“No retreat! No surrender!”

I watched ‘300’ the movie, last night.

Wow. Epic. Epic. Epic. Epic. There is a dynamic range of words to describe the movie ‘300’. Heroic. Gory. Exotic. Legendary. Bloody. Glory. Love. Freedom. Conviction. Brotherhood. Gripping. Ferocious. Emotional.

But the best word would be epic. A sentence would be – ‘Bulky men with washboard abs’. No, really. Their muscles bulging as if they were contemporary comic book action heroes.

ACHTUNG: Spoiler ahead

Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, ‘300’ is based on one of history’s most significant event, circa 480 B.C in the Battle of Thermopylae. In the mountain pass, known as The Hot Gates, the King of Sparta, Leonidas, led his army of elite 300 Spartan warriors with sons to carry on their names against the advancing Persians, whose delusional King Xerxes fancies himself a God King. Even with a promise of Warlord of Greece and answers only to Xerxes himself, Leonidas would not submit. The battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world’s first democracy. The story is framed by a voice-over narrative by the Spartan soldier, Dilios.

Vastly outnumbered, the Spartans held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands in history. Persian King, Xerxes the Great, lead an army of well over one million men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and other slave soldiers. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw and left with no options, he moved. While back home, in Sparta, Queen Gorgo attempts to rally support for her husband. But the council hesitated, as before war, the Oracle and Ephors (pagan Spartan priests) have forewarn Leonidas against going to battle. So as to not interrupt the sacred Carneian festival. The priests have been bribed by Xerxes to misinterpret the message of the Oracle.

The 300 prefer to die on their feet than live on their knees fought on with full valour of their every worth. The battle lasted for about 3 days and after which all 300 Spartans were killed. The Spartan defeat was not the one expected as a local shepherd named Ephialtes, an ugly hunchbacked Spartan whose parents had fled to save him from customary infanticide. Ephialtes wanted to join Leonidas’ army to redeem his father’s name in battle. Leonidas turns him away as his inability to properly hold the shield would create a weak spot in the phalanx. The embittered Ephialtes, led by his grudge against Leonidas, and his thirst for social acceptance, defected to the Persians and informed Xerxes of a secret goat path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Spartans.

Dilios finishes his tale of the 300 on a new battlefield surrounded by raptly listening soldiers. He concludes that the Persian army, who defeated a mere 300 Spartans a year earlier with great difficulty, must now be terrified to face 10,000 Spartans and 30,000 Greeks from the other city-states. The roused Greek host heads off to fight the Persian army, beginning the Battle of Plataea.

Oh, by the way, I suspects the King Xerxes, to be sexually ambiguous. He might be a drag.

The movie was good. But the cinema hall was fairly uncomfortable. My 6″ tall baby, got stuck in between his seat the the one in front, as soon as he sat. His daddy-long-legs could not even budge. And the hall was freezing cold. So if you happen to have long legs, I suggest you give TGV KLCC a raincheck.

I am a Chinese with Malay anchestry

And it all started 500 years ago…

The voyages of Ming envoy Zheng He (15th century) re-opened trade relations between China and Malaysia/Indonesia. Chinese merchants came and settled in greater numbers than before, many taking Malay wives. In the 19th century, British colonists would encourage another influx of Chinese immigrants, some as coolies (kuli lah!) working the plantations of European masters in Malaysia and Indonesia, some as traders. Many of these men married local women, and, later, in wealthier circumstances, sent matchmakers back to China to obtain Chinese wives for their sons.

A new race called the Peranakan (literally ‘descendents’ in Malay) was formed. The men are called Baba and traditionally wear Chinese clothes. The women are called Nonya and traditionally wear Malay clothes. On weddings, both bride and groom dress in Chinese apparel. Some Peranakan speak Malay with many Chinese dialect loan words. Others speak Chinese dialects. Prominently Hokkien. Unlike Malays, most of the Peranakan are not Muslim and retain ancestral Chinese religions.

