out of the broken pieces. Create a new history.

But...

WHO IS GUARDING THE NATION?
WHERE IS OUR BEER?

... the old history isn't going to just lie down and go away, at least not while the Grandfathers still have a voice. And Mau must look into the past before he can face the future.

-------------------------------------------------

Sounds interesting enough. And I have to say, the first chapter about the creation of the world is the funniest creation of the world since Pratchett created the Discworld. So ther eyou go. go get it already!

Now to go to Kino and look for Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book! (if it's out already, that is...)

Update, an hour later:
Apparently it's not, but here's a cool counter I got off Mouse Circus!

Boobs! Boobs! House Bunny Boobs!

House Bunny.
Not a Review.
Yes, I actually watched it.
I was desperate for something to watch, ok?
And couldn't wait until Eagle Eye tomorrow.
So I figured, 'a movie with lots of BOOBS on show'
Oh what the heck.
Besides, I needed something to blog about. :D


(Oh look, boobs)

My expectations were bloody low.
So low that you'd have to go down a bunny hole to see it.
No, not THAT kind of bunny.
An actually BUNNY, you know, a wabbit?
The kind with no BOOBS!
But hey, my brain didn't melt!
Because got BOOBS!
Lots of BOOBS!
(yes, the show was ok too)


(Oh wow, MORE boobs)

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Because got BOOBS! BOOBS! BOOBS!
Oh what, story?
Some Playboy bunny with nice BOOBS
Got kicked out of Playboy mansion.
And meet some weird college kids.
And become their house MOTHER of all things.
House mother with nice BOOBS.


(And MORE boobs! Woot!) (And yes, Katherine Mcphee's character IS pregnant)

Anyway, got BOOBS!
Lots of BOOBS!
Ok not on one girl.
Because that would be weird.
But the whole show got lots of BOOBS!
So many BOOBS that I can't give a Cleavage Rating,
Or this post would be all FULL of Cleavage Ratings!



But who cares about the story.
There's lots of BOOBS!
Oh, it's a bit funny too.
Not too bad.
Didn't cringe as much as I thought I would.
Did I mention there were lots of BOOBS on show too?



Katherine McPhee is cute,
(just ignore the fact that she's pregnant in the show)
That smart chick also cute,
(She kinda looks like Lindsay Lohan, come to think of it)
That goth chick looks familiar,
The rest... er... er... Never mind.
Distract yourself with all the BOOBS!



Not as annoying as I thought it would be also.
Got SOME bad parts
(The parts with no BOOBS on show)
But mostly watchable.
At least your brains won't melt,
Which it would if you watched Disaster Movie.
And anyway this show got more BOOBS than that one.

Hari Puttar And The Sore Hollywood Producers

Go, go Hari Puttar!
Kick 'em snotty wizards in the nuts!




Warner Bros. Lose Case Against Hari Puttar

The case has been dismissed. The court said that Warner Bros had known the title of the film since 2005 and had delayed bringing the case to court until the last moment."


So, now that Hari Puttar is clear, here's what Bollywood should try next...

• Atumi Fal
  
• The Rat In The Mat
• The Singhsongs
• Chari And The Chuntney Factory
• The Chronology of Marmiya: The Cow, The Baba, and The Kitchen Cabinet

Will add more when I think of more... hehe.

Zhou Bares Some Painted Skin, Yen Kicks Some Painted Ass.

Painted Skin.
畫皮
Not a Review.
Supposed to be based on some spooky story,
About some fox spirit that eats human hearts.
But turn out the director watched too many Japan/Korea movies.
Every five minutes got somebody crying.
What kind of Donnie Yen movie is this?



Ok, it IS a Donnie Yen movie.
But not quite a Donnie Yen movie.
Donnie Yen doesn't fight so much,
And Donnie Yen is actually quite funny.
The movie itself was good when there was Donnie Yen,
But was mind-numbingly boring when there was no Donnie Yen.



Got chicks though.
That Zhou Xun quite hot.
Samore take off EVERYTHING.
But can only see back.
And even then got a strip of cloth strategically down the center.
Cover all the er.... sensitive spots.
Bah.



Vicki Zhou is still cute though.
I've always liked her.
Too bad didn't get to meet her again. Sigh.
She didn't take off anything though. Damn.
That Sun Li chick also quite cute.
But here a bit tomboyish.
But still cute.



Somebody kill the two other male leads though.
One is supposed to be this awesome brave general,
But the bugger keep emo-ing only.
When he's not emo-ing, he's crying. Bah.
And the other guy is some evil chameleon spirit.
But looks like a Ah Beng who put too much dye and gel.
Annoying like hell.



Halfway through movie I really wanted to sleep.
SOOO. DAMN. SLOOOOOW.
And SOOO. MUCH. CRYING.
Girls will like it more... can cry a lot.
Guys will also cry.... tears of boredom.
Samore some Singapore movie magazine give is FIVE FUCKING STARS.
And give Dark Knight four and half only.
WTF.

Emmy Gonna Get Me Some Of Those Shows

First of all... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUANIE!

