Tetris

Before the clock strike 12, Happy Birthday Tetris!

At that age I found out that...

7 - rabbit breeds like, well, rabbits.
8 - puzzle games are fun
9 - I am smarter than most people
10 - some girls get their period early than other girls
11 - popsicles are actually VERY cheap to make
12 - competitive 12 years olds are a sight to behold
13 - girls can be cruel
14 - life brings you unexpected things
15 - telenovelas aren't that bad
16 - I can get my parents to do and give me whatever I wanted
17 - my sister is actually a really cool girl
18 - driving a manual card is easy
19 - educated men are more attractive
20 - I lead a more... 'comfortable' live than others
21 - my books and comics collection is getting bigger every day
22 - there is no need to rush in doing things

It's spring!

I did a bit of spring cleaning yesterday and re-arrange my room into a proper order.

I noted that I've placed my copy of the Federal Constitution next to Empress Orchid, a romanticized novel about Empress Dowager Cixi.

Ironic.

Fall on me...

Went to Delicious for the third time (again) during the month.

The waiter practically recognised me and actually remembered by favourite.

Maybe I should cut down on the brownies intake.

On a random note, I re-found this lyric

You may need me there
To carry all your weight
But you're no burden I assure

You tide me over
With a warmth I'll not forget
But I can only give you love

"Ever The Same" by Rob Thomas.

I almost forgot how amazing his lyrics can be.

herm... not bad

This is turning out to be one of my favourite quote;

"Pikir masa depan, pikir masa depan"

Still don't get it?

"Betul3x"

Now, this is much much easier.

list 202

One of the reason why I miss my sister.

Who can teman me to watch all these?

I have missed,

11 Oct Sat 8.30pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Claus Peter Flor conductor
Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang pianos

BEETHOVEN Overture: Egmont
MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Two Pianos in A flat
BRAHMS Symphony No.1 in C minor (Op.68)

RM95 | RM75 | RM55 | RM25

----

22 Nov Sat 8.30pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar conductor
Cyprien Katsaris piano

HAYDN Symphony No.102 in B flat
MOZART Piano Concerto No.21 in C (K467)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No.2 in D (Op.36)

Pre-Concert Event: 7.30pm

RM85 | RM65 | RM40 | RM20

----

19 Dec Fri 8.30pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Markus Huber conductor
The Young KL Singers
The KL Children's Choir

The Lord of the Rings Symphony:
Six Movements for Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Soloists
Canadian composer Howard Shore has turned his music for the three Lord of the Rings movies into a two-hour symphony which has already taken concert audiences in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK by storm. Hear this dazzling score for the first time in Malaysia and relive the drama of the greatest cinematic epic of the 21st century.

RM180 | RM150 | RM110 | RM60

----

Now, to take note,

----

28 Feb Sat 8.30pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Vassily Sinaisky conductor
Sergio Tiempo piano

DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture (Op.92)
LISZT Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat
RACHMANINOV Symphony No.2 in E minor (Op.27)

RM95 | RM75 | RM55 | RM25

----

14 Mar Sat 8.30pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Richard Kaufman conductor

Symphonic Oscars
From Max Steiner's score for the 1939 classic, Gone with the Wind, to Ennio Morricone's music for the 1987 movie The Untouchables, hear again some of the classic Oscar-nominated movie scores of the last 70 years.

RM95 | RM75 | RM55 | RM25

----

17 Mar Tue 8.30pm
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Ingo Metzmacher conductor
Christian Tetzlaff violin

BERG Violin Concerto
BEETHOVEN Symphony No.3 in E Flat (Op.55) - "Eroica"

RM220 | RM170 | RM120 | RM60

----

2 May Sat 8.30pm
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Carl Davis conductor

Lat's Window to the World and Chaplin's Modern Times
A pioneering collaboration between the MPO, Malaysia's premier cartoonist Lat, and charismatic conductor and composer Carl Davis brings to DFP three specially-commissioned short animated films featuring the outside world as seen by the popular kampung boy. Along with a screening of Charlie Chaplin's enduringly muddled Modern Times, all will be accompanied by new “live” musical scores by the ever-resourceful Davis.