Later Chinese arrivals in Southeast Asia identify the Peranakan as Chinese. Full-blooded Chinese regard the Peranakan as more beautiful than full-blooded Chinese because of the large eyes and distinct features inherited from Malay foremothers. Many older Singapore Peranakan however, disdain recent immigrants from China as foreigners who are unintegrated into local life. Now, the line between Peranakan and full-blooded Chinese is blurring due to a high level of intermarriage between the 2 communities. The Peranakan, however, are almost extinct today due to their re-absorption into the mainstream Chinese community. However, their legacy lives on in their great cuisine, their intricate nyonya kebaya costume and exquisite handicrafts.

Peranakan Chinese are usually found in the straits of what used to be called Malaya. Singapore, Malacca and Penang. They are also known as the Straits Chinese.

Actually I am just looking for a lame excuse to put this picture up…

i must be crazy, see i’m swazy

Darkness. The ‘lights’ went out a while ago, and darkness is my only friend now. Nothing but candlelight for illumination. Darkness is my friend tonight, and a good friend it is.

Sometimes I dream of living in a cartoon. Just imagine being able to slip away in between two strips doing something completely different (most likely sleeping). Imagine being able to stretch the limits of reality infinitely. Seasons may change from one picture to the next, and so would other conditions. I could relive happy moments simply by doing a reprint of that series of strips, and forget about the bad things. If only it could happen.

The image in the mirror stared back. And my glass was empty again. Was it the seventh or the eighth time? I wasn’t sure. I looked down into the glass and saw the wood of my desk, somewhat magnified through the bottom.

I looked down into the glass again and sighed. It was still empty. The glass was so empty. But nothing compared to what I felt inside. And no amount filled glass would ever change that. The glass was so empty…

Everyone needs confirmation sometimes. Some small indication that people, indeed, notice what they do. Even if it is only criticism. Be it constructive or destructive. To be able to do something the right way, everyone needs someone that can tell them what needs to be improved and what is already good.

Some people believe that they can do it in their own, without help from anyone else. But they are usually proven wrong.

It’s funny; When you have the most to think about, you have the least time to really do it. That is, when you worry and hurry or scurry about, you seldom have the time to sit down and think about what you really want. What you really need. What you really should do. What is the meaning of it all.

Oh well…

I must be crazy, see I’m swazy, baby.

I got a miniature HUMMER!

Presenting… My dream car. The HUMMER.

This is a H2. I am in love with the H3. But it’s outta stock.

Thank you, Poopsie!

Love yah!

dear Christoph Mikhail…

Christoph Mikhail, I am your junkie

Christoph Mikhail, you make me swazy

Christoph Mikhail, missing you makes me woozy

Christoph Mikhail, without you I am sleazy

Christoph Mikhail, thinking about you makes my hair go frizzy

Christoph Mikhail, without you the bed ain’t cozy

Christoph Mikhail, you are my cookie-poopsie

Christoph Mikhail, do have mercy

Christoph Mikhail, come home quick or I go crazy!

gays nite out

Sunday, 11.30pm, and I am in the office, working. Here goes my chat with Warren on msn:

Jenn: Marilyn is driving me nuts! I called her like ten thousand times and she never pick up!

Warren: Tell me about it. Hey, wanna go to Maison? There’s a Get2gether.

Jenn: Now???? ‘Get2gether’ as in gays gathering?

Warren: Yes, NOW! It’s the Fridae Get2gether.

Jenn: Umm, well, ok! But I don’t wanna drive. Can u pick me up?

Warren: Cool! I gotta go shower first. What time do you reckon you can get home?

Jenn: I go home NOW NOW NOW! But you gotta call me ok! My phone left 4 cents!

Warren: I’ll call you in 20 minutes, you better be home!

Jenn: OK! Bye!

Mad dash back home. Changed. Phone rang:

Warren: We’re downstairs!