Ok, now we've got that out of the way, on to regular blogging transmission. The Emmys have been awarded. And my favorite shows like Pushing Daisies, Amazing Race, House all got awards. But most of the shows that got the bulk of the awards were shows I'd never heard of before. Oh, I've HEARD of them before, but just never got around to WATCHING them, on account of them shows being shown in the US and not here.

Anyway, here's some of the more notable shows that I haven't really watched, which got awards today.

-----------------------------------------------------


Mad Men

Awards:
Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing, Drama


What I Think of It: I've already got the entire series, and am currently acquiring the second season. I have to say that it IS an outstanding drama, if a little annoying at times. It's set in the 60's advertising industry, and comes with all the sexism, racism and what not that was abundant in that era. But the writing for the show IS damn good. Though I can't watch too many episodes of it at one go, on account of me always wanting to scream at all the prim and properness of it all. Gah.

-----------------------------------------------------


30 Rock

Awards: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress, Comedy (Tina Fey), Outstanding Lead Actor, Comedy (Alec Baldwin), Outstanding Writing, Comedy

What I Think of It:
I like it. I mean, I've only watched like three whole episodes of it, but I like it. And Tina Fey is funny. Funny AND hot. You don't see funny AND hot chicks on TV anymore. Not since... er... Who cares. Tina Fey. Yeah. Woot woot.

-----------------------------------------------------


Damages

Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress, Drama (Glenn Close), Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama (Zeljko Ivanek)


What I Think of It:
I've watched all of ONE episode of this show on Astro, and from what I can see, it's got good acting (like duh, look at the awards it won), and a pretty good story. But somehow it never appealed to me. Maybe it's just because I was watching an episode midway through the series so the story didn't make much sense. Or maybe there were no hot lawyers in business suits in that episode. Heh.

-----------------------------------------------------


Breaking Bad

Awards: Outstanding Lead Actor, Drama (Brian Cranston)



What I Think of It:
I honestly don't know. I mean, I've only got the ENTIRE first season, and don't even know if it's been renewed for a second season. Heck, I don't even freaking know what it's about. Maybe I should get around to watching it next...

-----------------------------------------------------


John Adams

Awards: A whole bunch of em. Too many to count, and I'm too lazy to list them here.


What I Think of It:
A miniseries starring Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, based on the life of John Adams and the first 50 years of the United States of Amer.... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....

A Heroic Powersaw To Acquire All Week

And the TV shows just keep on coming.

House MD has already started, so has Fringe, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Bones. But there are even MORE shows coming out this week...

Tonight in the US (Which basically means we can start er.. 'acquiring' it only tomorrow), the third season of HEROES kicks off. And here are some cool cool promo images:


(For more of these images, go HERE)

And that's not all that's kicking off this week. CSI: Miami is also premiering its new season today as well, and CSI: New York, Knight Rider, Ugly Betty, My Name Is Earl and a whole lot more shows are as well ("Go HERE for the rest of the list).

Then on Sunday, comes the one I'VE been waiting for... DEXTER!!!!



Man, the acquiring machine is gonna be working overtime this couple of weeks...

From Malaysia Day to Singapore....

Yup, I'm off to Singapore for the week, so don't expect any updates here till at least Monday....

Feel free to thrash the comment box (to take a cue from Fireangel...)

HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY!!!!

Happy Malaysia Day, everyone!


Now let's see if those 'numbers' really add up...

Hold The Frontpage! I Wanna Work In The Voice Too...

After some hilarious comments about the show in the office about Front Page, I decided that I just HAD to catch the show for myself, just to see how funny it is. Besides, how often do you get to see youir own office on TV, huh?

Anyway, here are some thoughts after watching the second episode of it:

• Wah that Jack Lee guy so the intense. I must be intense also when I do interview.


• If I were Cheryl Samad's mentor, I wouldn't tell her to stay out of MY way. Hur hur.


• That's not EXACTLY what MY office looks like. Just the other side of my floor. But if they HAD filmed on my side, they'd have no room for the cameras because there'd be too much junk all over the place.
  


• Fooyor, cadet journalist can simply simply barge into editor's office and DEMAND to given some work. So not logic right? I mean, someone actually ASKING for more work? Where got logic?


• Then again, if MY editor were Bernie Chan, I'd barge into her office every chance I get too. AND her home too. Hur hur.
  


• Eh, I know that dude. He works in MY office too!


• Why doesn't anyone ever run MY car off the road to get MY notes? I've interviewed Edison Chen three times, ok?


• Damn, I'd like to work at The Voice. When I was a cadet journalist, I drove a fourth-hand, beaten-up, Ond Civic. Cheryl Samad's cadet journalist drives a fucking MERCEDES.


• But then again, one downside to working there is their office looks EXACTLY like my current one. Heck, even some of the people working there look like some of my current colle.... oh wait.

Dreading the Inevitable Backlash

I can't sleep right now.
I'm outraged.
One was shot for reporting the truth.
The other was set free with a slap on the wrist.
It's an outright insult.
And it's got me dreading the inevitable backlash.
THAT date draws ever closer.
The retaliation has begun.
The repercussions will be severe.
And I can't help but fear for this soil my blood falls upon.