RM95 | RM75 | RM55 | RM25

----

bills bills bills

I went home today and log in to Maybank2u to pay my phone bill.

I looked at my credit card balance and I got scared, I paid it all off.

Since I'm so free, I'm doing another meme!

Pick five of your favorite artists/bands and answer the questions.

1. L'Arc~en~Ciel
2. Muse
3. Jay Chou
4. Matchbox Twenty
5. Utada Hikaru

(Damn... Dido tak muat)

What was the first song you heard by 1 (L'Arc~en~Ciel)?
'Fourth Avenue Cafe', which is the Ending Theme for Rurouni Kenshin. If I'm not mistaken the song was aired for only 12 episode (or maybe less), but it left such an impression on me.

What is your favorite album of 2 (Muse)?
Black Holes and Revelation.

What is your favorite lyric that 5 (Utada Hikaru) has sung?
Should be from 'Making Love' because I like how simple these two lines are,

I'm glad that I met you
Even though you're in a city far away, give it your best
.
.
I want you to be happier than anyone else
The sadness in your eyes doesn’t suit you

Notable mention, from 'Passion'

When I remember back far, far
The future was forever shining
Below the pretty blue sky
We were only frightened a little
This window is stained with sorely missed colors

How many times have you seen 4 (Matchbox Twenty) live?
Sadly, none.

What is your favorite song by 3 (Jay Chou)?
Definitely 'Qi Li Xiang'.

What is a good memory you have involving the music of 5 (Utada Hikaru)?
School times?

Is there a song of 2 (Muse) that makes you sad?
'Soldier's Poem' which incidentally is in my favourite album of Muse.

What is your favorite lyric that 1 (L'Arc~en~Ciel) has sung?
The whole of 'Snow Drop' as translated by Megchan at here,

The clear drop is you, the pretty sound of water
The shiny quivering ripple is the hint of spring, the spell of awakening

From behind the crumbling barrier that I'd built up
The old me was laughing

Isn't it strange? That time that has stopped and rusted
Brings morning to even this world

There, please don't close your eyes , just look closely
And you should be able to see the white snow flower which bloomed in the middle of winter

The clouds that couldn't be unloosed from above my head
Tore and quietly colored the frozen earth
The wings of the birds and the singing of people
Begin to echo and burn my heart
Then under the sky of forever, you were there with a tender smile
Blown by the wind in the sunken scenery

By painting the rest of the interrupted rails
A bright tomorrow began to move

Fate is strange, isn't it? That time that has stopped and rusted
Brings morning to even this world
As we start to walk, the warm snow falls on us
As if we were blessed lalalulala lalalulala lalalulala
It was as if you had put on a white veil

What is your favorite song by 4 (Matchbox Twenty)?
'When you're gone'. This is the song that makes me fall in love with the in the first place.

How did you get into 1 (L'Arc~en~Ciel)?
Please refer to the first question answered above.

What was the first song you heard by 2 (Muse)?
I can't remember much, but if I'm not mistaken it's 'Our Time is Running Out'.

What is your favorite song by 5 (Utada Hikaru)?
I'll go with everyone's favourite, 'Passion'. That song is pure epic.

Have you seen 5 (Utada Hikaru) live?
Sadly, no.

What is a good memory you have involving 2 (Muse)?
Singing to their album in my car with my brothers and sister.

Is there a song of 2 (Muse) that makes you happy?
Truthfully, their songs never makes me happy. Will come back and answer this if I find anything.

What is your favorite album of 3 (Jay Chou)
Previously it was 'Fantasy' but now I'm more into 'Yeh Hui Mei'.

What is your favorite lyric that 3 (Jay Chou) has sung?
From my favourite,

The sparrow outside the window is being noisy on the electrical wire
You say that this sentence has a lot of that summer feeling
The pencil in [my] hand, goes back and forth on the paper
I use a few lines to describe who you are to me

- Qi Li Xiang

What is your favorite song of 1 (L'Arc~en~Ciel)?
I love them all the same. Harharharhar.