Got into Joseph’s car. I went to Maison, for the first time. Yes, for a gay get2gether party. I gotta say, pretty sad, a room full of boys but none available, whatsoever.

Speed Zone Tour

Celebrate the arrival of F1 in our city, yet again, by getting your clubbing gear on for the Speed Zone Tour! Yes, it’s here! The line up is impressive with acclaimed DJ’s like Marco V, the unmistakeable Yoji Biomehanika, D-Formation and Malaysia’s own Joey G at the decks.

Yoji Biomehanika! The last time, he’s due here to spin, the Prime Minister’s wife had to pass away and they had to cancel the event in respect. It’s Yoji Biomehanika! This funky dude spins hard trance! All those shufflers out there, put on your rocker pants and get ready to pump it up!

Tickets are cheap, too. RM20 – presale. RM30 at the door. With a drink! And party starts at 4pm. At KL Tower! Yo, revellers! It’s time to rave!

This is a Marlboro event, so Dunhill loyals, do stock up!

Oh, did I tell the date? No…??? 7 April 2007!!!!!

house cleaning!

Ah… me, Marilyn, Warren and Joseph will soon be housemates. We practically washed the place thoroughly inside-out! Tiring but pretty fun.

Initially, we planned to do it in the weekend.

“But what about Friday/Saturday parties?!”, say we.

So, Thursday night, 15 March 2007 – house-cleaning!

Marilyn mopping floor, Warren wiping fan.

Joseph brushing balcony, Jenn mopping air-con.

House-warming party will be sometime next month. Keep posted!

foiegras – a ‘gourmet treat’

And so you think you be posh, having foiegras. But these are the hard facts that comes with being ‘posh’.

France produces most of the world’s annual 10,000 tonness of foie gras – the livers of ducks and geese grotesquely enlarged by cruel force-feeding.

Animal Cruelty

In 1991, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) investigated foiegras production at Commonwealth Enterprises located in the Catskills of New York. Despite Commonwealth’s many prior claims that it made foiegras without force-feeding the ducks, PETA’s investigators observed and documented the following:

• Three times a day, workers entered small duck pens in a factory-farm building. The ducks, knowing what was coming, struggled to get as far away from the men as possible.
• The workers grabbed the ducks one at a time, held them down, forced open their bills, and shoved a long metal pipe down their throats all the way to their stomachs.
• They then squeezed a lever attached to the pipe, and an air-driven pump forced a third of the day’s six-to-seven pounds of corn mixture into each duck’s stomach.
• Each worker was expected to force-feed 500 birds three times a day. So many ducks died when their stomachs burst from overfeeding that workers who killed fewer than 50 of “their” 500 received bonuses.
• After four weeks of force-feeding, the ducks were slaughtered, their livers six to twelve times normal size (2,3) – pale, blotchy melon-sized messes instead of small, firm, healthy organs.

A worker told one of PETA’s investigators that he could feel tumour-like lumps, caused by force-feeding, in some ducks’ throats. One duck had a maggot-covered neck wound so severe that water spilled out of it when he drank. Workers routinely carried ducks by their necks, causing them to choke and defecate in distress.

Foiegras is sold as a ‘delicacy’ which, until Commonwealth was established, was not obtainable “fresh” in the U.S. – only as processed pâté de foie gras – because of import restrictions.

Only male ducks are used for foiegras – they produce larger livers and are considered better able to withstand the four weeks of torture. Female hatchlings are treated as trash – literally. Commonwealth workers were observed stuffing a nylon feed sack with female ducklings, tying the bag at the top, and dropping it into a trash can filled with scalding water. Workers killed the surviving ones by smashing their heads against the trash can.

God forgive me, I’ve tasted pâté.

Best wishes to you, Kish!

I’ve only been colleagues with him for nearly 3 months. It’s sad for us, that such a nice, caring and hilarious dude, is leaving, but we also understand that he needs to ‘broaden his frontiers’. Yes, people have to move on. To better things. Chasing ambitions.