And if all hell really does break loose,
Count me in among all the hands on deck.

Couldn't They Find Malaysian Teams With Proper Malaysian Accents?

The first episode of The Amazing Celebrity, Hot Chicks and Assorted Token Participants Race Asia is underway, and though the race itself seems to have improved (task-wise), the teams just don't seem as fun as the last two seasons.

But I'm still a sucker for TARA. So let's talk about it a little. Here are my first impressions:

------------------------------------------


Most unexpected inclusion:

• PAULA!!!! SHE'S SO CUTE!!!!

Teams I'm rooting for:

• Bernie & Henry (they're the least annoying of the two Malaysian teams)
• AD & Fuzzie (because they're probably the only team chosen because they had genuinely interesting characters)

The Paula Taylor Who-Cares-If-They-Were-Chosen-Because-They're-Hot-They-ARE-Fucking-Hot Award:

• Natalie & Pailin (hey, I'm shallow and a sucker for hot chicks in bikinis, can you tell?)
  
• Tisha & Geoff (Obviously I only care for Tisha here)
  

The Marc & Rovilson Award for Most Annoying Over-acting team:

• Ida & Tania (that bit where they were jumping up and down after finishing the detour was rather painful to watch)
  
• Sam & Vince (No dudes. You are DEFINITELY NOT the funny ones.)
  

The Teri & Henry Bickering Couple award:

• Mai and Oliver (FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!)
  

The Vannessa & Pamela Award for most interesting Accents:

• Niroo & Kapil (because they have the most Asian-sounding accents)

The remaining two teams? Sorry, they were just too generic for me to give a crap.

On the Fringe Of Another X-Files

While I don't really care much for shows like Lost or Alias, I do admit that it's mostly because I never had the patience to actually sit down and watch them.

So when J.J. Abrams announced he was coming up with ANOTHER new series, I thought, "Ok, I'll give this one a shot, and watch it from the beginning."

And you know what? Fringe is actually not too bad.



Sure, it does remind me a lot of The X-Files (FBI agents, supernatural/fringe science stuff, underlying major conspiracy/pattern, basement lab/office); but the way the pilot's plot twisted and turned was actually pretty compelling, in a familiar yet different kind of way.

Besides, any show that gets its hot lead actress stripped down to her underwear TWICE during its pilot episode (and the first was merely five minutes into the show, and the second gets her WET hur hur hur) definitely gets some brownie points from me (even though I still think Gillian Anderson is still hotter than Anna Torv).

Another plus point is John "Denethor, son of Ecthelion" Noble in one of the leading roles as a somewhat eccentric 'fringe scientist'. Though his son (played by Joshua Jackson) is rather annoying, doing nothing but make snide remarks at the side while his father spouts his crazy theories.

It's early days yet, but Fringe is looking really promising. At least to those of us who have been lamenting the death of The X-Files since the mid-nineties.

KY Is The New Face of Maybank2U!!!

KY has really outdone himself this time.

Not only was he invited together with a bunch of us to preview the new Maybank2U, he also got himself chosen as the all new mascot of Maybank2U!

Check it out!



That patented KY-hamsap-look is unmistakable, no? AHAHAHAHA!

I have to agree with Suanie though - they definitely need to change the look of M the 'friendly financial agent' mascot thingy needs to be changed.

I mean, look at him:



Does he look like a guy you'd want to ask financial advice from? He looks like an perverted dildo, fer gawds sake!

Anyway, like I said, we got to preview the new Maybank2U site (a.k.a. M2U 2.0), and I have to say it looks hell of a lot nicer than it used to be. One thing I really hated about the old M2U was how boring and cluttered it looked. Sure, it was functional, but boy was it messy.

This is the old M2U:



Wahlau, it gave me a headache just looking at all the text and all-over-the-place. I never even bothered reading the rest of the page, just went straight to the LOGIN part.

Now, check out the NEW M2U:



Ooooo pretty. It's a lot less cluttered now, that's for sure, and very much more pleasing to the eye. HEck, it actually looks more like a BLOG than an online banking portal.

Though I don't get why only the TOP part of the background is black, while the bottom part is white. It's a little disjointed. An all black background would be nicer, me thinks. (But then that's just me, I like black backgrounds a lot, can you tell?)

Anyway, we were supposed to do three things to help them 'test' the site - pay a bill, transfer some money to another account, and transfer money to other banks.

And you know what? Everything worked the same it did before! Duh. After all, the back end of the system is unchanged, so long story short, it works the same way the old M2U did, with no glitches so far (that I found lar. Probably need to poke around a bit more to see if there are any other bugs).

What HAS changed is that it certainly is a lot easier to navigate the site now. Everything is labeled nicely, there is less clutter around the site, and I managed to find the links I needed to do what I needed to do without much hassle, unlike the OLD one where I spent more time looking for the links and cussing than actually banking.

So you COULD say that the new M2U is less F-U, more 4 U (haha, I so crever I came up with that all by myself).

So far so good then, if the final product comes out like this, and the ads they insert doesn't clutter up the page too much, I might actually start using M2U regularly again. But then again, I'd need to get more money in that account first though.... anyone care to donate some? :D