How many times have you seen 2 (Muse) live?
Never :(

What is your favorite album of 4 (Matchbox Twenty)?
People might disagree with this, but its 'More Than You Think You Are'.

What is a great memory you have considering 1 (L'Arc~en~Ciel)?
Lying on the bed with my sis and watching their live concerts (owh, I know, it's pathetic)

What was the first song you heard by 3 (Jay Chou)?
'Perfectionism'

Resolution no. 2

Every time I saw any glaring grammar or spelling mistakes made by my (supposed) 'Friends' on Facebook (especially on their status), I'm tempted to point out and write about the mistakes to them.

Have. To. Stop. My. Self.

(The above should be 'Myself' but then it will be less dramatic if done that way)

school bag

I found out about this logic during my last year of school.

In my school years, especially during Form 4-5, I changed my school bag every 3 months. Not because I feel like it, but every time there must be something wrong with the bag. Broken zipper, holes, broken seams, etc. Maybe I handled it roughly. Maybe because I bought them cheap and because they are flashy.

So during the last year, I called my dad and asked for a (pink) Jansport.

I've been using that bag even now. How long was it?

5 years. It even survived my university years.

Never bought another backpack ever since.

So people, listen up. Don't buy the cheap school bag for your kids.

Yes, they are cheap, they are affordable. The thing is, you will need to replace it every year, which is really a pain during the end of the year.

And I think its a really good idea to teach kids about the value of goods even at their early age.

"This is expensive. I'm only going to buy for you once, so take good care of it."

If I found out about this long time ago, it would save me a lot of money.

Even now, I can't remember the last time my brother change his school bag.

Spend more, sometimes its worth it.

we do this again every year

My New Year's Resolution

1. To actually save money.

2. Be less snobby.

3. Exercise more, eat less unhealthy food.

4. Recycle.

To be updated

on dvds

Today I watched,

The Duchess
I have a thing for period pieces.

Burn After Reading
I never really planned to watch this. But two of my favourite actors are in it, so theres no reason not to watch it. Plain to say, every character in this movie annoys me. I mean it. But that doesn't make it less interesting.

Accuracy of Death / Sweet Rain
Or whatever the Japanese and their translators decided to call it. I don't know if its possible for Takeshi Kaneshiro to get any better looking, but he somehow does.

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

On the other hand, did anyone see Lee Hom's interview by Tash Aw on today's The Star? It's hard to miss that. Tash Aw, people! Here it is if you somehow missed it.

Listening to: "Heartbeat" by Wang Lee Hom.

Annie Lennox

The song "Dark Road" by Annie Lennox reminds me of this poem by Izumi Shikibu,

In the dusk the path
You used to come to me
Is overgrown and indistinguishable,
Except for the spider webs
That hang across it
Like threads of sorrow.

It took me a long time to find the translation of that poem, found here. I remember reading it somewhere. While looking for it, I found different translations of my favourite poem by her;

From darkness
On a shadowed path
I must make my way;
Let it faintly shine,
The moon upon the mountain’s edge.

darkness departing
darkness still deeper to walk
shine bright on the way
ahead of me o blessed
upon the mountain rim moon

Until now it still amazes me.

the soloist

I finished reading The Soloist in 3 and half hour.

Lately I have this thirst on reading stories. I reread some of my favourite books, revisiting my favourite scenes. I read fanfiction, just to get some stories out of familiar characters. I bought books. I read articles. Though I didn't bother with newspaper much. I skipped the news part, I only read the feature articles.

I watched the trailer for the movie, directed by one of my (and my sister's) favourite director, Joe Wright. The was a comentary by him and in the clip, he looks so much like Kudo Kankuro (in my eyes)!

Weird. And a bit funny for me.

Juliet

Every time I heard the song "Check Yes Juliet" by We The Kings, I always imagined Juliet running around the city with a vintage tulle dress and a black in-season shiny leather booties with Romeo tailing at the back wearing Converse sneakers and washed up jeans.

Maybe it's because the line, 'Lace up your shoes' and the fact that I refuse to imagine the heroine in anything else but high heels.