I will definitely miss this ’sappioko’ a lot. Especially the smoking and cock-talking sessions. We had a farewell luncheon for him. And bought him 4 bars of soap for his ‘personal’ usage and a photo frame with a pictures of ‘us’, at 141 Worldwide. The rest of our colleagues got him a steering lock because he lost his car last month. How cool is that?! We are his very sweet colleagues. Or more accurately, friends. It’ll be impossible to forget us. Right, Kish?

“Good luck and we love you, Kish!”

Sappioko!

We went to toast his farewell right after work, downstairs.

Kish and Wai Kuan are the 2 closest persons to me in the office.

Kish ‘yam-seng’ and giving Illiya his ‘3 seconds’.

Kish himself getting his ‘3 seconds from Cheryl and he does the same to Roni.

Adrian, our GM, ‘3 seconds’ himself.

Kish’s farewell gift, steering lock, and the whole office signed it.

I signed…

You rawk, dude, YOU RAWK!!!

I stayed for about an hour and I went up to office to finish work. I was done by 12.30am and I had to pass them to get to my car. And yeap, they were still there! When I reached the bar, Roni was already a DJ, Abhi was screaming, something about hairless Chinese boys, Steven looked robotic on the couch, Cheryl was swinging… I think they drank 5 bottles, if I’m not mistaken…

I told Kish I gotta roll, but he was like “Dont la… Stay la.. You’re my kakilang (homey)”.

“OK la! Only for u la!”, I said. So, I hanged.

“Steven, lemme check you got hair, ah?”

Abhi!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!

err… Abhi, that’s a girl with vagina…

Kish & ‘Cheh-woh’

So there you had it, Sappioko! Your farewell party. It was a hilarious. Much thanks to Abhinav providing laughter.

*To cute Chinese boys, Abhi! To cute Chinese boys!*

Massive Attack

Their songs carve a lifetime of etched emotions. Trippy, electronical music which transports you to a realm of beautiful kaleidoscope of sounds, where it connects you, body and soul.

Massive Attack. Simply addictive.

Daddy G & 3D of Massive Attack

my handicap

Sometimes I lose an hour. Almost every time on awakening. That is, I awaken only to fade away again. Conscience blurs, turns into chaos, and then just nothing. Sometimes, time seems to freeze or things will move in slow motion. I lose hearing. I lose stability. I lose control of my concentration. 5-10 intense minutes of semi non-awareness.

Marilyn calls it ‘arrested development’. I thought that was a 90’s hip-hop group.

But then again, there are a lot of people with far worse handicaps than I suffer from. And mind you, I have quite a few minor handicaps. Yuhei knows best. So everytime I’m feeling down, I think that I should be happy that I’m not worse off. And after all, I’m alive at least. So why complain?

Well, I’m just tired, that’ll all.

What one does when one’s boss is outta country..???

Have a tea party!

L-R: Lisa(Intern), Kee Shing(Art Director), Helena(Art Director), me(Copywriter), Richard(Art Director)

Barbie Pink Birthday!

Marilyn’s ‘29 Again’ birthday bash! Birthday girl has got the video up on her blog. And so did Colin. Do swing over to have a look.

Charlie’s angels in pink!

Oh… Barbie, you’re a baaaaaaaaddddd girl!

Piu! Piu! Piu! Piu! Piu!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Marilyn~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ugliest cake, ever!

How would you react if your birthday cake looks like this?

Makes me so proud of Warren’s cake. “Go Junior!”

Yuhei’s college mates

It was Allison’s birthday and were were at 101East opposite LOT10.

They are Yuhei’s college mates. Ex-KDU students. Beautiful people. Really.

Now, here’s a hot mami with her girls! Me, I’m just a lowly minion about to get spanked.

Okay, I know I can do this…
L-R: Yuhei, Jane, Chui Munn, Allison, Kha Yen, Warren & Colin
I did it! I named everyone!

I wished so hard for ciggies in these giant boxes.